Chapter 63

Listening to General Yue's voice, Pei Xiuyu couldn't help marveling at how miraculous this mobile phone truly was. He slowly spoke, "It is I. How is General Yue faring?"

Holding the dark jade object, Yue Hanmo felt the voice was somewhat faint. He brought the phone closer to his ear, "Your subject is currently well, except..."

He did not continue regarding the matter of military rations.

"General Yue need not worry," Pei Xiuyu naturally knew what the General wanted to say, and he stated, "The military rations will definitely arrive tomorrow."

Yue Hanmo listened to the Emperor's words in disbelief, "Does the imperial treasury already have a surplus of grain?"

Pei Xiuyu smiled slightly. "Thanks to a woman named Lü Yun, she signed a tourism contract with me, and two thousand people from the future have already arrived today."

"They brought approximately 1.3 million piculs of fine grain to Great Xuan. However, due to the earthquake in Anling Prefecture, I am using these fine grains for disaster relief first today."

"Tomorrow, I will issue more military rations to the garrisoned pass city. You have worked hard these past two months, General."

Yue Hanmo looked at the postcard in front of him, "Could it be that they also appeared out of thin air?"

Pei Xiuyu nodded, "Indeed. By then, General, you may simply go to the granary to retrieve them yourself."

"That is wonderful!" Yue Hanmo declared, "With the provisions secured, this subject will surely drive the Xiongnu completely out of our Great Xuan!"

Anling Prefecture, at night.

It had been five days since the earthquake. The Prefect of Anling Prefecture had opened the granaries for relief at the very first moment, but the grain in storage was gradually running low.

Gu Mingzhi, the Prefect of Anling Prefecture, had organized manpower first to rescue the survivors and then to cremate the deceased. If they were not cremated, the massive death toll might trigger a sudden plague.

Should that happen, Anling Prefecture's plight would become even more dire.

Simple shelters against wind and rain had now been erected within the city, housing a large number of disaster victims.

"Oh, my child!" an elderly woman was still weeping bitterly.

The expressions of the others were numb; they had cried their fill these past few days. Yet this natural disaster had struck so suddenly that they did not even know whom to blame.

If anyone was to blame, it could only be their own bad luck, alas.

Just as everyone was immersed in sorrow, a sneaky-looking man suddenly spoke up, "I heard people say there is no grain left in the city, and His Majesty doesn't care about us at all."

"The porridge we're eating now is given to us entirely by the Prefect. Lord Prefect is truly a great benefactor."

A burly man holding his child glared at the speaker with furrowed brows. Then he heard another person chime in, "Indeed, Lord Prefect treats us like his own children. His Majesty must have forgotten about us long ago."

"In my view, we might as well support Lord Prefect to become the Emperor. At least Lord Prefect keeps us in his heart."

The two of them sang in tune, and seeing that some people were about to be swayed, the burly man spoke up, "Hmph, who doesn't know that His Majesty currently treats the people like his own children? During the great drought last year, His Majesty not only waived the grain taxes, but even begrudged repairing the imperial palace, all to save grain to relieve the disaster victims."

"Ever since ascending the throne, His Majesty has always been diligent and conscientious, never even taking a leisure trip. I hear His Majesty toils day and night, worrying over state affairs, and his health is not as robust as it used to be."

"How is it that now, in your words, His Majesty has somehow become a villain?"

"When Lord Prefect distributed the porridge, didn't he constantly state that it was His Majesty who ordered the granaries opened for disaster relief? I see both of your intentions are worthy of execution!"

"I certainly don't remember Anling Prefecture having the likes of you two!"

Prompted by his words, someone looked closely and realized they had indeed never seen these two men before.

The burly man quickly shouted, "Quickly seize them! They must be spies sent by the Xiongnu!"

As soon as his voice fell, he placed the toddler in his arms into his wife's hands, then sprang forward toward the two men.

The pair panicked and tried to flee, but unexpectedly, numerous surrounding disaster victims also swarmed forward. "Damn it! You dare to deceive us!"

"I almost let their words lead me astray. When has His Majesty ever treated us badly?!"

"They even wanted to drag Lord Prefect into the mud; their intentions are truly treacherous!"

"Quickly drag them to the yamen!"

The burly man escorted the two toward the yamen. In their panic, the pair tried to pull out daggers, but he knocked them down with a single punch.

Looking at the daggers on the ground, the crowd felt a lingering fear. Had they truly believed those two, the ones dying tomorrow would likely have been themselves.

Gu Mingzhi was currently handling official business in his estate. Hearing that Xiongnu sleeper agents were inciting the disaster victims, he hurried outside the residence.

He saw that the leading man was exceptionally burly, and the men he escorted were glaring fiercely at Gu Mingzhi.

"This person is a Xiongnu!" Gu Mingzhi declared, "The Xiongnu are short in stature, with prominent cheekbones, small eyes, and pierced ears."

"Quickly throw these two into the dungeon!"

As soon as his words finished, the waiting guards escorted the pair toward the prison.

After the two were dragged away, Gu Mingzhi cupped his fists toward the burly man before him, "May I ask the righteous hero's name?"

Before coming out, he had already heard about what happened among the refugees. Seeing that this righteous hero was built so robustly, he could not help asking.

The burly man scratched the back of his head, "Greetings, Lord Prefect. This humble commoner is Ji Can, a butcher in the city."

"I see," Gu Mingzhi stroked his beard, "The righteous hero possesses fine martial prowess."

After speaking, he looked at the disaster victims and said, "We owe this to all of you today. If you had truly been incited..."

Gu Mingzhi shook his head.

Then he would have become a criminal. The intentions of those two Xiongnu were utterly vicious, trying even to drag him down with them.

He was the Prefect of Anling Prefecture; if a charge of treason were pinned on him now and the refugees in the city had no one to suppress them, the Great Xuan Dynasty would truly fall into chaos.

"Everyone, return and rest for now. We will continue distributing porridge tomorrow until the houses are rebuilt."

Ji Can nodded, "This commoner will head back now. Fellow villagers, you should disperse as well."

After they left, Gu Mingzhi stroked his beard, watching Ji Can's retreating figure. "A talent worth molding."

If this Ji Can's background was clean, he would give him a push.

Ji Can was sturdy and resourceful in contingencies; not going to the army would be a terrible waste of natural talent.

He just wondered what Ji Can's wishes were. If he was unwilling to go, then so be it.

"Come, let's check the granary." Gu Mingzhi worried about the refugees; he had no idea how many more days the porridge could be distributed with the remaining grain.

Fortunately, the Emperor had sent an urgent decree by fast courier, stating that there would definitely be fine grain in the granary today, and he would understand upon seeing it.

Gu Mingzhi arrived at the granary and asked the guard at the entrance, "Has the granary been opened and inspected today?"

The guard saluted, "Greetings, Lord Prefect. This subordinate opened the granary at noon to check, and no extra grain had appeared inside."

"Open it and let me see," Gu Mingzhi frowned deeply. No grain transport army had arrived today, yet the Emperor insisted there must be grain inside this granary.

He could only obey orders and act accordingly.

The guard pushed open the heavy granary doors, took one single look, and gasped in astonishment, "There is grain!"

"When did this grain arrive?!"

How could they have no knowledge of it!

Gu Mingzhi looked at the bags of grain stacked tightly against the doorway, completely filling the space. He immediately drew his sword and slashed open a bag, revealing streams of pure, white fine grain pouring out.

Cupping a handful of the polished rice in his hands, he exclaimed, "There is grain!"

What His Majesty said turned out to be true!

"It must be a manifestation of immortals!" A guard dropped to his knees, and the attendants following Gu Mingzhi likewise knelt on the ground.

Only Gu Mingzhi remained standing. He looked at the rice in his hands and smiled, "It is grain sent by His Majesty."

"His Majesty is the Son of Heaven destined by fate!"

"Why aren't you quickly sealing these bags and preparing a thick pot of porridge for the common folk tomorrow!"

The guards scrambled to their feet to patch the bag still leaking rice. "It turns out to be grain sent by His Majesty! His Majesty actually possesses immortal arts!"

"Magnificent is our Great Xuan Dynasty!"

Gu Mingzhi commanded, "Tonight's events must not be divulged to others. If any rumors emerge, this official will hold you all accountable!"

The fact that the Emperor possessed such immortal arts must never leak out. Once spread, it might breed the sentiment where a bushel of grain breeds resentment rather than gratitude.

In the event of future natural disasters, the common people might only wonder why His Majesty, possessing immortal arts, did not save them, or demand that His Majesty make it rain during a drought.

It must not be spread. Unless the Emperor personally issued an order, this matter must be strictly kept under wraps.

The next day.

Tourists wishing to experience a morning court session got up early. Eunuchs and palace maids came early to notify them and provided them with official attire.

Naturally, these were the robes of junior officials, but it was an experience nonetheless, so the Emperor specially permitted them to enter the grand hall, provided they remained silent unless necessary.

Wu Ran and Gan Miao changed into their robes and donned their official hats early on. After having breakfast, they arrived inside the imperial palace, where many ministers had already gathered.

Some court officials looked at them with curiosity, only closing their mouths once they learned these were the people from the future.

1.3 million catties of grain in a single day, and all fine grain at that—as long as these people didn't make a loud ruckus in the hall, they would simply pretend not to see them.

Chirping away, Wu Ran and the others used their mobile phones to take pictures everywhere.

[So lively! So many ministers!]

[Seeing a scene like this makes me nostalgic for the days of attending morning court with colleagues. Those times were genuinely great; do well and get promoted with a raise, do poorly and lose your head.]

[Holy cow, will we get to see the Emperor later?!]

[Attending court is so early! It's only six o'clock; if not for watching the livestream, I'd still be fast asleep.]

[Six o'clock isn't even considered early; other dynasties had court sessions even earlier.]

"Summon the ministers to enter the court for an audience!" Sun Wensheng shouted outside the hall, and the eunuchs below passed the phrase down, echo upon echo.

Wu Ran and the other tourists immediately lined up, preparing to go in and see the Emperor.

Mixed right in front of them were two little dumplings: Mi Nuannian and Mi Tianxin.

Their official robes had only been altered down to size yesterday. To prevent future young tourists from wanting to attend court, the palace had specially resized a few extra sets of official robes.

Wu Ran and the others followed the senior ministers ahead of them all the way into the inner palace. Along the way, she curiously looked up and noticed that the court officials lined up behind them remained stationed directly outside the hall.