Chapter 326

First Volume, Chapter 326: The Struggle of Famine

At this moment, Qin Feng's mood was mixed with joy and worry.

The joy was that Mo Li's abilities were simply too powerful—he had already investigated this serious situation to within an inch of the truth without Qin Feng even giving an order.

With such an ally to rely on, the road ahead would surely become much easier.

The worry was that tens of thousands of starving civilians were heading toward Beixi County simultaneously—this must have been organized and premeditated; Qin Feng would never believe no one had intervened or guided them.

Once this group of starving civilians flooded into Beixi County, the matter would become enormous!

Due to continuous warfare and Chen Si's looming presence fixed on Beixi County, all commercial activity in Beixi County had completely halted.

Simply supplying food to Beixi County alone had nearly drained Qin Feng dry.

Adding another ten thousand hungry mouths would be enough to crush him under the weight of grain demands alone.

But… he couldn't just leave them to fend for themselves!

First, these people were all subjects of Shedynasty—if ignored, they would be slaughtered by the Di; morally and personally, Qin Feng had no standing, and he would surely be impeached at Early Court for inaction and indifference to the people's suffering.

Second, if left unchecked, these starving civilians would sweep through like locusts, destroying every field in Beixi County, turning it into a true isolated dead zone.

After all, labor was scarce in this age; land reclamation relied entirely on human or animal power, and to date, Beixi County's land utilization rate was under ten percent—the rest remained barren wasteland.

Destroying Beixi County's agriculture was easy; rebuilding it would be harder than climbing to heaven!

In such a short time, the only person capable of mobilizing so many starving civilians was likely the Lin Family.

The Lin Family truly understood the principle of "strike while the iron is hot."

This time, Qin Feng's weak point had been completely seized.

Mo Li had left with his men; where they went, Qin Feng did not know—at least until the Jin Yi Wei established its headquarters, they had no fixed base.

Qin Feng didn't even know what Mo Li and his men looked like…

To have intelligence work this refined was already quite excellent; whether it could stand up to the Hei Wei Si still needed time to test.

The next morning, as dawn barely broke, Liu Hongyan dragged Qin Feng out of bed and shoved him out of Tianji Camp.

Only when he saw the Imperial Eunuch waiting outside did Qin Feng, half-asleep, realize he was probably being summoned to Early Court again.

Qin Feng feared court sessions most—long, tedious, and every issue dragged on for endless debate, often ending in no resolution.

When Qin Feng reluctantly entered the Grand Hall, he found the atmosphere heavily oppressive.

The court officials, who normally spewed saliva in heated arguments, were now silent, heads bowed, timid and fearful.

Qin Tianhu gave Qin Feng a glance, warning him to tread carefully.

Before Qin Feng had even fully stepped in, the Liang Emperor's voice rang out: "Qin Feng, though you are merely a minor ten-household leader with no official rank, your experience outside court surpasses that of many ministers. Under your governance, Beixi County has achieved astonishing feats; even Pingyao County, ravaged beyond measure, recovered under your inspection."

A barrage of praise right out the gate?

If it were anyone else, Qin Feng might have been dazzled by the Emperor's flattery—but he was instantly alert, fully on guard.

Something was up.

Under Qin Feng's cautious gaze, the Emperor narrowed his eyes, revealing a shrewd, cunning expression: "The famine in Changping County has reached a point of divine wrath and public outrage. I intended to appoint an official to manage it, yet the Six Ministries could not produce a single suitable candidate. I wish to hear your opinion."

Your head, you mean!

Qin Feng cursed inwardly.

This famine in Changping County was not a one- or two-year affair—it had persisted for years.

If earlier it was a natural disaster, now it had become entirely man-made.

The Hei Wei Si was everywhere; such a massive matter could not escape the Liang Emperor's notice—he merely suppressed it to avoid disrupting the National War.

Though privately the Liang Emperor had been sending funds to Changping County for relief, his focus lay elsewhere, so he turned a blind eye to the disaster.

Officials at every level, under zero pressure, had exploited the people at every layer.

In short, the Liang Emperor bore at least half the blame for Changping County's current state.

Damn it—who would take this thankless, rotten task?

This old bastard, whenever he ran into such a mess, immediately thought of me!

Qin Feng felt like dying of frustration—everyone thought being the Emperor's favorite meant glory, but only Qin Feng knew how bitter it truly was.

Qin Tianhu cleared his throat softly beside him.

Qin Feng turned toward the sound and met Qin Tianhu's furious glare—as if to say: "If you take this rotten job, I'll disown you as my son."

Facing this situation—wolves ahead, tigers behind—Qin Feng yawned and feigned ignorance: "Relief is simple: assign dedicated supervisors, buy grain from all regions, transport it to Changping County, and distribute Relief Grain by headcount."

In the past, an official would have immediately leapt up, blasting Qin Feng with spit and scorn.

Do you really need to state the obvious?

Even a fool could think of that.

But today, strangely, every single official remained silent, terrified that speaking up would get them exiled to Changping County.

It proved these officials had made the right choice.

The Liang Emperor's attention was fixed entirely on Qin Feng; he sighed heavily, feigning difficulty: "Changping County is a major county with 160,000 people. Moreover, the Di army is pressing at the border—first, we must guarantee Military Rations; second, sourcing grain from other regions is costly and burdensome."

"Even ignoring these factors, the cost of procuring grain is astronomical."

"To alleviate Changping County's famine, at least three years' worth of grain must be prepared—emergency rations, transitional supplies, seed grain—all combined, likely requiring one million taels of silver… yet the National Treasury is empty!"

Empty your ass—you stole five million taels from me!

Use it for relief!

This old bastard was truly sneaky.

He knew Changping County's situation better than anyone—years of disaster, tens of thousands dead or fled, the remaining population barely two or three thousand; relieving that many was no challenge.

The problem was: once relief was given, the fleeing starving civilians would hear and return, rendering all efforts useless.

Relief was impossible; no relief was impossible too.

The core issue lay in how to restore and rebuild Changping County's agriculture, so this great county could regain its former glory.

The difficulty of this matter made even Qin Feng feel a chill down his spine.

The Liang Emperor forcibly turned a brief natural disaster into a prolonged human calamity, pushing it to a point of no return.