Wang Ping'an was very surprised and asked a passerby, "This is fine, why did they close the gate in broad daylight? I came in from outside the city this morning, now that the gate is closed, I won't be able to get out!"

  "These common people say: 'Isn't it because of the flood that's causing trouble? The refugees outside the city are getting more and more, but the government doesn't want to release grain. You think those who have suffered from the disaster are pitiful enough, they don't even have food or drink, how can they not make a fuss?! As a result, when people outside made a fuss, the officials were afraid, and actually sealed the gate! They have the energy to seal the gate, but it's better to release grain quickly and solve the problem early!"

  Wang Ping'an frowned and said: "The grain has not been distributed yet, how can you be so slow in handling things?"

  Another bystander said, "The government has always been slow to act, but being slow is one thing, and making mistakes is another! If they don't release the grain, at most there will be chaos outside the city, but now that the gates are closed, there will be chaos inside too! The price of rice keeps rising, people outside have nothing to eat, and those inside won't have anything to eat either!"

  Whether they are refugees outside the city or local people in Xuzhou, they are dissatisfied with the government's approach. Although they are dissatisfied, they have no choice but to complain privately and do not have any other means.

  Wang Ping'an got off the carriage and asked the driver to pull over, he squeezed into the crowd, wanting to climb up the city wall to take a look. He lived outside the city, if he was trapped inside and couldn't get back home, his parents would be worried to death! In the past, spending one night in the city was just that, but now with everything in chaos all around, if he suddenly didn't return home, Wang Youcai and Yang Shi might both fall ill with worry.

  It's strange to say, with so many civilians gathered at the gate, the soldiers should be extremely tense in maintaining order. They shouldn't just chase people away with their weapons, but at least shout loudly and make the civilians retreat. But what's unexpected is that all the soldiers are listless, letting the civilians yell as they please, none of them paying attention, instead gathering in threes and fives, whispering to each other, who knows what they're talking about!

  Wang Ping passed by a small group of soldiers and heard one of the soldiers say, "These days are really hard to get through. The price of rice has risen three times in one day, not to mention that some rice shops have simply stopped selling rice, leaving only a few still selling it. My wife went to line up last night, and when I left home this morning, she still hadn't returned, I don't know if she'll be able to buy any rice back!"

  Another small soldier said: "With the little food and salary we have, how can we survive? It's all because of those profiteers who are hoarding rice and not selling it, trying to make that bloody money. Their hearts are really cruel! I don't know what the superiors are thinking, why they haven't arrested those profiteers yet. If things go on like this, there will be a big disaster sooner or later!"

  Not only the common people scolded, but also the soldiers scolded, and they were all seriously dissatisfied with the government's inaction! Their own affairs were so urgent that they were anxious, who still had the mood to manage things? The soldiers didn't care whether anyone was on duty or not, and instead worried about their family's livelihood.

  This mood can be understood, Wang Ping'an listened and did not express his opinion, squeezed onto the city wall. Before he ran to the battlements to look down, he heard someone quarreling, following the quarrelsome voice, only to see a group of officials wearing green robes, surrounding two people wearing light red official clothes in the middle, arguing loudly, among whom one person had an extremely loud voice!

  This group of quarreling people were the officials left in charge of Xuzhou, among them, the one wearing a light crimson official robe was Mi Yuanguo, the Vice Governor of Xuzhou, and another person was Dai Shiqiang, the Administrator of Xuzhou. The others were their subordinate officials, and Chang Qingfeng was also among them. Chang Qingfeng's face was red and his neck was thick as he quarreled loudly, without noticing Wang Ping'an sneaking up on him.

  Wang Ping'an walked to the city wall and looked down, only to see that there were tens of thousands of refugees gathered outside the city. Some were crying and others were shouting, all begging the government to show some kindness and quickly distribute the disaster relief food. It wasn't just the people below the city wall, but also many other refugees who had rushed over from elsewhere, with more and more people gathering around!

  He turned his head to look at the group of quarreling officials, who seemed to be arguing over whether it was better to close the gate or open it quickly. According to imperial law, unless there was a military emergency or banditry, the gates could not be closed during the day, lest it cause panic among the people and create unnecessary trouble!

  Xuzhou's Sima Dai Shuang, also the one with the loudest voice in the crowd, shouted: "If all these refugees outside were to enter the city, wouldn't it cause chaos throughout the entire city? This gate absolutely cannot be opened again, at least not until Governor刺史 returns!"

  Dai Shiqiang was nicknamed "Dai Bu Fu" in the official circles of Xuzhou, meaning he never admitted defeat. No matter what others said, he would not concede, relying on his loud voice to argue about everything, regardless of whether it made sense or not. As a result, everyone found him annoying!

  Although his official position was high, some officials were not afraid of him and shouted: "How can you say they are refugees? They didn't rob or plunder, they just wanted us to give them porridge!"

  "What you said is a bandit, not a refugee! One word difference, misunderstanding by a thousand miles. As for the specific meaning of these two words, listen to me and I will explain it to you in detail..." An official shouted.

  Chang Qingfeng cleared his throat and shouted: "At this time, what's the use of saying these things? Either continue to blockade or open the door quickly! Come up with a plan, Lord Mi, you have the highest official position here, you make the decision!"

  Mi Yuan Guo was a dry and thin old man with a goatee on his chin. When Chang Qing Feng asked him to come up with an idea, he immediately said: "Oh dear, oh dear! I have a headache! This idea is still for everyone to take, or wait until Governor Shi returns and let him take it. I am absolutely not daring to take it!"

  Dai Shiqiang was nicknamed "Dai Bu Fu", and Mi Yuanguo also had a nickname, called "Mi Lao Yun". Mi Yuanguo became an official in the former Sui dynasty, serving as the county magistrate, which is equivalent to the current position of deputy governor. In the Sui dynasty, the administrative division was called a county, with different official titles but similar responsibilities. Over several decades, the imperial court changed, but Mi Yuanguo's official position remained unchanged.

  Mei Yuan Guo has no great ambitions, just wants to get by and go home to enjoy his later years. His secret to being an official is to do nothing at all, when big or small things happen, he pretends to be confused and passes the task on to others. Since there's no merit, he can't be promoted, but there's also no fault, so it's hard to squeeze him out!

  Because he often pretended to be muddle-headed, people in the official circles of Xuzhou called him "Mi Lao Huan"!

  Niú Zhèng Hóng is among the many Cishi of the Tang Dynasty, and he absolutely belongs to the strong faction. He makes decisions on everything with just one word, holding all military and administrative power in his hands. However, because he is too overbearing, he takes charge of everything himself, so the people below him don't think much when encountering problems. After all, if the sky falls, it's the Cishi who will bear the brunt, not them.

  At the time of departure, Niu Zhenghong had already explained what to do in case of any situation. The problem is that decision-making is easy, but execution is difficult. When encountering a character like Mi Yuanguo, who doesn't care about anything, even if the king himself came, there would be no solution!

  Many officials quarreled with seven mouths and eight tongues, but they couldn't come up with a main idea after all!

  Wang Ping'an frowned as he listened from a distance, wasn't it just fear of opening the city gate and letting the refugees rush in? Did they need to make such a racket! He saw that no one was paying attention, so he sneaked up behind the crowd and tugged on Chang Qingfeng's sleeve.

  Chang Qingfeng and Dai Shiqiang were competing in a loud voice, when he turned his head to look back, it was actually Wang Ping'an. He was stunned and asked: "Huh? How is it you? How did you get up here?"

  Wang Pingan said, "No one is in charge, so I just came up!" He pulled Chang Qingfeng to the side and whispered something. Chang Qingfeng was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly overjoyed, and quickly squeezed back into the crowd, whispering something in Mi Yuanguo's ear!

  Mi Yuan Guo listened and was also stunned, then immediately overjoyed, his mind suddenly "clearing up", no longer dizzy. He stroked his goat beard and said: "Governor Shi said before he left that if the refugees begged, they would have to release grain. We must follow the governor's orders, so we still have to release the grain."

  Dai Shi Qiang shouted: "This is nonsense, the problem is that once the grain is released, they will all rush into the city, and when the time comes, the streets will be chaotic, how can you control it?"

  He and Mi Yuan Guo were both fifth-grade officials, Mi Yuan Guo was upper fifth grade, while he was lower fifth grade. However, he was not afraid of Mi Yuan Guo, as he was in his prime years and would soon be promoted, whereas Mi Yuan Guo had no such prospects, so he didn't treat Mi Yuan Guo with much courtesy!

  Mi Yuan Guo Lishi brought out his official authority, "One level higher in official rank can crush a person to death. He was half a level higher than Dai Shi, not enough to kill him completely, but enough to crush him halfway to death." With one glare, he said: "Isn't this just a small matter? Do I have to personally teach you people how to do things? Are your brains just for show?"

  After passing through the usual difficulties, Mi Yuan Guo said: "Set up a porridge shed outside the city and drive them far away. Isn't that enough? The refugees only asked to distribute grain, but didn't say they had to come into the city to eat. If the porridge shed is set up outside the city, they won't need to come in, what's there to worry about?"

  The officials present were all stunned for a moment, and then they were all overjoyed. Ah, yes! Such a simple method, why didn't we think of it earlier!

  "This method was thought of by this official, you just follow the instructions and it will be done!" He glanced at Chang Qingfeng and smiled: "Mr. Chang is an honest official, he can go to handle this matter, do a good job, when Governor returns, I will definitely ask for credit for you!"

  Chang Qingfeng hastily said: "Thanks to Lord Mi's trust, I will definitely do a good job with this matter!" He turned around and gave Wang Ping'an a thumbs up.

  Wang Ping'an shrugged and smiled in response!

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  Here is the translation:

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  Nourishing yin and tonifying yang medicinal diet

  Walnut Prawn Congee

  Ingredients: walnut kernel 30g, shrimp meat 30g, japonica rice 200g.

  Production: 1. Glutinous rice washed clean, walnut kernels washed clean, shrimp washed clean.

  2. Put the japonica rice into the pot, add water in an appropriate amount, place it on high heat to boil, then put the walnut kernel and shrimp into the pot, use low heat to simmer for 50 minutes, and it is ready to eat.

  Dosage: Once daily, take at breakfast.

  Function: Tonify liver and kidney, benefit intelligence. Indicated for kidney yang deficiency syndrome.

  Contraindications: Those with yin deficiency and fire excess or excessive phlegm should avoid consumption.