Chapter 16: Court Turbulence

“Bang!”

A pile of memorials was thrown among the court officials.

"Who can tell me where this plague in the south came from? Where did the refugees outside the city come from?"

Sitting on the golden dragon throne was a young man with a face full of anger. The pearl curtain above his head was swaying in a large arc.

"Your Majesty, calm down."

The adults in red, blue and blue official uniforms seemed to have a tacit understanding. They all knelt down in unison and shouted to the emperor to calm down. No one answered the emperor's questions directly.

"What else can you do besides kneeling? Answer me, are you mute?"

However, there was still silence below and no one answered.

"Your Majesty, where is your demeanor?"

At this time, a middle-aged man in a dark yellow dragon robe glanced at the emperor sitting in the hall with an arrogant attitude.

The young man clenched his hands tightly, trying to control the anger and hatred in his eyes. He bit his lower lip in frustration until the taste of blood spread in his mouth.

He gently scraped the tea lid on the tea bowl, took a sip and placed it on the table.

"Have you forgotten everything your uncle taught you? No matter what happens, you must observe the royal etiquette and never lose face for the royal family. Don't rush anything. There's no point in rushing. Things have already happened. What we need now is how to resolve this crisis."

Prince Jing flipped through the memorials on the table, tapping his fingertips on the chair, as if tapping on everyone's heart.

"Prime Minister, have you received any reports about heavy rain for several consecutive months?"

The prime minister who was crawling on the ground shuddered. This man was not the young man sitting high above. If he wanted to fool him, he might as well wash his neck in advance!

"Replying to Prince Jing, two months ago, I received memorials from the Governors of Nizhou and Kanzhou. Both reported that it had rained for two months in their jurisdictions, but the rainfall was light, which is why I didn't take it seriously. This is my fault. Please punish me, Prince Jing."

"Minister of Works, what about you? Have you received the memorial regarding the reinforcement of the riverbank?"

"Minister of Rites, have you received the report about the refugees surrounding the city?"

"Minister of Revenue, have you received any news about price changes? Why haven't you distributed disaster relief funds? Why haven't you organized the wealthy families to resettle the refugees?"

"Minister of War, have you received the request for assistance from the southern garrison? Why didn't you find any refugees when you inspected the capital's security?"

"Imperial Hospital, the plague is now raging in the south. I wonder if you have developed a cure?"

"Minister of Justice, I remember that a group of exiles went to Lingnan last month. Have you received any news from my subordinates?"

Prince Jing ignored the prime minister who was still kowtowing and asked all the ministers in the court a few questions. No one could escape the responsibility this time.

"Prince Jing, please calm down. I deserve death!"

Everyone was in a panic, thinking that everyone would be in trouble!

"Die! Why would I want you to die? Death is so simple. Once you drink the poisoned wine, everything will be relieved."

These words made everyone's backs wet in the middle of winter, and their hearts felt even colder. It was obvious how scared they were by Prince Jing's words.

The young man sitting on the dragon throne also had a cold heart. These ministers completely submitted to the majesty of the emperor's uncle and regarded himself, the legitimate emperor, as nothing. How pitiful he was!

"First-rank officials present will have their salaries fined for three years, second-rank officials will have their salaries fined for two years, third-rank officials will have their salaries fined for one year, and fourth-rank officials will have their salaries fined for six months. All officials in the capital must donate 10,000 taels. Those who fail to meet the standard will be demoted one level."

"Xie Wen immediately mobilized the 50,000 troops in the imperial city to clear out the refugees, escort the Imperial Hospital staff to the epidemic area, and deliver relief grain."

Prince Jing deliberately hit their sore spot, "Properly accommodate the refugees outside the city. I want to see results within two days."

Prince Jing left this magnificent house after saying this.

"Dismiss the court!"

The eunuch's sharp voice awakened the minister who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Farewell to the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

All the officials were feeling sad. Prince Jing had not paid attention to state affairs for the past year and had been recuperating at home on the pretext of illness.

During this year, he had manipulated and deceived the young and naive emperor in various ways, which made him mentally inflated. Now it seems that Prince Jing intended to teach the emperor a lesson, a lesson that he would never forget.

It's just that these people have become cannon fodder. No, it should be the refugees from Dagan and the people who died from floods and plagues who are cannon fodder. They don't have any kindness as a king. If Prince Jing is allowed to ascend the throne, Dagan will eventually collapse. Smart people are already thinking about when to resign and return to the countryside to avoid this disaster.

"Bang, snap, snap!"

There were broken porcelain pieces all over the floor of the young emperor's room, but none of the people kneeling on the ground dared to dissuade him.

The exile team was also divided into two teams. More and more people had fever, but the good news was that no one had died yet and they were all standing strong.

When Yang Dajun saw the lush towering trees in front of him, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

"We've finally made it out of the epidemic area. Woohoo! Woohoo! I finally survived!"

"Haha, haha, I survived. I'm going to keep this sour-smelling mask as a family heirloom and tell them how my grandfather bravely made it through the epidemic zone."

Everyone in the Lin family took off their protective suits made of oil paper that they had been wearing for more than ten days and took off their masks. Fortunately, the temperature has dropped in recent days, otherwise the clothes would be easily soaked with sweat due to lack of breathability, and people would easily catch a cold. God is protecting the Lin family.

"Rest here for a day. We still have half a month to go before we reach Lingnan."

"In half a month, we will separate. When you arrive in Lingnan, you will most likely be assigned to a small mountain village. I remember an exiled prisoner I knew mentioned this.

The indigenous people here are not only very xenophobic but also very fierce. There are also many poisonous snakes and insects here. In order to survive, the locals have learned to control poisonous insects and snakes. If you don't want to die, don't provoke them."

Finally reaching their destination, Yang Dajun still did everyone a favor. If anyone was rehabilitated or became prosperous again in the future, if one person could remember this small favor and give them some help, it would be enough for them to succeed.

"Sir, is Lingnan so terrible?"

"Are the local people so arrogant? Don't the local government care?"

It is a terrible thing to hear that the local residents are fierce and kill people with insects at will. How can they survive if they go there?

"Of course, if I can give you some benefits by allocating local history books, I believe that Lingnan is so vast that there must be villages that are purely composed of people from the capital or the exiles from the Great Stem. Then it will depend on what you do."

They can be considered friends in need, and Yang Dajun still hopes that they will have a good ending.

"We will hand over in Lingnan County, and local officials will definitely escort you to your exile location. Remember to buy plenty of anti-venomous snake and insect medicine, because you will not be allowed to leave the exiled village in the first few years.

According to my information over the years, 80% of prisoners exiled to Lingnan died from poisonous snakes and insects. Don't think you can relax just because you've survived exile. The real test is still in Lingnan. Surviving even one day is a blessing!

The people of Dagan were already terrified of the exile place, and now after being frightened like this, all of them turned pale and their fear was beyond words, especially the women, who were trembling with fear.

"I'm not going, I'm not going, sir, this is asking me to die!"

"Sir, sir, is there any way to avoid these poisonous insects?"

Without noticing, Lin Yue's second sister-in-law stuffed a few banknotes into Yang Dajun's arms with trembling hands and looked at him expectantly.

"Sir, we were ignorant before. My daughter is the third daughter-in-law of the Prime Minister's Mansion. If you take this to her, she will agree to whatever you ask for."

"Sir, sir, we have been together for three months, please have pity on us!"

"Yes! Sir, just tell us what we can do!"

A large group of people took silver, gold, jewelry, and banknotes and stuffed them into Yang Dajun's arms, like a drowning man grasping at the last straw.