"Yuan'an Prefecture, all the 45 bandits led by Liu Ermazi in Funiu Mountain have now been brought to justice. The prefect of Yuan'an, Ye Chang, has written three strategies to eliminate the bandits, and I ask this old minister to present them to Your Majesty on your behalf."
In the warm room, Emperor Jing was asking about state affairs in private, and Zheng Qiao was holding a fold and telling the story slowly.
"Three strategies to eliminate the bandits?" Emperor Jing took the memorial and threw it aside, saying with disdain, "Liu Ermaizi and his gang of bandits have been gathering in the mountains. Someone reported it two months ago, and at that time they said there were only 20 of them."
"We've been suppressing it for two months, and the more we suppress, the more we get. Do you still have the nerve to write this kind of thing to me?"
Zheng Qiao looked embarrassed: "Your Majesty, Ye Chang was originally a civil servant and had only been in office for a short time. He was not familiar with military affairs before. In addition, Yuan'an Prefecture had just suffered a flood, so there were many twists and turns..."
Emperor Jing asked, "Master Zheng, Ye Chang is your student, right?"
"Uh... yes, yes." Zheng Qiao laughed dryly.
I was thinking of helping my students to show off their talents in front of His Majesty and pave the way for them in the future, but I didn't expect His Majesty to look down on me...
"I will take a look at his experience in suppressing bandits when I have time." Emperor Jing stood up and put his hands behind his back, sighing, "Everyone says that my great Jing is thriving, but every year there are people in the east, west, south, north, and north who become bandits and gather in the mountains... They are inextricable."
Li Yansong said with emotion: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I have read history books. Even in the most prosperous times, there are still poor people everywhere. It is not uncommon for people to suffer from hunger and cold or even die of starvation. This is human nature. People's hearts are unpredictable, and with so many people, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of problems."
"Let's not talk about the distant ones, let's just talk about the nearby ones. Didn't thousands of people get cheated in Zhengtongfang a few days ago?"
Emperor Jing paused and asked in surprise, "What? Thousands of people were deceived in Zhengtongfang, right here in the capital, how come I didn't know about it?"
Several ministers in the warm room looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion.
Li Yansong said tentatively: "Your Majesty, this matter has long been spread among the people, and it has been properly resolved. The silver lost by the people has also been recovered. Doesn't Your Majesty know?"
"You all know?" Emperor Jing asked back.
Seeing the emperor's reaction, the ministers nodded in surprise.
No one in the court discussed this matter at all, and everyone assumed that His Majesty knew about it.
Who would have thought that His Majesty had no idea about such a big news among the people? Strange!
Seeing that he was the only one who was kept in the dark, Emperor Jing slammed the table and flew into a rage: "How dare you! I didn't even know about this horrific thing happening under the emperor's feet? The military department didn't take the initiative to report it? Can we know about it but not report it if we close the case quickly? Someone, tell Fan Cong to come over to see me!"
A eunuch ran out of the warm room in panic to report to the outside.
Li Yansong said, "Your Majesty, calm down... I think they are afraid of being punished, so now that the truth has been revealed, they want to keep a low profile."
Emperor Jing sat down again, still angry: "It can only be like this. He is so lazy. I will ask him when he comes."
Zheng Qiao said: "This matter is indeed inappropriate, but Your Majesty can rest assured that this matter has not caused a bad impact on the people. I heard that the thief leader was arrested within a day of the crime. The military department can be said to have done a good job in handling the case."
Emperor Jing let out a long sigh and nodded slightly, but he was still a little confused.
The Military Affairs Department didn't report it, so why didn't the Imperial Guards report it either? It wasn't even mentioned in the newspapers, so this was a little strange.
While he was thinking, Li Yansong suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I came here today with something in mind that I would like to ask Your Majesty."
"Master Li, please speak,"
"Today, I have been paying attention to Yucai Primary School and found that the education is unique. Many children are precocious, and the emperor's grandson's grades are even more outstanding. There will be a banquet the day after tomorrow. Although the emperor's grandson is still young, he is well educated. I think he should also attend the banquet."
"This truth always becomes clearer the more we debate it. Although Yucai's education is unique, his knowledge of classics, history, and literature is far different from that of the officials in the court. It will be of great benefit for the emperor's grandson to receive education as early as possible."
In short, the so-called banquet lectures were given by Hanlin scholars to the emperor, with the princes also attending.
Although they are called classes, in fact, most of them involve debates.
Emperor Jing was very interested when Li Yansong mentioned this: "Yes, Master Li is right. I haven't seen my grandson for a long time. It's a good opportunity for him to attend the banquet. I will summon him to the palace tomorrow."
"By the way, how are your children doing in Yucai Primary School?"
Li Yansong and Zheng Qiao had proud looks on their faces and began to talk about their children's academic performance.
Only Zhang Dongxiang was unhappy.
A few days ago, he sent someone to the school to secretly inquire about the child’s academic performance. It would have been fine if he hadn’t asked, but once he did, he almost had a heart attack!
Last in the list! How could his grandson get last in the exam?
For the sake of the child's self-esteem, he didn't dare to ask until now, but he did take him home to test him.
I am even more confused after taking the exam myself!
He seems to be a better student than when he was a kid...how could he still be ranked last in the exam?
It's a ghost!
I am afraid of hurting my grandson's feelings if I tell him, but it is too embarrassing to go to school and find the teacher... I am in a dilemma.
I haven't slept for several nights because of this...
Now, when Zhang Dongxiang hears his old colleagues bragging about how well their children are at studying, he feels even more sad.
"Master Zhang, why don't you speak? I remember your grandson's name is Zhang Ling, right? How is he now?" Emperor Jing couldn't help but ask when he saw him leaning back.
Zhang Dongxiang almost vomited blood.
Don't bring up things that are not related to the topic!
"Not bad... not bad! My grandson studies hard, but he is very careless in exams... cough!"
Emperor Jing nodded mysteriously and asked no more questions.
Why are you still asking? It's just not possible! What carelessness... It's really painful to worry about your grandchildren at this age.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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