"How dare you, Li Yunrui!"
Enraged, the Empress rose from her dragon throne, her phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent, and roared:
"The imperial court allocated a million taels of silver to you for disaster relief, and what have you been doing?!"
"Is the result of disaster relief that a million people become refugees?"
"Guards, drag Li Yunrui away from me..."
Just as the Empress was about to issue an order to execute someone, Qin Chuan immediately shouted, "Your Majesty!"
Then, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, before we understand the reason for this, let's spare his life first."
The Empress paused and waved away the imperial guards who had entered the hall…
Qin Chuan walked up to Li Yunrui and asked with a serious expression, "Governor Li, I ask you, since the imperial court has allocated one million taels for disaster relief, why are there still one million refugees in the two provinces?"
Li Yunrui was terrified by the Empress's words. After glancing gratefully at Qin Chuan, he said helplessly, "Your Majesty, Grand Preceptor, the two provinces have a registered population of 7.5 million, with 5 million affected by the disaster, including 2.8 million severely affected. As the Grand Preceptor said, even if the 1 million taels were taken by officials at all levels, less than one-tenth would actually reach the disaster victims. Even if there were no corruption in the government offices at all levels, 1 million taels of silver would still not be enough!"
Li Yunrui poured out his grievances, wiping the sweat from his face from time to time, looking as aggrieved as a child.
"So how much did you take?" Qin Chuan asked coldly.
"Your Excellency, how could I dare to take such money! I swear to Heaven that I did not take a single penny of this money. If any subordinate officials took it, then I am also responsible. It is because I failed to manage my subordinates properly. I am willing to accept my punishment!" Li Yunrui said, kneeling on the ground, sweating profusely.
Qin Chuan stared into his eyes, and seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he said he wouldn't take this kind of money, but the subtext was that he took the other money...
However, one million taels of silver is indeed not enough to provide disaster relief in the two provinces. Qin Chuan turned his gaze to the Empress and said, "There are 2.8 million severely affected people. One million taels of silver is less than four coins of silver per person, which is indeed not enough..."
The Empress frowned and said helplessly, "The court's annual tax revenue is only five million taels. This year, due to the severe disaster, only four million taels have been collected. With expenses for civilian use, the palace, and other purposes, the national treasury is almost empty..."
After the Empress finished speaking, she subconsciously bit her lip, thinking to herself, "I don't think I need to explain these things..."
Qin Chuan sensed from the Empress's words that the national treasury was almost empty...
Something seems off. I'm not going to have to pay out the 3 million taels I deposited in the system, am I? The Imperial Advisor, a figure of great stature, wouldn't be without a salary and have to pay out of pocket, would he?
"Grand Preceptor, what brilliant plan do you have?"
Upon hearing the Empress's question, Qin Chuan snapped out of his reverie and replied, "There is a solution, but I need to discuss it with you privately..."
in private?
Qin Chuan, what are you trying to do?
The Empress paused slightly, then looked at Li Yunrui, her face suddenly turning cold: "Li Yunrui, for the sake of the Imperial Advisor, I will spare your life today. I hope you will properly resettle the refugees and atone for your crimes through meritorious service!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty..."
Although Li Yunrui expressed his gratitude, he was inwardly lamenting his predicament. How could he possibly settle so many displaced people?
Zhang Xun breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Lao Li was in the lead, so my 200,000 refugees were no problem.
Qin Chuan noticed Li Yunrui's predicament, thought for a moment, and said, "First, issue orders to all levels of government to set up soup kitchens and resettlement points for displaced people, to centrally resettle them, and to ensure they have at least two meals of soup every day..."
After saying that, he looked at Zhang Xun, the governor of the capital region: "And you, Lord Zhang, start distributing porridge tomorrow and registering the information of the refugees..."
"Yes, yes, yes! I will obey the Imperial Preceptor's command!"
"Your Majesty," Qin Chuan turned to the Empress and said, "I request that the farmers of the two provinces be exempted from all corvée labor and taxes for two years. Only in this way can the problem be truly solved."
"Very well, we will do as the Imperial Advisor wishes." The Empress nodded slowly.
Qin Chuan's gaze swept across the faces of the court officials, and he said in a cold voice, "The matter of the refugees cannot be resolved overnight. Providing porridge can only temporarily ensure their vital signs. There are still many things to be done in the future. Sending them back to their hometowns to farm again, but if all the oxen are sold or eaten, what will they use to farm? Furthermore, if they have no surplus food, how can they have the will to farm?"
“If the government doesn’t lend them grain, they won’t survive and will have to go back to being refugees. The most important thing right now is to give the refugees food so they can survive…”
At this point, Qin Chuan looked at the Empress again: "Your Majesty, the court should continue to send money and grain to resettle the refugees. As the saying goes, to repel external enemies, one must first secure internal stability. If the problem of refugees is not thoroughly eradicated, it could lead to a major disaster and endanger the nation..."
The Empress asked, "Then, according to the Imperial Advisor, how much money and grain are needed?"
"It has to be this number!" Qin Chuan held up three fingers.
"Three million taels?" The Empress opened her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"That's right."
"I...no...Alright, I understand."
At this point, the Empress reached out and touched her forehead, looking somewhat tired. A eunuch beside her asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's time to adjourn the court."
The Empress nodded silently.
The eunuch shouted, "Dismiss—the court!"
Qin Chuan froze on the spot. Wait a minute... why did the court adjourn when money was mentioned?
What is the Empress up to?
At this moment, officials came to Qin Chuan and offered flattering congratulations. Among them were Generals An and Xiao. Qin Chuan had no choice but to exchange pleasantries with them one by one...
After all the officials had left the Golden Palace, Eunuch Liu approached Qin Chuan and bowed, saying, "Grand Preceptor, His Majesty is waiting for you in the Imperial Study."
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