Chapter 17: Work-for-Relief
"If you say you have the ability to govern the world and are capable of great responsibilities, I, your aunt, would look upon you with a high regard.
But look at yourself, you formed a clique for personal gain, and dared to take action against the Zuozang Office and the Pingchang Warehouse just for a little money.
Do you even know what you are doing?
You are a pest to the nation and are destroying the very foundation of our Great Jin. Do you understand?"
Zhao Qing was unconvinced and grumbled, "Aunt, I just made some money, how can I be said to be destroying my own foundation?"
Li Yueyao's heart choked when she heard this. How could this man be so stupid as to gather so many people in the court and form his own party?
So he covered his head and said with a headache: "Since you don't repent, then go to the Fengxian Temple and kneel down, so that our ancestors can see what you have done.
It would be best if the ancestral tablet fell down and crushed you to death, putting an end to it all."
Then he said to the outside: "Gan Qing, send Princess Zhaoqing to Fengxian Hall to kneel. When she has reflected on her mistakes, she can come out again."
"Yes."
Gan Qing walked in and said to Zhao Qing, "Princess Zhao Qing, please come in."
Zhao Qing was still unconvinced. He stood up and glared at Gan Qing: "Humph... I can walk by myself."
After saying that, she walked out angrily, lifting her skirt.
After Zhaoqing left, Li Yueyao was so angry that she paced back and forth in the side hall and kicked over several chairs.
Finally, he took a deep breath into the air, and after a long time, his breathing slowed down.
Ye Yuanda, the doctor of the Ministry of Works, was summoned. He quickly straightened his clothes, bowed his head and respectfully walked into the side hall.
Li Yueyao was sitting at the top of the table. When she saw a dark-skinned man, over forty years old, with a goatee and wearing a colored official robe, walk in, she bowed respectfully.
"This minister, Ye Yuanda, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, greets Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess of Jinyang."
"No need to be polite."
As soon as Ye Yuanda stood still, Li Yueyao said again: "Doctor Ye, sit down and talk."
Ye Yuanda had just witnessed Li Yueyao's power and found a seat as far away as possible.
He didn't dare sit down completely, but only sat halfway with his buttocks, keeping his upper body straight.
"I heard that you are a Taoist from Jiangnan?" Li Yueyao cleared her throat and spoke gently.
"To the Grand Princess, I am from Wu County, Suzhou, Jiangnan Province."
"Well, Wu County has over 76,000 households and a population of 640,000. It's a rich place. Silk cotton, eight-silk silk, tangerines, and lotus roots are all tribute."
When Ye Yuanda heard that Li Yueyao knew so much about his hometown, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if he was smiling, and he felt a lot more relaxed.
"Your Highness is right. Wu County is a land of fish and rice, and is richer than other places.
In addition to what Your Highness mentioned, there are also belly fish, white stone fat, and red silk, which are all relatively famous."
When Li Yueyao saw Ye Yuanda mention Wujun and smiled slightly, she knew that this person must love his hometown very much.
"Well, I heard that you served as an official in Wu County for several years?"
Li Yueyao signaled Cuiwei to serve tea to Ye Yuanda.
"Yes, I served as the governor of Wu County for five years."
"Then tell me about the situation in Wu County when you were the county magistrate?" Li Yueyao said with a smile.
"When I was the county governor, the weather was generally good. The local people could always fill their stomachs, relying on the mountains and the water.
But Wu County has many swamps, and fish, turtles, and alligators are common, so sometimes they can still hurt people."
Li Yueyao listened and asked again, "You served as the prefect of Wu County for five years, and then as the deputy governor of Suzhou for five years, and finally took up a position in the Ministry of Works.
Counting the ten years I served in Suzhou, were floods frequent during those ten years?"
Ye Yuanda smiled and said, "Your Highness, I am from Wu County and grew up there. I have seen countless floods, big and small.
During the ten years I have been in office, there have been summer floods every year, but the severity of the floods has varied.
In the 15th year of the Yuanzai reign of the late emperor, there was a serious flood in the Jiangnan area. At that time, three counties, namely Wu, Jiangning and Xinding, and 32 counties were affected at the same time.
The court sent Prince Cheng to provide disaster relief."
Li Yueyao laughed and said, "Oh, my uncle Wang went to Jiangnan Road to provide disaster relief."
Ye Yuanda gradually relaxed and said with a smile: "Yes, I worked under Prince Cheng at that time, and I admired the old prince's style very much."
The two of them exchanged a few words about Prince Cheng, and Li Yueyao then asked:
"Well, since you've also provided flood relief, could you please share your experience?"
Ever since Ye Yuanda heard that His Majesty had summoned him, he had been thinking about it and felt uneasy.
After a while, he heard Princess Jinyang asking about his hometown, and he knew that she was going to appoint his general.
As he was talking, he was thinking about his disaster relief work back then. Now that he was finally getting down to business, he said:
"Since Your Highness has asked, I will show off my skills."
Then, Ye Yuanda talked about the ten strategies for flood control and disaster relief.
Li Yueyao nodded after hearing this. It was obvious that Ye Yuanda had a lot of experience at the grassroots level and was well aware of the local people's livelihood and sentiments.
For example, one of the articles states that trees should be planted on river banks or on both sides to prevent soil erosion and strengthen the river banks.
This made Li Yueyao look sideways. This guy has very advanced ideas.
Li Yueyao listened for a while, then gave Ye Yuanda the water control booklet compiled in the court.
"Your Majesty's intention is to send you to provide relief for the Lingnan flood. This is a collection of past flood control experiences, compiled into a booklet for your reference."
Ye Yuanda stood up and bowed respectfully, saying, "I will obey your command and will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust."
Li Yueyao also stood up and said, "Regarding this disaster relief, I have something to say."
"Your Highness, please give your instructions."
“After a flood occurs, local people can be organized to provide work in lieu of relief.
Building dikes, ponds, and dams, and dredging canals, will not only provide relief to the victims, but also promote water conservancy projects, eliminate the gathering of refugees, and prevent floods next year."
Li Yueyao said as she handed the two pieces of paper at hand to Cuiwei, who then passed the papers to Ye Yuanda.
"This is the specific operation method of work-for-relief. You can take a look at it in detail."
Ye Yuanda opened the paper and looked at it carefully. The more he read, the brighter his eyes became. Finally, he closed the paper with great excitement.
Li Yueyao said, "The terrain in Lingnan is complex. You should go back and study the local terrain first.
As well as this booklet and the work-for-relief method, please write a detailed memorial on flood control and submit it tomorrow.
By the way, tell your family that you will be leaving in about three days."
Ye Yuanda saluted and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I obey your command."
After Ye Yuanda left, Li Yueyao had just sat down to drink a sip of tea when she saw the virtuous concubine come in without being informed.
Li Yueyao looked up at the virtuous concubine. She still had dark eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, skin as white as jade, lips as red as vermilion, and eyes as black as lacquer.
The sky-blue dress made her look even cooler.
The emerald green hairpin on her head echoes the jade beads in her hand.
The virtuous concubine came in, bowed casually, and sat down on the chair closest to Li Yueyao.
Li Yueyao looked at Concubine Xian and said, "Don't you like wearing peach-colored clothes the most? It makes you look cute and lovely.
Why do you wear this color now? It makes you look so cold."
Xian Fei raised her eyes to glance at Li Yueyao, picked up the tea Cuiwei brought up, took a sip and said: "Ice cold is not for you to see."
Li Yueyao sneered softly after hearing this. If it wasn't for herself, then it was for the emperor.
These two are still so naive.
Forget it, as long as you are happy.
Li Yueyao and Concubine Xian have known each other since childhood. Li Yueyao has always looked down on the pretentiousness of the noble ladies in the capital, especially Queen Xie Wanrou.
At a spring banquet, he met Concubine Xian. They had similar personalities and became friends.
But since His Majesty ascended the throne, Li Yueyao went to Chunshan, and the interactions between the two became less frequent.
But not seeing each other for many years did not affect the relationship between the two.
"What are you doing here?"
Li Yueyao stood up, stretched and asked.
"You left me with this mess of a harem, and you ask me why I'm here? I want to know what you're going to do?"
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