Gu Yuzhi, who always listened to Shu Xiaohan, straightened his expression and said, "It's not unfair at all!"

He looked at Shu Xiaohan and said, word by word, "I'm not innocent!"

Shu Xiaohan then stopped smiling, opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

This was a completely unfamiliar side of Gu Yuzhi, one that Shu Xiaohan had never seen before.

Shu Xiaohan continued, "Teacher Shu said he was wronged because he was timid, Gu Yufan looked down on those things, and didn't help him."

Chief Secretary Xie said that the prefect of Yunzhou was corrupt and unfit to serve as a prefect.

So once this matter is settled, even if the prefect of Yunzhou is not dismissed from his post, he can at most become a minor county magistrate.

Gu Yuzhi was naturally dissatisfied with this outcome, and his eyes dimmed considerably: "But what if Gu Yufan gave him some benefits?"

Following Gu Yuzhi's words, Shu Xiaohan naturally understood why Gu Yuzhi was so angry.

If Gu Yufan gave Qin Duan benefits, Qin Duan would naturally not give up this opportunity to climb the ladder, so he would try every means to make money.

Exorbitant taxes, corruption, bribery, and the abduction of women will only intensify.

Although Yunzhou is located in Jiangnan, where crops are generally harvested twice a year, and the people there are not as destitute as those in Qingzhou, their lives are certainly not easy...

Thinking of all this, Shu Xiaohan shuddered and looked at Gu Yuzhi with a guilty look in her eyes: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I didn't think about it much before."

She tapped her head in frustration, then sighed and looked down.

As a successful researcher, Shu Xiaohan naturally had excellent academic performance from childhood to university; otherwise, she would not have been able to enter the research institute.

But for some reason, at this moment, she began to doubt her own intelligence.

How could someone say something so brainless?

She was annoyed, but Gu Yuzhi didn't have time to pay attention to her at the moment. Looking at Qin Duan, who was kowtowing incessantly outside the screen, Gu Yuzhi's little face was full of anger.

But he kept Xie Changshi's words in mind and knew he couldn't act rashly at this time, otherwise he would lose Yunzhou as an ally.

He glared at the man who kept begging for mercy and said reluctantly, "Get up first. We'll talk about your matter later."

He just said he'd talk about it later, and he definitely didn't mean he'd let him off the hook.

However, Qin Duan, who was in extreme fear, did not understand the meaning behind Gu Yuzhi's words. He kowtowed repeatedly to express his gratitude, and soon a large bump swelled up on his forehead. Some parts of the bump were scraped and were bleeding slightly.

The prefect of Ningzhou glanced at the screen without making it obvious, and sighed inwardly.

He naturally understood the meaning behind Prince Wen's words.

Because Ningzhou and Yunzhou are adjacent, the two had worked together to fight the disaster when Jiangnan was flooded.

Thinking that Qin Duan might face imprisonment in the future, the prefect of Ningzhou sighed inwardly.

Only then did Chief Secretary Xie speak up, saying, "Alright. Since His Highness has said we'll talk about it later, you should get up and sit down."

The most important thing now is to stabilize the situation in Jiangnan before the Emperor's decree reaches the region, so that the army can proceed smoothly to the front lines and rescue the Duke of Qi from his predicament.

Qin Duan was afraid that the young prince would be angry because he was a little slow, so he hurriedly got up, sat obediently in the chair, hunched his shoulders, and drooped his head, showing no sign of the demeanor a prefect should have.

Once everyone outside the screen had fallen silent, Chief Secretary Xie continued, "I presume you all already know about His Majesty's latest edict? What are your thoughts?"

These three江湖人士 (jianghu figures) were naturally less sensitive to matters of the imperial court than those in officialdom.

So the three of them exchanged a glance and all tacitly kept their mouths shut.

Qin Duan, feeling guilty, dared not speak.

This important task immediately fell to the prefect of Ningzhou.

He sighed softly, stood up, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Highness, I believe that the King of Chu..."

As soon as the words "King of Chu" were uttered, the prefect of Ningzhou clearly noticed that the heir of Qi was looking at him with hostility.

He quickly realized what he was saying and changed his words, saying, "It is the commoner Gu Yufan..."

Although the emperor's edict was on its way, for these low-ranking officials who had long been under the control of the Prince of Chu, it was simply impossible for them to immediately associate the word "criminal" with the Prince of Chu and call him out directly.

Prince Qi slowly withdrew his gaze, and the prefect of Ningzhou continued, "Gu Yufan has left Jiangnan, so shouldn't Your Highness send troops to take over Jiangzhou?"

As for Yangzhou, the prefect of Ningzhou did not dare to speak, because he did not know how much information His Highness Prince Wen had.

After all, Fan Qiu is not like them; he has only been here for a little over a year. If he were to mention Fan Qiu at this time, it would give the impression that he wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate dissidents.

A hint of surprise flashed in Gu Yuzhi's eyes. He turned to look at Chief Secretary Xie, who nodded slightly at him and then asked, "Do you have a corresponding plan?"

The prefect of Ningzhou closed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself that he knew this matter was not so simple.

Before entering the manor, he had already asked the three people, including the owner of Tianquan Manor, what Prince Wen and his entourage had been doing during the days they had been there. He naturally understood that Prince Wen and his entourage must have a plan.

Asking them now is just a way to get them to offer to help.

However, since he has already come to Huizhou, it can be considered that he has made his position clear.

He said softly, "On my way to Huizhou, I sent people to deliver messages to the prefects of Huzhou and other places. If nothing unexpected happens, the prefects of Junzhou and Lizhou should also be on their way."

These prefects had all been in Jiangnan for almost ten years, and they knew each other's personalities very well.

When the King of Chu was in power, he valued the most economically developed cities of Jiangzhou, Yangzhou, and Huizhou, followed by Shenzhou and Huzhou. He had little control over the other cities and prefectures.

After all, even five fingers can be of different lengths, so it's normal that the other states don't receive the same attention.

This also led to the prefects of these states being relatively honest.

Compared to the prefect of Yunzhou, the crimes committed by these individuals are even less significant...

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Xie Changshi with a face full of surprise.

Previously, we were thinking of having Yunzhou and Ningzhou surround the remaining two prefectures, but now the prefect of Ningzhou has brought such good news!

Gu Yuzhi was secretly pleased with himself, thinking that if what the Ningzhou prefect said was true, then wouldn't they have the fighting strength of four more prefectures?

The four prefectures each have two thousand city guards, Shenzhou and Huzhou each have one thousand, while their four thousand city guards are all sent to Jiangzhou and Yangzhou!

In that case, their chances of winning would be much greater!