jdhmnovel Chapter 389 Abusing power for personal gain
Chapter 389 Abusing power for personal gain
Because they received news halfway through that the disaster in Huizhou was getting worse, Yunshang decisively ordered the team to travel day and night and rush towards Huizhou without stopping, with the sole purpose of arriving as soon as possible.
The disaster relief team entered Huizhou five days ahead of schedule.
At this time, Huizhou was still experiencing torrential rain, with large raindrops hitting the ground and splashing up layers of water.
Along the way, farmland was submerged by floods, and villages were also submerged in water. As far as the eye could see, there was only a vast expanse of water, and the ground was covered in mud.
Everywhere you look, you see displaced people in a sorry state, with their families in tow, their eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
Huizhou is not a place rich in resources to begin with, and last year it suffered from drought, resulting in a poor harvest. Now, a flood has struck, and those poor people have completely lost their food to make a living. They have no home and no food and have fallen into a desperate situation.
However, things are not yet beyond saving.
After departing from Shengjing, Yun Shang maintained close contact with Xie Qizheng of Bailu Academy.
Since the start of the torrential rains, Xie Qizheng had keenly sensed that the situation was not good and had arranged for the students of Bailu Academy to make a series of preparations in advance.
In Huizhou today, the areas where prominent families reside are in relatively good condition.
Especially in Huicheng County, Xie Qizheng personally mobilized manpower to actively drain water day and night.
Despite the continuous heavy rain in recent days, Huicheng County has not experienced excessive flooding.
However, Huicheng County is not large enough to accommodate too many displaced people.
Moreover, many of the displaced people were suffering from illnesses after the floods. Xie Qizheng was very worried, fearing an outbreak of plague, and had no choice but to strictly control the number of displaced people entering the city.
Apart from Huicheng County, the situation in Jinchuan and Liulin Counties is slightly better, while the remaining three counties in Huizhou are completely affected by the disaster, and the tragic situation is heartbreaking.
At this moment, the closest county to them is Fulai County, which is also the county in Huizhou most severely affected by the disaster.
Yun Shang and his group were currently stationed at the border garrison in Huizhou. He summoned Li Hai and others who were with him to discuss disaster relief matters.
"The disaster situation in Huizhou is severe right now, and we must race against time." Yun Shang's gaze swept over everyone, his expression grave. "The most urgent task is to resettle the displaced people and provide them with food and medicine."
Li Hai first glanced at Prince Yong sitting to the side before saying, "That's natural, but Lord Yun, the situation in Huizhou is more serious than the court anticipated. We have brought limited supplies, so how should we allocate them?"
Yun Shang pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Hai, "When will the county magistrates arrive?"
The information they had was not detailed enough, and they had to wait for the county magistrates to report the specific situation in each county.
Li Hai's expression instantly became somewhat unnatural. His eyes subconsciously glanced quickly at where Prince Yong was before hesitatingly saying:
“Well… right now, there’s flooding everywhere in Huizhou. Roads have been washed away and are muddy and difficult to travel. It will probably take the county magistrates quite a while to get here.”
Yun Shang gently raised her eyes to look at Li Hai.
His eyes were calm as still water, without the slightest ripple, like a bottomless lake.
Li Hai felt as if his thoughts had been completely exposed, and he tensed up instantly.
The order for the magistrates of all counties in Huizhou to come here was sent out three days ago. Logically, the magistrates should have arrived here faster than them to wait, but they have been here for more than half a day and have not seen a single magistrate.
So the county magistrates weren't delayed because of bad roads; they probably hadn't even left the city yet!
Without much thought, it's easy to guess that someone is secretly sabotaging this.
And who is this person...?
Li Hai couldn't help but glance at Prince Yong again, a glance he thought was subtle.
He was no fool; he couldn't possibly have been unaware of the undercurrents that had been brewing along the way.
When he first encountered bandits at the post station, he didn't suspect much. But as various bandits and assassins appeared frequently along the way, how could he not realize that someone in the group wanted to take Yun Shang's life?
As for who wanted to kill Yun Shang, the answer is obvious.
Seeing that Yun Shang remained silent, Li Hai felt guilty and coughed a few times. "I will send someone to urge him again."
Yun Shang nodded indifferently.
Li Hai's gaze subtly shifted between Prince Yong and Yun Shang.
Huizhou has a large number of migrant workers, and if they lose control of their emotions and riot, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Therefore, Yun Shang stopped the disaster relief team at the border of Huizhou. There were 5,000 imperial troops stationed there, and the refugees were wary and dared not break in.
Li Hai knew that Yun Shang's original plan was to allocate the disaster relief grain reasonably according to actual needs, prioritize the transportation of supplies to the hardest-hit counties, and set up soup kitchens in and around the county towns to ensure that the affected people could have a bowl of hot porridge and a hot meal every day.
The refugees were gathered together and comforted. Once the situation of the people had temporarily stabilized and local officials were able to spare the time and energy, they were then asked to assist in solving the flood problem.
However, with the magistrates of various states and counties yet to arrive, all plans have to be postponed.
Every day of delay means more innocent people will die or be injured in Huizhou. Once the news reaches the capital, Emperor Wenjing will definitely hold Yunshang accountable first.
It seems that Prince Yong had repeatedly tried to assassinate Yun Shang but failed, and now he hated him to the extreme. He was now sparing no effort to plot against Yun Shang and was using every method at his disposal.
Li Hai couldn't help but feel a little worried for himself.
Had he known that Prince Yong and Yun Shang had such a deep grudge, he should have turned down the assignment, even at the risk of disobeying the imperial decree.
Now he's caught in the middle between these two, pleasing neither side.
The people inside the room were all lost in their own thoughts, and no one spoke.
In a suffocating silence, Prince Yong slowly rose to his feet.
His face showed a worried expression, but his eyes, when looking at Yun Shang, held an undisguised mockery. His smile was like a cold dagger, concealing deep malice.
"Lord Yun."
He said, "Since you are in full charge of this disaster relief effort, I will not stay here and give unsolicited orders."
Prince Yong's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint, smug smile. "I will go and take stock of my troops and lead them to subdue those rebel armies that are causing trouble."
"The people of Huizhou and the floods are now in the care of Lord Yun."
After saying this, Prince Yong, with a slight smile on his lips, strode away, leaving everyone looking at each other in bewilderment.
Yun Shang's gaze remained fixed on the departing figure of Prince Yong, her expression unchanged.
Li Hai's face was full of worry, and his heart was filled with anxiety.
Although Yun Shang is in charge of this disaster relief effort, if things are handled poorly, he, as an accompanying official, will certainly be implicated.
Had he known things would turn out this way, he should have pledged his loyalty to Prince Yong and found a pretext to go with him to quell the rebellion, thus avoiding the impending storm.
Li Hai felt uneasy. Looking at Yun Shang, who had a normal expression and was unaware of the impending danger, he couldn't help but shake his head.
It's good for young people to be ambitious and have high aspirations, but if they don't know how to act within their capabilities and recklessly rush forward without restraint, they will likely only end up dead.
What a pity.
Yun Shang is indeed quite capable, but he has no powerful backing. Now that he has offended Prince Yong, his death is not far off.
What a pity.