"Husband, how big of a flood would it take to submerge three provinces at once? The South is a rice-growing country. If the rice production in three provinces were to be reduced or even eliminated, how many people would be drowned by this flood?"
"But did the local officials report the number of people who drowned? No. So the local officials didn't impose any punishment at all, right?"
"Let's assume for a moment that this flood really happened and drowned a thousand people. Then, when Prince Duan submitted his request for disaster relief food to the court, he included those thousand people in his allocation, right?"
"But those people are already dead. Whose pocket did this extra money go into?"
"These thousand people, after utilizing their surplus value to receive disaster relief grain, are then treated as if they had died of starvation. The emperor is asked to reduce or exempt their taxes. Who benefits in the end?"
"Who are those officials who concealed the deaths of those affected by the disaster and protected them? Who is protecting them? This ineffective disaster relief is also a disregard for human life!"
"Let's assume, however, that there were floods, but they weren't severe enough to reduce production to the point where the people couldn't eat enough, and no one was drowned. Then, where is the relief grain and money allocated by the court in August?"
"We haven't suffered any disaster, yet we're still asking the Emperor to reduce taxes. Will that really happen to the people?"
"What if, I mean what if, the local officials don't tell the people that the emperor has reduced their taxes."
"So they have to pay it back as usual, right? After they pay it back, they certainly won't hand it all over to the national treasury. Instead, they'll keep the portion that the emperor exempted. So, who will end up with this portion?"
"Those local officials? Impossible. If there weren't people at the court holding the fort, the local officials wouldn't dare to make such a big move even if they were extremely brave."
"They're always judging wrongful convictions, and the money they've siphoned off from the people is enough to last them a lifetime. Who would take such a huge risk?"
"Besides, the imperial court provides disaster relief with grain, and the people also hand in grain. This amount of grain is enough to feed an army. Even if an ordinary official gets his hands on it, what would he do with it? Wouldn't that just cause trouble for himself?"
"Unless a general in the imperial court is in league with him, or a prince is raising a private army!"
Dugu Yu remained silent and did not interrupt, nor did he let Qin Qingyao know that Prince Duan had already told him today that he wanted the emperor to reduce taxes for the people of the three provinces next year, and he had agreed.
In addition, there is one thing Qin Qingyao did not know, that is, in September, officials in the disaster-stricken areas had jointly reported that the people were starving and had to wait for relief food to save their lives.
Therefore, all taxes in those three provinces have been exempted this year, and not a single grain of rice has been collected!
The south is a high-yield rice area, and rice is harvested twice a year. The grain delivered every year feeds many of the country's troops.
Why is it so bad this year? All the crops were flooded this season. Was there no surplus from last season?
The imperial court allocated relief grain, farmers were exempted from taxes this year, and halved next year! Taking all three of these into account, how much grain is that? Just like Qin Qingyao said, this is enough to feed an army!
Why? From beginning to end, the emperor never sent an imperial envoy to visit the disaster area to see if it was true.
The first time relief grain was allocated in August was because the Crown Prince had made a big fool of himself, and Prince Duan was praised by the Emperor. So everyone felt that Prince Duan understood people's livelihood issues better, and the Emperor directly agreed to his request for grain.
The second time, in September, Prince Duan wanted to reduce or exempt taxes in the disaster-stricken areas this year, but the Crown Prince disagreed because those three provinces were major taxpayers. If they did not pay grain, what would the imperial court's million-strong army eat?
The officials in the court condemned the prince for his disregard for human life. At that time, the relief food was still on the way, and the prince actually wanted to collect taxes from the people who were waiting for the relief food to survive?
Then, someone reported that the death toll from starvation had already exceeded 3,000! Prince Duan analyzed the chaos and negative consequences that would ensue if this continued. His analysis was clear and comprehensive, and it was impossible to disagree.
The prince was scolded again, and no one dared to speak out. This year's taxes were exempted.
This third time...
Dugu Yu then discovered that it was always the prince who made the emperor angry, and then made other officials who had doubts dare not speak anymore.
Then Prince Duan came out and made the final decision, followed by a chorus of seconding voices.
If, just in case, if there is a one in a million chance that Qin Qingyao is right.
Those three provinces did not suffer from disasters at all, or the disasters were not so serious, so where did all the food go?
Did those reported deaths die of starvation? Did they drown? What if they didn't die at all?
Over 3,000 people died in September. Who knows how many there are now? What if they weren't dead at all, but were recruited and raised privately?
"Husband? What are you thinking, husband? I've been talking to you for a long time but you ignored me. Do you think I'm deliberately targeting Ling Jingxuan and saying bad things about him?"
Qin Qingyao was almost mad with anger.
"I'm telling you, I'm targeting Ling Jingxuan, but I'm not saying anything bad about him. I'm analyzing all the possibilities! We have to look at the disaster situation based on the facts!"
"The Crown Prince is a fool. I told the Grand Tutor long before the relief food issue, asking him to tell the Crown Prince to quickly send someone to the south to see if it's true."
"Damn it, it's obvious you didn't take my words seriously! What's the point of sending someone to make this trip and expecting them to die?"
Dugu Yu looked at the angry Qin Qingyao and raised his hand to smooth the hair on the back of her head. "Since you dislike the prince so much, why do you always help him?"
Because only the prince can fight Ling Jingxuan, and because the day Ling Jingxuan wins the final victory will be the day we both die!
"I didn't help him either. I was so fed up with him. I was afraid that he would lose his life and bring trouble to the Qin family!"
"Why don't I just go home tomorrow and have my dad tell my second brother to resign as the Crown Prince's tutor. What kind of messed up job is this? The Crown Prince, that arrogant and conceited man, won't listen to him at all. So what's the point of him staying in the East Palace? He's just putting on a show!"
Qin Qingyao was also very angry. In the original plot, except for the Crown Prince and Prince Duan, the other princes and kings were just extras!
The extras still show their faces, they just make up the numbers in grand occasions, that’s all.
Therefore, apart from the prince, she wanted to survive and wanted Dugu Yu to survive, and she didn't know who else to choose!
"Anyway, I just feel that this flood disaster is not simple, but we don't know the real situation, so if Ling Jingxuan comes to you for help, you should help."
"After all, letting him succeed is better than causing the people to starve just to target him."
So the male protagonist is really powerful!
Even if she knew the plot, so what? Even if she had doubts, so what? She still had to compromise. Otherwise, if this was true, the people of three provinces, so many lives, no one could bear it!
In the end, it's all because of that idiot prince, stuck in the East Palace all day giving birth to a son? Don't you know that reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles is a good thing?
Idiot!
I just hope Dugu Yu can think carefully about the matter here and stop foolishly treating Ling Jingxuan as a good friend, a close buddy, or a gentleman.
How upright and kind-hearted can a person who is bent on the throne be?
Time and again, he made Dugu Yu risk his life for him, but did he ever feel any sympathy? Finally, he made Dugu Yu face the strongest army and die without a single corpse for him, but did he ever shed a tear?
No, he was busy trying to seize the imperial seal to ascend the throne!
…
At the morning court the next day, everything went as planned.
The topic of reducing taxes in the three provinces next year was not raised by Prince Duan, but by the Minister of Revenue. Prince Duan simply followed up on his words and analyzed the feasibility and necessity.
The final conclusion is, of course, that there is no time to lose, because this will allow the people who are suffering from the disaster to see hope and be grateful for God's grace.
Prince Duan glanced at Dugu Yu, but Dugu Yu didn't see it because he had his head down, thinking about what Qin Qingyao said yesterday, that the Ministry of War was full of Prince Duan's running dogs.
What about the Ministry of Revenue?
Does Yuan Yixiao’s incident yesterday have anything to do with Prince Duan?
He didn't listen to what Prince Duan said at all. When the emperor asked him what he thought, he replied, "I think what Prince Duan said makes sense. The people are the foundation of the country, and the people should be the most important thing."
Dugu Yu said the last two sentences to Ling Jingxuan.
I just hope that Qin Qingyao is really prejudiced against him and is thinking too much.
However, Qin Qingyao had been by his side for more than two months, and what she had said would always happen...
After the court session, Prince Duan was going to ask Dugu Yu to go sit with him in Wangjiang Tower. Prime Minister Lin was going to test Dugu Yu's attitude towards taking a concubine. After all, after what happened yesterday, he had no chance to say no.
Then, Dugu Yu went to find Qin Yuefeng himself. The two of them could only look at each other and leave first.
"Brother, is Yuan Jinghe still with you?"
"Yes, it's under review."
"Can I go see him?"
"Of course, Your Majesty, please follow me."
The backs of the two of them leaving together really make people feel mixed emotions.
Prince Wuling has a good relationship with the Qin family, and anyone with eyes can see it, but he always helps Prince Duan in the court, so who does he belong to?
In the Dali Temple cell, Yuan Jinghe had only been locked up for a day and a night, but he already looked haggard, with a face full of doubts about life.
Dugu Yu remembered that Qin Qingyao had said that if Yuan Yixiao married Lu Qifeng, it would kill Lu Qifeng and his father, but his father was at the border and had not returned for many years.
Then how did Yuan Yixiao kill them?
"Master Yuan."
"My Lord, please spare me, please spare me!"
"Okay, I can forgive you, as long as you tell me the truth. Who told you that I tore your daughter's clothes?"
Yuan Jinghe, who was originally kneeling upright, suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"No one."
Haha, so you would rather bear the crime and ruin your life than betray the person behind the scenes, right?
"Then I'll ask you again, why did you marry your daughter to Prince Wu Ling's mansion?"
"How many people in Yulin City don't want to become in-laws with Prince Wuling?"
Dugu Yu snorted coldly. Not to mention the entire Yulin City, even in the entire Zhaoling Kingdom, the only woman who was as happy as a lunatic after marrying him was Qin Qingyao.
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