Chapter 356: Under the City

King Cheng came up with an idea: "Why not let the Sixth Prince Zhao Yuwen assist the Crown Prince in disaster relief?"

The Queen frowned and said, "I only have two sons, and both of them have left the capital. What if something happens in the capital?"

"Don't you still have me in the capital? Have you forgotten that Yuwen and Mu Junyan have always been good friends? If Mu Junyan wants to do something to the prince, Yuwen can come forward to mediate."

The queen was helpless: "Just follow my father's instructions."

Then he remembered something: "The fourth brother, Zhao Yufeng, has been missing for so long. Could he really be dead?"

King Cheng snorted coldly: "Even if he is not dead, he must die. Don't worry, I have strictly ordered the commander of the city defense to kill him immediately if he is found."

The queen's eyes suddenly lit up: "Father, Mu Junyan's son is already two and a half years old. Why don't I issue an imperial decree to summon Gu Huan to bring her son back to Bianjing on the pretext of conferring the title of Crown Prince? With her and her son in hand, we naturally won't be afraid of Prince Yong's rebellion."

King Cheng shook his head: "Gu Huan may not be willing to come to the capital. She is not stupid, she must know that you want to take her and her son as hostages."

The Queen raised her eyebrows and said, "If she refuses to come to the capital, she will be defying the Imperial Order and will be directly charged with treason. This will give us more reason to capture Prince Yong."

King Cheng still shook his head: "King Yong is not so easy to capture, it is best to lure him into the capital. The war in the north has not stopped, the Yuan family has been fighting, and the forces that can be mobilized are limited. The death squads I have are only one or two thousand people, I am afraid they cannot defeat the Black Armor Guards. It would be wrong to alert the enemy."

The Queen frowned and said, "This won't work, and that won't work either. Why not just let His Majesty pass away and let him go to the capital to mourn? He won't dare to disobey."

King Cheng glared at her: "You are usually quite steady, why are you so anxious now? Do you want the world to point at your son's spine and say that he killed his father in order to get the throne?"

"Wouldn't it be better to let him die of illness?"

"Do you think those imperial doctors are vegetarians? They are like an iron barrel around them all day long."

The queen choked.

"Alright, let the prince gain reputation first."

King Cheng immediately summoned the cabinet ministers, and after a discussion, it was decided that the crown prince would take 500,000 yuan in disaster relief funds to several states to provide disaster relief and save the people.

…

By the time Mu Junyan and his companions arrived in Gongzhou, the flood in Gongzhou had already become very serious.

The river bank broke, flooding thousands of acres of fertile farmland and destroying more than a thousand houses.

The farmers along the river were the hardest hit in Gongzhou. They had nothing to eat or wear and fell ill.

As soon as the Mu family army arrived, they immediately began to fight the flood and rescue more than 10,000 people trapped along the coast.

However, the county magistrate Jiang Qifu himself lived in the government office which was located on the highest ground. Instead of providing disaster relief to the people, he ordered the city gates to be strictly guarded, and kept the disaster-stricken people in the surrounding areas out of the city.

To enter or exit the city gate, one had to pay a guide fee of ten taels of silver per person, so only wealthy families could enter or exit.

When some officials in Gongzhou heard that Prince Yong had brought Lord Du back to help with the disaster, they all tried to find ways to bring all the forces they could to help.

Mu Junyan brought Du Ming and a hundred black-armored guards, two thousand Mu family soldiers, and many civilians who joined voluntarily. After eight days of hard work, they finally blocked the gap in the dam.

The Mu family army built many tents on the mountain and accommodated all the homeless farmers.

Du Yun brought several newly trained female guards from the palace to help the injured and sick people in the tent.

The affected farmers also had relatives living in Gongzhou City. The news soon spread to the city. The conscientious officers and soldiers guarding the city could not stand it anymore, and started to make trouble with the people, demanding that the county governor open the city gates and let the affected people enter the city.

The situation in Gongzhou was not good either. Due to the flood and the closure of the city gates, business and the sale of vegetables and grains were basically cut off.

Jiang Qifu was originally the Prime Minister of Gongzhou. He didn't care about the lives of the people and the soldiers defending the city. The food he stored was enough for his whole family to eat for two months.

But the people in the city lived a miserable life.

Even the 10,000 soldiers defending the city had nothing to eat.

The officials who went out of the city to assist in disaster relief accompanied Lord Du to the foot of the city and demanded that the city gates be opened and the people be released.

Jiang Qifu couldn't sit still any longer. "You said the Du guy is back?"

The staff nodded and said, "Yes, I heard that Prince Yong brought him back personally. Now a group of officials who betrayed the Lord are accompanied by the Black Armored Guards and knocking at the gate of the city."

Jiang Qifu was stunned for a moment: "Prince Yong is not at the city gate?"

The staff were speechless. If Prince Yong knocked on the door himself, would they dare not open it?

"I didn't see Prince Yong. I guess he went back to Juzhou."

The staff felt a little disappointed when they saw the sleepy Jiang Qiufu. It had been more than half a month since Gongzhou suffered a disaster, but he was still reveling day and night as usual.

Two of the most popular dancers from the Jiaofangsi stayed with us last night and had fun until dawn.

"The day before yesterday, I received news that Prince Yong was in Yongzhou to provide disaster relief and rescued several officials who were framed by the Jiang family. But I didn't expect that the man named Du was also rescued."

Jiang Qifu frowned, "That's impossible. Wasn't he exiled? I haven't heard King Cheng say he was pardoned. Could it be that King Yong got him out without authorization? Even if he is a prince, he has no right to release a criminal from the court."

Jiang Qifu jumped up: "We can't let him into the city! He is a criminal and a fugitive!"

The staff member said with a bitter face: "I just received news that one of the two concubines sent by the Queen to Prince Yong is Du Yun, the daughter of the Du family."

Jiang Qifu screamed: "What? It's that little bitch Du Yun? I was wondering why I couldn't find her anywhere. It turns out she climbed into Mu Junyan's bed! But, how is that possible? Doesn't Mu Junyan dislike women?"

"Yes, originally the Prince of Yong didn't like them, but who knew that they were both promoted to concubines one after the other. And Du Yun was restored to a good status and became the Prince of Yong's concubine. My lord, you should think twice, because they have the support of the Prince of Yong."

Jiang Qiufu really couldn't sit still this time.

"My noble concubine? Do you think the little bitch will ask Prince Yong to come and settle accounts with me on her behalf?"

The staff were also panicked.

"That's not the case, is it? Although Prince Yong has his own army, when it comes to women... he only favors the princess."

"Bah, only favor one? Who would believe that? Men, huh!"

While cursing, Jiang Qifu started calling the maid to come in and help him put on clothes and shoes.

"As long as a man has tasted the wonderful taste of sex, how can he still love only one woman? Look at those men who pretend to have only one wife, don't they all have concubines in the end? Anyway, sleeping with one is the same, sleeping with two is the same, and gradually they have three wives and four concubines, right?"

The staff thought to themselves, that’s exactly the truth.

"Du Yun has just gained favor, and he is in a state of fresh enthusiasm. It is not uncommon for a man to get angry for a woman."

Jiang Qifu was stunned: "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Why don't we go to the city gate first and see if that works? We can welcome them in and treat them well. After the storm is over, we can get rid of them and their daughter to prevent future troubles."

Jiang Qifu had no other choice but to nod: "Then... let them in."

The staff agreed to do it.

Jiang Qifu held him back again, "You said the Black Armor Guards followed him? And a few Gongzhou officials?"

"Yes. There seem to be more than a dozen Black Armored Guards."

Jiang Qifu thought for a while and said, "I'm not afraid of a dozen of them. We have tens of thousands of city defenders. But we can't give Du a chance to turn things around, otherwise, something bad will happen."

The staff member's back stiffened when he looked at him with a gloomy gaze.

That's natural.

Jiang Qifu not only had his eyes on the other person's daughter, but also on the power in the hands of the county magistrate. As the richest man in Gongzhou, he still felt that it was not enough and wanted to make more, such as public funds, public grain and public salt.

If Mr. Du turns the tables and they check the accounts of the past few years, won’t everything be over?

"I will go myself."

After he personally opened the city gate and welcomed the people in, didn't he have the final say on whether to kill or chop them up?