Spiritual energy resurgence? My former empress wife has also revived!

In the 477th year of the Jingyuan era, the Jiangbei Circuit Prefecture.

Qin Zijun was thirty-one years old at the time, and had been the head of the Dao Mansion for five years.

This drought and locust plague did not cause Qin Zijun to leave his post in disgrace; on the contrary, it made him even more prestigious, and the people of Jiangbei praised his holy name.

Inside the manor, Qin Zijun was giving a lesson to her disciples.

During this period, Qin Zijun took in several more bright disciples at the academy, bringing her total number of disciples to ten.

Qian Qian also attended the class.

"Lord Qin, please enlighten me on the details of this disaster relief effort."

Qian Qian bowed respectfully, his tone and expression full of admiration.

Although Qin Zijun's students were young, they were all precocious and intelligent, and their gazes toward Qin Zijun were also full of admiration.

Qin Zijun put down her teacup.

Zilu and Zimo wanted to come up and pour tea for their teacher, but under Wangshu's glare, they awkwardly retreated.

Wang Shu snorted and poured tea for Qin Zijun.

You two brats, how dare you steal the job of the Goddess of the Month!

She felt the powerful force of faith supporting her, which seemed to give her the potential to break through to the upper three realms.

This time, Qin Zijun used the disaster to spread the faith in the Moon Goddess. Once this faith spreads to all the major prefectures and counties of Jiangbei Road, the Moon Goddess will be able to take the most important step in returning to her peak and become the True Lord of the Cave Profound Realm!

Qin Zijun took a sip of the tea that Wang Shu had brewed with his unparalleled tea-making skills.

Seeing that his subordinates and students were looking at him with curiosity and admiration, he smiled and said, "Qian Qian, you asked me back then why I wanted to raise grain prices."

"It's simple. Merchants value profit over parting. Since there isn't enough local grain, let's bring in grain from other places."

"Merchants are driven by profit, and they will send grain to wherever the price is high. When the surrounding counties and prefectures that have not been affected by disasters, or even the Jiangnan Circuit, hear that the price is high, merchants will inevitably come to sell, and even the officials cannot stop them."

"Transporting grain requires carts, boats, and porters, which creates employment in the transportation industry. Once all the grain in the country reaches the prefectures and cities, the market will be flooded with grain, and the price will naturally drop."

"Those grain merchants from other places do not have warehouses in the local area. The losses caused by transporting the grain away are greater than selling it at a low price. At this time, the grain problem is solved by the government buying a portion in its name and letting the people pay for the rest."

Qin Zijun blew away the foam on the tea leaves and said, "Although the price of grain is low and there is enough grain, the people still don't have money to buy it."

"So I hosted banquets for wealthy merchants in the capital and provided them with entertainment, just to get the money circulating."

"When rich people go out to play, eat, take boat trips, buy things, hire sedan chair carriers, and give tips, every expense can actually support a poor person."

"In years of famine, it's not that there's no money, but that the money is all held by the rich who dare not spend it or are unwilling to spend it. They are also afraid of being accused of a crime and the bad reputation that comes with being rich but heartless."

"But when I, the head of the Dao Mansion, personally led them to spend money and have fun, they became bolder and dared to do these things."

After a pause, Qin Zijun continued, "And people have a competitive spirit. I let them compete, I let them compare themselves, but what they compare is not who has more money, but fame, their self-realization."

"The pursuits of the rich are different from those of ordinary people, so they are naturally willing to spend money, and big money."

"Only when this money circulates can it reach the hands of the people."

Qin Zijun tapped the table: "But that's not enough. The money of the rich can only help a portion of the population."

"So I went to the temples, to the sects of those monks, because they were the ones with more money."

"I let them spend less money on construction, which is essentially a way of replacing taxes with work, so that disaster victims have a place to earn money instead of becoming refugees."

"With these complementary efforts, the difficulties were naturally overcome."

After speaking,

Seeing his subordinates and disciples deep in thought, he added a word of advice: "But don't follow my example in these matters."

"Dao Prefecture is the capital of Jiangbei and a prosperous place in the world. That's why my strategies have succeeded."

"If you try to do what I did elsewhere, you'll only make the disaster worse."

"Adapt to local conditions, teach according to aptitude, proceed from reality, analyze specific problems in specific ways, avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, look at problems dialectically, and learn to test them through practice."

"This is the truth! Don't put the cart before the horse, learning only the 'techniques' while neglecting the 'principle'!"

Qian Qian and his many disciples bowed deeply in reverence, saying, "We are deeply grateful for your instruction!"

Qin Zijun nodded and told the young disciples to go and read.

Before long, the sound of children reciting aloud could be heard: "The ruler is the boat; the common people are the water. Water can carry the boat, but water can also capsize it."

It is also said: "The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important. Therefore, one who wins the support of the common people becomes the Son of Heaven, one who wins the support of the Son of Heaven becomes a feudal lord, and one who wins the support of a feudal lord becomes a high official."

"If a feudal lord endangers the state, he shall change the system. Once the sacrificial offerings are prepared, the offerings are purified, and the sacrifices are performed on time, if there is drought or flood, he shall change the system of the state."

Qian Qian's expression changed slightly as he listened to the sound of reading.

This statement implies that even if the sacrificial ceremony is performed properly, if the country still suffers from drought or flood, then a different god should be chosen to represent the state. It seems to be referring to the ways of ghosts and gods.

However, this statement can also be interpreted as meaning that if the emperor cannot ensure the well-being of the people, then the emperor and the state should be replaced.

To promote this within the imperial court is truly treasonous.

However, Qian Qian now only admires Qin Zijun and pretends not to hear any of this.

Qin Zijun sat in the chair in the study and calmly asked, "Those grain merchants you were asked to record who were rich but heartless and deliberately sold grain at high prices?"

"And what about the list of officials who also profited from the national crisis and colluded with wealthy businessmen? Is that ready?"

Qian Qian lowered his head, handed over a thick booklet, and said respectfully, "Sir, everything is recorded in this booklet, and there is detailed evidence inside."

Qin Zijun nodded and smiled, "Indeed, you are a capable person. When I go to the central government, I will suggest to His Majesty that you be given an important position."

Qian Qian was overjoyed: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency!"

Qin Zijun put down her teacup and looked outside.

The sun was shining brightly, and the people in the city were filled with laughter and joy.

He patted the book with his hand and said coldly, "It's time to settle accounts later."

"A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. It's time for your Lu family to pay for what you did back then."