"Ten days have passed, and the court has not yet sent any food."
In Beiguan City, several officials guarding the City Affairs Office had solemn expressions on their faces.
One of them sighed and said, "Fortunately, there is food collected from the city and the Wasteland State, otherwise the Northern Army would be facing the risk of starvation now."
"……Why!"
The officers and soldiers in the north complained bitterly, and were secretly dissatisfied with the inaction of the imperial court.
The people in areas surrounding the capital, such as Pingzhou, were also complaining bitterly.
He didn't dare to say anything in front of the court officials, but in private he cursed Emperor Xiaoming on the dragon throne countless times.
Many elderly people sighed to the younger generations who knew nothing about the past at home, "If the late emperor were still alive, the situation would not be like this now. Back then, there were also natural disasters and foreign invasions in the north and west."
"The late emperor personally led the army to fight and defeated Xiliang. They cried bitterly and ceded ten cities to us, Dayong."
"What about the northern barbarians?" The young children asked curiously as they listened to the old man's stories.
"The Northern Barbarians... The late emperor led his troops all the way from Yueheng Mountain to the Northern Pass, which is now the border. Although the barbarians are strong, they are scattered. The late emperor defeated them tribe by tribe and drove them all back to their grasslands. In order to seek peace, the Northern Barbarian Chanyu even sent his only son to Dayong as a hostage."
"Wow!" The children who were listening to the story had stars twinkling in their eyes.
It is hard to imagine that the ferocious and cruel barbarians would actually be afraid of Dayong.
"The late emperor was really capable!"
"That's not all." The old man stroked his gray beard and continued, "After the war, the late emperor personally visited the people to comfort those affected by the war or disaster. In addition, he also sent agricultural officials to teach us how to make crops grow better..."
"What about taxes?" some clever children asked curiously.
Suffering from natural disasters and war.
Should taxes also be increased?
Just like now...
"No, no." The old man waved his hand quickly. "I don't know about other places, but when there was a drought in Pingzhou, the late emperor ordered the exemption of grain taxes for the whole year! He also sent soldiers from the capital to help Pingzhou build canals! It was because of this that although there was a severe drought that year, there were almost no deaths in Pingzhou."
When talking about the late emperor, the old man's eyes were full of reverence.
The children who were listening to the story around all had respect in their eyes.
"If only the late emperor were still alive..."
"Yes, it would be nice if the late emperor were still alive."
In the house, the old man and the child were filled with emotion.
Outside the house, there were sudden bursts of shrill screams.
It turned out that several families in the village were unable to pay the increased grain tax, so the soldiers broke into their yards and stole all the remaining food in the houses.
"These are not soldiers, they are clearly bandits!"
"Oh my God, you are not leaving us any chance to survive!"
Such situations are common in Pingzhou and several nearby states.
When survival becomes impossible, people no longer care about the imperial laws, and conflicts between officials and the people occur almost every day. In just a few days, not much grain was collected, but the number of civilians killed by the officials exceeded two dozen hands.
The news was reported back to Beijing.
During the court session, Mr. Xiang, the Left Censor-in-Chief, impeached several officials who were responsible for collecting grain in Pingzhou.
Among them was Jinyang Hou Chen Yu, who had recently found a way to leave the capital and go to Pingzhou to guard and repair the summer palace. I don't know whether he wanted to show off in front of the emperor, or the Pingzhou governor deliberately wanted to shift the blame to him.
In short, he was one of the people responsible for collecting grain this time.
However, he was only a deputy, and the chief officer in charge of this matter was from the Ling family. Considering the relationship, he is the cousin of Concubine Ling.
"Natural disasters have occurred frequently in recent years, and it coincides with wartime, which is a time when people's hearts are unsettled. Lord Ling and Lord Shen are still acting in this way, which is clearly pushing the court to the opposite side of the people."
"Now the troops stationed in the north are fighting hard on the front line to protect the mountains and rivers of Dayong and the people of Dayong. The people they protected with their lives died at the hands of our own soldiers... If this matter spreads, I don't know how disheartened the border soldiers will be, and I don't know what the people of the world will think."
"Lord Ling, Lord Shen must be severely punished. Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Xiao Ming was speechless.
He also knew that he had to give an explanation for what happened in Pingzhou.
Otherwise, just like what the people in the Censorate said, it would make people all over the world feel disheartened. Emperor Xiao Ming didn't care whether he was heartbroken or not, but he was afraid that someone would use this as an excuse to create trouble and call on the people to revolt.
There have been precedents like this in history...
Finding a few scapegoats to calm the anger of the people of Pingzhou is naturally the best option at the moment.
However, this matter actually involves the cousin of the beloved concubine...
These people in the Censorate are really something, couldn’t they just submit the memorial in private first, why did they have to impeach during the court session?
Over the years, Emperor Xiaoming has become accustomed to subconsciously protecting Concubine Ling and the Ling family.
For a moment, I couldn't help feeling that I was in a dilemma.
Just when he was about to find an excuse to put the matter aside and discuss it later.
Pingzhou suddenly sent an urgent message.
Marquis of Jinyang died at the hands of a group of mobs who refused to pay grain taxes!
The whole court was in uproar.
Now no one really cares what to do with Concubine Ling's cousin.
Emperor Xiaoming straightened his expression and ordered, "Han You, the commander of the Shenshu Camp, listen to my orders."
"I will be here!"
"Pingzhou is close to the capital, and there must be no riot. I order you to lead a thousand elite soldiers to Pingzhou immediately to quell the riot."
…
The impeachment by the Censorate ultimately came to nothing.
Marquis Jinyang died, and the Lings were protected by Emperor Xiaoming.
The people in the Censorate were helpless against him.
After the court session, Jingzhao Yin Lian patted Xiang on the shoulder and said, "Brother Xiang, you were too reckless today... Think about what happened to Wei."
"If I think twice before the fact and allow treacherous officials to bully the people for my own safety, I will not be the censor!" Lord Xiang said, "At worst, I will be exiled to the North Gate like Brother Wei. It is a good thing that I can stay with Brother Wei in that cold place."
"You, even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your niece. It's freezing cold in the north, and your niece's body can't stand the cold." Lord Lian shook his head and persuaded. I thought to myself that these censors were all extremely honest.
Lord Xiang smiled and said nothing more. He knew that Lord Lian was giving him advice with good intentions, otherwise he would not have said so much to him.
But as he said, the world is already difficult now. If even the censors dare not remonstrate, wouldn't it be that Emperor Xiaoming will really allow treacherous ministers to bully the people and bring disaster to Dayong?
Return to the mansion.
Lord Xiang said to his wife, "Today I impeached the Ling family in the court."
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