Taicang City may be called big or small, but as a city that mainly focuses on military affairs, the transmission of news is definitely the fastest.
When the tenth captain blew his whistle, the news of the invasion of thieves reached the ears of the prefect Zhou Yanwai in no time, and soon the news came that the thief was King Yu.
At this time, almost all officials in Taicang City gathered in the prefecture.
The prefect Zhou Yanwai sat on the left side of the main seat in the lobby, the commander Ouyang Lie sat on the right side, and other officials sat below according to their rank and affiliation.
Zhou Yanwai shared the news he had just received, and as expected there was some commotion. In fact, let alone them, even Zhou Yanwai had a headache when he dared to learn the news.
There is a saying that the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Taicang City is located on the border. Although it is still under the Dali Dynasty, the orders from the capital are actually not so easy to use here.
After the efforts of several generations of officials, the officials here at the border have formed their own political power and have firmly grasped the entire border.
In this case, if someone suddenly comes here to divide their rights, what is the difference between this and taking things out of their pockets?
It was impossible for them to endure this situation, not to mention that a general who was coming to control the border was directly in charge of the entire border.
Compared with the benefits that are about to be lost, being only seventeen or eighteen years old and not famous are all trivial matters.
But that doesn't mean they can't take advantage of it.
In the eyes of these officials at the border, His Royal Highness Prince Yu, who was about to arrive, was just a child who had not grown up. They only needed to use some tricks to trick him into applauding him.
With this kind of contempt, these officials in Taicang City deliberately did not go to worship His Royal Highness King Yu after he entered the city, just to bully his youth and arrogance.
When His Royal Highness Prince Yu angrily came to accuse him, they naturally had many ways to manipulate the young prince who was already blinded by anger.
After that, His Highness the Prince, who had suffered enough, naturally knew how to restrain himself. But who would have thought that His Highness King Yu did not come to the government office to cause trouble, but went directly to the city gate in plain clothes.
Although the border officials were not as cunning as the officials in Beijing, they were not brainless. The term fishing law enforcement had not yet appeared in this era, but after hearing the news, the officials present had similar thoughts in their minds.
His Royal Highness Prince Yu is not as harmless as the legend says.
When the news came that His Royal Highness King Yu had kidnapped a certain kind of officers and soldiers back to the inn, all the officials thought that it was true.
Zhou Yanwai frowned, sighed and asked, "Master Ouyang, what do you think of this matter?"
"What do I think?"
Ouyang Lie sneered and said, "I told you earlier that His Royal Highness Prince Yu will pay homage when he enters the city. There must be no lack of etiquette. It would be better for you to unite and give him a blow."
"Now I find that things are developing differently than you imagined, and now you come to ask me what to do? It's strange that I know what to do!"
Ouyang Lie's various yin and yang auras made Zhou Yanwai smile bitterly, but he had no way to refute.
The butt determines the head. He also knew that what he did yesterday was inappropriate, but his interests came first, and he had no choice under the general situation.
Just like Ouyang Lie, even though he is a commander, he has the highest position among these people. He can still only complain, but there is no way to change everyone's decision.
The problems that need to be solved still need to be solved. After Ouyang Lie complained for a while, he said in a deep voice: "Old Zhou, that Prince Yu is not an ordinary person. If we still hold on to our original ideas, everyone will be unhappy in the end.
"
"The most important thing for us now is to stop the loss in time."
Zhou Yanwai hesitated and said: "You mean..."
"That's right."
Ouyang Lie nodded and said affirmatively: "Calling all the officials in Taicang City to go see the General Zhenguan. We can make up for this mistake while we can still afford the price."
"Oh...well, that's all it can do."
Zhou Yanwai knew in his heart that despite Ouyang Lie's simple words, they would definitely be bitten off a piece of meat this time. However, he struggled for a while and gritted his teeth and agreed.
After learning that they might lose a lot of benefits, all officials refused at first, but in the end they became hesitant and chose to agree.
Ouyang Lie is right when he says that everyone can afford the price now, but if it continues to be delayed, everyone may have to pay more in the end.
…
At the inn, Di Xin had just changed back into his original clothes under Xizi's service when Laifu hurried in again.
"Your Majesty...Your Highness...come...come..."
Di Xin rolled his eyes. After returning to his original identity, he no longer had to pretend to be the same persona.
"What's coming? Don't be in a hurry. Speak slowly."
He took a sip of water and spoke calmly.
Laifu is a loyal and smart person. Although he has some little ideas of his own, he is easy to use. But one thing is that he is not calm enough and does not look like he is working in the prince's family.
But this can't be blamed on Laifu. The former King Yu was a bullied master and didn't look like a prince at all.
It's already great that I could never leave him over the years.
Laifu took a few deep breaths, and still said with great breath: "Your Highness, someone from the magistrate's office just came. They said that because they were worried that Your Highness would be tired from the journey last night, they did not come to Taicang City as soon as possible.
See."
"At the same time, I also sent a greeting card, saying that tonight outside Taicang City Magistrate Zhou Yan, Commander Ouyang Lie will lead all officials of Taicang City to come to see His Highness. I hope His Highness can agree."
Emperor Xin nodded, not surprised by the news at all. When the news about what happened at the Nancheng Gate today spread, as long as there is a smart person among these officials, they will know what to do.
"However, it is a bit late to make amends now."
A smile appeared on Di Xin's lips: "Don't rush to reply now, let them worry for a while."
"yes."
Laifu responded respectfully without any intention of interceding.
In his opinion, his master, His Royal Highness Prince Yu, is a prince, with royal blood flowing through his body, and he is still the general appointed by his majesty to control the pass. It is an irresponsible act for these officials to dare to come to visit him only one day later.
.
Not to mention just waiting a little longer, even being dismissed from the official position is not an exaggeration.
Two hours later, Emperor Xin, who had finished practicing Zhuang in the backyard, asked Laifu to inform the magistrate who had been waiting for a long time, and asked him to go back and tell the magistrate that His Royal Highness Prince Yu had allowed all the officials of Taicang City to visit.
After giving the instructions, he said: "Laifu, go find Ouyang Xuan, who we met at the south gate today, and tell him that I have invited you."
