Zhang Yi felt that her previously pale face was now turning red due to the rush of blood.

Wait until the locust plague is over before apologizing to the emperor?

Whether the emperor would blame Qiao Yan for her reckless actions at that time is uncertain, but as the governor, he would definitely be severely punished.

Not only did he not adopt the far-sighted opinions from the counties below, but he also had to deal with the incident of Leping Marquis seizing power at the critical moment.

This was simply a behavior that would be nailed to the pillar of shame.

In the great Han dynasty, known for its martial virtues where “from the emperor down, all must wear swords,” Qiao Yan’s actions should be praised as having a righteous and heroic spirit.

Zhang Yi couldn’t help but think, even if she were to be punished, how severe would it be?

Previously, Zhang Yi had relied on the protection of the Yuan family in Runan, showing a somewhat sycophantic attitude towards Yuan Gong.

Now, he finally started to use his own brain.

If she took power at this time and really managed to suppress the negative effects of the locust plague in Bingzhou, then at least she could mix both good and bad deeds.

At this moment, he thought of a terrifying fact—

The reason Qiao Yan mentioned the collapse of the dragon bones was to complete the watering of the dry fields in advance, to avoid them becoming a breeding ground for locusts.

He undoubtedly had underestimated the disaster.

And for her to dare to leave Leping at this time, I’m afraid the preparations there have been completed almost to her satisfaction.

Otherwise, what basis would she have to apologize!

If Qiao Yan knew what Zhang Yi was thinking at this moment, she would probably want to ask him, if he had had such thoughts a few months ago, how would things have turned out today?

For Zhang Yi now, perhaps the only thing that could comfort him was that after he was tied up and “confined” in the state government, he immediately welcomed a neighbor, who happened to be the prefect of Taiyuan County.

According to Qiao Yan’s logic, the prefect of Taiyuan County was too close to Zhang Yi’s position in the state government because the county seat was also in Jinyang.

Her behavior of kicking the door open was not concealed at all.

If the prefect quickly gathered forces to threaten her, it would be better for her to take the initiative and capture the prefect first.

After all, tying up one person is the same as tying up two.

“I knew she was acting recklessly… I knew it!” The prefect of Taiyuan was so angry that he trembled.

Just like the prefect of Shangdang, before cooperating with Qiao Yan, he couldn’t help but think of her previous extortion behavior as soon as he saw her.

The prefect of Taiyuan was the same.

He had originally thought it would be best not to see her unless necessary.

Who would have thought that this “meeting” would be a formal one, but rather a situation where he was kidnapped and brought over.

He had been in Bingzhou longer than Zhang Yi, or rather, he had more experience in local affairs than Zhang Yi.

Therefore, when Chu Yan and Dian Wei started to act, although he didn’t realize that Chu Yan was actually from the Black Mountain Bandits and was their leader, he could see that the vast majority of these people had the nature of bandits and adventurers.

This made him even more depressed.

Just think about it, these people are definitely not county officials in Leping County.

This is equivalent in a way that says, “Believe it or not, this is the case.”

But what can these two unfortunate brothers say now?

If they hope she makes mistakes in handling the locust plague, it’s like hoping Bingzhou won’t be good.

If this were to spread out, it wouldn’t be surprising if, on the basis of inability, they would be accused of having no loyalty to Bingzhou.

In the end, he could only curse her as “audacious.”

But what does audacity matter?

At least she had already prepared to issue the order allowing the killing of locusts, as she had promised to the prefect before.

If this order is stamped with the official seal she took from Zhang Yi, it represents the approval of the highest official in the state.

Qiao Yan asked Xi Zhicai to help write the letter of apology, so she could carefully consider her words regarding the locust extermination.

This document is for both the prefects of various counties and the people of Bingzhou to see.

Therefore, it should not be written too obscurely, to avoid any misunderstanding in comprehension.

Secondly, she needs to use straightforward language to dispel the people’s concerns about killing locusts.

Other places in Bingzhou are not like Leping.

So the first sentence she wrote was, “The plants on the fields are essential for the people’s livelihood. Once they are destroyed, there will be no end to the years.”

In simpler terms, without fields and crops, you won’t make it through this year. You figure it out.

She then wrote:

“Locusts are indeed the kings of insects, covering the sky when they arrive.

However, despite the many locust temples in the state, they have not reduced the ravages of locusts or caused them to bypass Bingzhou.

Before coming to Bingzhou, I even saw the locust temple in the Central Plains with all its vegetation destroyed, showing that locusts do not understand human feelings.

Even if they are gods, they must be evil gods. Therefore—”

“Grain and crops are the foundation of people’s livelihoods, and even if there are locust gods above, they cannot be shaken.”

The state government does not want Bingzhou to endure famine under the siege of locusts.

Therefore, an edict has been issued to all counties to immediately kill locusts without error.

“If offending the locust god, the fault lies with the state government, not the common people.”

Dian Wei had been following Qiao Yan for more than a year now.

Although he absolutely couldn’t compare in literacy with someone like Xu Fu, who was gifted, and he himself was quite averse to studying, the imperial edict written by Qiao Yan was still no problem.

He couldn’t help but ask, “The one Marquis Qiao wrote, the fault lies with the state government, does the state government refer to that Zhang Yi?”

Isn’t this saying that even though you didn’t do it, since you are the highest official in Bingzhou, the retribution for offending the locust god will fall on you?

He looked at Qiao Yan with a solemn respect, deeply feeling the ability of an intellectual to shift blame to other person.

“Why say so much? Hurry up and go convey the order.” Qiao Yan raised her eyelids and decisively assigned Dian Wei to go out.

“Why so much talk? Hurry up and go convey the order.” Qiao Yan raised her eyelids and decisively sent Dian Wei out.

As far as she could see, these people under her were not bad, but if she had to say something, they all liked to tell the blunt truth.

Cai Zhaohui was one, and Dian Wei was another.

But how could she pin the blame on Zhang Yi for bearing the consequences? At most, it was Zhang Yi’s responsibility to bear the consequences for failing to prepare for the locust plague in advance.

However, just moments after Dian Wei left, he returned with the notice and said to Qiao Yan, “Wang Yang has come to seek an audience with the Marquis.”

This was the second time Qiao Yan had come to Jinyang, and she didn’t bring Dian Wei with her.

The first time she came to sell wine, she did bring him along, so Dian Wei naturally had some impression of Wang Yang.

In Dian Wei’s view, this old man looked worried when he came, and when he saw him, he seemed to be on the verge of fainting, feeling like he lacked some majesty as a family head.

Looking at Dian Wei’s expression, Wang Yang could somewhat guess his thoughts at the moment.

He straightened his face and entered the room after getting Qiao Yan’s permission.

He really couldn’t help but show this expression.

Previously, when he received the news that Qiao Yan had led people to break into the state government where the governor was located, he had a feeling that he might have misheard his ears.

After that, there was no news from the state government, which made him speculate who was actually in the lead.

If the state government had the upper hand, then Qiao Yan, with her status, would only have been temporarily removed, not directly taken down.

When he saw Dian Wei, who was still lively and holding the notice, his speculation was further confirmed.

But thinking it before was one thing; feeling like he was going to faint in front of the usurper was another.

This was treason!

Even if the state government was not royal, this could still be called treason!

But in the mind of this anxious elder, while he was thinking whether he had made a mistake in coming here, whether he had led himself into a trap, when he came to Qiao Yan and saw this usurper who had succeeded for the time being, he suddenly felt a little calm in his heart.

Qiao Yan’s composure was contagious.

Earlier, she had sent Dian Wei to post the decree only for Jinyang City.

Naturally, she needed to rewrite it for other states and counties.

Therefore, what Wang Yang saw was Qiao Yan rewriting the notice that she had already memorized at this moment.

She sat upright in the position that should have belonged to Zhang Yi, her hand flying over the paper with the brush, until the last word was written, calmly stamping her seal on the document.