CH 219

Chapter 219: Are Disaster Victims Still Considered Humans?

The eunuch laughed, “According to Princess Yunying, this is a new way of eating invented by the Prefect, called hot pot! Whether it’s vegetables or meat, they are all raw but thinly sliced. Just put them in boiling water, boil and season them, then you can eat them!”

“Really? It sounds very interesting! I will try this hot pot today and see what’s so special about it!” The empress’s interest was piqued.

Then, the eunuch placed the broth and charcoal on the table, as well as raw vegetables and meat, and various condiments neatly arranged.

These were all sent by Little Princess, and the charcoal was burning brightly, while the broth was boiling, ready to be eaten directly.

The empress looked at the steaming broth, the raw vegetables and meat in front of her, so she picked up a piece of raw meat with chopsticks and followed Lin Beifan’s instructions to put it in the boiling water and cook it for a moment.

Since the meat was very thin, it was cooked in a matter of seconds.

Then, she placed the cooked meat in an empty bowl and carefully tasted it.

Although the ingredients were delicious and warm, the taste was lacking.

At this moment, she saw the full array of condiments on the side, including spring onions, ginger, garlic, sesame, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili, etc. She thought of the eunuch’s words and poured them into the bowl according to her own taste.

She mixed the meat in her hand thoroughly with the condiments and took another bite.

“Mmm! This is the proper way to eat it!”

At that moment, the empress fully understood the way to eat hot pot.

With renewed interest, she picked up another piece of meat and put it into the boiling water. After it was thoroughly cooked, she added condiments to the bowl.

By now, the meat coated with condiments was not as hot, but it had the fragrance of the condiments. This bite was just perfect, and the empress felt satisfied.

“This is the most comfortable way to eat it!”

Next, the empress’s chopsticks almost never stopped as she ate one piece after another, her speed getting faster and faster.

The eunuch beside her stared wide-eyed at her.

Is it really that delicious?

Should he also prepare a table like this for himself?

After about half an hour, the empress finally ate her fill.

Although she was revered as the Empress, she rarely had the opportunity to eat so heartily.

Because she was usually busy with state affairs, she rarely had the chance to eat a meal on time.

Moreover, the imperial kitchen was a bit far away.

By the time the dishes were served, they were usually lukewarm, or even cold.

So, as the emperor, it was really difficult for her to have a mouthful of hot and fresh food.

Especially in winter, it was even harder to have a mouthful of hot food.

But now, with hot pot, everything was different. She could directly eat the hottest and freshest food, eat whatever she wanted, and eat it however she liked. It was completely up to her, and it was enjoyable and satisfying!

“The hot pot eating style invented by Sir Lin is exactly what I like! Tell the imperial kitchen to prepare meals in the style of hot pot for the next few days!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

After eating her fill, the empress returned to her state affairs.

However, when she saw a memorial, she frowned, “The southern region is experiencing cold and rainy weather…”

Continuous rain in winter was not a good thing.

Winter was already cold, and it was easy for people to freeze to death.

In addition, the recent continuous rainfall has caused the water levels to rise rapidly, resulting in backflow of the river water, submerging farmlands and villages, and displacing the people.

The cold weather and lack of food make it even easier for people to die.

Such events are not uncommon.

The Empress shook her head and said, “I hope that I am just overly worried!”

However, the Murphy’s Law applies everywhere.

If there is a possibility of something changing, no matter how small it may be, it will happen.

In other words, the more you don’t want something to happen, the more likely it is to happen.

For several consecutive days, the Empress received bad news from the southern region. The rainfall shows no signs of stopping, but instead, it is increasing.

Low-lying areas in rural areas are now mostly submerged, making it difficult to travel.

Some farmlands and villages are also flooded.

Fortunately, the farmers living in those areas have already been evacuated.

However, the most dangerous situation is still the Qinhuai River and Huai River. The river water has gradually overflowed the riverbanks.

Once the riverbanks cannot hold, the floodwater will surge in, and the entire river basin will be affected, causing millions of people to be displaced.

The Empress issued several imperial edicts, instructing the officials in the southern region to do whatever it takes to protect the riverbanks and quickly evacuate the people in the river basin to minimize the damage.

However, the most dreadful thing happened!

In the face of a terrifying natural disaster, manpower is sometimes limited, and the riverbanks cannot be held. The floodwater rushed in, submerging all the villages and farmlands along the way, destroying everything, and millions of people lost their homes!

The only good news is that due to timely evacuation, the casualties among the people are not significant.

However, the food supplies were not able to be moved in time and were washed away.

What can be done with over a million people without food?

The Empress immediately ordered the officials in the southern region to open the grain warehouses and do their best to aid the disaster-stricken people!

However, the officials from the southern region replied, “There is no grain in the south. We earnestly request support from the court!”

During the morning court session, the Empress slammed the dragon throne with great force and angrily said, “How dare they say there is no grain in the south? We have already investigated and found out that they have sufficient food, but the Prince of Southern Jiang has taken it all for military use!”

“Please calm down, Your Majesty!” The officials said in unison.

“How can I calm down?” The Empress continued in anger, “That Prince of Southern Jiang has ambitious plans and has been coveting my imperial throne! Even before sitting on that position, he has disregarded the people within his territory! If such a selfish and self-serving person ascends the throne, will there be any hope for the people in the world?”

“Please calm down, Your Majesty!” The officials repeated.

With that, her gaze fell upon Qian Yuanshen, the Minister of the Household.

The Minister of the Household stood up and bowed, saying, “Your Majesty, this year the weather in our country has been unpredictable, and the food harvest has been affected, resulting in a decrease of around 20%! In the Ministry of the Household, food reserves are limited, and it may be difficult for us to aid the millions of disaster-stricken people!”

The Empress’s expression darkened.

The Minister of the Household continued, “Moreover, Your Majesty, our capital city is quite far from the south. Even with the fastest horses, it would still take two days to arrive! Even if we transport the grain there now, I’m afraid it will already be too late!”

“Sigh!” The Empress let out a heavy sigh.

Her gaze unconsciously turned away from Lin Beifan, filled with a hint of anticipation.

However, it quickly dimmed again.

Even if he was incredibly clever and full of strategies, what use was it now?

What they lacked was food. Without food, everything was just empty talk. Could he conjure food out of thin air?

He was human, not a god!

Just then, a soldier rushed in hurriedly.

“Report! The Prince of Southern Jiang and the officials of Southern Jiang have driven all the disaster-stricken people out of the Southern Jiang region! At the same time, they loudly proclaim that there is food in the capital! If they want to survive, they should go to the capital to beg for food!”

“Bang!”

The Empress was enraged again: “What a ruthless Prince of Southern Jiang! What a poisonous scheme!”

“This scheme is indeed ruthless!” Gao Tianyao, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, sighed helplessly. “The Prince of Southern Jiang is clearly throwing the burden of millions of people onto our court! If we ignore it, we will undoubtedly lose the support of the people, and the court will be in danger!”

“If we intervene and open the granaries to aid the disaster victims, we might save them, but we will lose a significant amount of food! If a war breaks out or we encounter other issues, it will be extremely detrimental to us!”

Other officials nodded in agreement.

“Yes, this scheme is extremely ruthless! Whether we intervene or not, we will suffer losses!”

“We either lose the support of the people or lose our food!”

“Either way, it’s disadvantageous to our court. What should we do?”

…

The officials were troubled, and the Empress was even more troubled: “My esteemed ministers, do you have any good strategies?”

“This…” The officials shook their heads one after another.

“Your Majesty, there is something I must say!” Li, the Minister of the Ministry of War, stepped forward.

“Minister Li, what do you have to say?” the Empress asked.

“Your Majesty, currently, the major vassal kings are militarizing and there are external countries eyeing us. Our court is in a precarious state, and it’s highly dangerous! Therefore, we must ensure an ample food supply to cope with any adversity!”

“If we use this food to aid the disaster victims now, we will at most gain some good reputation! What use is that to us? Can we eat reputation as food?”

“No, we cannot! The major vassal kings will still fight if they have to, and other countries will continue to eye our court, waiting for an opportunity to strike! So, we must weigh the two harms and choose the lighter one – we must preserve the food! As for the disaster victims, we can only leave it to fate!”

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao, was furious: “Minister Li, do you want us to abandon the disaster victims? Have you forgotten everything you’ve learned from the teachings of sages? Are you still a human being?”

“Minister Zhao, I understand your anger very well! But now, getting angry won’t help! A country comes before family; if we can’t even protect our country, how can we protect our people?”

Minister Li raised his voice and questioned, “If we fail to do so and the country perishes, won’t it result in the sacrifice of not just a million disaster victims but tens of millions of common people? Minister Zhao, can you bear that loss?”

“This…” Minister Zhao was speechless, angrily retreating.

“Moreover, even if we try to help now, can we actually save them?” Minister Li said loudly. “We are over 800 miles away from Southern Jianh. Even if we rush food there, it will take at least 10 days, and by then, the people will have starved to death. Tell me, how can we save them? Can we actually save them?”

Everyone was left speechless by his questions.

Minister Li bowed and said, “Your Majesty, pardon my blunt words, but at this point, the disaster victims are no longer human! They are so hungry that they would eat anything without regard for decency, behaving like beasts! Therefore, we must prioritize national affairs. It’s better to let these people fend for themselves and perish!”

The officials sighed one after another, and the Empress closed her eyes in pain.

The court fell into silence.

Just then, a loud voice rang through the court.

“I believe that we should save the disaster victims!”