Emperor Jing went to the porridge shed, looked down, and saw that the porridge in the pot was still quite thick.
Then he picked up the big spoon beside the pot and stirred it twice, nodded with satisfaction and said, "Not bad, this porridge is well cooked."
With this viscosity, it would not be a problem for a person to survive on two meals a day.
Du Shun stood beside Emperor Jing with a smile on his face.
Of course! Jianjiang came and chopped off the prefect's head.
It's obvious that this was instigated by you. We are all neighbors, so who would dare to do anything wrong?
If I don't handle the porridge distribution issue properly, Fang Zheng will come over with a sword and chop me up as well.
Emperor Jing was still stirring with a large spoon, trying to see how much rice was deposited underneath.
He put a spoon in and turned it out, and his face suddenly changed!
There was a lot of sand and gravel mixed in the yellowish porridge water!
Emperor Jing was immediately furious and shouted, "Dushun! What's going on? Is this what you're going to feed the people?"
"After Liu Xun's death, how dare someone embezzle grain? How dare they mix sand and gravel into the grain!"
Du Shun was startled and stepped forward quickly, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't be upset, Your Majesty, please don't be upset!"
"This... this was intentional!"
Emperor Jing frowned, and his voice softened: "Did you do it on purpose? Please tell me in detail."
Du Shun smiled and said, "Food is precious. In fact, food is still a bit scarce in the mansion."
"Some people are not disaster victims, but are just city residents who come out to eat and drink for free."
"Also, some people are not that hungry, so we want to let them eat less and share more with the elderly, the weak, women and children."
"If there is sand and gravel mixed in the porridge, only those who are really hungry will be willing to drink it."
"I won't drink a sip unless I have to."
"In this way, the efficiency of distributing porridge is improved, and those who really need it can have porridge to drink."
Zheng Qiao and other accompanying emperors nodded secretly behind Emperor Jing.
Yes, this is indeed a good idea. It seems that Dushun is capable and the arrangements for the victims outside the city are in good order.
The porridge is provided in a proper way, the management of Yunlu Mansion is really good!
Emperor Jing's expression also eased a little: "Well, that's right, it makes some sense. Did you come up with this idea?"
Du Shun wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
After hesitating for a moment, he replied, "No... This method was passed down from Jianjiang."
"There are many people in the city who came from Jianjiang and have been promoting the so-called Jianjiang model."
"I called the man to the government office and asked him about it, and then I found out this method."
You can't lie about this. Your Majesty is in Yunlu today, and he will most likely go to Jianjiang after the inspection.
There is no way I can take credit for this.
Fang Zhengyi
A name that made people feel sick popped up in everyone's mind.
It was that bastard who played such a dirty trick!
Emperor Jing smiled and said, "Yes, how is the price of grain now?"
"Grain prices have fallen a lot recently. Jianjiang has lifted the price limit on grain. Many grain merchants from other places have flocked to Jianjiang. Yunlu buys all its grain from Jianjiang."
"There are many victims in Yunlu City. I am afraid that this will cause dissatisfaction among the people and lead to civil unrest, so I am still suppressing the price of grain."
Emperor Jing nodded, said nothing more, and said calmly: "Well, let's go into the city and take a look."
Du Shun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly invited Emperor Jing into the city.
Everyone followed him into the city.
There was nothing special about the city, except that a large number of disaster victims were placed inside.
As they walked, Emperor Jing asked, "How many disaster victims can we help with through work-for-relief?"
Dushun immediately squeaked and whined when he heard it: "This... there should be hundreds... thousands of people."
"Too few. There are tens of thousands of disaster victims. If work-for-relief can only accommodate this number of people, then it's better not to do it."
"We must find a way to mobilize the power of the people and use the help of wealthy businessmen to build fortifications."
"If it's just a small-scale government construction, it would be a waste of money and manpower!"
Du Shun smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, there is nothing we can do about it."
“There is a limited amount of silver in the treasury, and there are many other uses for silver”
"We have already spent too much money on buying food, so naturally we can only spend a little on building fortifications."
"The wealthy families in the private sector are also unwilling to build fortifications. No one is willing to spend money at this time. I have talked to the local gentry several times."
"They did agree, but they were just small repairs and no one was willing to pay a lot of money!"
"Your Majesty...I can't just go and rob you."
Emperor Jing was silent, Du Shun's words made sense.
The imperial court is not a god; it is impossible for it to tell the people to do whatever they want.
If the officials push too hard, the people will definitely rebel, lose the support of the people, and the problem will become even bigger.
After a while, Emperor Jing asked, "You mentioned the Jianjiang model. Are there any other ways to build a river?"
Du Shun nodded and said, "Yes, but I just listened briefly and felt that the risk was too great."
"I heard that Jiangcheng was built by gathering wealthy merchants together, and the government gave the right to build roads and dams to the merchants."
"I didn't ask for the specific details."
"This... this is related to people's livelihood. I dare not do such a thing!"
All the ministers accompanying the emperor nodded in agreement.
The right to build roads and dams must never be handed over to businessmen.
Businessmen are very penny-wise and will do anything to save costs.
The road broke down not long after it was repaired, so the impact was not that big.
But if you dare to hand over something like a dam to outsiders, you would be like an old man eating arsenic and getting tired of living.
What if something happens one day, will you still have your head?
But it seems very reasonable when applied to Fang Zhengyi.
That guy is so brave, it seems like there is nothing he is afraid of doing!
Emperor Jing also nodded helplessly: "Yes, we need to be more cautious about this matter. You continue to find local gentry for talks."
"Whether it's building a temple or a garden, as long as it can absorb the disaster victims, just do it."
Speaking of temples, Dushun seemed to remember something: "Your Majesty! I dare not say anything else, but the temple should be repaired better!"
"A monk has recently come to the city, his name is Master Huijue, and many people treat him as a guest of honor."
"I heard that many wealthy people are extremely convinced of him, and now many families are gathering together to raise funds to build a temple."
"It should be in the near future!"
Emperor Jing nodded.
He has no good feelings towards monks and other religious people.
However, at this critical juncture, it would be a good thing to absorb more disaster victims.
A group of people were walking on the street, and a small alley appeared at the corner of the road.
Many people who looked like disaster victims, in ragged clothes and with their chests exposed, were sitting in the corner to cool off.
As soon as Emperor Jing saw him, he walked over.
Guo Tianyang made a gesture behind him, and the secret sentry followed closely.
The victims were resting and chatting casually.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him, wearing very exquisite clothes, and he immediately became nervous.
He asked, "Sir, do you have anything to ask me?"
Emperor Jing usually had a stern face, but when facing the disaster victims, he tried to adjust his expression and softened it. He asked, "You are the disaster victims from outside the city. What's your name?"
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