Rebirth and Revenge: The Imperial Master’s Pampering of Me is Addicting Me

No one noticed that some of the civil and military officials looked up in surprise, then unnoticedly stuffed the half-revealed memorial back into their sleeves and continued to remain silent with their eyes lowered.

The emperor was stunned for a moment after hearing this before he reacted, his face darkening slightly.

Xu Han was a very perceptive person. He immediately went down with his whisk to take the memorial, and then ran to deliver it to the emperor for his review.

The person who submitted the memorial was the Minister of War, Zhou Yuanzhi, who had only been in office for three years. Since entering the court, he has been famous for his straightforward and tough character.

The memorial was quickly opened by the emperor, but the civil and military officials underground could see with their own eyes that the emperor's face became increasingly gloomy, and in the end, it could be said that he read the memorial while suppressing his anger.

The ministers all hung their heads and dared not say a word, but they all knew what was going on in their hearts.

What a pity! I thought I could leave court early today, but it seems the court affairs won’t be over so soon.

Soon, the emperor slammed the memorial in his hand on the table with a dark face, and the anger in his voice was barely concealed.

"Idiot! When a natural disaster strikes, instead of rescuing the people in time, he actually dares to block information and deceive his superiors. I wonder how many innocent people have died! This Yunzhou governor truly deserves to die!"

Zhou Yuanzhi lowered his eyes and continued to bow, his voice firm.

"Your Majesty is right, but the most urgent task right now is to resolve the Yunzhou flood and comfort the people. I heard that those who were lucky enough to survive have all dragged their families south. If we can't comfort those who are short of food and clothing along the way, I'm afraid there will be chaos."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the emperor but also the civil and military ministers frowned. Yunzhou was relatively close to the capital. If they were allowed to go south like this without being stopped, they would probably reach the capital in the end, which would cause more trouble for them.

The emperor also understood this. He looked at the civil and military officials below the stage with a sullen face, and his eyes swept across a figure.

"Do you have any good suggestions, my dear ministers? I remember that it was Lord Zhu who strongly recommended this Yunzhou governorship. Why is he so silent now, having pushed so hard back then?"

The face of the Minister of Justice Zhu Kunlin changed and he stood out from the team. Without saying a word, he knelt down and kowtowed to apologize, speaking with righteous words.

"It's all because I didn't know people well enough. I didn't expect Lin Yuan to be so audacious as to betray Your Majesty's grace. Once the Yunzhou incident is over, he will be severely punished! I was seriously mistaken for not knowing people well enough. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

The Minister of Revenue had kept his eyes downcast and remained silent, but when he heard this, he couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Haha, everything was said to be great when it was recommended, but now that something has gone wrong, the responsibility is pushed aside quite quickly. A mistake of not knowing people well can naturally be turned into a big thing or a small thing. How cunning!

Who knew that just as he had finished complaining, he heard the emperor calling his name.

"Lord Xu, your Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the treasury's finances. Now that Yunzhou has suffered a flood, the national treasury must quickly allocate funds to rescue the people and restore Yunzhou to its former glory."

Since he had already been called out, Xu Zhiji had no choice but to stand up and raise his hand to apologize with a bitter look on his face.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. The frequent border wars in recent years have consumed a huge amount of food and fodder. The national treasury is already in deficit. The autumn levy has not yet been collected, and we are truly unable to provide any money now."

In other words, there is no money!

He spoke bluntly, and the emperor's face turned ugly.

Gu Chengjin didn't expect that such a big thing happened in Yunzhou and the news could be concealed for so long. He stepped out of the team with a sullen face and saluted the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I suggest that the most urgent task is to dispatch a capable minister to Yunzhou as soon as possible to take over Yunzhou's affairs and comfort the victims in a timely manner. Otherwise, I am afraid that Yunzhou will be in chaos."

Other ministers also stood up one after another and began to express their opinions.

"Yes, Lord Gu is right. Now that the Yunzhou governor has fled, we must first send a minister to take over the affairs of Yunzhou."

"Your Majesty, why don't you send a team of troops to Yunzhou first to comfort the victims along the way? Your Majesty's kindness and grace will surely help to quell the people's grievances and appease them in a timely manner!"

"As for money... I suggest we collect it from the neighboring states in advance so that the victims of the Yunzhou disaster can be resettled in time. It's not impossible to collect more at this critical moment."

Gu Chengjin didn't expect someone to mention this. His expression changed slightly and he bowed to stop them.

"Your Majesty, you must not impose additional taxes on this matter. The officials' flight in Yunzhou was already likely to fuel resentment among the people. If we impose more taxes now, I'm afraid that other states will also experience unrest. If we lose sight of one thing while focusing on another, the trouble will be even greater! Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Prime Minister Tang Kun stepped forward and bowed, then lowered his eyes to reflect deeply before speaking calmly.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Your Majesty is wise and the people are blessed by Your Majesty. Even if you increase taxes, it will not cause chaos. Right now, the most important thing is to stabilize the victims of the disaster in Yunzhou. Things must always be prioritized."

The emperor's rage remained unchanged. He raised his eyes and glanced at the old Grand Tutor Gu who had been silent not far away, with a hint of doubt in his tone.

"Why are you so silent today, Grand Master? But do you have any solutions for the Yunzhou incident? Please share your thoughts."

Old Master Gu stepped forward and bowed, then he lowered his eyes to reflect deeply before speaking calmly.

"Your Majesty, I have an idea. The Yunzhou issue is not just your Majesty's concern, but the concern of the entire nation! If the national treasury is in crisis, there are still many wealthy families in the capital.

Your Majesty can hang a few conspicuous notices in the most prosperous areas of Beijing and post the imperial edict. Any citizen or businessman who is willing to donate money to help Yunzhou can leave his name on the notice.

If someone donates too much money, a separate archway can be set up, and craftsmen can be asked to engrave bronze plaques with their names and place them according to the amount of their donation.

When everything is stable in Yunzhou, this archway will be placed at the gate of Yunzhou Prefecture to let the people of Yunzhou remember their kindness. In this way, a large amount of money can be collected to help the victims, and the crisis of the victims in Yunzhou can be alleviated.

I am old and can do very little for Your Majesty, but in this situation, I am willing to donate five years of my salary with my son to help the people of Yunzhou. I sincerely ask Your Majesty for your approval."

After hearing these words, the emperor's angry expression eased almost instantly. He soon became gentle and raised his hand to ask Old Master Gu to stand up. He was also a little touched in his heart.

"Old Master, your words really humiliate me. You should have retired these years, but I couldn't bear to see you retire so soon, so I kept you here. I didn't expect you to be the first to stand up when something happened. It really makes me ashamed."

Old Master Gu stroked his beard and looked at people with a gentle smile.

"Your Majesty, you are joking. As your subjects, we should always take it as our duty to share your worries. As long as your Majesty still needs me, I will always be here.

Even if I die one day, my children will continue to serve Your Majesty, as long as Your Majesty does not mind."

Now even the civil and military officials behind him couldn't help but glance sideways.

The sun is rising from the west today, right? The old Grand Tutor is actually flattering someone?