klisemfg Chapter 164: A Showy Operation
Chapter 164: A Showy Operation
Another man walked out with a look of disdain on his face, a sarcastic sneer on his lips, his eyes filled with contempt. His gaze swept over the refugees like a knife, and then he said coldly: "If I hadn't been there at the time, I would have been deceived by you guys."
He faced the crowd, raised his voice, and said confidently, "Everyone, listen to me carefully."
At that moment, a burly, bearded refugee suddenly took a step forward, his eyes wide open, glaring, veins bulging on his forehead. He waved his burly arms as if enraged, and roared, "Stop spitting bloody words at me! You're confusing right and wrong!"
A thin refugee with messy hair nearby also echoed this. He put his hands on his hips and shouted in a shrill voice: "That's right! You bastard, why do you slander us!"
The group of refugees suddenly became agitated, talking and cursing at each other, with their voices rising one after another.
Some people were not happy with what he said and retorted, "This brother hasn't said anything yet, what are you afraid of?"
"That's right, this is what it means to be a guilty thief!"
The refugees continued to curse, but the man remained unmoved. He continued, "When these refugees arrived in Nanping Prefecture, they began to violently ram the city gates, attempting to force their way into the city."
Before he could finish his words, a refugee with a face covered in dirt rushed forward, spit flying as he roared, "We are refugees, desperate and seeking asylum! But the people of Nanping Prefecture are so heartless, they've closed the city gates and won't let us in. They're trying to drive us to death!"
As he spoke, he stamped his feet hard, and the muscles on his face were twisted with anger.
"Did County Lady Yan force you, or did you act like bandits? County Lady Yan ordered the city gates to be tightly closed because she saw how ferocious you looked. But instead of restraining yourself, you became even more violent, attacking the city gates crazily with knives, axes, and stones, and they almost broke through them." The man raised his voice to drown out the refugees' shouting.
A tall refugee was so angry that he trembled all over when he heard this. He waved the wooden stick in his hand and threatened viciously: "If they won't let us live, we will certainly not let them have an easy life!"
The other refugees also joined in the shouting and cursing, and all kinds of foul language could be heard.
"Bah! Your disaster wasn't caused by County Master Yan. If a swarm of black bugs hadn't suddenly appeared and disrupted your formation, you would have forced your way into Nanping Prefecture long ago. As for those dead bodies you're talking about, they were simply a stampede caused by them during the chaos. It has nothing to do with Nanping Prefecture or County Master Yan."
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd exploded in an uproar.
One refugee, his face flushed with anger, rushed forward, pointed his finger at the speaker, and cursed, "Bullshit! It was you who allowed the tragedy to happen because you stood by and watched someone die! You cold-blooded fellows will get your comeuppance sooner or later!"
The man paused, cleared his throat, and continued, "Afterwards, County Master Yan was kind and benevolent, forgiving past grudges and even providing them with a large amount of food from the city. Yet, not only were they ungrateful, they went around slandering County Master Yan. Do you think people like this are worth helping?"
When everyone heard the truth, they were filled with righteous indignation. They cast condemning glances at the refugees and cursed them, "Serves them right!"
"You ungrateful beasts!"
The refugees continued to shout in defiance and tried to argue with the crowd, causing the scene to become extremely chaotic.
No matter how the refugees argued, every word the man said was true, and even if they had a thousand eloquent words, they could not turn black into white.
Nanping Prefecture simply didn't open its gates to them, and those terrifying insects weren't attracted by Nanping Prefecture. If they had been able to leave in time, how could they have been besieged by the insect swarm and suffered so many casualties?
All this seemed to be fate's arrangement, and they seemed destined to protect Nanping Prefecture from this disaster.
It seems that Yan Wanwan is indeed a person of great blessings. Anyone who opposes her or attempts to frame her will not escape the punishment of retribution.
At first the refugees protested fiercely, but later they could only lower their heads and let others call them ungrateful and ungrateful, without daring to say another word.
After all, this is Jingzhao, and there is no room for them to confuse right and wrong here.
Even until the Minister of Revenue and people from the orphanage arrived and took them to another place for resettlement, the voices of accusation still echoed in the air for a long time.
Just as the refugees were being resettled in a hurry, a memorial from Nanping Prefecture was delivered to the palace by a postman at full speed.
That afternoon, the emperor's furious curses could be heard from the hall from time to time, and the sound was so loud that the air in the hall seemed to tremble.
Yan Wanwan had written in a memorial: "The Empresses in the Imperial Harem had previously launched a fundraising campaign for Nanping Prefecture, but Nanping Prefecture has yet to receive the disaster relief funds allocated by the Empress. Now that another wave of refugees has arrived in the northwest, I would like to donate the entire amount of disaster relief funds originally intended for Nanping Prefecture to the refugees in the northwest, hoping to help them overcome their difficulties as soon as possible."
The emperor looked at the memorial and laughed at Yan Wanwan's outrageous actions. From beginning to end, she hadn't contributed a single cent, yet in the end, she was given a good reputation for being philanthropic. It was really...
"Eunuch Wu!" the emperor shouted angrily. His voice seemed to carry real power, shaking the glass lamps in the hall slightly.
"I'm here!" Eunuch Wu shuddered and hurried forward. A layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks.
"Is there any news from the border?" The emperor stared at Eunuch Wu with a sharp gaze, his eyes full of anxiety and anger.
Eunuch Wu trembled with fear, his voice trembling slightly: "Your Majesty, we have not received any letters from the border yet."
"Useless! What are you all doing? After all this time, the situation still hasn't stabilized? I'm going to punish Qin Yu for his incompetence!"
The emperor slammed the armrest of the dragon throne and stood up, his eyes burning with anger, as if he wanted to burn all the memorials in front of him.
"Where's the Minister of War? Tell him to get out of here and come into the palace."
Eunuch Wu responded and hurried to inform the Minister of War, while the emperor strode towards the harem.
When the queen heard the emperor coming, she immediately went out to greet him in surprise. However, as soon as she shouted "Your Majesty, may the emperor be blessed with good health and happiness", she was stared at coldly by the emperor and stood there in a daze.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
The emperor walked straight to the main seat and sat down, then asked sternly, "Did you hold a flower viewing party some time ago?"
The Queen looked at him puzzledly and said, "Yes, I did."
"Could you raise funds for Nanping Prefecture at the banquet?"
A bad thought flashed through the Queen's mind, "Yes, I did say that, but..."
“Bring out the money you have collected.”
"Your Majesty, I returned the silver after I learned that you had granted Nanping Prefecture to Yan Wanwan as a fiefdom. I don't have any of it in my hands!"
The emperor looked at her coldly, "If you don't have it, make it up yourself. Do you want everyone in the world to know that you go back on your word?"
The queen choked. Although she didn't know why the emperor suddenly mentioned this matter, she knew she had to take it.
So she nodded and begged, "Your Majesty, please give me a few more days, and I will definitely give you all the silver."
The emperor snorted coldly and left in a hurry.
The queen looked at the figure disappearing from her sight, and immediately called the eunuch beside her and gave him a few instructions. She wanted to see who was gossiping about the emperor behind his back.