Chapter 106: Plum Blossoms 16: Now that the matter is settled, I will take you to see my grandmother...

As soon as Song Yanze submitted his memorial, local authorities reported a civil uprising.

In the border areas of Jiangnan Province, refugees who could not make a living had formed groups and specifically hid on the roads where the government's disaster relief grain was being transported to rob the grain.

The civil uprising made the situation in Jiangnan Province even more complicated. As soon as the morning court session began, the emperor on the throne threw down an urgent document in his hand.

"Is this the result of what you have been saying you have done for the country and the people?"

"Civil uprising!"

"The imperial envoy has been sent, money, grain and rice have been allocated, what is going on?"

In the hall, all the ministers knelt down and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, calm down."

Song Yanze stepped out at this moment, holding a memorial in his hand, and said loudly to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to make."

The emperor naturally knew what it was. The drum for hearing the news was near the Imperial Censorate, and of course it would also be near the Imperial City. The memorial submitted also made it very clear.

There is only a difference between submitting a report and making a memorial during a meeting.

After Song Yanze finished speaking calmly, Jingzhao Yin was the first to attack, for the same reason.

It is not in accordance with the rules for the Censorate to take the person away for questioning first.

This time Yu Zhu spoke up for him.

"Procedures and rules are important, but aren't the things Lord Song asked important?" Yu Zhu rarely spoke in court meetings, but this time he came out from the very beginning to support Song Yanze.

"The price of rice is too high, and the landlords are taking advantage of this to annex land. The people are forced to leave to buy food to save the people, but they are arrested by the government and executed in the name of your majesty."

Yu Zhu's last sentence touched the emperor's nerves. He threw the memorial at hand and became angry.

"Well, if this continues, I will become an unkind king and father."

Song Yanze's skills in this area could not be compared with those old foxes. With just a few words, the emperor's position immediately tilted towards them.

"Mr. Li, what do you think?"

The emperor has spoken, and the person sent is Ji Bai, a disciple of Liu Yi, and can be considered a member of Li Heng's party.

Li Heng knelt down and apologized: "Your Majesty, the disaster was caused by the Sanjiang dam bursting. This disaster should not have happened. No one could have predicted it, and no one was prepared."

"I have read all the letters Ji Bai submitted to the cabinet. He is also unable to cope with the situation in Jiangnan Province."

"The dam burst, this is the first thing to be solved. Ji Bai went there and immediately sent people to block the breach, but he didn't expect..."

Song Yanze frowned. That's right. In the final analysis, this matter was not a problem on Li Hengdang's side, but should be attributed to the Sanjiang Dam.

"I didn't expect that just after I blocked the hole, there would be another breach somewhere else."

"This greatest disaster has not yet passed. How can we appease people's hearts and arrange all matters?"

The emperor sat back in his chair with a gloomy face, turned to look at the prince, and then looked directly at the Minister of Works Qian Huan.

"This is the dam you built with the warships."

Qian Huan immediately knelt down and cried out that he was innocent.

The situation was unclear, Qian Huan was in the wrong, and he had no evidence to prove that he had reinforced the dam. He couldn't admit that he didn't repair it properly at first, but then fixed it.

"Since you are unable to cope with both of us..." The emperor sneered and glanced at everyone in the hall.

"Then send another imperial envoy."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent.

The people of Li Heng's party cannot go, otherwise they will not be able to bear the consequences if there are any problems later, and the emperor will not allow them to be sent again. The people of the prince's party are eager to know the story behind the Sanjiang dam, but the Li Heng party has the upper hand in the local area.

Those who hold a moderate view cannot go, as it is clear that there is a party struggle. If they go, they will be unwelcome on both sides and will lose their lives there.

Song Yanze took a deep breath and bowed.

"I am willing to go."

Jiang Tingyuan was mentally prepared, but when it really came to this, he couldn't help but curl his fingers.

Yu Zhu sighed softly and looked at the young man kneeling under the throne.

The scarlet patch on his official robe was like a wild goose flapping its wings, just like this fearless young man who was more aggressive than those old guys who were immersed in officialdom.

He doesn't care about life or death, and he does things even though he knows they are impossible.

The emperor did not reply. He just glanced at the people in the hall and asked in a deep voice, "My dear ministers, who else is willing to go?"

In his early years, he was negligent in government affairs and let things go. Now, he is the only minister in the court who dares to fight for a way out between the two factions.

He doesn't care about political parties, who works for whom, or even how much money he makes.

But we can't mess things up, extend our hands to him to make money, and then smear his face.

The emperor lowered his eyes to look at Song Yanze who was kneeling alone in front of the hall, waved his sleeves and shouted: "Approved!"

"Promoted to Governor of Jiangnan, and ordered to supervise the work."

At the farewell pavilion, Song Yanze thought that no one would come to see him off, but he did not expect that Prince Xuan and Yu Zhu were both standing there with their hands behind their backs.

Song Yanze did not bring Lianxin with him. He simply packed his luggage, wore a cloth robe and carried a bag on his back. Lianxin was so angry that she locked herself in the room and ignored him.

Song Yanze dismounted, took the farewell wine poured by the two and drank it all.

"Master Xiao Song, do you have any plans in mind for this trip?"

If you want to do something, you have to find out the situation first, and you have to investigate all the three government offices clearly.

The Fansi Yamen was in charge of civil affairs and people's livelihood, the Neisi Yamen was in charge of criminal justice, and the Dusi Yamen was in charge of public security. Above the three yamen were the frontier governors and governors-general, who controlled the military forces of a province.

We also need to ask Ji Bai, the newly-assigned imperial envoy, about where the people in charge of building the dam are being held at the river administration office.

But before that, the most important thing was to stop the people who were about to be beheaded and to check the condition of the river embankment.

Yu Zhu heard that he knew what was going on and didn't say much, but just patted him on the shoulder.

"Be careful on your way here. The news will spread faster to the local area than you will. Try to hide your identity if necessary."

Song Yanze understood that this was a reminder to him that he might encounter danger on the road.

"Although Ji Bai is a member of Li Heng's party and has a strong scholarly air, he is not like those old officials. Sir Xiao Song should be careful."

Song Yanze bowed, thanked the two men, mounted his horse, and set off with his bag on his back.

The further he went from the capital, the more Song Yanze missed Jiang Tingyuan. After the court meeting, he was going to meet the emperor, and they missed each other and couldn't meet...

The grass and trees on both sides are lush, it is already the lush scene of late spring and early summer. The horse's hooves step on the shallow grass, and there is also the smell of grass and trees in the wind.

Song Yanze withdrew his gaze sadly, took a deep breath, snorted lightly, and spurred his horse forward.

Near the outskirts of Kyoto, there was a small mound of earth. Song Yanze glanced over and saw a chestnut horse tied to a tree, eating grass with its head down.

Song Yanze's heart beat faster unconsciously, and he really saw a person standing under the tree. His hair was not neat, and there was sweat on his forehead. He was holding the red tassel of the goose feather at his waist and looking straight at him.

"How did you..."

Song Yanze hurriedly reined in his horse and dismounted with his bag on his back, but before he could stand firmly, he was hugged by Jiang Tingyuan. Jiang Tingyuan reined in his horse and held him in his arms, lowering his head and resting it on his shoulder, so that Song Yanze could not see his expression.

"Be careful. I have left someone to escort you. Give me some time, and I will come to find you."

Song Yanze grabbed his hand and hugged him back, hearing the suppressed uneasiness in his voice.

"I'll be fine. Take care of yourself in Kyoto and don't worry about me."

Jiang Tingyuan took a deep breath and sighed slowly: "I really don't want you to go."

He looked at Song Yanze and reached out to touch the wooden hairpin on his head.

"That night, you said that if I raided your house and beheaded you, you would be with me."

"Then remember, if anything happens to you, husband and wife are one, and so am I."

Song Yanze responded with a smile and took his hand: "It's settled. I'll take you to see my grandmother."

Jiang Tingyuan's face froze, and Song Yanze thought he was afraid of being beaten, so he comforted him softly: "I won't let you suffer any injustice."

Jiang Tingyuan coughed lightly, then thought of something and said to him slowly, "You asked me about Tingyan before. Do you still miss him now?"

Song Yanze didn't understand why he suddenly brought this up. "Of course, have you heard about him?"

Jiang Tingyuan looked down into his eyes and hesitantly touched his cheek: "I'll tell you when we meet again."

"Be careful."

There were soldiers guarding in front of the Governor's Mansion, and there were soldiers guarding everywhere in the government office. They were all wearing armor and had weapons at their waists.

In the conference room, Yu Ying sat at the front row, his official robe and hat placed next to him, and in front of him was the appointment document of the Ministry of Personnel with red approval.

Sitting on the left and right of the hall were Qiu Yi, the Censor of the Neisi Yamen, and Fang Yifeng, the Right Governor of the Fansi Yamen.

"Song Yanze..."

"This time I asked someone I know to come."

Fang Yifeng's hands trembled, hiding the strange expression on his face, and he remained silent.

Qiu Yi did speak up. "He has been in the Censorate for only half a year, and he has turned the entire Ministry of Revenue upside down."

"That Ji Bai is easy to deal with, but this one is not."

Yu Ying leaned back in his chair, tapping the table with his fingers, looking at Fang Yifeng who had remained silent in the hall.

"Master Fang? It's a critical moment, why are you still distracted?"

Fang Yifeng's face turned pale. He bowed and apologized without saying anything.

Yu Ying snorted and laughed: "Master Fang, why do you have to act like this? If he finds out anything, no one here will be able to escape unharmed."

"If we ruin Lord Li's plan, that would be a big deal."

Qiu Yi personally stood up and poured him some tea, then said to him calmly, "Now that things have come to this, please consider your sister-in-law more."

"Kill those people in prison as soon as possible. There is no time to delay."

Yu Ying ignored Fang Yifeng and thought for a while before asking Qiu Yi.

"Where are those rioting refugees?"

Qiu Yi immediately understood: "Activities on the official road, especially..."

"On the official road from Kyoto to the province."

Yu Ying nodded slightly: "It seems that we need to keep an eye on the movements of this imperial envoy so that we can make preparations early and fulfill our duty as a good host."

Song Yanze did not try to hide his whereabouts while walking on the official road. Occasionally, when he went to the post station to rest, he could hear people asking around and talking about him, the newly appointed imperial envoy.

Along the way, he could feel that there was someone escorting him secretly. Song Yanze knew that it was arranged by Jiang Tingyuan, so he felt more at ease and did not go out of his way to look for them.

Once in Jiangnan, he couldn't expose their existence, otherwise how could he induce those who were ready to make moves to take action?

Song Yanze drank two bowls of tea, then left the teahouse with his bag on his back, pulling the horse that was resting on the side and continued on his way. In the teahouse behind him, a servant looked up in the direction he was walking, and immediately walked back.

The boy thought he was hiding, but two men in plain clothes saw everything clearly.

The daylight gradually dimmed, and they would arrive after passing this post. Song Yanze whistled a soft chord, tightened the reins, and urged the horse forward.

The next moment the horse knelt down. Song Yanze was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, but he reacted and rolled down to avoid being kicked by the horse's hooves.

This move was taught by Jiang Tingyuan. I don’t know if all those who practice martial arts have this problem. Brother Xiaoyan and he would ask him to practice boxing and kicking when they have nothing to do.

Song Yanze held the package tightly. Although he looked a little embarrassed, he managed to stand up straight.

A group of people suddenly appeared. Their clothes looked rough and tattered, and each of them had a knife in his hand.

"Are you coming from Kyoto?"

Song Yanze glanced at their feet and observed silently. These people looked like refugees who had become bandits, but their movements were in unison and steady, more like soldiers.

This is also what Jiang Tingyuan told him. He also specially observed Jiang Tingyuan for a few days and found that he did retain some habits from the army, which could be discovered through careful observation.

"So what if it is, so what if it isn't?"

"Yes, I will trouble the Imperial Envoy to go down and see the King of Hell."

Song Yanze looked surprised and panicked, and spoke hurriedly in a cold voice.

"You are all civilians. Why do you have to go against the government? I came here to give you a way to survive."

"What is it..."

Before he finished speaking, several people looked at each other, as if to confirm, and immediately raised their knives and went forward to chop.

The expression on Song Yanze's face became serious, he sneered, and retreated half a step. The blade was about to chop towards him, but was knocked away by an Embroidered Spring Sword when it was just a short distance away from him.

Xuan Qing knelt down and saluted: "Master Xiao Song."

Song Yanze straightened his robes, waved his hand and said coldly: "Leave only one alive and take him back for interrogation."

Xuan Qing was stunned for a moment and almost thought it was an order from Jiang Tingyuan.