After her rebirth, the empress received a tragic and beautiful script.

Chapter 246 Difficulties

"It seems that your letter was not delivered to His Majesty." Tao Yuan said after listening to Lu Yanchen's story.

"What's the situation in Beijing?" Lu Yanchen asked.

"From what your majesty said, the cabinet seems to insist that you are rebelling and demanded that troops be sent to suppress you, but your majesty held them back."

Hearing the word "Your Majesty", Lu Yanchen's expression changed and he asked, "Your Majesty...are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Tao Yuan was confused by his question and said casually, "You caused such a big trouble for His Majesty. Do you think it's good for His Majesty?"

Lu Yanchen was silenced by his retort, and thought: "I didn't expect... from what you said, it seems that this incident is directed at me."

"What else do you think?" Tao Yuan glanced at him unhappily, "Do you know how bloody the situation has been in the capital since the replacement of the Chief of the Capital Guard?"

Tao Yuan showed his left leg which was still wrapped in bandages.

"Who can hurt you?" Seeing his injured leg, Lu Yanchen was also very surprised.

"Gu Shihai's little bastard. I destroyed their entire line in Jinyiwei, and now they are desperate." Tao Yuan put away his injured leg and said to him earnestly, "They want to kill me, who lives in the shadows, not to mention you, the commander of the army appointed by His Majesty. How many eyes are staring at you. The knife you slashed at Tan Chunhui became ironclad evidence of rebellion in their mouths. You really gave His Majesty a big problem. Fortunately, His Majesty trusts you, otherwise what you see now is not me, but the hammer that breaks the city."

"The situation in Yingzhou is not as simple as you see. It's not just Qing County that can't survive. If the imperial court suppresses it by force, the people in other places will see no way to survive. I'm afraid that many people will imitate Qi Liyi, and riots will break out everywhere." Lu Yanchen frowned.

When Tao Yuan came here, he saw the miserable situation of the people in Qing County and couldn't help but sigh.

"Come to think of it, why did you come here in person despite being injured?" Lu Yanchen changed the subject.

"Your Majesty is worried about the efficiency of others and asked me to come and investigate the situation in person. How can I not come? But then again, the Yingzhou Army is such an iron barrel formation that I'm afraid no one else can get in so quickly."

"How did you get in?" Lu Yanchen asked.

Tao Yuan did not answer him immediately, but took out a stack of white paper from his chest, handed it to Lu Yanchen and said: "Deng Shangyuan sent a team of spies to sneak into Qing County, and I followed them in. The characteristics and portraits of the spies are all here. Use the old method to make the words appear. As for how to deal with it, you can decide for yourself."

Lu Yanchen took the stack of white paper and said, "Do you have any ink with you? I will write a letter to you in the same way. You can take it back to the capital and give it to His Majesty."

After Lu Yanchen finished writing and the ink faded from the paper, Tao Yuan folded the paper and put it in his arms. Then he stood up, covered his face with a piece of human skin, tore off his black clothes, revealing the tattered clothes underneath. His back suddenly became hunched, and he seemed to have suddenly become half a head shorter.

The Eagle Guard commander who was a master of martial arts turned into a lame old man in his fifties in the blink of an eye.

Then, the old man said to Lu Yanchen in Tao Yuan's voice: "I can't stay long. I will leave the city and return to Beijing tonight. I will bring your letter to His Majesty. Don't act rashly. Wait for news from His Majesty." Lu Yanchen nodded.

He looked at Tao Yuan, his eyes darkened, as if he had thought of something, and suddenly said to him solemnly: "Tao Yuan, thank you."

Tao Yuan was frightened by his sudden words and asked with a vigilant look, "Are you thinking of committing suicide again? Don't make it sound like a life-and-death separation, it's so scary."

Lu Yanchen smiled at him comfortingly and said, "Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to thank you."

Tao Yuan looked at him doubtfully for a long time, but couldn't see any clues, so he curled his lips, waved his hand impatiently, opened the door a crack, and slipped out of Lu Yanchen's residence.
-

February 17th, Qinxian Hall of Jingshou Palace.

The door was closed, and only Ye Qinghuai and Chen Yuansi were in the room, one sitting and the other standing across the desk. On the desk were a pile of books and manuscripts. One of the books was spread out in the middle. Ye Qinghuai made a final stroke on the scroll, then put the brush aside and threw the scroll in front of Chen Yuansi.

"Lord Chen, this is the weather report of Yingzhou last year that I retrieved from the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Agriculture. Take a look for yourself. From September 7 to November 13, Yingzhou did not see a single drop of rain for 66 consecutive days. Why didn't I hear the cabinet mention this drought? Did Yingzhou Governor Su Lin conceal it?"

"Your Majesty, the weather in Yingzhou is dry. It doesn't get as much rain as Zhongzhou and the capital. More than 60 days without rain can only be considered a minor drought." Chen Yuansi explained.

"It's understandable that there was no rain for more than 60 days in winter, but this is an autumn drought. Elder Chen, I don't need to tell you how much impact the autumn drought has on the harvest, right?"

Chen Yuansi lowered his eyes in silence. He looked at the weather book in front of him, which Ye Qinghuai had found from somewhere. A sinister light flashed across his lifeless goldfish eyes.

"There is also the issue of garrisoning and collecting grain. Since October last year when I thoroughly investigated the occupation of civilian land in Shuohe, I have issued numerous decrees, repeatedly prohibiting the army from occupying civilian land in the name of frontline warfare or garrisoning and reforming. But Su Lin is different. He stopped occupying the land and directly increased the tax. The government even skipped the step of planting the land and directly collected grain, right? Elder Chen, is this the good student you taught?"

Chen Yuansi worked as a political history teacher in a literary school for several years in his early years. When Su Lin was studying in the literary school, he was Chen Yuansi's favorite student. After leaving school and entering the officialdom, the teacher and student still maintained close contact. Su Lin's position as the governor of Yingzhou was inseparable from Chen Yuansi's support.

Ye Qinghuai didn't believe Chen Yuansi's words that he was unaware of what Su Lin did in Yingzhou.

Everyone in the court knew about the relationship between Chen Yuansi and Su Lin. Chen Yuansi did not avoid suspicion in vain and replied, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report this. Although Su Lin's actions may be suspected of being eager for quick success and instant benefits, what he did was also for the court and to relieve your majesty's worries."

"Share the worries? Share what worries? He starved the local people to the point of rebellion, is that also to share the worries of the court?"

"Your Majesty, let me do the math with you. Since the Northern Expedition Army set out in July last year, in the past eight months, the Northern Expedition Army has consumed a total of 550,000 dan of grain and fodder. The transportation and use of these grains are recorded in detail in the Ministry of War, and Your Majesty can go and check. These 550,000 dan of grain and fodder were initially allocated mainly from the granaries on the plateau in the capital, but the grain inventory on the plateau, apart from the necessary reserves for the capital's guards and the capital, only 200,000 dan was left. As for the 350,000 dan shortfall, 300,000 of them were made up by the various granaries in Yingzhou. Even if Su Lin made a thousand mistakes, he was always for the court. Without him, we would never have been able to hold out until the Northern Di retreated."

I wish you all a happy Lantern Festival!