Chapter 458: So This Was Why
Wu Shen steadied himself. Don’t panic. Although I’ve been a bit carried away lately, I’ve never done anything shameful in my life. With a clear conscience, I fear no evil spirits. If it is indeed some demonic entity, it cannot harm this upright soul of mine. And if it really is Jigong, then I have even less to fear. Would a benevolent deity trouble a good man?
“Y-you… who exactly are you, Great Monk?” Wu Shen spoke. “What instruction do you offer?”
“My identity matters not.” Li Daoxuan fanned his tattered fan. “I came to give you a small piece of advice.”
Wu Shen: “Please speak.”
Li Daoxuan: “Do you feel incredibly pleased, your pockets full with that hundred thousand taels of silver?”
It struck true… Wu Shen genuinely did feel pleased, filled with a sense of pride—that he could save the entire Shaanxi.
He chuckled awkwardly. “These provisions and silver brought by this minister were dispatched by His Majesty to aid the disaster victims. This minister treads with solemnity and respect, swearing to use these funds to help the people of Shaanxi rebuild their lives.”
He was speaking pure officialese—firmly refusing to admit he was a bit ‘floaty’.
Li Daoxuan chuckled. “That bit of money, and you want to rebuild fortunes? Come, come, let me calculate for you exactly how many people that hundred thousand taels can truly save. Supposing you give each commoner one liang of silver, a hundred thousand taels would only suffice for a hundred thousand people. Right now, in Shaanxi, the price of one dou of rice or flour is roughly seven hundred to a thousand copper coins. Go ahead, calculate it yourself—how many dou of rice or flour can one liang of silver buy?”
Li Daoxuan laughed. “How long can that amount of grain last?”
Sweat poured down Wu Shen’s face. “If mixed with wild vegetables… that amount might stretch at most… fifty days!”
Li Daoxuan smiled without speaking, merely spreading his hands.
Liang Shixian finally caught on now: The Deity disguised himself as a monk to tease the Imperial Envoy! So of course, his subordinate had to cooperate.
He quickly stepped forward, clasping his hands. “Imperial Envoy, this humble official dares to say something: you cannot give all that hundred thousand taels directly to the refugees. Part of it must be used to resettle appeased bandits. Did His Majesty not issue an edict? Arranging farmland, oxen, and seed for the bandits…”
Wu Shen: “!!!”
Damn! Thinking it like this, with a hundred thousand taels, forget saving people—buying a few hundred oxen alone would wipe it out! Forget arranging farmland and seed!
Wu Shen felt mountainous pressure.
Just moments ago, I felt incredibly capable. Why do I suddenly feel utterly insignificant now?
Li Daoxuan continued: “Wu Shen, long confined to the lofty court halls, you understand little of worldly suffering, do you? Do you know what the bandits will do after their appeasement, if they are not properly settled?”
Wu Shen: “Please advise me!”
Li Daoxuan: “Former bandits returning home after appeasement, having received official pardons, occupy key villages. Their gang members then rampage across the countryside, plundering freely—what the people call ‘grain-raiding.’ The people call them ‘official bandits.'”
Wu Shen was shocked. He turned to Liang Shixian. “True?”
Fang Wushang behind Liang Shixian scrambled to his feet and loudly declared: “True! The bandit chief Fan Shanyue of Heyang County had once been appeased! After his appeasement, his forces disbanded and returned home. Along the way, they burned, killed, and plundered, causing widespread resentment among Heyang County’s people! This general led the troops, holding back the returning bandits at the boundary marker between Heyang County and Chengcheng County. We fought for several months before finally pacifying them! Imperial Envoy, if you do not believe it, you may inquire with County Magistrate Feng Jun of Heyang County!”
Wu Shen: “!!!”
This time, he felt genuine panic. If I, entrusted with His Majesty’s hundred thousand taels from his private funds, return having achieved nothing… won’t the Emperor punish me severely upon my return?
“Great Monk,” he implored, “in your esteemed opinion, what should this minister do?”
Li Daoxuan shook his head. “Unsaveable. Utterly unsaveable. Go back.”
Wu Shen: “It can’t be unsaveable!”
Li Daoxuan continued shaking his head. “Better to go ask Zhu Youjian for more silver.”
He had used the Emperor’s name directly. Yet, because of the ‘flying’ performance earlier, not one among those present called him audacious. Instead, it felt strangely apt that he called him Zhu Youjian. Wu Shen himself shook his head. “The Emperor will definitely not part with more private funds.”
Li Daoxuan: “Then it’s unsaveable.”
With that, he waved his fan, and just like that, whoosh— he flew up into the air again. His peculiar singing echoed through the sky: “My shoes are torn, my hat is torn, my cassock is torn too…”
The singing traversed miles in an instant and vanished.
The crowd gaped foolishly as he flew away, utterly speechless for a long moment.
Finally, after quite some time, Wu Shen jolted back to awareness. “The divine monk appeared here to make me realize this disaster relief method is utterly useless! I must conceive a better plan. But… what method should I use?”
No matter!
First, write a letter demanding money from the Emperor. Whether he gives it is one thing; whether I ask is another. He reasoned. If I do not ask, and disaster relief fails later, the responsibility is mine. If I ask and the Emperor refuses, then the responsibility for the failed relief lies with him!
The Emperor can bear such responsibility; a minor official like me certainly cannot.
Wu Shen immediately grabbed his brush and wrote frantically: “Your servant carried one hundred thousand gold taels westward. Weighing it out, one tael per person could only sustain one hundred thousand souls. A dou of rice costing seven-tenths of a tael, means the silver might only last fifty days. Your Majesty should urgently command the relief minister to report: is the previous allocation of one hundred thousand gold taels truly sufficient? If not, then rich grace must be poured out early, and precious the private funds must no longer be spared.”
Once finished, he thrust the letter into the hands of a trusted aide. “Speed it to the capital!”
The trusted aide spurred his horse and galloped away.
Wu Shen’s expression darkened; he was genuinely bordering on frantic.
However, having earned his jinshi degree, Wu Shen was no fool. In fact, he was far cleverer than most. After this brief panic, a sudden thought struck him. His gaze swept across the fertile land of Chengcheng County.
“Eh?”
He turned to Liang Shixian. “Magistrate Liang, this Chengcheng County of yours… since it escaped calamity and remains lush with trees… it should still be able to squeeze in some more commoners, shouldn’t it?”
Hearing this, Liang Shixian’s eyes lit up. At last, I comprehend the Deity’s arrangement! So that was why! The Deity disguised himself as a monk to tease the Imperial Envoy… I couldn’t grasp the meaning earlier. But it was all paving the way for this final blow.
It was to make Wu Shen send the populace here!
Wu Shen was unlike ordinary officials. He was the Imperial Envoy, bearing direct responsibility for the entire Shaanxi, wielding immense authority. Unlike himself (Liang Shixian), who could only siphon refugees from neighbouring counties, Wu Shen could use his authority as “Imperial Envoy” to transfer refugees from anywhere in Shaanxi into Chengcheng County.
This was an absolute windfall!
If Chengcheng County didn’t seize this fortune, it would simply be foolish!
Liang Shixian clasped his hands, standing upright and solemn. “Chengcheng County still has surplus capacity to assist the Imperial Envoy in receiving and aiding refugees. This humble official is also willing to exert every effort for the refugees’ sake. Imperial Envoy, make your arrangements at will.”
Wu Shen felt slightly steadied. If that’s the case, the silver and provisions I have can be stretched much further. Just paying a small travel allowance to send the refugees to Chengcheng County… here there is land to cultivate and grain to eat. This would relieve a tremendous burden from this minister.