Chapter 159

Guo Rong acted swiftly and decisively, having received the edict, that very day he established the Disaster Relief Office in the Prince Jin's mansion.

He drew a batch of the most capable officials from Kaifeng Prefecture, personally wrote a letter, and sent it by express horse to Yangzhou.

The letter's wording was earnest.

First, as Prince Jin of the Great Zhou, he thanked the Wang Family for their previous "assistance" to Guo Wei, then got straight to the point, proposing a plan to borrow money to buy grain, using salt and tea as collateral.

Finally, in his private capacity, he invited the Wang Family to send talents "skilled in accounting and adept at economics" to Kaifeng to assist him in handling the complicated disaster-relief affairs.

This letter was less a discussion of cooperation and more a clear signal being sent to the Wang Family.

I, Guo Rong, know that your Wang Family exerted great effort in my ascension to the reserve position.

Now, I need your help.

I am willing to cooperate with you.

This is a gesture of goodwill, and also a shrewd political exchange.

……

Yangzhou, Wang Family Fort.

Wang Zhen looked at Guo Rong's handwritten letter, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"This Guo Rong is indeed a smart person," he said to Su Qin beside him, "He knows that what our Wang Family wants is not money."

"He proactively invited us to send people to Kaifeng to assist him in disaster relief. This both gives us an excellent opportunity to intervene in northern affairs and shows our Wang Family that he is willing to accept our goodwill."

Su Qin also nodded: "The Head of Family is right. This person is young but possesses such skill, understands profit exchange, and knows how to leverage strength. Given time, he will surely become a great talent. Our move is not mistaken."

"Then... Head of Family, whom should we send to Kaifeng?" Su Qin asked.

This matter is no small affair.

The person sent must be sufficiently clever, able to handle the complicated disaster-relief affairs, so as to earn a good reputation for the Wang Family in the north.

He must also be sufficiently loyal, understand how to keep his place, not achieve such high merit as to threaten the sovereign, thereby arousing suspicion from Guo Wei and Guo Rong.

Wang Zhen pondered for a moment.

Several names flashed through his mind.

Finally, his gaze fell upon a young man who had always remained silent, sitting nearby.

This young man, in his early twenties, had a handsome appearance and a steady gaze.

His name was Wang Hao, a paternal cousin of Wang Zhen, and one of the most outstanding graduates of the Wang Family Academy of this generation.

He was not like Su Qin, skilled in strategic maneuvering, nor like Wang Meng, adept at decisive killing.

His greatest trait was pragmatism.

He excelled at accounting, possessing an extraordinary sensitivity to numbers. The Wang Family's ability to manage Jiangnan's finances in good order these past years is largely due to him.

One could say he is like a precise human calculator; any complicated accounts, once in his hands, can be sorted out clearly and distinctly.

"Wang Hao," Wang Zhen said.

"Here I am, uncle," Wang Jing rose to his feet and replied with a bow.

"The north, go there for a trip."

Wang Hao stared for a moment, but immediately his face lit up with excitement.

He knew this was the Head of Family's trust and test of him.

"I, nephew, accept the command!" He had no hesitation whatsoever.

"Remember," Wang Zhen looked at him and instructed, "This time you go, you represent our Wang Family. Your mission has three parts."

"First, assist Prince Jin, and handle this disaster relief splendidly. Money, our Wang Family can provide; grain, we can also help allocate. In short, we must not let another person starve to death in the disaster area."

"Second, take this opportunity to impart our Wang Family's advanced tax-and-finance management methods to Guo Rong. The policies we are currently trialing—'integrating poll tax into land tax' and 'unified grain tax'—are of great benefit to a nation eager to restore production; I need say no more."

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Giving Guo Rong more money only relieves his immediate need, but transplanting this system, regardless of whether it ultimately succeeds, brings influence that our Wang Family also needs."

"Third, and most importantly," Wang Zhen's tone grew especially stern, "You must maintain good relations with Guo Rong. But remember, it is a subject–ruler relationship. You may be a capable minister, a diligent minister, but you must absolutely not become a powerful minister. You must know how to conceal your shortcomings and retire after success. Our roots lie in Jiangnan, at sea. The north is merely a chessboard where we place our pieces, not our home."

Wang Zhen's words can be said to have laid bare and broken down the Wang Family's core strategy for the north, explaining it to Wang Hao.

Wang Hao felt his blood surge with excitement, eager to try.

He bowed deeply to Wang Zhen.

"Head of Family, rest assured. Wang Hao will certainly not disgrace the Wang Family's gate!"

……

Era Name Deadline later.

Kaifeng, Prince Jin's mansion.

Guo Rong looked at the young man before him, who was a few years younger than himself, and at the dozen or so carts piled high with account books and documents behind him, his face full of surprise.

"You... you are the Wang Hao sent by the Wang Family to assist in this disaster relief?"

"Commoner Wang Hao pays respects to His Highness the Prince Jin," Wang Jing performed a salute without arrogance or humility.

"No need for ceremony, no need for ceremony," Guo Rong hurriedly helped him up, "Mr. Wang, you... what is this?"

He pointed at those account books.

"Your Highness," a faint apologetic smile appeared on Wang Jing's face, "The commoner comes at the Head of Family's order to assist Your Highness in disaster relief. The Head of Family said, 'Before troops move, provisions must be ready.' Disaster relief follows the same principle. To have money and grain spent where they count, we must first clear the accounts."

"Here, based on the household registration, land acreage, and yearly tax data of the prefectures and counties of Sichuan and Hunan provided by the Wang Family Intelligence Bureau, I have hastily produced overnight the 'Disaster Relief Budget'."

"According to each prefecture and county's disaster situation and population, we precisely calculated the grain and silver they needed. As long as we distribute according to this list, we can guarantee that no one will starve and no one will fraudulently claim."

Guo Rong casually picked up an account book and flipped it open.

Just a glance at its contents left him shocked.

In that account book, using a method he had never seen before, called double-entry bookkeeping, the origin and flow of every sum of money were recorded clearly and distinctly.

Income, expenditure, balance—clear at a glance.

Even the number of ships and manpower needed to transport grain from the Yangtze-Huai region to the disaster area, and the resulting loss, were precisely calculated.

This… this isn't a ledger? This is already the outline of this disaster relief plan.

When Guo Rong's gaze fell on Wang Jing, the fervor and astonishment in his eyes were nothing less than a dim‑witted monarch seeing a peerless beauty.

Before this, he had eagerly awaited the help the Wang Family would send, for the Wang Family's reputation spread far across Jiangnan, and they could devise strategies for the Later Zhou's disaster relief; the person they sent would certainly be extraordinary.

He had imagined the person countless times in his mind: perhaps someone like Su Qin, silver‑tongued and eloquent, a strategist who could read hearts with a word and defuse crises with speech; or perhaps a warrior who could wield a spear and ride into battle, brave and skilled at arms, able to quell chaos during disaster relief and keep the region peaceful.

But he never expected that the Wang Family would actually send such a refined‑looking young man, even bearing a touch of scholar‑like air, dressed in a plain blue long robe, with delicate features and slender fingers—if not for the precise disaster‑relief accounting spread on the table, anyone would have taken him for an ordinary scholar.

But this seemingly frail young man, relying solely on that set of calculations, had already organized the chaotic disaster‑relief tasks—grain allocation, refugee statistics, fund expenditures—into perfect order, and could even precisely compute the supplies needed for each prefecture and county, down to the minutest loss.

Those clear accounts and rigorous logic made Guo Rong, weary of the bureaucracy's tangled procedures, feel his eyes light up; his shock surged like a tide.

"Mr. Wang… what talent!" Guo Rong snapped out of his shock, his voice full of sincere admiration. He stepped forward, his eyes locked on Wang Jing, as if to engrave the man's image in his mind: "With you, sir, and this method you've brought, I'd say this disaster relief is already half‑successful!"

He knew all too well the value of this calculation method; in past disaster relief, officials usually relied on experience, often causing grain surpluses or shortages, accounts falling into chaos, and corruption running rampant. But Wang Jing's method solves these problems at the root, making relief efficient and transparent.

"Your Highness overpraises me." Facing Guo Rong's effusive praise, Wang Jing's face remained calm and composed; he bowed slightly, his tone humble: "This is merely our Wang Family's most basic management measures—nothing worthy of great talent."

"The… most basic?"

Hearing this, Guo Rong's eyes twitched involuntarily. The hand holding the disaster‑relief plan trembled, and his heart churned with stormy waves. To him, a method capable of overturning disaster‑relief woes—a "great talent's art"—was, in the Wang Family, merely "the most basic management measures."

Just how fearsome could the Wang Family's true strength be? For the first time, facing that distant, mysterious, yet mighty Wang Family in Jiangnan, he felt an immense curiosity and awe—what kind of clan could nurture such talent and possess such exquisite managerial arts?

"Come here!" Guo Rong snapped back to attention, a flash of resolve in his eyes, and issued a loud order. The guards outside the hall heard and entered, standing respectfully awaiting instructions.

Guo Rong pointed at Wang Jing and declared firmly: "From today on, Mr. Wang Jing shall be the Chief Secretary of my Prince Jin's Manor, concurrently serving as Director of the Disaster Relief Bureau! All disaster‑relief matters, great or small, shall be decided by Mr. Wang; no one may defy him!"

"Your Highness, no!" Upon hearing this, Wang Jing hurried forward a step to decline; the calm on his face finally showed a hint of change, his tone urgent: "I am a commoner with no office or rank—what virtue or ability do I have to bear such a heavy duty?"

"With Your Highness arranging this, wouldn't the court officials criticize you for favoritism and disregard of propriety?" He kept in mind Wang Zhen's parting instructions: on this trip to the Later Zhou, he must conceal his abilities, stay low‑key, and absolutely avoid drawing attention, lest he invite unnecessary notice.

But Guo Rong seized his hand, his gaze burning as he looked at him, eyes full of trust and expectation: "You needn't be so modest! I, Guo Rong, employ people solely on talent, not background. With such ability, you ought to take this post! With you assisting me, I'll gain wings like a tiger—what fear have I of others' criticism? Let anyone who dares to speak more come straight to me!"

At this moment, Guo Rong seemed to shed his usual gentleness, exuding a kingly aura just like his father Guo Wei's.