Chapter 91.2
Heavy rain rumbled across the sky. Thunder and lightning pierced the dark night sky with bean-sized raindrops.
In such a bitter rainstorm, the refugees in the city did not even have a shelter to hide from the rain and could only huddle in the corners.
Some people closed their eyes silently in hunger, while much more alive smelled the bursts of fragrance coming from the Governor’s house even amid pouring rain.
Oh, the Governor’s residence is hosting a banquet for the imperial envoy.
They sluggishly thought. Their hungry bodies could not help but move towards the Governor’s house as if it was good to smell the aroma.
In this way, many people have gathered over unconsciously.
The gatekeeper of the Governor’s residence looked saddened. Still, because of Zhang Lin’s obscene authority, he could only frown and drive the people away.
But it was no use driving them away. More people came from afar, smelling the aroma. They sat around, looking at the residence with eager eyes, praying that they could get even a tiny scrap of the leftovers.
Even the innocent children have forgotten to cry, biting their fingers and looking at the closed door of the Governor’s residence, like they were looking at the unattainable heaven.
Suddenly, there was a loud “boom” of thunder, and it seemed to be accompanied by the sound of the gates opening.
The refugees who were staying in front of the Governor’s residence rubbed their eyes and actually saw the gates of the Governor’s residence open. Several guards came out, and the leader of them said in a loud voice: “The Grand Prince has ordered that the Governor, Zhang Lin, is a corrupt and unworthy official. Therefore, he will be removed from the position of Governor and be executed at a later date. All the goods of the Governor’s residence will be confiscated and used for disaster relief in Xiangzhou. Anyone who interferes will be executed immediately!”
Once this decree was issued, the entrance to the Governor’s residence was like an exploding pot. All the refugees did not dare to imagine that they could see a scenario similar to the raid of their homes at the Governor’s residence. Everyone felt that they had been blown out by the previous thunder.
“Did you hear that? The Governor’s residence is going to be confiscated!”
“Disaster relief, food……we have food…… ” some women directly hugged their children, whimpering and crying. Even if this is a dream, let them have a moment of peace.
There was a lot of chatter at the entrance of the city. Sensing the commotion over here, refugees kept pouring in from all over, surrounding the entire Governor’s residence.
Everyone who heard the news ran around to tell others: “The Governor’s house was taken over, and the minister said that everything in the Governor’s house was confiscated for disaster relief!”
“No, no, no! It’s not a minister. It’s the Grand Prince. The Grand Prince himself ordered it!”
“The Grand Prince? Not the Third Prince?”
The news of the Grand Prince’s personal trip to Xiangzhou spread throughout the city along with the happy news that the Governor’s residence had been seized. Tonight is sure to be a sleepless night for the people of Xiangzhou.
There was a panic in the Governor’s residence. Still, the guards who had been discontented with Zhang Lin gathered at once. Under the leadership of the men led by Qing Yun, they turned the entire Governor’s residence upside down. Some even pointed out the location of several of Zhang Lin’s private residences and raided them with their men.
The young guard who was angry at the imperial envoy this morning quickly followed behind the guards from the Capital at this time and showed them the way: “This is the treasury, it’s full of gold and silver treasures. Over there is the granary, I’ll take you there!”
As he said this, he turned his head and fiercely wiped his tears with his back turned to the fire. Earlier today, he had resented the imperial envoy, not expecting that the incompetent prince in his eyes would personally come to Xiangzhou and not even stopping for a moment to completely eliminate this bastard!
His home is finally saved!
This little guard looked from a distance where the Grand prince was and then quickly followed the quarreling group in front of him. His gaze was unprecedentedly resolute.
Taking out the extremely abundant food from the granary of the Governor’s residence, Qing Yun did not pause and immediately had people set up a scaffold in the torrential rain to erect a large pot, and thick porridge was cooked.
The whole Xiangzhou city is bustling with excitement. The scene at this time is simply like a dream for the people of Xiangzhou. When the Third Prince came, Governor Zhang Lin’s little restraint alone could make them grateful, but today’s complete overthrow of the Governor’s residence made them feel restless as if they were stepping on clouds without a sense of solidity.
It wasn’t until the day dawned slightly and a bowl of hot porridge was served that they genuinely felt what it meant to be happy. Several properties of both the Governor’s residence and Zhang Lin were vacated to accommodate these homeless refugees. Qing Yun even opened the city gates to allow the people outside the city, whose situation was even more miserable, to enter the inner city where the terrain was higher. He also sent some people to build sheds for people to live in.
Since then, the people of Xiangzhou have been looking at the Governor’s residence where the Grand Prince is located, just like they were looking at the residence of the gods.
No one has ever pulled them out of their misery like the Grand Prince. To them, the Grand Prince is like their new parent.
However, in the face of their gratitude, the Grand Prince appeared in front of them, bowed deeply, and apologized: “I have let the people suffer from exploitation. I have not done my job well, and I can’t apologize enough, so how dare I accept everyone’s gratitude?”
This noble young man’s words were so sincere that he even changed what he addressed himself as. After this event, the people of Xiangzhou became more convinced of the Grand Prince. Meanwhile, the impression of the Third Prince in their hearts has slowly faded. After all, it is obvious which one is better than the other.
After solving Zhang Lin’s matter, Qing Yun did not relax but focused on controlling the floods. Both embankments on both sides of the river are still strong, which is why Zhang Lin dares to be so lax about managing the flooding. However, the river has been rising like crazy. There will always be a day when the embankment breaks, so Qing Yun had to send people to dredge the channels connected between the river and the lakes. Although some of the farmland has to be sacrificed, there will be two lakes to store water in the south, and flooding will no longer be a problem.
Due to the lack of manpower, Qing Yun was busy transferring people from the surrounding counties. In contrast, the arrested Zhang Lin and other people served as laborers. After all, this group of people are not very honest. To prevent them from rebelling, Qing Yun inspected the riverside day by day and won the praise of the people of Xiangzhou.
Today, he inspected the riverbank in the light rain as usual but saw a commotion at the construction site.
“Your Highness, be careful! Let this subordinate go and explore first.” The guard following Qing Yun is now full of admiration for Qing Yun and immediately moved through the crowd to ask questions.
As soon as he saw the graceful figure kneeling on the ground amidst the crowd, Qing Yun understood that Zhang Luoyan was acting like a demon again.
Qing Yun did not impose severe punishment on Zhang Luoyan but only reduced her to a slave according to the law of Great Yan. Now, there is not enough workforce in Xiangzhou. Although she has turned from a lady into a maid, it is still much better than those who died of disease and starvation.
Zhang Luoyan was dressed in plain light clothes, and her face was miserable as she knelt in the muddy water. She cried with Zhang Lin, and at first glance, these two people seemed to have suffered greatly, and Qing Yun was like the villain.
When she saw the figure of the Grand Prince, Zhang Luoyan knelt facing him and said with tearful eyes: “Grand Prince! I know that my father has done many wrong things, but my father has been the Governor of Xiangzhou for many years. He has been diligent and honest in the past years, and only in the past two years has he made faults. The punishment of having him killed is too heavy, so I beg you to allow my father to make up for his mistakes.
Without waiting for the top of Zhang Luoyan’s head to touch the ground, Qing Yun spoke out, “You don’t need to kowtow to me, nor do you need to implore me.”
Qing Yun’s words caused Zhang Luoyan to freeze, and then she heard the youth’s clear and crisp voice turn stern: “Turn your head and look behind you. Look at the corpses recovered from the river. Look at the refugees who couldn’t get enough food and clothing. Look at the children who are so thin that they are only skin and bones. Zhang Luoyan, you need to kowtow and plead to them. If the people of Xiangzhou agree to release Zhang Lin, this palace will retract the order without saying a word!”
The young man’s serious words made Zhang Luoyan involuntarily turned her head in response to his motions. She saw pairs of eyes full of anger and hatred, making Zhang Luoyan feel panic in her heart. She was unable to stand up for herself, so she immediately covered her face and ran away.
The official road outside Xiangzhou City was flooded, and the water splashed as the horses trampled on it.
Qi Yue finally entered the territory of Xiangzhou with his team. Although he hurriedly came, he thought Xiangfeng did not have many people around him, so he defied the Third Prince’s resistance and pulled out a team from the three groups he brought.
After all, in every natural disaster, there will be refugees to appear. Although the youth has martial arts to protect him, the natural weakness of his body assures that there may be other situations. Thinking of this, Qi Yue once again resented the Grand Prince who sent the young man to control the situation.
He wanted to let the Grand Prince know that although the young man was dedicated to the people and ignored his own safety for this reason, he was not one he could bully!
Moving in along the official road, the more Qi Yue walked, the more tightly he frowned. He walked all the way but did not see a refugee, only a flooded field remained.
“General……is this Xiangzhou disaster already so serious? Surprisingly, no one survived?” An officer came up to Qi Yue and asked.
“No.” Qi Yue said seriously, “Look, although there are no refugees, there are also no floating corpses in the water, indicating that to avoid the plague, those floating corpses have been removed. It will take effort to get the floating corpses, so the victims must have settled down.”
“General, there seem to be people in that direction! And there are many of them!” An extremely sharp-eyed scout called out towards Qi Yue.
Qi Yue gazed at it and said at once: “Go over and take a look!”
Seeing Zhang Luoyan run away, Zhang Lin and other people in the ditch did not cease but have stood up with a fierce face. Their eyes fiercely looked at the youth whose nobility was not diminished even if they were in the mud.
Qing Yun watched these people’s movements and indifferently pulled the corners of his mouth.
These strong and sturdy people are Zhang Lin’s most trusted people. They usually help Zhang Lin and are used to committing crimes. For the first time, they were arrested as criminals, so how can they be obedient?
The hard work for four or five days in a row has made them burst with anger. Qing Yun had expected that they would explode sooner or later, so he brought only one guard with him today to give Zhang Lin and the others a chance to explode.
Zhang Lin slowly got up from the ground. The previous panic and fear of knowing that the youth was none other than the Grand Prince had dissipated, and his eyes had regained their usual shrewdness. It was only because he was too surprised to learn of Qing Yun’s identity that night, coupled with the oppression of the imperial class, that he panicked and let the Grand Prince, who appeared to have just reached his peak, have the upper hand.
Now, Zhang Lin has calmed down and has long begun to secretly plan. There are not enough workers in Xiangzhou. Most people have already suffered from the floods and are weak, while the people from the neighboring counties have not yet arrived, so the leading force for flood control is none other than Zhang Lin and his men.
Although the guards from the Governor’s residence who submitted to Qing Yun are also present and some refugees are still physically fit to help, they are still inferior to Zhang Lin’s gang of able-bodied fighters.
So seeing that the Grand Prince is alone, how can Zhang Lin still hold back?
Zhang Lin slowly walked forward. Despite the wretched state, he had recovered his strength. He looked at Qing Yun and said with a cold smile: “The Grand Prince is too inconsiderate. I am tired of dredging the river with my old bones, not to mention other things, I should make up for my mistakes, right? But what do you mean by your previous words? Are you forcing us to rebel?”
As soon as he said the word “rebel”, the fighters around him immediately stepped forward and looked at Qing Yun intently.
The refugees around him saw that the situation was bad and immediately ran over to support them. They gathered around Qing Yun. Although still physically weak, they bravely picked up their hoes and confronted Zhang Lin.
Without hiding behind the refugees, Qing Yun pushed aside the people in front of him and looked at Zhang Lin with mockery in his eyes: “Oh? I wonder who gave you the courage to rebel at this moment? Could it be Northern General Qi Yue again?”
Seeing that the Grand Prince is still so calm and unhurried, Zhang Lin’s hand holding the farming tools tightened. But sweeping over this group of rabble refugees and a lone guard behind the Grand Prince, he immediately became bolder. He sneered in his heart, the Grand Prince is still too young to know to bring more people around. How could he let him take advantage of the situation?
With this in mind, Zhang Lin walked forward with his head held high, holding his hoe in his hand and shouting: “How about I rebel today? Listen, brothers. If General Qi knows that the Grand Prince has treated his unmarried wife and father-in-law like this, he will certainly be furious. Today, I will simply rebel on behalf of General Qi!”
Just after the words fell, Zhang Lin’s proud ambition has not dissipated. They heard a neat sound of horse hooves, and a team of imposing and powerful soldiers came around from the side of the river and quickly arrived in front of the people.
Although this team’s number is small, a thick smell of blood came from the standing soldiers. The dark, sharp armor was a frightening sight for the people.
Suddenly, the man in the lead pulled the reins of his horse, and the group of divine black horses neighed. The two hooves bucked high, and the man on the horse flew in the fine rain with his scarlet cloak following his movement.
Before Zhang Lin could figure out what was going on, he heard the leading man’s majestic voice mixed with brooding anger ring out, “The Northern General wants to rebel? How come I, Qi Yue, have no idea about this?”
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