NFBE Chapter 204: The Unwelcome Emperor
Chapter 204: The Unwelcome Emperor
Chapter 204: The Unwelcome Emperor
Deyang Hall, the rear hall.
Liu Bian recently moved here from Jingfu Palace. Compared to Jingfu Palace, this place is much more spacious.
At this moment, Liu Bian was lying on the couch, turning over, twisting his head, and said to Liu Shao who was not far away: "Yang'er, come, follow your father, turn over, use your strength, come, turn over..."
Liu Bian kept making somersaults, trying to guide the little guy to turn over.
The little guy opened his eyes wide and tilted his head to look at Liu Bian, with no intention of turning over.
The palace maids and eunuchs not far away had anticipation on their faces.
After a long while, Liu Bian sighed, picked up the little guy, and swung him gently in the air, saying: "It's been more than a month, why don't you turn over..."
The little fellow was delicate and pretty, with big, clear eyes. He looked at Liu Bian and suddenly grinned, waving his little hands and giggling.
Liu Bian couldn't help but laugh along, shook his body vigorously a few times, and said: "I'll let you laugh, wait until you are a few years older, and see if your father won't spank you..."
Pan Yin came in from outside, and when he saw this scene, he immediately smiled and said, "Your Majesty."
Liu Bian nodded, sat cross-legged, placed the little guy in front of him, and reached out to take the memorial handed to him by Pan Yin.
There are five in total, open them one by one.
The first one was some reports from the Household Department regarding the autumn tax, which estimated the total amount of autumn grain to be 220,000 dan. After deducting losses and local debts, the total amount was estimated to be around 150,000 dan at the Taicang site.
Liu Bian looked thoughtful. Fifteen thousand shi was a lot more than in previous years. It was mostly because the bandit problem in Bingzhou, Sili and Yanzhou had been somewhat resolved and farming had increased. It couldn't be attributed to the 'new policy'.
After a moment, he opened the second one, which was about the incident of the Yin of Henan. The Household Department characterized the incident as "misappropriation of disaster relief funds" and that Zhong Ji and others "had violated the law seriously" and suggested "lenient treatment".
Liu Bian narrowed his eyes and said to himself, "With Xun Yu not here, is Hu Cao just blind?"
Shaking his head, Liu Bian opened the third one.
This one was a memorial submitted to the Censorate. The content of the memorial was quite detailed, listing many suspicious points, including Zhong Ji's "acting on his own initiative", "being arrogant at first and respectful later", "many false explanations", "the Henan governor and his subordinates all spoke with the same opinion", etc.
But there is no actual evidence!
"It can be considered as doing something."
Compared with the Household Department, the Censorate had obviously made a step forward. Liu Bian smiled and opened the fifth door.
This is a memorial submitted by Chen Gong, the prefect of Luoyang. The general content is to praise Zhong Ji's merits, admit his "faults" and "failure to the court", and request to resign.
Liu Bian couldn't help but tilt his head, a little surprised, and said to himself with a strange expression: "This kind of Ji must have some tricks to make Chen Gong voluntarily take the blame."
"Wow wow..."
The little guy in his arms grabbed Liu Bian's trouser leg and opened his mouth to bite it.
Liu Bian held his little hand, put the memorial aside, looked at Pan Yin and said, "In ten days, will Zhong Ji go to the capital to report on his work?"
Pan Yin quickly said, "Yes. According to the rules, I will report on my work in ten days."
Liu Bian calculated the time in his mind and nodded, "It's almost time for everyone to come back."
As he said this, he got off the couch, put on his shoes, picked up Liu Shao, touched his little face, and said, "Today, your father will take you to meet someone from a longevity family. I hope you will also live a long life in the future. What do you think?"
The little guy stretched out his hand and grabbed Liu Bian's collar.
Liu Bian pulled his collar a little and let the little guy grab it. As he walked, he said, "Son, you must remember that the greatest enemy of man is time. It is not important to defeat your enemy temporarily. Even if he defeats you for a lifetime, don't be discouraged. You must have a good attitude and live longer than that person. When he is buried, you can write a biography for him, publish it all over the world, and burn a copy at his grave every year for him..."
Pan Yin and the others were listening from behind, their expressions twisted unnaturally.
The little guy grabbed the corner of Liu Bian's clothes and put it in his mouth to bite.
"Your Majesty, where are you going?" Pan Yin couldn't help but ask after walking out of the Jiade Hall.
Liu Bian looked back at Dian Wei, who had already changed into his casual clothes, and said, "Let's go to the Talent Recruitment Hall."
Pan Yin was stunned, wondering why Liu Bian suddenly wanted to go to Zhaoxian Hall.
"Is there anyone in the Talent Recruitment Hall?" Pan Yin thought to himself.
Liu Bian, dressed in plain clothes, left the palace and went straight to the Talent Recruiting Hall.
The little fellow got tired of playing with the corner of his clothes, so he rested his chin on Liu Bian's shoulder, blinked his big eyes, and looked outside the palace curiously.
This was his first time out of the palace, and he stretched out his little hands from time to time, as if he wanted to grab something.
Liu Bian didn't dare to buy him food casually now. Seeing that the sun was a little strong, he bought him a hat.
The little guy blinked and didn't react, as if he didn't like it. He lay in Liu Bian's arms, as if he wanted to sleep.
Liu Bian was strolling around casually. Before he reached the Talent Recruiting Hall, he saw a group of people confronting each other and arguing about something.
Liu Bian waved his hand, and the plainclothes officers behind him dispersed. They approached calmly with Pan Yin and Dian Wei, and the sound of the argument gradually became clearer.
Coming closer and looking at the two people arguing, Liu Bian subconsciously touched his chin.
The difference between the two groups of people could be seen from their clothes. One group was wearing the clothes of ordinary clerks, with a loud but weak voice, and there were about ten of them; the other group was dressed exquisitely and had a dignified demeanor, and they were obviously the children of aristocratic families.
The clerks were the first to start the attack, with loud and forceful voices.
"What's wrong with Henan Yin? He opened the granary to release grain and provide relief to the victims. This is a benevolent act!"
The young man from aristocratic family spoke in a calm tone, yet with an unquestionable firmness.
"That's the court's autumn grain. According to regulations, it must be transported to the Taicang warehouse. He opened the warehouse privately and embezzled it, which is against the court's discipline!"
The two sides took turns to challenge each other and refused to give in.
"An official serves the people, not the court. He knew the consequences and resolutely opened the warehouse. This is the way to be an official, which is a thousand times better than others!"
"Ridiculous! Violating the law is violating the law. Today the governor of Henan opened the warehouse, and tomorrow the governor of Jingzhao opened the warehouse. What else do we need the court to do? The governor of Henan has no respect for the court and opened the warehouse without authorization. He should be severely punished!"
"How ridiculous! Tens of thousands of disaster victims are crying out for food. If the governor of Henan Province had not decisively opened up the warehouses, tens of thousands of people would have poured into the capital. Do you know what would have happened? Would 5,000 koku be enough to solve the problem? I'm afraid it would have taken tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people! Do you know the consequences?"
"You... Now Henan Yin has run out of food, and the disaster victims are swarming and rioting. There is no food left in Taicang, and tens of thousands of people are rushing into Luoyang. Do you know the consequences?"
"It's been so long, if the court still doesn't have money and grain, it's because the court is incompetent. What does it have to do with Henan Yin?"
"If the governor of Henan can embezzle money and grain, then naturally other places can do the same. Why do you blame the court?"
"Could it be possible that other counties are also suffering from disasters? Are there tens of thousands of disaster victims who need relief?"
"Apart from the disaster, are there no other problems in other counties? Do you think the warehouses in my Great Hanzhou County are full to the point of overflowing?"
"This is a matter of the imperial court. How can you blame the Henan Yin?"
"As an official, you must first discipline yourself. How can you act recklessly?"
Liu Bian listened and found it interesting, and looked at the two leaders.
The clerk was a sturdy young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He looked resentful and every word he said was sarcastic.
The son of an aristocratic family was about one or two years older than Liu Bian. He was a fair-skinned and handsome young man with a sincere and reasonable demeanor.
The little guy seemed to be woken up. He turned his head, opened his eyes wide, and stared at the group of strangers curiously.
It was unknown how long the two groups argued, neither of them compromised and each of them had their own reasons.
"Brother, what do you think?" Suddenly, the leader of the aristocratic family raised his hand and asked Liu Bian.
Liu Bian was stunned. He was just watching a show, why was he asking me?
The clerk spokesman looked at Liu Bian and snorted, "You are from aristocratic families, you have no worries about food and clothing, how can you understand the suffering of ordinary people? How can you know the feeling of being starved to death?"
"Woo-wah..." As if he felt someone was scolding his father, the little guy in Liu Bian's arms stretched out his hand and pointed at the clerk and wailed.
Liu Bian supported the little guy with all his strength and hugged him again, saying with a smile: "As the saying goes, even an honest official cannot judge family affairs. I'm afraid that this matter is a headache for the court, and I have no excuse."
The young man from the noble family looked at Liu Bian seriously, and then glanced at Pan Yin and the unusually tall Dian Wei. Knowing that Liu Bian was born extraordinary, he raised his hand and said more sincerely: "I think that officials must be loyal to the emperor and the country, and be upright. These two are absolutely indispensable. If one is missing, then he is a traitor and a traitor, a great villain in the world! If both are missing, then he must be a traitor who abuses his power and harms the country! What do you think, brother?"
Liu Bian saw that this man was obviously trying to get foreign aid, so he smiled and said, "Those who are loyal to the emperor and the country are also as weak as paper. Not all those who are upright are capable ministers, and those who abuse their power and are evil are not necessarily disloyal to the emperor and the country. Brother, you are persistent."
Hearing this, the young man from the noble family looked at Liu Bian, frowned deeply, and then his face darkened. He said, "I see that you have an extraordinary temperament and I think you come from a famous family, but I didn't expect you to say such presumptuous words. It makes me feel cold!"
Liu Bian raised his eyebrows. Was he being treated coldly?
The clerk spokesman was facing Liu Bian, also with a bad look on his face, saying: "Loyal is loyal, treachery is treachery, how can they be confused? People like you cannot distinguish right from wrong, you are insidious and cunning, you will definitely be a treacherous person in the future!"
Liu Bian looked at the dozen people from both sides who were staring at him hungrily, and was stunned again and again.
Did he offend both parties with this sentence?
The young man from the noble family seemed very satisfied with the clerk's words. He raised his hand and said, "Brother, what you said is exactly what I want to say. If my discussion today has offended me, please forgive me."
The clerk was generous and responded with: "I will learn from your teaching. One day I will get drunk with you!"
The two sides, who had just been on the verge of a tense situation, now greeted each other politely, with a look of regret for not meeting each other earlier. After a few pleasantries, they left one after another.
Liu Bian was left alone there, looking strange.
"Woo wow..." The little guy in my arms saw these people leave, and stretched out his little hands and grabbed things.
"Bo Ning, hurry up!" Suddenly, someone among the clerks who were walking not far away shouted.
The clerk spokesman responded, and everyone left in a hurry.
Liu Bian turned around and looked at the group of children from aristocratic families. Six or seven of them walked into the Talent Recruitment Hall talking and laughing. Before entering, the leader turned around and glanced at Liu Bian.
Liu Bian did not hesitate, smiled at him, and followed him.
The man seemed to frown, but did not show any other reaction and walked directly into the Talent Recruitment Hall.
Asking for a monthly ticket~~