Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 769: Nanyang (Part 4)

The County Magistrate Chen, who was dispatched to Yu State as the Inspector, should now be addressed as Governor Chen.

Governor Chen received the court’s appointment order in April and immediately packed his belongings to set off for Yu State. It took him more than a month on the road before finally reaching Yu State. Calculating the days, it was right after he arrived that he wrote a letter back.

This letter is quite substantial, a full six pages long.

Chief Historian Feng set aside his official duties and carefully read the letter.

In the letter, Governor Chen detailed the current situation in Yu State. The counties ravaged by the Yu State Rebel Army are in a truly miserable state. Many households have had their men forcibly conscripted as soldiers, some died in the chaos of battle, and others were captured by the court’s army. Those families missing men have delayed their autumn harvests and spring plowing, which might lead to famine this year. And this is considered mild. Worse off are the civilians forced to repair city walls, the elderly, weak, women, and children dragged to the city walls to die, and the women trampled to death by the rebel forces...

After such chaos in Yu State, the death toll is simply immeasurable. A rough estimate suggests no fewer than thirty thousand. Yu State’s population has decreased by a tenth.

Even scarier than the dramatic population decline is the unrest and instability among the people. Many Yu State residents have abandoned their homes and fled, becoming refugees.

If refugees have no place to settle, they will quickly turn into roving bandits. Wherever they flee to, chaos will follow.

When Governor Chen went there, he anticipated the situation to be difficult and specifically "borrowed" five hundred elite soldiers from the Personal Guard Camp. Writing back was because five hundred soldiers weren’t enough; he needed to continue "borrowing" troops.

Furthermore, Yu State is short on grain, and even more so on seed grain. The court will undoubtedly allocate grain and silver. If Nanyang County can support a bit more, it would be ideal.

When Lu Cong was acting as Pingzhou Governor, Nanyang County contributed people, grain, effort, and silver, spending countless resources. Now with Governor Chen, Chief Historian Feng wouldn’t say a word against it and will certainly "support."

What follows is more chaos.

Three days later, with red-rimmed eyes from exhaustion, Chief Historian Feng allocated a hundred thousand stones of grain and seed grain sufficient for two hundred thousand acres of fertile land, along with a hundred thousand taels of silver. Then he dispatched a thousand elite soldiers from the Personal Guard Camp to deliver the grain and silver to Yu State. Naturally, these thousand elite soldiers were left in Yu State to await Governor Chen’s orders.

Court government offices have many regulations and procedures for everything. To complete these tasks, it would typically take at least one or two months. For Chief Historian Feng, who manages the finances and now even controls the Personal Guard Camp, efficiency increased by several folds.

This also reflects the Emperor’s great trust in him.

He, the Prince Mansion Chief Historian, is now practically the person in charge of Nanyang Prince Mansion. He has the power to take action first and report later on all matters.

To encounter such an enlightened master in life, who grants such authority and trust, he has no choice, just like Chief Historian Chen, but to give his all and only end with his death.

...

Governor Chen wrote a total of three letters, one sent to Nanyang Prince Mansion. The other two were sent to the Capital City, one to his father, Chief Historian Chen, and the other to the Emperor.

The content of the letters was largely similar, all seeking "support."

After reading the letter, Chief Historian Chen also felt distressed for his son. The havoc wreaked by the rebel army in Yu State was akin to what Pingzhou had suffered back in the day. Destruction is easy, but stabilizing the populace and rebuilding Yu State is no easy task. It will take at least several years of effort.

Could he not support his own son?

He must support him.

After pondering for a moment, Chief Historian Chen went to see the Emperor.

"Chief Historian Chen is here at the right time," Jiang Shaohua said before Chief Historian Chen could speak, "Governor Chen wrote to me, saying the situation in Yu State is dire, that almost all officials were killed, numerous civilians died, and the people are in panic. The court must immediately send officials and allocate grain to quickly stabilize Yu State."

Chief Historian Chen felt a bit ashamed: "Your humble servant came specifically to discuss this matter with Your Majesty. My private interests are too heavy, and I feel truly ashamed."

Jiang Shaohua smiled: "Not only you, Chief Historian Chen, but even I have personal interests. Governor Chen is my confidant, and I sent him to Yu State hoping he could manage it well for me. Now that he has spoken, how can I ignore it?"

"I will immediately call Minister Zhang and Minister Ji to discuss matters regarding Yu State."

Chief Historian Chen’s heart warmed, and he cupped his hands in gratitude for the Emperor’s grace on behalf of his son.

Minister Zhang and Minister Ji were quickly summoned to the palace.

Yu State is short of over fifty officials of varying ranks, and the Ministry of Personnel needs to appoint suitable candidates to fill these vacancies.

"Minister Zhang, I want you to finalize the list of candidates within five days and send them to Yu State promptly."

Minister Zhang reflexively frowned: "According to the Ministry of Personnel’s procedures for selecting and replacing officials, it would take at least one or two months. Five days is really too tight."

Even one or two months would be considered fast; delays of three to five months are not uncommon. Ample time needs to be allowed to "settle matters" for the substitute officials. This is when the Ministry of Personnel reaps its most substantial benefits.

Jiang Shaohua laughed coldly in his heart, his expression indifferent: "I’ll give you another five days, ten days in total. The Ministry must complete this task. If Minister Zhang cannot manage this, then I will select someone capable to handle it."

Minister Zhang had no choice but to nod and accept the task with cupped hands.

Jiang Shaohua turned to Minister Ji: "Minister Ji, how much money and grain can the Ministry of Revenue allocate to Yu State right now?"

Minister Ji was somewhat troubled: "We just allocated military expenses this year and still need to prepare the pension silver for the Heroic Guard Camp. Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry’s river canal repair is another large expense. I need to return to the Ministry of Revenue to check the accounts before reporting back to Your Majesty."

If it were Chief Historian Feng, he could immediately provide a series of real, detailed figures.

Minister Ji wasn’t unwilling, but in his official duties, he still couldn’t shake the shadow of being an old slippery official. He would never take on more than necessary and always had a bunch of excuses ready for evasion. There was no major fault, but minor issues cropped up frequently.

No choice but to make do.

Jiang Shaohua sighed inwardly and ordered: "I’ll also give you ten days to allocate whatever you can."

Minister Ji thought, the Emperor’s partiality and favor towards the Chen family are genuine, and this intention to elevate them significantly is clear. In ten or twenty years, maybe the future top family of Da Liang won’t be the Wang Family but the Chen Family.

Such annoying words, Minister Ji naturally wouldn’t say, especially in front of Chief Historian Chen.

Minister Ji cupped his hands and said: "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will return to the Ministry of Revenue and gather everyone to start working on this task immediately."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly, casually adding: "Governor Chen going to Yu State was my idea. Naturally, I will fully support it. Over at Nanyang Prince Mansion, they will also contribute money and grain. After a few days, the court will receive a memorial from Nanyang County."

Minister Ji’s expression was slightly subtle: "Yes, your humble servant understands."

Who’s in Nanyang Prince Mansion?

Of course, it is the capable and efficient Chief Historian Feng.

The Emperor has entrusted the entire Nanyang Prince Mansion to Chief Historian Feng. He manages the money, the grain, the people, and the soldiers, everything. And he manages it all in an orderly manner.

Even being a thousand miles apart, Chief Historian Feng still managed to impose significant pressure on the Minister of Revenue.