surnamed Wang

A new governor has arrived in Anzhou. His surname is Song, his given name is Mao, and his courtesy name is Huijun. He is from Huzhou and is a protégé of Liu Muqing, the chief minister of the dynasty. He has already reached the fifth rank in his twenties.

As a backbone of the Liu Party, Song Mao was highly regarded by the emperor. His appointment as the governor of Anzhou came with a secret order.

The new official made three fires when he took office. The first fire he made was against King Wu, and the gorgeous palace that was still under construction in Xi'an Town was immediately stopped.

The story must have started a few months ago. The story of Wu Wang's unethical deeds had long been spread throughout the court. At that time, the Dignified Queen Mother kept suppressing it because of the royal dignity.

Later, when the young emperor came to power, he knew his uncle's government well, so he instructed his secret guards to publicize the matter. Soon everyone in the capital knew about it. As the public resentment boiled, the literary circles wrote articles and criticized Wu Wangde for being unworthy of the throne.

Wang Zhaoqi had "no choice" and sent Song Mao to Anzhou. On the one hand, he stopped the emperor's uncle from his ridiculous behavior, and on the other hand, he secretly monitored him. Not only did he earn a good reputation for himself, but he also put King Wu into an embarrassing situation where no one could help him. It was really a general move. The emperor's mental skills were brought to the extreme.

"If you want to cut off his rebellious attitude, you must first destroy his reputation and lose the support of the people. In this way, the other party has already lost half of the battle."

This is what Wang Siheng taught his nephew.

……

Looking at the extremely deserted palace, King Wu put his hands in his sleeves and sighed:

"That kid Zhaoqi is driving me to a dead end."

"My lord, I heard that Song Mao has opened a warehouse to store grain, and the people praise him as an upright official." Guan Changsheng whispered.

"More than that, we are giving out porridge at the moment. It is located next to the palace. Are you angry?"

Sitting on the steps was a young man with unkempt hair and tattered clothes. He was sitting there drinking porridge from a porcelain bowl, and he made a sound of enjoyment after drinking.

"Don't tell me, this porridge is cooked enough."

The young man is Wang Yijing.

Not long ago, he accepted the first big gift from King Wu. He was short-tongued and could only temporarily agree to become an aide.

Wang Siheng promised that after the incident, he would be directly promoted to a general. If he performed well, he could continue to be promoted. In the end, whether he was a general or a prince, he would be brought to the new dynasty. This was the second great gift.

King Wu is good at painting cakes, so Wang Yijing won't take it too seriously. After all, what a man says at the wine table is just as unreliable as what he says in a woman's bed.

He only joined because he had no choice. Rebellion is a serious crime. As long as the life is decent, no one is willing to take risks, except for people like King Wu who are tired of living a comfortable life and want to find excitement.

Wang Yijing drank all the porridge from the broken bowl, and did not forget to lick the bottom of the bowl clean when he was done. He looked like he had not eaten enough for several days, which was indeed consistent with his attire.

It wasn't until he finished eating that Wang Siheng asked:

"How's it going?"

Wang Yijing put the bowl aside and lay directly on the ground, resting his head on his arms and said:

"After the prince's squandering in the past few years, there is not much money left in Anzhou's family. Song Mao's first step is to stop work, the second step is to release food, and the third step is to let out blood."

"Whose blood?"

"After they have freed the local gentry and corrupt officials, it will be your turn."

The young man's words made Wang Siheng's expression change, but Guan Changsheng next to him was mostly surprised, because the other party had the same idea as him.

"Song Mao really has the courage?"

"Song Mao doesn't have it, but our Majesty does. As the saying goes, if there are dates but there are no dates, there will be three poles. No matter how well the prince hides it, he will never escape the emperor's suspicion.

You haven't seen His Majesty for a long time, and you may still treat him as a child, but I can tell you, don't underestimate him.

Being able to endure humiliation and heavy burdens under the Queen Mother for many years without losing her ambition to seize power. This tenacity alone is enough for the prince to take her seriously. "

After Wang Yijing finished speaking, he sat up and burped, looking careless.

He just comes up with ideas, and the world is not his own, so he doesn't need to worry too much.

Next to him, Wang Siheng's eyebrows knitted together, obviously feeling a little uncomfortable from this hand.

Wang Yijing touched his belly and said to himself:
"You'll feel sleepy after eating. Find a place to rest. We'll have another meal in the evening." After saying that, he stood up under Guan Changsheng's strange eyes, picked up the broken bowl and was about to leave. The other party finally couldn't help but said:
"Wang Shaoxia, do you really think of yourself as a beggar?"

Wang Yijing turned around, looked at the man who was several years older than him, grinned and said:

"What's wrong with being a beggar? I want to eat and sleep, and the government gives me an extra two cents a day to nourish me.

Oh, by the way, I met an old beggar today who wanted to introduce me to a wife. We can all go together without any barriers. We can beg for food together when we have a son. "

After saying that, he scratched his butt and walked away. Guan Changsheng looked at his unattractive appearance and couldn't help but said:
"My lord, look at him..."

"Forget it, let him go."

"What shall we do next?"

"It's time to meet Mr. Song."

……

The next day, at the base of the palace wall, a young man in his 20s was directing a group of officials to distribute money and food to the victims.

Although each person only had two cents for a bowl of porridge, it was enough to save their lives, but it would be difficult to do so until winter came.

"Sir, it's not an option for us to give alms all the time. Anzhou's silver grain doesn't have much surplus to begin with. Over the past few days, it's all gone."

A middle-aged man in a shirt reminded him in a low voice.

The young man poured porridge and water for a disaster victim and said calmly:
"I asked you to find the local gentry earlier, how's it going?"

"That group of people are very tactful. They know what we are going to do. They use all kinds of excuses. There are only seven or eight people who are sick. There are no new tricks at all."

"Since you don't want to come, I will go find them myself."

"Sir, most of them have gone to other places in the past few days. Some of them are timid. They just sold their ancestral home at a low price and moved their families."

Song Mao frowned when he heard this. He had been in the capital for a long time and dealt with mostly paperwork. Usually when dealing with wealthy businessmen, the other parties would rush to curry favor with him. Now that he had something to ask of them, he found it so difficult to deal with them.

"Order martial law in Anzhou, and they are not allowed to leave the city again."

"Master Song, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. Those who are left behind are all friends with the prefect. If we go too far..."

When the master ordered it, the "friendship" he talked about was naturally the incense and love piled up with money during the New Year and festivals.

Faced with such bad official habits, even Song Mao, who was not so clear-eyed about black and white, didn't know how to start.

If he collects the money himself, those merchants will offer it with smiles on their faces, but if it is for disaster relief, those people are not willing to pay a penny out because there is no profit.

When he was worried, two people walked out of the palace. Although they were both wearing civilian clothes, Song Mao recognized one of them as King Wu at a glance.

Since arriving in Xie'an, the two of them have never met formally. When they stopped the construction of the palace, it was only based on a piece of paper.

I thought that the notorious King Wu would not pay attention to him, a small official, and that it might even turn into a tense situation. However, the other party did not reveal the situation and directly asked his subordinates to dismiss the migrant workers.

……

"Sir Song, I have long admired your name." Wang Siheng started in an old-fashioned way.

The young man returned the courtesy and said:

"I have met His Highness the Prince."

"I've been busy with important matters before, so I couldn't pay a visit to the governor of Song Dynasty. Please forgive me."

"Your Majesty, your words are serious. It is my duty as a subordinate to pay you a visit."

After the two were polite, Wang Siheng suddenly said:
"Master Song, are you worried about disaster relief?"

... (end of this chapter)