The Child Emperor

Chapter 222: Releasing Grains

For three consecutive days, Han Ruzi and Yang Feng visited the private school in the alley. Each day they met more people – students from the Imperial University and the College of National Scions, scholars who were not yet appointed in official positions, and officials of various ministries. Though none held high positions, they all understood court politics well and were passionate about helping the common people.

Han Ruzi wanted to clarify one thing: how did the government normally handle disaster relief?

Gradually, the workings of the court became clearer to him: When disasters occurred locally, officials had to quickly gather information and report the severity to relevant ministries and the Chancellor’s office. For minor disasters, local officials could handle them directly, only needing to report their solutions and costs. For moderately severe disasters, local officials couldn’t make decisions alone but had to propose solutions for superiors to approve. For very serious disasters, local officials could only plead guilty and await court orders.

The solutions were always the same – opening granaries, borrowing grain, encouraging farming, controlling merchants, reducing or exempting rent, etc. But they required imperial approval to demonstrate imperial grace and authority.

Since autumn of the previous year, disaster reports had reached the Ministry of Revenue and the Chancellor’s Office. When the palace was still processing memorials normally, localities had done what they could, though it was far from enough. By the time large-scale grain distribution was needed, the palace had stopped issuing edicts.

Han Ruzi found turning this major undertaking into reality extremely difficult.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

On the third day, Han Ruzi received initial estimates from Prince Donghai regarding the Tan family’s capabilities. They could directly distribute grain in dozens of counties and coordinate with wealthy merchants in over 300 counties to participate in disaster relief, covering about 60% of the affected areas. However, their capacity was limited to no more than 100,000 people and could only last for one or two months. According to Ministry of Revenue statistics, there were nearly 500,000 refugees nationwide.

That afternoon, Han Ruzi finally met a higher-ranking official – Liu Zeqin, Vice Minister of Revenue. As one of the ministers eligible to select the emperor, meeting the Weary Marquis was a great risk. Upon meeting, he immediately said, “I’m not here to support you, Lord Marquis, I just want to do something for the people.”

“I’m not here seeking support either,” Han Ruzi smiled.

As a Ministry of Revenue official, Liu Zeqin understood the disaster situation best but brought no good news. “An imperial edict is necessary. The relevant documents have long been prepared and only await the edict’s release to be distributed and implemented immediately.”

Han Ruzi had no hope for an imperial edict and asked, “Is it possible to issue the documents directly?”

Liu Zeqin shook his head firmly, “Even if the Ministry of Revenue dared, who would deliver them? Waystations are under the Ministry of War’s control. Without their approval, not a single document can be sent. Even if they reached their destinations, without copies of the imperial edict, officials wouldn’t dare implement them. Provincial inspectors would certainly submit inquiries about the details. It’s simply impossible – we’re at a complete standstill.”

After listening for days, Han Ruzi finally shared his thoughts: “When I led troops from Mayi City to Shattered Iron City, each county along the way supplied provisions. Did that require an imperial edict?”

Liu Zeqin pondered for a moment, “Actually, it did require one, but it was issued long ago, granting the Grand General authority to oversee frontier military affairs. That’s why the Grand General could issue orders to prefectures and counties.”

“The Grand General must have received an edict to suppress internal rebellion too?”

“Of course, otherwise leaving the frontier would have been a serious crime.”

“So the Grand General can actually requisition grain?”

After another moment’s thought, Liu Zeqin answered less confidently, “It should be possible, but only for feeding troops, not for disaster relief.”

“What about captives?”

“Captives?”

“Suppressing rebellion involves fighting, and fighting produces captives. Shouldn’t localities feed captives while supplying the army?”

“I think that should be possible, but if there are too many captives, local officials would still need to report to the court, and stationed troops would need to report to the Ministry of War and Grand Marshal’s office.”

“But captives must be fed. Should local officials feed them first and report later, or report first and feed later?”

After a long pause, Liu Zeqin said, “They can only temporarily feed captives while awaiting court orders, but…”

“But without an imperial edict, the court can neither acknowledge nor reject these reports, so localities must continue temporarily feeding prisoners.”

Liu Zeqin stared at the Weary Marquis, finally believing he truly wanted to help. “But will the Grand General agree? Even if he does, how could the troops possibly capture all the refugees as captives?”

“They can be pacified or enlisted,” Han Ruzi said. Captives was just a term.

“Still the same question – will the Grand General agree? Once the court returns to normal, he’ll have a lot to explain.”

“I’ll handle the Grand General. I just hope the Ministry of Revenue won’t reject the documents when they arrive.”

“The Ministry has the power to reject them, but given the special circumstances, it’s better to avoid trouble. However, it’s not just the Ministry of Revenue – the Ministry of War, the Grand Marshal’s office, the Chancellor’s Office, the Censorate, and others will all receive documents. If any office disagrees, local officials will have to stop feeding prisoners.”

Old Master Guo Cong coughed and interjected: “Disaster relief concerns the fate of Great Chu. We can’t let the Weary Marquis bear this burden alone. Us scholars have studied for years discussing benevolence and righteousness – it’s time to put it into practice. Right Chief Censor Shen was my student; I can talk to him. Disaster relief has nothing to do with the succession struggle.”

A young scholar spoke up: “Once word spreads that the Weary Marquis is providing disaster relief, who would believe it has nothing to do with the succession, even if we say so?”

Han Ruzi had anticipated this and said: “The Tan family will distribute grain solely in their name. Local recruitment of refugees will be credited to the Grand General. My name will not leave this room.”

Qu Zixi, though young, held the highest position among the scholars and had initially raised the topic of disaster relief. He said: “Master Guo is right. After discussing benevolence and righteousness for so many years, it’s time for us to put it into practice. Even if we can’t get ministry officials to support disaster relief, we absolutely cannot let them sabotage it.”

A dozen scholars agreed and offered strategies, using their connections as classmates, examination year-mates, fellow provincials, and teacher-student relationships. The scholars could reach almost every official in court.

Yang Feng approached the Weary Marquis and quietly asked, “Neither you nor I can leave the Capital, and the Grand General cannot return. How can we persuade him?”

“I plan to send Meng E.”

Yang Feng was slightly startled. He knew Meng E as a woman skilled only in martial arts, less eloquent than ordinary people. Asking her to persuade the Grand General seemed too demanding.

“One of the Grand General’s daughters is the Marquise of Wenyang, who is close friends with the Marquise of Ping’en. The Marquis of Wenyang serves under the Grand General. There are also several noble ladies whose husbands are in the army, separated for many days and eager to reunite. Shang County is close to the Capital…”

Yang Feng understood – Han Ruzi planned to try diplomacy first. If Grand General Han Xing cooperated willingly, that would be best. If he refused, they would have to rely on Meng E. “She can’t do it alone. I’ll introduce some suitable helpers.”

Qu Zixi approached and clasped his hands in greeting: “The Weary Marquis surely has an excellent plan to persuade the Grand General, but someone needs to convey the message. Though unworthy, I volunteer to go.”

“Having Master Qu personally make the journey would be perfect,” Han Ruzi was delighted.

After everyone had settled the details and dispersed, back at the Weary Marquis’s residence, Han Ruzi asked Yang Feng: “Scholars often take on the role of diplomats and envoys. How do they differ from fate seers? Is it that one speaks of benevolence and righteousness while the other speaks of fate when trying to persuade?”

“Destiny is inconstant, while benevolence and righteousness have principles. The fate seers’ ‘going with the flow’ is actually opportunism, not adhering to any one principle. Scholars may be stubborn or pedantic, and some may forget righteousness for profit, but at least they have convictions and don’t simply follow the crowd. If you’re only fighting for power, fate seers might be more useful. But if you aim to govern the country and bring peace to the world, you need many scholars, even if you might not like them.”

Han Ruzi smiled. In his current situation, he was still mostly fighting for power, but influenced by Yang Feng, he didn’t trust fate seers at all.

Meng E returned to report that the noble ladies were willing to meet their husbands and to take her along, but they weren’t very enthusiastic about persuading the Grand General to “pacify” refugees, only superficially agreeing to try.

The next day, Yang Feng brought three women with rough hands and feet, clearly trained in martial arts. After changing into maid’s clothing, they would accompany Meng E to Shang County.

Three days later, Meng E and the others left the Capital with several noble ladies.

Prince Donghai also wrote a letter to Han Xing, but he didn’t think disaster relief was urgent: “When a new emperor ascends the throne, there’s a general amnesty, granaries are opened, grain is distributed, and everyone celebrates together – how wonderful. If we provide disaster relief now, all credit goes to the Empress Dowager and Grand General, and they’re even reluctant about it. What a waste. Are these scholars worth so much effort to win over?”

Han Ruzi was also waiting to see if the scholars could produce a “miracle.”

The teachers and students from the Imperial University and the College of National Scions used their various connections to persuade court officials not to obstruct disaster relief. The results were good – most people indicated they wouldn’t interfere. Only one person was an exception.

“Left Chief Censor Xiao Sheng has announced he will do everything possible to prevent disaster relief,” Guo Cong came to see the Weary Marquis, fine sweat on his forehead. He had indeed grown old – just walking a few steps left him breathless. “This is a personal grudge between him and the Weary Marquis.”

This was indeed a major problem – Xiao Sheng had been humiliated at Divine Hero Pass and would never reconcile with the Weary Marquis.

The scholars demonstrated a bit of their power to Han Ruzi.

The day after Xiao Sheng made his announcement, over a dozen memorials were sent to the Censorate, impeaching one of its two chief censors – Xiao Sheng. The reasons were varied, criticizing everything from his abilities to his character.

Xiao Sheng was furious, but before he could counterattack, more impeachment memorials flooded the Censorate. The Chancellor’s Office and Ministry of Personnel also received many.

Since the Empress Dowager and Emperor refused to process memorials, these impeachments would have no practical effect, but they were a major blow to Xiao Sheng’s reputation. After three full days of deadlock and several rounds of confrontation and negotiation, Xiao Sheng surrendered. As an official of the Censorate, he valued his reputation more than ordinary officials.

“Xiao Sheng has proposed conditions – as long as no documents mention the words ‘Weary Marquis,’ he won’t interfere,” Guo Cong relayed the message. Throughout the entire process, Han Ruzi and Xiao Sheng never met.

Han Ruzi didn’t mind – he was only concerned about news from Grand General Han Xing.

Though Shang County was less than a day’s journey from the Capital, the noble ladies who went to visit their husbands had not returned, nor had any news arrived.

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