Chapter 85

Chapter 85

The news that the Sixth Prince had personally arrived at the front lines of the Jiangling dike breach and ordered the arrest of the officials in charge spread quickly. The officials in Jiangling were greatly alarmed and immediately sent messengers to inquire. The one arrested was the Jiangling Tongpan, the official in charge of the dike. The messengers entered and then exited the Sixth Prince’s tent, but the Sixth Prince stated that there was no evidence to prove their innocence and that until this matter was resolved, these few would have to endure a few days of hardship—he showed no intention of releasing them.

On the first day of the Sixth Prince’s arrival, he first established his authority in the tent by arresting the Jiangling Tongpan and other officials, then appointed Wang Guanzhi to take command in a time of crisis.

The craftsmen there had seen imperial officials come to pay lip service before, but they had never seen anyone who arrested local officials the moment they arrived. Yet the Sixth Prince acted swiftly and decisively. Before the other craftsmen could react, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works who had come with the Sixth Prince had already joined the repair efforts.

“Is it true that the Sixth Prince said he could provide money and manpower?”

The craftsmen who had confronted the Sixth Prince in the tent were released. The surrounding craftsmen all said the court had brought money, but the craftsmen did not believe that a prince who had offended the craftsmen with his words could actually accomplish such a thing: “Just wait. He dares to arrest even those officials, and even the prefect’s messengers are of no use. Who is going to deliver money and stone to him?”

Wang Guanzhi looked at the blueprints sent by the court and listened to the craftsmen’s discussions. Although the surveyor had not personally visited Jiangling, the annotations and drawings showed that effort had been put in. This time, the Ministry of Works didn’t seem to be entirely full of incompetents.

The next morning, there was a commotion outside the tent.

When the craftsmen got up to start work, they saw more than a hundred people outside.

At the front of the crowd was a scholar, and behind him were refugees from Jiangling. More than a hundred refugees were brought over, still looking dazed. On the road, they had encountered this official who blocked their way, gave them a small amount of silver, and said there was work to be done with wages. The refugees had heard of being forcibly conscripted to repair dikes, but never of being paid to do so.

This disaster had already destroyed many crops. Without silver, winter would be hard. Some refugees gritted their teeth and decided to come.

“You will work with the craftsmen here. The more you work, the more you earn. The foreman will calculate your wages,” Weng Yanqing instructed. Seeing Wang Guanzhi standing at the entrance watching, he then approached and handed him a contract. “Lord Wang, the prince has ordered the procurement of stone. This is the first batch. More will come later. Please don’t delay the work progress.”

Before Wang Guanzhi could say anything, Weng Yanqing lifted the tent flap and entered the Sixth Prince’s tent.

“Your Highness, news of your arrest of the Jiangling officials has already spread. The Prefect of Jiangling should receive word soon.” Weng Yanqing had hurried back. “Censor Xiao’s transfer of silver is being delayed. I’m afraid it will be difficult to push forward.”

Ying Fusheng sat in front of the tent. He had known before coming that the local officials in Jiangling were corrupt. When he arrested these officials, someone in Jiangling sent a letter to make insinuations. The letter said that without these officials, things would fall into chaos—essentially applying pressure through pretext. “Are the refugees fine?”

“Yes. They are willing to work as long as they are paid. But the stone is a problem. The stone we brought from the capital is limited; it will last no more than three days,” Weng Yanqing said. A craftsman from the Ministry of Works added, “When we tried to purchase stone at the prices reported by the officials, the stone merchants sold some, but then claimed they had no more stone.”

The implication was that the usual liaison was not this official, and the craftsmen did not understand trade customs. This was clearly a deliberate delay. On his side, he arrests officials; on their side, they want to give Ying Fusheng a lesson.

Upon hearing this, Ying Fusheng sneered, “Just as I expected.”

“Proceed as usual. Leave men to investigate. Record which merchants and which officials are involved.”

Weng Yanqing nodded. “Rest assured, I have already noted them down.”

Over the next two days, the news of paid dike repair spread among the refugees. Many people rushed over to earn wages.

Wang Guanzhi watched as the number of people increased daily, but the stone deliveries were not as plentiful as in the first two days. An official beside him said, “The Sixth Prince is foolish. Even if he has enough silver and wants to establish authority, he should keep some people (as allies). He has now offended all the officials in Jiangling. Without a share of the profits, these people will not make things easy for the prince.”

Transporting stone from other places would take too long. After observing for a few days, Wang Guanzhi could not help asking, “Is there enough stone?”

Inside the tent, Ying Fusheng, who had not left for several days, suddenly replied calmly to Wang Guanzhi’s question, “Not enough.”

Wang Guanzhi frowned. He was indeed dissatisfied with the court officials, but ever since this Sixth Prince arrested those troublesome officials, the people presiding over the work were all officials and craftsmen who had been stationed on the river for years. No one understood repairs better than them. They had nothing else to consider—only the repairs.

“Your Highness, you have just arrived in Jiangling. It would be unwise to offend too many officials,” Wang Guanzhi said after some thought.

“So Lord Wang also understands tact. I thought that when you called the Ministry of Works a bunch of incompetents every year, you had long abandoned reading the situation.” Ying Fusheng looked up and smiled. “Lord Wang understands the river and repairs. So you should know whether, in the current situation, manpower or stone is more important.”

Wang Guanzhi was stunned. Footsteps came from outside, and he heard Ying Fusheng say—

“The people are here.”

Outside the tent, a shout attracted many refugees. The craftsmen from the capital shouted, “Everyone, the repair work now has enough people. The prince, recognizing how tough it was for you to get here, is willing to purchase earth, stone, and reeds from you! Paid by the pound!”

Jiangling was low-lying. If stone was insufficient, earth was available. This type of loess could be sourced locally. If there had not been enough people earlier, this method would not have been feasible. But now, with more and more refugees arriving, it was better to spend silver on loess and reeds mixed with stone for reinforcement than to buy expensive stone.

Wang Guanzhi walked out and saw many people who had just arrived hearing about this. The villagers asked each other. Knowing that loess, stone, and even reeds dug from the mountains and riverbanks could be sold for money, discussions grew.

“The official said this can be exchanged for money!”

“Isn’t that everywhere in the mountains?”

Wang Guanzhi came out and saw that the people around the Sixth Prince were already handling things in an orderly way.

He suddenly understood that when the Sixth Prince arrested the officials, he had already foreseen the consequences.

The Sixth Prince’s massive purchase of stone was merely a display of the court’s generosity and its urgent need for stone. This Sixth Prince seemed to know nothing, but in truth, he understood what was truly needed for repairs: manpower.

Stone, reeds, loess—these materials needed for repairs could be purchased from merchants for convenience and subcontracting fees. But if there were enough people, given Jiangling’s terrain, they could simply collect them on their own.

He had never intended to buy large quantities of stone. His purpose was to create a grand spectacle and attract more refugees.

“Enough for everyone!”

“Fellow villagers, don’t delay. The court has money. Feel free to come.”

Wang Guanzhi looked back and saw officials bringing out silver and placing it in front of them. Only then did the common folk believe it. The passing craftsmen frequently glanced over. These imperial officials were not embezzling a single coin. Earlier, a foreman had tried to steal the refugees’ wages, and the soldiers had immediately arrested him.

“That foreman from the second team had connections with the county magistrate. In the past, he always stole the craftsmen’s money. We reported him to the official, and we actually got the silver. That foreman Liu was also arrested.” The craftsmen, having observed over these days, had changed their minds. “Lord Wang, this prince truly came to repair the dike.”

Wang Guanzhi turned to look at the tent. No one came out of the tent.

He gathered a few craftsmen and headed straight for the dike without looking back. “Let’s go. Let’s work. The prince has done everything. We’ve got to fix this dike for him.”

Within half a day, people began delivering loess, reeds, and even big chunks of broken stone.

As soon as these materials arrived, the soldiers and craftsmen kept transporting them to the dike.

When Ying Fusheng walked out of the tent, he saw the entire area outside was bustling with craftsmen and refugees working. He only glanced briefly before quickly turning back inside. On the temporary desk in the tent, there was information collected by Weng Yanqing and several officials over the past few days. The Jiangling prefecture was corrupt. The person behind the scenes manipulated the dike works. The Tongpan in charge of Jiangling’s water conservancy was certainly not innocent.

He coughed softly, his fingers traced the words on the paper. His eyes gradually turned cold.

To shake Jiangnan, you first have to shake Jiangling.

When the soldiers and craftsmen who had been repairing the river returned, near the temporary tents, the court officials were recording accounts. The delivered materials were sorted and then sent to the front line of the dike repair. The Garrison General, seeing the gathered refugees, was deeply impressed. Every year during a disaster, the hardest part was the repair and resettlement of refugees. The people of Jiangling fished and farmed fertile land. A flood swept through, making winter hard to get through.

“This Sixth Prince is providing disaster relief,” a soldier said. “These refugees should’ve headed north, but now they’ve all come back. There’s still some time before winter. With silver, these refugees will not suffer so much.”

Using this work-for-relief method, only a prince could get away with that.

But for a prince to be so thorough, this wasn’t just a short-term plan. He wasn’t here just for the Jiangling dike... The Garrison General was moved. “But there are too many refugees. Jiangling may not be able to bear it. The Prefect of Jiangling is too quiet.”

If the Sixth Prince could gather so many refugees, the news would inevitably reach the surrounding disaster-stricken counties. The flood-affected areas downstream of Jiangling weren’t limited to the three prefectures of Jiangnan. These refugees had nowhere else to go. If word spread that this place was taking in refugees, a massive influx would come.

Suddenly, a sound came from behind. The Garrison General turned and saw the scholar who often followed the Sixth Prince, apparently surnamed Weng.

“General, the prince wishes to see you. He said that in a few days, he will need your help,” Weng Yanqing said.

At that moment, a falcon swooped down from above, passed by the Garrison General, and darted into the tent.

The Garrison General was startled. This was the Qi family’s message falcon, only sent during emergencies. He looked up and saw the falcon land obediently on the Sixth Prince’s arm.

The Sixth Prince looked indifferent as he took off the message tube and looked at him.

Ten days went by. Wang Guanzhi stayed on the dam day and night without rest. On the tenth day, the widening breach was finally, just barely, brought under control. The water surging downstream slowed, and when the flow was controlled, cheers erupted on the dam.

“Quick, spread the news to the others!”

He looked at this section of the dam. It could be repaired now only because there were many workers and the court supported it, but Jiangling suffered from too many floods every year… Yet if it could be repaired, the floods in the three prefectures south of the river could be controlled.

He let out a long sigh of relief and walked toward the camp. There he saw a growing crowd of refugees.

“What’s going on?” Wang Guanzhi asked.

The craftsmen had just held back a crowd of refugees. “Lord Wang, these are disaster victims from nearby prefectures and counties. They heard Jiangling pays wages for labor, so they came.”

Now that the breach had been repaired, where was the extra silver to hire so many laborers?

Upon hearing this, Wang Guanzhi immediately rushed to the Sixth Prince’s tent, but when he reached the entrance, he was told the Sixth Prince was not there.

“Where is he?” Wang Guanzhi frowned.

The official who stayed behind said, “The Sixth Prince ordered you to stay here and settle the refugees. His Highness said you don't need to worry about other matters.”

At the Jiangling prefectural office, the prefect got word that large numbers of refugees were gathering. He gave orders, “This Sixth Prince comes to my jurisdiction throwing his weight around—does he think Jiangling is his one-man show?”

“As soon as he arrived, he stirred up the dam and arrested officials. What does a prince of this dynasty know about local conditions?”

“With so many refugees gathering, how can Jiangling cope with so many refugees from the surrounding areas? The floods destroyed the farmland. The disaster in the southern counties means these refugees will only increase. If they gather but their grievances cannot be pacified, then those rioters will turn on this Sixth Prince first.”

“If something happens to the Sixth Prince here, won’t that be a major problem?” a subordinate asked.

The prefect said, “In a few days, those refugees will start to make trouble. We’ll just send men to protect the Sixth Prince. As long as he takes the blame, the court will clean up his mess.”

He then looked at the man who had been standing silently beside him. “Pass the order: keep an eye on the granaries. When the refugees increase, they will inevitably demand grain distribution. If the Sixth Prince raises the matter, say we have no grain and need to transfer it from nearby prefectures. Delay as long as possible.”

Vice Prefect Xu of Jiangling observed the prefect’s plan. He knew how many refugees were nearby. The disaster relief silver the court could send was limited; otherwise the Sixth Prince wouldn’t have sent people to the prefect to request funds. An influx of refugees would inevitably breed rioters, and then Jiangling would fall into chaos. The prefect knew a prince was present, yet still dared to do this… He quietly acknowledged the order and prepared to carry it out.

Just then, urgent news arrived from outside—

“Prefect! News from the dam: the breach is sealed!”

Vice Prefect Xu paused at this. Was the dam repaired?

“Repaired in ten days?!” The prefect had never imagined such a large breach could be sealed. In past years, it took at least a month. This Sixth Prince shows up and cuts the work time that much—ten days! He had just received news of the refugees; those troublemakers had not yet arrived in great numbers, and now the dam was fixed ahead of schedule, messing up his plan.

“This—send word quickly—” The prefect realized the severity.

The reporting constable said, “Outside the gate… the Sixth Prince has arrived! And with General Chen’s troops, about a hundred men, surrounding the entire government compound!”

Before the Sixth Prince even arrived, the troops General Chen had left in Jiangling had already surrounded the office. Before the prefect could go out to investigate, the Sixth Prince entered, accompanied by the officials who had been detained at the Jiangling dam. Seeing this, the prefect’s legs went weak.

Those officials had been detained at the dam for several days, each looking haggard.

The prefect stepped forward: “Your Highness, this is—”

“Regarding the Jiangling dam incident, these men delayed the repair work. Some conspired with stone merchants, others colluded with craftsmen to steal disaster relief funds…”

Weng Yanqing spoke on behalf of Ying Fusheng, tossing an account book at the prefect's feet. From the moment Ying Fusheng ordered large-scale purchases of stone, Weng Yanqing had taken people to investigate everywhere, accompanied by Censor Xiao, probing into corrupt dealings between officials and merchants. Even without going far, the local craftsmen working the dam had revealed many clues. “Witnesses and evidence are all here.”

“The account book names officials, along with the local gentry and wealthy merchants they colluded with, who skimped on stone supplies and falsified prices. Whoever delayed the dam project violated the laws of Dayuan.” Ying Fusheng looked at him, a slight smile on his lips. “Prefect Liu, according to Dayuan law, delaying urgent court reports is a crime. Your officials in Jiangling are quite capable.”

“So what do you think should happen to these men?”