Chapter 315 The miserable state of Yuzhou
In the next ten days, Emperor Xuanwu was very busy, so busy that he could not see anyone.
During this period, Yupin came over and said that her father agreed to plead guilty and hand over all the silver he had embezzled, and asked the Royal Concubine to plead for him so that the emperor would allow him to
retire and return home. Jiang Xinyue did not agree at once. Whether he could get away with it depended on the results of the court's investigation.
If he was really an unforgivable person, Jiang Xinyue would not have asked for this favor.
Why would she do this, which consumed the emperor's feelings for her, just for the suicidal behavior of Yupin's father?
Only the eldest princess could ask for it.
The emperor was so busy that he had to go back to the palace. After the emperor finished the two cases, the corruption case of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and the siege case of the governor of Yuzhou, it was the turn of the officials under him to be busy. The imperial
edict to dismiss the officials has been issued, and the new Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi is Jiang Xinyue's uncle Jiang Yanxi.
Both cases are urgent. The money seized from the Governor Yu's mansion is just right for use in Yuzhou, which is riddled with holes due to drought.
The emperor must have seen this point, so he was in such a hurry to let his uncle take office.
The long team of entourage behind the carriage, the sound of their footsteps is regular and neat. Compared with the relaxed atmosphere when they came, the atmosphere when they left was much heavier.
The emperor's face also became more melancholy. As more and more news about the current situation in Yuzhou was reported back, the emperor's anger grew day by day, and he was even so angry that he couldn't eat several times.
If it weren't for Jiang Xinyue's persuasion, Emperor Xuanwu even wanted to install wings, fly to Yuzhou, and personally kill the governor of Yuzhou.
Jiang Xinyue thought that because of the drought for several months, the people of Yuzhou would have a very difficult life, but she never thought that Zhu Qianyi would use the word "hell on earth" to describe the scene of the people in the city in his letter.
The land was barren for thousands of miles, and the dead bodies were everywhere.
The hot wind cracked the dry riverbed, and there were dead trees everywhere. Any grass leaves that were still a little green on the ground had long been gobbled up by the people.
The original rivers and lakes were all dry and smoking. Many people did not give up and dug holes in the riverbed, but they did not dig out any water.
Zhu Qianyi said that there were many dried corpses lying in those holes. I don’t know whether they died of thirst while digging for water, or they saw no hope of life and dug a grave for themselves and waited for death quietly.
The city was besieged for several months. There was no water or food. In order to survive, the people in the city burned, killed and looted. Those who were bloodthirsty ate human flesh and blood like monsters.
The governor of Yuzhou not only ignored the lives of the people, but also sent his confidants to guard the city. He regarded human lives as worthless and deliberately set up a fighting field, letting people who were extremely eager to drink water fight to the death in it, and then gave a little water to the winner.
More people died in the fighting field than in the natural disaster.
On the day Zhu Qianyi arrived, a big riot had already occurred in the city. In order to survive, the remaining people rose up in resistance. Regardless of men, women, and children, they all rushed to the gates of the city.
Zhu Qianyi went there with the imperial edict, but the people no longer believed in the government and killed them one by one.
He not only had to repel the people, but also prevent the guards from hurting the people. The confidants of the former governor of Yuzhou shot and killed the people and guards indiscriminately on the city wall.
There was a young man among the people who was the leader. Zhu Qianyi formed an alliance with him during the fight, and only after he killed the confidant sent by the governor of Yuzhou did he believe that he really came to help the people of Yuzhou.
Jiang Xinyue looked at the letter delivered by the emperor, and felt that the paper that usually fluttered lightly seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and even her fingers were shaking slightly. Looking at
her red eyes, Emperor Xuanwu looked up at the sky, and the tears that should have rolled down were held back.
"Sometimes I think, I don't care whether I can leave my name in history, I don't care whether history will say I am a tyrant. Do I have to punish every corrupt official with his entire clan, so that the world can be clear?"
"But the emperor still thinks that human life is precious, and he is unwilling to use this kind of punishment easily."
Jiang Xinyue leaned on Emperor Xuanwu's arms to comfort him: "I believe that as long as the emperor continues to be so diligent and caring for the people, day by day, the accumulation of water will wear away the stone. One day, such corrupt and bad officials will be replaced by good officials, and the people will live a rich and stable life."
Will there really be such a day?
Looking at Jiang Xinyue's affirmative eyes, Emperor Xuanwu hugged her tightly: "I will try my best to complete such a grand scene as soon as possible for our children."
He hopes that Xiaoliu will not have to worry about it like him in the future.
Jiang Xinyue returned to Hexi Palace, and before she even had time to sit down, she was told that Xiao Ronghua had been found and was now hiding in her palace.
"You said...she is Xiao Ronghua?"
Jiang Xinyue looked at the almost disfigured, trembling, and somewhat neurotic "crazy woman" in front of her, and found it hard to believe.
In her memory, Xiao Ronghua was still a somewhat beautiful and confident person.
What kind of torture made her so half-human and half-ghost?
Jiang Chuan smiled bitterly: "She sneaked in through the dog hole. I can't send her back. What if Concubine De... Madam, I don't know what they dug the dog hole for. I have blocked it up."
"Blocked for what?"
Jiang Xinyue said calmly: "Tonight, Xiao Xiangzi and I will dig it up again when no one is around. Tomorrow, we will make a big fuss in the palace and say that Concubine De is shameless. She dug a dog hole under the wall of my vegetable garden while I was not in the palace and stole my vegetables to eat."
"Ah?"
This statement is a bit too down-to-earth.
It sounds impossible, but it feels like it really happened.
"As for Xiao Ronghua..."
Jiang Xinyue thought for a moment: "Let her continue to hide. I want to see what the Defei is up to?"
She has been away from the palace for too long. She needs to check everything first. If there is no loophole, she will take the initiative to attack.
The next day, Defei cheered up and prepared to face Jiang Xinyue's revenge. Unexpectedly, rumors spread in the palace, saying that she... stole vegetables?
"The Imperial Concubine said that she planted purple jade grapes in the vegetable garden when she left, but when she came back, there were many less. After investigation, she said that someone saw Sister Lu Yin staying up in the middle of the night and taking a few eunuchs to dig a dog hole under the wall outside the Hexi Palace..."
Therefore, the rumor spread in the palace that people in Concubine De's palace dug holes under other people's walls in order to steal the fruits and vegetables planted by the Imperial Concubine, which caused the Imperial Concubine to be furious and she caught Lu Yin and gave her a beating.
Lu Yin touched her swollen buttocks and said, "Your Majesty, I was very careful that night and no one found out."
Defei knew this of course. She snorted coldly, "Jiang Xinyue may not have found out, but the concubines all went to the temporary palace, and I was the only one who stayed in the palace. No matter what happens in her palace, she will blame me."
She said that she stole vegetables just to make things difficult for her.