On the wedding day, I was broken off, so I remarried his uncle

Chang Qing immediately took the order and left, inviting Lin Chengen, who was still drinking in the restaurant, to come out.

When Lin Cheng'en heard that his superiors were looking for him, he did not dare to delay and hurriedly said goodbye to his friends in the restaurant, tidied his clothes, and left the restaurant with Changqing.

Since he really didn't know what the master wanted to talk to him about so late at night, he couldn't help but turn around and ask, "I wonder if the master can tell me what he wants to talk to me about?"

Chang Qing shook his head slightly, "My Lord did not reveal the details, he just told me to come find you."

Lin Chengen nodded, said no more, and followed Changqing into the carriage.

He began to think back to what had happened during the day, thinking that the master's late-night summons might be related to these matters. He weighed in his mind how to respond.

The carriage soon arrived at the prefect's residence. The servant guarding the gate immediately stepped forward to take the reins, and Lin Chengen followed Changqing to the study.

Soon, the two arrived in front of the study in the mansion.

Seeing the visitor, the servant guarding the door asked inside, "Sir, Mr. Lin is here!"

A majestic voice came from the study, "Please come in, Mr. Lin!"

The servant immediately stepped aside and respectfully made a gesture of invitation.

Lin Chengen straightened his clothes and then pushed the door open.

The lights in the study were on. Li Wenyan was sitting at the desk, looking at the manuscript in his hand carefully.

When he saw Lin Chengen coming in, he immediately called him over and handed him the manuscript in his hand, "Sir, how about the method on it?"

Lin Chengen took the manuscript doubtfully and read it carefully.

The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became. His hands were shaking with excitement as he flipped through the papers. After reading the measures on the paper, Lin Chengen asked excitedly, "This method is very good. If we can act according to this, the problems facing the city can be easily solved."

"It's just that under the current circumstances, acting so high-profile may not be a good thing for adults."

"The Fourth Prince of the capital has long coveted your position. If you take risks, it will only be disadvantageous to you!"

Li Wenyan sighed. How could he not know?

Now the Crown Prince's party has been suppressed by the Fourth Prince's party and is almost powerless to fight back, and he himself has been branded as the Crown Prince.

The Fourth Prince's party had long wanted to take action against him, but he had always acted very cautiously, so they had not been able to find any evidence against him.

If he were to go to the trouble of wasting time and money to hold a dragon boat race when the drought is so severe, I'm afraid the capital would take action as soon as he makes the move!

But right now there is no better way to deal with the worsening drought. Instead of being accused of dereliction of duty, it is better to take a gamble!

After he told all his concerns, he asked, "Sir, do you have any good ideas?"

Lin Chengen pondered for a moment and said, "Sir, why don't you just submit a petition?"

"All the counties under you have written to your Excellency to express their poverty. Your Excellency has compiled all these reports and submitted them to the court, hoping that the court can reduce taxes and release grain for disaster relief!"

"Your Excellency knows that these memorials will most likely be rejected once they are submitted. After they are rejected, Your Excellency will submit this memorial again."

"Since His Majesty did not approve your first memorial, there is no reason for the court to stop your own solution to the crisis!"

After hearing what his staff said, Li Wenyan paced back and forth anxiously and fell into deep thought.

He had submitted memorials requesting disaster relief and tax reduction, but he had never received a response from the court.

He also knew that the war with the northern barbarians had never stopped in recent years and there were constant conflicts in the border areas.

In addition, the emperor was old and began to indulge in pleasure. The entire treasury was in deficit, so where could he get the money and food to help the people?

Now he has found another way, changing from asking for food directly to making a living on his own. In this way, his actions in the capital city can be considered to be above board, and he is not afraid of being impeached again.

After a brief pause, he nodded and said, "This method is indeed worth a try. Let's do as you say!"

He immediately went back to his desk, picked up his pen, dipped it in ink and began to write the memorial. The master and servant discussed the matter until late at night before they finalized it.

In the main hall, the emperor sat on the dragon throne with a frown on his face, his eyes sweeping over the ministers who were arguing endlessly in the hall.

The drought in the south has now spread to most of the Jiangnan region. The people are living in poverty and are complaining. Today, the court is arguing over whether to reduce or exempt summer taxes.

Ministers who supported the tax reduction came forward to state their reasons: "Your Majesty, the drought in the south has left the people with no crops. If you levy summer taxes again, it will only make matters worse. Your Majesty should understand the people's suffering, reduce the summer taxes, and provide grain relief to ease their burden."

However, the ministers who opposed the proposal were not to be outdone: "Your Majesty, many soldiers have not received their salaries yet, and they also need to support their families. If we reduce the summer taxes, allocate food relief, and pay the soldiers, I'm afraid we won't be able to pay them. Without enough food and pay, how can the soldiers defend the country?"

In the court, the debate between the two sides became more and more intense, and the emperor fell into deep thought.

At this time, the emperor turned his gaze to the Minister of Revenue, who had remained silent, and said, "Lord Lu, do you have anything to say?"

Lu Yue stepped out of the line and bowed to report: "Your Majesty, I know that the drought in the south is serious and the people are living in hardship. However, this year's military pay for the soldiers and food and fodder for the border are all essential expenses, and the court's finances are also facing tremendous pressure."

After that, Lu Aiqing took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands: "Your Majesty, this is the memorial I just received from Muzhou Prefecture today. I think the method above may be worth a try. If they can help themselves through the difficulties, the court's finances can also be relieved a lot!"

The emperor took the letter and read it carefully.

The memorial described in detail the disaster in the south, the suffering of the people, and the benefits that the implementation of this policy might bring to the local people.

After reading it, the emperor sat up straight. He handed the letter in his hand to the eunuch beside him, indicating that he should pass it to the court officials below.

"My dear ministers, do you think this method can be successful?"

An official immediately rebuked him, "How can this be possible? Instead of trying to control grain prices after a disaster, you are raising grain prices wantonly. Your Majesty, Li Wenyan, has sinister intentions. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

In the hall, many officials from the Fourth Prince's lineage stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the drought is so severe, but Li Wenyan doesn't want to advocate frugality, but is thinking about wasting money and manpower on ferrying. This is simply foolish. I suggest that Li Wenyan be dismissed from his post and not be allowed to harm the people!"

Although the emperor was old, he was not incompetent. What he suspected most was that his subordinates were forming cliques for personal gain. Looking at the ministers kneeling on the ground, the emperor slammed the table in anger.

"Since you are unwilling to accept Lord Li's suggestion, do you have a good way to solve the disaster?"

The officials were so frightened that they immediately knelt on the ground and dared not object anymore. What ideas could they have? They were just opposing for the sake of opposing!

Seeing that the ministers who had been arguing fiercely just now had suddenly become quails, the emperor could not help but snort coldly and immediately issued an edict to approve Muzhou Prefecture's request.