"Has Minister Wei arrived today with a plan?"
"This matter is of great importance, but there is no evidence. If the Left Minister and Mu Wang insist on opposing it, it will involve a struggle between two factions. Your Majesty will not send officials from both sides to Jiangnan unless..."
Unless the person sent does not belong to any faction, the Left Minister and the Mu Prince will have nothing to say, and Bi xia will also be at ease." Slowly opening her mouth, Ren Anle understood the purpose of the Right Prime Minister's visit, "Your Excellency wants Anle to go to Jiangnan?
Wei nodded, "Looking at the court and the officials, there is no one more suitable than Ren daren. Even if ordinary officials were sent, they might not necessarily succeed." Ren Anle comes from a bandit background, and has always acted without scruples or rules. In addition, the intimidation of the cheating case in the imperial examination still lingers.Sending her there will surely make the opponent confused and disoriented."
"The minister's words carry great weight, I'm afraid Anle cannot bear such a heavy responsibility." Ren Anle smiled and said, "With the two factions in conflict, what concern does it have to do with me?"
"The old man knows that the master does not wish to be involved in worldly affairs," Wei Jian paused and spoke solemnly, "the floods in Jiangnan cause disasters every year. If we do not eliminate the root of corruption, the people will never have peace. This year, only the Mu Tian was destroyed, but if the Yuan River breaks its banks completely next year, the Qianli State will be lost during the reign of our Emperor Jianing. Master, you are kind-hearted and I believe you will not refuse the sincere request from an old man."
Ren Anle had lived for eighteen years and had never heard anyone describe her as "kind-hearted," especially not a high-ranking official of the country. Her face turned red with embarrassment and she kept waving her hands. Seeing the old man's earnest gaze, she hesitantly nodded while fidgeting and rubbing her hands.
The Right Minister was greatly comforted and burst into laughter, without any trace of worry on his solemn and antique face. Ren Anle knew she had been tricked by this seemingly rigid and serious old man, and snorted with narrowed eyes, saying, "Your Excellency, Anle is willing to volunteer to go to Jiangnan.
However, the water disaster in Jiangnan cannot be eradicated by my own strength alone. If Your Excellency is willing to send someone back with me, Anle will surely investigate and clarify the corrupt cases in Jiangnan."
"Oh? Who?" asked the Prime Minister.
"Formerly held the position of Minister of Works, Fang Daohong."
With a smile at the corner of her mouth, Ren Anle watched as the once confident old Prime Minister's face froze and his smile stiffened as the words fell from her lips.
The seventeenth year of the Jianing period was destined to be a tumultuous one. Before the imperial decree regarding the Mu Tian and case could be issued, the Grand Court Secretary Ren Anle and the Right Chancellor simultaneously caused a stir in the court. One had selflessly offered to go to Jiangnan to aid in disaster relief, while the other had petitioned the emperor to recall the former Minister of Works, Fang Daohong, who had been exiled to the southern frontier several years prior.
In the presence of the right minister, the matter of Ren Anle's journey to Jiangnan was courageously presented in a memorial with the risk of losing his head.
However, it was strangely overlooked.
Fang Daohong, who passed the imperial examination in the third year of Taizu's reign, was a renowned hydraulic master in Yunxia. He was skilled in managing waterways. Ten years ago, when the imperial family plotted a rebellion, Fang pleaded on their behalf.
However, the enraged Jianing Emperor removed him from his position as Minister of Works and exiled his whole family to the southern borderlands.
(tàizǔ) - title given to the founder of a dynasty