Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, Liu Bowen stood up and said:
"There are also younger members of our clan who are about to enter the officialdom. I would like to ask for leave and ask for advice on how to provide relief to the victims."
"I hope you will be able to enlighten me."
Hearing this, Li Jin looked at these people for the first time.
Businessmen who know how to send their children into official careers are generally not ordinary people.
However, after looking at the faces of several people, Li Jin felt that these people seemed to be rich and powerful.
Empress Ma is graceful and noble, Zhu Yuanzhang is extraordinary in martial arts, and Liu Bowen is elegant and elegant. These people do not look like businessmen.
But these have nothing to do with Li Jin. Since it is his fault, he will explain it to these people.
"Since you sincerely ask for advice, I will give you some guidance."
"I would like to ask you, who are the relief grains for?"
"No need to ask, it's natural for the victims to eat."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Jin with a retarded look.
Li Jin ignored Zhu Yuanzhang and continued:
“Since it’s for the victims, what’s the problem with adding some sand into it?”
Li Jin said it was reasonable, but Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two looked at him in shock.
Especially Zhu Yuanzhang, who looked like he wanted to bite Li Jin twice. Zhu Yuanzhang roared:
"Aren't the disaster victims people from the Ming Dynasty? Aren't the disaster victims people? Is the sand meant for people to eat?"
Li Jin's face was still calm and he said calmly:
“Can disaster victims still be considered human beings?”
"What did you say?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened with anger and he looked at Li Jin in disbelief.
Even Queen Ma, who had the gentlest temperament, slowly turned sharp when looking at Li Jin.
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to kill himself, Li Jin explained in a common way:
"People who are about to starve to death can no longer be counted as humans, they are beasts."
"As long as they can survive, they dare to eat even dirt, let alone rice porridge mixed with sand."
When Liu Bowen heard Li Jin's words, he finally couldn't help but mocked:
"This is really shocking coming from a county magistrate."
Li Jin ignored Liu Bowen's sarcasm and said:
"Of course you're shocked."
"You are businessmen, so of course you don't understand the suffering of the people, let alone understand what the victims need?"
"Have you ever seen people who ate Guanyin soil and swelled to death because they were hungry?"
"Have you ever seen the tragedy of exchanging children and eating them?"
“All the victims need is a bite to eat, and they don’t care what the bowl of food tastes like?”
"They only care about whether this bowl of food can fill their stomachs."
Zhu Yuanzhang, who had experienced countless hardships, certainly knew that what Li Jin said was true.
After all, his parents and brother had starved to death just because of a bowl of food.
But he still couldn't accept Li Jin adding sand to the relief food. He didn't treat the victims as human beings at all.
"But since you're already giving them a bowl of food, why do you have to add sand to it?"
"Isn't it unnecessary to let these victims eat sand every day?"
Li Jin shook his head and said:
"A few years ago, when I first came to Shanghu County, there were only a thousand households and less than ten thousand acres of land."
"White bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles. It can be said to be extremely desolate."
"At that time, Shanghu County was completely clean. In order to recruit refugees, I decided to open a warehouse to release grain."
"But I found that after I opened the warehouse to release grain, there were not many victims who could be helped."
"Do you know why?"
This time it was Zhu Yuanzhang and others' turn to be confused, and several people shook their heads.
"Because after knowing that the officials were distributing free food, people who had surplus food at home also came to receive relief food."
"I don't have much relief food to begin with, so these people who are not victims of the disaster all came to receive food."
"Then how can I recruit refugees and provide relief to the victims?"
"So, I issued an order, that is, let all the relief points mix sand into the relief porridge."
"This allows me to recruit more refugees and cultivate more fields."
"It is precisely because of this that Shanghai has such a prosperous scene."
After hearing this, Queen Ma was a little confused. What does land reclamation have to do with sand mixed in disaster relief grains?
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized it and said:
"You are saying that the relief food is for the real victims of the disaster. If sand is mixed into it, only those who are about to starve to death will come to eat."
"And those who don't need relief in the first place will definitely not be able to eat this kind of rice porridge. In this way, the real victims can be screened out."
"This kind of relief porridge can really feed the kind of people who really need it."
"Not only do we screen out the most affected people, we also save food and help you recruit more people."
"Brilliant, indeed brilliant."
After Zhu Yuanzhang figured it out, he began to appreciate Li Jin again.
Li Jin is a talented person who has quick thinking and knows how to adapt.
Queen Ma was still a little confused and said:
"The people are all honest. Even if there are some who pretend to receive food, they won't eat too much."
"Isn't it inappropriate to mix sand into the grain just because of a few people?"
When Li Jin heard this, he began to say:
"The heart is like water, how deep it is. The people's heart is like smoke, how chaotic it is!"
"The common people are all a bunch of unruly people. Everyone of these people is selfish and has their own calculations. They are all people who like to take advantage of small things."
"When one common person gets something for nothing and you turn a blind eye, then the second and third will appear."
"Until all the people will follow suit and eat the relief food they get for free."
"Only by turning relief food into rations that must be eaten to survive, these people and disaster victims will work hard to make progress and make their lives better."
"Instead of always counting on relief food, eating and waiting to die."
"Only by guiding them to work hard can they have a good life, and only with this kind of atmosphere can a miraculous city like Shanghai be built."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought of the young man he saw at the porridge shed.
Obviously, he belongs to the kind of unruly people who have a surplus of food but want to take advantage of it.
After some teachings from Li Jin, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Li Jin was indeed indispensable for Shanghai's current prosperity.
Liu Bowen next to him couldn't help but frown and think. He felt that what Li Jin said seemed reasonable, but he still felt that something was wrong.
Empress Ma, on the other hand, changed her impression of Li Jin greatly after hearing Li Jin's words, and felt that Li Jin was a capable person.
Li Jin looked at the time and it was getting late, it was already lunch time, and he said:
"If you guys have nothing else to do, please leave."
"There are many interesting places in Shanghu County. You can go shopping around."
After saying that, he picked up the tea cup and saw off the guests.
....
Zhu Yuanzhang walked out of the county office in a daze, feeling that everything he heard today had somewhat subverted his understanding.
"Dad, how about it? Is Li Jin a corrupt official? Should we deploy troops to arrest this corrupt official?"
When Zhu Di saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming out, he hurried to Zhu Yuanzhang's side and asked curiously.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and shook his head.
Until now, he was still a little confused about who Li Jin was.
Zhu Di was confused when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang like this. He nodded and shook his head. Is Li Jin a good official or a corrupt official?
He wanted to ask again, but Queen Ma stopped him and told them everything that happened inside.
"Is there any other way to say that you add sand to porridge?"
Zhu Biao looked at Queen Ma dumbfounded and said:
"This Li Jin is really talented in governing the world."
Zhu Di was silent at this moment. Even though he disliked Li Jin, he had to admit that Li Jin did have two skills.
Liu Bowen admonished:
"Your Majesty, since we have met Li Jin, let's return to Beijing."
Zhu Yuanzhang still refused:
"No, although we have met Li Jin, we feel that this Li Jin is definitely a corrupt official."
"We must seize Li Jin's handle and bring him to justice."
"Find an inn to stay first. We want to see how much money Li Jin embezzled in Shanghu County."
