When faced with a life-or-death situation, most people would break free of constraints, such as fear of high-ranking officials.

The victims stared at Yu Jin with burning eyes.

Even though they have a good impression of the prince, if they don't get a satisfactory answer, they will still make trouble and will never be willing to wait for death in the city.

They saw clearly how terrible the epidemic was.

A healthy person can have a fever, vomit blood, and fall apart the next day...it's chilling to think about it.

This was once their paradise, but now it is hell.

They are human beings, why should they stay in hell?

Yu Jian saw determination in the eyes of the disaster victims.

He shook his head secretly.

Minister Zhao and his colleagues were determined to get the disaster victims to stay in the city obediently, thinking that with the prestige of the court, these people who usually did not dare to stand up straight would obey their orders, but they ignored the power of survival.

He was sure that if there was no solution to give these people hope, the conflicts would become more and more intense, and eventually turn into a fight between soldiers and disaster victims.

Of course, the imperial court dispatched a lot of guards for disaster relief, and they would eventually take care of these disaster victims. And by making some fuss about the epidemic, these bloody conflicts could be covered up, and it is even possible that they could be successfully whitewashed in the end.

In the south, he had seen soldiers killing innocent civilians in order to pretend to be military merits, and he was disgusted by this.

"Everyone, please wait a moment. I will discuss with the Minister and others how to arrange for you. Once the results are reached, I will come here to inform you personally."

"When can we come to an agreement?" someone shouted.

Countless people echoed: "Yes, if we can't come to a conclusion, are we just going to wait forever?"

"At noon today, Xiao Wang will give everyone an answer." Yu Jin looked around at the ragged people and said solemnly.

The victims were silent for a while, and finally someone shouted, "Okay, we believe the prince and will come back here at the hour of Shenzheng!"

Minister Zhao's lips moved and he wanted to speak to stop her many times, but he could only hold it in.

After leaving the city gate, Minister Zhao sighed, "Your Majesty, you are impulsive!"

Yu Jin glanced at the child who was successfully taken out of the city and said calmly, "Let's talk about it after everyone is gathered."

There is a large open space not far from Qianhe County City, where there are tents. These are where the soldiers stay.

On the other side, a row of thatched huts and wooden houses were built, clearly separated from the tents. The largest wooden house among them was the meeting place for these disaster relief officials.

Yu Jin looked around silently.

"Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Minister Zhao asked the official who accompanied the Crown Prince out of the city first.

There were many officials who accompanied the prince to the city wall, but only a few were left now.

One of them replied: "His Highness has returned to Jinli Town..."

Minister Zhao choked.

Are you going back to Jinli Town now? At least you should pretend to go to the council office.

Minister Zhao didn't know what to say to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so he sighed and said, "Your Highness, let's go back to Jinli Town and meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Yu Jin raised his eyebrows: "I wonder who is the chief officer for disaster relief this time?"

Minister Zhao clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I am your humble servant."

"What is the purpose of your visit, Prince?" Yu Jin asked again.

Minister Zhao replied, "I am here on behalf of the Emperor to comfort the victims."

Yu Jin smiled, his sharp eyebrows showing a bit of coldness: "The prince has just comforted the people in the city, and it is understandable that he returns to Jinli Town to rest, but Lord Zhao's business has not been completed yet."

"What the prince means is——"

"Of course, I will discuss with my colleagues how to solve the resettlement problem of the people in the city." Yu Jin paused, with a hint of mockery on his face, "Or should we ignore the people in the city and let them stay in the city to die?"

Minister Zhao's eyelids twitched, and he said hurriedly: "Your Majesty has misunderstood. These officials in the world are conscientious and will never dare to ignore the lives of the people..."

Yu Jian didn't wait for Minister Zhao to finish his words and said, "That's good. Let's go to the meeting place."

Soon the meeting room was filled with officials. Of course, some of them accompanied the prince back to Jinli Town, and Yu Jian did not force everyone to attend.

"What do you think of today's events?"

Minister Zhao sighed in distress, "Your Highness shouldn't have made an exception and brought the child out of the city. Once this precedent is set, it will be even more difficult to appease the people."

The officials in the capital of the Great Zhou who were qualified to attend the court had a good habit. As long as they talked about serious matters, they would speak out even if they disagreed with the emperor, let alone Yu Jian, a prince without real power.

Minister Zhao spoke first, and the officials from the capital echoed him.

The local officials remained silent.

The disaster relief supplies were brought in by others, the troops were dispatched by others, and it will be them who will report the situation to the emperor in the future. They have no right to speak, so just listen quietly.

"Lord Zhao is focusing on the wrong thing." Yu Jin tapped the table with his fingers. "I am talking about the demands of the people in the city. They can endure for one or two days, but can they endure forever? Blood has been shed today, and this is just the beginning. If we don't respond, when a large-scale conflict breaks out, will we have to suppress them all with blood?"

As he spoke, he slowly scanned everyone with his eyes and said coldly, "If that's the case, this isn't disaster relief, it's a massacre. Where is your conscience?"

Everyone's expression changed.

People live by their reputation, even corrupt officials want to have a good reputation, not to mention that many of them are willing to do some practical work. Especially the local low-level officials, who were born and raised here and have close ties with the people in the city, on the contrary, officials from other places like Qianhe County Magistrate do not have so many thoughts.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, local officials above the county level had to avoid their hometowns, which was why the Qianhe County Magistrate had no feelings for the people in the city.

Minister Zhao was so embarrassed by what he said that he asked, "I wonder what solution your Majesty has for this?"

Yu Jian was not polite at all and immediately said, "In the city, I suggest setting up another area and calling it the transition area."

"Transition zone?"

"Yes, there are only two districts now, East and West. It's either this or that. If someone with a potential disease in the East district goes directly to the West district, it will cause serious consequences. If a transition zone is set up between the East and West districts, people entering the West district from the East district will need to be quarantined in this area for two or three days, reducing the possibility of sick people entering the West district..."

Everyone nodded.

Prince Yan's suggestion is good, and it can indeed reduce the risk.

Minister Zhao stroked his beard to show his agreement, saying, "Even so, it won't stop the people in the west district from wanting to leave the city."

Yu Jin smiled and said, "Why should we dispel it? It is better to ease the pressure than to block it. Why not give the people hope? As long as there is hope, even those who stay in the city will wait patiently."

People must have hope to live.

No one taught him any great principles, but he knew very well what people needed most in desperate situations.

It's not the bowl of porridge or a few taels of relief money, but the hope to survive.