Chapter 2954 Grain Collection
He rushed to Xu Shifeng, sweating profusely, and said, "General Xu, what's going on? Why is the emperor here?"
Xu Shifeng looked back at him and said, "The emperor is going back to Jinling."
"What?!"
Lu Boying was stunned.
The emperor had just arrived in Cuicang County yesterday. He didn't meet any of the officials here and only stayed for one night.
Today, you are leaving and heading to Jinling?
how so?
Regardless of whether he had received the emperor before, this kind of thing had never happened since the emperor went on tour. Lu Boying's face turned pale, and he said hurriedly: "General, General, is the emperor dissatisfied with the reception of the emperor in this county? Or, is he still going to punish me? It is indeed my incompetence that has caused Lord Ye to -"
“…”
"If you really want to punish them, please, General, in front of the Emperor - at least, protect my family. They are innocent."
Seeing him sweating profusely from nervousness, Xu Shifeng sighed softly and said, "You don't have to think too much."
“…”
"If the emperor really wants to punish you, he can just issue an imperial edict from a thousand miles away."
“…”
"Since you are still sitting in the position of county magistrate, then just sit there peacefully."
Hearing him say this, Lu Boying finally felt a little relieved.
After all, Xu Shifeng was a close minister to the emperor. He could say this because he must have understood the emperor's thoughts. However, he felt a little uneasy when he thought about the emperor arriving in Cuicang County and leaving without seeing anyone or saying a word.
So he said: "But the emperor left just like that, this——"
Before he could finish his words, another person suddenly came over from the front. It was none other than Xiao Shunzi, the emperor's close attendant.
For the officials below, the emperor's close attendants, although just eunuchs serving the emperor, are more impressive than some first-rank officials. These people follow the emperor closely every day and have the greatest influence on him.
So, Lü Boying immediately bowed and said, "I respect you, eunuch."
Xiao Shunzi came over and bowed respectfully to Xu Shifeng. Then he turned to look at Lu Boying and said, "Lord Lu, the emperor asked me to come and ask you a few questions."
Lü Boying didn't even dare to raise his head. He just said, "Your Majesty, if you have any orders, just give them. I will do it even if it means my death."
Xiao Shunzi said calmly, "You don't have to risk your life. The emperor is just asking how much grain is stored in the county warehouses."
Lü Boying said hurriedly, "There are less than 200 dan of grain left from last year, but we can start harvesting it recently."
Xiao Shunzi said, "It's already a time of famine. If we want to collect grain, the government should act quickly and not let those illegal traders get ahead of us. Even if they ask for more money, after all, they can collect more after spending the money. But if there is not enough food to eat, people will starve to death."
“…”
"Lord Ye has had such an incident in your county, and the Emperor is already angry,"
Upon hearing this, Lü Boying's legs gave way, and he nearly fell to his knees. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. Xiao Shunzi continued, "If there's another incident involving starving victims, the Emperor will be furious."
Lu Boying hurriedly said, "I understand, I understand. I'll do it right away!"
Xiao Shunzi smiled and nodded at Xu Shifeng.
Then he turned and walked towards the boat.
Soon, all the people who followed the emperor to Cuicang County yesterday boarded the boat one by one. Just like before, the emperor and the imperial concubine boarded the dragon boat, the other guards boarded another boat, and the boatman carried the water and food purchased here and boarded the third boat.
The only difference from before is that I brought one more person.
It was Ran Xiaoyu, the trusted palace maid of the Imperial Concubine.
In order to take her with him, Li Bushang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who was supposed to be on the second boat, brought a team of Embroidered Uniform Guards to escort her directly onto the emperor's dragon boat. After that, they did not get off the boat.
Then, several ships set sail and left Cuicang County.
A group of officials stood on the dock, watching all this, and were still dazed until the ship sailed away.
As the three ships slowly disappeared into the dusky mist, several officials kneeling behind Lü Boying whispered, "Lord Lü, what is the Emperor's purpose in going back and forth?"
"Just to pay tribute to Lord Ye?"
"We thought the Emperor would stay here no matter what to deal with the matter at Xingluo Lake, or at least visit the Imperial Mausoleum so we could show our faces to the Emperor. But what's going on now?"
Lu Boying got up from the ground, brushed off the map on his knees, and said, "Okay, stop asking questions and get back to work!"
Everyone was stunned. They didn't know why. They originally thought that after the emperor came, they would be busy all day long, but they didn't expect that the emperor would leave after only staying for one night. They thought everything was fine, but Lu Boying asked them to work instead.
Everyone asked, "What kind of work are you doing?"
Lu Boying said: "Collect grain, hurry to the nearby counties and towns to collect grain."
"What?"
Everyone was even more shocked.
At this time, it was the time when there was a shortage of food, and many people did not have enough food to eat at home. They had to wait until the first crop of the year was harvested before they could have food to harvest.
Why do you have to collect it now?
Someone said, "Master Lu, isn't it time yet?"
"Isn't the time right? When the time comes, the Emperor will chop off our heads."
"Ah? Did the Emperor ask us to collect it?"
Lu Boying sighed and repeated what Xiao Shunzi had just said. Everyone was stunned and puzzled. They asked, "Why does the emperor want us to collect grain now?"
Lu Boying said, "How should I know? Anyway, it's the Emperor's will, so just do it. If you can't even do this well, and put it together with the matter of Lord Ye before, you know the result!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard it.
No matter what, since it was the emperor's order, they would of course carry it out.
So, the group hurriedly left the dock and walked towards their government office.
On the other side of the dock, on the riverbank, amidst the lush greenery, a man in coarse linen clothes stood in the distance. He watched as a figure in a bright yellow robe boarded a boat, then sailed away from the dock and disappeared into the river. The man muttered, "The Emperor, has he left? I must hurry back and report!"
After saying that, he immediately turned around and ran away.
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