Emperor Jing walked into the soup kitchen and looked down at the pot. The porridge inside was quite thick.

He then picked up the large ladle by the pot and stirred it a couple of times, nodding with satisfaction. “Not bad, this porridge is cooked well.”

With this consistency, two meals a day should be enough to keep people alive without too much trouble.

Du Shun stood beside Emperor Jing, his face beaming with smiles.

Of course it’s good! In Jianjiang, that Fang Zheng went and chopped off the Prefect’s head as soon as he arrived.

It was clear this was Your Majesty’s order. We’re all neighbors here, who would dare to play tricks?

If we couldn’t even handle something as simple as serving porridge, wouldn’t that Fang Zheng come over with his sword and chop my head off too?

Emperor Jing continued stirring with the large ladle, wanting to see how much rice had settled at the bottom.

He dipped the ladle down and brought it back up, and his expression immediately changed!

Mixed in with the slightly yellow porridge were quite a few pebbles and sand!

Emperor Jing instantly flew into a rage, shouting, “Du Shun! What is the meaning of this?! Is this what you’re feeding the people?!”

“Liu Xun is dead, yet someone still dares to embezzle grain? They even dare to mix sand and stones into the food!”

Du Shun’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward, saying, “Please calm your anger, Your Majesty! Please calm down!”

“This… this is intentional!”

Emperor Jing furrowed his brow, his voice softening, “Intentional? Explain in detail.”

Du Shun smiled sheepishly and said, “Grain is precious, and we’re actually still short on grain in the prefecture.”

“Some people aren’t really disaster victims; they’re just city residents trying to get free food.”

“And then there are those who aren’t that hungry, so we do this to make them eat less and leave more for the elderly, weak, women, and children.”

“With sand and stones mixed in the porridge, only those who are truly starving will be willing to drink it.”

“Those who aren’t desperate won’t want to take a single sip.”

“This way, the efficiency of porridge distribution improves, and those who really need it can get some to drink.”

Zheng Qiao and the other accompanying ministers nodded silently behind Emperor Jing.

Not bad, this was indeed a good method. It seemed Du Shun was capable, and the disaster victims outside the city were being managed in an orderly fashion.

The porridge distribution was well-handled; Yunlu Prefecture was indeed being managed well!

Emperor Jing’s expression also eased a bit. “Hmm, not bad. There’s some logic to it. Did you come up with this method?”

Du Shun wiped away a cold sweat.

After hesitating for a moment, he answered, “No… this method came from Jianjiang.”

“There are quite a few people in the city who came from Jianjiang, and they’ve been promoting something called the ‘Jianjiang model.'”

“I called someone to the yamen and asked about it before I learned of this method.”

There was no way to lie about this. Today His Majesty was in Yunlu, and after his inspection, he would probably go to Jianjiang.

There was no way to claim this credit for himself.

Fang Zheng

A name that made everyone sick just by thinking about it popped up in everyone’s mind.

Only that dog would play such a dirty trick!

Emperor Jing smiled and asked, “Not bad. How are grain prices now?”

“Grain prices have dropped quite a bit recently. Jianjiang lifted the price cap on grain, and many grain merchants from other places have flocked to Jianjiang. All the grain in Yunlu is bought from Jianjiang.”

“There are many disaster victims in Yunlu City, and I’m afraid of causing discontent among the people and sparking civil unrest, so I’m still suppressing grain prices.”

Emperor Jing nodded, not saying much, and simply said, “Hmm, let’s go into the city and have a look.”

Du Shun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly invited Emperor Jing into the city.

The group followed closely behind as they entered the city.

There was nothing special about the city, except that quite a few disaster victims had been allowed inside.

As they walked, Emperor Jing asked, “The work-relief program, how many disaster victims can it help accommodate now?”

When Du Shun heard this, he immediately stammered, “Well… several hundred… there should be over a thousand.”

“Too few. With tens of thousands of disaster victims, if the work-relief program can only accommodate this many people, it’s better not to do it at all.”

“Find a way to mobilize private resources, and use wealthy merchants to build projects.”

“If it’s just small-scale construction by the government, it’s more likely to exhaust the people and waste money!”

Du Shun smiled bitterly and said, “Your Majesty, this is also unavoidable.”

“The silver in the prefecture treasury is limited, and there are many other places that need money.”

“Buying grain has already consumed too much silver, so naturally, we can only do a little when it comes to construction projects.”

“Private wealthy households are also unwilling to build projects. At this time, no one wants to spend money. I’ve talked to local gentry several times.”

“They did agree, but it’s all small repairs and minor construction. There’s really no one willing to spend big money!”

“I… I can’t just go and rob them, can I?”

Emperor Jing fell silent. Du Shun’s words made sense.

The court wasn’t omnipotent; they couldn’t make the people do whatever they wanted.

If they pushed too hard, it would definitely lead to the people rebelling against the officials. They would lose the people’s hearts, and the problem would only grow bigger.

After a moment, Emperor Jing asked, “You mentioned the Jianjiang model. Does Jianjiang have any other methods?”

Du Shun nodded and said, “Yes, but I only heard about it briefly and felt the risk was too high.”

“I heard that in Jianjiang City, they also gathered wealthy merchants together, and the government handed over the rights to build roads and dams to the merchants.”

“I didn’t inquire further about the specifics.”

“This… this concerns the people’s livelihood. I wouldn’t dare to take such action!”

The accompanying ministers all nodded in agreement.

The right to build roads and dams must never be handed over to merchants.

Merchants were penny-pinching and would do anything to cut costs.

If a road fell into disrepair shortly after being built, the impact wouldn’t be too severe.

But how could they dare to entrust something like a large dam to outsiders? That would be like an old man eating arsenic, tired of living.

What if something went wrong one day? Would they still keep their heads?

However, when applied to Fang Zheng, it seemed very reasonable.

That guy had the guts of a dog; it seemed there was nothing he wouldn’t dare to do!

Emperor Jing also nodded helplessly, “Indeed, this matter still needs to be handled more cautiously. Continue to negotiate with local gentry.”

“Whether it’s building temples or gardens, as long as it can absorb disaster victims, go ahead and do it.”

Speaking of temples, Du Shun seemed to remember something: “Your Majesty! I can’t speak for other things, but building temples should be easier!”

“A monk recently came to the city, named Huijue. Many people treat him as an honored guest.”

“I heard that many wealthy gentry are extremely convinced by him, and now many families are gathering to raise funds to build a temple.”

“It should be happening soon!”

Emperor Jing nodded.

He had no fondness for monks and other clergy.

However, at this critical juncture, being able to accommodate more disaster victims was a good thing.

As the group walked down the street, a small alley appeared at a corner.

Many people who looked like disaster victims, in tattered clothes and bare-chested, were sitting in the corner of the wall to cool off.

As soon as Emperor Jing saw this, he walked over.

Guo Tianyang made a gesture behind him, and the secret guards followed closely.

The disaster victims were resting, chatting idly.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of them, dressed very elegantly. They immediately became nervous.

One asked, “Sir… do you need something from us?”

Emperor Jing often had a stern expression, but facing the disaster victims, he tried to adjust his expression, making it much gentler. He asked, “Are you disaster victims from outside the city? What’s your name?”