"These people were never from Chang'an to begin with, so they should go back to where they came from. Otherwise, what about the original inhabitants of Chang'an? What about their ancestral lands?" The general was indignant, clearly unwilling to share Chang'an's resources with these refugees.
The Minister of Revenue immediately chimed in, "The General is right. The palaces in various parts of Chang'an are already saturated. If we let them stay, what can they do? We can't expect the court to support them for the rest of their lives."
"Your Majesty, please order them to be sent back to their places of origin."
After he finished speaking, the courtiers seconded his opinion.
However, Pei Xuan was the first to object: "Your Majesty, my ancestral home was also flooded. Not only were the houses destroyed, but all the grain was soaked and moldy, making it impossible to survive. If we send them back now, I'm afraid the consequences will be unimaginable."
“Lord Pei makes it sound so easy. If they aren’t sent back, how can the treasury possibly feed so many of them?” The Minister of Revenue, knowing that words alone were insufficient, deliberately presented the facts before him. “Although the national treasury has been replenished with new grain, it’s only enough to feed these people for a little over a month. Moreover, there’s the war with the Xiongnu. We can’t let those who are fighting to the death on the front lines go hungry.”
Pei Xuan hadn't expected this, and was momentarily speechless.
Hearing these words, Qi Guze knew that it would not be an easy task to properly settle these refugees.
After thinking for a long time, he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to let these people realize their value. If they can boost the expenditure of Chang'an, they will naturally be able to support themselves."
"Value? What value could a bunch of brutes who only know how to farm have?" The Minister of Revenue scoffed disdainfully.
"How can an official who looks down on his own people be worthy of being called an official?" Pei Xuan's face was ashen. In his heart, nothing was more important than these people.
He comes from the people, so naturally he should work for the well-being of the people.
These courtiers argued back and forth, but in the end, none of them compromised with the others.
"Enough!" The Emperor finally spoke up. "Since you are all talking past each other, then produce feasible evidence. If you want to solve the problem with just words, you might as well let the people of the world debate it together. I will give you three days, and then we will discuss it again."
Upon hearing this, the court adjourned.
After all the court officials had left, Qi Guze still went to the Imperial Study alone.
Looking through the screen, the emperor, buried in his documents, was already quite old and no longer looked like a man in his prime.
Hearing the commotion, the Emperor beckoned him to come and sit down, praising him: "You have done a great job with the matter of the refugees. I have decided to promote Pei Xuan to Minister of Justice in a few days, in charge of criminal matters, so that there will be no more wrongful convictions in the world."
"Your Majesty, this is not advisable." Qi Guze immediately rejected Pei Xuan's offer. "He has not been serving in the Court of Judicial Review for long. If he is promoted to Minister of Justice now, I'm afraid that those with ulterior motives will ostracize him. If that happens, loyal ministers and generals will be disheartened, which would be a great loss to the nation."
The Emperor did not respond to the matter, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the Imperial Study became extremely awkward.
After a long pause, the Emperor's Adam's apple bobbed, and he uttered a hoarse voice: "How is the Crown Prince's matter...?"
"I have expanded the search area and should have a conclusion soon." Qi Guze said this somewhat guiltily. In the end, he had no clues at all and did not know where to look.
But he didn't want to disappoint the emperor again.
Now that he was wise, he could naturally understand the meaning behind his words. His Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "Have someone keep a close eye on that Ah Qi. I feel that he gives me a different feeling."
"Yes." Qi Guze had some doubts before, but after spending so many days together, his doubts were dispelled.
Under the blazing sun outside, the expansion of the newly opened district was put on the agenda after the epidemic was resolved. In just a few days, all the displaced people had a place to settle down.
Standing on the city wall, Xu Yuehuai looked at the newly developed district rising from the ground, and felt an indescribable joy in her heart.
However, those people could never be fully accepted by Chang'an City. If Qi Guze continued to support them, his wallet would probably soon run out of money.
She took a breath and felt refreshed. She was about to return to Tianxiang Restaurant to prepare for researching new dishes when she was unexpectedly stopped by Aunt Zhao and a group of women.
They looked at Xu Yuehuai with beaming smiles. They didn't know anything about the imperial court or the current emperor; all they knew was that Xu Yuehuai had given them a bowl of hot porridge when they were at their hungriest and most difficult time.
"Aunt Zhao, is there something wrong?" Xu Yuehuai looked at their expressions, completely bewildered.
Aunt Zhao's smile deepened, and she stuffed the fabric from her bosom into her hands: "We were able to survive thanks to Manager Xu. We came here today specifically to thank you. However, none of us are very skilled; we only know how to weave. We hope you won't find us lacking."
Xu Yuehuai took the fabric. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, unlike the cotton and linen available on the market today. Even though people like them had some money, they still couldn't afford to wear fine silks and satins.
She looked at it closely and realized it was clearly Shu brocade.
"You can weave Shu brocade?" she exclaimed in surprise.
Such exquisite material was rare even in her time.
Aunt Zhao quickly replied, "Yes, not only me, but all of us can weave this kind of fabric. However, it takes a very long time, sometimes several months to get just one bolt."
"What other fabrics can you weave?" Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but smile, her eyes crinkling.
She seemed to already know what these people were capable of doing.
Aunt Zhao looked at her with a puzzled expression, but still spoke truthfully: "We can weave things like Yun brocade and Xue Duan, but we don't have those threads right now. If Manager Xu wants them, we'll think of something later."
"If you could get some silk thread to weave these fabrics, that would be wonderful. But these things aren't for me; I'm going to sell them," Xu Yuehuai quickly explained, seeing their puzzled looks.
"Weren't you worried about not having a place to work? But in my opinion, since you have such good skills, you don't need to work at all. You can weave cloth with confidence, and I will help you sell it. The nobles in Chang'an love these novel and luxurious fabrics the most."
The women exchanged glances, and soon their faces lit up with smiles. If this matter could be resolved, they would no longer have to worry about making a living.
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