After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Sansheng believed he had a point and immediately finished the porridge in his bowl, then followed him to pick up people.

Gradually, others turned back to their small villages to pick up people, carrying anyone who was still alive but unable to move from the village.

After Youzhou changed hands, the government had distributed relief grain, giving those unable to leave their homeland a chance of survival. But it had already been over a month since, and the grain was far from enough, leaving everyone starving.

The grain sent from Yu State was quickly allocated to each prefecture by Shi Le, then to counties, and further down to villages, faster than he had anticipated.

The surviving people in each village of Youzhou staggered to receive relief grain, and the silent earth regained a hint of vitality.

Shi Le couldn’t help but say, "Only now do I understand why Zhao Hanzhang insisted on placing at least one person from the school in each county; they organize disaster relief orderly and properly, very experienced."

They notify towns and villages, organize manpower to transport and allocate grain, even consider things like cooking porridge on-site, ensuring no excessive relief is given.

Most surprising to Shi Le was that each county, while cooking porridge, would either add bran, soybeans, or directly half rice, half grains. Some served full wheat porridge or millet porridge, both with husks. Truth be told, the cooked outcome was hardly tasty, but... it was effective, forcing those still alive to abandon encroaching on the poor’s survival space.

The maneuvers by these students were viewed with suspicion by some honest officials and scholars, who immediately reported secretly to Shi Le, suspecting counties of embezzling relief grain for personal gains, and requested Shi Le to send out inspectors to rigorously examine local accounts.

"The Great General labored hard to deliver this relief grain; I implore the Governor to treat it with caution, so as not to dishearten the people of Youzhou."

Shi Le felt they were right and was about to agree but decided to consult with Zhang Bin first, so he suppressed his initial thoughts and sent them away.

He went to Zhang Bin and said, "I know how to replace Zhao Hanzhang’s people now. This disaster relief is an opportunity. Let those who flagged it go investigate; they’ll definitely uncover some faults."

Zhang Bin asked, "Nitpicking, what benefit does this bring to you?"

Shi Le frowned.

Zhang Bin said, "The people left by General Zhao are currently the most suitable. If you take them out, do you have replacements? If replacements can’t perform better, won’t you and the people of Youzhou ultimately suffer?"

He continued, "Now you are the Youzhou Governor, and the people of Youzhou are your citizens; you should think for them."

Shi Le frowned again, saying, "I indeed haven’t found suitable replacements, but Zhao Hanzhang left someone in every county, and they are all so capable, so it feels uncomfortable to sit in Youzhou."

Zhang Bin smiled, reassuring him, "This is because you spent the first half of your life wandering, accustomed to harm, but I see Zhao Hanzhang as valuing loyalty and righteousness, not one to easily betray promises, and she appreciates and is tolerant towards you. She views you with importance; why not respond to her as a prudent minister?"

Shi Le felt a stirring in his heart, often moved by Zhang Bin and Wei Jie, his breath quickening somewhat, "Are you saying to be a Jin Minister that will live on in history?"

Zhang Bin understood Shi Le’s concern and smiled, "Zhao Hanzhang’s martial prowess is well-known, and judging by today’s affairs, her governance should be no less impressive. How could a mere Jin State contain her talents?"

Shi Le’s eyes gleamed. He did not mind accepting Zhao Hanzhang, a lady, as his master. As a slave, he aspired to dominate a region; why not Zhao Hanzhang?

He now eagerly hoped Zhao Hanzhang would dethrone Emperor Jin and ascend herself. Otherwise, as long as Emperor Jin remained, he would remain unsettled, for Shi Le harbored great enmity against Jin State!

Zhang Bin, seeing he had listened, further advised, "Why not oversee Youzhou? Once major plans succeed, you could move to Bingzhou, Jizhou, or even Si Province. Perhaps, when a new dynasty arises, you could become one of the Three Councils, with titles and lands befitting a Duke."

Shi Le could only fantasize, but he couldn’t help laughing heartily, then fierce in spirit said, "By then, I’ll make the Imperial Family and elites of Jin State kneel at my feet, even bow to this Jie Clan slave!"

Zhang Bin lowered his gaze, silently bowing in response.

Shi Le treated him with respect, hurriedly helping him up, and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Xie; indeed, now is not the time to provoke Zhao Hanzhang. All right, I’ll wait longer to see if she can truly stabilize the realm."

If she has that ability, what harm is there in serving her?

Zhang Bin quietly sighed a relief. Shi Le was a keen listener but liked to ponder things repeatedly. Yet when Zhao Hanzhang departed, he was determined to solidify Youzhou, and within just over a month, he pondered seizing power from Zhao Hanzhang!

Zhang Bin left, returned to his office, called his follower, and whispered, "Go check who visited the Governor yesterday and today."

The follower answered and quietly left.

Just after he departed, a scribe entered saying, "Chancellor, Wei Junshou is here."

Zhang Bin’s mouth twitched slightly, but he still instructed to invite Wei Jie in.

Among those Prefectural Governors who would visit the Inspector Mansion, Wei Jie next door was the one.

Zhang Bin sighed deeply, the breath of his sigh hadn’t completely escaped when Wei Jie appeared at the door.

Upon seeing Zhang Bin, Wei Jie smiled radiantly.

Zhang Bin felt the room brighten instantly, even the dim light through the lattice window became bright and illuminating, and the breath he was letting out dissipated.

Though he felt helpless, who could resist the invitation of a beauty?

Zhang Bin... was still willing to be in the same room with Wei Jie.

He smiled and invited Wei Jie to sit down.

Wei Jie sat opposite him and smiled, "I came to report the Fanyang County disaster relief progress to Chancellor."

He said, "The people’s hunger has slightly reduced, but now, distributing relief grain blindly is poorly managed. Therefore, I think we should implement work-for-relief; the people in Youzhou should be put to use."

Zhang Bin smiled, nodding, "The Governor will soon issue orders instructing each county to implement work-for-relief. The remaining relief grain will be sold for money; besides grain, the Great General also sent a large amount of relief silver coin."

All minted by the Zhao Family as new coin. Honestly, although the court claimed the calculation money was collected, Zhang Bin suspected Zhao Hanzhang coined it herself.

The national treasury was so deficient, could she really restrain from minting some extra money?

Besides relief funds sent from Yu State, calculation money raised was also considerable; although Youzhou was impoverished, many well-off individuals existed.

Wang Jun was defeated so quickly, many aristocrats hadn’t had time to flee, including some who had fled the war from Jizhou; a fair amount of calculation money was collected.

These funds, categorized as financial disbursements and relief allocations, were sent to each county, who then organized disaster victims to work, earning wages, and using those to purchase grain from the government.

The remaining relief grain was stored in the government offices.