Hot flashes

The next morning at court, Xiao Jue brought up the matter of sending someone to Jiangnan, asking the ministers to discuss who would be the most suitable.

The Minister of Revenue was the first to step forward, saying that the most urgent task was to send down a capable person who understood water conservancy; otherwise, the money would be wasted.

The Minister of Works echoed this, saying that several officials in the Ministry of Works had experience in supervising water conservancy projects and that they could be selected from among them.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel also stepped forward, saying that Wu Huai-ren, the Director of the Ministry of Works, had served in the Ministry of Works for many years, was proficient in water conservancy, and had supervised projects in Jiangnan many times. He was experienced and the most suitable candidate.

As Zhou Heng stood in the queue, he quickly glanced at Shen Yu's face when he heard the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel say the name "Wu Huai Ren".

Wu Huai-ren stepped forward. He knelt in the hall, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, and said that the floods in Jiangnan were severe, and the people were displaced. As the Vice Minister of Works, he had an inescapable duty and was willing to go to Jiangnan personally to oversee disaster relief and dike repair. After speaking, he kowtowed, his forehead touching the ground, his posture extremely sincere.

Xiao Jue looked at him, remained silent for a few moments, and then spoke. "I am very pleased that Minister Wu has such a heart. Disaster relief in Jiangnan is of great importance, unlike any ordinary task. Your journey carries a heavy responsibility, so please think it through carefully."

Wu Huai-ren raised his head, his eyes slightly red, his voice trembling. "I have thought it through. I have served in the Ministry of Works for over a decade, overseeing numerous water conservancy projects in Jiangnan, and am quite familiar with the situation there. I am willing to stake my life on this, and will not fail Your Majesty's grace."

The hall was silent. Several senior officials exchanged glances, nodded slightly, and showed expressions of approval on their faces.

Some whispered, "Wu Langzhong is indeed a capable official," while others said, "He is the only one suitable to go to Jiangnan."

Xiao Jue approved. The imperial edict was drafted that very day—the Imperial Commissioner was to handle all disaster relief matters in Jiangnan, with the Ministry of Revenue allocating 300,000 taels of silver, the Ministry of Works allocating a certain amount of supplies, and the Ministry of War dispatching 500 soldiers to escort him along the way.

Wu Huai-ren knelt before the Qianqing Palace to receive the imperial decree, holding the yellow silk ribbon in both hands and kowtowing in gratitude.

On the day Wu Huai-ren left the capital, the weather finally cleared up. He wore a brand-new official robe, rode a tall horse, and was followed by a grand procession of carriages loaded with silver, grain, medicine, and cloth.

A large crowd of onlookers gathered at the city gate. Some pointed and whispered that this was a high-ranking official sent by the imperial court to provide disaster relief in Jiangnan, and that he looked quite impressive.

Wu Huai-ren straightened his back on horseback, smiled, and bowed to the people on both sides.

Zhou Heng did not wear official robes, but only ordinary dark clothes, mingling among the common people, watching the caravan gradually disappear into the distance.

Chen Shen stood beside him and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, do you think he'll be able to handle things once he gets to Jiangnan?"

Zhou Heng watched the convoy disappear at the end of the official road and remained silent for a while.

"He will do a few impressive things first. He will allocate a portion of the silver to the powerful families so they can use it to repair dikes and provide disaster relief. It will all be clearly written in the accounts, and no one can say anything about it."

The powerful families would also cooperate with him, putting on a show in the localities to make the people believe that the imperial court was really doing something. Then—" he paused, "once he felt that everyone had lowered their guard, he would start to reach out."

Test the waters. If no one notices, extend another hand. By the time he pulls his hand back, if half of the 300,000 taels of silver has ended up in the hands of the people, then he'll consider it a sign of a change of heart.

Chen Shen's expression changed.

"Then why send him?"

Zhou Heng did not answer. He looked in the direction the convoy had disappeared, then turned and walked back.

After Wu Huai-ren went south, Zhou Heng didn't sit idle. He ordered Chen Shen to bring out some of the most clever members of the secret guards and send them south ahead of time to infiltrate the disaster victims.

They needed people who looked like ordinary folks, spoke with a Jiangnan accent, and could easily blend in with the disaster victims. Chen Shen spent a long time selecting from his bodyguards and finally chose five people.

Zhou Heng asked them one by one and thought they were all okay, so he let them set off.

Before they left, he called them to his side and said only one sentence: "When you get to Jiangnan, see what he does, write it down, and tell me when you come back."

Those people nodded, changed into tattered clothes, carried bundles on their backs, mingled with the fleeing refugees, and left the city.

At the same time, Zhou Heng began searching for the right person to be the imperial envoy. This person was of paramount importance.

He had to be capable, incorruptible, and able to maintain order in Jiangnan and wrest control of disaster relief from the powerful families.

More importantly, he had to be unrelated to any faction in the court—he couldn't be a member of any aristocratic family.

Zhou Heng mentally went through all the officials in the court again and again, eliminating one after another until only one name remained.

This man's surname is Han, given name Zhang, courtesy name Ziming. He is a reader in the Hanlin Academy. He is forty-two years old this year and has been in the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years. He has never been transferred to a post outside the academy, nor has he been promoted to any high-ranking official position.

He was a skilled writer, an upright man, and never participated in factional struggles, making him virtually invisible in court. But Zhou Heng knew this man was no ordinary person.

He looked through Han Zhang's resume and learned that during his years at the Hanlin Academy, he had written many articles on water conservancy, canal transport, and agriculture. Each article was substantial and not just empty talk.

Zhou Heng didn't rush to find Han Zhang. Now was not the time. Wu Huai Ren had just arrived in Jiangnan and hadn't even started making his move yet; pushing Han Zhang forward now would be pointless.

He had to wait until Wu Huai-ren embezzled the silver, until the true colors of the powerful families were revealed, and until public resentment in Jiangnan flared up, before pushing Han Zhang out. At that time, Han Zhang would be a knife, a knife that could cut through iron like mud.