Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 60: Too Smart, Too Late
"The most important thing for you now is to read more notes and learn how you gentlemen and I handle government affairs. National affairs are not your concern." said the emperor.

At first, when the emperor saw that his son was intelligent, he was very happy.

However, Zhao Xing had been sensible and mature since childhood, and gradually the emperor began to feel worried.

As the saying goes, "too much wisdom leads to premature death, and too much wisdom leads to injury." He was worried that his son was too mature and too thoughtful, which would affect his life.

He was really scared when Zhao Xingsheng fell ill last time.

Although the emperor hoped that Zhao Xing could become a wise king, he hoped even more that he could grow up safely.

"Father, I understand. I will take my leave first." Zhao Xing bowed.

"Go ahead." The official waved his hand.

……

"My dear, please take a look at these."

Mr. Shen walked into Han Zhang's office with a few documents and a serious look on his face.

"Youping, what happened that makes you look so serious?" Han Zhang asked in surprise.

"Several states in the south of the Yangtze River have reported that the number of local locust larvae is several times more than in previous years, and there is a fear of a locust plague," said Prime Minister Shen.

"what?"

Han Zhang was shocked when he heard this, and quickly took the bundle and started looking at them one by one.

"If it's so serious, why hasn't it been reported before?"

After looking at the tattoo, Han Zhang looked very unhappy.

As a prime minister, he had also served in local government and was very familiar with the memorials submitted by local officials.

Whenever there is a merit, they will exaggerate it, but when there is a fault, they will be more conservative.

These notes say that the number of locust larvae in the fields is several times more than in previous years.

But if this is true, it is not actually serious. However, these people reported it, which is enough to prove that the problem is much more serious than what they said in the report.

"It's not that there were no reports. After I saw the memorial, I checked the memorials submitted by those states last year and found that the Yangzhou Tongpan had submitted a memorial in October last year, saying that more locust offspring were found in several counties under Yangzhou than in previous years." said Prime Minister Shen.

"Then why didn't you report it?" Han Zhang asked.

"It was reported. It was handled by Minister Chen at the time. Minister Chen checked some documents from prefectures near Yangzhou and found no similar situation. He thought that the Yangzhou officials were making a fuss out of nothing, so he made a comment and reported it to the emperor, but the emperor didn't take it seriously after reading it." Minister Shen said.

"Nonsense, the locusts are a serious matter. Even if it is a small matter, can it be ignored? These county officials, for their own selfish reasons, concealed the locusts and did not report them. This is simply a heinous crime."

Han Zhang understood why those officials did not report it after a little thought.

The more this happened, the angrier he became.

Han Zhang got furious and walked out with the pens in his hand.

"My Lord, you are..."

"I'm going to see His Majesty!"

……

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Han Zhang bowed.

The official waved his hand and said, "You look angry, sir. What happened?"

Han Zhang has been in a high position for many years and has long since stopped showing his emotions.

But now he looked angry, which surprised the official.

"Your Majesty, Yangzhou, Suzhou... and other five states have reported that the number of locust larvae this year is several times more than in previous years, and there are signs of a locust plague. Please take a look, Your Majesty." Han Zhang said in a deep voice, holding the bundle in both hands.

"what?"

The official was stunned when he heard this and asked, "Are there really locust plagues?"

Han Zhang was startled when he heard this, and asked with some surprise and confusion, "Your Majesty already knows?"

The emperor came to his senses and asked the eunuch to bring the letter to him. He said, "I want the prince to look at last year's letter and learn from the experience of the ministers in governing. A few days ago, the prince came to me with the letter from last year's Yangzhou Tongpan, saying that there might be a locust plague in the south of the Yangtze River."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is young, he has a keen sense of smell and will surely become a wise ruler in the future." Han Zhang praised.

Han Zhang asked himself, if he had seen the letter last year, he would probably have taken it a little more seriously and not taken it too seriously.

For an official, doing a good job is only one aspect, but also need to be able to show oneself. Local officials are far away from the emperor, so the best way to show oneself is through the tsukuni.

The Yangzhou post seems to be reporting a possible locust plague in Yangzhou.

But it can also be understood as expressing oneself.

Even if the government did not take it seriously, it would still leave an impression on the diligence of the Yangzhou officials.

Even if the government took it seriously and sent people to investigate and proved that nothing had happened, they could only say that the officials in Yangzhou were too cautious and could not be blamed for this incident.

Han Zhang has been an official for many years and is very familiar with these twists and turns.

But when Zhao Xing saw a document written a few months ago, he was so concerned that he hurried over to see the official.

This shows how much Zhao Xing cares about the people.

"hehe."

The emperor laughed at himself and said, "I told the prince not to make a fuss about nothing. Now it seems that I was careless."

"Your Majesty is in charge of the country and is very busy. I failed to notice it in time. How can I blame Your Majesty?" Han Zhang said hurriedly.

"Okay, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. You don't have to make excuses for me."

The official shook his head, took the document and began to read it.

After reading the documents, the official was silent for a while and said, "From these documents, it seems that the problem is very serious. How do you think we can remedy it?"

"Your Majesty, the locusts are still larvae. We just need to call on the people to exchange locusts for food. There won't be any problem," said Han Zhang.

"Yes." The emperor nodded and said, "I will leave this matter to the Grand Minister. In addition, the officials in these states will be strictly investigated. Those who know about it but do not report it will be exiled, and those who are derelict in their duties will be demoted. I will announce this matter at the morning court the day after tomorrow."

At this time, the government was somewhat glad that it had conducted a thorough investigation of the salt business last year.

The thorough investigation of the salt industry not only increased salt revenue, but also brought in a large amount of money from the officials and salt merchants.

Otherwise, the court really wouldn’t be able to come up with any money now.

"I obey your order!" Han Zhang replied.

……

The Sheng family set out from Yangzhou in early February and arrived in Bianjing in mid-February.

Leaving servants behind to transport the gifts, the family entered the city by carriage.

Although Sheng Changbai knew that his parents were coming to Bian Jing, he didn't know the specific date, so he just had someone clean the courtyard and continued to accompany his parents in their studies in the East Palace.

"Mother, you should still live in the main courtyard. I have already had it renovated." Sheng Hong helped Old Madam Sheng into the house, speaking as he walked.

"No need, the yard on the east side is pretty good, I'll live there." Old Mrs. Sheng shook her head when she heard that.

When she married Old Master Sheng, she lived in the main courtyard. Seeing the familiar scene, she couldn't help but think back to the past.

Sheng Hong tried to persuade her a few times, but Old Lady Sheng insisted on not doing it, so he had to give up.

Although the journey was tiring, once the courtyard was arranged and the gifts were brought back by the servants, they went back to direct the servants to clean up the house.

Sheng Hong changed his clothes and came to Wei Xiaoniang's yard.

"I've met the master!"

There were not many servants in Wei Xiaoniang's room. She was cleaning the room with the maid. When she saw Sheng Hong coming, she immediately stopped her work and stepped forward to greet him.

"Why did you start fighting?" Sheng Hong looked around and asked, "Where's Brother Lin?"

"Brother Lin has fallen asleep. Since it's messy here, just put him in the next room. Minglan is watching him." Wei Xiaoniang said.

"This room is really messy. Let them be busy and we can go out and talk," said Sheng Hong.

"Yes." Wei Xiaoniang nodded and followed Sheng Hong out.

"Don't touch Ming's things. Have someone send them directly to the old lady. Let her live with the old lady from now on." Sheng Hong said.

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(End of this chapter)