Chapter 8 Uneasy Times

Chengqian Palace.

As the living and sleeping quarters of the new emperor, the interior here is extraordinarily luxurious.

The eunuchs and maids who came and went were very cautious and did not dare to make too much noise for fear of offending Long Yan.

Last time, a certain long servant who was deeply favored by the late emperor was killed outside the palace gate by His Majesty because of some trivial matter!

With this lesson, the eunuchs currently serving in Chengqian Palace can't help but be very energetic.

"Shangguan's daughter is here!"

At this time, a message came from outside the palace.

The chamberlain who heard this name bowed down with great respect, not daring to raise his head to look at the cold figure.

Shangguan Wan'er was seen walking hurriedly into the palace, holding an important memorial in her hand.

The chamberlains all knew that the new emperor liked to handle government affairs in Chengqian Palace.

And this Shangguan female history is deeply trusted by His Majesty the Emperor, and she will definitely be one of the concubines in the harem in the future!

Because of this, no one who is short-sighted dares to offend Shangguan Wan'er.

The new emperor's eccentricities don't end there.

In the lobby of the inner hall of Chengqian Palace, the emperor did not allow all eunuchs and maids to approach, and entry required a summons.

The long waiter just maintained his identity and broke into the inner hall for no reason.

This led to the disaster of death.

There are exceptions.

Of course, this Shangguan female history can directly enter the inner hall without being passed on.

What just made many chamberlains curious.

Why does this Shangguan female historian walk in a slightly weird way today?

Shangguan Wan'er was very familiar with the layout of Chengqian Palace, right into the inner hall covered by silk curtains.

I saw a thin figure projected on the curtain under the bright candlelight.

However, His Majesty the Emperor, who is only sixteen years old, is wearing an exquisite dragon robe, and his aura alone is intimidating.

The new emperor, who heard the footsteps of the visitor, never took his eyes away from the bamboo scroll in his hand.

"Your Majesty! Urgent report from the Ministry of Finance!"

"Heavy rains have continued in Gyeonggi Province in recent days, and the rivers have flooded. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected, and now they are coming to the capital to beg for food."

Snapped!

The bamboo scroll in Emperor Li Tang's hand fell apart.

He slowly raised his head, revealing a good-looking face that was too pale and already unhealthy.

The eyebrows are slightly delicate, and the eyes are deep.

"There are twelve prefectures and forty-six counties around the capital. What are these ministers who are devoting their salaries to the emperor doing?"

His Majesty the Emperor spoke calmly, but it seemed that he was not asking Shangguan Wan'er, but talking to himself.

Although his face was young, his aura made Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but bow her head.

"Seven prefectures in the capital were affected by the disaster, and all the prefects of the seven affected prefectures wrote letters requesting the imperial court to allocate relief food. If it is delayed, the livelihood of the people affected by the disaster will change!"

Emperor Li Tang suddenly laughed when he heard the word "shengbian", and gathered the bamboo pieces on the desk with his slender white fingers.

No wonder the chamberlain only had a moody impression of the new emperor.

Only Shangguan Wan'er knew that this was a sign that the emperor wanted to kill someone.

"What did Tobe say?"

"The monk's book says that 70% of this year's taxes have been spent, and there is no way to provide disaster relief."

Shangguan Wan'er said, her head lowered further.

“It’s not even autumn yet, and there’s not much money left in the treasury?”

Li Zhao said this, but his expression did not change much.

"Indeed, there is more, and that is the additional military pay that your Majesty promised to the soldiers of Liaodong."

"This money cannot be touched."

When Li Zhao heard this, his delicate sword eyebrows slightly condensed.

Nowadays, the situation in Liaodong is corrupt, and the Jurchens outside the Pass are watching with eager eyes, and they are likely to move south in one fell swoop.

If these frontier troops cannot get their two-year vacancy in military pay, trouble may arise.

"This disaster relief fund will come from my internal treasury, which is 300,000 taels."

Li Zhao suddenly thought of something and chuckled, "I have paid for it, so Minister Wan'er, what do you think is better?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Wan'er immediately said: "That person and your lord will definitely need double the amount!"

But in this tone, there was a strong hostility towards this Hubu monk.

"That's right, people say that Heshen's family is as rich as the country."

Li Zhao said, licking the corner of his mouth, and the meaning in his eyes made people shudder.

"It's just that I can't move Heshen right now."

Li Zhao, whose expression was indifferent, rubbed his brows.

He Shen also had to check and balance the Zhao Kuangyin brothers in the Ministry of War.

Zhao Kuangyin is the Minister of the Ministry of War and controls the 12 battalions of the Beijing camp, with a total of 150,000 troops!

"By the way, Wang Ziteng is currently patrolling Jiubian. Where are you currently patrolling?"

"Datong, I think I can return to Beijing to deliver the order in one month."

"very good."

From Li Zhao's point of view, this is one of the few good news for Wang Ziteng.

"When Prince Teng comes back, he can be promoted to the governor of the capital camp."

This move was naturally because Li Zhao was worried about handing over all the capital camps to Zhao Kuangyin and chose the person to fight in the ring.

This Prince Teng was a meritorious official of the late Emperor Wang's family, and he had many ancestral friends in the army.

On the other hand, Zhao Kuangyin is a general who has shone brightly in the frontier army in recent years and has been promoted through meritorious service!

If these two people confront each other, the one who controls the situation will be Li Zhao, the emperor himself.

It can be seen that although the new emperor is not very old, his imperial mental skills have been cultivated to a superb level.

The memorial sent by Shangguan Wan'er today is mainly about floods and victims.

Li Zhao read and reviewed these memorials, but he let out a light sigh and had a bad look on his face.

"absurd!"

Yes.

This matter seemed extremely absurd to Li Zhao.

The capital of Li and Tang Dynasty was located above the capital of the previous Sui Dynasty.

Before the Sui Dynasty, many dynasties also established their capitals here.

Because of this, every new dynasty would repair the capital.

You should know that in ancient times, cities with millions of people must have good sewage facilities.

Therefore, the underground sewage ditches in the capital are well connected.

Some were built by Li Tang, and some were repaired by past dynasties.

And these ditches are deep underground, forming an underground kingdom.

Many vicious criminals and desperadoes are frequent visitors to the underground, which is called Wuyou Cave by outsiders.

This memorial is about the Wuyou Cave.

Yesterday, the rats in Wuyou Cave came out of the cave and almost kidnapped the only daughter of Lin Ruhai, the censor of Yangzhou Salt Transport, who came to Beijing, and the niece of the old lady of Jia Gongfu.

Fortunately, a four-browed wandering knight took action and prevented the rats in Wuyou Cave from succeeding.

"Strictly order the Wucheng Bingma Division to eliminate the thieves in Wuyou Cave within ten days!"

Shangguan Wan'er heard this and hesitated.

If this Worry-free Cave was so easy to deal with, it wouldn't still exist today.

But the decree issued by Li Zhao was the law of heaven, how could it be allowed to be changed?

By the time Li Zhao finished dealing with these government affairs, an hour had passed.

Li Zhao invited Shangguan Wan'er to have a meal, and they sat opposite each other to eat.

None of the ministers in the court could experience such an honor.

Only Shangguan Wan'er seemed to be used to it.

"Wan'er, tell me, what does that feel like?"

Suddenly, Li Zhao asked with an awkward expression.

Shangguan Wan'er heard the words of her own majesty, as if she recalled the experience of that night.

"It hurt a little at the beginning, but then..."

As they said that, the monarch and his ministers suddenly became quiet, and looked at each other in silence.

...