Chapter 51

"What a 'relief through work'!" Xu Xuanji did not hide his praise.

This line of thinking was something they had never thought of before.

On the dragon throne, Wu Zhao's beautiful eyes looked at Gao Yang.

Gao Yang's words opened up an unprecedented line of thinking for her.

The imperial court does not only have the path of disaster relief.

It can also use relief through work!

Commoners under natural disasters, in order to survive, can sell their labor power very cheaply.

This approach seems cruel and vicious to the commoners, but in reality, it is a policy to save the people!

Wu Zhao's gaze was filled with amazement, and her eyes were filled with satisfaction.

Wang Zhong could not help but say in a deep voice, "But even if it is relief through work, why must Minister Gao exploit the commoners so much? Ten wen a day is too harsh!"

The daily income of a Da Qian commoner for labor is roughly thirty to one hundred wen.

This wage has already been pressed very low.

It is enough to be called exploitation.

For a time, numerous gazes gathered on Gao Yang.

Cui Xinghe closed his eyes and said nothing.

He only felt that this Wang Zhong was too stupid; isn't this giving Gao Yang an opportunity to show off?

Gao Yang turned back to look at Wang Zhong and mocked, "If Old General Wang does not understand the livelihood of the people, there is no need to speak. Appropriate silence is not shameful; it is better than making a fool of oneself."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong was furious, "Gao Yang, you little brat, you dare to insult me? Are you courting death?"

Wang Zhong glared, after all, he was an old general who had fought his way out of the battlefield.

To suddenly get angry like this was still quite terrifying.

Gao Tianlong said indifferently, "The people of my Duke of Ding Prefecture are not for an old brute like you to threaten."

"With me here, is there any room for you to speak?"

Once Gao Tianlong spoke, the officials were shocked.

The Duke of Ding usually does not attend court, and it was already surprising that he had attended court consecutively, but today he was also domineeringly protecting his own.

This made some people secretly alarmed.

Wang Zhong looked at Gao Tianlong's indifferent eyes; he really wanted to speak, but the words were swallowed back.

"Yang'er, feel free to speak. You have not been in Changancheng for these dozens of days, so you are unaware of the criticisms in the court."

"Today, you can say it all, so that the backbone ministers of Da Qian who impeached you can listen carefully."

Gao Yang looked at Gao Tianlong and understood the implication.

Slap their faces, slap their faces hard for me.

With Gao Tianlong here today, he is the greatest backing.

Gao Yang bowed to Gao Tianlong and smiled, "Grandson understands!"

Immediately after, his eyes suddenly looked at Wang Zhong, "Old General Wang, having disaster victims renovate the yamen can indeed be done for thirty or even fifty wen a day, but has Old General Wang ever thought about whether local wealthy gentry would follow suit if the wages were high?"

For a moment, Wang Zhong was dumbfounded.

He also suddenly realized this serious problem.

If the yamen renovates at a high price, and the wealthy gentry have no profit to gain, why would they follow suit upon hearing the news?

Expecting these wealthy gentry to show compassion for the commoners?

The smile on Wu Zhao's face became even more obvious.

Gao Yang continued, "The biggest reason wealthy gentry repair their houses and hire disaster victims to work during a year of great disaster is that it is cheap!"

"The yamen renovation must be exploitative. Only by letting the local wealthy gentry see that the disaster victims are willing to work very cheaply in order to survive will they hire them."

"In fact, only when the yamen plays the villain, making the disaster victims complain bitterly, will the local wealthy gentry gain a good reputation by slightly raising the wages."

"For the wealthy gentry, firstly, they can gain a reputation, and secondly, they save on labor costs that are one or even two times cheaper than in peaceful years. Only then will they be willing!"

Gao Yang looked at Wang Zhong, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's: "If the yamen's wages were very conscientious, the wealthy gentry would have no profit to gain and no reputation to gain. Would they be bored enough to get involved in this muddy water?"

Once the words fell, Wang Zhong's face turned deathly pale.

The entire Jin Luan Hall fell into silence.

At this moment, Gao Yang was the absolute center of the entire Jin Luan Hall.

Yan Zheng was stunned and speechless.

The exploitation in his eyes was actually a life-saving strategy for the commoners...

The impact of this on his heart was like a raging sea.

Wu Zhao's gaze was filled with amazement.

The yamen playing the villain to give the wealthy gentry a reputation and profit—for the local wealthy gentry, there was simply no reason to refuse.

Wu Zhao spoke, "Gao Yang, you went to the temple, and it wasn't just to simply worship Buddha, right?"

A person like Gao Yang who manipulates human hearts does not look like a Buddhist believer.

Gao Yang looked at Wu Zhao, his gaze imperceptibly sweeping over the jade legs under the dragon robe, and then said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Our Da Qian believes in Buddhism, and the conflict between Buddhism and Daoism has a long history. I went to the temple just to observe the dilapidation of each temple, and then used my status to build a relationship with the temple abbots, posing as a believer."

"Before leaving, I wrote a letter informing them that the temple was too old and would have to be renovated sooner or later, so it would be better to take advantage of the great disaster to renovate the temple, otherwise the labor costs would be much higher later, and then I threw out the banner of 'My Buddha is merciful and should save the world and the people'!"

"The temple was already dilapidated, and renovating it now not only saves money but also allows them to gather public support under the name of 'My Buddha is merciful.' They had no reason to refuse."

"In this way, the wealthy gentry and the temples earned profits and gained reputations, the commoners earned money with their own hands, and all three parties got what they needed. Plus, with stable grain prices, the commoners naturally have a way to survive."

Cui Xinghe closed his eyes; he knew he had underestimated Gao Yang.

Using profit as a pole and reputation as bait, he willingly made the wealthy gentry and temples work for him!

All three parties reached a win-win situation, and all were willing.

In this way, the disaster in Linjiang City would surely be greatly alleviated.

He had lost.

Lost completely!

Gao Yang's methods were ten times, a hundred times better than his, Cui Xinghe's!

Thinking of how he had been smug about lowering grain prices by a dozen wen, Cui Xinghe wished he could dig a hole in the Jin Luan Hall with his toes!

Wu Zhao was full of appreciation and continued to ask: "What is the meaning of holding a large-scale dragon boat race?"

The officials' gazes also focused on Gao Yang; they were also very curious about this question.

Holding large-scale events during a year of great disaster—can this also alleviate the disaster?

Gao Yang looked at the officials and said indifferently while standing in the Jin Luan Hall: "Our Da Qian values agriculture and suppresses commerce, and commercial taxes are quite heavy. If the winner is exempted from taxes for three years, the major wealthy gentry, both local and from out of town, will surely be tempted!"

"Under large-scale events, commoners are born to love excitement. At that time, not only local commoners but even commoners from near Linjiang City will flock there. Once there are many people, it will drive consumption."

"Whether it is food or inns, the business of merchants will be very good. This is something that will inevitably happen!"

"As long as the competition system is lengthened and multiple stalls are provided, with these three methods used together, this period of disaster will pass."

Once the words fell, it was like a giant stone thrown into a calm pool, shocking the officials' gazes.

Using the wealthy gentry and temples' greed for profit and reputation, making the county yamen play the villain, and giving them a reason they must act.

Then holding large-scale events to drive consumption.

In this way, the disaster can be greatly alleviated!

Such strategy, such insight into human hearts, is simply terrifying!