Misty Rain of the Old Times

Sprinkle soil into rice and ginseng porridge?

When Lord Zeng said this, those who had not seen the answer sheet were in an uproar, whispering to each other in disbelief, and looking at Xiao Gao with a mixture of rejection and sympathy.

Your Majesty asked for advice on how this year's Jinshi candidates should provide disaster relief, and this is what you did? Not only are you acting recklessly, you're also ruining your own future.

Among those who had read the answer sheets, some frowned and some were in deep thought.

In an instant, Xiao Gao became the target of public criticism. Not only would his future be ruined, but even the fame and honor he had achieved would be lost, and he would even become the object of everyone's disgust and contempt.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xiao Gao remained neither humble nor arrogant, neither anxious nor impatient, as if he did not realize the situation he was facing.

He had to admit in his heart that the officials were a bunch of old foxes. Lord Zeng realized that if he continued to argue that the disaster victims were not human beings, it would probably be disadvantageous to him, so he decisively changed the subject without any hesitation.

This is to force yourself into a dead end step by step. You will not be able to fall into your own rhythm and perform. Instead, you will be dragged into his rhythm step by step.

Fortunately, Xiao Gao had thought deeply about his answer before submitting it, and he had a plan for dealing with this situation. Under Lord Zeng's questioning, he remained calm and said, "Your Majesty has asked for advice on disaster relief. If students were to lead the relief effort, their primary consideration would be how the victims could survive. They should be treated as just another living being. As long as they can survive, what does it matter if I bear the stigma?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Zeng's heart sank. This brat had come prepared. Would he rather bear the infamy? Perhaps he wanted to leave his name in history?

At this time, the eyes of many people around looking at Gao Jingming changed. As he stood there, a light called righteousness seemed to be flashing on his body.

Xiao Gao then continued, "The ultimate goal of disaster relief is to keep the victims alive. Only when they survive can we talk about restoring people's livelihoods. What are disaster victims? They are homeless and have nothing. To survive, they will do anything, selling their children and exchanging their bodies for food. When they are scattered, they become animals. When they plunder, rob, and riot, they become bandits. Therefore, in despair, they have abandoned their humanity and conscience and can no longer be considered human beings!"

"Master Zeng asked me how I could dare to mix ginseng and sand in rice and porridge. There are two reasons. I dare to ask Master Zeng for advice. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"First, adding sand to the rice can prevent corruption. Disaster victims are desperate to survive, but there are always those without conscience who don't care about their lives. There are always those beasts in the world who use public power for personal gain and profit from the blood of others. Adding sand to the relief grain is a kind of mark, so anyone who dares to embezzle it will be obvious at a glance. I don't need to describe the details of what kind of sand is used as a mark, right? Moreover, if there is sand in the relief grain, it will not sell at a high price, and no one will even dare to buy it. Sorting out the sand and selling it requires labor costs, and there is also the risk of being exposed and beheaded. Anyone can do the math and think that the gain is not worth the loss. What do you think, Master Zeng?"

At this point, Gao Jingming didn't give the other party time to think about finding fault, and continued to talk freely: "Secondly, throwing soil in the porridge is also a helpless act. There is always not enough food to eat. No matter how much porridge is cooked, it is not enough for the victims. Mr. Zeng, all the gentlemen present here, have you actually visited the disaster area?"

"Once a disaster strikes, people are selfish. When the government distributes relief food, people who don't need food will line up to receive it. If they eat one more bite, the real victims will have one less. Sprinkling dirt in the porridge can, to a certain extent, solve the problem of these people who are greedy for small profits. They don't need food to begin with, so how many of them can eat such dirt-soaked food? Then it can allow the real victims to have one more bite. For the victims, that extra bite of food may be the key to their ultimate survival. If the victims can't survive, why would they care whether there is sand in the food? For them, it is a supreme delicacy and a hope of survival. A small move can have a big impact. Master Zeng, I have a question for you. What's wrong with this?"

Gao Jingming's voice was not loud, but it echoed in the hall. Starting from the disaster relief itself, he explained why the victims could not be considered human beings. He even made it clear and explicit about sprinkling soil into rice and ginseng porridge. The pros and cons involved were thought-provoking. The seemingly unscrupulous move actually had a great effect. Many people present reacted with moved expressions, and thought to themselves, "Great! Why couldn't I think of this?"
At this time, some people fell into deep thought, and their eyes looked at Gao Jingming differently.

He spoke quickly and clearly, asking two questions in a row, leaving the instigator, Mr. Zeng, unable to utter a word of rebuttal for a moment, his face turning pale and blue.

Lord Zeng himself had to admit that this was indeed a good idea, but he naturally wouldn't give up. He snorted coldly, "The imperial court has its own considerations for disaster relief. Why wouldn't they allocate enough food? Why would they resort to such cruel means?"

Gao Jingming didn't even bother to think before speaking, "The imperial court will indeed allocate relief supplies based on the severity of the disaster, but how much will actually reach the victims? When will it arrive? What about the waste along the way? Furthermore, let's take the current drought in Rong State, which has affected tens of millions of people in several states, as an example. How much grain can the imperial court actually provide to fill that gap? Therefore, preventing corruption and sending more food to the disaster area so that the victims can eat more can save lives. Master Zeng, do you think I'm wrong?"

"You... huh, you are just a brat who talks big but does nothing. Do you really understand the disaster situation? It's just your imagination," Lord Zeng said coldly, waving his sleeves and snorting. He refused to acknowledge Xiao Gao's actions, but in fact he was so angry that he was speechless.

Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back. He refused to give up, and even as he spoke, he was secretly signaling to the others. Emperor Shang Xuan, seated on the dragon throne, watched Gao Jingming speak freely below, feeling increasingly satisfied. This guy had some talent, especially when he carefully considered the measures he proposed, which were truly effective. He was people-oriented and practical. If he could maintain this attitude, he would be of great use in the future.

He looked at Eunuch Wang calmly. Eunuch Wang understood and asked someone to record Gao Jingming's remarks word for word, which might become a model for disaster relief in the future.

At this moment, an old but incredibly powerful figure questioned, "Mr. Gao, the disaster victims just want to survive. They'll do anything to stay alive. You're saying they're not human, like you're throwing ginseng and sand into porridge, with the ultimate goal of keeping them alive and achieving disaster relief. That makes sense. But why do you have to go to great lengths to replace the grain distributed by the court with coarse, stale grain? Don't they deserve the relief grain from the court? Or are you trying to profit from the price difference and embezzle it?"

Lord Zeng, who was secretly angry, suddenly had his eyes light up. Yes, you kid replaced the court's good grain with coarse grain to fool the victims. What were you thinking?

Gao Jingming felt relieved at this moment. Finally, someone stood up to speak for him. It seemed like a question, but in fact it was giving him a chance to show himself.

He looked at the person who spoke. He had an old face and a tall figure. He had an elegant and kind face. He immediately saluted and said, "Student Gao Jingming greets Mr. Pei."

The person who spoke was Pei Zhenlong, the principal of Liuyu Academy, who was on a temporary assignment in the imperial court. Gao Jingming had once studied at Liuyu Academy and taken many of his classes. Now he was also one of the examiners for the imperial examination.

Pei Zhenlong said calmly with a businesslike expression, "Mr. Gao, tell me why you did that. What was your intention in exchanging the imperial relief grain for coarse grain and old grain?"

"Sir, gentlemen, the reason I do this is so that the victims can have one more bite of food to survive. The victims are desperate and can eat anything as long as they have a bite to fill their stomachs. They can eat tree bark, grass roots, and bran. I have learned that one pound of fine grains can be exchanged for at least three pounds of coarse grains, and even more for bran. Using it for disaster relief is equivalent to several times more food, which can save several times more victims. Sir, do you agree with this?" Gao Jingming said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Pei Zhenlong, who had raised the question after hearing this, nodded and said, "That's reasonable. I have no more questions. Please..."

At the same time, Pei Zhenlong thought to himself, "Boy, I can only help you up to this point. You are a student from my Liuyu Academy, and you really didn't disappoint me. Humph, look at what the other two academies have handed over. One is full of flowers and talks about benevolence, righteousness and morality, and the other only knows how to fight and kill. They are nothing like our Liuyu Academy, which really gets things done."

Then several people raised some sharp questions based on Gao Jingming's answers, and Gao Jingming answered them fluently and explained them so well that they were speechless.

This is the palace examination, and it shouldn't be so difficult for a student. But Gao Jingming took an unconventional approach, so it's no wonder that others are holding on to him. He has to convince others.

Originally, it was almost over at this point, but as Lord Zeng was secretly communicating with others, someone else stood up and said, "Mr. Gao, there is something I don't understand. I hope you can clarify it."

"Please speak, sir," Gao Jingming turned around and bowed. He remembered who targeted him and who spoke well of him, and he would settle the score later.

In fact, with Gao Jingming's intelligence, he could have just fought back directly and made the other person angry to the point of vomiting blood, but he did not do that. Firstly, he was too sharp and would leave people with the impression that he was a thorn, which would not be convenient for him to mix in the officialdom in the future. Secondly, he was not an official yet, but still a student, and his identity was not tenable. It was natural for others to interrogate him, and he could only respond passively.

The person who spoke next, seemingly calm but actually threatening, said, "Mr. Gao, you keep saying that disaster victims aren't human. But since disaster relief is meant to keep them alive, we can put that aside for now. But can you explain? The victims are already desperate. Why isn't disaster relief just distributing food to them to keep them alive and restore their livelihoods? Instead, why are they forced to work before being given a little food? Are you truly as cruel as a snake and scorpion and don't even consider them human? How can you have the heart to exploit them when they're suffering so much?"

The voice was calm at first, but later it became a direct shouting question.

Gao Jingming was puzzled by this. According to Ah Xuan, was this person here to offer assistance? So he replied calmly with eight words: "Use work instead of relief to reassure the people!"

...(End of chapter)