Chapter 97: No Clothes to Wear

Inside and outside the makeshift tents, many commoners wore tattered clothing, those garments covered in patches, some even unable to cover their bodies; when the cold wind blew, they shivered.

Not far away, several children huddled together, their clothes thin and worn, hardly able to ward off the cold.

One little girl wore an adult's garment altered to fit her, its hem uneven, sleeves so short they revealed her slender wrists.

Her small face was frozen red, her eyes showing a timid expression.

Moreover, some women, to save cloth, several shared a single garment.

In the cold wind, they tightly wrapped themselves in that tattered clothing, their eyes full of helplessness and sorrow.

Liu Ju looked at the suffering commoners before him, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

An old man with white hair wore a ragged cloth barely tied with grass rope, the tears in the fabric clearly visible, his chest and arms exposed, his skin frozen to a bluish-purple.

Seeing Liu Ju approach, the old man's eyes filled with tears, his voice trembling as he said, "Your Majesty, this flood has swept away everything we had; now we don't even have a piece of clothing to cover ourselves—how can we go on like this……"

"Your Majesty, I've heard the former emperor is still alive; is it your usurpation that has angered the River God?"

"Silence, stop speaking nonsense!" Zhang Tang shouted to stop him.

Liu Ju waved his hand and said, "Elder, please don't be anxious, listen to me."

Liu Ju slowly walked to the old man's side, personally took off his own cloak and gently draped it over the old man's shoulders.

He looked around, raised his voice, so that every commoner present could hear clearly:

"Folks, you are suffering now; I feel the same pain, my heart more anguished than anyone's. But the rumors that I usurped the throne and angered the River God are pure nonsense."

"The former emperor being alive is an undeniable fact, but before he passed away, the reasons are hard to explain; yet everyone believes that I and the Retired Emperor share the same love for the Great Han……"

Liu Ju's gaze was sincere and firm, sweeping over faces filled with doubt or confusion.

"The Yellow River's breach is indeed a natural disaster, but not because the River God is angry. The reasons behind it, I will explain in detail to everyone. The upper reaches of the Yellow River on the Loess Plateau were once lush with vegetation, able to hold the soil and water."

"But in recent years, with population growth, people cut down trees excessively for livelihood, the forests vanished, the Loess Plateau lost its vegetative protection; when heavy rain came, large amounts of silt were washed into the Yellow River. The silt carried by the river increased, blocking the lower river channels, thus causing the floods."

"At the same time, the Yellow River's breach is also a man-made disaster; twenty years ago, Tian Feng, for his own selfish ends……"

Liu Ju patiently explained, speaking while gesturing with his hands, striving for the commoners to understand.

"As for Tian Feng's descendants like Tian Huan and their ilk, for their own private gain they burned the cloth the court sent to the people and spread rumors everywhere, just to disturb hearts. But please believe, I have already sent people to investigate their whereabouts; they will surely receive due punishment."

A flash of anger passed through Liu Ju's eyes, then softened as he said, "Now, the urgent task for everyone is to get through this crisis. I have already ordered the gathering of cloth and supplies from all regions; they will arrive soon. Please endure a little longer; once we get past this period, everything will improve."

"Your Majesty, I am an old fool for believing those rumors. I…… I shouldn't have doubted you!"

Saying this, the old man was about to kneel to apologize.

Liu Ju quickly helped the old man up, saying, "Elder, please don't do that. You too, having suffered greatly and feeling anxious, readily believed those words."

A murmur of discussion rose from the crowd, everyone nodding in agreement.

A young man loudly said, "Your Majesty, we trust you! Earlier we were wrong, we shouldn't have listened to those wicked people. We are all willing to follow you and rebuild our homes together!"

The commoners quietly listened to Liu Ju's words; some people's doubts and dissatisfaction gradually faded from their eyes, but still some harbored suspicions.

Liu Ju looked at the commoners before him, his heart full of relief.

Returning to the large tent, Liu Ju's brows remained furrowed.

At that moment, a report came from the Feather Forest Guard: Liu Xiujun and Li Yan came to report on their work.

When the two entered the room, seeing Liu Ju deep in thought at his desk, they said nothing, merely waiting quietly at the side.

Liu Xiujun's eyes were full of pity.

Li Yan stared blankly at Liu Ju, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Xiujun, how is the matter of solving the study problems for the children in the disaster area?"

After a long while, Liu Ju's voice came out.

Liu Xiujun said, "Older Brother, it has been properly arranged; you need not worry."

Liu Ju nodded, then asked Li Yan, "The disaster victims' clothing…… forget it, I know you can't solve it; I don't blame you, it's my fault!"

Li Yan's eyes slightly reddened, she said, "Your Majesty, it is our inadequacy, unable to share your burden; the current spinning machines have low work efficiency……"

In this life-and-death struggle against the natural disaster, the brave young men of the Great Han charged forward on the front lines, tenaciously resisting the flood and vigorously rescuing the wounded;

while in the rear, a group of resilient women represented by Liu Xiujun and Li Yan silently contributed in their own unique way, providing indispensable strength to the relief efforts.

Li Yan further took the initiative to assume the responsibility of organizing women to weave cloth and make clothing for the disaster victims,

under her careful organization and arrangement, a spacious, bright weaving workshop was quickly erected.

To ensure each batch of supplies could be safely and promptly delivered to the weaving workshop, Li Yan also personally supervised the transportation and storage of materials.

She disregarded the bumpy road, followed the transport convoy, escorting the supplies all the way.

Under nonstop, overloaded work, her pretty face was full of exhaustion, yet filled with determination.

Liu Ju looked at the weary faces of Liu Xiujun and Li Yan, said nothing, merely pacing back and forth in the large tent, his mind filled with the three words "spinning machine".

He always felt that something was hidden deep in his memory, yet he could never grasp it.

"If only the spinning machine's efficiency could be a bit higher."

At that moment, Li Yan let out a soft sigh.

Liu Xiujun also said, "Yan'er, this isn't your fault; we are now using the Great Han's most skilled workers and spinning machines, actually the blame lies with Tian Huan, who burned the relief supplies—utterly intolerable!"

Liu Ju then suddenly stopped his steps, looking at the two and murmuring, "Is the spinning machine's efficiency low?"

Then he simply set aside his tangled thoughts and said, "Take me to the site to have a look."

Liu Xiujun and Li Yan exchanged a glance; although they looked fatigued, they still quickly rose and led Liu Ju to the spinning site.

Along the way, Liu Ju saw the commoners along the road wearing thin, tattered clothing; his heart grew heavier, and his steps unconsciously quickened a bit.