sovbooks Chapter 53: Big Move
Chapter 53: Big Move
Xia Chengxu spoke first: "Grandfather, I believe the crux of the problem lies with the people who fraudulently claimed the money."
"If they hadn't been so greedy and embezzled disaster relief porridge for their own selfish gain, how could such a mistake have occurred?"
"Therefore, I believe that he should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others and to completely prevent such an incident from happening again!"
"In addition, the thirty eunuchs who participated in the disaster relief, who ignored the hunger of the victims and even beat and kicked them, should also be severely punished as a warning to others."
Xia Chengyan said, "Brother Xu is absolutely right. These commoners are greedy and cunning. They fear power but not morality. They need to be severely punished to make them fear us."
Xia Chengli: "Those eunuchs are the same; they're lazy, shirking their duties and doing things half-heartedly. They must be severely punished."
Hearing what the three said, Xia Chengzong found it amusing and asked:
"But that's not what you said before! Didn't you say that the people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important?"
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These words made Xia Chengxu and the other three blush with embarrassment, and they secretly felt resentful.
They often said the saying, "The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important."
But that doesn't mean they really think that way.
Xia Chengxu asked, "Third Brother Zong, what do you think we should do? Are we just going to let them off so easily?"
Xia Chengzong said, "The Book of Rites says: 'Punishment does not extend to high officials, and rites do not apply to commoners.'"
"These common people are uneducated and ignorant of many principles, so how can we expect them to meet the moral standards of scholar-officials?"
"Why would they fraudulently claim disaster relief porridge? When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; it is poverty that drives them to do such a thing!"
"Therefore, I believe we should strengthen prevention to leave them no loopholes to exploit, rather than severely punishing these people."
"As for those eunuchs, the same principle applies; to kill them without teaching them is cruelty."
"Tell them how to do it first, and if they really don't do it, then it's not too late to punish them."
Xia Chengzong's words once again left the four of them speechless.
The truth is that they were unaware of this beforehand and did not give detailed instructions.
Now that something has gone wrong, instead of reflecting on their own mistakes, they blame the people and their subordinates.
Now that Xia Chengzong has ruthlessly exposed them to their faces, they hate Xia Chengzong to death.
You've really made yourself famous, haven't you?
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Emperor Yonglong watched the young debate with a smile, finding it all quite amusing.
He grew increasingly satisfied with his grandson, Xia Chengzong.
This little guy is truly a prodigy!
Not only is she exceptionally intelligent, but she also possesses a wealth of cunning and resourcefulness, and knows how to be patient.
He truly is the good grandson I chose!
Emperor Yonglong wanted to test them further, so he asked:
"It is now known that some people are fraudulently claiming disaster relief porridge, but the imperial court cannot send enough people to verify it."
"Can you come up with any solution?"
Emperor Yonglong wanted to see how resourceful the young ones were.
After thinking for a while, Xia Chengxu and the other three gave their answers.
These are nothing more than unrealistic methods such as strengthening education, emphasizing propaganda, and using cultural and educational influence.
Emperor Yonglong did not deny them, and even smiled and nodded in approval, before finally looking at Xia Chengzong.
Xia Chengzong said, "We can select some people from among the disaster victims to guard the life-saving food themselves."
"For example, the thousand disaster victims I am in charge of can be divided into ten brigades, and each brigade can be divided into ten squads."
"The members of the ten teams vouch for each other, so there's no fear of someone fraudulently claiming the money."
"In order to protect vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly, rules can be established to allow them to receive porridge first."
After hearing Xia Chengzong's method, Xia Chengxu and the other three felt a strong sense of powerlessness after contributing a wave of negative emotions.
Their third brother is truly cunning; he's scheming from head to toe, and even his eyelashes are hollow.
With a furrowed brow, he could come up with a brilliant idea that would leave them speechless.
But they were unwilling to admit defeat.
Xia Chengyan asked, "Third Brother Zong, since you came up with this method, why didn't you use it sooner instead of letting the people go hungry? Did you find it troublesome or did you think it was unimportant?"
Having been thoroughly outmaneuvered in terms of strategy, they turned their attention to launching a fierce attack on moral character.
Xia Chengzong glanced at him and said, "This method is only to answer the Emperor's question; it cannot actually be implemented."
"Disaster victims are like gunpowder; a single spark could easily ignite a popular uprising."
"This method seems to save a lot of manpower and resources, but it actually unites the disaster victims, creates cohesion, and puts that power in their hands."
"If you encounter someone with malicious intentions, the consequences could be disastrous."
Xia Chengyan was once again rendered speechless by the rebuttal.
Emperor Yonglong smiled slightly and said, "Alright, it's getting late, you should all go back and rest."
Everyone dispersed.
……
The next day, Xia Chengzong led his men straight to the Thirteenth Institute.
Upon entering the Thirteenth Institute, the Commander, who had been waiting for a long time, hurried to greet him.
"Young master, the first batch of one hundred molds has been completed. Please come over here to inspect the goods."
Xia Chengzong followed the officer to the warehouse and soon saw a hundred cast honeycomb briquette molds.
He glanced at them and found that the molds were reasonably well-made.
I tried a few more molds, and they were all very flexible.
He said with satisfaction, "The casting is excellent. Men, load all of these onto the truck and take them away."
"Yes, Third Master Zong."
The officer hurriedly asked, "Young master, when will the casting of the second batch of one thousand molds begin?"
The commander was the second-in-command of the thirteenth office, specifically responsible for specific affairs.
He waited here specifically for this big deal.
After hearing this, Xia Chengzong said, "No rush. Once it works well, I will come to you forging it in a few days."
"By the way, there's still a balance left from the 100 taels deposit from last time. Please return it to me first."
The officer quickly said, "Young master, aren't you making a second and third batch? How about you take out some more silver as a deposit?"
Xia Chengzong shook his head and said, "We'll talk about casting next time. Just return the silver from last time to me first."
Upon hearing this, the officer had no choice but to return the remaining silver to Xia Chengzong.
He always felt like he had been tricked.
Xia Chengzong ignored him and took the molds to the blacksmith shop, where he bought dozens of shovels.
Then he went straight to the shed area, and after arriving there, Xia Chengzong gathered the disaster victims together.
He said to them, “I intend to select some men from among you to make honeycomb briquettes.”
"Those who work will receive an extra pancake per meal, and will also receive ten copper coins in wages each day."
"Anyone who wants to work can come and sign up."
The daily wage is ten copper coins, which amounts to only three hundred coins a month.