Bai Wanyi was reluctant, but when she looked up and saw the emperor's expression, she followed the eunuch obediently. "Work hard, maybe there will be a reward for making a telescope? A magnifying glass was given to a county lady!" Thinking of this, she cheered up again.

Seeing that the emperor looked unhappy, Qin Wan also took her leave from the palace. At the same time, she was glad that the emperor did not keep her in the Ministry of Works. After all, she really knew nothing.

As soon as Qin Wan left the palace, Zhenzhen put a hand warmer in her hand, and several maids surrounded her and helped her get on the carriage.

"I just saw Bai enter the palace, what's the matter?"

The eyes of several maids were sparkling with curiosity.

Qin Wan gathered her cloak and said, "Your Majesty has placed her in the Ministry of Works."

"What? Going to work in the Ministry of Industry? Isn't that giving her credit?"

Tao Yao frowned, very indignant: "How can someone like her be worthy of me?"

Qin Wan smiled and patted Tao Yao's hand, saying, "Whether it's a credit or not, who knows."

"Why?"

Several maids looked at her curiously.

Qin Wan didn't explain, but turned to look out the window. Snowflakes were falling again.

Zhenzhen followed her gaze and said, "Miss, this isn't a normal day."

The weather is indeed not normal.

The capital city was relatively better. There were several heavy snowfalls before the New Year, and the accumulated snow had just been cleared away when it started snowing again after the New Year.

It is raining heavily in the north right now. At the same time, in places like Shenyang in the south, there has been no rain or snow since the beginning of autumn last year.

They used to grow crops three times a year, but this year there was a drought, and the third crop had a very poor harvest because there was no rain.

Qin Wan's farm in Shenyang was close to a water source and had two wells, so the impact was not significant. However, it was a big impact on ordinary people.

In the previous life, it was also this season. There was heavy snow in the north. Wuguan, Fengyang and other places were severely damaged by the snow disaster, and the Beidi outside the pass suffered an even more serious blow.

The Northern Di, which had already suffered severe damage after the disaster, was even more devastated.

In the south, places like Shenyang were suffering from severe drought. Except for the New Year, there was no rain or snow. The first drop of rain did not fall until May or June after the New Year. Before the people could be happy that it finally rained, the sky seemed to be torn apart, and it rained for two or three months in a row. The people of Shenyang, who had just experienced drought, were faced with flooding again.

A drought that lasted nearly a year, coupled with a flood, caused heavy losses to Shenyang and other places this year.

Qin Wan came back to her senses and said to Tao Yao, "We are going to buy some drought-resistant grain seeds."

Although Taoyao didn't understand why they wanted this kind of seeds, she still agreed.

Qin Wan calculated the time to see when it would be appropriate to go to Shenyang, and by the way, she also took the booklets she had printed to the south to prepare for the opening of the glass shop and the milk tea shop.

The snow fell for three days and three nights, and the entire capital was covered in white.

It was unbearably cold inside the palace, let alone outside.

Before the New Year was over, urgent news came from the border that Fengyang had suffered a severe snowstorm, many houses had collapsed, and there were heavy casualties. The government requested support from the court.

The emperor urgently summoned all the court officials and held a grand court meeting on the eighth day of the New Year. Even Lu Yan, the judge of the Five Military Commandery, was summoned to the palace to participate in the government meeting.

The emperor's eyes fell on the prince. As the prince, he could not be absent from the grand court meeting, but he never participated in state affairs. However, now it was time to push him to the front.

The emperor had the Fengyang governor's memorial read aloud, and then said, "My dear ministers, we need to send someone to Fengyang to provide disaster relief. Who should we send?"

When the emperor asked this question, it was obvious that he was not asking the officials, but the "mascot".

When it comes to disaster relief for such a serious natural disaster, we need a person of high position and power to take charge of the situation. Otherwise, not to mention the corruption of the officials below, if something unexpected happens, he will be able to make a decision in time. Therefore, in addition to being of high position and power, this person must also be able to win the support of the people and make decisions.

To put it bluntly, this was just a way to give away credit.

Therefore, it is usually the royal family who goes. Firstly, their status is sufficient, and secondly, when the royal family members have made achievements, they will not compete for the credit with ordinary ministers like them.

The court officials immediately turned their attention to the princes and royal family members present.

In the past, it would definitely be the royal family members who went, but now the princes are old, and it is time for them to make achievements.

"I recommend the eldest prince to go."

"Your Majesty, I reject the Third Prince."

"The Fourth Prince!"

Several princes made recommendations, but no one nominated the crown prince.

Xie Qing was standing by, listening intently.

Little did they know that the factions in the court, which were originally not very clear, gradually surfaced in such quarrels.

The emperor half-closed his eyes, seemingly not hearing what they said. After a long while, someone said, "I recommend the Sixth Prince."

The emperor then opened his eyes and said, "Then let Lao Liu go. The court is dismissed."

The emperor flicked his sleeves and left. Without waiting for the court officials to disperse, he summoned the ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works, the chief judge of the Imperial Medical Service, and the governor of the Five Military Commanderies, and notified them all to go to the imperial study to discuss matters.

Xie Qing watched the court officials disperse. Several princes rolled their eyes at the Sixth Prince and left. He then walked over to the stunned Sixth Prince and patted him on the shoulder: "Congratulations, Sixth Brother."

"Brother, I don't want to go." The Sixth Prince looked at Xie Qing pitifully. "Fengyang is so cold, and I don't have the ability to go there. If I go there, won't I be fooled? If there is any mistake in the disaster relief, won't the people suffer?"

Xie Qing smiled and said, "You don't have to belittle yourself. What's more, this isn't a flood disaster, but a snowstorm. There are many injured people now. The court only needs to send doctors to help the people heal and provide them with shelter."

"When you get there, just take care of the porridge stalls and the food, and follow the imperial doctors to make sure the people are well settled."

The Sixth Prince gained confidence upon hearing this: "If my second brother says I can do it, then I can definitely do it!"

Xie Qing brought the Sixth Prince back to the East Palace and gave him a box. "Take this firearm with you. If necessary, you can use it to protect yourself. Of course, I hope you won't need it."

Xie Qing took the Sixth Prince to the training ground and taught him how to use firearms.

Over there, the Queen received the news that the Sixth Prince was going to provide disaster relief and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's worth all my planning for him. Come quickly and prepare everything for me."

The maid smiled and said, "Your Majesty has already prepared it. Do you want to check it again?"

The Queen nodded. "He has grown up so big, but he has never been away from me so far, nor for so long. But the child has grown up, and he will eventually fly away on his own. No matter how reluctant I am, I have to let him go."

The Queen counted the things that the Sixth Prince needed to take with him and then looked for him: "Where is he? Find him for me quickly."

Disaster relief is urgent, and the Sixth Prince will take his men to Fengyang the next day. He is so busy now that he only comes to the Queen's bedroom when he has time.

The queen saw the box in his hand, which he held as if it were a treasure, and asked, "What is this?"

The Sixth Prince was caught off guard: "The firearm my second brother gave me."