The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 136 This is a cruel choice.

Li Chengqian's order was like a boulder thrown into stagnant water, instantly injecting a chaotic vitality into the previously numb and sluggish troops.

The temporary soup kitchen was set up without following any official etiquette. Several large iron pots that the army had brought were set up in the dust beside the official road. Soldiers cut dry branches for firewood, and officials from the Eastern Palace personally supervised the pouring of rice into the boiling water.

For the disaster victims who had been eating tree bark and grass roots for days, and even consuming clay to stave off hunger, the aroma of that rice was nothing short of divine music and divine bait.

At first, it was a tentative glance, but then the crowd surged in like a tide, their eyes burning with the green light driven by the instinct for survival, and order was on the verge of collapse.

"Back off! Everyone back off! Line up! Anyone who dares to storm the soup kitchen will be executed on the spot!"

The officers of the Crown Prince's Guard roared at the top of their lungs, while the elite armored soldiers, wielding halberds, formed a tight formation, barely managing to draw a line through the chaos with the gleam of their weapons and their stern shouts.

Pushing, crying, pleading, cursing... all sorts of sounds intertwined, creating an apocalyptic scene.

Li Chengqian stood a short distance away, his face ashen.

He watched as a gaunt old man was pushed down and could not get up again, and watched as a mother used her body to shield her child from the impact behind her so that the child could get closer to the pot. His nails dug deeply into his palms.

"The will of the people is like water; it can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

The emperor's admonition echoed in his mind, but only now did he truly realize how terrifying the destructive power contained within "water" was when it was driven to the brink of despair.

This is no longer the gentle water that carries boats, but a raging torrent that can devour everything.

"Your Highness, we should not linger here!"

Dou Jing stepped forward quickly and whispered, her face filled with deep worry.

"More and more refugees are gathering, and the aroma of porridge can be smelled for miles around. I'm afraid people will keep coming. We have limited military rations. If we run out here, let alone disaster relief, we ourselves will be in danger!"

Li Chengqian abruptly closed his eyes, took a deep breath of air mixed with dust, sweat, and a faint aroma of rice, and when he opened them again, his gaze had returned to its cold and hard state.

"Leave one squad of soldiers here to maintain order. Once this batch is distributed, immediately regroup. All troops, speed up! Target—the county town ahead!"

He stopped looking at the chaotic soup kitchen and turned to board the carriage.

The team set off again, leaving behind the clamor and despair.

However, the closer one got to the county seat, the more shocking the scene became on both sides of the official road.

The number of abandoned villages is increasing, and some even show charred marks from fires.

Corpses by the roadside have become commonplace, most of them gnawed beyond recognition by wild dogs and crows, and the stench of decay in the air has grown increasingly strong and nauseating.

Li Yichen mingled in the group, his brows furrowed.

He noticed that some of the disaster victims had an abnormal flush on their faces, or were curled up by the roadside, clutching their stomachs and groaning.

The word "plague" weighed heavily on his heart like a heavy shackle.

He needed to find an opportunity as soon as possible to inform Li Chengqian of the importance of epidemic prevention.

But now, it's clearly not the right time.

Finally, as the setting sun dyed the sky a desolate blood red, the outline of a gray county town appeared on the horizon.

The banners on the city wall were askew, the soldiers guarding the city were listless, the city gate was half open and half closed, and the people coming and going were few and far between, mostly pale-faced civilians carrying meager belongings, as if they were fleeing a disaster.

The arrival of the group clearly alarmed the city.

When Li Chengqian's entourage arrived at the city gates, a chaotic scene of chickens flying and dogs barking filled the air inside.

A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing a blue official robe with his hat askew, surrounded by a group of equally panicked clerks, scrambled out.

She knelt down in front of Li Chengqian's carriage with a thud, her voice filled with sobs and extreme fear.

"Your humble servant... Zhou Fu, the magistrate of Yexian County, kowtows to Your Highness the Crown Prince! I was unaware of Your Highness's arrival and have failed to greet you properly. I am guilty of a capital offense! I am guilty of a capital offense!"

As he spoke, he kowtowed forcefully, his forehead covered in yellow dust, making him look disheveled.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Li Chengqian stepped out, supported by a palace attendant.

He didn't even glance at Zhou Fu's obsequious and fearful face. His gaze, like a cold knife, swept past Zhou Fu and swept over the half-open city gate and the hungry people peeking out from behind it.

"Let's skip the formalities." Li Chengqian's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable pressure that instantly choked Zhou Fu's cries into silence.

“Magistrate Zhou,” Li Chengqian stepped forward, stopped in front of Zhou Fu, looked down at him, and spoke in a stern tone.

"I ask you, outside the city, there are countless famine victims and corpses everywhere. As the local official, why do you not open the granaries to distribute food? Why do you not set up soup kitchens to provide relief?"

Zhou Fu shuddered, cold sweat instantly soaking the back of his official robes.

He raised his head, his face contorted with grief, his voice growing increasingly mournful.

"Your Highness! Your Highness is wise! It's not that I'm unwilling, but... it's just that there's no more grain to distribute in the county!"

"No food?" Li Chengqian's lips curled into a cold smile, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"What about the official granaries? What about the charitable granaries? As far as I know, the autumn harvest in Yexian last year was decent. Although the grain reserves in the official and charitable granaries are not plentiful, they should be enough to support relief efforts for several months! What about the grain?"

His voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap in Zhou Fu's ears.

Zhou Fu was so frightened that he almost collapsed to the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Your Highness! The grain in the official granary... the grain in the official granary was... the prefectural governor's office transferred away most of it a month ago under the pretext of aiding the military!"

"The remaining...the remaining grain reserves are needed to keep the county government running and supply the soldiers guarding the city...this humble official...this humble official is truly like a skilled cook without rice to cook!"

He secretly glanced at Li Chengqian's face and saw that it was ashen, so he quickly continued to defend himself.

"As for the public granaries... Your Highness, you don't know, those clerks in charge of the public granaries colluded with local powerful families, the accounts were chaotic, and the grain reserves had long been in name only... I had only been in office for a short time and wanted to investigate, but I encountered many obstacles. Before I could sort things out, this locust plague... came!"

Li Chengqian's gaze grew increasingly cold.

He didn't entirely believe the story that the official granaries had been emptied by higher authorities and the charitable granaries had been plundered by clerks and powerful local figures.

In his view, it was more likely that Zhou Fu, like the wealthy grain merchants in the city, was waiting for grain prices to skyrocket so he could make a fortune off the national crisis!

"Clever words and a flattering demeanor!" Li Chengqian sneered.

"Even if the official granaries and public granaries are empty, how can the wealthy households and grain merchants in the city be without grain? As the county magistrate, are you just going to sit idly by and watch them hoard grain and refuse to help those in need?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fu's face contorted into a grimace, his voice trembling with despair.

"Your Highness...you...you are unaware...the wealthy families in the city...almost all of them moved away a few days ago!"

"Moved?"

Li Chengqian was taken aback; this answer was unexpected.

"Yes...yes!" Zhou Fu said, his voice trembling with tears.

"As soon as the locust plague struck, the well-informed wealthy families knew something terrible was about to happen, and they all packed up their valuables and families and fled to the prefectural capital, Luoyang, and Chang'an! Those left behind were mostly ordinary people who couldn't leave..." He paused, a hint of fear flashing across his face, and lowered his voice, "As for... as for those grain merchants who didn't have time to leave, or who couldn't bear to part with their businesses..."

"A few days ago, those starving disaster victims gathered in groups and smashed open the doors of several grain stores... looting...looting grain! The scene was completely out of control. I...I led three shifts of yamen runners to suppress them, and we were almost...almost overpowered by those rioters...sigh!"

Zhou Fu didn't say anything more, but the lingering fear on his face and the faint scratch on his neck showed his predicament at the time.

Li Chengqian remained silent.

He had anticipated the local officials' shirking of responsibility and the cunning of the wealthy merchants, but he never expected the situation to have deteriorated to this extent.

The wealthy fled, order collapsed, and the people's efforts to save themselves devolved into violent plunder in desperation.

This is no longer a simple natural disaster, but a man-made disaster triggered by a natural disaster, a sign that social order is on the verge of collapse!

His anger was replaced by a deeper chill.

After a long silence, Li Chengqian finally spoke, his voice carrying an unusual calm, asking a seemingly unrelated question.

"Magistrate Zhou, what did you eat today?"

Zhou Fu was taken aback by this sudden question.

He answered subconsciously, "This humble official...yesterday...with his family, I ate some...thin porridge...and have not eaten today."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized something, his face flushed red, then turned deathly pale, and he lowered his head in shame, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

As the head of a county, it was a sin in itself that he and his family could still have some thin porridge to eat during a time of widespread famine.

Although his porridge might be much thinner than before, it was still worlds apart from the disaster victims outside the city who were starving by eating dirt.

This casual remark made Zhou Fu feel more ashamed than any harsh reprimand.

Just then, the Eastern Palace official who had been ordered to lead men into the city to investigate the situation returned hurriedly, his face extremely grim.

He strode over to Li Chengqian and whispered his report, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Your Highness, the largest grain store in the city, 'Fengyuhao,' has been smashed open by the disaster victims. Inside... it's completely empty. There's not a single grain left, not even a few grain sacks! The scene is a complete mess, as if it had been ravaged by war!"

The official paused, then added, "I inquired with the neighbors, and it is said that within two days of the news of the locust plague, the owner of the 'Fengyu' ship ran away with his family and valuables."

"Some of the store's food was taken away by him, and the rest... was looted by rioters just a few nights ago!"

Li Chengqian remained silent for a long time.

His previous anger and suspicion were now washed away by the cruel reality.

He believed that he held the imperial insignia and arrived with the righteous cause of the court, and that he could use overwhelming force to rectify official corruption, guide wealthy households to contribute grain, and quickly stabilize the situation.

However, reality dealt him a heavy blow.

Incompetent officials, or perhaps with their own difficulties, led to the flight of wealthy families, the collapse of order, and food shortages...

This simplest yet most fatal question was laid bare before him in the most naked way.

All his plans and strategies seemed so pale and powerless in the face of the word "no food".

Without food, all the new culling methods, work relief programs, and measures to regulate grain prices are just castles in the air!
Silence spread at the city gate.

Zhou Fu and a group of clerks knelt on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.

The officials of the Eastern Palace and those accompanying them looked at each other, their faces filled with solemnity and bewilderment.

The situation was ten times worse than they had anticipated!
Finally, Li Chengqian made a move.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on the official in charge of logistics and supplies.

“Pass on the order,” his voice was hoarse, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness.

"Take a portion from our accompanying military rations and immediately find a suitable location within the city to set up soup kitchens! The soup should be thick enough to hold chopsticks upright!"

"Your Highness!" the official exclaimed in surprise.

"Military rations are our lifeline, if..."

"Do as I say!" Li Chengqian interrupted him, his eyes sharp.

"Am I to watch the entire city's population starve to death while we sit idly by, guarding our grain?"

The official dared not speak further and bowed to accept the order.

Li Chengqian then looked at the official and asked, "How many days can the grain we brought last?"

The official quickly calculated in his mind, his face bitter, and replied with difficulty, "Your Highness, if... if we only supply the disaster victims in this county, judging from the current number of people gathered and those who have come after hearing the news... I'm afraid... I'm afraid we can only last for five days at most."

“Five days…” Li Chengqian murmured, the number like a needle piercing his heart.

The official hesitated for a moment, then added, "Your Highness, if... if the porridge were cooked a little thinner, perhaps... perhaps it could last for a few more days, and allow more disaster victims to have a sip..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Is it better to let a few people have a full meal, or to let more people hang on to their deaths?

This is a cruel choice.

Li Chengqian remained silent.

As the sun sank completely below the horizon and the last glimmer of light disappeared, twilight spread rapidly like ink, shrouding the entire Yexian town in darkness.

The city gate was silent, save for the rustling of the tattered banners in the evening breeze and the faint, distant commotion of the disaster victims who had learned of the prince's arrival and the impending distribution of porridge.

Li Chengqian stood in the twilight, his figure appearing somewhat lonely.

He gazed at the starving people in the city, who swayed like ghosts in the dim light, and recalled the corpses and desperate eyes lying on the official road.

"Thick porridge, five days."

He repeated those four words in a low voice, each word carrying immense weight.

He knew that his next decision could determine the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Is it a case of draining the pond to catch all the fish, merely to maintain a semblance of dignity and hope for the short term?

Or should we take a slow and steady approach, using simple and unremarkable methods to prolong the lives of more people, even if this prolongation itself is full of pain and uncertainty?
This is no longer a discussion of benevolent governance in books, but a bloody, real-world choice.

At this moment, Li Yichen was quickly searching his mind for an effective solution.

And this is just the devastation of one county town. What else will we see if we continue on this journey?
At this moment, Li Yichen could hardly believe it.

Suddenly, Li Yichen thought of a faster and more reliable method that could be implemented in this era!

(End of this chapter)