The staff from the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Justice arrived in Dongyang Prefecture.
That very day, they took Ning Dongsheng into custody.
Terrified for half a month, Ning Dongsheng, without being interrogated, spilled everything like a bamboo tube pouring out beans.
He exposed how Zhao Yunxing colluded with salt and grain merchants to scheme on hiking the grain prices, which officials were involved, and which merchants had connections with them.
He spoke so freely, his confession was even clearer than the one obtained by Ding Qiu.
However, he was a bit vague about Zhao Yunxing’s plans to incite the refugees to riot, after all, it was a false charge fabricated by Ding Qiu.
But he didn’t dare to retract his statement; under the interrogation of officials from the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Justice, he could only push the blame, stating that all arrangements were made by Zhao Yunxing and he was unaware of the full situation.
Though the accusation was fabricated, upon further investigation by the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Justice, they indeed discovered that not all of it was false.
Evidence surfaced of plans to instigate the people to riot and embezzle the relief grains dispatched by the court.
Moreover, it was not just one person contemplating this; both the Magistrate of Guangning Prefecture and the Prefect of Fuzhou had similar intentions and had even taken action.
As Zhao Yunxing died without proven guilt, this scandal was ultimately pinned on him.
Vice Minister and Right Deputy Imperial Censor Luo Ren arrived in Dongyang Prefecture with the first batch of money and grain to commence the disaster relief.
At the same time, the drought in Ping Yuan began to intensify.
A large number of people, facing water shortages and complete absence of food, were forced to leave their homes in search of survival.
Suddenly, the main roads were crowded with people in tattered clothes, their lips cracked from dryness, moving towards the south.
For the disaster-stricken populace, their first destination of refuge was not the bitterly cold Chongshan Town, but rather Jizhou and Shanhe Province to the south.
This was also why Yang Zhenshan was not prepared to accept all the refugees.
Tens of thousands of people began to flee, devastating the areas they passed through like locusts, consuming almost everything they could to fill their stomachs.
Even more horrifying were the corpses visible everywhere on the parched, cracked earth, a hellish scene gradually unfolding before everyone.
Inside Dongyang Prefecture City, Luo Ren stood in the main hall of the Governor’s Office, his face ashen, as he regarded the officials before him.
"The court’s decrees were issued ten days ago, why haven’t the granaries been opened?"
The situation in Ping Yuan hadn’t yet reached a desperate state; most people could still drink water, and some had food reserves.
However, Luo Ren had just arrived in Dongyang Prefecture only to find tens of thousands of refugees gathering to flee south.
He had just assumed office as the Governor overseeing disaster relief, and such a situation arose, how could he explain this to the court?
The key point was that Dongyang Prefecture had the absolute capability to stop these refugees, yet the officials allowed them to pass.
"My lord, it’s not that we don’t want to assist in the disaster relief, we are truly powerless!"
"Now, many wells in the city have dried up, and the city’s residents are in a state of panic. If we were to open the granaries now, and refugees swarm into the city, it could create chaos!"
"Moreover, the Lord Prefect was apprehended by the Ministry of Criminal Justice two days ago; this subordinate truly cannot make decisions!"
The Deputy Magistrate Bai Shutang said with a pained expression.
Bai Shutang felt incredibly bitter inside.
At such a critical moment, his superior was arrested, and as a secondary official, he had to step up, but after all, he was not the Prefect and couldn’t make decisions about the city’s affairs.
Moreover, with many government offices in Dongyang Prefecture like the Governor’s Office and Inspector General’s Office, how could he, a Deputy Magistrate, take the lead?
Luo Ren rubbed his temples, somewhat headache-stricken.
The situation in Ping Yuan was far beyond his expectations.
The arrest of a large number of officials by the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Justice also greatly impacted the disaster relief.
"Go and summon Mr. Lu from the Ministry of Criminal Justice!"
He could not allow the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Justice to continue arresting people. If they continued, he would be left with no one to employ.
Although these corrupt officials were detestable, he must ensure that the government offices operated normally, or else he couldn’t provide relief to the disaster-stricken people.
But before the officials from the Ministry of Criminal Justice could arrive, one of Luo Ren’s aides reported: "My lord, the Governor of Chongshan Town, Song Ying, is outside asking for an audience!"
"The Governor of Chongshan Town!" Luo Ren was stunned.
Why was the Governor of Chongshan Town not staying at Chongshan Pass, and instead coming to Dongyang Prefecture?
And his position as Governor didn’t extend to Chongshan Town either!
"Let him in," Luo Ren decided and met Song Ying.
Moments later, Song Ying was ushered into the hall, glanced at the officials inside, and then bowed to Luo Ren, "Subordinate Song Ying pays respects to the Governor!"
"Hmm!" Luo Ren, really not in the mood for courtesies, asked directly, "What brings you here?"
Song Ying took out a document from his chest, saying, "Governor, this is a refugee recruitment document co-signed by the Marquis Jing’an and the Town Governor Pang Tang of Chongshan Town."
He handed the document to Luo Ren, and then took out another document, saying, "This is a resettlement decree issued by the Cabinet to Chongshan Town."
The document and the decree are both official papers; the document is mainly used for communication between military and civilian officials not under each other’s command, while the decree is often used for notifying and commanding between higher and lower levels of government offices.
To relocate millions of people, naturally, it couldn’t be decided by Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang alone.
The approval from Emperor Yanping and the Cabinet was necessary, hence the issuance of this decree by the Cabinet.