Chapter 117 Cultivating Li Yuanyou
The refugees, still clinging to a sliver of hope, surrounded the convoy, crying and pleading.
"Please, have mercy and give me some food! I'm starving!"
"We're not trying to cause trouble, we just want to eat!"
But as the Imperial Guards drew near, their spears almost piercing their chests, fear instantly overwhelmed their hunger.
Some timid refugees began to retreat, but the crowd was so dense that those behind them kept pushing forward, and for a time the pushing and shoving continued, with cries and curses mixed together.
An elderly woman, holding her dying grandson in her arms, was jolted by the chaotic crowd and fell to the ground.
The frail child let out a very faint cry, and then fell silent.
The surrounding refugees were in an uproar upon seeing this.
"Are you even soldiers of the imperial court? You bully the elderly and children!"
"While we were starving, you were riding in carriages, eating and drinking the finest things in the world!"
"This disaster relief is a complete sham! The imperial court doesn't care about our lives at all!"
Even worse, some shouted repeatedly, "Murder! Murder! The government's officers have killed someone!"
Amidst the angry shouts, several young and strong refugees, their eyes reddening, picked up stones and sticks from the ground and threw them at the Imperial Guards.
General He's eyes flashed with anger, and he brandished his sword, shouting, "You audacious scoundrels! How dare you attack government troops! This is tantamount to treason! Beat them!"
The soldiers immediately stepped forward and used the hilts of their swords to smash the rioting refugees, and screams of agony filled the air.
The chaos lasted for nearly half an hour. Under the force of the army, the refugees were finally driven to the wasteland on both sides of the official road.
Their clothes were tattered, some were beaten bloody, and some were crying in the arms of their injured relatives, their eyes filled with despair and anger.
Huang Wei was originally in Li Yuanyou's carriage, reporting on the specific arrangements and itinerary for this disaster relief effort.
He had barely said a few words when his subordinate rushed in, looking flustered, to report.
His heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly apologized to Li Yuanyou and got out of the car to rush to the front of the group.
Upon seeing the scene before him, Huang Wei felt his heart pound with fear and couldn't help but complain, "General He! Didn't I specifically tell you to just disperse them, and absolutely not to cause any deaths?"
General He nonchalantly sheathed his sword. “Lord Huang, you saw what happened just now! These unruly people have completely blocked the official road. Our brothers’ attempts to reason with them were useless. They even started throwing stones and beating us! If we don’t use force to drive them away, are we supposed to just sit here and wait to die?”
Huang Wei said urgently, "Our purpose in coming here is to appease the disaster victims and demonstrate the Emperor's benevolence. How can we turn against the people with weapons? Such brutality will only breed resentment and may lead to future troubles!"
"Alright, alright, enough of that." Cui Dalang, who had come out to investigate, stepped forward from behind to smooth things over. "Minister Huang, why make such a fuss? It was just a minor punishment, a lesson to a few ignorant and arrogant commoners. No one was actually killed. Clearing the road is the priority! If we delay any longer, we won't reach the next post station before dark, and if that delays His Highness's journey, who will take responsibility?"
"You..." Huang Wei was speechless, choked by the two's back-and-forth banter.
He knew that General He's words made sense, and he couldn't refute Young Master Cui's words either, but seeing the almost overflowing anger in the eyes of the refugees, he felt uneasy.
I wonder how severe the disaster in Weizhou really is, and why there are so many refugees.
What were those local officials doing? They concealed the fact that there were refugees fleeing the famine!
These displaced people were already resentful because of the disaster, and this treatment only added fuel to the fire.
His heart sank. This disaster relief journey had been sown with the seeds of disaster from the very beginning, and the subsequent matters would probably not be as smooth as he had imagined.
The next day, the news was relayed back to the Princess's residence without missing a single word.
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanzhao's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
Her younger brother was even more useless than she had imagined.
She turned her head and asked Ru Mo, who was standing to the side, "Have you arranged everything I asked you to do before?"
Ru Mo lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, everything has been arranged according to plan."
Li Yuanzhao narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the armrest of the seat, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke.
"No. You take a group there yourself. This matter cannot tolerate the slightest mistake; you must ensure that everything goes perfectly."
Although there were capable and pragmatic officials like Huang Wei, he ultimately couldn't make the decisions.
As long as those two idiots, Li Yuanyou and Cui Dalang, are around, it's probably only a matter of time before they incite public resentment and riots.
But what she wanted was far more than just chaos. She wanted precision and absolute certainty to ensure that her beloved younger brother, Li Yuanyou, would remain forever in Hebei Province and never return to the capital.
Ru Mo's expression hardened, and he immediately accepted the order: "Yes. I will set off immediately."
After everyone left, Li Yuanzhao sat alone by the window, gazing at the bare branches in the courtyard, a hint of coldness gradually creeping into his eyes.
During this period, her father relentlessly pressured her, showing no "politeness" whatsoever.
Not only did he order her confinement, severing her direct contact with the imperial court, but he also ordered her to stay at home.
Even after Lu Yuandao's death, the new Minister of Justice whom she secretly supported was discovered by the Emperor to have taken sides, and was accused of "embezzlement and fraud," dismissed and exiled.
Even worse, all the officials who spoke up for her at the last court assembly, regardless of their rank, have recently been reprimanded or implicated to varying degrees.
It seems that after using her to weaken the powerful families, her father has already turned his attention to her.
In addition, the cultivation of Li Yuanyou has become increasingly blatant.
First, he intended to betroth the niece of the Duke of Liang to Li Yuanyou as his principal wife.
Although the Duke of Liang had faded from politics, he still had deep roots in the court and the military, and his influence in the court remained. This marriage was undoubtedly an attempt for Li Yuanyou to win over the power of the old ministers.
He then sent his confidant, He Peng, deputy general of the Longwu Guard, to protect Li Yuanyou.
This powerful military general, who holds real control over the troops in the capital region, was probably already part of the team that the emperor had prepared for Li Yuanyou.
Now that things have come to this, the Emperor is too lazy to even bother with formalities anymore and is determined to hand over the throne to Li Yuanyou.
So what does he think of himself?
A pawn to be used and discarded? Or a stepping stone to pave the way for Li Yuanyou's ascension to the throne?
But the Emperor probably forgot that even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone Li Yuanzhao, who has never been a rabbit to be slaughtered.
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