The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law-Chapter 1010 - 1005: Full Belly Rebellion

He had always been a pragmatic man.

"Your Highness King Jin, I feel you might have misunderstood the Emperor’s decree."

"What misunderstanding?" King Jin’s heart skipped a beat.

Edicts, the throne—these were matters that could instantly agitate his nerves.

Lord Jie bowed and said, "The Emperor meant that only the one who resolves this natural and man-made disaster could be named Crown Prince, yet Your Highness, you have only focused on the rumors of man-made calamities, neglecting the natural disaster that preceded it.

Now, the common people are displaced and starving. Coupled with some deliberately stirring the pot, that is why we see rampant rumors today.

Because they are living in hardship and barely surviving, they think this is a divine punishment, believing the Emperor has angered the heavens. However, if Your Highness could enable them to survive and live well, they would naturally feel blessed by heaven and awed by imperial mercy, shattering the rumors without a fight."

Lord Huanzhi spoke with such relevance. If he wasn’t a top-tier loyal official, who would offer such candid and heartfelt advice during such sensitive times?

It was a shame that his advice fell upon the wrong ears.

That’s what Huanzhi thought, but King Jin did not see it that way.

He believed the situation was clearly orchestrated by someone intending to use the disaster to usurp the imperial power, while Huanzhi was talking about it as if it was merely a matter of people not eating and drinking well.

He himself had been staying in this godforsaken place, and even was struggling to eat well.

See, he never complained; he could swallow down the steamed buns and vegetables just fine.

King Jin, with furrowed brows, said dryly, "Lord Jie, you are a scholar and a minister. I understand your thoughts very well, but Lord Jie ah, you are thinking too simply..."

He pulled over a stool and invited Huanzhi to sit down.

"Lord Jie, please have a seat. I will explain this slowly to you."

Huanzhi wore a long-suffering expression, not needing to listen to know what King Jin would say.

It was like playing the lute to a cow or preaching to birds—how could their thought patterns, one focused on the people, the other on power, ever align? fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

But the man was King Jin, and no matter how impatient Huanzhi was, he could only sit down and listen to his lofty speeches.

"Lord Jie, in recent days, I’ve noticed these seditious commoners harbor thoughts of rebellion. Why haven’t they rebelled yet? Isn’t it because they’ve not eaten their fill and lack the strength to do so?

Do you believe, if they had enough food now, they would surely seize you and me, perhaps even kill us to make a statement?"

Huanzhi couldn’t even muster a bitter smile, just sat dumbly, waiting for King Jin to expound further.

"We can’t be so naïve. Let’s not discuss our current lack of food. Even if we had vast amounts, we certainly can’t satiate them, thus giving them the strength to rise against us."

Huanzhi silently shifted his gaze to the window, looking at the frail women and children.

"Unless we capture and execute those instigating rumors, I dare not devote myself wholeheartedly to rescue these disaster victims. If we feed them and they rise in rebellion, wouldn’t I become a criminal to the nation?"

Huanzhi’s lips twitched slightly as he responded faintly, "But they are nearly starving to death. The young may cope, but the elderly and children are already frail; they can’t endure much more."

"Isn’t that even better?" King Jin laughed, pointing at an old toothless woman, "Look at her, she must be over seventy, no teeth left, can’t even eat properly. Even if she survives this half year, how much longer can she live? One year? Two years? Or three?"