Chapter 11

When Liu Chang'an, the Prefect of Luan'an, entered the room, Xu Qingyan had already risen and stood behind Zhao Junchen. Upon seeing Liu Chang'an, he glared at him fiercely.

Clearly, Liu Chang'an's sudden visit had interrupted his conversation with Zhao Junchen, and Xu Qingyan was very displeased.

However, Liu Chang'an showed no dissatisfaction with Xu Qingyan's rudeness, at least not on his face. Instead, he smiled ingratiatingly at Xu Qingyan, then knelt before Zhao Junchen and said respectfully, "I have come to see you, Your Excellency. Upon hearing that you had risen, I was deeply concerned about your health and rushed over without much thought. Now that I see you are well and in good spirits, I am relieved. However, if my sudden visit has disturbed you, I beg for your forgiveness."

Zhao Junchen smiled and said, "How could that be? If I were to blame you for your concern, wouldn't that be ungrateful? Rise quickly. This is not the office, so there's no need for so many formalities. Sit down and talk."

After a night of preparation, although Zhao Junchen was still somewhat unaccustomed to his new identity, he was already beginning to act the part in the formalities of the bureaucracy.

After some polite exchanges, Liu Chang'an finally sat down in front of Zhao Junchen, his face showing sincere smiles. He said, "I was foolish, Your Excellency. Although you are young, you are known for your integrity and straightforwardness, which is acknowledged by the world, and even the Emperor has praised you. You would not blame a subordinate for a minor matter. It is an honor to serve under you."

Hearing Liu Chang'an say this, Zhao Junchen was speechless. If he hadn't already had some understanding of Liu Chang'an's background and character, he might have thought these words were a mockery.

The art of being thick-skinned and black-hearted had been perfected in the bureaucracy, and Zhao Junchen still needed to adapt to this.

However, Zhao Junchen also knew that Liu Chang'an's main purpose in saying this was to test his intentions, to see if he would still be angry with the officials of Luan'an Prefecture after receiving the 100,000 taels of silver.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen said, "I am not one to fuss over minor details. If I were to focus on such trivial matters, how could I accomplish great things? So, let's let bygones be bygones and not dwell on them."

Hearing this, Liu Chang'an's face lit up with joy, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Your Excellency is right. We should look forward and prioritize the important matters. Your Excellency is broad-minded and magnanimous, and I admire you greatly. The most pressing matter in Luan'an Prefecture now is the relief of the famine-stricken people due to the locust plague. It is most appropriate for you to take charge of this, and all the officials of Luan'an Prefecture will follow your lead."

Zhao Junchen smiled and nodded but did not respond, instead pondering how to deal with the officials of Luan'an Prefecture led by Liu Chang'an.

Zhao Junchen had already made up his mind to use this opportunity to improve his reputation and reverse the unfavorable situation. However, as Xu Qingyan had said, the officials of Luan'an Prefecture were not good people. To get them to do their jobs, they needed to get some benefits; otherwise, it would be counterproductive and cause resentment, which would not be conducive to his future plans.

After careful consideration, Zhao Junchen had a rough plan for how to satisfy the officials' greed while providing relief to the famine-stricken people. However, the plan was based on assumptions, and he was not familiar with the disaster situation in Luan'an Prefecture. He had not yet decided whether the plan was realistic or how to convince the officials of Luan'an Prefecture to agree.

Thinking about this, Zhao Junchen felt that he should go and investigate the situation on the ground.

On the other side, seeing Zhao Junchen deep in thought, Liu Chang'an misunderstood his intentions and quickly said, "Although Your Excellency is broad-minded, the ruffians who attacked you are truly despicable. I believe they should not be let off easily. Attacking an imperial envoy is a treasonous crime, punishable by the confiscation of property and execution!"

Zhao Junchen was slightly taken aback, then remembered the villagers who had attacked him. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Those... well... ruffians, let's just detain them for now. Don't mistreat them. I will personally interrogate them in a few days. The villagers are simple and might have been misled. It's not that simple."

Liu Chang'an was slightly taken aback but then nodded repeatedly, saying, "Your Excellency is wise. I was negligent."

Zhao Junchen smiled and nodded, saying, "I'm glad you understand. Speaking of which, the relief grain and supplies from the court should arrive in a couple of days. However, I need to understand the current disaster situation in Luan'an Prefecture. Although I intended to inspect the area yesterday, I was attacked. The court's business cannot be delayed. If you have no other matters today, please accompany me to inspect the disaster area."

"Your Excellency is truly a model for all officials in the court," Liu Chang'an flattered, then promised, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency. I will make all the necessary preparations. The incident of the ruffians attacking you yesterday will not happen again."

Zhao Junchen said, "That would be best. However, today's inspection will be different from yesterday's. We will dress as ordinary people and conduct a private visit. There's no need to make a big fuss or to alert other officials."

Hearing this, Liu Chang'an hesitated for a moment but then nodded and left to change his clothes.

Watching Liu Chang'an's departing back, Zhao Junchen suddenly found a virtue in him: he had no principles and would not oppose Zhao Junchen.

Compared to Liu Chang'an, Xu Qingyan was much worse in this regard.

Sure enough, as soon as Liu Chang'an left, Xu Qingyan could not wait to say, "Young Master, you were attacked by ruffians yesterday. How can you go on a private visit today? It's too dangerous. In my opinion, inspecting the disaster area is just for show. Even if you go, you shouldn't go in disguise."

Zhao Junchen shook his head and said, "Don't worry. I think Liu Chang'an is reliable. Even if we go in disguise, he will certainly arrange for guards to follow us secretly. Besides, once I take off my official attire, no one will recognize me. What happened yesterday won't happen again. It's not dangerous. You should be at ease. I am genuinely determined to help the famine-stricken people. How can I do that without understanding the situation?"

Seeing that Zhao Junchen was determined, Xu Qingyan had no choice but to find a less conspicuous ordinary outfit and help Zhao Junchen put it on.

While dressing, Zhao Junchen instructed Xu Qingyan, "Also, remember to be more polite to the officials, big and small. They are officials of the Ming Dynasty, and most of them are corrupt. As the saying goes, it's better to offend a gentleman than a small man. If you offend a group of small men, we will have no one to help us in the future, and they will even kick us when we are down. There will be no chance for a comeback. We need to improve our reputation and try to make some allies. Even if we can't make allies, we should not offend them unless absolutely necessary."

Pausing, Zhao Junchen continued, "In the next couple of days, I will invite all the officials of Luan'an Prefecture to a banquet. You were too rude to them yesterday. You must apologize to them personally and not be negligent. Do you understand?"

Xu Qingyan nodded and said sullenly, "I understand."

Zhao Junchen sighed and said, "Don't be resentful. You must pay attention to these things in the future. If you don't think ahead, you will have problems soon. It's always better to have more friends than enemies."

...

After Zhao Junchen arrived in Luan'an Prefecture, Liu Chang'an vacated his own residence for Zhao Junchen to stay in, while he and his family moved to another courtyard.

Because of this, when Zhao Junchen was ready, Liu Chang'an was already waiting outside in the guise of a steward.

The three of them, along with a few servants and guards dressed as ordinary people, left Liu Chang'an's residence and headed out of the city in a carriage.

On the way, Zhao Junchen learned a lot about the local disaster situation from Liu Chang'an.

As the saying goes, drought leads to locusts. For the past year, there had been very little rain in the vicinity of Luan'an Prefecture. Although the local irrigation conditions were relatively good, the harvest was poor, but it was still manageable.

However, not long after the beginning of autumn, locusts appeared. At first, they were only seen occasionally, but within a few days, they had spread across the sky. The hard-earned crops of the people of Luan'an Prefecture were quickly devoured by the locusts, and the disaster became evident.

In fact, as soon as locusts were discovered in Luan'an Prefecture, Liu Chang'an had already requested relief grain and supplies from the court. Even so, it was too late.

Now, the situation was even more severe. The locust plague was worsening, not only ravaging Luan'an Prefecture but also spreading to Taiyuan and Hedong.

It was possible that the court would soon have to allocate relief funds to Taiyuan and Hedong as well.

Hearing Liu Chang'an's explanation, Zhao Junchen's expression turned serious. He had not expected the locust plague to be so severe, thinking it was just a local disaster in Luan'an Prefecture. Now, it seemed to be spreading across the entire Shanxi Province.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Junchen asked, "Is it really impossible to control this locust plague? If we could send more people to exterminate the locusts, the plague might spread more slowly, and the people might be able to salvage some of their crops."

Hearing this, not only Liu Chang'an but also Xu Qingyan looked at Zhao Junchen in shock, as if he had said something heretical.

Then, their explanations left Zhao Junchen even more astonished.