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

It was clearly Yuan Jie's question that aroused his suspicion.

Anger flared in Yuan Jie's eyes; the excuse given by this constable was utterly ridiculous.

Those who were waiting at the porridge distribution point early in the morning were clearly servants of wealthy families. They showed little sign of hunger and looked quite well-fed. Their clothes were also much better than those of the actual refugees.

This is clearly a case of collusion between government officials and powerful clans, with the intention of seizing the imperial court's disaster relief grain.

Damn it!

Yuan Jie ignored the constable's words and quickly walked to the disaster victims.

The constable handed over his work to others and hurriedly ran to the county government office to report to the magistrate.

By this time, all the porridge cooked by the county government office had been distributed, and not a single grain of rice could be found in the pot.

However, a large number of people still did not receive the porridge provided by the imperial court.

"Sir, please have mercy! I haven't eaten for two days."

"Sir, we can go without food, but my child hasn't eaten anything for two days. Please, have mercy and give him something to eat."

"Sir, please!"

Cries of agony and pleas for help rose and fell, and Yuan Jie stood there, his anger finally bursting forth.

"Fellow villagers, there is no need to plead. The Huainan Circuit was killed, and it is the government's duty to provide porridge and relief to the victims."

"Go and fetch your magistrate. I want to see if all those years of studying the classics have gone to waste!"

Yuan Jie angrily addressed the surrounding constables.

"Who is spouting such nonsense here?"

The magistrate hadn't gone far, and upon hearing the report from the constable, he rushed over.

As soon as I got closer, I heard Yuan Jie's angry roar, and I couldn't help but feel a little displeased.

"Who are you? Why are you interfering with the government's disaster relief efforts?"

The county magistrate slapped a heavy label on him without hesitation. This skill of slapping labels can't be acquired without a decade or two of practice.

"Yuan Jie, the Imperial Envoy appointed by His Majesty as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

Yuan Jie looked at the county magistrate and said coldly.

The magistrate was greatly surprised when he heard Yuan Jie's identity.

The imperial order had just arrived. Based on past experience, the imperial envoy should still be in the capital preparing for disaster relief. The imperial relief funds, grain, and supplies are still being circulated and will take another ten days or so to reach Huainan Circuit.

Do you have any identification?

The magistrate asked suspiciously.

Yuan Jie took out the imperial edict and official documents issued by the court and handed them to the county magistrate. After carefully examining them, the magistrate broke out in a cold sweat.

He had received news from his clan that the imperial envoy sent by the court was not from a powerful family, but was a hothead.

That's why he acted so rudely this time—he wanted to make a quick buck before Yuan Jie arrived.

When Yuan Jie went south, the porridge was distributed in the normal way.

But to his utter surprise, Yuan Jie had set off alone ahead of time.

A person?

A fierce glint flashed in the eyes of County Magistrate Sima Haoren.

Now, the entire Yangzhou is filled with disaster victims and bandits everywhere.

What good is a mere secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, even if he has the status of an imperial envoy?

Refugees and bandits don't care who you are.

It seems he needs to make some arrangements to let this Lord Yuan experience the "enthusiasm" of the disaster-stricken people.

Sima Haoren chuckled sinisterly.

"Lord Sima, why are you laughing so happily? Tell us, so that the disaster victims can also have a good laugh."

From the act of distributing porridge just now, Yuan Jie knew that this county magistrate was no good person, so naturally he wouldn't give him a friendly look.

"I am happy that you have come to Yangzhou, and that the court has not forgotten Yangzhou. The disaster victims should also be happy. With your arrival, the court's support has arrived, and the people can survive."

Sima Haoren laughed and said.

"Your Excellency, I have been ordered to provide disaster relief and thoroughly investigate lawless individuals in the three prefectures of Huainan Circuit. I request Your Excellency's cooperation."

Yuan Jie emphasized the words "county magistrate," his tone full of sarcasm.

"Cooperate, cooperate, and you'll naturally cooperate."

"Your Excellency, you may not know this, but I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. I have been waiting for you like waiting for the stars and the moon. I am so glad that you have finally come."

Sima Haoren wiped away non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and said with an excited expression.

"Since you're cooperating, then explain why the imperial court only prepared such a small amount of food for disaster relief, leaving so many disaster victims without food?"

"My lord, you may not know this, but I too have my own difficulties."

"The flood struck, and Yangzhou was severely affected, with countless fields suffering damage and no harvest."

"The county's granaries were also flooded and severely damaged, with large quantities of grain being washed away and disappearing with the water."

"Most of the rest were moldy and damp, and inedible."

"There is a shortage of medicinal herbs in Yangzhou right now. If people get sick from eating moldy or damp food, that would be even more troublesome."

"But there are fixed rules in the imperial court, and the porridge provided by local governments for disaster relief must be thick enough."

"If chopsticks fall, a head will fall!"

"I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

"Cook some thick porridge for the disaster victims and let those at the front of the line eat it. This way, those who are starving will desperately try to grab a spot at the front."

"Those who still have food stored at home, or who are not very hungry yet, will naturally step back when faced with these people who are starving."

"In this way, the limited food supplies can be provided to the disaster victims who need them most."

"This is a helpless measure taken by me due to the limited food supply. I hope you will understand, sir."

Sima Haoren said with a sincere expression.

Yuan Jie's face twitched. He was somewhat surprised that the other party could come up with such an outrageous excuse, without even feeling ashamed.

Does he think I'm blind?!

There were clearly many people who didn't look like disaster victims, waiting there in advance!

Yuan Jie glanced at Sima Haoren and knew that now was not the time to settle scores with him. The most important thing now was to ensure that the people had food to eat.

"Go and cook porridge immediately, and make sure that all the people have porridge to eat."

"It all has to be thick porridge; if chopsticks fall, heads will roll."

"That's an order!"

"The imperial funds and provisions will arrive soon, and the surrounding counties have been ordered to transport grain here. The Yixian County government's grain supply will only last for ten days."

"Don't tell me you can't even last ten days."

The starving people around them saw the county magistrate speaking to a young man with a respectful expression, and they knew that a high-ranking official had arrived, so they all gathered around.

Upon hearing Yuan Jie's words, they all knelt down before him, moved to tears of gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Your Honor! I'm hopeless!"

Sima Haoren looked troubled, but still ordered people to continue cooking porridge to ensure that the people had something to eat.

After giving his instructions, Sima Haoren stepped forward to Yuan Jie's side and said, "Your Excellency, may I have a word with you in private?"