Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 478 The Yellow River is in danger of bursting its banks

After the Dragon Boat Festival, it rains a lot. Since the beginning of summer this year, various places have been reporting abnormal rainfall records, and many places have experienced large-scale waterlogging and flooding.

Emperor Jingtai was also overwhelmed by these problems at the moment, and since there was a lack of funds in the court, he thought of Xia Lin first.

"He is Emperor Ye, why doesn't he want to share the burden for the country? Don't say he is unsuitable. Who else is suitable besides him? There are only 9 million taels left in the treasury, and the year is not even halfway through. What do you think we should do with this matter? Let those good-for-nothings deal with it, and they can pocket 5 million of the 9 million taels. Let Xia Daosheng deal with it, and he can get the job done and earn me 10 million taels."

Emperor Jingtai held the window with both hands. The rainy days had made his shoulders sore and painful, and he was very unsteady. Ma Zhou behind him looked embarrassed and said, "Your Majesty, I think you should think twice before acting."

"I know." Emperor Jingtai looked back at Ma Zhou helplessly and laughed, his face full of helplessness: "I can't control him. I also know that wherever he goes, the people have no court in their hearts, and all they think of is Xia Daosheng. But this time I won't ask him to go out. Let him stay in charge of the country, and I will go out myself!"

"what?"

This statement shocked Ma Zhou: "The new emperor is leaving the capital?"

"Yes, before his death, the late emperor warned me that when I ascend the throne, I should find Xia Daosheng if I encounter any difficulties. I should let him do it, but not all of it. I should do it myself according to his instructions. In fact, I was not happy about it at all. What would I become then? A puppet emperor? But now that I think about it, it doesn't really matter. I have discovered that he is a blockhead. If you don't ask him to do something, he really won't do anything."

Ma Zhou was somewhat helpless after hearing this: "But Your Majesty, if the Emperor comes in person to provide disaster relief, how will the court function?"

Emperor Jingtai was silent for a moment: "I want to see if you will rebel if I really leave. If you really rebel, will Xia Daosheng punish you?"

"Definitely."

"Hmm?" Emperor Jingtai turned around and frowned, "Lord Ma, don't be so direct."

Ma Zhou quickly explained, "I meant that Xia Daosheng would definitely suppress the rebellion. I don't know too much, but I vaguely know that he promised the late emperor that he would never betray his country. Although I still don't know what this betrayal means, I think it should be what I guessed."

"I know that, but you also know that it's really scary that he uses the surname Xia wherever he goes." Emperor Jingtai turned around and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I don't believe it. I didn't get angry when he pointed at my nose and said that I was narrow-minded. It's just that it's better for me to handle this matter myself."

"But your majesty, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day."

"You." Emperor Jingtai pointed at Ma Zhou and said, "Temporarily take over the throne."

After hearing this, Ma Zhou knelt down before Emperor Jingtai and said, "I dare not."

"What do you mean by dare or not? Just take over temporarily if I ask you to." Emperor Jingtai stretched out his arms. "To be honest with you, I'm used to running around all these years. Now I'm very uncomfortable being trapped in the capital. So I plan to go and see the Green Forest Army first. I'm really afraid of 400,000 people hanging over my head. Then I'll think of a way to make the Yellow River flood area more prosperous. You know, disaster relief is the best way to win people's hearts. Alas, I asked you young people to come up because I don't want to be controlled by those old men. So don't talk nonsense."

Ma Zhou's scalp was numb all the way to his tailbone. He had just taken office for half a year and was already temporarily acting as the emperor. This was a very scary thing. If he didn't handle it well, he would be attacked by everyone. And Emperor Jingtai probably wanted to secretly observe who in the capital needed to be killed first.

The emperor's mind is always changing.

However, Emperor Jingtai was now very determined, and Ma Zhou could not continue to insist. He quietly left the imperial study and turned around and came to where Xia Lin lived.

After both sides reconciled their accounts, Xia Lin smiled and picked up the purple clay teapot to pour a cup of tea for Ma Zhou: "I told you that someone was behind him giving him advice, and it's actually a very clever move. But it's also reasonable, so if he wants to do it, then let him do it."

"you do not mind?"

"What do I mind?" Xia Lin spread his hands. "Do I mind him taking my military power? He has to be able to take it away. As I said before, if I don't follow my path, he can't take it away. If I follow my path, what can he do if he takes it away? It depends on whether he chooses this path or not. If he chooses it, he can only grit his teeth and go on, otherwise he will be killed by himself in a minute."

"Your conspiracy is the most famous one in the history." Ma Zhou picked up the teacup. "I heard from my wife at home a few days ago that the women in the capital were all saying that you slept with His Majesty in the same bed. They were very sure about it. Aren't you going to clarify it? Those women are going crazy. I think the historians are going to start to investigate."

"It doesn't matter." Xia Lin waved his hand and said, "Whatever. Unofficial history has to be wild and shitty enough. We can just treat it as a joke and it will be over."

Ma Zhou nodded but did not delve into it too deeply. The two then talked about the flood problem in Henan Province this year. Although there was waterlogging everywhere, Henan Province was the worst hit. After all, it had been a flood zone of the Yellow River for thousands of years. Now there were heavy rains for several days, and the people must be suffering.

"There's actually nothing to ask him to do. If he wants to go, then let him go. It would be good for him to be a mascot and boost the morale of the local military and civilians."

Xia Lin stroked his chin and said, "You may have to be more careful in other places."

"Well, I know that. But what should we do now that the treasury is empty?" "So what I said before was just a map of Yan State. Your map is long enough, but you have only revealed the whole thing now. Are you crying poor?"

Xia Lin rolled his eyes: "I really can't get any money now, but I have a plan, you can try it."

Ma Zhou was also a little embarrassed, and he happily bowed and said, "Please help me, Lord Xia."

"Come on, what is your current status? You are a fucking third-rank official, Zhou'er. You are bowing to me and calling me your superior. You can't wash it off even if you jump into the Yellow River."

"To borrow Lord Xia's words, just watch. It's something everyone knows anyway. Besides, it's normal for a minister to pay respect to the queen."

"Luo Shixin! Come on, Luo Shixin, drag this guy out and beat him to death with sticks!"

After a while, Luo Shixin ran over and took a look at the prime minister sitting there. He hesitated and said, "Sir, are you really going to fight me?"

Ma Zhou waved his hand and told him to get off quickly: "What a fool..."

After the little episode, Ma Zhou poured tea for Xia Lin: "Please give me some advice, Lord Xia."

"Ma Zhou is temporarily taking over the position of the king, so you are the king." Xia Lin leaned over and stretched out his hand to catch some rain in the pavilion. "Since you are the king, you have the right to speak. Now, are our Fu Party and the officials of the aristocratic families almost equal in power in the court?"

"About 40%."

"Yes." Xia Lin clapped his fan in his hand and said, "Let them out to bite. As soon as Emperor Jingtai leaves the capital, let them start biting."

Ma Zhou was stunned and immediately sat up straight: "Huh?"

"Let Old Xu publish a series of questions in the newspapers, force the major families to squeeze out, and put pressure on them in the court and among the people. Even a toad will have to be squeezed out of them."

"Is this feasible?"

"If it doesn't work, then take action. Let Lao Zhang cooperate with you. Check a few houses and search a few households first. Zhou'er, you are still too upright. We have guns and pens in our hands. If I say he deserves to die, then he deserves to die. When your family slaughters pigs during the New Year, do you care how the pigs jump? But you still have to grasp the degree. You have to make them willing to cut the meat but not cut too hard. After all, if they are killed with one knife, there will be no fun next year. It's enough. They actually know what's going on. The emperor relies on them. What are you afraid of as an acting emperor? You can tell them very obscurely that if they don't want to face you, let them face me."

“No…” Ma Zhou couldn’t control himself this time and burst out laughing: “You really know how to entertain yourself…”

"That's all there is to life, man."

With Xia Lin's support, Ma Zhou's confidence increased greatly. On the way back in the carriage, he had some ideas in his mind, and he felt as if he had returned to the time when he was serving in Fuliang. Ma Zhou felt that period of time was the time when he got the most training. Even now that he has become the prime minister, he can still handle things based on what he learned in Fuliang.

Therefore, he always felt that hard work and good fortune could not be compared with innate talent. Xia Daosheng, a natural monster, was really too... Anyway, Ma Zhou has seen many young people who claim to be geniuses, but those geniuses have not even reached the threshold to meet Xia Daosheng.

But it seems that I haven't reached the threshold to meet him. It's just that we met earlier. If it were now, I would probably still be the jailer in charge of the prison, nothing more.

"By the way, a group of beauties have been sent here from the Western Regions these days. Do you want one?" Ma Zhou suddenly asked, "If you want one, I'll pick one for you."

Xia Lin waved his hands: "No, my wife is going crazy now. She insists on giving birth to a son. Let me tell you, she used to be such an innocent little sister, silly, but now she's like a juicer..."

Ma Zhou also fell silent at this moment, and raised his head after a long time: "I am nearly forty years old, and I have not taken a concubine. The old woman at home... I am the prime minister, second only to the emperor, but she often said to me, 'You are in this state, and you still want to take a concubine. Don't waste my time. You are useless.'"

"You've hurt your wife." Xia Lin nodded: "If it were someone else, you would have buried her alive, right?"

"That's not the case. I'll give her a slap for sure, but I can't bear to part with that old woman. She was the one who drank ice and slept in the snow with me back then..."

"Okay, okay, I'm actually OK. After all, I'm much younger than you. I'll go ask if there's anything useful. Hey, do you want some deer antlers from Changbai Mountain? I'll get you some."

"Is it useful? I don't dare go home now, for fear of being laughed at by her." Ma Zhou said hesitantly: "If it is useful, you can bring some for me, and I will give you silver."

(End of this chapter)