Chapter 297
Wang Jianhuo has his own principles and methods for doing things. After agreeing to become an official, he did not kneel, but stood with his head held high, looked at the emperor, and said, "The grass people dare to be an official, does Your Majesty dare to be a commoner?"
"You think I've never been a commoner?" It wasn't long before Han Ruzi got rid of his status as a "tired marquis". Although he was not an ordinary person before, he was not ignorant of the suffering of the people.
"Tonight, before leaving Luoyang, does Your Majesty dare to be a commoner for a while?" Wang Jianhuo asked.
Before waiting for the emperor to answer, the King of the East Sea said first: "What is this called? Let's not talk about Your Majesty, what does it mean for the grass people to 'dare' to be an official? Is it possible to be an official of the Great Chu and have a life-threatening situation?"
Wang Jianhuo only stared at the emperor, "The reputation of the 'Ugly King' for decades will be ruined after dawn. People in the world will think that I have waited for so many years to become a bigger official."
It was still the King of the East Sea who said, "Can your decades of prestige be compared to your Majesty's temporary safety?"
Wang Jianhuo was silent.
Han Ruzi didn't say anything.
"Your Majesty isn't thinking about it, right?" The King of the East Sea widened his eyes, "Maybe Your Majesty doesn't believe it, but I sincerely remind you that the emperor's safety not only belongs to you, but also concerns the entire Great Chu, especially at this time, if His Majesty has any just in case……"
The King of the East Sea couldn't help but think for a while.
"When Emperor Wu was young, he often went out of the palace to make private visits." Han Ruzi was a little moved. He had heard many stories about Emperor Wu's private visits since he was a child, both true and false, but one thing was definitely true. Emperor Wu was not the type to sit in the palace. The emperor who rules the world.
"The world was peaceful during Emperor Wu's time, and... and there are many trusted people around Emperor Wu. This ugly king... let him be an official so reluctantly, I'm afraid he can't be trusted?"
Faced with doubts, Wang Jianhuo did not make any excuses.
"Isn't there you by my side?"
The King of the East Sea would never say that he was untrustworthy. He was speechless for a while, and suddenly reacted, "Your Majesty wants to take me out for a private visit? This... this... Your Majesty really wants to agree? Let's discuss it with someone first."
Wang Jianhuo said: "Seeing is believing, Your Majesty's heart is for the people, this is a good thing, but Your Majesty is sitting in the heavily guarded military camp in Luoyang City, reading a pile of documents, listening to the officials' unanimous words, rather than bothering to guess, If you can't tell what's true and what's false, it's better to see it for yourself."
Han Ruzi was heartbroken, and the ugly king was right. The emperor put pressure on local officials, sent temporary censors, and promoted heros to officials... It was all because of doubts. In this case, why not walk into the refugees. What about going to experience it?
The King of the East Sea guessed the result from the emperor's expression, "Your Majesty, I have said everything I need to say, and I request that these words be recorded, in case... I can also leave evidence, so don't let people think that I lied to Your Majesty. out."
"What evidence do you leave behind? If it happens to me, do you still want to run away?"
"No, of course, that's not what I mean, I just think... Your Majesty is a wise king, and for the sake of the great Chu Jiangshan, Emperor Huan has only two sons, and His Majesty has no children... Your Majesty must not misunderstand, this is purely for the sake of Han The descendants of the clan and the great Chu Jiangshan consider... Zhang Youcai, are you just standing there stupidly?"
Zhang Youcai and Loach have always been behind the emperor. With outsiders around, the two never spoke, but they never agreed with the emperor to take risks. When they heard the words of the King of the East Sea, they walked a few steps at the same time, turned around and were about to kneel down to persuade them, but they were stared at by the emperor. After a glance, they all went back to their original positions.
"Courageous and fortunate little minister." The King of the East Sea whispered, suddenly there was a sense of desolation that all the dynasty were traitors and only I was loyal.
Han Ruzi turned his head and asked the guards a little further away, "How many people are needed to protect basic safety?"
The guard was stunned, his mouth opened, and he didn't dare to say a word.
"Go and call Wang He, don't talk too much."
The guard ran quickly, walked out of the tent, and returned at a very fast speed, indicating that he had no chance to talk too much.
Wang He also arrived soon, glanced at the ugly king, "Wei Chen Wang He pays respects to His Majesty."
"I want to make a private visit in private, and leave in half an hour. You can arrange it so that no one will find out when you leave the camp. With you, there will be a maximum of six guards. The King of the East Sea will accompany you, and Wang Jianhuo, how many people will you bring?"
"Caomin is alone."
"Okay, Wang He, get ready to go."
Wang He thumped down on his knees, and just as he was about to speak, Han Ruzi's face darkened slightly, "You are the head of the guards, I appoint you, I don't want advice, do you think you are more articulate than King Donghai?"
The East Sea King blinked helplessly.
Wang He's thoughts were blocked, he thought and thought, and said, "At least ten guards, no less."
"It's up to you, but you can't leak the secret, especially not tell Liu Jie, understand?" Han Ruzi had a hunch that once Liu Jie heard that the emperor was going to leave the camp, he would hug the emperor's legs in all likelihood, and he would not die. let go.
"Understood." Wang He stepped back with a pale face.
After making an appointment for the meeting place, Wang Jianhuo also resigned, and Han Ruzi asked Zhang Youcai and Loach to bring an extra set of quilts, pretending to stay with the King of the East Sea for a long talk all night, and then warned: "You two are not allowed to talk too much, during my absence, if there is any What's the matter, cover it up for me."
Zhang Youcai was so anxious that he wanted to cry, "Your Majesty..."
"Why, I was able to go out the night before, but now I can't?"
Thinking of his master's adventures when he was tired, Zhang Youcai really burst into tears, "There used to be Du's grandfather and grandson..."
"There are ten guards now." Han Ruzi became more and more excited. He had been in Luoyang for several days. He had been trapped in the military camp, overthinking and dizzy. Wang Jianhuo reminded him: the fog in the memorial, does not exist in reality.
But the loach didn't care much, "Your Majesty is just going out, isn't it that dangerous?"
Donghai King and Zhang Youcai glared at the same time, Loach hurriedly shut his mouth tightly, Donghai King could not even leave the tent, and muttered: "Anyway let me say goodbye to the princess... Your Majesty, is the ugly king really worth believing? There are a lot of things on the minds of people and ghosts, and I just used a seemingly non-existent bet to make Your Majesty be in a dilemma."
Han Ruzi didn't answer. He believed in the ugly king, partly because of his own feelings, and the other half because of Meng E.
Meng E entrusted the Baoxi to the ugly king of Luoyang, which shows that in her mind, the ugly king is more trustworthy than most people.
If this is an interlocking scam - Han Ruzi thinks it is impossible, there are too many accidents in the middle, only the immortals of the prophets can think of it in advance.
After half an hour, the emperor, the King of the East Sea and the eleven guards quietly left the barracks with horses. They did not encounter any guards on the road. They were all temporarily transferred by Wang He. Wang He also played a small trick and counted himself in ten. In addition to the famous guard, he brought one more person.
Wang Jianhuo was waiting three streets away, alone, riding a horse, nodding to the emperor, and leading the way.
Because he had just experienced the battle, Luoyang was still under curfew. There were no pedestrians on the street, only a group of patrolling soldiers. Wang Jianhuo had his own way to avoid the investigation. Cards, you can walk around the city at will, and you can even go out of the city late at night.
After several miles out of the city, the military card was no longer needed. The group took off their hats and wrapped their cloaks tightly, trying not to reveal their official body. Wang Jianhuo wore a cloak and used a hood to cover his iconic face.
In the middle of the night, the official road outside the city was flickering with lights, extending far into the distance. The roadside was covered with shacks of various sizes, and there were still many people lying on the ground, with at most a little hay under them.
At intervals, there are indeed official and private grain sheds, which are closed at night, and no one is allowed to live there.
The group dismounted, several guards led all the horses and followed behind, Han Ruzi, Donghai King, Wang Jianhuo, and Wang He walked in front, and the other guards followed scattered, one hand holding the knife in the cloak at all times.
"This area is full of refugees from Henan County. The time is short, not all of them have arrived, and many are still on the way." Wang Jianhuo introduced in a low voice.
Through the fire on the side of the road, Han Ruzi could see some refugees who had not yet slept. They sat there blankly, all with yellow faces and thin skin, not knowing what they were waiting for or thinking.
There was a child who didn't know whether it was a man or a woman, standing alone on the side of the road, holding a ball of rice in his hand, swallowing, and when he saw someone approaching, he turned and ran.
"Without this release of food, at least half of the people here would not have survived the summer." Wang Jianhuo said.
Suddenly there was a quarrel in front of him, Han Ruzi quickened his pace, and heard an angry voice saying, "Didn't you say you are going to bring food back to your hometown? When will you put food on a meal like now?"
Another voice persuaded: "Alright, alright, the government releases food, and you still complain, you forgot what happened to starvation? I heard that this is for the emperor to see. Before the emperor leaves Luoyang, he must take a look. , everyone left after receiving the food, what is the emperor looking at?"
"It's really uncomfortable, it's better..."
"Shh, you want to die, but you can be at ease. What about the wife, children, and children at home?"
The quarrel was over, and the small crowd in the dark dispersed.
Wang Jianhuo said in a low voice, "It's okay if you have a family and a business, and you're willing to go back to your hometown. As far as I know, if everyone in the family starved to death, the men in that family probably wouldn't come to receive food, and would rather stay in the mountains for food. robbery."
Han Ruzi snorted, it was too late to release the food, I don't know how many people died because of this, and how many people were completely disappointed with the court, and they were determined to become robbers or even rebel.
Based on what he saw and heard so far, Han Ruzi felt that this private visit was worthwhile. Sitting in the city, he only knew that the situation of refugees was severe, but he could not feel the sense of urgency that was related to life and death.
A man suddenly appeared in the shadows on the side of the road, and the guards behind him rushed up. Wang Jianhuo waved to them, saying that he was fine.
It wasn't an assassin, just a skinny refugee. There seemed to be something hidden under the tattered clothes. He glanced viciously at the man in the cape. .
Petty theft is common among refugees, and keeping one's own life is always the most important thing.
After walking two or three miles, Wang Jianhuo motioned for the guards behind him to stay further away, and took the lead to turn into a small road in the wilderness. There were also many refugees living on the side of the road.
"The refugees in this area are from other places. They have gathered near Luoyang for a long time, and they will be there when they are called." Wang Jianhuo introduced.
Most of the refugees here did not sleep. Men and women, old and young, gathered around the bonfire and listened to a few people talking. The speaker was dressed in rags, but not so thin. He was obviously the impostor Wang Jianhuo said.
"How's it going? The chance is this time, if you get ten more, you will be able to form a group!"
Wang Jianhuo asked an old man at the outermost: "What chance is this one time?"
"There is a great man who is willing to drive us back to our hometown, and is willing to pay to buy seeds and hire cattle for us." The old man said without turning his head, and he could not see clearly in the darkness.
"That's a good thing."
"Well, after returning home, you have to take the land deed as a guarantee. If you don't pay the bill after the autumn, the land will be owned by others. I think we didn't sell the land when we left our hometown. Now we have some food, but... alas."
Han Ruzi was furious and finally understood why Luoyang merchants participated so actively in grain distribution. They wanted to take the opportunity to annex poor land.
Wang Jianhuo was not surprised at all, nodded, turned to the emperor and said, "Go ahead, there are still more things to do."