After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Chapter 114 This is the surprise he prepared.

Upon waking from the dream, Wang Qingyan first placed his hand on his chest, feeling the tightening of his heart.

Such a wonderful gift, Ah Zhu should really like it.

How can anyone not be attracted to their other half?

He is like that, and she should be like that too.

only......

As the ruthlessness in his eyes deepened, Wang Qingyan personally snapped the neck of the puppet outside the door.

Then he summoned Wuming and inquired about the situation in Xizhou.

"Baili Jiangluo hesitated for three days, but still took the medicine you gave him. He has been able to walk normally these past few days."

"Ha!" Upon hearing the expected result, Wang Qingyan let out a cold laugh.

Man, that's it.

Even knowing it's a trap, they'll still jump in.

So, Ah Zhu, once I catch you, you won't have a shred of freedom left.

But because he had just killed someone, he wasn't in such a bad mood anymore.

"Then, the surprise can begin."

......

As temperatures rise, many places have begun plowing and tilling the fields in preparation for the new year's planting.

However, Cangzhou, known as the granary of the Great Wei Dynasty, was plagued by a rat infestation at this time.

In less than half a month, not only were all the large and small granaries eaten up, but the rolling green hills were also devoured by rats.

The ensuing severe weather brought the disease to dozens of nearby towns, and together with the infected water sources, it claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

“In those families where there are no able-bodied men or where care is inadequate, there have even been cases of rats killing children.”

"Enough!" Lu Jian slammed his hand on the table and stood up, sternly questioning the Ministry of Revenue official who had given the report, "Isn't there an official road in Cangzhou that leads directly to the capital?!"

"What are the officials in Cangzhou doing?! Why did they only report this now?!"

The Ministry of Revenue official bowed respectfully, and that was exactly what he wanted to say: "Before the disaster began, the Prefect of Cangzhou had already absconded with over 100,000 taels of tax silver."

"..."

After a brief silence, Lu Jian suppressed his raging anger and asked, "Where are his family members?"

The official from the Ministry of Revenue hesitated for a moment... and said, "After discovering that the taxes from Cangzhou had not been paid on time, I went to investigate."

"how?"

Before leaving, the Prefect of Cangzhou had poisoned and buried all his close associates.

"They didn't even spare the groom in the house."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jian immediately slumped into his chair.

"His Majesty..."

Lu Jian raised his hand to stop Zhang Shan, who was looking concerned. "Draft an imperial edict to immediately transfer one million dan of grain from the granaries near the capital."

“Another five million taels of silver will be allocated from the national treasury, and Song Zhaohe and He Wenyuan will be ordered to go there for disaster relief.”

"Another three thousand soldiers were ordered to accompany him."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After giving his instructions, while waiting for Zhang Shan to draft the decree, Lu Jian summoned the Imperial Physician.

He was tasked with finding a way to recruit as many doctors as possible from the general public, students, and colleagues to carry out rat extermination and disease prevention in Cangzhou...

But before this matter could be resolved, news of the Yongchuan riots quickly spread to the capital!

"What?!" Lu Jian, who had just lain down, didn't even have time to get angry.

He hurriedly dressed and headed towards Shangyang Palace, shouting, "Summon the officials of the Six Ministries to the palace immediately!"

"Yes!" Zhang Shan immediately ran off to do it.

But even if he's fast, it still takes time.

By the time a group of officials rushed over and explained the situation, it was already the next day.

"The officials stationed in the southwest are mostly outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. If we don't take a stand this time, I'm afraid they will just go through the motions and pass the buck."

"Does Lord Qian mean that sending troops is absolutely necessary?"

"Yes! We must show the Southwest that they can't just rebel against the imperial court as they please!"

Xue Fengshi immediately stood up to object, "No! The rat infestation in Cangzhou has already affected more than half of the prefecture, and a huge amount of manpower and resources will inevitably be needed for disaster relief."

"Sending troops now would be tantamount to exposing our weaknesses, and would only leave the court stretched thin and unable to move an inch!"

"But if we don't act, we'll be letting the fire spread like wildfire!"

"Furthermore, the Southwest has always been unruly. If we continue to indulge them this time, isn't Chancellor Xue afraid of a mutiny in the Southwest?!"

"..." Xue Fengshi's expression changed in surprise.

That makes perfect sense, but given the current situation, we really can't send troops.

Seeing that the ministers had argued for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Lu Jian was also helpless.

"Your concerns are all reasonable. We can weigh the two evils and choose the lesser one."

“It is not appropriate to send troops to the southwest at this time. Although those stationed officials are difficult to deal with, fortunately, they have not yet caused a major disaster.”

"Therefore, the Southwest should still be appeased. This matter will be handled by the Ministry of Personnel. If necessary, the Ministry of Rites can also be involved to give them some honorary titles and rewards."

"Yes," the official from the Ministry of Personnel stepped forward.

"Cangzhou is the granary of our Great Wei. If it is not restored as soon as possible, the people of the whole country will suffer."

"Therefore, officials of the Ministry of Revenue still need to compile statistics on the materials needed for disaster relief and expedite preparations."

"Yes," the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward.

Disaster relief is not only about helping people, but also about preventing corrupt officials from lining their own pockets.

Lu Jian thought for a moment, then his gaze fell on Xue Fengshi, "Imperial Censor..."

But when he was about to say it, he changed his mind.

It seems that it is beneficial for the people to send an upright person to provide disaster relief.

In reality, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

Then his gaze shifted, and he looked at the not-so-honest Imperial Censor, saying, "Imperial Censor, you should personally go to Cui Yuanshu's home and invite him to go with you to Cangzhou to oversee disaster relief efforts."

"If he is willing and performs well, I will grant him reinstatement to his original position!"

The Imperial Censor was taken aback... then quickly bowed, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

......

Afterwards, Lu Jian kept looking for Lin Yuchuan.

What exactly happened during the Yongchuan riots?

"Your Majesty, the rioters have blocked all the checkpoints in and out of Yongchuan, and the people I sent have lost contact with them."

Lu Jian's eyes narrowed slightly; this was strange.

Logically speaking, if they were truly a mob, they should have attacked the surrounding prefectures and counties immediately before the imperial court could react.

This is also the key reason why he insisted on not sending troops first.

Can......

"Have any unusual findings been discovered in Zhou County and Mianchuan, which are adjacent to Yongchuan?"

Lin Yuchuan knelt down in court, saying, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. Please punish me."

It's not that it doesn't exist, it's that we couldn't find it.

Lu Jian sighed... waved for Lin Yuchuan to leave, then sent a message to Baili Ming to send someone to check.

......