Liu Tiefeng calmed down and said, "Your Majesty, the people of Kuqiao County have suffered greatly from this flood."
"After the disaster, the people waited anxiously for relief grain from the imperial court. But when the grain arrived, it was all moldy, stale rice and rice bran. I argued with my superiors that moldy rice could not be given to the victims, but my superiors refused to listen."
"My words are insignificant, but the moldy rice and rice bran were eventually boiled into porridge and distributed to the victims."
"The victims ate moldy rice, and many weak people became sick..." Liu Tiefeng's eyes were filled with tears.
"But even this kind of porridge was only eaten once a day. It was as clear as water, and many people died of illness and hunger."
"The villagers wanted to escape the famine, but they were worried that if the victims fled to other provinces, the true situation in Jiangxia Province would spread. So they sent people to guard the area and prevent people from fleeing."
[Humph, banning people from fleeing famine, this idea must have been thought up by the Jiang family father and son.]
Xia Miaoyuan clenched his fists and complained.
"Later, an epidemic broke out in our Kuqiao County. I applied to the officials for disaster relief money to treat the patients. But despite asking many times, I didn't get even a tael of silver!" Liu Tiefeng's fingers trembled as he suppressed his emotions.
"In a fit of rage, I tried to seek justice from the governor of Jiangxia Province, but the official threw 500 taels of silver at me, telling me to stop making trouble. He even threatened me that if I continued to make trouble, my life would be in danger."
[Alas, even if you find the Governor of Jiangxia Province, it's useless. He and Grand Tutor Jiang are old acquaintances. It's not an exaggeration to say they are like-minded.]
[I remember from the book that this governor's surname seemed to be Cai. He had long since become a patron of Grand Tutor Jiang, paying tribute annually and being very generous. In exchange, Grand Tutor Jiang used his power as the Minister of Personnel to arrange a lucrative position for him.]
Despite his extremely poor reputation and incompetence, Grand Tutor Jiang still appointed him as the Governor of Jiangxia Province.
[After Grand Tutor Jiang took control of the government, he directly transferred this Lord Cai to the capital and made him the Minister of Revenue.]
What? Grand Tutor Jiang has actually become so arrogant?!
Both Xia Zhengqi and the prince felt a tightness in their hearts.
"More and more people in Kuqiao County were infected with the disease. They were afraid that the disease would spread to Linxian County, so they took the patients away... and buried them alive. There were more than 10,000 people in our county, and more than 2,000 of them were buried alive!" Liu Tiefeng couldn't help but burst into tears when he said this.
[Ah... This is not human! This is simply a demon!]
[Grand Tutor Jiang and his corrupt officials, the Emperor must not let them go!]
Xia Miaoyuan was so angry that he glared and punched his fists.
Xia Zhengqi suppressed his emotions and patted Liu Tiefeng on the shoulder: "You have suffered. Besides Kuqiao County, do you know the situation in other counties?"
"My fellow villagers and I have asked relatives and friends, and the situation is the same in all the disaster-stricken areas in Jiangxia Province." Liu Tiefeng wiped his tears.
"Don't worry, I will uphold justice for you." Xia Zhengqi's eyes were firm.
By the time the prince and Liu Tiefeng finished talking about the situation in the disaster area, it was already dawn.
In order not to alert the enemy, Xia Zhengqi specially found a secluded courtyard in the palace and hid Liu Tiefeng and several representatives of the disaster victims there.
Secret guards were stationed there to protect their safety, while the Crown Prince temporarily lived in a secret room in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Late at night, in the Jiang Mansion, in Grand Tutor Jiang’s study, candlelight was dim.
Grand Tutor Jiang, Jiang Zhiyuan and Sun Chaogui were having a secret conversation in the study. At that time, the team sent by the court to escort the relief grain was still on the way back to Beijing. These three people secretly ran back early.
Sun Chaogui looked panicked: "Master, they made a mistake and let that troublemaker Liu Tiefeng escape."
"What? You can't even stop Liu Tiefeng. What are you all doing here?" Grand Tutor Jiang had a ferocious expression.
"It's the student's fault for not doing his job well. Please punish me, teacher." Sun Chaogui lowered his head, his tone timid.
"Punishment?! Do you think that by punishing you we can catch Liu Tiefeng?" Grand Tutor Jiang grabbed a cup and threw it at Sun Chaogui.
"Pa!" Blood was seen oozing from Sun Chaogui's forehead.
"Father, please calm down, or you'll get sick from anger." Jiang Zhiyuan advised gently.
"Hmph! If we really let Liu Tiefeng into the capital and tell the truth to the emperor, none of us will end up well!" Grand Tutor Jiang almost roared.
"Father, in my opinion, things haven't gotten that bad yet. We still have a way to remedy the situation." Jiang Zhiyuan supported Master Jiang and spoke slowly.
Jiang Zhiyuan is the eldest son of Grand Tutor Jiang. He is extremely intelligent and good at strategy. He has given Grand Tutor Jiang a lot of advice over the years.
Jiang Zhiyuan can be said to have made an indelible contribution to the current situation of Grand Tutor Jiang.
"Tell me about it." When Master Jiang heard his eldest son say that he had a solution, his eyes lit up and his anger instantly subsided by half.
"The reason my son said that is that things haven't gotten that bad yet. Firstly, we are not sure whether Liu Tiefeng has arrived in Beijing." Jiang Zhiyuan said indifferently.
"Secondly, even if he did arrive in the capital, as a mere county magistrate, he wouldn't have any connections, and it would be difficult for him to enter the palace and see the emperor in a short time."
"So we still have time to search for Liu Tiefeng's whereabouts and get rid of him." Jiang Zhiyuan picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"Now, my son has an idea to strike first. Even if we can't catch Liu Tiefeng, we can at least make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."
Jiang Zhiyuan looked at his father with confidence.
When Grand Tutor Jiang heard this, his frown finally relaxed.
Two days later, in the early morning, in the Golden Palace, civil officials and military generals stood on both sides, waiting for Xia Zhengqi.
Grand Tutor Jiang, Jiang Zhiyuan, and Sun Chaogui stood proudly in the front row.
This was their first time attending the morning court after completing their disaster relief mission.
At this moment, the three of them were fantasizing wildly about what reward Xia Zhengqi would give them in a while.
"Master Jiang, you have made great contributions to disaster relief this time!"
"Master Jiang, you are a hero to our Great Xia!"
"Master Jiang, you must have worked hard on this trip!"
Several officials who were good at flattery rushed to flatter Grand Tutor Jiang.
Grand Tutor Jiang smiled, twirled his beard, and nodded.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
A sharp eunuch's voice was heard in the hall, and all the ministers knelt down in unison, saluting and shouting "Long live the emperor!"
Xia Zhengqi walked over with Princess Anguo in his arms, taking square steps.
"My dear ministers, please stand up." Xia Zhengqi looked calm, neither happy nor angry.
"Master Jiang, you're back! You must have had hard work on the way here!" Xia Zhengqi looked at Master Jiang with a forced smile.
[It's such a bummer! Old Man Jiang has been on a business trip for the past two months, and he's probably been more comfortable than at home.]
[Look at his complexion, wow, his face is rosy, he seems to have gained weight again.]
[I guess he's being entertained by officials from all over the country every day?]
Xia Miaoyuan looked at Master Jiang standing below and complained.
"Your Majesty, that's not true. I, an old minister, will devote my life to Daxia. That is my duty." Grand Tutor Jiang raised his eyebrows proudly.
All the ministers cast envious glances at Grand Tutor Jiang.
"Grand Tutor Jiang, what was the result of this trip to Jiangxia Province to provide disaster relief? Grand Tutor Jiang, please tell me about it." Xia Zhengqi's voice was indifferent.
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