Zhu Liu cried, "My father took the villagers to the yamen to inquire and was beaten with fifty strokes. When I left, my father was still bedridden!"

He Lao San said, "Since then, we've only had half a tael of grain left each day."

"Please, Your Majesty, deliver justice for us!"

Sounds of anguish echoed within the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Jiang Chen's gaze was ice-cold.

Whether it was the imperial court's disaster relief or the charitable foundation's assistance, there were personnel responsible for monitoring in every region.

And in the memorials sent by these monitoring personnel, there was never any mention of problems in Zhong Province.

This meant that the monitors in Zhong Province were highly problematic!

"Summon Xu Changqing!" Jiang Chen shouted in a cold voice.

Xu Changqing quickly rushed over.

He was dealing with matters of the Ministry of Revenue when he received Jiang Chen's summons, which puzzled him greatly.

Everything was normal in the Ministry of Revenue now, so why was His Majesty looking for him?

When he arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance and saw He Lao San and Zhu Liu kneeling below, Xu Changqing was even more bewildered.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Xu Changqing said.

Jiang Chen said coldly, "Xu Changqing, I ask you, who is in charge of disaster relief in Zhong Province?"

Although he didn't yet know what was happening, just hearing Jiang Chen's tone, Xu Changqing realized that something must have gone wrong.

He recalled for a moment and said, "Zhong Province is a place with a large population in our Great Wei, so I sent Liang Zhongzheng, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"Liang Zhongzheng."

Jiang Chen sneered coldly: "Zhongzheng, truly a fine name." (meaning upright and just)

Hearing this, Xu Changqing knew that something major must have happened, and said, "Your Majesty, what happened?"

Jiang Chen threw the petition on the ground and shouted, "See for yourself!"

Xu Changqing picked up the petition and, after reading it, he simply couldn't believe it.

Xu Changqing looked at He Lao San and Zhu Liu: "You two, did you come from Zhong Province?"

"Yes."

"Is everything written here true?" Xu Changqing asked again.

"All true."

Xu Changqing couldn't help but gasp.

This was definitely a major catastrophe!

Xu Changqing said, "Your Majesty, I will immediately investigate and will certainly give Your Majesty a reply in the shortest amount of time!"

"No need."

Jiang Chen said coldly, "I will personally handle this matter!"

Xu Changqing's body couldn't help but tremble.

He knew that Jiang Chen was truly enraged.

"Summon Yao Shouxin!" Jiang Chen said.

"Summon the Minister of War, Yao Shouxin!"

Xu Changqing looked at Jiang Chen in shock.

Normally, matters of this kind, involving corruption and violation of the law, were handled by the Ministry of Justice.

But this time, the person His Majesty summoned was actually the Minister of War!

He was going to turn the entire Zhong Province upside down!

Yao Shouxin quickly rushed over, and without taking the time to look at others, Yao Shouxin said, "Your Majesty, where has war broken out?"

"Not a war."

Jiang Chen coldly had Yao Shouxin read the petition as well, and then said, "I will give you five thousand soldiers, and order you to arrest all the corrupt officials who have violated the law in the shortest amount of time!"

"Your subject obeys!" Yao Shouxin said sternly.

Yao Shouxin's actions were particularly swift, and that afternoon, he led five thousand elite soldiers towards Zhong Province.

The movement of five thousand elite soldiers was naturally quite a spectacle, startling everyone who didn't know what was happening, who thought that a rebellion had broken out somewhere.

But after inquiring, no one knew what the Minister of War had personally set out to do.

It wasn't until Yao Shouxin led his troops to surround the Zhong Province Governor's office that people realized that there was a problem in Zhong Province.

With the cooperation of the Dark Guards, Yao Shouxin quickly arrested all the officials in Zhong Province involved in embezzling disaster relief funds.

When they set out to return to the capital, the number of officials being escorted was actually greater than the number of soldiers.

This spectacle caused the people who saw it along the way to marvel.

It wasn't until this time that Jiang Chen announced the matter in the early morning court.

After hearing it, all the ministers were shocked.

Only then did they understand why Yao Shouxin had personally set out.

Zhong Province had rotted to its core!

Just when everyone thought that the matter was over after Yao Shouxin escorted the officials into the capital, Jiang Chen called Shi Ping into the great hall.

"Who is in charge of guarding the capital city gates?"

Shi Ping's heart sank.

After understanding the matter of Zhong Province, he knew that the general responsible for the city gates was highly problematic.

Otherwise, why wouldn't the city gate soldiers allow beggars with Zhong Province accents to enter the city?

There must be some involvement!

It wasn't until this general was arrested that the Zhong Province embezzlement case was truly concluded.

Half a month later, Yao Shouxin escorted everyone back to the capital, and Jiang Chen directly handed this case over to Wu Zuo to handle.

Wu Zuo deeply understood Jiang Chen's intentions and handled this case quickly and severely.

After the executions and punishments were finished, winter had already arrived.

Jiang Chen looked at the snow scene outside the Hall of Diligent Governance and felt somewhat sentimental.

This year was finally coming to an end.

Seeing that Jiang Chen was in a good mood, Feng Jin smiled and said, "Your Majesty, time passes so quickly."

Jiang Chen smiled and nodded, and in the blink of an eye, it was winter again.

Feng Jin continued, "There is a common saying among the people, 'A timely snow promises a good harvest.' Tomorrow, our Great Wei will definitely have a great harvest."

"When the people live and work in peace and contentment, it will all be thanks to Your Majesty's功劳 (gong lao - contributions)!" Feng Jin flattered him.

Jiang Chen laughed heartily and said, "You really know how to talk."

After laughing, Jiang Chen once again began reviewing memorials.

Naturally, the memorials from Zhong Province were placed at the top.

Jiang Chen was very satisfied with Feng Jin's thoughtfulness.

Feng Jin still understood the things he cared about.

This was also the reason why he didn't rebuke Feng Jin for his flattery.

After reading several memorials from Zhong Province, Jiang Chen nodded inwardly.

These memorials were from the officials who had been newly assigned after the Zhong Province officials had been swept away.

And these officials, apart from a few important positions held by ministers with many years of official experience, were basically all those who had passed the imperial examinations through the special grace 科 (ke).

From these memorials, Jiang Chen could see that these people were still full of vigor and ambition.

"Feng Jin, I want to go out for a walk," Jiang Chen said suddenly.

"Yes."

Feng Jin responded and then walked over to prepare to support Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen chuckled and said, "The 'out' I'm talking about is leaving the capital."

"Ah?"

Feng Jin was startled and then understood Jiang Chen's meaning.

He was going on an incognito inspection!

After thinking about it, Feng Jin said, "Should I inform the ministers of each department?"

Jiang Chen waved his hand and said, "Don't inform anyone about this matter. Think of an excuse yourself."

Under Feng Jin's somewhat helpless gaze, Jiang Chen quietly left the palace.

When Jiang Chen appeared in the outskirts of the capital dressed as a wealthy young master, Jing Yue appeared beside Jiang Chen at some unknown time.

"Where does the公子 (gong zi - young master) want to go?" Jing Yue asked.

"Go to Zhong Province and take a look," Jiang Chen said.

This was the plan he had thought of before leaving the palace.

Jing Yue nodded, roughly guessing what Jiang Chen was going to Zhong Province for.

He probably wanted to see what Zhong Province had become now.

But she didn't know that she had only guessed half of it correctly.

In addition to seeing what the situation was in Zhong Province, he also wanted to see how well these newly appointed officials were doing.