Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 151: Rebellion in Cangzhou
"Your Majesty, I intend to go to Cangzhou to provide disaster relief and save thousands of people from disaster."

Upon hearing that Yue Ling was willing to take on this tough job, all the civil servants who had been silent just now stepped out.

"Your Majesty, I think Marquis Anjing is the most suitable candidate. First of all, Marquis Anjing's reputation is far-reaching. Even in Cangzhou, 400 miles away from the capital, he will surely be able to gather people's hearts and take charge of the overall situation."

"Secondly, the people of Cangzhou are tough. If weak scholars like us go there, we will need to be accompanied by guards all the time, which will make it difficult for us to do our job. Marquis Anjing will not have such troubles."

"Thirdly, with the ability of Marquis Anjing, he can control an army of 200,000 at will. How can a small Cangzhou cause any trouble?"

"I will reconsider!"

"I will reconsider!"

"Marquis Anjing is a man of great talent who can stabilize the country and bring peace to the nation. I will also review the matter!"

Of course, many civil servants did not think that Yue Ling was truly a talent who could stabilize the country and bring peace to the nation. In their eyes, anyone who was not a Jinshi was just a crude country bumpkin.

At this moment, he is just praising Yue Ling to make him feel proud. When he fails to solve Cangzhou's difficult and complicated problems, he will fall miserably and lose face.

In the past three years, six imperial censors have come and gone in Cangzhou Prefecture, and there has never been peace. How can Yue Ling stabilize the situation? Can he still suppress the people by force?

Just think about it and you will know that a warrior who comes from the royal guard will not know much about political affairs.

Only Dongfang Zhi, who had been promoted to the position of Privy Councilor, shook his head slightly and sighed for these arrogant civil servants.

On the stage, the King of Qin asked hesitantly, "Lord Yue, do you really want to go?"

Yue Ling nodded and replied, "I am willing to go."

The King of Qin confirmed, "If we are going to Cangzhou to provide disaster relief, we will have to set off soon. Lord Yue, are you suitable?"

Yue Ling nodded again, "I can leave from the capital at any time."

With the civil servants instigating, it was already a difficult situation to end well. Yue Ling was even more willing to go at this time, so the King of Qin had no reason to reject him. He sighed and said reluctantly: "Okay. Promote Yue Ling to the position of Minister of the Secretariat, and follow my order to go to Cangzhou Prefecture to provide disaster relief and supervise all military and political affairs."

The civil servants were all shocked.

Going out to provide disaster relief was just an appointment as an imperial censor, but why was Yue Ling promoted to a third-rank civil official and given such great power?

This really means that they want to train Yue Ling to become a general or a prime minister.

Everyone was jealous, because the Minister of the Secretariat was a candidate for prime minister and was about to reach the pinnacle of the civil service.

But when he thought about the hard work in Cangzhou, he felt relieved.

Do your job well first, then you can become a prime minister. If you can't even govern a place, how can you become a prime minister?

"If there is nothing more to report, I will adjourn the court today..."

Outside Xuanwu Gate,

Whenever Yue Ling walked past, there were officials who came to congratulate him.

"Congratulations, Grand Commander, you have been conferred the title of Marquis, and now you have even been promoted to the third rank. This is truly worth celebrating."

"congratulations."

Yue Ling also bowed and returned the greeting, "Congratulations, congratulations."

At the right time, Feng Yu, a former colleague of Yue Ling and now a member of the Privy Council, came to Yue Ling and whispered, "Why did you take over this mess? The public security in Cangzhou is very poor now. Several governors have worked hard for several years but have not achieved any results and have retired in frustration. Those who were expected to be promoted have all been demoted because of this incident."

"You are now well-known in the capital. As long as you work hard and steadily, it won't be difficult for you to be granted the title of Duke, or even become a high-ranking official. You have just come of age, and there are still many opportunities in the future. Why bother to come to Cangzhou?"

After thinking about Dai Quan's words, Yue Ling shook his head and said, "If I said I was going to save the world and bring peace to the people, you would definitely not believe me, so I have my own purpose. Now that the mission has been sent, it's too late to say anything."

Feng Yu shook his head and sighed, "Then you can do whatever you want. However, I still want to thank the Grand Commander first. Without this battle to defend the capital, I'm afraid I would have to retire and return home as a fourth-rank official."

"You're welcome."

Feng Yu bowed solemnly to Yue Ling again, then left Yue Ling and left.

As Yue Ling walked forward, many people came up to him and talked to him. This was a radical change from the old days when no one paid attention to him when he went to court.

However, most of the military generals were in awe, while some of the civil officials made malicious jokes.

Yue Ling was not in a hurry to return home. Instead, he led the horse and walked slowly along the street, looking at the prosperous capital city and sorting out his thoughts.

The capital city quickly regained its vitality after the war, just like the spring breeze softening the buds, and everything returned to normal.

Yue Ling also had a new goal, which was to go to Cangzhou and solve the long-standing problems there.

"Sister Lin is recovering well now. If she is kept in the mansion all day, it would be better to take her out for a walk. But if Lord Lin knew that I was taking his beloved daughter around, he would not blame me, right?"

Yue Ling shook his head. "Even if you blame me later, I can't leave Sister Lin at home. It's really hard to let go without her."

Having made up his mind and no longer confused, Yue Ling jumped on his horse and rushed home.

……

"Master, there is a man here, claiming to be an old friend of yours."

"Old friend?"

As soon as Yue Ling returned home, he encountered a strange thing.

He has no father, no mother, no brothers or sisters. Before entering the Qin Palace, he had only met the gangster leaders in the market a few times. When had he ever been friends with them?
Lian Yueling couldn't help but feel curious about who this old friend was.

"Where is he now?"

The doorman responded, "In the main hall, Housekeeper Yun is accompanying us."

Yue Ling nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I understand."

When Yue Ling arrived at the main hall, he saw Jia Yun drinking tea with a man in the guest seat, and the two were silent.

Jia Yun was wary of the man, and the man was also very reserved.

"Why does this person look a little unfamiliar, yet also a little familiar, as if I have seen him somewhere before."

Yue Ling walked a few more steps into the hall, and Jia Yun immediately stood up to greet him when he heard the noise.

"Master, you are back. This person claims to be an old friend of yours and has been waiting in the hall for a while."

The visitor bowed respectfully, his body trembling slightly, and he was so nervous that even his words were a little unclear. "Grand Commander, you may have forgotten that I am... Zhang Changhe. I met the Grand Commander once in Cangzhou..."

Yue Ling suddenly realized, "Oh, it's you. Come, sit down first, we can talk later."

Seeing that it was indeed an old friend of the master, Jia Yun felt relieved, knowing that he had done nothing wrong. He signaled to Yue Ling and left the hall first.

Yue Ling took a sip of tea and asked Zhang Changhe, "Captain Zhang, what brings you to my house?" Zhang Changhe held the teacup in both hands and said tremblingly, "Your subordinate, I was ordered by the Grand Commander to come to Beijing to protect the capital. Now that everything is settled, it is time to return to Cangzhou. Before leaving Beijing, I thought of visiting the Grand Commander."

Afterwards, Zhang Changhe took out a box from behind him and placed it on the tea table next to Yue Ling.

"A small courtesy is not respectful."

Yue Ling tapped the wooden box with his fingers and said with a smile, "Captain Zhang is using this trick again. What happened to those pirates?"

Zhang Changhe smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Grand Commander. I was blind and made a big mistake at that time. Fortunately, the Grand Commander did not hold it against me. Later, I made up for it and cleared all the bandits from the river."

"I came to your house today to thank the Grand Commander."

Having said that, Zhang Changhe stood up and was about to bow.

Yue Ling raised his hand to stop him, and asked, "Which gate did Captain Zhang guard when he entered the capital to protect the city?"

Zhang Changhe said ashamedly: "It is Zhengyang Gate."

Yue Ling's eyes lit up, "It's Zhengyang Sect. Captain Zhang must have made a lot of military achievements. He has a chance to be promoted to a higher rank."

Zhang Changhe apologized with a smile, "I am ashamed. Drinking some soup behind the Grand Commander is enough to fill me up."

Yue Ling shook his head and smiled, "Captain Zhang, there's no need to be so modest. It just so happens that you were born in Cangzhou, and I'm about to go to Cangzhou again, so I'll ask you something right now."

Zhang Changhe was shocked. "The Grand Commander is going to Cangzhou? I really cleared out the bandits."

Yue Ling waved his hand and said, "It's not because of this matter. This morning, His Majesty sent me to Cangzhou to provide disaster relief. I wonder who the prefect of Cangzhou is?"

Upon hearing that Yue Ling was going to Cangzhou Prefecture to provide disaster relief, Zhang Changhe took a deep breath and even felt like crying.

If such a huge Buddha statue were to arrive in Cangzhou Prefecture, wouldn't it shock all the villains so much that they would be unable to move?
It is no exaggeration to say that clouds appear when you turn your hand and rain appears when you turn your hand back.

But in person, Zhang Changhe had to answer Yue Ling's questions truthfully.

"The prefect of Cangzhou is named Pu Zheng. He is a Jinshi graduate and has been the prefect of Cangzhou for five years. Because Cangzhou has suffered from disasters for many years, the granaries have very little grain, and they rely on other prefectures and counties for relief. He failed to be promoted due to poor performance, and precisely because of this, no one in Cangzhou was willing to take over, and he was reinstated once."

Yue Ling asked again: "Cangzhou is located on the Grand Canal, so it is not difficult to transport grain. Why did the shortage of grain lead to the current situation?"

"It is precisely because of this Grand Canal that Cangzhou Prefecture has suffered a lot of trouble. The water of the canal mainly relies on the Zhang and Wei rivers, and the Zhang River has a rapid flow, while the nearby canal channel is not wide. Whenever the flood season comes, the embankments are difficult to defend and often have the risk of breaching. Cangzhou is low-lying, and once a breach occurs, it will affect more than just a few dozen or even a few hundred households."

"The canal in Cangzhou Prefecture is the longest, and repairing the river bank and clearing the river silt will cost a lot of money."

"In the past two years, we were able to survive with the help from the surrounding areas. In the past year, due to the serious rebellion of the Japanese pirates in Liangzhe, there is not much surplus food. In addition, not long ago, Your Majesty went to attack Liaodong, and the Grand Commander-in-Chief guarded the capital, so the food and grass were also supplied to these two places first."

"The problem with Cangzhou Prefecture is that no one is planting here, and it is not possible to plant here, and merchants are hoarding goods at high prices, making a lot of ill-gotten gains."

Yue Ling nodded. Even if the situation was as Zhang Changhe described, it was not difficult for the six censors.

"Besides this, is there anything else strange going on in Cangzhou Prefecture?"

Zhang Changhe pondered for a while, then said stealthily: "As the Grand Commander said, there is indeed something strange going on in Cangzhou Prefecture."

Yue Ling became slightly interested, "Oh? Tell me more."

Zhang Changhe swallowed his saliva and said, "All the censors who arrived in Cangzhou either died of illness in office like the previous censor Xu, or asked to resign. Even if they asked to resign, they died of sudden illness or died in an accident not long after leaving Cangzhou. None of them had a good end."

"There is a legend among the people that there is a fierce ghost in Cangzhou who is seeking revenge. It is the gathering of the wronged souls of the people of Cangzhou, and it is specifically looking for the high officials in Beijing who are not doing their job."

How could Yue Ling, as a staunch materialist, believe in any ghosts or monsters? There must be someone behind this.

Yue Ling asked again: "Cangzhou is short of food, and merchants are looking for profits, so there must be people transporting food there to sell, right?"

Zhang Changhe replied, "It was like this before the war, but now it is spring and food is in short supply everywhere, so most grain dealers sell their grain locally. Even if there are grain merchants who don't care about the loss and transport the grain to Cangzhou, it will be bought by the Cangzhou Chamber of Commerce."

Yue Ling frowned slightly, his tone was filled with anger, "Cangzhou Prefecture is in such a mess, and there are still people hoarding goods at a high price."

Zhang Changhe sighed, as if his conscience had been awakened, and criticized the merchants, "Merchants pursue profits and do whatever it takes. Even when the Grand Commander was defending the city, there were still merchants who wanted to make a fortune from the national crisis."

Yue Ling nodded, "Businessmen's pursuit of profit is like poison to quench thirst, their desire is insatiable."

Changing the subject, Yue Ling asked, "Did Captain Zhang take any benefits from them?"

Zhang Changhe was stunned and opened his mouth but no word came out.

Yue Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a smile: "Captain Zhang, you have to tell the truth in front of me."

Zhang Changhe immediately knelt on the ground and cried, "Grand Commander, please let me go. I was blinded by greed and accepted money to help them. Now I have repented and reformed!"

Yue Ling poured himself a cup of tea, blew on the hot steam, and said lightly: "Okay, get up. I have something to tell you. If you do it well, I won't pursue it."

Zhang Changhe knelt down in front of Yue Ling and kowtowed repeatedly, "Grand Commander, please tell me what you want. I will do my best to do it."

Yue Ling raised his lips slightly and said, "It's not a difficult task. I'll ask you to stay in the capital first, and then go south to Cangzhou after I give you a letter. Do you understand?"

"This……"

Seeing Yue Ling glaring, Zhang Changhe kowtowed again, "I understand, I understand."

After drinking the tea, Yue Ling stood up, patted his shoulder and said, "Do your job well. If you play tricks on me, you know what will happen."

Zhang Changhe shuddered and nodded rapidly.

After Yue Ling left, Zhang Changhe heard the teacup that Yue Ling had just used on the tea table suddenly split into several pieces. He took a breath of cold air again.

"Captain Zhang."

Hearing the voice, Zhang Changhe hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed again, thinking that Yue Ling had returned.

However, it was Jia Yun, the housekeeper, who spoke to him, "Captain Zhang, get up. You should follow me out."

Zhang Changhe took the wooden box that Yue Ling had not taken away and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, please lead the way."

……

Entering the courtyard, Yue Ling changed his mood, summoned all the maids in the room to the hall, and said mysteriously: "Today, I have good news to announce to everyone."

This sentence aroused the curiosity of the little girls, "What's the good news?"

"I have decided to take Sister Lin, Zijuan, and Xueyan with me to Cangzhou to take up my post."

"what?"

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(End of this chapter)