Chapter 76 Disaster Relief

Inside the Liangyi Hall of the Imperial Palace.

Several Imperial Agents wrote the intelligence they had just gathered into a memorial and presented it to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Bang!

After reading it, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was furious and slammed the memorial onto the Dragon desk.

"What are the inspectors of Jiangnan Circuit and Huainan Circuit doing!"

"And the local prefects, very good, they hid it so well. It has been so long, and yet not a whisper of news reached Chang'an City!"

"If it weren't for the investigation by the Imperial Agents, I would not have known that the drought in these two circuits had developed to such an extent. They deserve to die, they deserve to die!"

The Imperial Agents stood coldly to one side below, while Gao Lishi stood behind Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Below in the great hall, several officials were standing there trembling with fear.

Upon hearing Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's words, they immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger, Your Majesty, please calm your anger. These local officials neglected their duties and deserve to die, but at this moment, we still need them to pacify the local people and handle the disaster relief affairs!" the leading old man said hurriedly.

He was the current Prime Minister, Chancellor Zhang Jiazhen.

Shizhong Yao Chong also advised: "Your Majesty, the most urgent task right now is to quickly formulate a good strategy for disaster relief. Also, the Fire Demon mentioned in the intelligence report needs to be suppressed by sending a large army!"

Upon hearing this, General Yang Sixu, who had not intended to speak, immediately frowned and spoke in rebuttal.

"Shizhong Yao, that is incorrect. We do not yet know what that evil entity is, but the moment it appeared, it affected the weather and caused a severe drought in the two circuits. How could mere human strength possibly defeat it?"

"Moreover, even if the army's killing Aura could suppress it, that demon is adept at flying and burrowing. Our army is clumsy, and by the time they arrive, I fear the evil entity will already be a thousand miles away!"

"Duke of Guo, then in your opinion, what should be done?" Yao Chong's eyes turned cold, and he glanced at General Yang Sixu without a hint of warmth.

Although Yao Chong was a civil official, his Aura was in no way inferior to General Yang Sixu's.

Civil officials in the Tang Dynasty were different from those in the Song Dynasty; they could also mount horses and kill enemies.

When the Empress Dowager was on the throne, Yao Chong had also mounted a horse to kill enemies and quelled the Khitan rebellion.

Although he served as a civil official thereafter, the courage of a common man still remained within him.

General Yang Sixu said indifferently: "Your Majesty, suppressing it with a large army will not only consume provisions but may not even succeed. In my opinion, we should invite Zhang Guo to take action personally!"

The current Grand Master, Zhang Guo, was also a top-tier expert of the Dao, and his divination skills were particularly peerless, which was why he was appointed as the Grand Master.

"The Grand Master also bears the responsibility of astrology, which is the root of the nation. How can we let this cause a delay in major affairs?" an official behind him suddenly spoke up.

Then he immediately fell silent because he received cold glares from the three people in front.

He had only been watching the Prime Minister and the General confronting each other. As a civil official and a former student of Yao Chong, he naturally belonged to the faction of Yao Chong and Zhang Jiazhen.

That was why he spoke up to refute General Yang Sixu.

But he didn't expect that this one sentence would annoy all three ministers at the same time.

"The major affairs of the nation lie with Your Majesty and the common people. A mere divination is nothing but ethereal nonsense; how dare you call it the root of the nation!" Zhang Jiazhen reprimanded him mercilessly.

That person was reprimanded until his face turned red, and he dared not lift his head.

Having been scolded like this in front of Your Majesty, and without the courage or justification to refute, his official career would, without a doubt, be coming to an end.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was expressionless, watching the officials below arguing endlessly, with inexplicable waves surging in his eyes.

After a moment, he spoke: "Enough, all of you stop arguing. You are giving me a headache."

The officials below, including the Imperial Agents, said in unison: "Your subjects are guilty!"

"The Grand Master has important matters to attend to right now and truly cannot spare the time to suppress that evil entity. Since suppressing it with an army is also not feasible, do you have any other good strategies?"

General Yang Sixu immediately brought up his initial suggestion: "Slaying demons and eliminating evil is the duty of the Xuanmen School. Why doesn't Your Majesty issue an imperial decree to let the various major Schools go and suppress this demon?"

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang nodded upon hearing this.

"That is not appropriate. After all, there is a distinction between the Jianghu and the Imperial Court when it comes to the Xuanmen School. If we have to ask the Xuanmen School to intervene in this matter, I fear it will be ridiculed by the people of the world and damage the dignity of our Imperial Court!" Zhang Jiazhen proposed an objection after thinking for a moment.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had originally been swayed, but upon hearing these words, he felt they made sense.

"Enough! Is the Xuanmen School not the people of our Tang Dynasty? Is the dignity of the Imperial Court more important, or are the tens of millions of people in the two circuits more important! If the Imperial Court cannot resolve this matter for a long time, wouldn't that damage the dignity of the Imperial Court even more!" General Yang Sixu glared angrily.

"This..." Yao Chong and Zhang Jiazhen were momentarily speechless.

"Alright, my dear ministers." Emperor Xuanzong of Tang suddenly spoke.

Consequently, the ministers below bowed in unison to listen to what Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had to say.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang did not announce a decision, but turned to look at Gao Lishi beside him.

"Gao Lishi, you have been listening for so long; I wonder if you have any good ideas?"

The ministers below frowned. The affairs of the nation lie with Your Majesty and the loyal ministers; how could they allow a eunuch to interfere?

Even for General Yang Sixu, he had only gained their recognition because he had earned his title through military merit.

The burly Gao Lishi was somewhat at a loss at this moment.

"Your Majesty, I have been listening for a long time and only know that all the ministers have good strategies in mind, but they are only arguing because they fear damaging the dignity of the Imperial Court. In my opinion, it would be better to find a compromise."

"Oh?" Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's eyes lit up. "What kind of compromise?"

"If Your Majesty directly orders the Xuanmen School to exterminate the demon, it would make it seem as though our Imperial Court has no one capable. However, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet is approaching, and at that time, Disciples from various major Schools will all gather here. Why not use this as a test to let these School Disciples take action to exterminate the demon."

Gao Lishi continued: "My wisdom is not equal to that of the ministers; this opinion was derived from what the ministers said. I do not know if it is right or wrong, and I ask Your Majesty to forgive me."

"Good!" Emperor Xuanzong of Tang slapped the Dragon desk.

"In this way, it will not make it seem as though our Imperial Court has no one capable, and we can also exterminate that demon. Gao Lishi, not only are you not guilty, but you have rendered a service!"

"At that time, we shall act according to Gao Lishi's words!"

Although the ministers below were unwilling to have such a merit snatched away by Gao Lishi.

They could do nothing about it; after all, Gao Lishi had been Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's playmate since childhood.

Moreover, Gao Lishi had given them a way out in the end. If the matter was successful, Your Majesty would not forget them either.

After this matter was settled, the next topic was the discussion of disaster relief supplies.

Although they occupied high positions in the Imperial Court, they were all very clear that the supplies allocated by the Imperial Court were one thing, but what reached the hands of the people was another.

Therefore, preventing the corruption of disaster relief grain was the second most important matter of this meeting in the hall.

Of course, in the end, no specific plan was discussed.

It was still much the same as the previous methods: having the central government transport supplies to the various localities and then dispatching officials to supervise.

After all the officials had retreated, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang rubbed his forehead with some headache.

"This world does not let me rest for even a single day."

"Your Majesty, you must take care of your Dragon body. The entire Tang Dynasty cannot do without you."

...

(Brothers, an extra chapter!)