Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

Ye Chen has been stationed outside Chang'an City for six days.

For Ye Chen, these six days passed like a flash.

During the day, he is busy with government affairs and making decisions on important matters concerning people's livelihood.

Whenever he had free time, he would visit Chang'an City privately, and every time he went, Su Mengjiao would always go with him.

Su Mengjiao seemed to have let go of her reserve in Chang'an City and wanted to try anything fun and delicious.

On the evening of the sixth day, Ye Chen was riding in a carriage and returning to the camp.

Inside the carriage, Su Mengjiao held a roujiamo in one hand and a red bean and millet cake in the other.

She opened her red lips slightly and nibbled on it bit by bit. Although her movements were fast, she still maintained elegance.

Ye Chen looked at her, feeling a little speechless.

Su Mengjiao has been obviously very erratic recently. Where has her former dignity and composure gone?

It's like a rabbit that has been locked up for a long time, jumping around everywhere when it's let out.

However, Ye Chen also felt a little envious.

Su Mengjiao is so free and easy, but I still have to deal with government affairs every day.

He even began to doubt whether it was a mistake to rule the country personally. Perhaps he should find a way to govern the country and have fun at the same time.

When the carriage was about to enter the camp.

Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves, and a guard on horseback galloped to the carriage with a panicked look on his face.

Seeing this, Shen Qiu immediately rushed out of the carriage. After talking with the imperial guards for a few words, his expression instantly became serious.

She returned to the carriage and said to Ye Chen, "Your Majesty, there is a problem in Chang'an City."

Hearing this, Ye Chen frowned slightly, with a sharp flash in his eyes: "What's the matter? Tell me in detail."

Shen Qiu quickly said, "Your Majesty, there are rioters in the city. There are a large number of people causing trouble, and they seem to be organized. Although the Imperial Guards have gone to suppress them, the situation is still somewhat out of control."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's eyes flashed with coldness, and his voice was low but majestic: "Qiu'er, do you know what the situation is? How many people are causing trouble? Who are they?"

Shen Qiu quickly responded, "Your Majesty, there are a large number of them. A rough estimate is that there are probably a thousand of them. They seem to be all ordinary people in the city, with no children of nobles. According to the leader, they have no food to eat. They say that prices in Chang'an have been rising for four consecutive days. They are also asking when the government will release them, otherwise they can't even afford millet chaff."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's face darkened, and he immediately realized that someone was stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

He looked at Shen Qiu and said resolutely: "Turn the carriage around. I want to go to Chang'an City immediately."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiu immediately went to pass on the order.

The carriage then turned and galloped towards Chang'an City.

At this time, at the gate of the prefectural yamen in Chang'an City, which was controlled by the imperial guards, Zhao Gang, the commander of the imperial guards left by Ye Chen, was looking at the people gathered at the gate with a frown.

The people were a sea of ​​black, their shouts and curses intertwined together, deafening.

Zhao Gang groaned inwardly. He only had about twenty imperial guards under his command, but with the current situation, the number of people he had was not enough to handle it.

He also tried to comfort them with kind words, but the people were too emotional to listen.

Someone in the crowd even shouted, "We're starving to death, and you're still saying nice things! You officials don't care about our lives at all!"

Some people even picked up mud and bricks from the ground and threw them at the imperial guards.

Several people were injured and several shields were broken.

Zhao Gang felt a little flustered when he saw this.

He knew very well that he had no ability to mobilize the imperial guards to drive out the people. The only thing he could do now was to continue to stabilize the situation and wait for support from above.

Ye Chen rode in a carriage and arrived near the prefectural yamen. He saw that outside the prefectural yamen in Chang'an City, the people gathered like a surging tide, and the noise was deafening. However, the situation was like a taut string that was about to break.

He frowned, but he knew that if the situation was not calmed down quickly, it would become a chaos and out of control.

He then got out of the carriage and walked steadily towards the crowd.

"Shen Qiu, arrest the people who are shouting the loudest."

Ye Chen waved his hand, and the five hundred imperial guards who had been responsible for protecting him ran over under the leadership of Shen Qiu.

These imperial guards were dressed like ordinary people, so naturally no one had noticed them before.

Among the crowd gathered in front of the yamen, several of the people who shouted the loudest were pinned to the ground by the imperial guards who rushed in before they could react.

The common people were also pushed and dispersed by the imperial guards, but they were all stunned, and the noise instantly became much quieter.

Ye Chen also arrived at the gate of the prefectural government office. After the imperial guards threw those people to the ground, he glanced at them with cold eyes and asked, "Why are you causing trouble?"

His voice was low but penetrating, causing several people's hearts to tremble.

Then, someone tremblingly replied, "We can't afford millet anymore. In the past three days, the price of grain has suddenly risen ridiculously. Some people say that if the government releases the prisoners, the price of grain will go back up."

Hearing this, Ye Chen raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Prices skyrocketing?

Although he had previously dealt with the businesses of the aristocratic families in Chang'an, according to common sense, these would not affect the logistics of Chang'an.

After all, most of the goods traded in Chang'an were supplied by traveling merchants from other places, and the imperial guards rarely attacked the rice shops, butcher shops, and vegetable shops in the city. How could prices rise for no reason when the flow of goods remained unchanged?

He immediately realized that someone must be behind this.

He looked at the crowd again and said seriously, "Wait one more day, and I will give you an explanation."

His words were powerful and carried undeniable force.

At this time, someone in the crowd started to make a noise: "What are you waiting for? These officials are just empty talkers. Just let them release the people. We are in numbers, so we are not afraid!"

Ye Chen's eyes were stern, and he looked at the man with a gaze like a sharp sword. Then he pointed quickly and whispered to Shen Qiu: "Qiu'er, catch him."

Shen Qiu received the order and ran over like an agile cheetah. In the blink of an eye, he dragged the man out and threw him in front of Ye Chen.

This action scared the onlookers.

Ye Chen took a step forward, his aura growing more majestic, like a volcano about to erupt. He loudly ordered, "Imprison this man and interrogate him strictly. If anyone else leads the trouble, they will be punished with the same crime as this man!"

His voice exploded in everyone's ears like thunder, and many people looked timid.

The powerful imperial aura emanating from him was so overwhelming that it stifled everyone's breath. Some people who were originally ready to make a move were also frightened by this aura and dared not move.

Ye Chen looked around again, his eyes full of majesty, but his tone became gentler.

"I know you're just trying to survive, but making trouble won't solve the problem. Someone is manipulating prices behind the scenes. I'll investigate thoroughly and give you justice. But if you persist, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The people looked at each other, and finally did not dare to make trouble anymore and dispersed.

Ye Chen looked at the dispersed crowd and made sure that the situation had stabilized before he said to Shen Qiu, "Qiu'er, there's something fishy about this matter. Go and investigate. Also, arrange for more people to keep an eye on the city and don't let those with ulterior motives incite again."

"Yes, my lord."

Shen Qiu took the order and left.

Ye Chen stood where he was, squinting his eyes. Since the powerful families took action so quickly, he had to speed up his actions as well.

And tomorrow's meeting with the representatives of the aristocratic families will also require more drastic measures.