Zhao Huan and his entourage finally arrived in Haizhou, where officials from all levels of the city lined the city walls to greet them early in the morning. The emperor's personal presence was a significant event, and the local authorities dared not neglect them. Furthermore, many officials were eager to see the emperor.
"Haizhou Tongpan Zhangsun Zhengji leads the officials of Haizhou to pay their respects to Your Majesty! We pay our respects to the Empress. Long live Your Majesty!"
"Liu Yu, the grain transport envoy! Su Yuanzhong, the horseman, pays homage to His Majesty, long live His Majesty! Long live the Empress!"
"Imperial Commander Wu Ge pays homage to His Majesty and greets His Majesty. Long live His Majesty!"
Officials from Haizhou and Liu Yu's troops transporting grain knelt on the right, while Wu Ge's guards knelt on the left. People lined the streets on both sides to welcome them.
"Everyone, get up," Zhao Huan raised his hand. "Where is Han Tiexin, the governor of Haizhou?"
Liu Yu knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, late last night, Lord Han was murdered on the street, and the murderer is being sought."
Zhao Huan was shocked: "What! Han Tiexin is dead?"
Qiu Tianba, who was kneeling behind Liu Yu and Su Yuanzhong, was furious: "Why are you still investigating the murderer? It must have been done by the imperial guards!"
"How dare you!" Su Yuanzhong turned around and shouted, "Your Majesty is here, how can you have any say?"
Qiu Tianba knelt behind him and didn't dare to say anything.
Zhao Huan knew something was fishy. A prefect of a government office had been murdered. Even if the news reached the capital, it would certainly cause shock in the court and the country. Outside the city, there were many people and gossips, so it was not the right place to speak.
Zhao Huan said coldly: "If you have anything to say, go into the city and talk about it when you return to the government office!"
In the lobby of the Haizhou government office, Zhao Huan sat beneath a high-hanging mirror. Nangong Lian'er and Cao Dongsheng flanked him, while Linghu Yunlong clutched a long sword beside him. Wu Ge, Liu Yu, and the others stood below.
"What the hell is going on!" Zhao Huan was furious.
"Your Majesty!" Everyone knelt down in panic out of fear.
Liu Yu's voice trembled as he continued, "Your Majesty, General Wu and Lord Han have been at odds since their arrival. To ease tensions among the officials and ensure the disaster relief efforts are completed quickly, I invited Lord Han and General Wu Ge to drink together the night before yesterday. Unexpectedly, the misunderstanding between the two escalated, rather than being resolved. General Wu Ge was furious, overturned the table, and stormed out. Lord Han then returned with two yamen runners, only to be met with a murderous attack along the way."
Zhao Huan looked at Wu Ge with hatred, and Wu Ge knelt on the ground in fear and dared not speak. Zhao Huan had warned Wu Ge not to act rashly when he arrived in Haizhou, but Wu Ge refused to listen, and ended up having a huge fight with Han Tiexin.
"Let's not talk about how Han Tiexin died. Liu Yu, I want to ask you, as a grain transporter, why did the relief grain take so long to arrive? Do you know that disaster relief is like putting out a fire? Langya County is already full of starving people. Han Tiexin deserves death for withholding relief grain! As a grain transporter, what do you do for a living?"
Liu Yu was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life! We encountered bandits on the way to deliver the relief grain..."
With a bang, Zhao Huan angrily slammed the table. "Bullshit! Bandits? What kind of bandits have such power to rob 40,000 dan of disaster relief grain? How many people did you bring with you?"
Liu Yu's forehead was covered in cold sweat and his whole body was shaking.
"Speak!" Zhao Huan slammed the table.
Liu Yu shuddered: "Including the laborers transporting grain, there are nearly 30,000 people."
Zhao Huan said coldly, "Thirty thousand men, a grain transport team of thirty thousand men. Tell me what kind of bandits would dare to rob a grain transport team of thirty thousand men? Song Jiang from Mount Liang?"
"I deserve to die! I deserve to die!" Liu Yu trembled with fear.
"Your Majesty," someone interrupted Zhao Huan from behind. It was Su Yuanzhong, the horseman. "Your Majesty, the roads are difficult to travel, and we've been experiencing heavy rain for days in Yingtian Prefecture, which has delayed the grain delivery. Currently, the prefect of Haizhou, Han Tiexin, has been assassinated, and the chief clerk was beaten to death for disrupting the order of the disaster victims. There's no one in Haizhou to take charge, and Lord Liu and I have privately taken over Haizhou's affairs. We've been distributing relief grain to registered victims one by one these days. I hope Your Majesty will give Lord Liu a chance to make amends. It won't be too late to judge him once Haizhou's disaster relief affairs are resolved."
Zhao Huan knew that now was not the time to attack Liu Yu, so he asked, "Have you finished counting the grain in the granary?"
Liu Yu was as if he had been pardoned, and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we have checked every grain in the granary, and there is not a single stone missing from the 40,000 dan of grain. General Wu was also present at the scene." Then he looked at Wu Ge.
Wu Ge also clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Liu is correct. I have checked the granary and there are indeed 40,000 dan of disaster relief grain stored there."
Zhao Huan was secretly puzzled. Does this mean that Liu Yu did not embezzle grain, or did they transfer grain from other places to fill the deficit?
"Your Majesty, please make a decision for my master!" Another person crawled to the front on his knees and said. It was Qiu Tianba, Han Tiexin's subordinate.
Qiu Tianba continued, "Your Majesty, Lord Han, the governor of a prefecture, was assassinated in the street. If this matter were to be spread out, the whole world would be shaken. I found this next to Lord Han." As he spoke, he took out an object from his pocket.
Zhao Huan was shocked when he saw it from a distance. He turned to Cao Dongsheng and said, "Show it up!"
Cao Dongsheng walked over and took the object from Qiu Tianba's hand. It was a badge of an imperial guard.
Zhao Huan took the badge and looked at it. "This badge belongs to the imperial guards. Wu Ge, what's your explanation?"
Wu Ge was shocked: "Your Majesty, this was definitely not done by the imperial guards. Someone must have framed my men."
"What kind of frame-up?" Qiu Tianba's eyes were red. If Zhao Huan hadn't been there, he would have pounced on him. "You killed someone and you're trying to deny it. Not only was there a waist badge left at the scene, but the knife wounds on Lord Han and the others also matched those on the guards' swords. No one in the entire Haizhou uses such a knife. Who else could have done it if not one of your guards?"
Zhao Huan was furious: "Wu Ge! What else do you have to say?"
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