Chapter 44: Auspicious beast? Kill it!
“Gulp…”
Luoyang Lingqiang swallowed his saliva and asked in a trembling voice, "Your Highness... Your Highness, is this appropriate?"
Li Yuanji glared at Luoyang Ling, who was so frightened that he trembled and dared not say any more nonsense. He immediately took his leave and went to do what Li Yuanji ordered.
After Luoyang Ling left, Qu Tutong, Li Sixing and Luo Shixin looked at Li Yuanji with complicated expressions.
From ancient times to the present, people who resell official titles, regardless of their motives, will be labeled as "stupid and incompetent".
Li Yuanji was not only exchanging his official position for food, but also exchanging his reputation for food.
Qu Tutong pondered for a while, then bowed to Li Yuanji and said, "Your Highness is willing to bear the bad reputation in order to save the people. I am ashamed of myself."
Seeing this, Li Sixing and Luo Shixin also followed suit and saluted.
"So do I, your Highness."
No matter what kind of person Li Yuanji was before, at this moment he was definitely a person worthy of their admiration.
Li Yuanji glanced at Qu Tutong and said unhappily, "Do I need this little bit of bad reputation? If you have time to flatter me here, you might as well ask your men to go to the nearby mountains and forests to hunt for some wild delicacies.
We can eat more meat and less grain in the future."
When Qu Tutong heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he looked at himself in both laughter and tears.
"I obey your command."
Luo Shixin nodded and said, "I am one of you."
Li Yuanji's actions changed Luo Shixin's opinion of him.
He didn't mind going to collect some wild delicacies, save some food rations, and provide relief to the refugees under the guidance of Li Yuanji.
Li Sixing pondered and said, "Speaking of wild animals, I know of a place where wild animals are kept in captivity. If we kill them all and distribute them to the soldiers, we can save tens of thousands of dan of food."
When Li Sixing said this, Qu Tutong and Luo Shixin looked at him strangely.
They all knew the place that Li Sixing was talking about.
That was the royal forest garden of the Sui Dynasty, where many ferocious beasts were kept for the royal family of the Sui Dynasty to enjoy and also for the dignitaries of the Sui Dynasty to use for autumn hunting.
But after Luoyang was conquered by Li Tang, the palaces and gardens in Luoyang city became the temporary palaces and royal gardens of the Li Tang royal family.
Only members of the Li Tang royal family can hunt the ferocious beasts in the Li Tang royal forest.
If someone goes in to hunt wild animals without permission, decree or document, he will be punished.
After being reminded by Li Sixing, Li Yuanji also remembered the royal forest garden in Luoyang City.
The prohibitions within the royal gardens could restrain others, but not him.
Not to mention the royal forest gardens in Luoyang City, even in the royal forest gardens in Chang'an City, Li Yuanji could enter and exit as he pleased, kill tigers when he wanted, and kill iron-eating beasts when he wanted.
Even if they were all killed, Li Yuan would only say speechlessly "nonsense".
Li Yuanji glared at Li Sixing and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Bring your men to kill him."
Li Sixing was stunned for a moment. He did not expect Li Yuanji to be so decisive.
Li Sixing hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard that there are several auspicious beasts kept in captivity."
"Which is more important, human life or the auspicious beast?!"
Li Yuanji stared at Li Sixing and questioned him.
Li Sixing had a bitter face and wanted to tell Li Yuanji that the auspicious beasts in the royal forest garden were more valuable than human lives.
But he didn't dare say it.
Because he could see that Li Yuanji valued human life more than auspicious beasts.
"Without the will of the saint, hunting the auspicious beasts in the royal forests is a crime."
Li Sixing said while bending over.
Li Yuanji glared at Li Sixing and said, "You are acting according to my orders. What does being convicted have to do with you? Go and kill him immediately. No need to say more."
When Li Yuanji said this, Li Sixing smiled and bowed, saying, "I obey your command."
Li Yuanji saw the smile on Li Sixing's face and immediately understood.
He was tricked by Li Sixing.
It was Li Sixing who instigated him to kill the beasts in the royal forest garden, and it was also Li Sixing who made excuses.
Li Sixing was obviously planning to catch all the ferocious beasts in the royal forest, but he was afraid that he would be punished by Li Yuan if he killed the auspicious beast, so he deliberately made excuses.
The purpose is to let him bear all the responsibilities.
Li Yuanji understood the key point and glared at Li Sixing fiercely.
Li Sixing was not afraid at all that Li Yuanji would see through his thoughts. Even though Li Yuanji glared at him fiercely, he still smiled at Li Yuanji and called on Qu Tutong and Luo Shixin to bring the warriors to go with him to kill the beast.
Li Sixing took his men away, and Li Yuanji watched the soldiers divide the refugees.
In the evening, the refugees were organized into square formations and led into Luoyang City by the commanders of various troops and the city officials.
The population that Luoyang City can accommodate far exceeds 100,000.
Therefore, 100,000 refugees cannot fill up Luoyang City, and at most they can only support a corner of Luoyang City.
The people in Luoyang City were not averse to the refugees entering the city.
They have lived in Luoyang for many years and have witnessed its unprecedented prosperity as well as its unprecedented depression.
Population is what Luoyang City urgently needs, and it is also a necessary condition for Luoyang City to become prosperous again.
There were wealthy families in Luoyang who, when they saw the refugees entering the city, took some of their stored grain and sent it to the government office.
The Luoyang Order had not yet spread, and the people of Luoyang City were still unaware of Li Yuanji's promise to exchange grain for an official position.
Some of them donated food simply in the hope that these refugees would stay in Luoyang City after overcoming the difficulties and help the city regain its former prosperity.
There are also some people who have experienced hardships and cannot bear to see others suffer.
There are also some people who take advantage of the opportunity to gain some benefits.
If they donated food at this time, the government would not let them go back empty-handed.
The government could not give them high positions or noble titles, nor could it give them large mansions, but it could give them some land.
Luoyang is not short of land now, but it is short of people to farm the land.
With some food donated by the wealthy families in Luoyang, as well as some food that Li Yuanji took from the soldiers in his own mansion and Bingzhou, big pots were quickly set up in the places where the refugees were resettled in Luoyang City, and porridge was started to be cooked.
The Luoyang magistrate, together with the clerks and runners of Luoyang, and with the cooperation of the soldiers, settled the refugees overnight and cooked porridge for them.
After providing the refugees with accommodation and serving them a bowl of steaming porridge, the Luoyang magistrate would smile and ask the refugees to sit down and about their place of origin, how many people were in their family, and so on.
Then he immediately ordered the clerk to register it.
When encountering some village elders, clan leaders and the like, the Luoyang magistrate would open the door to convenience and settle all the people from the same village or clan together. With a stroke of the pen, he would give them the houses they lived in and promise to distribute land to them within three days so that they could settle down in Luoyang completely.
As for whether this was against the rules, the Luoyang magistrate didn't care.
As long as he could increase Luoyang's population from 3,000 households to 30,000 households within three years.
Then Li Yuan would summon him personally, and his immediate superior would turn a blind eye to anything he did that was not in accordance with the rules.
The Tang Dynasty now has no shortage of land or houses, but it lacks people.
As long as you can increase the population under your jurisdiction, you are an efficient official.
As for whether the means you use are in accordance with the rules, no one will investigate.
The Luoyang magistrate did not do this before because he had no food. Now that Li Yuanji will help him raise food, he can do it with all his might.
The refugees had a place to stay, porridge in their hands, and a caring official like the Luoyang magistrate to comfort them and ask about their well-being. They cried loudly.
In comparison, the scene in the military camp is quite different.
Cartloads of skinned wild animals were delivered to the military camp. The cooks told them that these were their rations for the next few days, and the soldiers shouted with excitement.
Most of them were of low status and had few opportunities to eat meat on a daily basis, let alone the meat of wild animals.
Even if they hunted a wild animal in the countryside, they would take it to the market and sell it for a good price to supplement the family income.
Now, they can eat the meat of wild animals to their heart's content, and they are screaming with excitement.
After all the refugees entered the city and Li Yuanji had provided them with enough food to barely have a full meal, his anger subsided a lot.
Seeing the soldiers howling and volunteering to help the cooks deal with the wild beasts, and teaching the cooks their experience in cooking wild beasts, a smile appeared on Li Yuanji's face.
Han Liang and Yu Zhining bravely walked up to Li Yuanji.
Yu Zhining is similar in build to Han Liang, thin and with a moustache.
"Your Highness, it is a bit against the rules for you to exchange the meat of wild animals for military rations."
Han Liang bowed to Li Yuanji with a wry smile.
Li Yuanji glanced at Han Liang and said indifferently, "What's against the rules? You can still be full by eating meat."
Yu Zhining said sternly: "Your Highness, this is not a question of whether you are full or not."
Han Liang nodded and said, "You will make the soldiers' appetites picky. Once they get used to eating meat, they will no longer be able to eat the ordinary military rations."
Yu Zhining added: "Moreover, the beasts in the Royal Forest are also included in our calculations for food and fodder this time. You have killed so many beasts now, and distributed them to the soldiers as rations, and the remaining rations of the soldiers can be used to help the refugees.
Then we will have less food and fodder for this expedition."
Li Yuanji's eyes fell on Han Liang and Yu Zhining, and he asked, "Are you here to call me to task?"
Han Liang and Yu Zhining bowed together.
"I dare not!"
Li Yuanji stared at the two and asked, "So you want me to watch him die without helping him?"
Han Liang and Yu Zhining bent their waists even lower, but said nothing.
It was difficult for them to respond to Li Yuanji's words.
Seeing that the two were silent, Li Yuanji asked, "The beasts that should be killed have probably been killed, and those that shouldn't be killed will probably be killed soon. The food has not been given to the refugees yet.
Or you can withhold the food, and when the refugees run out of food and riots occur, you can lead troops to suppress them?"
Han Liang and Yu Zhining hurriedly said, "We dare not!"
Suppressing the refugee unrest outside the city is called suppression.
To suppress refugees who have been settled but are forced to rebel is considered as an act of conspiracy.
This crime is not a small one. Even if Han Liang and Yu Zhining have Li Shimin's protection, they cannot bear it.
Li Yuanji glanced at the two of them and said calmly, "The commander's tent intends to use the beasts in the royal forest garden of Luoyang City as food for the soldiers. Anyway, they should tell me, the commander-in-chief of the rear army, right?"
