According to what we know, the imperial court has run out of money. To raise funds for disaster relief, they sent Duke Xuan to this area to carry out a thorough purge. They confiscated a large sum of silver from homes to deal with the disaster situation. In addition, the court scraped together twenty million taels of silver by every possible means, even selling off pots and pans and robbing Peter to pay Paul. Yet very strangely, the money disappeared not long after it was allocated. Where did the money go? They claim it has all been used up.
There are plenty of people who are not afraid to die. The court also does not dare to let Duke Xuan kill all those who have been manipulating things from above and below. Look, they got scared that Duke Xuan would strike too hard again, so they recalled him.
Bang! The prefect slammed the table in anger and rebuked them. “Are court affairs something you can discuss recklessly?”
The solemn warning only earned him sneers from the four clan leaders. At this point, face no longer mattered. They could only speak with strength.
“We believe it when you say the court has no money. We also believe it when you say the local authorities in the disaster area have no money. But there are many rich people. It is just that no one dares to expose them. Why do you not ask them for money? You only dare to dig into our pockets and scrape a few grains from our granaries. Are you trying to force us into bankruptcy and push us to a dead end?”
The prefect gritted his teeth and said, “If that is how it is, then I can only force open your granaries.”
“We have been in Shang Wan Prefecture for many years. We keep a clear account of everything that happens from top to bottom. Many people are implicated, so it is not up to anyone who wants to pinch us to do so.”
“The prefect wants to force open our warehouses? Fine! But we must remind the prefect that some noblemen have shares in our firms. Without their approval, we dare not open the warehouses to release grain. You gentlemen can torture us if you wish. You can force us to name those noblemen, as long as you dare!”
The sharp exchanges from the four great families left the officials present with gloomy faces, too afraid to speak.
Zhan Mu Chun kept his jaw tightly clenched, breathing heavily.
The head of the granary department, Yang, sitting in front of him, said, “Prefect, outside the city is all mud and flooded land soaked by water. The disaster victims have no place to set foot except for some hilltops and high ground. Diseases will easily break out. Please open the city gates first and let the people in!”
Before the prefect could reply, the Wei clan leader said sternly, “Absolutely not!”
Yang grew angry. “You neither open the granaries to release grain nor allow the disaster victims into the city. How is that any different from killing them with your own hands?”
Wei clan leader replied, “Lord Yang is wrong. Have you considered the consequences of letting the disaster victims into the city? Just outside the prefectural city, there are already a hundred thousand disaster victims gathered near and far. They are all starving mad people who will do anything for food. Once they enter the city, who can control them?”
Xu clan leader added, “As soon as the disaster victims enter the city, they will immediately rob for food. The prefectural city will face catastrophe in an instant. The forces inside the city cannot suppress them. At that time, even if Lord Yang had a few more heads, it would probably not be enough for the court to chop off!”
Yang’s face darkened with a full expression of gloom and he fell silent.
Jing clan leader said, “There are still thirty thousand citizens inside the city. Although they are also living hard lives, by tightening their belts and paying some price they can hold on until after the disaster. But if the starving people from outside are let in, the thirty thousand citizens inside will quickly become disaster victims too! Instead of providing relief, it would add fuel to the fire and overturn Shang Wan City. I am afraid even the prefect’s head would not be safe!”
The prefect said angrily, “According to what you say, if we ignore the life and death of the disaster victims outside the city and watch them die without caring, then this official can keep his head?”
At this critical moment, being sent to take up this prefect position was simply life threatening.
The four clan leaders exchanged glances. Chen clan leader said slowly, “When encountering a disaster year and famine, there are actually established practices. As long as we follow the usual practices, no one can blame the prefect if something happens. Everyone handles it this way, so there is no reason for only the prefect to be at fault.”
“Correct. Following the old rules in everything means there will be no mistakes.”
Zhan Mu Chun was puzzled and did not know what the old rules were.
But the prefect understood immediately and said in a deep voice, “Those with money live, those without money wait to die, right?”
“Although the words sound unpleasant, it is also unavoidable. Those with money who enter the city can settle down with their money and will not think of causing chaos. The conduct of those without money is indeed worse!”
“In previous similar famines, people with two taels of silver could enter the city. But this year’s disaster is extraordinary. The roads outside the city are muddy, and some sections still have large amounts of accumulated water. It is difficult to transport large quantities of grain. It is estimated that it will take at least another half month before the roads become passable. After the disaster, prices inside the city will soar. For one person to cover food, clothing, shelter and travel inside the city for half a month, five taels of silver will probably be needed.”
The prefect sneered continuously. It was clearly an attempt to profit from the national disaster.
Yet facing these people he was helpless. He was not Duke Xuan and could not directly kill these people. If he dared to do so, the consequences were not something he could bear.
As the four clan leaders said, they also had people behind them.
Moreover, he could not kill these four. If he acted tough against them, he might not even be able to mobilise the forces in the city. The deep roots of the four great families in Shang Wan Prefecture were not just empty words.
After calming down, he still had to try his best to fight for something real for the disaster victims. “We can follow the advice of the four clan leaders, but I still ask the four great families to show great kindness and provide some grain for charity. Boil some thin porridge every day for the starving people outside the city who are crying out for food, so they can hold on a little longer. Even if it gives more people a chance to survive, it is good!”
Wei clan leader stood up. “The prefect speaks too seriously. The lives of the disaster victims are not for us to bear, and we cannot shoulder this responsibility. However, since the prefect has said so, we have no objection. But we need to ask if the citizens in the city agree. Shall we follow the will of the people?”
It did not require the citizens to pay money or provide grain, so what could they disagree with? The prefect immediately agreed.
Soon, gongs and drums sounded in the city to gather the citizens and seek their opinion.
When the four great families told the citizens that grain in the city was limited and might not last until grain arrived after the disaster, it immediately sparked public outrage.
“No!”
“No!”
“We are all disaster victims. Why should I have to pay money while they get it for free?”
The boiling waves of opposition chatter turned Zhan Mu Chun’s face pale and shocked him. He had not expected the citizens inside the city to prefer that people outside starve to death rather than give out grain that did not belong to them.
This was something he had never dreamed of. It gave him a huge shock and was something he could not see even after reading ten thousand books.
Facing the boiling public sentiment, the prefect kept a gloomy face and stared coldly at the four relaxed clan leaders. He finally understood that on this piece of land, as long as the four great families did not agree, there was not a single thing his prefect could accomplish.
Yu Qing was stunned!
A bare mountain stood like an isolated island in a sea of mud.
No green could be seen on this mountain anymore. It had been eaten clean. Yu Qing squatted foolishly on the mountaintop with a blank look in his eyes. His body was also filthy.
Behind him on another slope, a group of people, who no longer looked like people, were fighting over several corpses for food.
The corpses were probably still warm.
They were the ones killed by the few human traffickers after they arrived.
A group of starving people on the mountain had tried to rob their dry rations. Tao Yong Li and the other two had used harsh methods to intimidate them, forcing them to eat their own companions.
He could imagine what that bloody scene of snatching and eating raw looked like. He turned his back and did not want to look again, because he had seen it more than once before.
At the beginning, when he entered the disaster area he was still quite spirited. He fought bravely to protect the three men’s dry rations and acted as a good guard for the grain.
It was not until they entered the severely affected area that he saw a group of people gathered around a rusty iron pot cooking something to eat. The smell of meat was quite fragrant. When he went over to look and saw a small human figure being stirred in the pot, with someone still chewing on undercooked bloody intestines, he almost vomited on the spot.
After that he saw many terrifying scenes beyond his imagination.
From then on he became dazed. A large bag of dry rations on him was accidentally snatched away by a group of starving people.
He had not expected that in less than a month since the disaster, people could be starved to this extent.
He had thought that with such a long time, even walking on two legs, most people should have left the disaster area.
Only after arriving on site did he discover that humans facing this kind of disaster were extremely fragile. It was not at all what he had imagined.
It was only after experiencing this that he truly and deeply understood what starving people meant.
“Haha, not bad!”
Tao Yong Li, laughing loudly, walked out from a mountain hollow while holding up his trouser belt. Then Ge Da Jun went in turn.
Nothing else. They had found a young woman whose delicate appearance could not be fully hidden even in her bedraggled state.
A single biscuit made the young woman wash herself clean and obediently submit to them.
The young man squatting beside Yu Qing stood up and eagerly went over to Tao Yong Li’s side.
Tao Yong Li fastened his trouser belt, took a large biscuit from the big bag guarded by Yi Li Fei, and threw it to the young man.
The young man was the young woman’s husband. It had been agreed that for the young woman to accompany one person, they would give one biscuit.
From the dirty clothing material of the couple, Yu Qing could tell they had originally come from a fairly well-off family. Their manner of speaking also suggested a scholarly background.
The young man wolfed down the large biscuit.
Tao Yong Li bent down and patted Yu Qing’s shoulder. “Brother, you are still not used to it. It is understandable for the first time doing this line of work. It will be fine once you get used to it. From now on, we will use this mountain as the centre and start sweeping for goods. There is no time to pick slowly. You need to have a sharp eye for discovery and be able to spot good looks from messy hair and dirty faces at a glance.”
With that he walked over to the young man again, patted his back and said, “Eat slowly, eat slowly. Brother, I want to discuss something with you. I have bought your wife. Later you can talk it over with her?”
The young man was silent for a moment, then nodded and continued gnawing on the biscuit.
Later, Ge Da Jun returned with a smile.
Behind him followed the young woman, who after washing looked remarkably beautiful. Even though she was now thin and sallow from hunger, one could imagine her normal appearance.
“Brother, do you want to try?” Tao Yong Li took a large biscuit and gave it to Yu Qing, motioning for him to take it to the young woman.
Yu Qing shook his head repeatedly and did not speak.
The young man eventually walked over to the young woman. The two conferred for a while, then came over and said that the young woman agreed to sell herself.
Tao Yong Li’s offer was to provide food for the couple, take both of them out of the disaster area, and have the young woman sell herself to him, then give the young man one tael of silver.
The young man said he wanted to go to the nearby Shang Wan prefectural city and asked for five taels of silver.