The Princess Wei Yang

55.Light at First Balance

1Price stabilizing granaries: granaries keep stock of grains to help stabilize market prices in event of famines, to reduce the risk of merchants charging high prices for grains when there are shortages.

2Imperial mandate: is being conferred an honorary title from the Emperor.

Li Wei Yang bowed, she said: “In order to share Bixia’s burden, Father has specially sent a spy to the disaster-stricken areas to understand the situation. He said, those officials, upon hearing that the censors are coming, immediately built a factory stove through the night, used a tall pole to hang a yellow banner, wrote four words “bureaucratic gruel”, waiting for victims to assemble. When the censors arrive, they toll a bell to start distributing the gruels, when the censors left, they immediately dismantle the stove, the disaster reliefs have also ended. Bixia, not only are the officials lining their pockets, even worse is that they also mixed lime mud in the grains to make up the numbers, in the end even putting barks into the pot, the victims struggled to drink this kind of “gruel”, to the extent that they are starved to death. Such reliefs, how can there possibly be no riots?”

The Emperor listened, dumbstruck, he had never imagined, that there was actually such things happening. He did not believe what Li Wei Yang was saying about the officials lining their own pocket, because he himself had sent three groups of patrolling censors and had been unable to uncover the reason for the riots, yet this girl had spoken about the matter so clearly and logically, if he had to force himself to think that this girl was speaking carelessly, it was impossible.

“Nothing came out when I sent someone to investigate! Not only the censors but also the palace spies as well!” The Emperor articulated each word.

Li Wei Yang hung her head, of course, the emperor would not find out anything, because the evidence on the surface had been buried by the local officials and they had taken actions to suppress those victims so that they simply could not uncover the truth. But...these issues, each time a disaster occurred in her previous life, she had seen them with her own eyes, these are all tricks that were habitually practiced by the corrupted officials and dirty clerks.

“Father’s spy did not discover anything initially, because the victims are simply not willing to say anything, full of resistance feelings, then I suggested to Father to tell them to disguise themselves, pretend to be a mobster to blend in, of course, to make the other side believe, naturally cause some trouble…”

“You….” the emperor was at a loss for words.

“Fourth, which Dajie mentioned, is tax remissions. Bixia has proclaimed the tax exemption order, even dispatch it to the disaster area to administer comfort, this is originally a good thing to appease people. But after the disaster has happened, there are some local officials who sped up the tax collections. When the tax exemption order has reached the disaster area, the tax collections process is already done, Bixia, your subjects, can only receive imperial grace.”

The Dowager Empress looked to the side at the clerk, the other side was wielding the brush energetically, recording the words of the Prime Minister’s third daughter without reserve.

“Fifth is the ever-normal granaries1. Bixia, the ever-normal granaries have a reputation of benefitting the people on the outside, but on the inside is infringing upon the common people , the local officials who are responsible for the ever-normal granaries use the power of buying and selling grains to collude with the despots and unscrupulous merchants, to embezzle Bixia’s relief funds, coupling with the usual deduction from the stored grains, measures that benefit the people will naturally become a dispute with the people, this system cannot be carry on. Therefore, the five policies disaster relief, it’s just empty talks on paper, even giving corruption opportunities to large rats, this is really wrecking the country and bringing calamity to the people!” Each of Li Wei Yang’s words, phrases, and sounds seize the people.