Chapter 98 The River God's Bride
After seeing off Yinzhen and Yin, Hongyun, who was still young, went downstairs to sleep.

Honghui followed Yinzhen to his study.

"Honghui, why do you think the local officers and soldiers in Shandong failed to suppress the rebellion?" Yinzhen drank a sip of sobering soup and tested Honghui.

"My son thinks that, firstly, several counties have united to rebel, and there may be a leader who understands military tactics and can integrate the scattered soldiers into a group that can fight against the government soldiers; secondly, perhaps the local officials have embezzled disaster relief funds and are unpopular with the people, so the people have tipped off the rebels, so naturally they cannot be caught."

Honghui took a sip of water to moisten his throat and continued, "Third, the Eight Banners have been slacking off in riding and archery in recent years. The local officers and soldiers may not have trained for a long time, so naturally they are not in good shape."

"It is even more possible that there are few people who actually serve in the army but receive empty salaries."

Yinzhen knocked on the table and nodded in approval.

"Father, don't you want to quell the rebellion?" Honghui was a little puzzled. "Mother said that when the flood disaster was severe, you took the initiative to volunteer to save the people. When your son heard this, he felt very moved."

Yinzhen looked Honghui up and down, paused for a moment, and said, "Because Father has more important things to do now."

"Is it difficult? My son can help you." Honghui was eager to try. He also wanted to participate in something that was more difficult and important than quelling the rebellion.

"Okay, you go and rest first, and spend more time with your mother recently." Yinzhen waved his hand.

After Honghui left, he stared at the half-burned charcoal fire, with all kinds of possibilities surging in his mind, and he was undecided.

******
Three days later, Prince Zhi and Yin arrived in Shandong with several thousand troops.

As soon as he entered the country, Yin was shocked by the scene before him. Most of the shops were closed, and many people who looked like disaster victims were lying or leaning on both sides of the road. They were all leaning on tree branches, holding empty bowls in their hands, with dull expressions and empty eyes. Occasionally, the crying of children could be heard.

This scene formed a sharp contrast with the bustling and prosperous capital city.

Yin looked solemn: "Brother, we just arrived in Shandong, how come there are so many disaster victims?"

"The local government is not doing its job, so our first target is the Governor of Shandong. We will first remove him from his post and serve as a wake-up call to all the officials in Shandong, big and small." The Prince of Zhi had a clear goal.

"Ah?" Yin was stunned. The governor was a second-rank official. One of them was a prince and the other was a bald prince. Neither of them had the power to dismiss the governor.

Last time, the fourth brother could do it because he was an imperial envoy and the emperor allowed him to act at his own discretion. This time, they were assigned the task of suppressing the rebellion and in principle were not allowed to interfere in local government affairs.

"Brother, I'm afraid this won't work." Although Yin was reckless, he knew clearly what he could do and what he couldn't do, which was why he could always make Kangxi angry but never hate or punish him.

"Do you know who this Shandong governor is?"

Yin shook his head. He didn't care about these things.

"Jiang Liwei was promoted all the way through Prime Minister Suo's recommendation and has been an official in Shandong for more than ten years. Now that such a thing has happened, doesn't it mean that Jiang Liwei has betrayed the prince's trust? We are helping His Royal Highness the Prince to clean up the mess." The Prince of Zhi was obviously very excited. He seemed to be unable to see the victims on the streets and ordered the driver to speed up.

Yin understood that this was an opportunity to attack the crown prince. He didn't want to get involved in such matters, so he could only follow silently without making any comments.

The group traveled all night and finally arrived at the Shandong governor's office at daybreak. Shandong officials of all ranks received the summons and got up early to pay their respects.

Prince Zhi and Yin washed up and had a simple breakfast. Seeing that everyone was present, they started to discuss the matter.

"Let's talk about the drought first. When I came here, I checked and found that it has been almost three years in a row. The court has allocated disaster relief funds every year. I wonder how you gentlemen are dealing with the drought?" The Prince of Zhi went straight to the point. The Governor of Shandong spoke first: "To answer your question, this is a natural disaster that cannot be resisted by human power. The relief funds distributed by the court are all registered in the books. The account book is outside and you can check it at any time. As for governance, I am not talented, but I have also sought talents and offered a large reward. Unfortunately, there are many swindlers and few truly capable people. Farmers' land is unreasonable. Almost no harvest has been harvested in the past three years. I am really a housewife who can't cook without rice. I can only hope day and night that this drought will pass soon."

"In other words, it's you who are incompetent." Prince Zhi sat up straight. "Back then, Prime Minister Suo recommended you to be the governor of Shandong. How many people have died over the years? Are you worthy of this responsibility?"

Jiang Liwei's face turned pale and red when he heard this: "I am guilty, but..."

"It's good that you admit your guilt." Prince Zhi interrupted him, "Take him into custody temporarily, and wait until the rebellion here is settled, and then return to the capital to be tried by the emperor."

Immediately, two guards with knives dragged Jiang Liwei away. For a moment, everyone in the room felt insecure and dared not speak any more, not even to look at each other.

Prince Zhi was very satisfied with the effect of establishing his authority. He swept his eyes around with an oppressive look and said, "Then let's continue and talk about the rebellion."

Yin was completely ignored. He really didn't want to stay in the room any longer, so he ran out on the pretext of going to the toilet.

When he walked outside the government office, there were cavalrymen guarding the door and no one dared to approach. Yin walked a little further away and came to the back of the government office, where he found several old men crowded at the corner.

"Old man, I want to ask you something." Yin squatted down and took out a few copper coins from his arms.

The old man didn't answer. "I have copper coins, but now I can't buy food with money. Go away. We don't know anything."

"Old man, I was sent by the imperial court. You have to believe the emperor." Seeing that money didn't work, Yin changed his words.

"The emperor sent you?" The old man sat up suddenly, a little excited. "The emperor is very blessed, a real dragon born in the world. God blesses him. The emperor finally thought of Shandong. Is the drought going to end?"

Yin touched his nose, feeling a little guilty. It was up to God whether it would rain or not. He didn't remember that his grandfather would pray for rain.

"What do you want to ask?" The old man was positive this time.

"Have you heard who the rebels are?"

The old man sighed: "Old Tan's eldest son, this is a sin. Are you really sent by the court?"

Yin patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, look to see if I am a stranger. A stranger who comes at this time is someone from the imperial court."

"That's right." The old man nodded and swallowed his saliva. "It's not that there has been a severe drought for years. The governor is still an official. He has no other choice. He found a quack who said he could pray for rain, but he needed a sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Yin was a little surprised. The officials in the room had not mentioned a word about these things just now.

"The Taoist priest said that the river god was angry and needed a young, beautiful woman who was suitable for him to appease the god, so that rain would fall from the sky."

"The official tried everything possible and followed the Taoist's advice to find the girl from the old Tan family. There's nothing to say about that girl. Everyone in the surrounding area knows how pretty she is."

Yin had a guess: "Did it sink into the river?"

The old man nodded and said, "Yes, the sacrifice to the river god was held with great fanfare that day, but it still didn't rain. The Taoist priest ran away so fast that we couldn't catch him. It was a pity for the girl from the old Tan family, she was only twelve years old."

"The eldest son of the old Tan family is well-educated. He did this for his sister. Although we don't approve of it, we think he is a real man."

Yin nodded, he took off the water bag from his waist and handed it to the old man. The people who had just collapsed on the ground jumped up instantly, and everyone reached out to grab the water bag. Fortunately, they were still rational and each took a small sip.