The twelfth year of Yanhuang, summer.
The King led the officials on an inspection tour of the northwest.
The Imperial Ship passed through Ganzhou and docked for a seven-day rest.
The royal court's inspection route was never fixed, and Shen Tang wouldn't allow local officials to clear the way in advance and put on a false front. The local economy and folkways were to be shown as they were, with no faking or falsifying. Even if things weren't very good, Shen Tang would still give the officials a chance to explain themselves. But if they tried to pull the wool over her eyes, that was another matter. She could tolerate their lack of ability, but not their rotten hearts!
At first, some officials had worried about security.
If the route were planned ahead of time, they could prepare defenses. But if the ruler went wherever she pleased by ship, what if someone tried to assassinate her on the way?
The moment he said that, his colleagues looked at him as if he were an idiot.
An assassination?
Assassinate whom?
Who would do the assassinating?
Even if some bold soul truly dared to charge aboard the Imperial Ship, wasn't trying to assassinate a 20th Rank Che Hou aboard it a bit too daring?
They couldn't say whether the assassin had a good head on his shoulders, but the man's courage was surely without equal in the world. Even "gallant as a lion" wasn't enough to describe it.
Shen Tang: "..."
Relying on her own ability to fight, she dared to go anywhere.
The royal court's inspections rarely visited prosperous areas. They deliberately sought out remote, impoverished backwaters. The poorer the place, the better it revealed an official's governing ability—and the more likely a fox was to show its tail. Don't assume