These rumors were just short of pointing at Shang Junlin's nose and saying, "If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be a drought in Subei, and it's all your fault."
The rumors were discovered very early, but they didn't reach the climax. It was funny that they were discovered so quickly, but it was all thanks to the people of various places.
"Didn't A Yu mention before that we can set up a 'suggestion box' in each government office? If the people have any opinions, they can write in anonymously. In the past two days, many government offices have seen letters mentioning this matter in the 'suggestion box'. They didn't dare delay and immediately sorted out the letters and handed them in. Not only are there letters from the capital, but there are also letters from other places." Shang Junlin didn't look angry when he spoke of this matter.
This kind of thing was normal for the Emperor. No matter what kind of natural disaster or man-made disaster, there would always be some people who liked to put the blame on the person in power. Not to mention other things, the previous Emperor of Dahuan had encountered this kind of thing.
"These people think that by putting the blame on His Majesty, they can achieve their goal." Shen Yu smoothly poured tea for the two of them and pushed one of the cups in front of Shang Junlin. "No matter what their goal is, it's destined to be in vain."
Although Shen Yu had expected such a thing to happen, he still felt angry that it had really happened. Shang Junlin had done his best to work for Da Huan, and after finding out about the situation in Su Bei, he had also done his best to resolve this matter. In the end, all of this had become "evidence" to destroy him.
"Don't frown because of this." Shang Junlin reached out and touched Shen Yu's cheek. "It's not a big deal. With A Yu's precautions in advance, they can't make any waves. Didn't the people tell us when there were just rumors?"
"Even so, I still don't want to hear them speak ill of His Majesty." Since he had guessed what those people would do, Shen Yu certainly wouldn't sit still and wait for death. Whether it was the "suggestion box", the newspapers that were targeted at all the people, or the special channels that passed information to the capital, they were all in order to deal with this matter.
The commoners were the easiest to incite. If those people wanted to incite the commoners to be dissatisfied with Shang Junlin, they would definitely find people to spread rumors among the commoners. They would deliberately distort the facts and exaggerate a certain part of the matter to incite the anger of the commoners. Then, they would further discredit the commoners.
This kind of thing had happened more than once or twice. Shen Yu had listed a few cases, summarized the routine, and then resolved them one by one.
In fact, it was very easy. The other party was able to succeed one after another because of the lack of information. The commoners did not know much about the imperial court, and even less about Shang Junlin. All their impressions were obtained from the mouths of others. Whether it was good or bad depended on the speaker. Shen Yu directly told them what the imperial court had done, what the Emperor had done, and why he had done these things.
Compared to hearing it from unknown people, the commoners clearly believed the information given by the imperial court more. After all, the precedent of Subei was here. The daily situation in Subei was known to them from the imperial court.
This eliminated the possibility of a middleman relaying information that might cause a difference in information. The imperial court directly passed down the information, which was more objective and direct. In addition, Shen Yu had written some conspiracies about the protagonist in "Return to Spring". After the people finished reading it, they would unconsciously remember these. When they encountered similar things, they could not help but think, "Is this a conspiracy like in the drama?"
In short, with the support of various reasons, the situation not only did not develop as the people behind the scenes wanted, but it was also reported to the imperial court by the commoners who heard it.
In the teahouse.
"It rained in the capital last night. I don't know how the situation in Subei is like."
"The news that came back two days ago was that it hasn't rained there yet. However, the supplies we collected are almost here. I hope they can be put to use soon."
"Don't you think it's strange? It's raining everywhere, so why isn't it raining in Subei? "An unfamiliar man in gray suddenly spoke up.
The people who were talking suddenly fell silent. After a while, someone smiled and poured a cup of tea for himself: "What's so strange about it? It rained in the capital last night, but that doesn't mean it rained everywhere in the Great Huan."
"That's right. It's normal for the weather to be different from place to place. Sometimes, half of the capital is raining and the other half is sunny. Let's not talk too far. Just last night, it didn't rain everywhere."
"That's right. It didn't rain in my house. Today, I heard from you that it rained in many places."
The grey-clothed man was deflated. He wanted to say something else, but the people around him had already started talking about other topics. They looked at him as if he was an uncultured man. He almost fainted in anger.
"That's right. Have you heard? The imperial court is preparing to open a new school in the capital. At that time, not only will they accept male students, but they will also accept female students. It's said that there will be a lot of things to teach. It won't be restricted to the imperial examinations. You can also pass the examination and directly enter the Ministry of Works and other departments."
"Eh? My son won't study no matter what. I originally didn't have much hope. If he can learn something else and enter the imperial court, it'll be better than working in the fields like me for the rest of his life."
"Where did you hear this from? Is it reliable? "
"The people's report, but it only mentioned a little. The imperial court is probably busy with the matters in Su Bei, so they won't have the energy to do this for the time being."
"If they can accept women, then can I also send my daughter there?"
"No, don't you think it's against common sense for women to be officials?" The grey-clothed man listened to them talk for a long time, and even began to excitedly imagine sending his daughter into the school. He couldn't help but speak up.
"I say, why are you so strange? Why do you think that women can't be officials? Didn't Zhao Niang in the play become an official in the end? It's much better than that man who is a corrupt official. "
"You said it yourself, that's in the play …"
"So what? I'm just fantasizing about my daughter becoming an official. If you don't like it, then don't listen."
"I've seen his daughter before. She's smart and quick-witted, just like Zhao Niang. She'll definitely be a good official in the future."
Everyone chatted together for fun. The middle-aged man was an honest man, and he only had one daughter in his family. She was smart and likable, so everyone was happy to support him.
In fact, they were just joking. No one would take their half-joking words to heart. Unfortunately, the grey-clothed man didn't know that. He thought that they were sincerely accepting women as officials, so he swallowed his unfinished words.
He originally wanted to say that it was against the heavens for women to be officials, and that this might be the reason for the drought in Su Bei. But now, he didn't dare to say it.
"Right, the donation you mentioned, shouldn't the disaster relief be the imperial court's matter? Why do you have to do it?"
"As a citizen of Dahuan, we'll do what we can. We can't always rely on the imperial court for everything. It's not like the imperial court didn't do anything."
The grey-clothed man swallowed his words again. He really didn't understand. Why did these people always side with the imperial court? It was as if they had suddenly become smart. They weren't so hard to fool before.
The atmosphere in the teahouse was still lively. The storyteller was telling a story based on the news from Su Bei. Everyone was paying attention to Su Bei's situation, so they loved to hear stories like this.
The grey-clothed man observed for a while longer. After confirming that there was no chance to make a move, he left the teahouse with his tail between his legs.
After he left, the two men sitting not far away looked at each other and followed him.
In the small alley, the grey-clothed man walked quickly with his head down. He had to report the news quickly. They seemed to have been deceived. Their original plan didn't work at all.
Suddenly, the grey-clothed man stopped.
Two men wearing similar clothes blocked his path. "This … Sir, may I know your name? Can you come with us?"
"Who are you?" The grey-clothed man stared at them warily.
"You'll know our identities when you come with us."
The grey-clothed man realized that something was wrong and turned to flee.
The two men had been guarding him for several days. How could they let him leave just like that? They raised their feet and chased after him.
The grey-clothed man only knew a few simple moves. How could he compare to the two well-trained men? Not long after, his path was blocked again. This time, the two men didn't say much and tied him up.
"We've caught another little mouse."
The grey-clothed man was shocked. Judging from the familiarity of the two men's movements, it was clearly not their first time doing this. No wonder they had sent so many people but had no effect at all. The Imperial Court had been prepared for this!
Unfortunately, he found out too late and didn't have the chance to report to his master.
Even now, he still held onto a glimmer of hope. "Have you found the wrong person? I don't know you. I really don't know you. Why have you caught me?"
"We don't need to know you. We only need to know what you've done."
The grey-clothed man's heart sank. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was blocked by the impatient man beside him.
He clapped his hands and said, "Why waste words with this person? Someone will interrogate him when we get there. Now, we have peace."
The two men brought the tied-up grey-clothed man back to the Supreme Court.
"You've caught another one?"
"Yes, we've caught quite a few recently. I don't know if you've found out anything."
Along the way, the grey-clothed man listened to the conversation between the two men and his colleagues. His face was ashen. Their plan this time might become a complete joke.
But he didn't know that things were far from over.
Yuzhang Palace.
Shen Yu sat by the window and slowly poured a cup of tea for himself. "Mu Xi, what's the situation outside the palace?"
"Young Master's guess is right. Those people are hiding in restaurants, teahouses, and other places with a lot of people. They want to take the opportunity to incite the people. After our men saw through them a few times, the others also realized that they weren't fooled. Instead, they blocked those people and made them speechless. The Supreme Court has already arrested many people."
"I was wondering why the people suddenly spoke in unison. It turns out that A Yu sent people to guide them." Shang Junlin walked in from outside. Eunuch Meng followed behind him with a memorial.
"It can be so effective because Your Majesty is wholeheartedly serving the people. After Your Majesty ascended the throne, the lives of the people have been getting better and better. They know this in their hearts."
If it weren't for the fact that he had made great achievements, how could he convince the people with just a few words?
"In A Yu's heart, am I so good?" Shang Junlin walked over.
Shen Yu wore a light blue wide-sleeved robe today. His snow-white wrist stretched out from the wide sleeves. He was fiddling with the tea set in a relaxed and elegant manner.
Shang Junlin held Shen Yu's wrist and gently rubbed it. The young man's skin was white and tender, like the best white jade. It was very admirable.
"Your Majesty is naturally the best in my heart." Shen Yu picked up the brewed tea with his other hand and fed it to Shang Junlin. "This cup is to reward Your Majesty."
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