Chapter 804: Hanlin Steward
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Towards the end, the man finally couldn’t help but hug his head and squat on the ground to cry.
“Why don’t you open the city gate…”
“If they don’t open the city, what should we do?!”
“Does the Imperial Court really not care about us anymore?”
“…”
The surroundings were in chaos. In the end, the man’s words had pierced through the refugees’ only hope of despair.
It was chaos. Complete chaos.
A tall and strong man rushed over desperately and snatched the little girl from the woman’s arms.
The woman screamed and cried crazily, “Child, my child, stop. Please, no…” The woman wanted to snatch her child back, but she was mercilessly pushed to the ground by the tall and strong man.
The outside of the city was filled with people. This barbaric scene stimulated the starving refugees. Some went up to help the women snatch the child, while others went over to snatch the child from the tall and strong man.
Screams and curses mixed together.
First, someone stepped on her hand, then more and more people stepped on her. The woman screamed and cried as if no one had heard her.
At this moment, a sharp and ear-piercing gong sounded from the city gate.
The refugees stopped the riot. The woman lying on the ground, who managed to dodge the bullet, shouted numbly, “Ya’er, my little Ya’er, child…”
The refugees looked at the majestic city wall in a daze. Hope intertwined in their eyes as they rushed crazily to the bottom of the city gate and pushed it open.
Yu Shande stood on the city wall and looked down at the densely packed refugees. He suddenly understood what it meant by the saying, “Meat and wine go to waste behind the red doors, while the frozen bones of the poor lie on the road.”
Feeling sad, he tightened his grip on the notice in his hand. “…Last year, there was a flood in Zhejiang. The Japanese pirates colluded with pirates and wantonly invaded all over the southeast coast of our country, causing a serious reduction in food production in the south. As a result, the north suffered a hundred-year drought. The Imperial Court tried their best to provide relief, but it was still insufficient.”
Was that really the truth?
Wasn’t it because the Imperial Court’s expenditure was insufficient and the government was greedy, causing the treasury to be deficient? In order to fill the deficit, they increased the collection of taxes. During the good years, the commoners couldn’t eat their fill, let alone after a natural disaster.
The Imperial Court’s disaster relief was not good, so tens of millions of people in the west and north were affected. More than a million refugees starved to death, and many areas were filled with starved people.
This was a natural disaster and a man-made disaster.
However, the notice that he had read out now still had to whitewash the peace and push all the crimes to the natural disasters, as well as the pirates and Japanese pirates. He also had to try his best to glorify the Imperial Court.
This was ridiculous, too ridiculous!
Yu Shande’s expression was wooden. “…There is always a way out. Princess Shaoyi tried to plant a type of sweet potato that was imported into the country from overseas. According to the Imperial Court, this sweet potato is resistant to dry weather, durable, has high yield, and is filling. It’s suitable for the soil in the north.”
The refugees gradually quietened down, their dirty faces filled with hope.
They had fled all the way to many places and had been helped by others. Some people had eaten the sweet potatoes that Princess Shaoyi had tried to plant and said that sweet potatoes could allow them to survive. They had also heard many people say that Princess Shaoyi was a living Bodhisattva.
The refugees did not trust the Imperial Court.
They believed in Princess Shaoyi.
“King Yue Fei, who’s guarding Liaodong, has set up a refugee camp in the North. He also wants to promote the planting of sweet potatoes in the less affected area of Liaodong in the North to alleviate the famine in the North and even the entire country. When Princess Shaoyi found out about this, she went to Liaodong to help King Yue Fei plant sweet potatoes.”
In the eyes of the world, Princess Shaoyi represented the Imperial Court and the Yin Imperial Family. The Imperial Court publicized Princess Shaoyi’s benevolence and virtue to calm the hearts of the people.
Indeed!
The numb refugees looked moved.
However, following that, it was replaced by deeper despair and stupefaction. No matter how good the sweet potatoes were, there was no way to stop them from starving and let them live!
“Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated. If we want to promote the planting of sweet potatoes, we need a large number of people. The Imperial Court has decided to relocate a portion of the refugees to the North to settle down.”
Immediately, there were refugees who admired King Yue Fei’s wisdom. They couldn’t help but hold a trace of hope and ask, “May I ask who you are?”
Yu Shande said, “I’m the Hanlin Academy’s Steward and Princess Shaoyi’s brother.”
He had been taught by the Yu Clan since he was young and had learned from scholars, agriculture, artisans, and business. All he had learned was to govern the world and serve the people.
Sometimes, he wondered if he could have plucked up the courage like Song Mingzhao three years ago and been sent to a small county to be a seventh-grade official. Would he have been able to protect the commoners and benefit a region?
It was better than spending the past three years in the Hanlin Academy, interacting with and befriending mediocre people.
After the notice was released by the Imperial Court, he immediately left the residence and went straight out of the city.
No matter how the servants in the family shouted and chased after him, he ignored them.
At the bottom, a refugee asked in a daze, “What kind of official is the Hanlin Academy Steward? How big is this official? Does what he says count?”
Someone also replied, “It’s a sixth-grade official position. It doesn’t seem to be a big official position, but he’s a close minister of the emperor. He’s in charge of drafting the emperor’s words and actions, the history of the country, the scriptures, and so on. Those who take on this position are all valued by the emperor. In the future, they’ll most likely be able to enter the cabinet and become elders.”
“That’s amazing…”
“He’s even Princess Shaoyi’s brother…”
“Did the emperor send him over?”
“…”
There was a commotion below.
At this moment, someone asked carefully.
“Is King Yue Fei really willing to accept us refugees? Is he lying to us?”
“The capital is a long way from the North. How are we going to get there?”
“That’s right. We’re starving. We’ll starve to death before we can reach the North. Are you trying to trick us away on purpose…”
“Bastard official, you’re up to no good…”
“It’s all a lie. You just want us to die…”
“…”
The refugees, who had finally calmed down, were furious again. Yu Shande quickly explained, “Calm down and listen to me. Calm down…”
After a while, someone finally stood up to stop them.
Yu Shande finally heaved a sigh of relief. “Tomorrow, the government will distribute food. Everyone will be given 1.5 kilograms of food. The Imperial Court will send a thousand elite troops to escort you to the North. When you reach the North, King Yue Fei’s men will come to pick you up…”
One and a half kilograms of food had already been decided after a dispute among the court officials.
Many people did not want to pay for this food, but if they did not pay for it and appeased the refugees first, how could the refugees obediently go to the North?
They had 1.5 kilograms of food. If they ate one meal that weighed 100 grams a day, it was only enough for 15 days.
The capital was relatively close to Liaodong, and there was a direct official road. A large number of refugees did not have enough to eat and could not walk fast. They would definitely arrive in half a month.
Upon hearing that there was food, the refugees quietened down. Even if it was only 1.5 kilograms, at the very least, they wouldn’t starve to death.
The leader of the refugees asked again, “I heard that King Yue Fei has already used the military’s relief money to help the refugees. A large number of refugees have gathered in the North. Where did the food come from?”
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