"Someone reported that Prince Ning was recruiting private soldiers on a large scale and training them in the West Mountain outside the city. The emperor wanted us to investigate privately and find out the truth before returning to Beijing," said Xiao Qingyun.

Su Shisan was shocked!

He never expected that Prince Ning would actually recruit private soldiers.

"Secretly raising soldiers, is he planning a rebellion?"

"In addition to the serious crime of secretly raising private soldiers, the other day, secret guards intercepted a carrier pigeon flying to the Quanrong outside Prince Ning's mansion."

Xiao Qingyun's face was gloomy, and he said coldly: "According to what is written in the letter, if his rebellion succeeds, he is willing to exchange ten cities for the Quanrong to help him secure his throne. If he fails, he hopes that the Quanrong will give him a place to stay. He will serve them wholeheartedly and help them attack Dayan."

“It’s simply shameless!”

Su Shisan gnashed his teeth in hatred. Their Su family had fought desperately to drive the Quanrong Army out of the border of Dayan.

This Prince Ning is so good, he actually wants to invite a wolf into the house?!

Xiao Qingyun said, "This matter involves a wide range of issues and must be thoroughly investigated. When did Prince Ning interact with the Quanrong? Did he do anything detrimental to our dynasty during the war between the two countries? All of this must be thoroughly investigated."

"Your Majesty is right."

Su Shisan nodded and continued, "Prince Ning chose the West Mountain outside the city as the location to hide his private soldiers. The West Mountain is close to the imperial city and is the most suitable place for them to move out to fight. He really made a good plan."

Xiao Qingyun sneered, thinking that Prince Ning recruited private soldiers and hid them for training, which was indeed a deliberate plan.

But he really looked forward to the day when the other party would lose everything.

After finishing the business, the two of them were quiet for a while.

Su Shisan suddenly asked, "Hey, how long have they been gone?"

Xiao Qingyun glanced at the clepsydra and said, "It's probably been two quarters of an hour."

The two looked at each other and hurried out of the house.

…

He Deshui and other officials waited day and night, and finally received the additional food and fodder from the court.

This time, no one dared to be careless. They first carefully checked it in the government office to make sure it was rice. Only then did they move it out to distribute to the people.

But after the last incident, the people have lost trust in the court.

The restless people are now like mobs and order cannot be maintained.

He Deshui was very worried. He was afraid that people would scramble for the relief food and cause collapse, stampedes and other accidents. He quickly asked someone to invite the Holy Maiden Lingzhi over.

Lingzhi is very prestigious among the people because of his role in preventing the flood last time.

When Lingzhi and Shen Yuchao arrived, they saw a long line of people queuing up to receive food.

Before the food distribution started, many people were already crowded and fighting each other, their faces flushed and their necks thick with anger.

The irritable people are like pots of kerosene. At this moment, even a tiny spark can completely ignite them.

Lingzhi quickly stepped onto the platform and reassured everyone, "Don't rush. Line up in an orderly manner to receive food. The government will distribute it monthly based on population, five liters per person, to ensure everyone gets a share!"

Someone in the crowd immediately recognized Lingzhi, "It's the Saint! The Saint is here!"

A woman shouted, "I believe the Saint's words. She wouldn't lie to us poor people. Let's get in line!"

"Fuck!"

Someone in the crowd immediately retorted excitedly, "That sounds good! It's five kilograms now, but what about in the future? Who knows, next time it might be three kilograms or even two kilograms. Will there ever be a day when the rice isn't even distributed anymore?"

The people began to complain: "Although the court keeps saying it will provide disaster relief, it's all talk and no action. The amount of relief grain allocated is already pitifully small, and after being plundered by officials at all levels, the amount that reaches us, the victims, is almost negligible."

"Yes, we gave all our rice to the children in the disaster area. Now we only have porridge mixed with water every day."

"There's not even a grain of rice left in my jar. We're so poor we can't even afford to eat."

“…”

"Everyone, rest assured. This Saint and the Regent will personally supervise the rice. Officials at all levels will not dare to embezzle it."

Lingzhi spoke to the people word by word, "I promise you, I will make sure you have enough to eat. Not only you, but everyone will have enough to eat in two days."

Shen Yuchao also stepped forward at this time and gave everyone another reassurance: "This time the court has sent us 200,000 dan of disaster relief grain. There is enough grain in the granary, so everyone can rest assured."

The two people's words made the people completely put aside their doubts. The crowd quickly calmed down and began to line up obediently.

Seeing that the crowd had stopped looting, He Deshui was overjoyed. He immediately took the record book and led the yamen runners to distribute the grain on the spot.

Seeing this, Lingzhi breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and saw Shen Yuchao looking at her.

The two looked at each other, Shen Yuzhao smiled slightly, and Lingzhi smiled back.

When Xiao Qingyun and Su Shisan arrived, they saw the eye-catching scene of the two smiling at each other.

Xiao Qingyun's face darkened immediately, and he quickly walked towards the two of them. Su Shisan followed behind him.

While the government distributed relief grain, it also set up porridge stalls to provide porridge.

Lingzhi then stood behind the soup kitchen without any hesitation, serving porridge to the refugees coming and going.

Under a wide shed, there were several large pots filled with rice porridge.

The rich fragrance floated in the air and filled the entire street.

Perhaps it was because of her presence that no one caused trouble anymore, the refugees here all had enough to eat, and some were even moved to tears.

"Now that we have enough to eat and have our share of food, our hard times are finally over."

"Yes, thank you, Saint!"

Lingzhi smiled and nodded to everyone, then handed a bowl full of rice porridge to the old man in front of her.

When I turned around to get the bowl, I found three empty bowls being handed to me at the same time.

She looked up and saw Xiao Qingyun, Su Shisan and Shen Yuchao all looking at her with burning eyes.

Lingzhi's mouth twitched slightly, and he didn't take anyone's offer. He took another empty bowl...

…

The flood control work did not stop. Xiao Qingyun, Su Shisan, Shen Yuchao and others seemed to have a strong energy and worked tirelessly to dig rivers and build dams.

They not only led officers, soldiers and civilians to repair the dikes within their jurisdiction, but also helped repair the dikes in other places.

With this speed of working day and night, the construction was completed ahead of schedule in just a few days.

After everyone's efforts, the breach in the dam was finally blocked, and the accumulated water in Wuyang Prefecture gradually receded. Everyone felt relieved.

The government distributed the food and clothing provided by the imperial court to the people, and the problems of food and clothing were basically solved.

When the food relief team arrived, they also brought some elite soldiers to assist in the reconstruction work in the disaster area.

The officers and soldiers joined forces with the local surviving people to rebuild their homes, forging iron to build houses, and laying bridges and roads.

At the same time, Lingzhi took some women to distribute anti-epidemic soups and burn mugwort everywhere, and used lime to thoroughly disinfect and sterilize all the ground, the front and back of the houses, and the livestock and poultry pens, leaving no dead corners.

Everyone cooperated with each other, and rescue, house building and epidemic prevention were carried out in an orderly manner.

The lives of the people gradually returned to normal, and the prestige of the saint Lingzhi among the people became higher and higher.

Wherever she went, the people would cheer excitedly when they saw her.