Chapter 176 The Responsibility of Zhengzhou Refugees…

"How should a memorial to the throne be written..."

After going through the entire process in his mind several times, Qi Chengming started to have doubts about the format.

This is where Lord He excels.

Your subject is here to polish the writing.

He Santie took the lead without hesitation, and with a flourish of his pen, a beautiful hand appeared on the paper. However, he was also very tactful, filling in the formalities and greetings, without altering the main text that Qi Chengming wanted to explain.

When Qi Chengming took a look, Xiao Dezi, who was kneeling beside him serving tea, looked troubled, having noticed something amiss:

"this……"

"It's better, but it's too disjointed." Qi Chengming slowly said what Xiao Dezi dared not say aloud, and he was quite satisfied. "That's fine. I'll rewrite it and send it to the heavens."

Qi Chengming's own writing followed the style of modern academic papers, dry and straightforward, with clear arguments, evidence, and logical reasoning. The initial and subsequent greetings, however, were elaborate and overly polite, clearly the work of two people, a polished touch.

But isn't this just right?

Qi Chengming, a prince who had been sent to his fiefdom long ago, had never attended a day of court and knew nothing about writing memorials. His last memorial of greetings and lamentations upon returning to the capital had been polished by someone else; there was no reason for it to be perfect this time.

Your return to the capital was so perfect. What about the emperor, who was eager to make a name for himself?

It's better to be straightforward and honest, so that weaknesses are openly exposed, and there's no harm in having too many.

Once the ink on the thick memorial had dried, Lord He took the opportunity to take his leave, intending to have it delivered to the capital by fast horse. Only then did Qi Chengming order the caravan to continue its journey.

Commander Mao gave a brief report, his expression grim, and turned to leave in a menacing manner. A short while later, the large convoy slowly began to move forward, with the Prince Rui's banner fluttering high at the head, and the armor of the Imperial Guards of the capital clashing loudly on both sides, exuding an imposing aura.

Qi Chengming gazed into the distance, a slight sneer on his face: "Lord Mao has also had a hard time... These Imperial Guards who came to protect me seem to be following my father's orders, but who knows what they're thinking behind the scenes, wanting to be my masters? Xiao Dezi, go and treat the brothers well later."

Xiao Dezi, still in the carriage, responded angrily, sharing the same hatred for the enemy.

Putting aside everything else, ever since these Imperial Guards met Qi Chengming from afar, whenever he wanted to stop and rest, whenever he wanted to speed on his way, and whenever he wanted to secretly investigate the people's conditions, the newly arrived Commander Qian of the Imperial Guards would always have a way of persuading and comforting him.

The implication was that they had already arranged the itinerary, but they were afraid that Prince Rui would act recklessly and endanger his own safety. They were on the responsibility of protecting the convoy, having received an imperial order, and their mission was very important.

If it were a prince with a weaker temperament, or one who was uneasy and uncertain about the situation upon returning to the capital, he might have been manipulated in the same way.

After all, a large army of four hundred men had arrived from the capital, while Qi Chengming's convoy could only field about a hundred men with any real fighting strength. If they insisted on a direct confrontation, any prince would have to think twice, and he probably wouldn't be able to resist them... He might even be coerced into a position of power!

Qi Chengming, a person whose ears are filled with modern rhetoric and whose mind is filled with rebellion, only had one first reaction:

Okay, so you're trying to manipulate me?

Why does my team suddenly have to listen to you?

What? I, a prince, insist on stopping the caravan to rest, and you're going to hold a knife to my throat and force me to continue? I want to set off, and you're going to turn on me and surround the caravan, preventing it from following my plan?

He won't fall for that!

If things really come to a head, Qi Chengming can act like a rogue on the spot—at worst, he can just set up camp on the spot.

Anyway, we're already in the outskirts of the capital. You don't want me to leave? Fine, I'm not leaving at all. Then send someone else to ask me to leave. Those of you willing to threaten the prince, if you don't want your entire family, then get rid of them. It's that simple.

Let's see who can outlast whom.

Qi Chengming's brazen outburst, coupled with Mao Zedong's well-meaning but ultimately insidious actions—a combination of carrot and stick—finally brought him to his senses, and he obediently continued on his way. The fact that Qi Chengming was able to stop for so long to write a memorial without being harassed again is likely thanks to Mao Zedong's influence.

Xiao Chengzi is driving the carriage himself.

After observing for half a year, he finally learned how to do it himself and began to do it personally. But when he heard this, his face darkened and he became suspicious: "Your Highness, who is secretly making things difficult for us among these Imperial Guards?"

"I don't know." Qi Chengming grabbed a handful of chestnuts from a plate of roasted chestnuts in Xiao Dezi's hand. They were all roasted and peeled, and tasted exceptionally sweet. He shrugged nonchalantly, not taking it to heart.

"Whether it's Father's test or someone else's sabotage, we just have to deal with it."

"Xiao Dezi, Xiao Chengzi, remember this... things will be very different when we return to the capital. This kind of thing will happen all the time, and we all have to get used to it." Qi Chengming looked at his two closest friends and gave them this extra piece of advice.

"It's not worth putting in so much effort for these kinds of minor troubles. What's the point of finding out who did it?"

It's normal to encounter enemies everywhere if you want to seize the throne.

If he fails to handle even one of these endless minor troubles, he will stumble and disappoint, and his "score" with Emperor Hongren will diminish. This is exactly what his enemies want.

The two personal eunuchs readily accepted the instruction.

As evening approached, Xiao Dezi personally led a group to purchase a batch of sheep. The convoy set up camp and began cooking on the spot. Calculating the distance, they figured that after one more night, they could speed towards Beijing the next day. In no time, the woods on the outskirts of the city were filled with the aroma of roasting mutton, which carried far and wide on the wind.

The men in the army were all big eaters of meat. Those from Prince Rui's mansion were fine; they were plump and strong from eating every day and didn't crave mutton. But this batch of imperial guards from the capital mostly came from poor families. It was normal for them to eat their fill during training, but to be allowed to eat so much meat was rare; their eyes practically lit up with envy.

Xiao Dezi greeted them with a smile, "If it's not enough, bring more. There are mutton rolls and mutton soup too."

The large pot was steaming hot, and the mutton and radish soup made from the leftover mutton bones was very warming. Although there was a lot of radish in the soup and only a few bits of mutton on the bones, the roasted mutton rolls were substantial. So the soldiers ate them with gusto and were extremely satisfied.

Even that Commander-in-Chief Qian couldn't find anything wrong with it.

The commander-in-chief, Mao, who was in charge of greeting him, smiled heartily, but held up a bowl of the same plain radish soup in his hand: "We both have important matters to attend to, so let's skip the wine. I'll toast you with a bowl!"

Commander Qian: "…………"

He forced a smile, seemingly somewhat disappointed, but what could he do if he was shut down by his own words? If he couldn't drink, he couldn't drink.

After this beating, the Imperial Guards were completely tamed, and Commander Qian had some regrets but nothing he could do.

Qi Chengming sat in the countryside, eating with Lord He around a separate fire. The more he ate like this, the more he ate, devouring three large flatbreads, which made He Santie feel increasingly gratified.

...Your Highness is in good health; being able to eat is a blessing!

Little did Qi Chengming know that he was simply thinking about camping before he traveled through time. Food always tastes better when camping, which is the effect of the atmosphere.

Not long after, Song Gucai, who had been missing, hurriedly returned, looking somewhat disappointed and not in high spirits.

"Steward Song, come quickly, we've saved some food for you!" Xiao Dezi greeted him casually, getting up to serve him soup. "What's wrong?"

Song Gu took a plate of sizzling roasted mutton, grabbed a flatbread but couldn't swallow it: "...Sigh."

After a long pause, he sighed and said in a deep voice, "Several groups of refugees followed far behind our caravan, and they couldn't move when they smelled the aroma."

"For safety's sake, the Imperial Guards drove them away from a distance, and I had someone point out the location of the relief tents to them." This time, Song Gu didn't offer any help or leave any food; they had already done enough along the way.

"Where did this disaster happen this time?" Qi Chengming asked, somewhat doubting his memory.

The capital city is located on a plain, making it prone to disasters. Whenever a disaster strikes, refugees always flock to the capital seeking help. Along his journey, Qi Chengming had witnessed numerous natural disasters and seen countless refugees and displaced people; he was almost numb to it all. He hoped this wasn't a new situation.

"They're all from Zhengzhou. Those coming from this direction are all refugees from Zhengzhou." These were the words of He Santie. As someone whose hometown had suffered disaster, he was particularly concerned about this matter. Seeing these refugees always weighed heavily on his heart and made him feel very uncomfortable.

He silently gritted his teeth.

If he hadn't had a miraculous second chance at life... the current refugees would be the same fate as his fellow villagers.

He San Tie couldn't help but want to do more, and earnestly requested, "Your Highness, my salary... once we get to the city, please convert it into silver and rice to set up a soup kitchen."

"No rush." ​​Qi Chengming raised his hand and pressed it down. He didn't even bother to eat his meal. He put down the pancake, feeling that something was strange, and pondered it.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Song asked with a suspicious look, keenly sensing the new emperor's hesitation.

Qi Chengming glanced at his trusted confidants. He didn't consider himself the smartest or most experienced. No one else raised any objections, perhaps he was just being paranoid. But having just returned to the capital, Qi Chengming wasn't afraid of nothing happening; he was just worried about being careless.

He asked, "Why do these refugees continue to follow us?"

"Wasn't the previous disaster relief tent enough to feed them? Weren't the disaster relief tents outside Beijing enough for them to share?"

"This..." Xiao Dezi was speechless for a moment. The group exchanged glances and became alert.

yes.

If you're just looking for food, stopping at the previous relief point is fine. If you're worried about not being able to get any or if you want to go to the capital with them, these new relief points along the way in the suburbs of Beijing are sufficient.

The refugees, drawn by the aroma of their mutton, said they were starving and reluctant to leave. So why not go and eat the porridge being served in the shed in front of them? What are they waiting for to linger here?

"Be careful of riots by displaced people, and don't let their greed get the better of you," Qi Chengming warned in time.

There were many kind-hearted people in their group who cared for the common people; they shouldn't let this encourage the unrest. Fortunately, they were a large and imposing group, and they were flying the prince's banner, so the refugees didn't dare to act recklessly, but only followed along hoping to gain some benefits.

But after they pass, caravans or large merchant groups traveling this route should be careful not to be scammed by them.

"Yes." Everyone bowed their heads in unison, and Xiao Dezi solemnly decided to go and say a few words to Commander Mao later.

That's how it ends tonight.

Qi Chengming hadn't expected that he was still a bit naive.

The next day, when the grand procession entered the capital and settled their belongings in the newly bestowed Prince Rui's Mansion by the Emperor, Qi Chengming went to the palace to express his gratitude...

I heard that at the morning court session that day, many officials impeached Prince Rui for having ulterior motives and for trying to win over the hearts of the refugees along the way.

Qi Chengming: "...?"

Well... so this was the trap waiting for him.

The strange feeling he had on the way—the huge weight in his heart finally lifted, and Qi Chengming breathed a sigh of relief first.