Chapter 292 The Flooded Village
Zhao Wuji burst into laughter at Liu Yiyi's expressive face.
He then asked, "But when the princess left, didn't Miss Liu also go with her? When His Majesty issued the decree, I thought I had misheard."
Liu Yiyi said with a smile, "I just hitched a ride out of the city to take care of some business. I am now considered an official, so how could I leave the capital without His Majesty's decree?"
Cui Ying was saddened all night, thinking that Qin Jinzhi had taken Liu Yiyi and Aman away.
The next day, Ah Man's mood improved considerably when he returned to work.
Zhao Wuji nodded, without asking what Liu Yiyi had done.
Looking at the road ahead, Liu Yiyi said, "Let's hurry towards Jiangnan."
All sixteen prefectures in Jiangnan received an imperial edict to fully cooperate with the Grand Canal Commissioner in managing the floods, and also received a letter from Lian Yongnian, the Prefect of Suzhou.
Officials from the sixteen prefectures had differing attitudes, but they all embarked on their journey to Suzhou.
After the prefects of the sixteen prefectures arrived, Wang Yongchang distributed all the drawn blueprints.
"Gentlemen, the sixteen prefectures of Jiangnan are a whole. The flood requires everyone's concerted efforts. In addition to dredging, we also need to build waterways. I have already given the necessary materials to Lord Lian. You can discuss them with Lord Lian later. In addition, the number of people in the government office is far from enough to dredge and build waterways. Therefore, we need you to recruit a large number of workers. There are many disaster victims. This can be considered a work relief program."
Lian Yongnian frowned slightly and stepped forward to ask, "Lord Wang's love for the people is commendable, but recruiting workers requires a large amount of money. What about this money?"
Wang Yongchang stroked his beard. “Lord Lian, rest assured, His Majesty has entrusted me with full authority over the flood control in Jiangnan. I can naturally allocate the disaster relief funds, and the recruitment funds will come from the disaster relief funds. Lord Lian only needs to have someone keep a record of the details.”
Lian Yongnian's eyes darkened slightly. "I will follow Lord Wang's arrangements."
The group followed Wang Yongchang to inspect the river for a day.
In the evening, Lian Yongnian hosted a banquet for the locals.
Wang Yongchang claimed that there were still some blueprints that had not been completed.
"This Lord Wang, he didn't even come to the banquet, is he not giving us face?"
Lian Yongnian looked up and said, "This Lord Wang is very thoughtful. He's giving us time to discuss and reach a conclusion."
"The money has already been distributed; are you expecting us to be the ones to suffer the consequences?"
"That's right. There are so many officials, big and small, in these sixteen prefectures. How much silver has been wasted on bribes? How much of it is left in our pockets? In short, don't even think about making me cough up this money."
"But Lord Wang was personally appointed by His Majesty, and I heard from Lord Lian that he has some ability. If this silver is not returned, what if he writes a letter to His Majesty?"
"Then shut him up forever."
"You mean get rid of him?"
"Otherwise, let him find out something? Then we'll all be the ones who suffer the consequences!"
"But His Majesty has just appointed him and he has died here. His Majesty will surely be suspicious."
Lian Yongnian looked at the crowd chattering away.
But it only expresses one meaning.
That means they won't pay the difference.
If everyone is willing to make up the difference, he will have no objections.
If that's the case, then the only solution is to get rid of Wang Yongchang.
Lian Yongnian put down his teacup. "Killing someone isn't the only way to shut them up."
Everyone looked at him, "What insightful opinion does Lord Lian have?"
Lian Yongnian said leisurely, "The most important thing for Jiangnan right now is to control the floods. If the river commissioner appointed by His Majesty not only fails to solve the floods but also allows the disaster to worsen, then it will not be us who will be punished."
Everyone's eyes lit up, and then one of them asked, "But Lord Wang is currently enjoying great favor with the Emperor. I'm afraid that even so, His Majesty will not take his life."
Lian Yongnian sneered, "What if someone loses their life?"
He stood up and looked at everyone. "The lower reaches of the river in Suzhou are the hardest hit areas where the dam was destroyed. There is a village five miles downstream. If the entire village is submerged, how can he, the envoy, remain unharmed?"
"Does Lord Lian mean to let the water flow into the village? But what if the water gets out of control?"
Lian Yongnian looked at the man and said, "If we can't control it, it'll just mean more people will die. Surely you gentlemen aren't only realizing the importance of human lives now?"
“Lord Lian is overthinking things. Floods are dangerous. We are just afraid that if we cannot control the flood, there will be endless troubles. If we cannot control it, we will still be punished.”
Lian Yongqing chuckled, "Don't worry, everyone. As long as we create the illusion that the village is flooded, who cares whether the villagers drowned or died from other causes?"
None of the officials, who were known as "parent officials," objected.
Seeing the approving expressions on everyone's faces, Lian Yongnian said, "We are all in the same boat, so we should work together to accomplish this."
We share the good times and the bad times.
This is the only way to ensure that no one betrays us.
They got to work as soon as construction of the river channel began.
At that time, Wang Yongchang will surely be convicted.
The inability to resolve the flood problem was not solely due to the incompetence of officials in Jiangnan.
They discovered that as long as the flood problem remained unresolved, they would have a steady stream of money to embezzle.
Yuecheng brought news of the arrival of the prefects of the sixteen prefectures to Qin Jinzhi.
Qin Jinzhi was drawing a blueprint in her hand.
Yuecheng asked, "The officials from the sixteen states have all gathered. Do you think they will take action against that old man?"
Qin Jinzhi raised her chin, gesturing for Yuecheng to grind ink for her.
Yuecheng rolled her eyes and resignedly began grinding.
As Qin Jinzhi drew the diagram, she said, "They won't lay a hand on the old man; they'll only lay a hand on the common people. The second-rank official personally appointed by His Majesty died in Jiangnan; they're the next Shen Changqing."
Yuecheng raised an eyebrow. "How do we prevent them from attacking ordinary people?"
Qin Jinzhi put the pen aside and blew on the ink on the drawing.
"Without manpower, it's impossible to defend against."
Qin Jinzhi looked up at him and smiled, "What if we have enough manpower?"
Judging from Qin Jinzhi's expression, Yuecheng knew that she had already made her own plans.
His junior sister has a mind that's as complicated as a mountain road.
You never know which bend might hide a knife.
Yuecheng looked at the blueprint in Qin Jinzhi's hand. It was a building, but why did the building look so familiar?
Qin Jinzhi put away the blueprints, changed into men's clothing, and went to the Zhao Family Trading Company.
Upon hearing the news of Qin Jinzhi's arrival, Zhao Qiantang immediately came out to greet her, saying, "Third Young Master, why didn't you let me see you in person? You've gone to all this trouble."
Qin Jinzhi sat down in the chair. "It's on my way."
She handed the completed blueprints to Zhao Qiantang, saying, "Build it as quickly as possible."
Zhao Qiantang put away the blueprints. "Yes, Third Young Master."
Then he brought out a thick register.
"Third Young Master, as you instructed, the work-for-relief program not only solved the problem of a large number of stranded disaster victims, but also required only 60% of the silver we had previously donated. Stopping the donations has actually improved the reputation of our Zhao family in Suzhou."
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