With fewer people stirring up emotions among the disaster victims, everyone recalled that they had been eating the food that Prince Zhongshun and Princess Consort had tried their best to get. Everyone's anger subsided a lot.
Regardless of whether the Emperor cared about them or not, at least Prince Zhongshun and Magistrate Li had done their best.
In their panic, they had been instigated to riot.
But after venting their emotions, many people regretted it. They even began to worry whether they would be held accountable. They no longer rushed into the yamen, but waves of crying could be heard from the crowd.
This sorrow made everyone feel the same way. The cries of the disaster victims became louder and louder, shaking people's hearts.
Qin Yining leaned against Pang Xiao's side. Hearing such sorrowful cries, he also shed tears.
Pang Xiao hugged Qin Yining's shoulder and rubbed it. Then he said loudly, "Everyone, don't be afraid. Since This King has received the imperial edict to come here, he will definitely do his duty as the disaster relief ambassador. The earthquake caused many roads to be destroyed, making it even more difficult to transport food into the city. But This King will find a way to solve these problems. Everyone, please calm down. Don't waste your energy. "
Among the sobbing people, someone said loudly, "How can we believe you?"
"That's right. We have been trapped here for so long. So many people have died for nothing. Many of the injured people shouldn't have lost their lives!"
"You disaster relief people came so slowly, and you came empty-handed. How can us ordinary people believe you?"
… …
Everyone was pitiful. They had more or less lost their family members in this disaster. Moreover, Li Qitian's actions were really disappointing. It was no wonder that the people in the disaster area held hatred in their hearts.
In fact, Pang Xiao and Qin Yining didn't agree with Li Qitian's actions.
But from their standpoint, they couldn't say anything bad about Li Qitian. They could only promise that they wouldn't abandon any of the people.
The two of them expended a tremendous amount of effort before they managed to suppress the riot. They didn't cause any serious damage.
If today's riot continued, even if Pang Xiao's martial arts were superior and he was protected by masters, a tiger would not be able to fight against a pack of wolves. The frantic people would rush forward, and these people would have their hands and feet tied. It was unknown whether or not it would lead to more serious consequences.
After finally calming down the disaster victims, Pang Xiao pulled Qin Yining to discuss countermeasures with Magistrate Li and Magistrate Gong.
In an open space, everyone, regardless of their status, sat on the ground. The Dragon Army also surrounded everyone.
Magistrate Gong said, "The situation now is very clear. the people of Li Qitian's hands.. Although the Emperor's money for disaster relief hasn't arrived yet, the money donated by the Prince is enough to support us for a long time. But the transportation is inconvenient, we have no place to buy rice. The rich families in the city have rice, but they insist on the price of ten taels of silver per grain of brown rice. They are not willing to lower the price. ...................... l............ i.
Pang Xiao gritted his teeth and said, "Those rich bastards!"
Everyone's mood was very heavy. Because when the people were suffering, there were people who gathered to think of a solution. There were also people like the Ding and Pei families, who were morally bankrupt, who stood on the sidelines and watched the show.
Such a strong contrast. It made people sigh.
However, the disaster victims didn't understand their difficulties. They only saw that Your Majesty didn't give them food and money, causing many people to starve and die of illness.
Disaster relief wasn't just about letting the disaster victims live. From Your Majesty's point of view, it was more important to stabilize the people.
If he couldn't do the former, he was afraid he would lose the people's hearts. If he couldn't do the latter, he was afraid he would be killed!
Qin Yining pursed her lips. In fact, she had a cruel idea in her mind. However, she didn't say it out loud.
After seeing so many suffering commoners today, she finally stopped hesitating and said firmly, "Actually, I have a way to temporarily solve this urgent problem without using money. It's just that this method is too sinister … "
Everyone looked at Qin Yining.
Pang Xiao said thoughtfully, "What is your idea?"
"Rob the rich and give to the poor."
After Qin Yining said that, she pursed her lips and frowned. She didn't say anything for a long time.
Magistrate Li said, "I understand what you mean, but we don't have enough people. If we attack those rich families, we might not be able to get any food at all. It will only increase the casualties. "
Magistrate Gong also nodded, "That's right. Moreover, if we attack those rich families, we might be charged in the end."
Qin Yining pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and said, "But what if the people who attack those rich families are the disaster victims?"
Everyone was stunned when they heard that.
Pang Xiao hugged Qin Yining with heartache. She ignored everyone's gaze and patted her back to comfort her.
"Sister Yi, I'm sorry to make things difficult for you."
Qin Yining shook her head, gently pushed Pang Xiao away, and said, "You might think that my idea is too evil. Because once the disaster victims attack the rich families in anger, there will be serious casualties on both sides. Moreover, when the disaster victims rush into the rich families' houses, it is inevitable that they will break into the houses of the rich and powerful families. Even some old people, children, and women will … "
"But I really can't think of any other way to save so many people.
"Your Majesty's treasury is empty, and we don't know when the food will be sent here. But the people in the disaster area need to eat and take medicine every day. If this goes on, the people will complain, and Your Majesty's country will not be stable. The most important thing is that I'm afraid these people will become sacrifices.
"Although this method of attacking the rich families is cruel and will cause casualties, it is the method with the least casualties compared to all the people starving to death. In the end, it will develop into a situation where people will be eaten by others."
Qin Yining lowered her head and murmured, "I came up with such a cruel idea. Perhaps I will go to the eighteenth level of hell in the future."
"Sister Yi, don't say that." Pang Xiao smiled and comforted her by putting her arm around her shoulder, "I understand what you mean and what you think. Just like when I killed people on the battlefield, in the beginning, I couldn't do it because my opponents were also people. Perhaps there were people in their families waiting to go home. If I cut them, it would cause a family tragedy.
"But when it's time to do it, I still can't hesitate.
Because if I don't kill, not only will they kill me, but they will also harm more people. If I don't kill, the chaotic world will not end, and the people will not be able to live a stable and good life. Sometimes, killing hundreds of people feels very cruel and bloody. But on second thought, these people's sacrifices can be exchanged for more people's happiness, so it's worth it.
"As for the sins of killing, it doesn't matter if I go to the eighteenth level of hell after I die. After all, there's a Buddhist saying, 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' "
When Qin Yining heard this, he couldn't help but murmur, "If I don't go to hell, who will? Yes, I came up with such a sinister idea. As long as more people can survive, the sacrifice of these few people will be worth it. Even if I go to hell, I will accept it. Moreover, this action can serve as an example to others. When the other rich families in the county hear about this, they will not continue to insist on the price. We don't want to rob them of their food. We just want to ask for a fair price. "
The more Qin Yining spoke, the more determined he became. His eyes also cast away the weakness from before and became firm and wise.
At this moment, everyone present understood what Qin Yining meant.
They thought about it carefully. Indeed, in a situation where there were no soldiers to suppress, the only way to reduce the number of casualties and let the majority of people survive was to incite a riot and let the disaster victims take the food of the rich families themselves.
The law does not punish the majority. Why would Your Majesty pursue the actions of a large group of disaster victims?
However, in the end, the victims of this matter were pitiful. The old, weak, women, and children of the rich families. After all, they were not the decision-makers, but they had to pay with their lives for no reason.
When everyone looked at Qin Yining, the expression in their eyes changed.
How intelligent and decisive was a woman who could come up with such a plan? She was compassionate and also felt guilty for those who were about to lose their lives. However, her goal was to save as many people as possible. Although the method was cruel, who could blame her for it?
That night, Qin Yining couldn't sleep.
She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Scenes of rioters rushing into the rich families' houses to burn, kill, and loot appeared in front of her eyes. Then, she saw miserable scenes of women and children being abused.
When she finally fell asleep, she was awakened by a nightmare.
Pang Xiao was awakened by Qin Yining's scream in her sleep. When she saw her tear-stained face, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her and hugged her tightly in her arms.
"Sister Yi, you didn't do anything wrong. Your method was not wrong. If it was wrong, the culprit would be the one above, not you. "
"But in the end, there will be people who will lose their lives because of my method."
"However, most of the people will also survive because of your method. Not only the people in Yang County, but all the people in the other parts of the disaster area will also survive because of your method."
Qin Yining leaned on Pang Xiao's shoulder and nodded with her eyes closed.
In the face of cruel reality, only by putting away her weakness could she move forward.
The next morning, the disaster victims learned about the heartless methods of the rich families: Prince Zhongshun went to buy grain, half of which was sand and half of which was coarse rice. However, the price rose to 12 taels of silver per dan. They also learned that Prince Zhongshun was refused entry several times because he didn't have enough money to buy rice locally. The people were instantly enraged.
After noon, the disaster victims rioted and rushed toward the Ding and Pei families.
At the same time, Huzi brought a person who was tied up and brought him in front of Pang Xiao and Qin Yining.
"Replying to Your Highness, after the two people were carefully interrogated yesterday, they finally confessed. There was indeed a life lost, and they deliberately incited the emotions of the victims, which caused a huge riot like yesterday to happen among the victims. This person is the mastermind behind the scenes. "
The two of them lowered their eyes and looked at Madam Lu, who was lying on the ground with a rag stuffed in her mouth.
Qin Yining said in a deep voice, "Why is it you? Didn't you go back to the village? Why are you still here and doing that kind of thing?
Do you know that because of your actions, there was a stampede during the riot yesterday and how many people died? "
Madam Lu bit the rag and glared angrily.
Qin Yining said, "Take it off and let her talk."
"Yes."
Huzi immediately took the rag away.
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