The young emperor's face was covered in dust, and his nostrils flared constantly, revealing his restlessness.
It was just a riot in a lower-ranking county, not enough to cause panic among the emperor.
He was more angry about being slapped in the face.
Where is Henan County?
This was the place where a civil uprising had once taken place. After the last rebellion was suppressed, the official system of Henan County was completely reorganized.
This is also the reason why the young emperor dared to transfer troops from Henan County to Guangde Prefecture.
Without those trouble-making officials holding them back, and with the people of Henan County being given land and exempted from taxes, what right would they have to rebel? How dare they rebel?!
The greed of mankind is like a snake swallowing an elephant! The untouchables are the untouchables!
The young emperor's face was as gloomy as water, and his cheek muscles bulged: "Tell me! What's going on!"
Henan County Governor Ding Ze described it in great detail in his memorial.
Heavy snow continued to fall in Henan County, and many houses were crushed by the snow. Two to three out of ten people froze to death.
When the heavy snow first started, people in Henan County did not take it seriously.
Since Kong Wei, the Tongpan of Henan County, was to lead his troops to Guangde Prefecture in accordance with imperial orders, it was natural that these tens of thousands of soldiers had to prepare food and fodder.
Even if the soldiers brought food from their homes, it was not enough.
The governor Ding Ze opened the Changping granary to supply military rations.
This operation was certainly against regulations, but neither the young emperor nor Grand Tutor Tong, nor Lord Li, seized upon this mistake.
Henan County was already poor, and the young emperor had his own ideas. He forced them to lead the troops out to fight without providing any food.
Ding Ze had no choice. If he didn't provide them with food, these tens of thousands of people would mutiny before they even walked three miles.
Master Tong glanced at the young emperor.
Young Emperor: "Go on."
"After heavy snow fell for ten consecutive days, the governor realized there was a risk of snow disasters, so he planned to take out all the remaining grain in the Changping warehouse for disaster relief. However, the heavy snow hindered transportation, and it was impossible to deliver grain to the towns except the county seat."
The provincial capital of Henan County is Xinzheng County. The situation in Xinzheng County is currently stable, while the fire broke out in Xingyang County.
As for why Henan County Governor Ding Ze was so desolate, of course it was because Henan County had no garrison.
That group of peasant rebels seemed to be on drugs. Not only did they send people to lead the towns and villages, they even developed tactics.
The yamen runners who were responsible for maintaining public order in the county were no match for this group of rebel soldiers.
By the time Henan County Governor Ding Ze wrote his memorial, the uprising in Xingyang County had only been going on for three days, and the entire Xing County had been captured.
The Minister of War immediately realized something was wrong: "Who is the leader? How come they have such strong fighting power?"
As for peasant uprisings, it’s not like he hasn’t suppressed them before.
They are just a bunch of rabble, and a little bit of profit can make them fall apart!
Ding Ze, the governor of Henan County, was promoted to the position of governor because of his outstanding performance in suppressing peasant uprisings.
Even if there were no defenders, he shouldn't have acted so panicked.
"It was Yang Lan! He was once a small leader in the civil unrest in the two counties of Hezhong and Henan. Later, he surrendered to the imperial court in time and donated money to become a military officer. When he was in charge of escorting the grain, the Yellow River flooded. Not only was the timing delayed, but the grain on the entire ship was damp and could no longer be used. He was thrown into prison and sentenced to death."
This kind of thing is very common.
Young Emperor: "Why did he come out of prison? And why did he return to Henan County?"
The person who answered had beads of sweat on his forehead and stammered, "I don't know exactly how he got out of the prison. I only know that Su Xuanming was imprisoned in the same prison as Su Xuanming."
This sentence was like a marble, rolling on the bricks and stones of the hall.
The crisp sound was so clear in the quiet hall.
The three words "Su Xuanming" touched the hearts of everyone present.
Especially the young emperor, a trace of nervousness flashed across his face at first, then his brows furrowed, the corners of his mouth twisted downwards, and his whole aura became suppressed and angry.
The same thought came to everyone present.
This is Duke Yun’s conspiracy!
Henan County is in danger!
Sure enough, the situation developed as they expected.
"Report! The governor of Henan County has reported urgently that Mi County has been lost!"
Before the ministers had time to discuss countermeasures, the second memorial from Ding Ze, the governor of Henan County, arrived.
Just three days after Yang Lan and his men captured Xingyang County, they captured Mi County.
At this time, their team had expanded to thousands of people.
The memorial stated that the first thing Yang Lan and his men did after entering the county town was to open the granaries and release grain.
Each person was limited to one dou of rice per day. At the same time, people were sent to take over the charcoal yard and supply firewood and charcoal at a low price and with limited purchases.
In addition, they also transformed the county government office into Futianyuan, provided straw mats, hemp quilts, and two meals of hot porridge every day.
Of course, this porridge cannot fill you up, but even just a few grains of rice are enough to give the hungry victims a sense of warmth in winter.
This time, the peasant uprising soldiers did not go on a rampage of smashing, looting and burning whenever they arrived in a county town, as they had done in the past.
On the contrary, relying on their strong self-control, they not only did not affect local life and production, but also assumed the functions and responsibilities that the government should have assumed.
One official couldn't help but sigh: "This style is really familiar."
Then, the person who spoke felt a chill all over, as if he was being stared at by a poisonous snake. He raised his head and saw the official staring at him viciously.
He lowered his head hastily, secretly hating himself for speaking too quickly. How could he not be familiar with it? Isn't this the Yunzhou style promoted in the Yunzhou Weekly?
From this perspective, the peasant uprising army was full of the shadow of Yunzhou.
If you say that this matter has nothing to do with Duke Yun, even a three-year-old child wouldn't believe it!
The Minister of War suggested to the young emperor that he should recall Li Sui and others who were sent to Hezhong County, and unite with the Henan County soldiers stationed in Guangde Prefecture to suppress the civil unrest in Henan County.
The young emperor refused to accept this suggestion: "I haven't seen any news about Duke Yun mobilizing troops on a large scale. If you want to overthrow the country with just a few peasants, it's nothing but a foolish dream!"
Seeing that the young emperor would not listen to advice, the other generals also felt that it was just a peasant uprising and there was no need to treat it as a major enemy. The Minister of War pursed his lips and wrote a private letter to the Tongpan of Xiangzhou, ordering him to step up vigilance.
If Henan County is lost, only Guang Defu and Xiangzhou will be able to defend the capital.
Nothing must happen again in these two counties!
News of the riot in Henan County also spread among the people of Kyoto.
On the long canal, there are constant ships coming and going, carrying grain from Kyoto to various places.
In recent days, food prices in Kyoto have also shown a subtle upward trend, but the increase has only been 3%, which has not had much impact.
Fuquan Teahouse has been doing much more prosperous business recently because it is willing to burn charcoal and the teahouse is very warm.
"I heard there was another riot in Henan County?"
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Didn't it happen last time? Last time, the scale was so large that it involved two counties, but it was also suppressed. This time, it's just two counties. Once Guangde Prefecture has time, suppressing the rebellion will be as easy as killing an ant." (End of this chapter)
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