After a plague broke out in Yun'an County under the jurisdiction of Miaozhou, no one in the court dared to take on this hot potato at first. If they came, the credit would be obvious, but no one could predict whether the plague could be controlled. If the plague got out of control, they might become the scapegoats. If they didn't come, it would be unreasonable for the court not to send an official after such a big incident. After two days of silence in the court, the debate began.

With Chu Huaigui's suicide, Miaozhou is now without a prefect. Even if the censor comes, it's all in vain because he's not the prefect of Miaozhou. His decrees are not legitimate and cannot be implemented. In the end, everyone's focus is on who to appoint as the prefect of Miaozhou.

Normally, when a prefectural governorship becomes vacant, all factions would fight tooth and nail for it. But this time, the opposite happened. Everyone showed their true colors, praising their rivals and hoping that their rivals would come and take the position of governor, who was sitting on a powder keg.

Originally, Xu Di had nothing to do with this. Xu Di is currently in Dengzhou, where he manages the coastal defense well and cultivates fruit trees wonderfully. I heard that the fruit trees he grafted himself are growing very well now.

However, some people just couldn't stand seeing Xu Di living such a carefree life. During a grand court assembly, someone from the First Prince's side stood up and said that the capable should do more work, meticulously listing Xu Di's political achievements over the years. The Third Prince's side cooperated wholeheartedly, and in the end, they actually managed to pass the buck to Xu Rao.

Xu Rao naturally couldn't express his opinion at the time. How could he accept something just because someone said so? Besides, Xu Di had made a three-year plan and a five-year plan for Dengzhou. Only a few years had passed.

Xu Rao gritted his teeth and refused to utter a word, but the next day someone actually submitted a memorial saying that Xu Rao, as a subject, was not sharing the emperor's burdens. He said that scholars, when they get sarcastic and mean, are really unbearable. Even though Xu Rao didn't stoop to the level of those sarcastic and mean people, he still felt disgusted.

It's unclear what Emperor Liang Cheng was thinking, but after the court session, he invited the Marquis and Xu Rao into the Imperial Study. After discussing the matter in detail, he sent a message by carrier pigeon to Dengzhou Prefecture.

The letter briefly explained the background. After careful consideration, Xu Di wanted to try building irrigation canals and managing the Miao River. Most importantly, he possessed a powerful weapon: the Liao family he had saved in Ganzhou years ago. Their background was extraordinary; their ancestors had all worked in water conservancy. Old Master Liao was born in a shack by the river and, it was said, couldn't even speak before being taken by his father and grandfather to build irrigation canals.

Xu Di naturally couldn't just go along with those people's wishes. It was one thing for him to want to go, but it was another thing for them to force him to go. They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Xu Di certainly wouldn't waste such an opportunity. Some benefits still needed to be fought for.

After receiving the letter, Xu Di packed his things quickly and set off with his men back to the capital. They traveled at breakneck speed for two days, and upon arriving in the capital, they went straight to the Imperial Study without even returning home.

Emperor Liang Cheng was delighted to hear Xu Di say he was willing to go to Miaozhou. The situation in Miaozhou was complicated, and most importantly, the money and grain allocated for water conservancy projects and disaster relief over the years needed to be thoroughly investigated. This investigation was a ticking time bomb that no one wanted to touch. Emperor Liang Cheng wanted to find an elderly person to go, but after asking several people, none of them were willing to go. Although their reasons for refusing varied, Emperor Liang Cheng understood what they meant. Naturally, he was overjoyed that Xu Di was willing to go.

Emperor Liang Cheng invited Prime Minister Feng, Prime Minister Fu, and the heads of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, making it clear that he wanted Xu Di to state his terms.

Xu Di naturally couldn't let this good opportunity slip by. Dengzhou was now managed by Xu Di, and all he had to do was send an incompetent person there. If he followed Xu Di's plan and implemented it slowly, it would be a ready-made political achievement. And yet Wan Weiyong had already set his sights on the position of prefect of Dengzhou.

In front of several high-ranking officials, Xu Di put forward several suggestions. One was that the position of Prefect of Dengzhou, which he had relinquished, should be filled by someone he recommended. After he went to Miaozhou, he would be in charge of the appointment of officials in the Miaozhou government and even the counties under its jurisdiction. The Ministry of Personnel could assist, but could not have any dissenting opinions. Another was that the funds for repairing the river must be guaranteed. Most importantly, the people of Miaozhou had suffered huge losses due to the recent floods and plagues, and the court must provide more disaster relief funds.

Emperor Liang agreed without hesitation, which made Wan Weiyong's face turn ugly. Prime Minister Feng, on the other hand, stared at Xu Di with great interest. He now understood that this young man's achievements at such a young age were not only due to his family background, but also to his own abilities.

Because of the plague in Yun'an County, Xu Di went home for one night and had a good meal with his grandmother, the elders in his family, and most importantly, his wife and children. The next day, he led his men on horseback to Miaozhou at full speed.

After Xu Di recounted his experiences over the past few days, Chen Zhaoci remained silent for a long time before saying with a complicated expression, "Xu Di, I've been in Miaozhou for so many days, and I have a very deep feeling about it. Miaozhou may not be a good place, but it's a money bag for some people. Not to mention anything else, just the money spent on repairing the river channels every year and the money spent on disaster relief after floods are not small amounts. Moreover, many people don't even want to repair the river channels; they just want to make money off the floods every year. Now that you're here, will you investigate the money embezzled in previous years or not? If the investigation goes all the way to the capital, will you continue investigating or give up?"

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