After the frost, the statistical chronology of this year's autumn harvest has been delivered to the imperial court one after another. Due to the drought in spring and summer this year, several state capitals reported the disaster situation early. In some places, there were even locust plagues in the fall, and even no grains were harvested. The hungry people scattered in all directions begging for food. The situation was very serious. In order to gain fame, Yuwang donated 30,000 taels of silver to save the people in addition to the grain and silver for disaster relief in the household department, and won a lot of praise. King Jing's family was not rich, and he raised a large group of orphans in the army, and Concubine Jing in the palace was unable to help, so he did not appear to be generous, and was temporarily dwarfed by it.
At this time, a major case of robbing and killing a dart team occurred in Fuzhou, which alerted the Ministry of Justice to send officers to investigate. In the end, the case was solved, the stolen property was recovered, and several robbers were also caught, and the case was successfully closed. . Originally, this matter is not too small, but it is not too big. Unexpectedly, it was finally found out that what this escort team was protecting was a ritual gift from the prefect of Yuezhou to King Yu, totaling no less than 5,000 gold. Yuezhou is one of the worst-affected states this year. People have already starved to death while waiting for the relief from the imperial court. The arrested robbers said that they were not satisfied with this, so they took the risk of looting their belongings. Go and return to the victims. The news spread, many people in Yuezhou united to ask for relief from the crime of the robbers, causing a lot of uproar, making King Yu disgraced and disgraced, and he repeatedly stated that he did not know about the gift-giving in Yuezhou, and he had not confiscated the state government before. gift. Although he tried hard to get rid of it, some of the court officials would believe that Yuezhou would not give gifts to disasters in good years, so it is difficult to say.
Just because of this scandal, Emperor Liang did not explicitly accuse King Yu, but he let him avoid suspicion and was not allowed to intervene in disaster relief matters, so he reassigned King Jing. King Jing and the minister of households, Shen Zhui, had been on good terms with each other. They cooperated tacitly and had no sense of restraint between each other. In addition, they were both very disciplined and principled people. After the usual state officials, the situation was quickly brought under control. Although I dare not say that the errands can be done from top to bottom, but compared to the previous years when only one-third of the ten disaster silver went into the hands of the disaster victims, it is really one heaven and one underground. Shen Zhui is a doer and can't sit still in the capital, so he invited him to visit the disaster-stricken area in person, so as to ensure that there are fewer deaths, no riots, a peaceful winter, and no famine in the spring next year. King Jing exchanged letters with him every day, racking his brains to figure out other ways to restore people's livelihood as soon as possible. Although King Jing was slightly weaker in this regard, Mei Changsu had been in the arena for more than ten years and had a good understanding of the people. The Master Shang Shu had been investigating on the spot for some time, and he had very the same opinion as King Jing. He added a few more points himself, and finally reported it to Emperor Liang in a chapter.
In previous years, major disasters were prone to riots. It was because the victims had no food and clothing, and secondly, they had nothing to do. After the disaster year, there was no way to arrange the spring ploughing in the next year, so they were desperate, and some small reasons could cause big chaos. It is the most troublesome thing for the court. King Jing and Shen Zhui’s petitions were mainly aimed at this. Although there were many articles, the main thing to sum up was to let the victims eat their food first, and then, according to the actual situation of each state, arrange for the people to manage other side jobs to overcome the famine. For example, Weizhou near the water is rich in cattails, which can be woven into bibs, tea sets, straw mats and other fabrics, which are very popular when they are transported to Beijing by officials. At the same time, while the weather is still warm for a month or two, the Ministry of Industry of the Imperial Court convened to build roads and bridges, dredging rivers, reclaiming mines and other projects, so that the strong and unskilled victims can exchange work for wages. Some states that are not frozen can even Work will continue until next spring. Seeds and grains during spring ploughing in disaster-stricken areas are allocated by the government with special funds, and farmers who have no seeds can come and receive them. The tax for that year is completely exempt. If the following year is a good year, the grain-planting fee will be added to the tax and will not be repaid. In this way, the disaster victims benefited more than in previous years, but the government’s relief money was less spent. Most people have something to do, even if they can’t be completely self-sufficient, but it’s better than begging for food and starving or sitting and waiting for government rewards. Mouth living porridge is good. If some local officials have a flexible mind and make appropriate arrangements, the suffering of this disaster year can be greatly alleviated.
Since this proposal was approved and implemented by Emperor Liang, the results have been very good. Not only has the situation achieved no major disasters without major chaos, but the national treasury has not suffered major losses because of this. At the same time, the behavior of local officials has been rectified and new cases have been opened. King Jing was able to fight on horses, and the image of being able to rule after dismounting was further established. Shen Zhui also became more official, and became more and more prestigious in the court. King Yu tried to find him a few times, but in the end he failed.
By the end of the year, Si Tianjian reported that there was a red light invading Ziwei in the southeast, and the astrology was fading. Emperor Liang then decreed that the prince was immoral, and heaven had warned him, so he abolished the prince as king of Xian, and ordered him to move out of Beijing and live in Xianzhou. At the same time, two more pearls from King Jing are added, making him the Prince of Seven Pearls together with King Yu.
When this decree was issued by Chaoge Ming, Yu Wang, who had already gotten the news first, was throwing a tantrum in his study, and basically all the things that could be smashed in the room had been smashed, even his own favorite pot of cymbidium. No one was spared, no one dared to approach the entire storm field, only Qin Banruo, who hadn't seen her for a long time, was still a little daring, and kept standing in the corner of the room watching Yu Wang Fabiao.
When King Yu had almost vented his anger and anger, the talented woman with red sleeves sneered and said, "The so-called 'one who has a unicorn talent can conquer the world', Langya Pavilion is not wrong at all!"
These words penetrated deeply into King Yu's heart like a knife. He suddenly turned around, stared at Qin Banruo with red eyes, and said angrily, "What do you mean by that?"
Qin Banruo's starry eyes were dark and cold as ice, he raised his chin with clear lines and gritted his teeth: "When Jiang Zuomeilang just entered the capital last autumn, what was your Highness like, and what was the situation with Prince Jing? Now more than a year has passed. Now, what is the situation of Your Highness now, and what is the situation of King Jing? Comparing the two, isn't it clear at a glance who got the unicorn talent?"
Yu Wang suddenly took a few steps back and fell into the chair. He had been suspicious since September when Jingyan was proclaimed a prince, and he has been hesitant. At this moment, Qin Banruo clearly exposed him, he only felt his blood surging, and he could not wait to squeeze everything in front of him into powder.
"Your Highness, stop fantasizing. King Jing has already acquired Mei Changsu. I have confirmed this matter. Does Your Highness want me to show the evidence?" Qin Banruo stabbed him on purpose, and when he saw him drop his head, he couldn't help but smile more and more. He said coldly, "Speaking of this, the Sect Master is really amazing. He is decisive, dares to choose people, and can also train. Without his help, when would King Jing achieve his current status? Now even the situation in the palace has changed. , Concubine Yuegui loses power and Concubine Jing rises. She has been silent for all these years. Which of the queen's eyes can look at her, but unexpectedly, it is so difficult to deal with when she is in power. Under these circumstances, after the princess came back from the palace, Have you already told your Highness?"
Yu Wang gritted his teeth fiercely, but did not deny it.
Unlike Concubine Yue who was sharp-edged back then, Concubine Jing was like a soft water. Whether it is soft or hard, no means will work on her. She is neither too careless nor suspicious, not competing for favor, not collecting money, not winning people's hearts, and being meticulous in etiquette. Every day, she only wants to serve Emperor Liang comfortably, and she doesn't say any extra words. If Emperor Liang awarded her a reward, she would accept it, and if she didn't, she would not be wronged and asked for it. When the queen treats her kindly, she is respectful and respectful, and if she is in trouble, she is happy. In short, it was like a big ball of cotton. It couldn't be crushed or smashed. It didn't have any strength to hit it with a punch. The queen had dealt with Concubine Yuegui for more than ten years, but she was not as tired as she had been dealing with her in a while.
"I underestimated this pair of mother and son," Yu Wang let out a long breath of resentment, "I thought it was a sheep, but it turned out to be two wolves. But it's too early for this king to admit defeat. This king can even bring down the crown prince, and I'm still worried about tearing it apart. Not to break a King Jing?"
"His Royal Highness has such an ambition, and Prajna deeply admires it. But Mei Changsu is too insidious. If he doesn't clean up him and his Jiang Zuo alliance first, I'm afraid he won't be able to tear King Jing to pieces..."
King Yu glanced at her and said, "Take care of him first. It's easier said than done. Your red sleeve tricks are now scattered here, so he has taken care of them, right?"
These words were talking about Qin Banruo's pain point, which caused a hint of resentment on that charming face unconsciously, "If you talk about this round, I lost. But it doesn't matter if I lose, the key is His Highness's great cause. It can't be ruined by this villain. Don't your Highness want to take advantage of this evil spirit that he has deceived and exploited?"
With her provocation, Prince Yu's chest was once again angrily tossing, and he slapped the table with a savage palm, making his own palm numb with pain. But after venting a bit, he has calmed down a lot, although he was so angry and stuffy, gasping for breath, but he finally gritted his teeth and endured: "You want me to focus my energy on Mei Changsu, I understand that for taking revenge on him for destroying your red sleeves. In terms of resentment, don't I hate him more than you do? But the current situation is not more than a year ago. At that time, as long as Mei Changsu was smashed, King Jing would not be able to do it again. There is no way out, but now my seventh younger brother is no longer in the pool, not relying on Mei Changsu alone. I can't repeat the same mistakes and let him sit on the throne. Besides, no matter how powerful Mei Changsu is, he is only a strategist, a strategist. His weakness is always in his lord, rather than attacking Mei Changsu first, he might as well take his salaries from the bottom of the pot and deal with King Jing, without his lord, let him be a unicorn genius, isn't he like a wild dog that has not been adopted?"
When King Yu said the last sentence, the viciousness was beyond words, and even Qin Banruo couldn't help being secretly startled, and asked, "Then where does Your Highness plan to start?"
"Where?" Prince Yu walked around the study room full of books and sneered, "I don't know Mei Changsu's weakness, but Prince Jing's pain is clear. What is the root cause of being favored? Is he stupid, can’t handle errands, and has he made any mistakes? None. On the contrary, he has repeatedly made military contributions and worked hard, but his father and emperor did not reward him. The reason for not rewarding... Isn't that the old case that stuck in the hearts of fathers and sons and no one would give in..."
Qin Banruo glanced slightly and nodded slowly, "Yes, King Jing's pain point is indeed the case against King Qi and Chi Yanjun back then."
"I can't count how many times King Jing rebelled against his father for these traitors, but after more than ten years of exile, the father is old and doesn't want to care about it. King Jing has learned to be good, no No matter how hard it is, everyone turns the page quietly, just hides it in their hearts, and no one mentions it. But not mentioning it does not mean forgetting or recovering, as long as you find a good opportunity to turn it over again, it will still be the deepest between the two of them. A crack..."
"It really is a good entry point." Qin Banruo agreed, "But His Royal Highness wants to reopen this old scar, it can't be done at will.
"It's precisely because I can't be random, so I haven't figured out how to do it. It would be nice if there was an opportunity now..."
Qin Banruo's black crystal-like eyes rolled twice, and slowly said: "Is there an opportunity... Prajna has not seen it yet, but there is one person, and His Highness should find a way to join forces with him..."
"Who?"
"The head of the hanging mirror, Xia Jiang."
"Xia Jiang?" Yu Wang's brows twitched, "I'm afraid it won't work... Xuanjing Division has always had a tradition of not involving party disputes. I used to fight so fiercely with the prince, and he didn't..."
"It used to be before," Qin Banruo said quickly, "it's not surprising that he didn't intervene in the dispute between you and the prince. But now your opponent is King Jing. Xia Jiang is not confused, he is very clear about King Jing and the old man Chiyan. Of course, I also remember who was in charge of investigating the case of Chi Yanjun. To put it lightly, this is a knot in the heart, but to put it more seriously, it is a grudge. Your Highness thought that Xia Jiang could turn a blind eye and watch King Jing approaching step by step. Reserve? No matter how loyal he is, he should also consider his future fate, right?"
Qin Banruo was in the middle of the king's arms, so he couldn't help rubbing his hands a few times, and his eyes were a little excited. Xia Jiang's influence on Emperor Liang, the dark power of Xuanjing Division in various places, and for King Yu, whose strength has been greatly damaged, these are the coals of fire burning in the snow.
"His Royal Highness," Qin Banruo smiled and saluted, "If you want to secretly test whether Xia Jiang intends to join forces, Prajna can work. I have a senior sister who is Xia Jiang's old acquaintance... "