Tianliangyuan

Chapter 318 Quick Response

Xu Zhaozhao felt that she had guessed correctly; at this moment, everyone in the palace was probably in a state of fear.

When rioters cause trouble, His Majesty naturally needs to send troops to suppress them. However, the Yongzhou garrison couldn't even defeat some rioters. How could Emperor Yong'an not be angry?

Xu Zhaozhao was right; the atmosphere inside the Taiji Hall was frighteningly tense.

Emperor Yong'an received this report as soon as he woke up this morning, before he could even have breakfast with his children.

After reading it, Emperor Yong'an felt his eyes were blurry.

Yongzhou suffered a flood last year, and the key point is that this happened half a year ago, but the imperial court was completely unaware of it!

Not only that, his good son, Prince Zhong Li Rui, who held the position of Governor of Yongzhou Prefecture, was completely unaware of the situation. What a useless piece of trash!

Several of Emperor Yong'an's trusted ministers have been summoned to the palace and are now discussing how to resolve the unrest in Yongzhou.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, such news was sent to the palace. No one knows which unfortunate eunuch delivered it to the Emperor. This was extremely dangerous.

"Your Majesty, this memorial was sent to the capital by the Prefect of Yongzhou. According to the memorial, he has repeatedly suggested to Li Yang that the court send troops to support him, but he has been refused each time. Moreover, he has tried to send a memorial to the capital several times, but he was stopped each time. Helpless, he finally sent the memorial to the capital under the pretext of sending a letter home. So it seems that the Yongzhou government is in complete chaos."

After Qu Shiji finished speaking, he looked at the military officers and said, "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to quickly mobilize troops. Those places near Yongzhou should be supported as soon as possible, and the court should also send generals to deter them."

Gu Dongyang nodded: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue can procure grain and medicine as soon as possible, but due to time constraints, even if we do it as quickly as possible, it will take at least a month to reach Yongzhou."

Xu Han thought of what his daughter had mentioned to him before about mobilizing troops from nearby areas. He felt that whether it was mobilizing troops or grain, this principle should be followed. Otherwise, by the time the grain from the capital was transported there, the people would have already starved to death.

However, he was in no hurry. With a glance, Xu Junan understood.

"Your Majesty, I believe that grain and troops should be mobilized from nearby areas. As for the silver and grain raised by the Ministry of Revenue, they should be sent to Yongzhou as soon as possible. However, mobilizing resources from nearby areas can alleviate the immediate crisis."

Emperor Yong'an nodded slightly, his anger subsiding somewhat.

Although he had a foolish son, he was fortunate to have so many capable ministers to assist him; otherwise, he would have loved to tear Li Rui, that rebellious son, to pieces!

Cui Xuanzheng immediately suggested, "Your Majesty, if there is no surplus grain in the government's reserves over there, we should contact the local gentry as soon as possible."

There is strength in numbers.

Several solutions were quickly agreed upon.

Xu Han and Cui Shu led their troops to Yongzhou ahead of time. His Majesty issued a special decree granting them the authority to act expediently and mobilize 50,000 troops.

Fifty thousand troops are more than enough to deal with a few rioters.

After receiving the imperial decree, Xu Han and Cui Shu immediately left the palace to make preparations, as they were about to muster their troops and set off.

In addition to the military generals, Emperor Yong'an also ordered Fu Pei and Imperial Censor Liu Anqing to go to Yongzhou to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the floods in Yongzhou, which of course included the recent riots and other related matters.

The matter was thus resolved, but Emperor Yong'an was still in a very bad mood.

Who wants to hear this kind of news during the Chinese New Year?

Seeing that His Majesty had made a decision, Xie Zheng clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I heard my wife mention that about a month ago, Yunqi Manor took in more than ten families of people from Yongzhou, and they also mentioned that their hometown had suffered a disaster."

Upon hearing this, Qu Shiji exclaimed, "What a coincidence!"

"Your Majesty, why not send someone to inquire? That way we can find out exactly what happened in Yongzhou."

It is indeed impossible to generalize based solely on a single memorial from the Prefect of Yongzhou.

Where is Zhao Changqing?

Zhao Changqing was waiting outside the hall at this moment. He wasn't even allowed to come in and listen when they were discussing those important matters.

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"Go immediately to Yunqi Manor in Lantian County and investigate the Yongzhou refugee matter thoroughly. Remember, do not use torture or violence. I just want to know the truth."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

This year, no one is destined to have a peaceful year.

Of course, ordinary people don't know these things, and they still visit relatives and friends as usual.

For the wealthy and powerful, the holiday was unusually quiet.

At a time like this, who would dare to hold a grand banquet and invite guests to offend His Majesty?

Xu Zhaozhao reacted the fastest. Instead of going directly to the palace, she told Xie Zheng her plan, which Xie Zheng then presented to His Majesty.

Emperor Yong'an was still worrying when he saw Xie Zheng, who had just left the palace, return.

"Anything else?"

"Your Majesty, after I returned to the palace, I told my wife about this matter. She said that she has some properties in Suizhou. Although they are not many, they include a thousand acres of fertile land. She can send some grain to Yongzhou, which is nearby. The initial estimate is that she should be able to raise more than 20,000 catties. If given more time, she should be able to raise 50,000 catties. It just so happens that Marquis Anxin is passing through Suizhou, so he can take the grain directly to Yongzhou for disaster relief."

Emperor Yong'an's mood improved somewhat; at least there were people who knew to share his burdens.

"Yes, Zhaozhao is a good child. I thank her on behalf of the people of Yongzhou."

Emperor Yong'an was also pleased. Xu Zhaozhao did not do this in her own name, but entrusted it to Xie Zheng and Xu Han to handle, which showed that she was a sensible person.

Moreover, with Xu Zhaozhao taking the lead, other powerful families also understood His Majesty's will. Those who had property in the south also helped to send letters or directly arranged for people to go and help mobilize grain.

Although His Majesty only verbally commended Princess Anle, everyone knew that this was just a signal.

The flood in Yongzhou was a hardship for the people, but for the officials of the imperial court, it might not be an opportunity.

Therefore, all parties started to have their own agendas, hoping to gain favor with His Majesty and also to reap some benefits for themselves. So, what did it matter if they just gave up some money or grain?

However, since Xu Zhaozhao was the first, those who followed her followed suit. Although they could also get some praise from His Majesty, they didn't receive as much benefit as the first person to step forward.

Who told them to be a step too slow!

Xu Zhaozhao reacted quickly this time, not only having people help transport grain in Suizhou, but also doing her best to assist Gu Dongyang in procuring disaster relief grain in the capital.

Yongzhou will not be able to produce any grain for at least six months, so the demand for grain is extremely high.

Gu Dongyang was the Minister of Revenue, so he was naturally in charge of raising grain and money this time.

With Xu Zhaozhao cooperating so well, Gu Dongyang was naturally happy to do her a favor.