Xiao Yan hurried to the hall. As he was illuminated late at night, he did not dare to delay for a moment.

"I wonder what is the important matter that Your Majesty summoned me here so late at night?"

Xiao Yan appeared in the hall, looked at the empress with a puzzled look and asked.

"Uncle, do you know about the famine in Zhejiang?"

The empress asked immediately.

"Wei Chen doesn't know."

Xiao Yan shook his head.

Although he is the uncle of the current emperor and the ninth prince of the court, he is not very clear about local affairs.

"Under Xia Yun's rule, the disaster in Zhejiang has now ended. On the contrary, the disaster in other parts of Jiangnan has become more serious. What do you think we should do, uncle?"

The empress asked immediately.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's face immediately showed a hint of hesitation.

He was not sure why the empress asked this question.

For him, Zhejiang Province is a long way away, so there is no need for him to get involved in that mess.

But he soon realized that the empress first talked about Xia Yun's achievements in governing Zhejiang, and then mentioned the famine situation in the entire Jiangnan region.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan had some guesses in his mind as to why the empress summoned him late at night.

"If Your Majesty intends to use Xia Yun to control the famine in the Jiangnan region, I will absolutely support it!"

Xiao Yan did not hide his thoughts and directly expressed his guess.

"The emperor's uncle actually trusts Xia Yun so much?"

The empress was a little surprised.

Although he knew that Xiao Yan and Xia Yun were close friends, he did not expect that Xiao Yan would support Xia Yun so strongly.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly."

"Over the years, most of the officials your majesty has appointed in the Jiangnan region are from the Jiangnan faction."

"But to this day, those Jiangnan Party officials have not only failed to govern the Jiangnan region well, but have also suffered from continuous disasters. Your Majesty, have you ever thought about the reasons?"

Xiao Yan suddenly felt a sense of heroism in his heart.

"what reason?"

The empress raised her eyebrows. Ermazi's words once again brought her surprise and astonishment.

Her uncle had never spoken to her like this before.

"Your Majesty, there is only one reason. Most of those officials are corrupt. Even if there are a few honest ones, they cannot really do anything because of their mutual protection."

This was the first time that Xiao Yan spoke out about the problems of the Jiangnan Party officials in front of the empress.

In fact, when Xiao Yan finished speaking, he was also surprised in his heart.

I don't understand why I am so bold today.

"Is what the emperor uncle said today really from the heart?"

The surprise on the empress's face became more and more obvious.

She was not angry at all at this moment. On the contrary, she was very happy that Xiao Yan could tell the truth in front of her.

"In reply to your Majesty, what I just said is absolutely true."

"If your majesty wants to completely solve the famine in Jiangnan, the only candidate can only be Xia Yun. Only he can forge ahead in the officialdom."

Xiao Yan nodded confidently.

"Xia Yun has just been promoted to the governor of Zhejiang. Even if he wants to use it to control the famine in Jiangnan, I wonder what name to use?"

The empress then asked the biggest question in her mind.

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Yan immediately understood.

So Your Majesty is worried about this!

"I think the reason why Your Majesty is so troubled is probably because of the Governor of Zhejiang Province, Lei Zhenning, right?"

Xiao Yan raised his head and asked cautiously.

"Yes, although Lei Zhenning is an official of the Jiangnan Party, he has been serving the court in southeastern Zhejiang over the years and has made great contributions. If he is dismissed and Xia Yun is promoted to the governor of Zhejiang, I will not be able to bear it."

The empress sighed as she spoke and shook her head helplessly.

At the same time, Xiao Yan was shocked.

He guessed that the empress wanted to use Xia Yun to control the famine in Jiangnan, but he didn't guess that the empress actually wanted Xia Yun to replace Lei Zhenning!

You know, he is the Governor of Zhejiang!

The head of the nine governors-general of the imperial court!

At the same time, Xiao Yan was also shocked by the empress's trust in Xia Yun.

Once Xia Yun was appointed as the Governor-General of Zhejiang, it would be equivalent to directly assigning the Jiangnan region to Xia Yun.

"If Your Majesty cannot bear it, you can order Xia Yun to concurrently serve as the governor of Zhejiang and Jinan."

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yan gave his own suggestion.

"And concurrently serve as the governor of Zhejiang and Southern Zhili?"

The empress was shocked again.

There has never been such a precedent since the founding of the Daliang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, if there is no precedent, then create one."

"Nowadays, the Japanese pirates are invading the southeastern part of Zhejiang Province. Lei Zhenning has been stationed in Zhejiang for many years and has rich experience in fighting against the Japanese pirates. If he is dismissed easily, it may be detrimental to the overall situation of the fight against the Japanese pirates."

"The current Nanzhili Governor Su Chen is just a mediocre person. It won't cause any harm if he is removed. Even if the ministers in the court object, with the cabinet chief Xu Ge Lao around, I don't think it will cause any trouble."

Xiao Yan spoke one after another.

He knew that this was the critical moment when the empress made up her mind, and he had to add the final fuel.

"Okay! Then issue an order to dismiss the current Nanzhili Governor Su Chen and order him to return to Beijing as soon as possible to report on his duties."

"At the same time, Xia Yun was promoted to the governor of Zhejiang and Southern Zhili. He was given full responsibility for the affairs of the two provinces and must control the disaster in the entire Jiangnan region in the shortest possible time!"

Finally, facing the livelihoods of thousands of people, the empress made up her mind.

Rather than offending one or two Jiangnan Party officials, he cared more about the lives and deaths of tens of millions of Jiangnan people.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Upon hearing the empress's decree, Xiao Yan's face immediately showed a look of relief.

However, his inner relief did not last long and was soon interrupted by the empress's next words.

"I have one more thing I want to ask my uncle for his opinion on."

There was a questioning look on the empress's face.

"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter."

Xiao Yan nodded.

"News came back from the Zhejiang front. Uncle Thirteen petitioned the court to transfer the food and fodder for the 500,000-man army that was originally supplied by the court to Zhejiang Governor Xia Yun."

"I wonder what the emperor thinks?"

After deciding to promote Xia Yun, the empress immediately asked another question.

In fact, this news had already reached the capital two days ago, but she had not yet made up her mind.

"Let Xia Yun be responsible for the food and grass supply of the 500,000-man army?"

A hint of surprise appeared on Xiao Yan's face again.

There is no doubt that he sensed an obvious sense of conspiracy from this memorial from the Zhejiang front!

"Yes, and it was written by Uncle Thirteen himself."

The empress nodded.

This is exactly why she is in trouble.

She was not an ignorant person. Xiao Zongnan's request was obviously directed at Xia Yun.

But if it was rejected just like that, Xiao Zongnan would inevitably be unhappy.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like