Chapter 589 A Dream of Youth 121

Bamboo sways in the breeze, its elegant shadows casting long shadows on the quiet window. Moonlight falls in sparse patterns, and butterflies flutter in pairs, flying across the still night to greet the dawn.

But for those attending the morning assembly, it was not the gentle dawn with a light breeze, but the sweltering heat.

The crowd watched as the official, kneeling on the ground and vehemently denouncing the new law, kowtowed several times until blood seeped from his forehead.

“It has been three months since the spring rains started at the beginning of the year, and there has been no rain. The land is barren for thousands of miles, and the people have no means of survival. Look at the wind and sand, the sky is dark and the earth is gloomy. On the road, the old and young are being helped, and the tired and weak are blocking the road. They are worried and suffering, and they have no clothes on their bodies.”

Does Your Majesty know why?

Local officials were pressuring disaster victims to repay the principal and interest of loans obtained under the Green Seedling Law. During the drought, the better-off starving people could still buy some wheat bran to eat, while the worse-off people could only fill their stomachs with grass roots and wood. Even so, they were still put in chains and shackles, forced to carry tiles and wood, and forced to sell their fields, houses and property to repay the government's money. Starving people fled their homes in an endless stream!

Your Majesty, would you like to go and see your people? They are trapped in a sea of ​​suffering and cannot be saved; they are your people, Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, I humbly beseech you to dismiss the Chancellor and abolish the law, restoring peace to the realm and rescuing the people from their suffering!

Everyone remained silent. It seemed that there had been two rainstorms in the capital not long ago, supposedly brought by the dragon prince in the Empress's womb. But now, everyone tacitly ignored this matter and placed all the blame on the old man standing at the front.

The emperor, seated above, closed his eyes and remained silent. He simply waved his hand, and the official who was still speaking was dragged away. He was not beheaded, but demotion was inevitable.

Xie Wangzhi stood behind, watching the officials being dragged away one after another, and felt a pang of unease.

Are all those who oppose the new law bad? Not necessarily.

Then he looked up at the emperor at the head of the court. After the person who had offered the advice was dragged away, the court fell silent. Finally, the senior official in charge stood up and broke the stagnant atmosphere.

"Natural disasters could not be avoided even in the time of Yao and Shun; they could simply be dealt with by sending people to manage them." To blame him for this is utterly absurd.

"Your Majesty, I have a few words to say in defense." After saying this, the old man looked at the officials who had been dragged to the door and the others.

"The reason why Your Majesty is instructing me is that I have been encroaching on official duties, causing trouble, seeking personal gain, and refusing advice, which has led to resentment and slander from the people... I have received orders from the ruler, and my deliberations on laws and regulations and my assignments for their implementation are all carried out in accordance with the rules and procedures of the court. Not a single word or action of mine has been an encroachment on official duties. Promoting benefits and eliminating abuses is in line with the policies of the former kings. I have not been causing trouble, but rather managing the finances of the country to enrich the nation and strengthen the military. I have not been exploiting the people, refuting heresies, or making things difficult for those who are wicked. Nor have I been refusing to listen to advice."

As for the numerous complaints and criticisms, I had anticipated them long ago.

A gentleman does not avoid [any wrongdoing]; I have a clear conscience.

Lord Shi bowed deeply.

Is that the end? No.

The emperor not only faced pressure from the previous dynasty, but also from the weeping complaints of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager in the inner palace. Could he refute them? No, he had to be filial and could only avoid seeing them.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager says she is not feeling well..." meaning she wants the Emperor to go and see her.

The emperor pursed his lips, but still went, and returned with a sullen face.

"Ding Zhong, why can't Prime Minister Shi just lower his head a little and admit his mistake verbally? This kind of head-on confrontation is the hardest thing for me to do!"

When the two empress dowagers came to complain, Prime Minister Shi naturally wouldn't target the women of the harem, so he directly turned his attention to the maternal families of the two empress dowagers.

Eunuch Ding bowed slightly, not daring to say too much, only offering a slight consolation, "Your Majesty, you know perfectly well what kind of temperament Lord Shi has..."

"He's just stubborn! As hard as a rock."

The emperor slumped on his dragon throne, his mood worse than ever before.

After resting for a while, he casually flipped through the papers on the table and began to read the urgent border reports presented by the Silver Terrace Bureau. Then he noticed a painting titled "Refugee Map".

It also reads: "The sight alone is enough to bring tears to one's eyes, let alone anything more. If Your Majesty's words are true, and if it does not rain for ten days, I beg to be executed outside the Xuande Gate to atone for my crime of deceiving the Emperor."

The emperor's hand trembled slightly as he asked, "Who is this Zheng Yifu?"

After thinking for a while, Eunuch Ding remembered that this person was also a talented one, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fourth year of Anping. Unfortunately, "I remember he was a minor gatekeeper at Anshang Gate in the capital."

Demoted.

Turning a blue eye into a white eye, that's all there is to it.

The emperor, whether he heard or not, was gazing at the sun outside the window, his heart filled with mixed emotions, and his resolve wavered.

Burning incense on the desk makes it impossible to calm the mind.

"Give the order."

"Order the Kaifeng Prefecture to distribute travel allowances, instruct the Three Departments to investigate the market regulation laws, order the Ministry of Agriculture to distribute grain from the Ever-Normal Granaries, order the Three Guards to report on the military campaign in Xihe, and order all the circuits to report the reasons for the dispersal of the people. Suspend the pursuit of the Green Sprouts Act and the Exemption from Service Act, and abolish the Square Field Act and the Baojia Act... Issue the 'Edict of Self-Reproach'."

Eunuch Ding was startled, "Your Majesty..."

The emperor waved his hand and closed his eyes wearily.