The emperor faked his death? Never mind, I will ascend the throne directly!

Li Chengfeng watched their movements and did not go forward to alert them.

Considering the previous practices of the Changsheng Sect, they would definitely train these refugees into their own soldiers after taking them back.

I didn’t expect that Prime Minister Qi still hasn’t given up!

Call a secret guard and ask him to follow these people from the Changsheng Sect and find their lair before making the next plan.

Then he and Tiezhu returned to Yuxiang County and sent a secret letter to Chen Tingshu, telling him the place and time of the meeting.

……

Yuxiang County was the worst hit by the flood, with not even an inn left.

The silt left behind after the flood receded emitted a foul stench, and the dilapidated houses looked like monsters with their mouths wide open.

Li Chengfeng rode a horse, and Tiezhu followed closely behind him.

They searched all the way, hoping to find a house that was not flooded and could be settled in. Finally, on the edge of the county town, they found a house on higher ground.

Li Chengfeng dismounted and knocked on the door. An old man opened the door tremblingly, his face full of fear and anxiety.

"Old man, we're from the capital. We heard there was a flood here, so we're here to take our relatives back to the capital for shelter. Could we stay with you for one night?"

Li Chengfeng spoke in a gentle tone, trying his best to reassure the old man.

The old man looked at Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu, and seeing that they were dressed in ordinary clothes and did not look like bad people, he nodded hesitantly and welcomed them in.

After settling down, Li Chengfeng took Tiezhu back to the room to sort out the information he had recently received.

Zhao Sheng has already found out the key person, and Li Chengfeng asked him not to pass on the information for the time being to avoid being exposed.

After sorting them out, he put all the papers with recorded information into an envelope.

Let the secret guards send it to Song Weiyu in the capital.

Then they rested for the night.

Early the next morning, the two men said goodbye to the old man and headed to the dam.

The broken dam looked like it had been torn apart by a giant beast, with huge gaps.

Li Chengfeng carefully observed the cross-section of the dam, pinched the soil with his hands, and frowned.

"This soil..." He pondered for a moment.

"Something seems wrong."

Tiezhu took a closer look and said, "Sir, this soil crumbles easily when you pinch it, and there's so much grass debris mixed in it?"

Li Chengfeng's face darkened. "This dam is simply a shoddy project!"

At this time, there was chaos in the county government office.

As soon as Chen Tingshu arrived at the county government office, he heard a commotion.

I saw several cooks with bruised faces and noses, crying to County Magistrate Gao.

"Sir, those disaster victims have gone crazy. They suddenly rioted and beat us!"

County Magistrate Gao was shocked and angry. "What's going on? Why is there a riot going on?"

The cooks cried, "We gave porridge to the victims as you ordered, but they complained it was too watery and accused us of withholding food. They then started beating us without any explanation!"

County Magistrate Gao was furious. "They are rebelling! They are planning a rebellion!"

"Master Gao, what happened?"

Entering the county government office, Chen Tingshu arrived at the court.

County Magistrate Gao hurriedly bowed and said, "I didn't know you were sending me here. I apologize for not coming here to greet you. I am so rude."

Chen Tingshu lifted Magistrate Gao's hands and said with a smile, "It's no problem."

"My Lord, please take care of the things at hand. I will just sit aside and wait."

As he said this, he walked to the armchair on the side, sat down and listened quietly.

County Magistrate Gao signaled the cook to continue.

The cook saluted Chen Tingshu and continued, "We were giving out porridge just fine, but suddenly a big man threw the bowl and said we weren't treating the people as human beings."

"Say...say...say..." The cook stammered and dared not say anything.

"What are you talking about? Your Excellency is here, so just say whatever you want to say. Don't be so hesitant."

County Magistrate Gao frowned and scolded.

"Yes Yes."

The cook hurriedly bowed and said, "Please forgive my sins, sir."

Chen Tingshu smiled and said, "No problem, just continue and tell us everything in detail and clearly, don't miss any details."

The cook clasped his fists again and began to tell the story.

"They say the government doesn't treat the people as human beings, that we are its running dogs, and that we have to eat the water used to wash the pot every day."

The cook secretly glanced at Chen Tingshu's expression and continued, "But we really have no food left. We don't want this to happen."

Chen Tingshu also became serious: "Continue."

The cook quickly replied, "Yes! They also said that following the Emperor is worse than following some immortality sect. At least we won't be cold or hungry."

"Then they shouted that if anyone wanted to live, they should follow them."

“Those of the people who could move followed them.”

After the cook finished speaking, he lowered his head, not daring to look at Chen Tingshu's expression.

There was a moment of silence. Chen Tingshu snorted incomprehensibly and asked, "Did you see clearly what the people leading the riot were wearing?"

The soldier raised his head and thought for a moment before saying, "What he wears is no different from that of ordinary people."

Chen Tingshu asked again, "How does he speak?"

The cook said, "This man speaks with great vigor and a loud voice, and is very inflammatory."

Chen Tingshu smiled playfully: "Huh, so it is. Don't they look taller and stronger than the disaster victims?"

The cook's eyes lit up: "Yes, that's right, I was wondering why it felt strange."

"Every day, the people who line up to get porridge are all thin and weak, and their voices are weak."

"This man has a loud voice. Although he's wearing rags, he looks relatively clean. He's also tall and doesn't look like he's been starving!"

Chen Tingshu stood up and said, "You did a great job. Let's go down and check your injuries first."

The cook left with many thanks.

County Magistrate Gao asked, "The Immortal Cult? This place has become a ruin. What could they be doing here?"

Chen Tingshu stared into Magistrate Gao's eyes and said, "Just because this place has become a ruin, it's normal for the number of people to decrease, right?"

After thinking for a while, County Magistrate Gao broke out in a cold sweat: "This...this..."

Chen Tingshu comforted Magistrate Gao, saying, "With me here, please be at ease, sir. We will definitely bring back the people who were taken away."

After saying that, he carefully inquired about County Magistrate Gao about the current situation in Yuxiang County.

By the time they finished talking, the sun was already high in the sky.

After County Magistrate Gao had lunch with Chen Tingshu, he arranged accommodation for him.

After County Magistrate Gao left, a secret guard appeared quietly beside Chen Tingshu and handed him a secret letter.

After reading the letter, Chen Tingshu lit a candle and burned the secret letter.

After doing all this, he packed up some things and left the county government office with his personal attendant, heading for the place he had agreed to meet with Li Chengfeng.

Li Chengfeng had been waiting for a long time in an abandoned house not far from the embankment.

Tiezhu was outside observing the surroundings. When Chen Tingshu saw him, he walked over and they greeted each other with fists clasped. Then he asked his personal followers to disperse and guard the house.

He strode in.

"Join Your Majesty."

Chen Tingshu stepped forward and knelt down to pay his respects.

Li Chengfeng helped him up and said, "My dear, please stand up. You don't need to worry about these things when you are away from home."

Chen Tingshu said: "Rituals cannot be abolished."

Hearing this, Li Chengfeng smiled and said, "You."

"I called you here this time because I discovered some problems with the levee. After Mr. Chen has dealt with the disaster, you can focus on inspecting the levee."

"Yes."

"Also, I discovered traces of the Immortal Cult on the way here and have already sent secret guards to follow them. When you return, please contact them and strive to completely eradicate the Immortal Cult's influence here!"