TKTWC 06

Chapter 06

I Can Resolve This Crisis

After Master He finished speaking, the soldiers in the hall murmured among themselves, nodding frequently in agreement.

For a moment, even Liu Yi was almost convinced.

The soldiers on the front lines were fighting and dying, too hungry to even lift their weapons. Meanwhile, you were hiding in the rear, well-fed and warmly clothed, with surplus grain to spare. Wasn’t it only right for you to contribute some?

But soon she came to her senses and shook her head inwardly.

No matter the era, no matter how dire the circumstances, seizing supplies from ordinary civilians was absolutely wrong.

That was a lesson learned from thousands of years of Chinese history.

“But this shouldn’t be the common people’s concern!” Governor Liu clearly shared his daughter’s view, spreading his hands in bewilderment.

“If we just seize whatever we want from the people whenever we’re short of clothes or food, what credibility will we have left? Besides…” His voice grew softer. “The Provincial Inspector has always governed with benevolence—he surely wouldn’t allow this either…”

Even though he was in the right, his momentum was waning. Liu Yi was puzzled, until she heard Master He give a cold laugh.

“Governor Liu, are you using my father to pressure me?”

…At this point, Liu Yi’s heart sank halfway.

So this overbearing bandit was none other than Liu He, the eldest son of Liu Yu, the Inspector of You Province!

Liu He’s official rank might not be higher than Governor Liu’s, but he represented Liu Yu himself—Governor Liu’s direct superior. They were all on the same side. Any hope of appealing upward was completely cut off!

“Your subordinate would never dare.”

“Governor Liu, let’s cut to the chase.” The scholar spoke in his cloying voice. “You have high prestige in Yuyang Commandery and are beloved by the people. Surely you can find a way to raise this hundred thousand hu of military grain. If you can’t… then it must be that your usual corruption and waste have left the granaries empty. We’ll have to convict you first, then collect from the people to fill the shortfall.”

“What corruption?! You clearly found nothing!” Governor Liu’s face turned pale with anger.

“You had time to hide things.” Liu He’s face darkened. “Even if we found no physical evidence, that grand courtyard of yours—more lavish than the Inspector of You Province’s residence—isn’t that ironclad proof?”

Actually, the courtyard hadn’t cost a single coin.

A few years ago, there was a severe drought and the harvest was terrible. Governor Liu reduced taxes for the people and opened the granaries to distribute food, helping everyone get through the hardest year. Later, out of gratitude, the common people heard there was a vacant plot in the governor’s residence and came spontaneously with buckets and hoes to help build it.

But Governor Liu didn’t explain further. He understood completely now. Whether he had been corrupt or not didn’t matter at all.

Guangyang demanded a hundred thousand hu of military grain. Either he went and seized it, or they would publicly declare him corrupt and therefore force a levy on the people.

Either way, he was the scapegoat.

The outcome wouldn’t change. The people would lose their grain and only hate him for it.

“So, Governor Liu, what do you say?” the scholar pressed softly.

For a moment, all eyes in the hall focused on Governor Liu, watching as his gaze lost focus and his body trembled.

No one spoke for a long time, and no one urged him. Apart from his heavy breathing, time seemed to stand still.

Finally, after a long while, Governor Liu calmed down.

“A hundred thousand hu of grain… even if we went door to door confiscating, it probably wouldn’t be enough.” He paused. “I cannot do this, and I will not do it, even if it means bearing the infamy.”

But he yielded.

“I only ask…” He looked at Liu He, his voice trembling, “that the innocent family be spared.”

Clearly, this was not the answer Liu He wanted.

He didn’t respond to Governor Liu’s plea to “spare the family.” He simply ordered his men: “Take him. Put him in the dungeon first.”

“Master He! Master He!” Governor Liu struggled, and immediately the glint of a blade was pressed against his neck. “I have been worthy of Yuyang and worthy of You Province all these years! If the greater good truly demands it, I am willing to be the villain—but please, take care of my family…”

But even this sincerity, bought with his life and his grievance, did not move Liu He. He merely waved his hand dismissively, sat back down by the low table, and took a sip of tea.

The soldiers dragged Governor Liu away, but turned around in astonishment to find an outsider standing at the door!

Everyone’s attention had been focused inside the hall, so this person’s sudden appearance startled everyone! The words spoken just now could not be allowed to leak out!

The newcomer wasn’t tall and was somewhat slender, but stood straight and firm.

Her expression was resolute and fearless, giving no sense of weakness at all.

“I can resolve this crisis.”

Liu Yi spoke, striding into the hall and facing Liu He directly.

The guards were so taken aback that they forgot to stop her.

Governor Liu’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he frantically signaled Liu Yi to stay out of it, but she acted as if she didn’t see him.

The young scholar looked her up and down suspiciously, while Liu He, having seen her before, recognized her identity.

“The little immortal of Yuyang, the governor’s son Liu Yi?” His brow slowly rose. “We’ve heard of your prowess all along the way—turning wasteland into fertile soil, transforming sewage into fish ponds. What, are you going to perform some magic and conjure grain now?”

Liu Yi ignored his mockery: “May I ask, Master He, how much grain does Guangyang need?”

“Didn’t you hear it all?” Liu He fixed his gaze on her. “Or are you boasting that you can resolve this crisis without even knowing how much grain is needed?”

“Not at all.” Liu Yi said calmly. “Under normal wastage, of a hundred thousand hu of military grain transported to Guangyang, at most forty thousand would remain. I can guarantee that Guangyang will receive forty thousand hu of grain.”

This wastage might sound unbelievable to modern ears—only forty thousand hu left out of a hundred thousand? Wasting sixty thousand, what was the point of even transporting it?

But in ancient times, grain transport wastage was indeed that high.

When Liu Yi was in school, her professor had mentioned the *Dream Pool Essays* from the Song Dynasty, which recorded that in wartime, three people transporting grain could only supply one soldier at the front.

In other words, for an army of ten thousand men, thirty thousand people were needed to grow and transport grain.

It wasn’t that the soldiers at the front ate more—it was that most of the grain was lost on the road.

Spoilage, spillage, and what was consumed by men and livestock along the march could account for over seventy percent of the total grain.

Of a hundred thousand hu sent out, it would be good if twenty to thirty thousand arrived at the front.

If the roads were more treacherous and the weather worse, you’d be lucky to have ten percent left. When Tang dynasty general Li Jing campaigned against the Turks, transporting grain from Shandong to the Hetao region, over ninety percent was lost on the way.

Too much? There was no helping it. Without that ninety percent loss, the soldiers at the front wouldn’t even get the ten percent, and the war couldn’t be fought.

Since Yuyang and Guangyang weren’t too far apart, Liu Yi quoted “forty percent” as a conservative estimate. In reality, since the days were still somewhat hot, the actual amount would likely be around thirty-something percent.

That meant if Yuyang really scraped together a hundred thousand hu as Liu He demanded, only thirty thousand hu would actually reach the soldiers’ camps.

Liu He understood the implication but looked utterly unconvinced: “Oh? How will you do it? Confiscate more once you leave Yuyang? I should warn you—it’s not as prosperous outside as Yuyang, and Guangyang’s soldiers won’t lift a finger for you.”

“I have studied grain production and storage since childhood. I can find ways to minimize wastage during transport.” Liu Yi didn’t beat around the bush. “I will find a way to raise about fifty thousand hu of grain and guarantee that over forty thousand reaches Guangyang.”

Everyone in the hall was stunned. They couldn’t help whispering among themselves, and even their looks toward her changed.

Grain was such a precious thing—normally, if even a single grain fell to the ground, people would pick it up and eat it rather than waste it. Who wouldn’t be pained by so much waste during transport?

If she could really reduce the wastage that much, more soldiers would be able to eat their fill!

Eating one’s fill—that was the rare wish of the people in these times!