Shen You bowed his hands to Zhao Da Tou and said: "Please trouble Zhao Da Tou to go back first and reply to Wang Da Ren, just say that I will arrive soon."

  Zhao caught the head responded with a voice and was sent out by Fu Bo.

  "Second brother, what should we do?"

  The room was left with only Shen You and Yang Chengye, Shen You asked: "The emperor's edict is to block the refugees outside Jiaxing City, but this place is a must-pass route for refugees. If bandits are produced, then we..."

  Yang Chengye hesitated for a moment and said: "Big brother, don't worry, just do as I say."

  Yang Chengye finished speaking and whispered a few words in Shen You's ear, then Shen You responded with a sound and sat on the horse-drawn carriage heading towards Jiaxing City.

  Jiaxing City, the prefectural government office, Wang An was restless and kept looking outside. At this time, the lanterns had just been lit, and the city gate had already closed. Shen You had not arrived yet, and Wang An had gone a whole day without eating or drinking, his head spinning with hunger. But thinking of the emperor's edict, he didn't have any appetite at all.

  "Someone go and take a look at the city gate, see if Shen You has entered the city yet."

  Wang An shouted towards the outside of the door.

  "Old Master, Shen Daoye has arrived, he's just outside the mansion gate." At this time, Shifu came in to report to Wang An.

  "Quickly invite him, forget it, I'll go and invite him myself!"

  Wang An finished speaking and hastily walked out.

  Wang An, as the prefect of Jiaxing City, had always been very proud and had never been so polite to visiting merchants and gentry. Even Shen You, who was a distant relative of his, would be met with indifference every time he came to visit. It was unexpected that this time Wang An would personally go out to greet him, leaving the teacher stunned.

  Wang An hastily invited Shen You in and said: "Brother Shen You, our mansion has been waiting for you with bated breath!"

  Shen You sat in a chair and asked: "I don't know what the adults have told the common people about?"

  "Wang An hastily said: 'Younger brother, our prefecture has encountered a difficult situation. The Huai River has burst its banks and flooded countless fields and villages downstream, with countless refugees swarming in. Moreover, the Emperor has issued an edict ordering our prefecture to block all the refugees outside Jiaxing City. What can be done about this?'"

  Shen You smiled faintly and said: "Since the emperor has issued a decree, adults should follow the decree and act accordingly. The imperial edict cannot be disobeyed."

  Wang An said, "The reason is that if refugees are blocked outside the city, it will easily lead to bandits and chaos in Jiaxing. When the plague breaks out and adds to the chaos, how can we deal with it? Don't forget that several peasant uprisings in our dynasty were warnings."

  "Oh!"

  Shen You exclaimed in surprise and asked: "Then, according to your honor's view, how should we respond?"

  Upon hearing this, Wang An secretly became angry: "I came to find you just to let you come up with a plan, but you're good at passing the buck and kicking it back."

  However, Wang An still calmly said: "The government is now also in a state of confusion, please brother to help come up with a plan."

  Shen You hesitated for a moment, then said: "Not allowing refugees to enter the city is correct, but we also can't just ignore them. The adults should issue an order to set up tents and thatched huts outside the city to accommodate the refugees."

  "At the same time, set up porridge sheds to comfort the people's hearts. If the refugees are settled, they will not riot."

  Upon hearing this, Wang An did not show a hint of joy, but instead his face showed concern.

  "The method is not bad, but the silver and grain in the treasury are not enough to support the expenses of the refugees. Not only are there not enough houses to build, but the grain can only last for three days at most. What should be done after three days?"

  Shen You frowned and said: "Hasn't the imperial relief fund arrived yet?"

  Wang An sneered, "The court has been at war for years, almost exhausting the silver and grain. Now that we've finally stopped fighting, we still have to pay tribute to the Jin and Western Xia states, which consumes nearly half of our national treasury. What's left isn't even enough for those high-ranking officials to indulge in luxuries, let alone provide disaster relief."

  "It seems we can only rely on ourselves now."

  "It would be better for the adults to gather all the wealthy households and merchants in Jiaxing City, let those with money contribute money, and those with grain contribute grain, to alleviate the urgent need."

  "Let those guys pay out money and grain? It's not easy unless we use force, let the government troops forcibly take it."

  "Sir, you absolutely cannot! Now that external troubles are about to arise, if we stir up internal worries again, Jiaxing City will really be lost."

  "In this way, tomorrow morning I will gather all of them together and I have a plan to make them willingly offer money and grain."

  "All right, I'll send someone to take care of it now."

  Wang An responded with a "yes" and was about to leave, but was pulled back by Shen You, who said: "Sir, I have sent people to purchase medicinal materials in Jiaxing City, and I hope you can send someone to assist."

  "Is it possible that you want to do a medicine business, brother?"

  Shen You said: "No, refugees will arrive soon, and when they do, the plague will surely spread. I purchased these medicinal materials to control the plague."

  Wang Anxi said: "My younger brother and I have thought of the same thing, it's really admirable!"

  Shen You left the yamen of the county magistrate and spent the whole night traveling back to Gangzi Village.

  At this time, Shen's banquet had just dispersed, and Yang Chengye was in Wu Ruolan's room, with the mother and son talking intimately.

  Wu Ruolan's eyes had recovered, and after these days of recuperation, she put on the clothes made by Zou Shi's people, looking radiant and refreshed, with a noblewoman's demeanor.

  Wu Ruolan herself is a rich and beautiful lady, famous far and near for her beauty. Although she has shown signs of aging after ten years of wind and frost, she still retains her elegance.

  "Following your ancestor's example, now that mother's eyes have recovered, shouldn't you be thinking about your own affairs?"

  Wu Ruolan looked at her son, growing up day by day, and his appearance became more and more like that of her husband.

  Yang Chengye smiled and said, "Mother, rest assured, I have my own measure."

  "Mom had quite a bit of wine tonight, let's get some rest early."

  Wu Ruolan smiled and said: "Speaking of this wine, I remembered that they said this wine was brewed by you. When did you learn to brew wine? Why doesn't mother know?"

  "And what about medicine? When did you learn medicine?"

  "Ever since you got better, mom feels like you've become a completely different person."

  When he heard this, Yang Chengye secretly cursed, how could this be explained?

  "Second brother, come out for a moment, I have something to discuss with you!"

  Just then, Shen You's voice suddenly rang out, and Yang Chengye was overjoyed. He hastily said to Wu Ruolan, "Mother, my elder brother has something to discuss with me, I'll go first. This matter can't be explained in just a few words, I'll explain it to you later when I have time."

  Yang Chengye finished speaking and hastily pushed the door to leave.

  Looking at Yang Chengye's back, Wu Ruolan murmured: "Child, no one knows you better than your mother, do you think you can deceive me?"

  Outside the house, Yang Chengye wiped the sweat from his forehead and saw Shen You hurrying over, asking: "Big brother, how did things go?"

  "Ah!"

  Shen You let out a sigh and roughly recounted his conversation with Wang An, finally asking: "Second Brother, what do we do now?"

  Yang Chengye thought for a moment and said: "Tomorrow I will go with my brother to meet this Wang Zhifu, let's see what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve."