The effects of the floods are not yet over, with heavy losses occurring at the southern intersection of Jingdong Road and Hebei Road.
As August arrived and rainfall gradually decreased, people returned to their hometowns under the organization of the government and began to rebuild their homes.
A large amount of disaster relief funds were allocated to Hebei Road and Jingdong Road.
However, a large number of people who fled south did not return. Some moved to Jingji Road, some went south to Liangzhe Road, and some even entered the prosperous Jinghu Road.
The large-scale migration of people from the north to the south quickly exposed social conflicts.
First, grain prices in Jiangling Prefecture and Hangzhou Prefecture rose to some extent, and then a major conflict arose between locals and outsiders.
The shortage of rental properties has led to an increase in rents, which has harmed the interests of those who were originally renting.
Moreover, the industrial structure is not commensurate with the influx of population, leading to an increase in unemployed people in some areas, which in turn has triggered some public security problems.
In short, several major cities in the south have experienced this growing pain.
On September 15th, a shocking tragedy occurred in Jiangling Prefecture: a family that had just moved south from Jingdong Road to Jiangling was wiped out, with the husband, wife, and three children all killed.
The murderer was a local thug.
The reason was that after they entered Jiangling Prefecture, they quickly found a job in the trading company. The husband could earn two strings of cash a month, and the wife could earn one string of cash a month by weaving cloth in the embroidery workshop.
Such a family income is already quite considerable for ordinary people, after all, a family only needs a maximum of fifty coins to eat their fill in a day.
The monthly food allowance was only 1,500 coins, leaving 1,500 coins to do other things.
They thought they would have a happy life after moving here, but they never expected to lose their lives.
This incident was written on the front page by a staff member of the official gazette, and it immediately caused a sensation in Jiangling Prefecture.
Soon, the matter reached the capital.
The incident escalated to the capital because someone reported that Zheng Min, the prefect of Jiangling, had hired someone to kill a man named Gu Qingshan from the Imperial Gazette.
The person wasn't killed; they were rescued by the Imperial City Guard.
The case quickly escalated from a family annihilation case into a major case involving a prefect.
It should be noted that the prefect of Jiangling Prefecture is a very high-ranking official, equivalent to a fourth-rank official, a high-ranking local official!
The scandalous act of hiring someone to commit murder was not immediately published in the official gazette, but was instead presented to the emperor in the form of a memorial.
Now the people in the Council of State Affairs are having trouble sleeping again.
In the past five years, solving the food problem has been the top priority of the imperial court, and the key to food security lies in the south, with the Jinghu region being of paramount importance.
It not only has the fertile Jianghan Plain, but also a network of lakes.
Both rice and wheat can be grown, and both fishing and mining are highly developed.
Moreover, the area is well-connected, which naturally led to a thriving commercial sector.
Just look at the taxes paid last year; Jinghu Second Road ranked second only to Jingji Road and Liangzhe Road.
Zheng Min was Xu Churen's confidant and was known as a capable official in the Song Dynasty.
After this happened, Xu Churen rushed into the palace that very night.
He was going to tell the emperor that someone was behind all of this.
It must be Liu Yanzong!
Xu Churen pictured Liu Yanzong's face in his mind and wished he could strangle him.
This Liu Yanzong is getting more and more outrageous. He won't behave unless we teach him a lesson!
He planned to expose Liu Yanzong in front of the emperor.
But as soon as he stepped into Zhao Huan's study, he heard Liu Yanzong's voice: "Your Majesty, I dare to speak frankly, but this matter may have implicated the Grand Chancellor. Please allow me to investigate thoroughly!"
"Liu Yusi is spouting nonsense!" Xu Churen rebuked Liu Yanzong angrily as soon as he finished speaking.
Liu Yanzong, always thick-skinned, became even more smug upon seeing Xu Churen: "Grand Chancellor Xu, this matter will be clear upon investigation!"
"Liu Yusi, in my opinion, this matter must have been orchestrated by you, Liu Yusi, behind the scenes!"
"You flatter me, Grand Chancellor. I am in charge of the judiciary on behalf of the Emperor, which has nothing to do with civil affairs, let alone Jiangling Prefecture!" Liu Yanzong said with an honest and kind face. "I am not targeting you, Grand Chancellor. I am only acting in accordance with the law for the sake of Your Majesty's country and the nation, and I have no personal feelings involved!"
"It's obvious that you, Liu Yusi, want to plant your own people in Jiangling Prefecture!"
Liu Yanzong's eyes gleamed with cunning: "Grand Chancellor, the deed is done. Please do not try to divert attention. The Censorate should immediately open a case and investigate the murder-for-hire case in Jiangling Prefecture! The Emperor is wise. If Grand Chancellor Xu is truly uninvolved in this matter, he will not blame you!"
What Liu Yanzong really meant was this: The Emperor is wise and sagacious! Xu Churen's secret instigation of his subordinates to murder the officials of the Song Dynasty's official gazette is a grave crime of deceiving the Emperor!
Xu Churen was too lazy to continue arguing with Liu Yanzong. He said to Zhao Huan with a rather tragic expression, "Your Majesty, please allow me to personally go to Jiangling Road to thoroughly investigate this matter!"
"Prime Minister Xu is already advanced in years. How could I bear to let him go through all this trouble? I will personally have someone thoroughly investigate this matter!"
Liu Yanzong quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I will depart for Jiangling Prefecture immediately. If this matter is not thoroughly investigated, I will offer my head in retribution!"
Zhao Huan said, "There's no need to trouble Liu Yusi. This matter involves the Imperial Gazette of the Great Song Dynasty, so let Shi Ziming handle it. I will have the Court of Judicial Review assist him!"
The emperor's meaning was simple: Liu Yanzong, just keep an eye on officials of the sixth rank and above. Why are you making such a fuss over the death of a mere official in charge of the imperial gazette? Have you forgotten your place?
Zheng Min hired someone to commit murder, but there is no evidence whatsoever. Am I to punish my high-ranking official because of a baseless accusation?
Or do you want to turn this matter into a major case that will shock the court?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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