Chapter 458: So, This Was the Reason
Wu Shen steadied himself. *Don't panic,* he thought. *Though I've been a bit carried away lately, I've never done anything to feel guilty about, so a clear conscience fears no spectral knock. If it's a demon or ghoul, my righteous aura will repel it. If he's truly Ji Gong, there's even less to fear. Would a benevolent deity trouble a good person?*
"You... Master, who exactly are you?" Wu Shen finally asked. "What guidance do you have for me?"
"Who I am isn't important," Li Daoxuan replied, fanning himself with his tattered fan. "I'm just here to offer you a small piece of advice."
Wu Shen prompted, "Please, speak."
"Do you feel rather pleased with yourself," Li Daoxuan asked, "walking around with a hundred thousand taels in your pocket?"
The words struck a chord. Wu Shen truly *had* felt a surge of satisfaction, an almost overwhelming pride at the thought of single-handedly saving all of Shaanxi.
He managed an awkward chuckle. "These provisions of silver and grain were personally decreed by His Majesty for the relief of the suffering. This official is profoundly humbled and vows to deploy these resources to help the people of Shaanxi rebuild and thrive."
It was a classic official's deflection, a way to avoid admitting he'd grown a little too confident.
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "This small amount of money, and you think you can revive an entire province? Come, let me help you with some calculations. Let's see how many people your hundred thousand taels can truly save. If you give one tael to each commoner, that hundred thousand taels would only reach a hundred thousand people. And right now, a *dou* of rice or flour in Shaanxi costs roughly seven hundred to a thousand *wen*. You tell me, how many *dou* can one tael buy?"
Li Daoxuan simply smiled. "How long will that amount of grain feed them?"
Sweat beaded on Wu Shen's forehead. "If they supplement it with wild herbs, that much grain would barely last... fifty days!"
Li Daoxuan merely smiled, offering a wordless shrug.
Liang Shixian, too, finally grasped the situation. The Heavenly Lord had taken on the guise of a monk to playfully challenge the imperial envoy! Of course, as a subordinate official, he had to play along.
He quickly stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Imperial envoy," he began, "if this humble official may be so bold: you cannot distribute all of these hundred thousand taels to the disaster victims. A significant portion must be allocated for resettling the pacified rebels. Hasn't His Majesty issued an edict specifically for that? To provide the rebels with farmland, cattle, seeds, and other essentials..."
Wu Shen gasped.
Holy heavens! With that in mind, the hundred thousand taels wouldn't even *begin* to save people; it would be gone just buying a few hundred cattle. Forget about providing farmland and seeds!
Wu Shen felt an immense weight of pressure descend upon him.
He'd felt so incredibly capable just moments ago. Why did he suddenly feel utterly useless now?
Li Daoxuan continued, "Wu Shen, you've spent so long in the hallowed halls of the imperial court, you've likely lost touch with the hardships of the common folk, haven't you? Do you even know what happens when these rebels are pacified but not properly resettled?"
"Please enlighten me!" Wu Shen urged.
Li Daoxuan explained, "After being pacified, these returning rebels are often granted minor official posts or land. They seize control of strategic villages, then unleash their followers to pillage the surrounding countryside, claiming it as 'collecting provisions.' The common folk have a name for them: 'official bandits.'"
Wu Shen was startled. He turned to Liang Shixian. "Is that truly so?"
Fang Wushang, standing behind Liang Shixian, suddenly stepped forward. He declared in a loud voice, "It's absolutely true! The bandit chieftain, Fan Shan Yue of Heyang County, was once pacified. But after his supposed surrender, his followers disbanded and returned to their homes, leaving a trail of arson, murder, and plunder in their wake. The people of Heyang County were left utterly destitute. This humble officer led troops to confront these returning rebels at the border between Heyang and Chengcheng counties, engaging in battle for several months before finally suppressing them. If the imperial envoy disbelieves, he may inquire with Magistrate Feng Jun of Heyang County."
Wu Shen was aghast.
Now, a genuine panic seized him. If he were to return to court having achieved nothing with His Majesty's hundred thousand taels from the imperial treasury, he would surely face severe punishment, wouldn't he?
"Master," he pleaded, "in your estimation, what should this official do?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head. "It can't be saved, it truly can't be saved. You should just go back."
"It *must* be saved!" Wu Shen insisted.
Li Daoxuan shook his head again. "Go ask Zhu Youjian for more silver."
Li Daoxuan had just addressed Zhu Youjian by his personal name, a profound impertinence. Yet, after his miraculous aerial display, not a single person present dared to label him audacious; indeed, it felt entirely natural for such a being to speak so informally of the Emperor. Wu Shen merely shook his head. "His Majesty will absolutely not release any more funds from the imperial treasury."
"Then it truly cannot be saved," Li Daoxuan concluded.
With that, he waved his fan, and with a whoosh, he shot back into the sky. His strange song echoed across the heavens: "My shoes are torn, my hat is tattered, my robes are worn and battered..."
The song's notes drifted for miles in an instant, then vanished from hearing.
The assembled officials watched him fly away, dumbfounded, momentarily speechless.
After a long moment, Wu Shen suddenly roused himself. "The divine monk appeared here to enlighten me," he muttered, "to show me that the current disaster relief methods are utterly useless. I must devise a better approach, but what kind of approach?"
Never mind that for now!
First, I must write a letter to the Emperor, requesting more funds. Whether he grants them is one matter; whether I press for them is another entirely. If I don't appeal, and disaster relief ultimately fails, the fault will be mine alone. But if I do appeal, and His Majesty declines, then any subsequent failure will fall squarely upon the Emperor's shoulders.
His Majesty can bear such a burden; a mere minor official like me cannot.
Wu Shen immediately picked up his brush and furiously penned a memorial: "Your servant carries a hundred thousand taels of silver. At one tael per person, this can only sustain a hundred thousand people. With a *dou* of rice costing seven *qian*, it will only last fifty days. His Majesty should command this relief commissioner to report: are the initial hundred thousand taels truly sufficient? If not, then grace should be bestowed without delay, and even the imperial treasury should not be spared."
Once finished, he thrust the memorial into the hands of a trusted aide. "Deliver this to the capital with utmost speed!" he ordered.
The trusted aide spurred his horse and galloped away.
Wu Shen's expression was grim, and he felt utterly frantic.
However, having successfully passed the imperial examinations, he was far from a fool—in fact, he was considerably more astute than most. After a fleeting moment of panic, a thought suddenly struck him. His gaze swept across the lush, fertile lands of Chengcheng County.
"Oh?"
Wu Shen turned to Liang Shixian. "Magistrate Liang," he said, "since your Chengcheng County has been spared from natural disasters, with its verdant trees and lush scenery, surely it still has room to accommodate some of the suffering populace, no?"
Upon hearing this, Liang Shixian's eyes lit up. He finally understood the Heavenly Lord's grand design! So *that* was it! The Heavenly Lord had manifested as a monk, teasing and challenging the imperial envoy. He hadn't grasped the deeper meaning before, but it was all a careful setup for this very moment.
It was all a prelude to get Wu Shen to send people to them.
Wu Shen was no ordinary official. As an imperial envoy, directly answerable for the entirety of Shaanxi, he wielded immense authority. Unlike Liang Shixian, who could only discreetly funnel a few refugees from neighboring counties, Wu Shen could, in the name of the 'imperial envoy,' command the relocation of displaced people from *anywhere* in Shaanxi province to Chengcheng County.
This was an unimaginable boon!
For Chengcheng County to refuse such a godsend would be utter folly.
Liang Shixian bowed respectfully, standing tall and solemn. "Chengcheng County still possesses the capacity," he declared, "to assist the imperial envoy in taking in and aiding refugees. This humble official, too, is willing to dedicate his utmost efforts for the sake of these suffering people. Imperial envoy, you have only to give the order."
Wu Shen's heart settled somewhat. He mused, "If this is the case, I can conserve the silver and grain in my possession. By simply covering their meager travel expenses, I can direct the refugees here to Chengcheng County. Here, they'll find land to cultivate and food to sustain them, which will significantly ease this official's immense burden."
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