then Li Sao

The disaster in Qushan was very serious. Not only did several mudslides occur, but also large-scale landslides occurred in several places. Rocks and soil blocked the channel of the Qu River, which caused the water level in the upper reaches to skyrocket. into an almost hopeless situation.

The fleeing people desperately wanted to squeeze into Tongfang and other big cities, but they also brought famine and disease. Qianqiao City, which was the first to open the door to let the victims enter, has become a hotbed for the spread of disease.The food reserves in the city were not enough. A few days ago, Qiaocheng stopped opening warehouses to release grain, so scrambles and deaths were staged on the streets every day, which was horrible.

Yang Zhizhou advocated not opening the city gates, but distributing some food to the victims outside the city. This decision was supported by most officials, and some people who were afraid of the epidemic also agreed.

However, Zhou Tang insisted on opening the gate of the city. On the fifth day after Yang Zhizhou's "closed door policy" was implemented, in order to eliminate resistance, he once again stood on Fushangtai and lit the Kyushu wood.

Compared with three years ago, his voice was calmer and more intimidating.

"This king understands everyone's concerns. Indeed, letting them enter the city may cause us a lot of inconvenience, but I don't know if you have heard them crying for help outside the door day and night?

"That kind of begging and crying often wakes me up in the middle of the night. I don't think everyone can bear to watch them suffer. After all, they are all our compatriots in Yuezhou. Please answer me with your conscience, if your mother or brother is among them , The cry of the child, can you still say 'do not open the door' so calmly?

"Several high-rise houses drink fine wine, and several live in the streets—this scene really makes this king sad. If one day we suffer the same disaster, we are the ones outside the city, and they are the ones in the city, and you will What kind of mood is it? This king feels that the most desperate thing is not the natural disaster, but the indifference of the brothers and sisters, can't everyone compare their hearts?"

Someone in the audience started to commotion, and Zhou Tang stepped up his offensive.

"This king can assure everyone that after Tongfang opens the door, it will never repeat the mistakes of Qianqiao City.

"The charity of Yangzhizhou outside the city is still the same. The Yuewang Mansion will set up a rescue shed at the gate of the city. The people who enter the city need to be examined and treated by doctors there. In order not to cause trouble for everyone, the northern city area is designated, including the Yuewang Mansion. , as the activity area for the victims, the distribution of water, food, clothes, etc. are all in Beicheng District. People who originally lived in Beicheng District, if they are really worried, can stay behind closed doors or move out temporarily. Those who are willing to stay and help, Let’s rescue them together with this king.”

These words were both kind and powerful, and most of the supporters in Beicheng District were Zhou Tang's supporters. Seeing the king of Yue leading by example, coupled with their gratitude in their hearts, they all supported his decision.

Of course, there are also objections. Someone from Yang Zhizhou stood up and mocked: "I don't know if what you said counts, King Yue? Didn't you vow to eradicate the bandits in Yuezhou back then? You fought several times, but now Not only the Red Scarf Village has not been wiped out, but also a bandit from the South Mountain appeared, which shows that your oath, my lord, is not very credible."

As soon as this remark came out, people from Yang Zhizhou's faction echoed it.

Zhou Tang didn't back down in the face of doubts, and snorted coldly: "I don't dare to take credit casually, but I dare to ask this brother if he knows the number of robbery cases by bandits every year?"

The man was stunned by the question.

"I'm here to tell you. Three years ago, there were more than 70 cases per year, but last year, there were only 24 cases that caused losses. Among them, Hongjinzhai participated in [-] cases, Nanshan bandits participated in [-] cases, and three cases were small bandits. Zhai did it. Such a result must not satisfy everyone, so I beg you to give me another half a year. Within half a year, I will definitely give you an explanation!

"However, things are one thing at a time. I would like to ask you, now that there is a natural disaster, you want to provoke a man-made disaster. Is it because you want to make the people of Yuezhou panic and live?"

The man was severely scratched by his cold eyes like a knife's edge, and he shrank his head and did not dare to make a sound again.

Probably deterred by the majesty of the King of Yue, I don't know who provoked it first, someone in the audience shouted the name of the King of Yue, at first it was only a few times, and then it became louder and louder.

It was such a loud voice that "Zhen" opened the door to Tongfang.

Ting Ting and Fang Jin were also listening in the audience, and followed suit.A few days ago, they came to report the recent situation of the Nanshan bandits, but they were locked up in the city and couldn't get out. Now they can finally "return to the mountain", and they are in a good mood.

Ting Ting said: "Mr. Fang, do you feel that the prince is getting more and more airy?"

Fang Jin said: "Yes, his skin is getting thicker and thicker. He won't blush when he says such things, such as waking up in the middle of the night or being heartbroken. If you ask me, these words are mostly taught by Brother Mu Quan. Learn to sell now."

Ting Ting said: "According to his temperament, he will definitely ask Mr. Luo for a reward when he steps off the stage. He really knows how to play a rogue, obviously it's all his job."

Fang Jin said: "Hey, the older this child is, the more he has more thoughts. Now even brother Mu Quan may not be able to cure him. Tell me, is the thing he asked us to do this time worthwhile?"

Ting Ting nodded vigorously: "It's lacking, it's too lacking."

Zhou Tang has already ordered people to hurry to the capital, and deliver the booklet requesting the imperial court to allocate funds for disaster relief to the emperor. The booklet mentions in detail the use of the disaster relief money and each budget.

The silver taels for disaster relief will be delivered to Yuezhou in a month.

Then Zhou Tang ordered his own Nanshan bandits to rob him. He wanted to rob them in a fair and honest way, and he wanted to rob Hongjinzhai badly.

Then let him, the king of Yue, reap the benefits of the fisherman.

This matter was so wicked that he didn't dare to say a word to Luo Ping.

----

Zhou Tang carefully concealed it, never thinking about it, but Luo Ping seemed to have expected it long ago.

After Tongfang's city gate was opened, more and more disaster-stricken people entered the Beicheng District. Rows of shacks were set up in the courtyard of Yuewang Mansion for them to live in. It was a bit crowded, but not chaotic.

That day, King Yue's generous speech on Fushangtai was compiled into nursery rhymes and sung in the streets and alleys. The people who came to the city knew that it was King Yue who gave them a chance to live, so they all respected King Yue.

People are always like this, they support whoever treats them well.Not only that, in order not to cause trouble to the King of Yue, they also tried their best not to turn themselves into rice bugs eating rice.Young and strong men volunteered to help cut trees and build shanties, women gathered together to help mend clothes, and even the elderly and children helped to bring medicine and water.

Gradually, the people in Tongfang discovered that the situation was not as dire as they had thought.The disaster victims did not bring in the epidemic, nor did they rob them of water and food shortages. On the contrary, they also helped themselves a lot. The business of restaurants and teahouses is also booming like never before.

But no matter what, Tongfang was still saturated. Seeing that the Beicheng District could not accommodate any more, Zhou Tang began to think of other ways.He was thinking about going to the east of the city to get some more places, but he didn't know how to get them in a hurry, so he wanted to discuss it with the young master.

Unexpectedly, after asking all over the palace, no one knew Luo Ping's whereabouts. Zhou Tang couldn't help becoming anxious, and was about to take his guards to go out to look for him, but the man came back in a mess with an umbrella.

Looking at the dripping hair against his cheeks, the drenched clothes, and the large patches of mud on his boots, Zhou Tang frowned, stepped forward to hold his hand and said, "Where have you been?" , it’s so chaotic outside now, if you don’t bring a few guards, what if something goes wrong?”

Luo Ping walked into his room, and said calmly: "It's okay, I have my own measure."

Zhou Tang got a little angry: "Size! Do you know how cold your hands are!"

As soon as Luo Ping caught sight of his eyebrows, he knew that he was a little angry, and quickly stroked his hair: "Okay, okay, you know, I'm not very afraid of the cold, and I didn't run very far, Ji Yao The magistrate came to Tongfang to have a look, I drank a few glasses of wine with him, just talking."

The two entered Luoping's room while talking.

Seeing that he still wanted to ask more questions, Luo Ping sighed and said, "Can I tell you after I change my clothes? I don't want to get sick at this juncture."

Zhou Tang suddenly became happy: "It's good that you know, I can't do without you. Let me change it for you, little master. You see you changed it for me last time, this time I will return the gift."

Luo Ping stepped aside to let his hand go, and said with a cold face: "With this spare time, why not think about how to use this opportunity to destroy the Red Scarf Village. How is the arrangement at Nanshan?"

Zhou Tang thumped in his heart, he didn't dare to say anything, how could the little master mention it?Also know that he wants to take advantage of this natural disaster?How did he know?

Seeing that he had no intention of leaving at all, Luo Ping had no choice but to change behind the screen.

Putting on dry clothes and coming out, Luo Ping sat down and said, "I guess you want to use the imperial court's disaster relief funds to make trouble."

Afraid that Luo Ping would start preaching, Zhou Tang hurriedly defended himself: "Little master, listen to me, I just made the process of the disaster relief funds a little more complicated, and I will never let it lose a penny!"

Luo Ping smiled: "I know, Hongjin Village can't grab you this time."

It was also at this time that the Nanshan Army wiped out the Red Scarf Village. At that time, there was a lot of trouble, and it was this incident that finally established Zhou Tang's unshakable position in Yuezhou.This time it is nothing more than the same goal by different routes, and it is more sure than last time.

Zhou Tang heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the words: "Just trust me." Turning around and seeing the young master's hair was still wet, he took a cloth towel and wiped it for him, "Little master, what did you talk about with Jiyao's prefect? "

Luo Ping knew that it was useless to refuse, so he lowered his head slightly, asking him to wipe it better: "Actually, he came for an unannounced visit, and the pressure on Ji Yao's side is also great, and he is also in between opening the city gate or not opening the city gate." He hesitated, because he was familiar with me, so he came to ask me how Tongfang handled it."

"Then what do you say later?"

"Later, I took him outside the city and convinced him to open the city gate of Jiyao. There were still many victims there who had nowhere to go. He couldn't bear to see it. Moreover, Beicheng District really couldn't bear more People are coming into the city, and at this time we better turn to other places to open the door."

"I just wanted to talk to you about this matter today. In fact, Tongfang is so big. It's enough to ask for a place to help the victims in the east. It's easier for me to talk in this city, so that you don't have to waste your time."

"No," this proposal was immediately rejected by Luo Ping, "I said before, you want to borrow troops from Yang Zhizhou, and you have embarrassed him by blatantly opposing his closed-door policy, so if you ask him for land at this time, It's just pushing the envelope. Now you can't offend him too much, you know?"

"Actually, it's okay not to rely on his strength. I believe that the Nanshan bandits will definitely win this tough battle."

"The point is not whether you can get it or not, but to minimize the loss." Luo Ping caressed Zhou Tang's hand resting on his shoulder, "The Nanshan bandits and the guards are all your hearts and minds. In the past three years, I have seen you sacrifice for them with my own eyes, if possible, of course it would be better to preserve some strength."

Luo Ping remembered that although the Nanshan Army of the previous life won this battle, more than half of them were killed, King Yue was very depressed because of this, and the shocking changes that followed made him tired of coping.So this time, Luo Ping hoped that he could have a stronger backing to avoid all worries.

Zhou Tang clenched his hand tightly.

To be honest, he said so confidently, but he was also shaken in his heart.

Many fights with Hongjinzhai made him understand that the leader named Shen Liu is cunning and cruel, and he is not such an easy opponent to deal with.This time the little master gave him trust, but it made him even more nervous.

"Little master, I suddenly feel that the burden on my shoulders is so heavy..." He whispered, bent down and buried his head on Luoping's neck.

Feeling his uneasiness, Luo Ping comforted softly: "Don't worry, there will be a solution, as long as you... hiss!"

Zhou Tang lifted his hair and sucked heavily on his neck: "As long as I can tie you by my side firmly, I can handle anything."

Luo Ping stood up and said: "Everyone is very busy these few days, please put these muddled thoughts aside."

Zhou Tang looked at the red spot that he sucked out and disappeared in the black hair, restless and powerless for a while.

He had never seen a person who could combine rigidity, coldness and shyness in one expression.

But his little wife could, he could hear so clearly, the man's carotid arteries beat so fast when he kissed.However, that enthusiasm was only suppressed in the blood, and did not emerge at all.

It was as if the person's soul and body were bound to each other.

The imperial court's disaster relief silver and supplies entered the territory of Yuezhou.

King Yue proposed to Yang Zhizhou to send troops to escort the convoy, but Yang Zhizhou flatly refused.

As Luo Ping said, Yang Qiyun's biggest bargaining chip now is the part of the military power of the city guards, so naturally he is stubborn and refuses to let go.

Zhou Tang had no choice but to lead his bodyguards to escort.

At that time, the Nanshan bandits and the Red Scarf Village also took aim at this big piece of fat, and once again the three parties faced each other, and the confrontation was imminent.

Before leaving, Zhou Tang asked Luo Ping not to leave the mansion. Yang Zhizhou's attitude was unclear, and there was a lot of chaos outside. To be on the safe side, he ordered Luo Ping to handle things at home as a prince.

Luo Ping agreed, letting him face the battle with confidence.

After Zhou Tang turned around vigorously, Luo Ping immediately put away his obedience.

He went into the house and took out the prepared emergency medicine kit and was about to leave the mansion. The two guards arranged by Zhou Tang came out to dissuade him, but he couldn't resist him.

Luo Ping said: "Either come with me, or you stay here and I will go by myself. I will have an explanation from the prince."

The guard hesitated for a while, then followed him out awkwardly.

After all, Luo Ping was not at ease, nothing could go wrong, even though he knew that he would not be of any use in fighting, he still wanted to get as close as possible.

It's just that he didn't expect that it was his stubbornness this time that became a variable in this battle.