I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

Li Yifu thought for a moment and then slowly said,
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid we can only mobilize less than 200,000 catties of grain…”
Wu Zhao’s vision darkened.
Her cold gaze swept over everyone.
“Gentlemen, do you have any solutions?”
Everyone in the room looked at each other, not daring to answer. No one wanted to deal with this problem.
The situation had reached an impasse. What could the court do without grain? Could they force the grain merchants to lower their prices?
Everyone fell into deep thought. Shangguan Wan’er instinctively looked at Yang Yi, only to find that he remained calm, seemingly pondering, but with no intention of speaking.
After a while, an elderly man with white hair smiled and said,
“Your Majesty, the court could use fame as bait to encourage the wealthy merchants and gentry of Hangzhou to donate grain and money. If they are willing to donate, the court can arrange for their names to be inscribed on a monument in Hangzhou to immortalize their deeds.”
As his words fell, the eyes of those around him lit up.
“That makes sense…”
“Minister Xu’s strategy is indeed brilliant!”
“This plan might be effective.”
The speaker was Xu Jingzong, the chancellor, a seasoned veteran of the political arena for decades. His proposal was quite feasible.
Shangguan Wan’er couldn’t help but nod slightly. Using fame and fortune to entice the wealthy merchants to donate wasn’t a bad idea.
However, Wu Zhao shook her head.
“It’s not very feasible. The death of more commoners will have no effect on these wealthy merchants. Besides, the grain merchants are probably backed by the wealthy gentry of Hangzhou. They are already trying to make huge profits from this national disaster. Why would they give up such huge profits for a monument? Even if some are willing to donate, it would be a drop in the bucket for the huge population of Hangzhou.”
Xu Jingzong was stunned for a moment and couldn’t help but smile bitterly. The Empress’ words were not without reason.
But it was the only solution he could think of.
The hall fell silent again.
Li Yifu slowly said,
“Your Majesty, no matter what, we must first send all the grain we can gather to Hangzhou. We must let the people of Hangzhou know that the court has not abandoned them and calm their restless hearts. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable…”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Li Yifu’s consideration was not without reason. After all, in times of famine, the most important thing is for the government to instill confidence in the people. Otherwise, unrest could easily occur.
At that moment, Yang Yi’s voice suddenly rang out.
“No.”
Everyone’s eyes fell on Yang Yi in astonishment. They hadn’t expected him to directly reject the idea.
Shangguan Wan’er was also a bit stunned. She thought that Li Yifu’s suggestion seemed reasonable.
Xu Jingzong looked at Yang Yi thoughtfully. He was quite curious about this junior official from the secretariat.
On the other hand, Li Yifu’s face darkened. This boy just loved to stand up to him, didn’t he?
He narrowed his eyes and spoke harshly.
“What do you mean, Minister Yang? Is my proposal not feasible? Do you want the people of Hangzhou to starve? If something goes wrong, can you take the responsibility? This is not the same as mixing sand with rice. Don’t talk nonsense!”
He still held a grudge against Yang Yi for the last disaster relief operation and now took the opportunity to take a swipe at him.
Yang Yi smiled slightly, seemingly unaffected, making Li Yifu feel as if he had punched cotton wool, frustrating him to the point that he wanted to spit blood.
Wu Zhao frowned slightly, her eyes fixed on Yang Yi, her voice much softer.
“Minister Yang, what do you mean? Speak freely.”
Yang Yi folded his hands.
“Your Majesty, I believe that with the current grain shortage, we must not send all the grain to Hangzhou. Otherwise, if the grain is quickly consumed and we cannot send more in time, would it not tell the people of Hangzhou that the court has no more grain? At that point, there will be real unrest. If someone with an ulterior motive stirs things up, it will lead to a great disaster!”
The hall fell silent as everyone considered Yang Yi’s words. They nodded in agreement, recognizing the truth in his assessment.
If they failed to provide sufficient grain later, the people would lose faith in the court, leading to a dangerous situation.
Shangguan Wan’er’s eyes lit up with understanding.
Wu Zhao remained silent, acknowledging the gravity of Yang Yi’s insight. The grain shortage was indeed a critical issue.
Li Yifu, however, was filled with frustration. His proposal had been rejected once again by Yang Yi, causing him to lose face. The previous disaster relief had already exposed his inferiority compared to Yang Yi, and now they were clashing again?
He gritted his teeth.
“Then we should transport the grain to Hangzhou in batches… That way, each shipment would be smaller, but there would still be hope for the future.”
Yang Yi replied without hesitation, “That is still not feasible. Each time the grain is insufficient, many people will starve to death.”
Li Yifu’s face turned red with anger, his eyes flashing.
“Some people starving is better than most people starving!”
Yang Yi shook his head.
“Minister Li speaks lightly. The ‘some people’ you mention who are starving could be tens of thousands, affecting hundreds of thousands of families. For Minister Li, the drought in Hangzhou might be just a few words in the history books, but for the people of Hangzhou, it’s an incredibly heavy catastrophe. A speck of dust in time, when it falls on the people, becomes a mountain…”
The hall fell into stunned silence.
Everyone was struck by Yang Yi’s profound words.
Wu Zhao pondered this statement in silence, her phoenix eyes reflecting a flicker of contemplation.
The gaze of the other officials towards Yang Yi gradually shifted. This young man’s ability to articulate such profound thoughts revealed an extraordinary wisdom.
Shangguan Wan’er’s cold eyes flashed with admiration. As the Empress’s handmaiden and the head of the palace’s female officials, she had encountered many high-ranking nobles.
In the eyes of these nobles, the lives of commoners were often regarded as mere numbers. But Minister Yang saw things differently.
Li Yifu was seething with anger. This man was infuriatingly sanctimonious and seemed determined to undermine him at every turn.
The rage in his heart was almost overwhelming.
Suppressing his inner fury, Li Yifu coldly said, “If this plan is unworkable, then Minister Yang, please present us with a brilliant solution.”