On the way back, it started to rain continuously.
After leaving Taoyuan County, the road into Beijing began to become extremely muddy.
The carriage that Emperor Jing was riding in fell into mud pits several times, and Guo Tianyang had no choice but to get in and push the carriage with the driver, which was extremely painful.
However, after finally entering the outskirts of the capital, Emperor Jingdi felt even more upset.
There are a lot of people here, and cars and horses are running everywhere, everything is in chaos.
The carriage they were riding in was constantly stuck in traffic jams on the road.
The driver kept arguing with the people in front, and Emperor Jing was becoming more and more annoyed as he sat in the carriage.
Guo Tianyang also lowered his head and dared not say a word.
Suddenly the carriage shook violently, followed by the driver's screams from outside.
Guo Tianyang quickly leaned out to check the situation, only to see that the headquarters had sunk into a mud pit and the driver had lost his grip and fallen off the carriage.
Half of his body was soaked in the mud pit, he covered his forehead and kept complaining.
"This is a damn place! I'd rather stay in the county!"
A bunch of ragged hooligans around him burst into laughter when they saw his miserable state.
Guo Tianyang also frowned and hurriedly urged the driver to get up and continue on his way.
This place is not like Taoyuan County, the order is extremely poor and there are all kinds of people here.
The driver agreed verbally and struggled hard in the mud pit for a few times. Perhaps he had broken some bones, and he couldn't get up.
The laughter around intensified.
Guo Tianyang had no choice but to suppress his irritation and get off the car to help the driver.
After returning to the car and preparing to continue on their journey, Emperor Jing suddenly spoke.
"No need to take the bus, just walk back."
"Master, it's still raining, you can't get wet."
Emperor Jing pointed outside and said, "Will riding a car be faster than walking? Look at these potholes on the road. They sink with every step we take. I'm afraid we won't be able to get back until tomorrow."
"Driver! Go back now."
After saying this, he ordered Guo Tianyang to hand over twenty taels of silver.
The driver was overjoyed and drove away, thanking the waiter profusely.
Guo Tianyang was speechless. Looking at the carriage going farther and farther away, he suddenly missed Taoyuan County.
How did they build their roads? Why are their cities so clean?
The capital city, as the center of Jing State, can actually perform so poorly!
The front is not far from the inner city, but the road is still winding and full of sewage.
The people were very casual. Some dumped garbage and feces directly at their doorsteps, where they spread with the rain.
A few children playing in the rain didn't care. They chased and played in the dirty water, scooping up handfuls of water and throwing them to each other.
The air was filled with an unmistakable stench.
Emperor Jing looked at the inner city not far away, his eyes filled with deep worry, and he sighed deeply.
"I originally thought that after unifying the country, I would implement benevolent policies, reduce corvée labor, and the people's lives would naturally become prosperous. Now I thought things were too simple. I didn't expect that I am far inferior to a small county magistrate. It's ridiculous, really ridiculous!"
Guo Tianyang quickly comforted him, "Your Majesty controls the whole world, how can a small county compare to you?"
Emperor Jing said nothing. He looked around for a while and then walked towards the inner city.
It took them a quarter of an hour to enter the inner city. By this time, Emperor Jing was soaked all over, and his boots were covered in mud.
Guo Tianyang followed behind, panting, especially with twenty kilograms of tea on his back.
Emperor Jing was often in the army, so he had excellent physical strength and a fast pace.
Guo Tianyang was so tired and out of breath that he almost missed the trip. He kept cursing this damn environment in his heart along the way.
After entering the inner city, he felt relieved and said to Emperor Jing: "Your Majesty, there is a base of the inner guards nearby. I will contact the carriage and the road behind will be easier."
Emperor Jing nodded and looked around. Although the road surface had become much smoother, it still looked muddy and the unpleasant smell was still in the air.
Looking at the mess in front of him, Emperor Jing fell into thought again.
......
At this time, the chief minister of the cabinet, Li Yansong, was reviewing memorials, and the other cabinet elders were also doing their respective duties, constantly reviewing issues related to criminal law and finance.
At this time, a minor official trotted into the cabinet's office.
With a look of urgency, he took out a red paper envelope from his waist.
"Lord Li! There is news from His Majesty!"
All the ministers in the public house looked up in surprise.
Li Yansong stopped writing, quickly stood up, took the envelope and read it, then raised his head and said happily: "Gentlemen! His Majesty has returned to the palace!"
Cabinet Grand Secretaries Zheng Qiao and Zhang Dongxiang were overjoyed when they heard this.
The emperor is finally back! He left a letter and left the palace secretly, while the crown prince, who is the regent, ignored the affairs of state!
The day has finally come to an end! And it happened much faster than I thought.
Li Yansong turned to the clerk and said, "Hurry up and send someone to inform the messenger who went to Hengjiang Prefecture that he can come back."
The clerk nodded and turned around and ran out again.
Li Yansong said happily: "Everyone, I want to go to see the emperor, is there anyone who wants to go with me?"
Zheng Qiao and Zhang Donglian nodded quickly: "Let's go together! Let's go together!"
The three of them rushed to the imperial study, and Guo Tianyang was already waiting to greet them at the door.
"Please come in, His Majesty has been waiting for a long time."
Li Yansong and the other two looked at each other, then said to Guo Tianyang, "Thank you, Eunuch Guo."
Then he went straight into the imperial study.
In the imperial study, memorials were piled up like a mountain in front of Emperor Jing's desk.
Li Yansong and the other two originally had some intention of raising an army to hold someone accountable, but when they saw this scene they looked at each other in bewilderment.
Finally, it was Li Yansong who spoke first, "Your Majesty! Why did you leave without saying goodbye? The court officials are so worried."
Emperor Jing did not even raise his head as he wrote on the memorial stroke by stroke.
"I just want to go out for a walk."
"Gentlemen, please take a look at these memorials. How has the Crown Prince been governing the country these past few days? What have the ministers in the court done?"
Emperor Jing's voice seemed neither hurried nor slow.
Li Yansong was stuck for a moment. He wanted to continue complaining, but when he mentioned the prince...
Zheng Qiao hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, the prince...has not attended court in the past few days..."
"Where is he? What has he done these days? As important officials in the court, don't you know how to keep him in check?"
There was anger in Emperor Jing's voice.
"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't care... I just can't do anything about it." Zhang Dongxiang's face was long: "It's either a headache or a foot pain. I feel sick every day. The imperial physician can't find out what's wrong. Anyway, I feel uncomfortable."
"We really have no choice..."
"During the days when Your Majesty was away, the Crown Prince built a tiger and leopard garden, where he would recuperate every day in addition to fighting the beasts."
"besides....."
Zhang Dongxiang was a man of short temper. He became more and more excited as he spoke. The other two ministers tried to stop him but failed.
I could only listen to him complaining in a cold sweat.
Emperor Jing's face gradually darkened...
......
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