Thinking of this, he suddenly had a brilliant idea.
If Liu Jin is gone, we can support Zhang Jin, Wang Jin, or Sun Jin.
Su Wanwan had no idea that he was thinking these things.
"Last year's floods affected many counties and prefectures along the Yangtze River, and that cannot be faked. Now, as the lean season approaches and poor people have no surplus food, we still need to provide relief."
Lu Xingjian nodded: "My wife is right."
The Jiangnan region also has the most wealthy merchants and large households.
There are countless wealthy families, but very few are willing to spend real money to help the poor.
Relief is easy to say, but where will the money come from?
Someone always has to be the villain who robs the rich to help the poor.
Su Wanwan urged, "Hurry up, don't be late."
Lu Xingjian took Yan Ge'er westward to Xiaoyuan, while Yan Ge'er went to study in Dongyuan with the palace servants.
Su Wanwan was troubled by this memorial requesting relief.
The businesses in her dowry were mainly located in Jiangnan, so she was quite familiar with the situation there.
After thinking for a while, she still sought out Yang Yiqing.
Yang Yiqing had only recently been transferred from the Ministry of Revenue to the Ministry of Personnel, and he had already heard about the floods in Jiangnan.
"Now that bandits are rampant everywhere, the court should appease them with benevolence and righteousness. Relief is the best way to appease people's hearts."
Su Wanwan let out a long sigh of relief.
Even though this flood was largely due to water.
The imperial court, however, was obligated to provide relief as a gesture of support.
It's so frustrating.
If taxes and grain cannot be collected, money still needs to be spent on relief.
The powerful families of Jiangnan colluded with officials, unwilling to give away even a single penny of profit.
Yang Yiqing's words make sense.
However, Su Wanwan did not condemn them outright.
Finally, the Ministry of Revenue was asked to discuss the matter, as each prefecture had a different situation and should be treated differently.
The Ministry of Revenue's final advice was that the relief efforts in the four prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang should be observed for the time being.
The five prefectures of Taiping, Ningguo, Chizhou, Anqing, and Yingtian have been receiving relief for a long time and are likely to run out of food. The focus should be on procuring more food.
There has been no report from Yangzhou or Jiujiang, so it shouldn't be a big problem.
The eleven prefectures should send their governors and inspectors to investigate and verify the situation. If there is a shortage of grain seeds, the governors should order them to allocate government funds to purchase grain and provide it to the prefectures. If there is a shortage of agricultural tools, the governors and inspectors should order the slightly better-off families to borrow them.
Su Wanwan's heart stirred.
The position of Minister of Revenue is currently vacant.
The Left Vice Minister was eager to advance further and was putting in a lot of effort to perform well.
She readily approved it with a "yes".
...
Looking at Yan Ge'er, who had grown much taller, Qian Ning mustered the courage to ask:
"Your Majesty, when will Yan Ge'er's identity be announced to the world?"
Lu Xingjian remained silent.
Once Yan Ge'er's identity is announced to the world, a crown prince will be established soon.
Lu Xingjian was the crown prince from a young age.
Are things easy to live?
No.
On the contrary, their lives are often threatened.
If it weren't for his grandmother, Lady Zhou, being so strong and protecting him so carefully, he might not have been able to grow up.
Why should you inflict the fears and anxieties of your own childhood on your son?
"There's no rush yet."
As for the education and upbringing that Yan Ge'er should receive, it cannot be neglected.
Grand Secretary Li Dongqian, however, submitted a memorial with profound implications.
First, he mentioned a series of difficulties, then he said that houses were being built in Xiaoyuan, and that flagpoles were being erected, suggesting the intention to establish a temple.
Temples and monasteries are heretical religions, which must be prohibited by sage kings.
He then cited the examples of Emperor Xianzong and Emperor Xiaozong, hoping that the emperor would learn from his grandfather and the previous emperor.
Su Wanwan handed the memorial to Lu Xingjian.
"What does Your Majesty think?"
Lu Xing glanced at it briefly and snorted coldly:
"These scholars are too cunning. They want to persuade me to follow the example of Emperor Xianzong and the late Emperor in establishing an heir, but they dare not say it openly. Now they are using temples to give them a secret advice."
Su Wanwan lowered her eyes.
"So what do you think?"
"What's the rush? Let's raise Yan'er to adulthood first, so he can take on these responsibilities." Lu Xingjian casually tossed the memorial aside.
Su Wanwan looked up in disbelief: "So, you don't plan to give Yan Ge'er a formal prince status?"
“It’s just an empty title, it’s not that important.” Lu Xingjian frowned.
Su Wanwan's blood almost froze.
I felt instantly disheartened.
Only two words were on my mind.
Selfish.
Lu Xingjian is too selfish.
Since Yan Ge'er has never received his personal acknowledgment, he will never be able to appear in public as a prince.
Others would only secretly laugh at him for being a shameful illegitimate child.
She was willing to let Yan Ge'er recognize another woman as his birth mother, but he still refused to agree.
There were no princes, no brothers.
He, as emperor, was relatively safe.
That way, he could sit securely on the throne for several years.
If that's the case, why bother bringing Yan Ge'er back in the first place?
Su Wanwan suddenly realized that Lu Xingjian had never said he wanted Yan Ge'er to be the crown prince.
Only when the prince is under his watchful eye will others not use the prince as a pretext to threaten his throne.
He is still young.
There will be other women in the future who will have many children.
He had special feelings for Yan Ge'er.
But that doesn't mean his thoughts won't change.
Empress Wei Zifu and her son Liu Ju must have been genuinely loved by Emperor Wu of Han.
But as time went by, both mother and son met tragic ends.
Lu Xingjian noticed that Su Wanwan's expression was off, "What's wrong?"
Su Wanwan took a deep breath: "You don't plan to acknowledge this son?"
Lu Xingjian's face darkened. "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
"Then why won't you give him a legitimate identity?" Su Wanwan tried her best to remain calm.
But her slightly trembling voice still betrayed her true thoughts.
"Why didn't I give it to him?" Lu Xingjian picked up the longbow he had brought back today. "I took him to see those generals, wasn't that to get his support from the crowd?"
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