Long live Emperor Wu!

In Muzhou, there are many people who are more miserable than their husband and wife.The couple themselves were wealthy, and they persisted until the Chinese New Year was approaching before they could no longer bring the matter to a close.

Ordinary people would have starved to death long ago.Officials can go outside the north gate of Yangzhou City and take a look. The governor of this state built two halls outside to accommodate refugees from Muzhou.

It was winter, there was no house to live in, and I had to freeze to death on the street. The governor sent some charcoal, and some people in Yangzhou City donated some clothes and food, so I could barely survive.

But there are too many people and it’s impossible to save them..."

He looked at Li Ke questioningly and said:

"I heard that the Holy Father ordered a census of household registrations the year before last. Yangzhou had a population of 36. Muzhou is a little smaller than here, so there must be 20, right?"

There was a hint of compassion in Li Ke's eyes, and he replied in a deep voice:

"18."

The old man nodded, sighed, looked at the void, and calculated:

"Among the eighteen people, even if eight run away, four starve to death, and there are still six, then if Chen Shuo can really gather tens of thousands of people, I'm afraid they will all be forced to survive."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to Li Ke and said:

"We rely on our old people to sell them, and boldly ask the officials to think of a way to persuade them to come back after the disaster, instead of killing them all.

Our Tang Dynasty had such a good time of peace, and most people lived a good life.

It is unbearable for the people of Muzhou to end up in such a miserable state because of a corrupt official. "

I don't know if it was because of the old man's tone of voice and worried expression that Li Ke burst into tears.

He took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears. He was a tall and thick man, almost forty years old, and his eye sockets were so shallow that he even felt embarrassed.

The guard beside him whispered worriedly:
"My lord..."

Li Ke raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and then said to the old man:
"Don't worry, old man, this can be done."

After saying that, he stood up, bowed his hands to the old man, called the guard to pay, and walked downstairs.

The group of people quickly went downstairs from the second floor and went out.

The old man with a white beard leaned against the window and looked down, watching as they took the horse and galloped away.

His eyes were shining with excitement, and his white beard seemed to be energetic, and he murmured:
"The one just now seems to be a prince."

……

……

On the way, Li Ke looked solemn and went straight to the Governor's Mansion in Yangzhou. The guards following him knew what was going on when he came out this time, and quickly reminded him:

"My lord, you can't go see the governor. What if Changsun Wuji accuses you of being rebellious later?"

Li Ke pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, pulled the horse around the guard for half a circle, looked at him and said:

"Sui Ying, you know me, the reason why I coveted the position of Crown Prince was to fulfill my ambition to benefit the world.

Now that Your Majesty is willing to trust me and use me, the same is true. If Changsun Wuji wants to say something, let him say it!
In the past, I was afraid of spoiling the opportunity to do something. Now that the opportunity has come, I naturally have to focus on doing practical things. "

After saying that, he turned back and headed towards the Governor's Mansion without hesitation.

The guards looked at him with admiration and emotion in their eyes, pursed their lips, and quickly followed him.

When I arrived at the square outside the governor's office, I saw hundreds of people gathered in front of the notice. They were all old, weak, women and children. A servant, with a sincere expression on his face, shouted loudly to the people: "The right emperor is your Majesty, not that." Witches! They don’t have any magical protection, they are just hungry people!"

An old woman down below cried and said:

"...Then why did she go to two cities? Our family only has one son. Please, Lord Governor, let him come back!"

Then there was a burst of intensive crying from the crowd, shouting:
"That's right, I definitely can't win."

"The Governor has always been kind-hearted and a good official, so I won't let him go."

"He is the mainstay of the family. If he dies as a result of heaven's punishment, no one, old or young, will be able to live."

When the officer saw this, he immediately became angry. He stood on the stone under the notice board and stood taller than the crowd. He pointed at the crowd and cursed:

"Ignorant and foolish people! They are deceiving the public with their lies! They want to drag our governor into trouble! The imperial edict has arrived! All the soldiers recruited by the government must be loyal to the Tang Dynasty! If you are late for the deadline, you will be killed without mercy!"

The crowd heard another burst of crying.

Li Ke watched for a while on the horse, with a sad look on his face, then pulled the horse directly and went back.

……

When the governor Fang Renyu heard that King Wu was coming, he immediately came out to greet him. As soon as he knelt down to salute, Li Ke helped him up and said:
"Lord Governor, please forgive me."

Fang Renyu is over 60 years old. He is also a veteran who followed Emperor Taizong to conquer the country, but his achievements are not obvious and he has always been on the fringes of the Chang'an court.

As the third son of Emperor Taizong, King Wu Li Ke, Fang Renyu naturally recognized him.

After he stood up, his face was full of doubts and he asked:

"I wonder why His Highness came here this time...?"

"I came here this time in compliance with His Majesty's instructions to see the situation in Muzhou for him. By the way, Your Majesty asked me to thank you in person. The governor was concerned about the country and the people, and he had prepared for the situation in Muzhou in advance. , it’s really rare to have a memorial.”

When Fang Renyu heard this, his eyebrows suddenly showed a look of relief, and then he sighed and asked:

"Does your Majesty know?"

He had received a receipt from the imperial court, and it was clear on the receipt whether it had His Majesty's approval. He knew that the memorial had not been handed over to the emperor's case.

The two people walked to the back hall together, talking as they walked. Li Ke said:

"I know. His Majesty ordered the chamberlain to move Muzhou's memorials for half a year and check them. Only then did he discover the reason. He was very angry at that time."

Fang Renyu sighed again and said:
"I really regret it. Why didn't I send more memorials? Maybe the result would have been different."

Li Ke was very surprised and said:

"How can I blame you, sir?"

Fang Renyu shook his head and said:
"I thought at that time that Chu Suiliang had always followed the lead of his eldest son Wuji, and the eldest son's family was extremely at odds with the Fang family.

I am a relative of the Fang family. He regards me as a member of the Fang family and often makes things difficult for me. They were the ones who blocked many of my memorials in the past.

At that time, I saw that they responded to such a serious matter so lightly, and stopped talking about it when they got angry.

I should persist for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and the people.Although they did not deal with the Fang family, they would not harm the Tang Dynasty due to party fighting. "

After hearing this, Li Ke's disgust for Changsun Wuji increased. He couldn't help but snorted coldly, cupped his hands and said:
"My lord is very righteous. In terms of responsibility, it is also the responsibility of his eldest son Wuji and Chu Suiliang, and it has nothing to do with my lord!
It's a pity that he is an auxiliary minister appointed by the late emperor and is also your majesty's uncle, so it is not easy for your majesty to punish him. "