SFS Chapter 190 Cunning, Really Cunning
Chapter 190 Cunning, Really Cunning
The guard standing beside Zhou Jialiang and serving him was already accustomed to his moodiness and sudden inexplicable happiness, so he calmly took the letter that Zhou Jialiang had read and folded it slowly.
He lazily lay on the soft sleeper, peeling grapes and eating them leisurely, and then said to the person next to him, "Now we have something interesting to watch, the suppression of bandits in Huzhou, the flood in Xi'an, and yes, there are also traitors who collaborate with the enemy..."
"The Eighth Prince must be getting anxious. All the things they found out are related to him. No matter which one of them is brought up, he will be demoted to a commoner and will never be able to take the throne until his death!"
The guards thought about it and immediately felt that their chance had come. "If that's the case, why don't you take this opportunity to turn the Great Zhou Dynasty upside down? Maybe, then we can still fish in troubled waters!"
Zhou Jialiang's lips curved slightly. After hearing the guard's words, not only did he not show an expression of approval, but he even crossed his legs and swayed with interest.
While eating grapes, the curve of his mouth became more and more strange, as if he was laughing, but also as if he saw something exciting and was half sarcastic, he couldn't wait to speak.
"It's precisely because the capital is about to be in chaos that I want to stay. How can I miss such a lively event?"
Not only did he want to stay, he also wanted to take the opportunity to "stir up some trouble."
Take advantage of troubled waters and escape?
Those were indeed his thoughts before, but now he doesn't think so. Since the emperor of the Great Zhou is surnamed Zhou, then...the sons of Emperor Tianwu sit on the throne, so can't others do it?
After all, they all have the same grandfather. Just because the King of Wei can't do it doesn't mean he can't do it!
The guard was stunned, but did not dare to question Zhou Jialiang's words. Even if the other party suddenly changed his mind, this was... expected.
If Zhou Jialiang was such an easy-to-obey person, he wouldn't be so unpredictable and moody.
"Make arrangements. By tonight at the latest, I want to let the princes who moved out of the palace, the Yao family, and the Jiang family all know about this. Oh, and don't leave out the Loyal and Brave Marquis' Mansion either!"
How can this game be fun if the water isn’t messy enough?
The guard nodded respectfully without saying anything, "Yes."
*
That night, it goes without saying that the most powerful mansions in the capital were devastated by the sudden news.
The Yao family took advantage of the darkness of night, changed into low-key and inconspicuous servants' attire, and entered the Eighth Prince's Mansion through the back door. That night, the candlelight in the study of the Eighth Prince's Mansion never went out.
There were no less than twenty people guarding outside the study room, all of whom were Zhou Hanjin's self-confidents. No one could easily approach the study room, let alone know what they were discussing.
However, many people were destined to have difficulty falling asleep that night.
Chu Xi and his group who were far away at the border were naturally the same.
It was okay during the day and I could barely fall asleep, but the situation was completely different at night. The main cause of the flood was the continuous heavy rains that caused the river water level to rise.
As long as the rain stops, the water will naturally find a way to evacuate quickly.
However, the rain is not so easy to stop. The water has already rushed into the city of Xi'an. Looking down from the top of the mountain, you can see the "magnificent and spectacular" scene of surging waves surrounding the entire mountain.
In fact, it was not just their mountain that was surrounded. Everywhere you looked, there were rivers.
The rain was lighter than in the previous few days, but it was far from enough, because after breaking through the dam, the water rushed forward violently and flooded countless places.
As long as the rain doesn't stop or doesn't drop to light rain, they will have to stay on the mountain.
The longer it rains, the colder it will be afterwards, and the temperature will plummet as the rain continues.
Chu Xi noticed that many people were shivering with cold. It was not because they were reluctant to use their bedding and clothes, but because many people had to live in the tents together, and these were military tents.
There were not enough military beddings, and they could only be given to the elderly, the sick, the disabled, pregnant women, children and other special groups. The rest of the people either had to huddle in bed or take out all their clothes and put them on.
But some families are not well-off, and even the bedding is so thin that I don’t know how long it has been used, and the cotton inside has almost melted after washing...
Even if they took out their bedding and put all their clothes on, those old clothes with countless patches on them could not provide them with any warmth.
The temperature...will continue to get colder as night falls. People who can barely endure during the day will be unable to fall asleep at night because of the cold.
Chu Xi thought about it and temporarily called together a meeting of the wealthy businessmen or people with small assets in the city. The main content of the meeting was to ask them to lend a helping hand temporarily.
They may have extra bedding, clothes, etc. in their hands. As long as they can be used, if they are willing to donate them temporarily, Chu Xi is willing to compensate them later.
After hearing what Chu Xi said, some wealthy businessmen who were not very willing to donate their bedding and clothes did not dare to refuse because of Chu Xi's face and Chu Er, who was standing behind her with an expressionless face and holding a sword.
Of course they have extra, they just...donate it to others?
Naturally, they were unwilling to do so and just wanted to keep it for themselves. After all, no one knew how long the rain would last. As businessmen by nature, they took so much with them just to leave themselves enough options for retreat.
After the meeting, Chu Xi knew that some people were unwilling to "donate", so he calmly turned his head to the people behind him and said.
"Chu Er, take the people and go with them to count the bedding and clothes."
"Yes." Chu Er always obeyed and executed Chu Xi's orders unconditionally.
As soon as they left, Zhou Yichen, Rong Qingzhu, Bian Hangqing and others who stayed outside the tent couldn't wait to open the tent and walked in.
Although Rong Qingzhu was standing outside before, he probably heard some of Chu Xi's words, so he walked in and frowned at Chu Xi and said, "By doing this, you have touched the interests of those people, and they will be dissatisfied with you."
He is a bit upright and old-fashioned, but he knows how to weigh the pros and cons.
Chu Xi raised an eyebrow, "As long as people can survive, it doesn't matter whether they are satisfied with me or not."
"How much property did you bring with you when you came to report on your work? How dare you promise this!" Bian Hangqing patted Chu Xi's shoulder teasingly, "Even if you took out all your belongings, it wouldn't be enough to compensate me like this!"
He knew Chu Xi's thoughts. He couldn't take it for free, but special treatment was required in special times.
If everyone gives out something, they will need compensation, and if they are allowed to make their own requests, who knows how high their demands will be afterwards. This is not a good deal!
"The compensation I promised is money or the beddings and clothes they donated, and I will return them in full!" Chu Xi had a calm expression. Under Bian Hangqing's half-worried, half-teasing look, he responded calmly.
Bian Hangqing was stunned, then smiled, "Cunning, really cunning."
Playing word games.