Ji Zeyu remained expressionless when he heard this. He only looked down at his black boots and didn't express any opinion about Your Majesty's words. It was as if he hadn't seen Li Qitian's flustered appearance just now.
Li Qitian naturally knew Ji Zeyu's temperament. He had always treated people coldly. Even though he was loyal and devoted to the imperial court, it was still not easy to hear some pleasing words from him. His silence meant that he didn't care about this matter at all. Although Li Qitian didn't want others to see him like that, Ji Zeyu's silent appearance was truly displeasing.
Li Qitian took a deep breath to calm himself down. Only then did he remember what Ma Cheng had mentioned in his letter. His mood, which had just calmed down, was once again tensed up with anger.
"Since it's not a rebellion, from what Ma Cheng said, the people of Danfu County seem to have suffered a great injustice." Li Qitian coldly hooked the corners of his lips. "They're building our future mausoleum. They actually went to Pang Zhixi to petition. They really know how to choose people. "
Ji Zeyu frowned when he heard Li Qitian's words. These words didn't sound important, but they clearly expressed Your Majesty's displeasure. He was already displeased that the people weren't willing to peacefully build the mausoleum. These people actually went to Pang Xiao to petition. This made him even more displeased.
Clearly, Li Qitian had forgotten that Pang Xiao's position of Premier Supervisor of the construction of the mausoleum was conferred by him. Since the main official in charge of supervising the construction of the mausoleum was present, why would the people come to the capital to petition?
However, Li Qitian didn't like Pang Xiao. Naturally, Pang Xiao couldn't do or say anything.
Ji Zeyu wanted to defend Pang Xiao, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words. He didn't want to arouse more suspicion from Li Qitian.
Ji Zeyu fell silent again. After a long time, he said, "Your Majesty still has to consider the people's petition."
When Li Qitian saw Ji Zeyu acting like this, he felt rather bored. Sometimes, these wooden-headed officials were even worse than Xiong Jinshui, who served him by his side. His words made him feel comfortable.
This was also why the Emperor would have some complicated feelings towards the eunuchs who served him. At least, after being together for a long time, it was normal for them to be closer.
Li Qitian said in a deep voice, "Of course, I will consider it. It's just that the unruly people are causing trouble. They dare to make all sorts of excuses about the construction of my imperial mausoleum. There are many people from all over Da Zhou. Do they think that my imperial mausoleum can't be built without them?"
Speaking of the atmosphere, Li Qitian slammed the table.
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Ji Zeyu and Xiong Jinshui knelt down and bowed.
%
Magistrate Cheng had been kneeling outside the camp for an entire day, but Pang Xiao still hadn't summoned him. He knew that either Wang Ye's injuries were extremely serious, or his actions had angered Wang Ye. Even if Wang Ye woke up, Wang Ye didn't want to see him.
Magistrate Cheng didn't despise Pang Xiao as much as the other officials of the Lu Faction. In his heart, the stability of the country was the most important. Pang Zhixi had contributed greatly to the development of the country. Moreover, he had an upright character and didn't have any intention of sacrificing the people of Danfu County.
He was willing to tell the truth about the situation and didn't hide anything that went wrong during the construction of the imperial mausoleum because he wanted to take responsibility. His actions made Magistrate Cheng admire him.
However, he didn't know how the Emperor would deal with this matter.
However, it was an indisputable fact that he had schemed against someone. He couldn't make Pang Xiao completely forget about this matter. He had offended Pang Xiao, and he didn't expect Pang Xiao to forgive him.
Magistrate Cheng struggled to get up in the evening.
He had been kneeling for a long time, and his legs felt like they were fake. Magistrate Cheng stood in place for a long time before he staggered back to the county.
Most of the children of the three major families in the city were ordered to look around the city gate. When they saw Magistrate Cheng limping back, they hurriedly supported him and reported back to their families.
The family heads of the three families and Elder Qi had been paying attention to the situation outside for a long time. They originally thought that the magistrate would be punished by Wang Ye, but they didn't expect that Wang Ye didn't do that. The magistrate actually came back safe and sound.
"Sir, what's the situation now? Did the imperial court send troops here to harm the people of Danfu County? "The family head of the Yu Family asked the question that everyone wanted to know.
Magistrate Cheng smiled. His legs hurt badly, but he was still able to talk to the people leisurely.
"You saw those cavalrymen, right?" He turned around and pointed to the newly added campsite. The horses were all managed by the people of the five military camps. Looking from afar, the scene of the snow-white tents in the campsite was particularly spectacular under the light of the setting sun.
It was as if those cavalrymen had stepped on the people's hearts before they even reached them.
The people's faces were ashen. They didn't know what to do.
"I saw it, I saw it. Sir, what should we do now? "
"That's right, Sir. Back then, we brought our children to the government office to seek an explanation from Wang Ye. Didn't we listen to Sir's idea? You can't abandon us now! "
When they heard someone mention this, the rest of the people didn't care about their feelings anymore. They all talked at once about this matter.
Magistrate Cheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Everything he did was for the stability of Da Zhou. However, the people in front of him didn't understand his actions at all. They even resented him and wanted to drag him out to take the blame.
These foolish people!
Magistrate Cheng shook his head and said, "If I really didn't care about you, I would have left long ago. Why would I kneel here and beg for mercy?"
When the people who were still discussing spiritedly heard Magistrate Cheng's words, their expressions immediately turned serious. In their great fear, they had already selectively ignored some things. Now that they were reminded, they naturally knew that their complaints were unreasonable.
They did listen to Magistrate Cheng's idea. However, that idea was only thought of when the three family heads and elders were present. They took the initiative to ask Magistrate Cheng to come up with this idea. If they didn't ask for it, Magistrate Cheng, as an official of the imperial court, wouldn't have to do this?
Everyone couldn't help but fall silent.
When Magistrate Cheng saw this, he softened his tone and said, "Don't worry. Since I'm a local official, there are some things that I know how to do. I'll write a letter to Your Majesty and state the facts. I'll ask Your Majesty to make the decision. With such a direct message, I believe that the previous Emperor who founded the country will definitely not disappoint you. "
When the three family heads, elders, and commoners heard this, they were all overjoyed. They couldn't help but kneel and kowtow to Magistrate Cheng.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty!"
With Magistrate Cheng's guarantee, their chances of survival increased. If Your Majesty knew the inside story, he might empathize with their difficulties and not punish them for the crime of plotting rebellion and assassinating Wang Ye.
When Magistrate Cheng returned to the yamen and saw his wife and child, he didn't hesitate. He first ordered the servants to send his wife and child back to their hometown to take care of their grandmother. He bid farewell to his wife and child in tears. When he returned home, he lit a lamp and wrote a memorial.
Magistrate Cheng's memorial roughly described the truth of this matter. The most important thing was that he clearly expressed his wish to not build the Imperial Mausoleum.
Magistrate Cheng knew that once this memorial reached Your Majesty's hands, there was an 80% chance that he would die. However, other than fear, he was more happy that his plan had succeeded.
Regardless of whether he died or not, for a normal ruler who wanted the country to be stable, he wouldn't continue to build the Imperial Mausoleum after such a thing happened. No matter what, he had to get over this matter first. Once they had such an idea, they would be able to use the limited amount of money they had on the upcoming natural disaster. His plan would be a complete success!
Magistrate Cheng was full of joy and excitedly ordered his servants to send out the memorial.
Because the matter in Danfu County was very important, the memorial quickly reached Li Qitian's hands.
After Li Qitian read it, he smashed all the blue and white porcelain vases in the imperial study on the spot. The eunuchs led by Xiong Jinshui were so scared that they all knelt down and kowtowed, not daring to make a sound.
"These useless things! And those unruly people! Each and every one of them is forcing me! I am the ruler of a country. If I build the Imperial Mausoleum at this age, I might not be able to build it well even after ten thousand years. How dare they make all kinds of excuses! That Danfu County Magistrate didn't manage his people well and caused a lot of chaos. Instead of apologizing properly, he actually dares to ask me not to continue building the Imperial Mausoleum. He is simply looking down on me! "
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Xiong Jinshui's voice was gentle and careful.
On the other hand, Li Qitian was so angry that his chest heaved up and down violently. He was like a bellows that had been pressed down by someone, huffing and puffing.
Li Qitian paced back and forth for a long time. Just as he was about to write the edict, someone outside the hall came in again.
"Your Majesty, Prince Zhongshun's memorial."
The veins on Li Qitian's forehead throbbed. After a long time, he finally calmed down and read Pang Xiao's so-called memorial.
The memorial was even more detailed than what Magistrate Cheng had written. It also clearly described the tragic situation in Danfu County where less than 10% of the people survived. It also explained that this time, it was pardonable. Your Majesty, for the sake of the stability of the country, must not punish the people.
Li Qitian sneered. Pang Zhixi was still the same.
Could it be that as the emperor, he didn't know how to treat the people well? Could he personally take the lives of the common people? Was he trying to show that he, Pang Zhixi, had a heart of compassion for the people?
Li Qitian turned around and wrote the edict. He ordered someone to quickly send it to Danfu County.
On the third day of Pang Xiao's' serious injury ', the eunuch by the emperor's side brought Your Majesty's edict to Danfu County.
These days, the people of Danfu County lived in an abyss of suffering. They couldn't eat or sleep well. They were constantly on tenterhooks. They were afraid that the imperial court would give the order in the blink of an eye for the cavalry stationed outside the city to charge in. At that time, how could they resist?
Panic made the air thick. The people were so desperate that they didn't dare to go out. Even the rows of shops on the streets were closed. The city was desolate.
There were also people who trusted Magistrate Cheng. They felt that the magistrate would definitely plead for them.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
