Chapter 366: Marquis Mansion Madam vs. Younger Prince 109
At the end of May, at the grand court meeting.
The newly appointed Imperial Censor Kong Liang took out a blood-written letter and knelt down to report, "This is sent from Tongzhou in an urgent manner over a distance of 800 miles. Tongzhou has suffered from a severe drought for a long time, and the people have no harvest and are living in poverty. The local government deceived the superiors and subordinates and drove away the victims. Now Tongzhou is full of refugees, and they have already come to the capital."
Pei Ci Fu was unhappy when he saw Kong Liang. His original intention was to throw Kong Liang to a remote area to be a minor official. No matter how well he did his job, he would be evaluated as poor. Kong Liang had no chance of getting promoted, let alone returning to the capital.
Somehow, Kong Liang was noticed by the Censorate. The old guys in the Censorate were very difficult to deal with, but the emperor actually agreed, and Kong Liang entered the Censorate in a daze.
This kid really had bad intentions and started causing trouble for him as soon as he took office!
Pei Ci Fu glared at Kong Liang and shouted, "With a blood letter of unknown origin, you dare to smear the officials of Tongzhou and erase the achievements of Tongzhou in disaster relief. You are so bold!"
"Tongzhou has been suffering from a severe drought for a long time. Officials throughout the region have tightened their belts, provided porridge to relieve the disaster, and calmed the people's hearts and stabilized the situation. Now Tongzhou is peaceful and the people are happy. They are all praising your majesty's benevolence. All the people's letters have been sent to your majesty's desk. If you keep talking nonsense, watch out for your head!"
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, listening to the heated arguments below, and felt quite proud.
After Ji Tongfu resigned, Pei Ci Fu became arrogant in the court, so he let Kong Liang enter the Censorate. Kong Liang had no family support and could only be a loyal minister, which was indeed a useful knife.
The emperor watched with narrowed eyes. Pei Ci Fu had considerable influence in the court. He attacked Kong Liang all at once. Kong Liang was weak and needed his help.
As soon as the emperor opened his mouth, the audience became quiet.
"What Pei Cifu said makes sense. The disaster in Tongzhou has already subsided. Lord Kong is bringing it up again now. Do you have any evidence?"
Kong Liang said in a clear voice: "The granaries in Tongzhou have long been emptied by termites. The so-called disaster relief is just empty words written on paper. The locals have no grain to give, and they blame each other, and even kill people to gain authority! The victims can't survive, so they can only flee."
"Here are some memorials submitted by the prefectures along the way. The local authorities were unable to take over the victims and could only expel them. I don't know why the memorials could not reach Your Majesty. I present them to you today and ask Your Majesty to investigate them in detail."
The emperor took a few glances at the memorial and decided not to care where the refugees ran to. The people were like weeds in the field. They would grow again in the spring breeze. Even if one group starved to death, another group would grow up.
However, if the refugees really ran to the capital and blocked the city gate, it would be too indecent and would also affect the emperor's majesty.
The emperor put down the memorial and had already made up his mind, "Although it is a serious crime for the people to leave their hometowns without permission, I cannot bear to see them starve to death. Since the people have already arrived near the capital, let the nearby towns provide food relief. Make sure to settle the people down without any mistakes."
Pei Ci Fu immediately knelt down and began to flatter the emperor.
"Your Majesty's kindness is a blessing to all people. Tongzhou suffered a serious disaster. Local officials have done their best. Your Majesty has also exempted 30% of taxes, but there are always some unruly people who like to make trouble and run around everywhere, which is why this disaster happened."
"These unruly people are not local citizens. If we want to provide disaster relief, we must allocate money from the Ministry of Revenue. Minister Zhao always says that the treasury is empty. I wonder if there is money and grain?"
Pei Ci Fu's eyes fell on Shangshu Zhao. Shangshu Zhao was usually very stingy and even refused to contribute money to the emperor's mausoleum construction. He insisted on arguing with the emperor to open his private treasury.
If Minister Zhao continues to shirk his responsibility today, it will be Minister Zhao's fault if any trouble occurs among the people in the future.
Minister Zhao frowned tightly. He had already read the memorial in Kong Liang's hand and also met the victims who escaped from Tongzhou. If it were not for the help of the Third Prince, these memorials would never have been delivered to the capital, let alone the emperor.
The situation is more serious than imagined. Only a small number of victims fled all the way to the capital. The situation in Tongzhou was even worse. Your Majesty exempted 30% of taxes, but local officials still levied a lot of taxes.
I don’t know who got the extra 30%.
Minister Zhao stepped forward, holding up his official tablet, and said, "Disaster relief is a major matter. I will do my best to help Your Majesty."
As soon as these words were spoken, all factions were ready to make a move. It was rare for Minister Zhao to be generous, as this was a piece of fat meat.
If it was done well, disaster relief would be a great achievement. However, there was a big quarrel in the court over who should do the disaster relief.
The emperor could not make a decision for the moment and was preparing to adjourn the court to discuss the matter tomorrow.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it was burning with fire. The pain made him dizzy and he fainted before he could even scream.
The emperor had a convulsion in the palace and the court was in chaos. The ministers refused to leave and all stayed in the palace waiting for news from the emperor.
It was late at night before the emperor woke up, but he still couldn't get up.
The imperial physician could not explain what happened and only said that the emperor was ill due to overwork and needed to rest.
The news spread throughout the capital like wings. There was no morning court the next day, but the emperor received dozens of memorials requesting the establishment of a crown prince.
The most numerous were naturally memorials requesting that the third prince be made the crown prince, as the third emperor was born of legitimate parents and was the legitimate heir to the throne.
The second is to ask for the second prince to be made the heir, because the second prince is the eldest son and is quite similar to Your Majesty and shares the same aspirations as Your Majesty.
Apart from these, there are actually people who support the fifth prince, the sixth prince and the eighth prince. They are so annoying to see so many of them here and there!
The emperor threw the memorial in his hand and cursed angrily, "I am not even dead yet! They are forcing me to appoint a crown prince! The whole court is full of treacherous and traitorous ministers!"
In a rage, the emperor's heart beat faster, his breathing became rapid, his face turned red, and his heart began to ache again. The emperor fell on the bed, as if he was about to faint at any time.
The chief eunuch was terrified and immediately stepped forward to serve. The emperor kicked the eunuch in the chest and said angrily:
"You're also hoping that I'll die soon, aren't you? Who told you to bring these things in? Get out!"
The chief eunuch had served the emperor for many years and knew the emperor's temper. He did not dare to cry out in pain after being kicked. He knelt on the ground and did not dare to get close to the emperor again.
Only a fool would go over and serve as the emperor's punching bag.
The palace maids and eunuchs were kneeling on the ground in silence. Concubine Tong walked in with a handkerchief in her hand, smiling and speaking in a coquettish tone with a hint of innocence.
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has told you to rest, why are you still so angry?"
She kicked the eunuch lightly and scolded him, "You are a useless thing. You only make His Majesty angry. If His Majesty doesn't like it, just take it out and burn it. Why make His Majesty unhappy?"
The chief eunuch was shocked. He felt that Concubine Tong really had the potential to become a sinister concubine who would bring disaster to the country.
"Your Excellency... Your Excellency is joking. These are memorials submitted by the ministers. They cannot be burned."
Concubine Tong snorted coldly and sat down beside His Majesty's bed. She placed her soft and boneless little hand on His Majesty's heart and stroked it gently.
"What kind of bullshit memorial is this? Is it more important than Your Majesty? In my opinion, burning it will bring peace of mind."
The emperor was delighted, and he embraced Concubine Tong, saying with a smile, "You are so naughty. I will do as you say. Move everything out and burn it!"
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