A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Then let's follow the Minister of Revenue's suggestion and use this data as the standard."

Li Longji nodded. He still highly regarded Li Yuanhong, the Minister of Revenue. Even when Li Linfu was in power, he protected Li Yuanhong and kept him in the position of Minister of Revenue because Li Yuanhong was capable and honest.

Although he was not as incorruptible as Li Yuanhong, he still remembered the approximate figures and, after a quick calculation, was pretty close to the truth.

After the court session, the imperial edict appointing Yuan Jie as imperial envoy arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, and Yuan Jie's colleagues all congratulated him.

If this disaster relief effort is handled well, Yuan Jie's official position will likely surpass theirs very soon.

After returning the greetings to his colleagues, Yuan Jie hurriedly went to Li Yuanhong, the superior of his superior, to complete the handover procedures.

"They're here."

Li Yuanhong had a full head of white hair and a thin body, but his eyes were bright and piercing.

Hearing the door open, he looked up and saw Yuan Jie. Yuan Jie casually pulled out a document about the disaster situation in Huainan Province from the thick stacks of files in front of and behind his desk.

He handed the document to Yuan Jie and said calmly:

"Take a look."

He said he loved her, but then he was back to his busy official duties at the Ministry of Revenue.

Just in time, Li Yuanhong finished reviewing the documents in his hand and suddenly looked up to ask, "Have you finished reading?"

"I've finished watching it."

Yuan Jie nodded.

"The speed is acceptable, but I don't know about the quality."

"The disaster in Huainan Prefecture affected three prefectures. How many households in each prefecture were severely affected, and how many were lightly affected?"

Li Yuanhong tested him.

"Yangzhou was the most severely affected, with 67,320 households suffering severe damage and 85,600 households suffering minor damage."

"Chuzhou was the next worst, with 25,682 households severely affected and 38,615 households lightly affected."

"Chuzhou was the least affected, with 13,615 households severely affected and 25,650 households lightly affected."

Yuan Jie replied without hesitation.

Li Yuanhong stroked his white beard and nodded slightly. Yuan Jie's answers were all correct. However, he couldn't be sure whether Yuan Jie had received the information beforehand and recorded these data.

Even if Yuan Jie had made a note of it beforehand, it shows that he was thoughtful, and the Grand Counselor had indeed recommended a good official.

"For this relief effort, the imperial court allocated a total of 130,000 strings of cash, 190,000 shi of grain, and 230,000 bolts of cloth."

"One-third of it was provided by the local government granaries, one-third was transferred from the surrounding prefectures and counties, and the remaining one-third was transported south from the capital along the Grand Canal."

"The routes for mobilizing funds and provisions have been planned and shall not be changed unless there is a major incident."

"This involves calculating the loss of money and grain, and there can be no carelessness."

"This is the document for transferring money, grain, and cloth. The Ministry of Revenue has already stamped it. Please keep it safe."

After giving his explanation, Li Yuanhong remembered Yuan Jie's background.

"After you return, you can ask the Imperial Advisor for some advice."

"Huainan Circuit is located in the Jiangnan region, which is one of the few prosperous areas in the Tang Dynasty."

"There are many powerful and influential families in the area. In previous years, when disasters occurred, they would buy land at low prices and sell grain at high prices, making a fortune off the national crisis."

"They don't care about the lives of the people in these three states; they only care about how much money they can make from this disaster and how much land they can seize."

"When you arrive in Huainan, your biggest rivals will be them."

"Remember, you must not incite a popular uprising, otherwise even if you have a remonstrating official standing behind you, you will not be able to protect yourself."

"Your deputy envoy, Cui Huan, comes from the Cui clan of Qinghe. If it weren't for the recommendation of the Grand Physician, this official position would have fallen into his hands."

"As for the position of Grand Counselor, Cui Huan was the most suitable candidate before that."

"The Cui family of Qinghe is a powerful family with a thousand-year history and profound heritage. Many families in Huainan follow their lead."

"Please be extra careful on this disaster relief trip."

"Finally, after a major disaster, there will inevitably be a major epidemic. Your trip there is not only for disaster relief, but also for epidemic prevention."

"Regarding post-disaster epidemic prevention, the medical community has already established clear guidelines and procedures, which must be strictly followed!"

"You must order the officials of each prefecture and county to set up medical tents and provide medicines in various places. Whenever a disaster occurs in a place, medical students will flock there to treat the local disaster victims. We must prepare places and medicines for these doctors in advance."

"Once you arrive in Huainan Circuit, you will be an imperial envoy. You must act according to the circumstances, understand?"

Yuan Jie nodded emphatically and bowed deeply to Li Yuanhong.

He could tell from the words that this Minister of Revenue was indeed a pragmatic official.

Moreover, he risked offending the Cui family to give him advice, so Yuanjie could not refuse this kindness.

Given Li Yuanhong's status and the fact that he was nearing retirement, there was absolutely no need for him to curry favor with Li Bai through him.

Unless he could directly curry favor with the King of Wei, even Li Bai was not worth Li Yuanhong's reliance.

By the time Li Bai came to power, he had already retired.

Therefore, Li Yuanhong's reminder was entirely from the heart, and Yuanjie was naturally grateful.

Cui Mansion.

The current heads of the Cui family, Cui Rong, Cui Huan, and Cui Zongzhi, are in the Cui family's study.

"What are your plans for this disaster relief trip south?"

Cui Rong asked.

Cui Huan pondered for a moment, preparing his thoughts, "After heading south to Huainan, the matter of disaster relief will not be urgent for the time being."

"The first thing to do is to get Yuan Jie transferred and make me the Imperial Envoy. Only then can I pocket all the benefits of the disaster relief or distribute them to others, thereby gaining political capital."

"Once Yuanjie leaves, we'll follow the usual practice: take 30% for bribes, pocket 40% of the profits, and keep the remaining 30% in our hands to inflate grain prices with the local bigwigs and make another fortune."

"Once we've squeezed every last drop of profit out of the disaster victims and driven them to the brink of despair, we can then use the remaining 30% to provide relief to them, making them incredibly grateful. We can even create a 'universal umbrella' or something, and everyone's happy."

Cui Rong and Cui Zongzhi nodded slightly. Disaster relief has always followed this procedure, and each disaster relief effort is a feast for these aristocratic families.

The families of the officials who oversaw the disaster relief efforts made a fortune, accumulating a huge amount of money, grain, and favors.

"Remember, dealing with Yuan Jie is fine, but for now, don't involve Li Bai, lest it affect our plans in Huainan Road, understand?"

Cui Rong reminded him.

Cui Huan nodded slightly, "Don't worry, Father, I know what's important and what's urgent."

"Li Bai is not someone our Cui family can handle. I will only deal with Yuan Jie and will not involve Li Bai or affect the family's interests in Huainan Road."

Seeing his son so sensible, Cui Rong was filled with joy. With such a son, how could the family not prosper?