Chapter 379 The People Are Too Dangerous
Lu Xueyin couldn't possibly agree to this condition, so if she didn't negotiate, she would have to fight.
However, now the prince is no match for Lu Xueyin.
The prince narrowed his eyes. "You want to rebel and kill the king? How will you face Chen Yang?" Lu Xueyin said, "I don't want to get to the point of no return with you." She said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, you may not believe it, but if you can make the people of the world live a good life, I am willing to be your subject. But..."
She took a deep breath and met his eyes without hesitation: "Your Highness, tell me yourself, will you do better than me?"
The prince choked suddenly.
Lu Xueyin said slowly, "When I first arrived in Yanquan County, I was robbed by mountain bandits. Soon after, we entered the city. The people there were living in misery. They were robbing homes, stealing, and robbing. It was the first time in my life that I knew of. Even asking for directions required money. I was determined to change the situation here, and I did it. I made it possible for the people there to live and work in peace and contentment, so that they could live a stable life and that their children could go to school."
The prince had never been there, so he couldn't imagine the situation in Yanquan County, but just by listening to Lu Xueyin's words, he could see how difficult it was back then.
Lu Xueyin continued, "I was quite proud at the time, thinking I was truly amazing. I had changed the lives of the people. But later, I realized that what I had done was far from enough. There were still many more people suffering, and all of this was due to the inaction of the court and the royal family."
She couldn't turn a blind eye to these refugees, so she started to provide disaster relief, she began to take in the refugees, and she began to rack her brains to buy more food and give them a place to live.
"At the beginning, I just wanted to let them survive." Lu Xueyin said.
She was forced to get to where she is today. In fact, her original wish was just to let the people live a stable life, nothing more.
The prince lowered his head. He had no way of refutating Lu Xueyin. He couldn't stay out of it, nor could he say that it had nothing to do with him, because he hadn't done well since he became the prince.
At least the thoughts he spent on it were different. When he was not the crown prince, he was thinking about how to plan for the crown prince's position, wash away the humiliation he suffered in the past, and want to be proud of himself.
When he became the crown prince, he began to pursue fame and fortune again and began to be wary of Lu Xueyin. Did he care about the people? Yes, but the people did not hold a high position in his heart. He had too many more important things, so the people had to take a back seat.
Lu Xueyin is not like that. No matter whether she is a county magistrate or a chancellor, in her heart, the people are always the most important.
"You can't do it, but I can." Lu Xueyin said, "Then why can't I?"
The prince had no way of answering this question. This was the first time Lu Xueyin had revealed her ambition. He knew that it was because they were alone now. Once outside this door, Lu Xueyin would not acknowledge a single word he had said. She would still be the loyal minister who loved the emperor and advocated for the people.
Lu Xueyin told him all this because of Lu Chenyang. She was willing to give him a way out for Lu Chenyang's sake and let him step down on his own initiative.
There are many examples of this in history. Weak emperors, faced with powerful opponents, would willingly give up the throne. Powerful ministers would refuse the first, second, and third time, and then "have to" agree to it in order to preserve their reputation.
This is just self-deception that everyone knows, but for thousands of years, people have enjoyed it.
All Lu Xueyin wanted was to play this game with the prince.
However, it seems that the prince is not very willing. But it doesn’t matter. Lu Xueyin didn’t expect to succeed in one go.
She decided to send someone to persuade him.
The prince pursed his lips and said, "If...if you assist me, I will also be a good emperor."
Lu Xueyin smiled, not knowing where his confidence came from.
The prince looked at her and said, "I know you have many complaints against me. If possible, I would also like to be a pure prince, wholeheartedly working for the welfare of the people. I am not a person who seeks pleasure, nor do I consider myself to be incompetent. I just don't have the opportunity."
Lu Xueyin said, "Opportunity? Did anyone give those people who died of starvation a chance? There is no chance for trial and error in this world anymore. The opportunity you want is built on the accumulation of countless lives."
She can do well, why give him a chance?
If he wants her to assist him, he also needs to see if he has the ability to make her willingly submit to him.
Obviously, the prince did not.
Lu Xueyin said, "Your Highness has traveled all the way and must have been exhausted. You should go back and rest first. We can discuss anything else another day."
Too many things happened today, and Lu Xueyin wanted him to go back and think about it.
The prince nodded and turned to leave.
When the prince left the house, he saw Du Yanxing waiting for him. The two brothers looked at each other, feeling that things had changed.
The prince felt that Yan Xing was not fully on his side and allowed Lu Xueyin to contact Peng Jiang, which made him feel a little resentful. This was mean to his family. He needed help, but his most trusted and closest family member was unwilling to help him.
Yan Xing said, "Let's go out for a walk. We haven't been out together for a long time."
The prince was silent for a moment and nodded.
In fact, the two brothers had a very good relationship before. Boys like to play with boys. Yan Xing has an outgoing personality, and no one dislikes him.
Unfortunately, too many factors later caused the two to drift apart.
Now the entire Lin'an Prefecture is under Lu Xueyin's control. All the relatives of the Yilin Army have been arrested, and the people are all excited.
There were many people on the street, and they were Lu's army distributing food and coal.
These people were not living well, and it was Lu Xueyin's fault. Peng Jiang had assumed Lu Xueyin would definitely beat him up, and a war was inevitable. So, for over a year now, he had been collecting taxes under various pretexts.
The people of Jizhou were living in misery, barely able to survive.
In fact, they all hoped that Lu Xueyin could defeat the Yilin Army. Now the Yilin Army has become the former imperial court, and they have also changed from victims to perpetrators.
After Lu Xueyin arrived, she took over Peng Jiang's granary and distributed the food to the people. As for the army, they were also busy and began to help build houses.
Jizhou's climate is very good. Even in winter, the temperature outside is not very low, so you can still work. However, it is very damp and cold inside.
Lu Xueyin had the soldiers help the people repair their houses, build roads, and now they were also building a school. Oh, and some of them were also raiding the homes of several generals of the Yilin Army.
The prince had never seen such a scene.
Yan Xing said: "I have seen such situations many times and seen many desperate people. I have even gotten used to it, watching them numbly move forward, just based on instinct to grab a bite of food. There are also corpses everywhere. On a road, you can see corpses every few steps. They died of starvation." His tone was flat, and life and death became normal in his mouth.
The prince frowned, he had never seen this before.
Yan Xing said: "Later she changed everything."
The prince was silent for a moment: "Are you here to lobby for her?"
Yan Xing shook his head: "I didn't, I just told you what I saw."
The entire Lin'an Prefecture was bustling with activity, and soldiers could be seen parading people through the streets. The common people were not afraid at all and just watched from the sidelines.
When the soldiers saw this, they did not drive them away or curse, but simply sent people to maintain order and keep a safe distance.
A child was squeezed out from the crowd. The little guy was wearing a lot of winter clothes and was a round ball. He rolled directly to the feet of the soldier.
The child's mother was startled. The soldier bent down and picked up the child. Looking at the little guy's chubby cheeks, he couldn't help but pinched it.
The little guy blinked his eyes and then started crying.
Soldier:"……"
The soldier looked around guiltily. Wasn't this considered oppressing the people?
The child's mother ran over and said, "I'm sorry, Master Jun. I'm sorry. My child is ignorant and has caused you trouble."
The soldier silently handed the child over and said, "Watch him. Don't let him run around." Then he couldn't help but quietly defend himself, "I... I didn't hit him."
The child's mother was startled for a moment, then quickly nodded: "It's the child who is timid, don't blame the general."
The soldier breathed a sigh of relief, now his innocence could be proven.
The soldiers set out again, escorting the prisoners, and did not dare to stop.
The people are in great danger, so he wants to return to the army. If the adults knew about this, they would think he was oppressing the people. Wouldn't that be unfair to him?
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