Chapter 586 Going with the flow
Dealing with a young official might be easy, but for someone who also loves money, it's easy to believe that he could take down Yun Yichen in no time.
"I think this Grand Secretary is not as he seems. It would be best if Your Excellency were to be more cautious."
The magistrate couldn't help but offer a reminder, but clearly, He Biyou wouldn't listen at all.
While dealing with He Biyou, Yun Yichen also sent Zhong Lin and a few of his men to sneak into the warehouse and secretly transport some of the meager amount of grain out of the city.
Ten miles outside Suzhou City, Zhong Lin and his men set up a small shed and began distributing porridge.
The refugees who were waiting outside the city gates, unable to enter the city and having waited in vain for several days, were preparing to seek help in more distant places.
But as fate would have it, just then they saw a soup kitchen on the road and the people distributing the soup.
Suddenly, a group of familiar faces appeared in front of Zhong Lin, and he recognized them immediately.
"Old sir, why are you back again? Weren't you heading towards the capital?"
Zhong Lin voiced his question, but the old man merely smiled and did not answer.
After the old man had filled his stomach with his entire family, he slowly walked towards Zhonglin.
“Young master, I know you are someone who follows Lord Yun. Now that Suzhou has become like this, we have no home to return to. We originally thought that once we entered the capital, under the emperor's nose, we wouldn't starve to death. Now that Lord Yun is here, we don't need to go to the capital anymore. If you don't mind our family, please let us stay for the time being! We are all strong and will not cause you any trouble in this shed.”
The old man was an extremely insightful person, and his words carried a hint of sincerity.
Zhong Lin had a good impression of the old man. After looking at the family of more than a dozen people, he finally nodded and let them stay.
"Lord Yun, we've been here for a few days now. How should we begin our work?"
After Yun Yichen arrived in Suzhou, he seemed quite relaxed, so much so that everyone who came with him also had nothing to do.
"Go back and wait for news."
Yun Yichen didn't want to waste any more words with them, so he just threw this sentence at everyone.
"It's not Yun Yichen! You are the Grand Secretary of our Great Zhou! Now that Suzhou is a ruin, instead of thinking about post-disaster reconstruction, you just wander around aimlessly all day long. What kind of behavior is that?"
Lu Yuanbin has been completely ignored these past few days. Apart from someone delivering food to his room on time every day, no one has thought of him.
If he hadn't found a reason to question Yun Yichen today, this group of people would probably still be sitting there dumbfounded.
"Your Highness has been wandering around this city these past few days. Have you missed me? If there's nothing else, Your Highness should go back and rest early! The rest of us are enough for you here."
Yun Yichen was drawing something on a piece of paper with a pen in his hand. When he heard Lu Yuanbin come out to cause trouble, Yun Yichen didn't even glance at him.
"I...I was just checking on the situation of the disaster victims!"
Lu Yuanbin was exposed for also wandering around aimlessly, so he hurriedly retorted.
"Since Your Highness knows that you need to understand the situation of the disaster victims, do you think I don't need to understand the situation of the disaster victims?" Yun Yichen suddenly asked, leaving Lu Yuanbin speechless.
As for the other ministers, none of them dared to say anything more after hearing Yun Yichen's words.
Yes, if Lu Yuanbin knew to observe the situation, how could Yun Yichen not know?
After spending these days with Lu Yuanbin, the adults have come to understand his character better and better, but they are also increasingly disappointed in him.
In contrast, the Fourth Prince, though seemingly mild-mannered, is actually a steady and reliable person. Throughout the journey, he not only didn't hinder the group but also repeatedly helped them persuade Lu Yuanbin, doing them a great favor.
"So what did you learn?"
Lu Yuanbin also sensed a dangerous aura approaching at this moment, but no matter how scared he was, he could never show his cowardice in front of Yun Yichen.
When Yun Yichen saw Lu Yuanbin asking about him, he merely glanced at him indifferently and beckoned the other officials to his side.
It turns out that Yun Yichen wasn't just drawing, but sketching a topographical map.
"After making inquiries from various sources over the past few days, and through my own on-site investigation, I can roughly see that the terrain of Suzhou has changed to its current state."
As he spoke, Yun Yichen pointed out several places on the map.
"This place used to be a lake, but now a third of it has been lost due to the chaos of war. And this used to be a road that was the only way to the town, but now it's blocked by rocks. And this place, and this place, these things weren't like this before. It's clear that this mission is much more difficult than we imagined."
Because of the blocked roads, many people in the villages and towns inside have lost contact with each other. They are unable to communicate or connect with the people inside from the outside. Even if they want to come out and ask for help, it will take time to find a new road due to the changed terrain.
Many ordinary people in the capital, after their houses collapsed, not only did not receive government assistance, but were instead driven out of the city by He Biyou and local officials who colluded with him.
As for the refugees that He Biyou and the others showed Yun Yichen and the others these days, they were actually wealthy families from Suzhou.
Even the poorest families still owned a few shops and had some money.
In other words, apart from the wealthy, the ordinary people in Suzhou have long been changed and disappeared.
Why are you showing this to us?
Lu Yuanbin felt his face burning as he thought about how he had just instigated everyone, hoping that Yun Yichen would confront them!
"Didn't Your Highness just say that I only know how to wander around all day? Then I have to prove my innocence. Now that we have figured out the terrain of Suzhou and know the true nature of Prefect He, it is naturally time for us to make our move."
Yun Yichen's tone was somewhat teasing, but when he spoke with such a serious face, it sent chills down everyone's spine, especially Lu Yuanbin, who couldn't help but shiver.
"My god! This man is really scary!"
Lu Yuanbin thought to himself, "If I had known I couldn't afford to offend this Ghost-Faced Yama, I should have acted more obediently."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com