Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

After leaving the villa, Qin Ji went straight back to the palace. Bian Dou secretly handed Doctor Liang's secret ointment to Fu Lu, saying, "His Majesty obtained this ointment for Young Master Bian, saying it's... for unforeseen circumstances."

The words "Young Master Bian" were emphasized. After Fu Lu understood what Bian Dou meant, he took the plaster with a tremor in his heart and carefully put it away.

This month passed peacefully. Fu Lu had thought the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was an exception, but unexpectedly, His Majesty had even gone out of his way to obtain medicine from outside the palace. Fu Lu secretly glanced at the figure diligently reviewing memorials in the Qianzheng Hall. Could it be...?

Qin Ji put down his imperial pen, closed the memorial, and pondered how to deal with Yang Xiuyun.

Although Jiang Jibai was fooled today, if Yang Xiuyun, as Jiang Jibai's good friend, frequently visits him on his days off, the probability of accidentally running into him is too high.

This is like a bomb that could explode at any moment. Once it explodes, it might destroy the teacher he finally managed to get his hands on.

We can't just chop Yang Xiuyun up, can we?

Sending him to a distant post? So he'd barely return to the capital even once a year?

Yang Xiuyun rose to the rank of Vice Minister of Works, a third-rank official. If he were to be transferred to a post outside the capital, he could only become a high-ranking official in a remote region, but there were currently no suitable vacancies available.

Wait, just because there aren't suitable vacancies now doesn't mean there won't be in the future.

Qin Ji's eyes lit up when he thought of his cheap senior brother Shen Jiangliu, who had been thrown into the muddy waters of Ning'an.

Shen Jiangliu, you must live up to my expectations. It would be best if you could shatter the sky above Ning'an for me. I have high hopes for you!

Qin Ji immediately summoned his secret guard Lianzi and sent a secret letter to Shen Jiangliu, encouraging him to do a good job in Ning'an and letting him go all out.

Having finished all this, Qin Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fu Lu then approached Qin Ji at the opportune moment, "Your Majesty must be tired after a long day. Shall this servant help Your Majesty to settle down?"

Qin Ji glanced at him indifferently, then used Fu Lu's arm for support to get up.

Fu Lu's guess was confirmed. He was annoyed that he had failed in his duty by not preparing more ointment for His Majesty, and at the same time, he was secretly alarmed by the terrifying nature of Jiang Daru.

He drew a line in his mind, reminding himself to maintain a certain distance while showing sufficient respect for Jiang Daru.

This kind of behavior, which involves dragging one's entire family along on a tightrope, could lead to a massacre if the emperor's heart changes one day.

Jiang Daru is truly a brave man!

...

By the time Qin Ji had almost fully recovered from his injuries, it was already the end of September.

Because the triennial autumn hunt will take place in October, Qin Ji will briefly leave the capital to go to Yushan, a hundred miles away. At the court meeting, the Vice Minister of Yu made a brief report on the situation of the Yushan hunting grounds.

Qin Ji issued a decree ordering officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital to bring their sons who were twelve years of age or older, ostensibly to encourage the young men of the court to strengthen their bodies and not neglect their riding and archery skills, so that they would have good physiques to serve the court in the future.

His Majesty has shown great favor by allowing his children to participate in the autumn hunt, and the officials are naturally delighted, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" three times. The military officers, in particular, are shouting with genuine enthusiasm.

If one's own nephews or nieces could make an appearance before His Majesty, and perform well during the autumn hunt, they might be able to secure a bright future.

Those with sharper minds began to speculate about His Majesty's intentions, wondering if he wanted to use the autumn hunt to select a group of young men with good martial arts skills to serve as imperial guards and cultivate them into future confidants.

Qin Ji did indeed intend to select a group of promising talents, as the world had been at peace for many years without major wars. However, ever since the new leader of Shangwu, Wuge, killed his brother and took the throne, the Shangwu and Rousang tribes had been making frequent small moves and gradually disregarding the imperial court.

Uge is ambitious and betrayal is only a matter of time. Most of the generals who can be used in the court are old, and the new generation of young people have no military achievements. We don't know if they are mules or horses, so it's a good time to put them to the test.

Whether Shang Jingming can seize this opportunity to rise to prominence depends on his own abilities.

...

September passed in the blink of an eye and it was early October. Just three days before the imperial entourage was about to set off for Yushan, a memorial of impeachment was presented to Qin Ji.

Sun Han, the Provincial Governor of Ning'an, together with officials from various counties and prefectures in Ning'an and officials in charge of waterways, submitted a memorial impeaching Imperial Commissioner Shen Jiangliu.

It is said that since Shen Jiangliu was appointed as the imperial envoy, he has abused his power to act arbitrarily and treat officials like cattle and servants, humiliating and reprimanding them at every turn.

That would have been one thing; if it were for the sake of flood control and to save countless people from suffering, these Ning'an officials, who were wholeheartedly devoted to the people, would not have bothered with Shen Jiangliu. However, Shen Jiangliu was arrogant and reckless. When he was in charge of the flood discharge, his methods were radical. Before he had even appeased the people, he tried to forcibly blow up the river embankment in the Yituo section, causing the people of Yituo to become furious and, in their anger, they surrounded the river management office demanding an explanation.

Instead of comforting the disaster victims, Shen Jiangliu drew his sword and killed people, nearly inciting a popular uprising. Fortunately, Provincial Governor Sun Han led people to collect the bodies, give the dead a proper burial, and appease the people, preventing the situation from becoming even more out of control.

Officials in Ning'an could no longer tolerate the tyrannical and unreasonable behavior of this person who was so cruel to the people. They had no choice but to jointly impeach Shen Jiangliu, requesting that he be imprisoned and executed to appease public anger. They also recommended another river official who was skilled in water management to replace Shen Jiangliu in supervising water management in Ning'an Province.

Qin Ji watched with a cold laugh, then immediately smashed the teacup beside him, startling Bian Yushu, who was standing by, so much so that she dared not breathe and acted as if she were invisible.

These people were playing a clever game, trying to shake the emperor's heart with a popular uprising, clearly wanting Shen Jiangliu dead.

If Shen Jiangliu hadn't been an imperial envoy, inspecting on behalf of the emperor and representing the emperor's face to some extent, they probably would have already arrested him and executed him without prior notification, instead of simply submitting a memorial of impeachment.

Since the secret guards were sent to Shen Jiangliu's side, news of Ning An has been sent to Qin Ji's desk every day.

The so-called popular uprising was nothing more than a few bribed troublemakers gathering a crowd to cause trouble, and dragging some Yi Tuo people into it.

"Why did they choose to breach the dike at Yituo section for flood control, and not at Yangping? Is it simply because Shen Jiangliu was once the magistrate of Yangping County?"

"Why must the people of Yituo be forced to leave their homes and relocate, their houses destroyed by floods? Are the people of Yangping and Fuguang more noble than those of Yituo?"

Some people with ulterior motives stirred up trouble among the crowd with just a few words, arousing the discontent and anger of the disaster victims, who then surrounded the river management office demanding an explanation.

Between two evils, the lesser one must be chosen. The common people could not understand why the court would abandon Yituo, which had a small population and was poor, in order to preserve the more prosperous Yangping and Fuguang. They were also completely unaware of the paper-thin dikes on both sides of the Lishui River.

All they knew was that their home would be destroyed by the flood and suffer heavy losses.

As far as Qin Ji knew, Shen Jiangliu had already begun to resettle the disaster victims and planned to arrange post-disaster reconstruction. He had even recently submitted a petition to apply for funding for this purpose.

When the river administration office was surrounded, Shen Jiangliu realized that there were villains causing trouble. He immediately drew his sword and killed several people who had instigated the incident and had ill intentions.

He ordered his men to maintain order and evacuate the people. Afterward, he instructed his men to explain the disaster relief plan to the victims in simple and easy-to-understand language. As a result, these measures to comfort the people were seen as the benevolent policies of Governor Sun Han.

Now, who in Yituo doesn't praise Governor Sun as a good official who loves the people?

The statements from both the central and local authorities in Ning'an are consistent.

If it weren't for the secret guards monitoring Shen Jiangliu's every move, even if Qin Ji sent people to investigate, they would probably have concluded that Shen Jiangliu was guilty and Sun Han was a good official.

What a fine official Sun Han was, the Provincial Governor of Ning'an! And what a fine officialdom in Ning'an!