When the ministers returned home and told their families in detail what they had witnessed at the royal official fields, their families were all extremely shocked.

When people heard that the emperor's royal official farmland had a grain yield of 50 dan per mu, no one believed it. However, after hearing the detailed account from the ministers who had seen the sweet potatoes and corn, these people chose to believe it.

Everyone put aside their worries, and only then did they realize that His Majesty the Emperor had already made preparations.

At this moment everyone has a deeper respect and fear for Your Majesty. Your Majesty's foresight is truly terrifying.

This change made Chu Fan's control over the State of Wei more stable. Of course, Chu Fan was unaware of these things.

Chu Fan was still thinking about the disaster victims. He definitely wanted to help them. However, he also had to complete his system tasks, so he had to think of other ways.

Chu Fan pondered for a moment and came up with a plan. He decided to take a two-pronged approach: ensuring timely assistance to the disaster victims while also smoothly advancing his own system tasks.

In the Blue Planet era, we have an ideal solution to the problem of disaster relief, which is to use labor instead of direct relief.

This approach allows disaster victims to find a sense of belonging in their work while avoiding the negative behaviors that may arise from idleness. In addition, the wages earned through labor can be used as initial funds for rebuilding their homes.

However, Chu Fan did not intend to adopt this strategy. Currently, the national treasury was empty and his own personal treasury was not rich, so Chu Fan was very reluctant to use it. He had no money left to pay the victims' wages.

Chu Fan made a decision in his heart that he would not pay any price.

At the morning court session the next day, the ministers of the court swept away their previous fatigue and sorrow, and Liu Xueyu of Shu was also sincerely pleased that Wei was able to resolve the current crisis.

Chu Fan glanced at the ministers in the court and asked, "I have heard that the first batch of disaster victims have arrived outside Kaifeng City. My dear ministers, do you have any good plans to help these victims?"

A moment of silence fell in the court. After a moment, Qin Hui stepped forward and said, "Since we have ample food, our first priority is to ensure the victims have enough to eat. The flood will not last forever. We only need to provide some temporary food aid to allow the victims to return home."

Qin Hui's proposal was generally agreed upon by the ministers present. After all, this method of disaster relief has been a common practice since ancient times.

However, Chu Fan shook his head slightly. Qin Hui's proposed method was only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. Chu Fan decided to propose work-for-relief, then rejected it himself, citing the empty treasury as an excuse. "I'm just wondering if you still think I'm a tyrant? Are you still going to rebel against me?"

Chu Fan said, "While what Qin Aiqing said makes sense, I believe that merely resolving the immediate crisis is not a long-term solution. The victims need not only food, but also hope and strength to rebuild their homes."

He paused for a moment, his gaze growing more resolute. "I plan to implement a new strategy, aiming to provide basic living security for the victims while allowing them to contribute to the development of Wei. This strategy is to use work in lieu of relief. Currently, many wealthy merchants in Kaifeng have left Wei, leaving many industries vacant. We can recruit these victims as workers."

Furthermore, the rivers surrounding Kaifeng also need to be regulated. We can allocate funds from the Ministry of Revenue to employ these disaster victims to build dams, dredge rivers, and maintain dikes, taking various measures to prevent future flooding.

In recent years, the Xiongnu have been harassing our country. We can also allocate funds from the Ministry of Revenue to recruit disaster victims to repair the city walls to prevent Xiongnu attacks."

Chu Fan's words greatly benefited Shu's princess Liu Xueyu. She frantically recorded Chu Fan's words. After all, Shu needed such a policy. If Shu encountered such a situation in the future, it could use the same policy.

Chu Fan's words in the court were like gentle spring rain, nourishing the hearts of every minister. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise and admiration. Qin Hui's brow furrowed, having never expected Chu Fan to have such far-reaching considerations.

"Your Majesty is wise. The policy of using work instead of relief not only solves the livelihood problems of the disaster victims, but also promotes the country's infrastructure construction. It really kills two birds with one stone." An elderly civil official stepped forward first and expressed support for Chu Fan's proposal.

Following this veteran minister's statement, the atmosphere in the court gradually became lively. The ministers began discussing the specific implementation details of this new strategy, raising questions such as how to organize the disaster victims, how to allocate work, and how to ensure the progress and quality of the project.

Chu Fan nodded secretly as he listened to the ministers' discussion. He knew that this time he would succeed. While work-for-relief had numerous advantages, it also had one major disadvantage: it required money to implement.

Just as the ministers were expressing their opinions, one of them turned pale.

Minister of Revenue Qian Dai stepped forward and loudly demanded, "You all proposed repairing the city walls and improving water conservancy, but these all require funding. The treasury is so empty that even a rat would leave in tears. Haven't you considered that recruiting workers also requires funds?"

Qian Dai's words immediately silenced the officials present, and the atmosphere became extremely heavy. Several ministers lowered their heads in thought, as if they were pondering the point Qian Dai had made.

Sun Dechong, the Minister of War, asked: "Can we temporarily withhold wages?"

Qian Dai angrily retorted, "Master Changsun, don't you feel guilty about what you said? If you don't pay them, aren't you making them work for free? These disaster victims have come through so much hardship to get to Kaifeng City, it's already not easy, and you're still asking them to work for free. Where is your conscience?"

Upon hearing Qian Dai's rebuke, Chang Sun Dechong hurriedly retreated among the other ministers like a turtle hiding in its shell.

Looking at the developments in the court, Chu Fan felt something was wrong. It was I who proposed the work-for-relief policy, so why was Minister Qian confronting other ministers instead of himself?

Chu Fan quickly stood up and said anxiously, "Ministers, please stop arguing. The blame lies entirely with me. I failed to foresee the current predicament of the national treasury. Please treat my proposed work-for-relief plan as if it had never been mentioned."

The discussion once again focused on how to provide aid to the victims. The ministers pondered, "Work-for-relief is indeed a sound policy. Your Majesty is truly a wise ruler who places the welfare of the people at heart. The problem is that we ourselves lack the ability to assist Your Majesty in successfully implementing this policy."