Chapter 132: Where Did the Food Go?

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Where Did the Food Go?

After clearing the collapsed and hazardous houses and settling the displaced families, another problem became imminent—food.

The successive snowstorms had cut off all transportation. Some families didn’t have enough grain stored away, and with no money to buy more and nowhere to buy it from, they were down to one meal a day. Some had run out of food entirely.

There was no telling when relief grain from the county would arrive. The village chief, half-dead from exhaustion, made a trip to the county government, only to find he wasn’t the only one there.

Village chiefs and representatives from other towns had gathered, crowding the entire rear office. He heard some were still on their way.

Compared to before the new year, the County Magistrate Pan Jiadao, who was only in his early forties, had aged considerably. One look at his official robes told you he hadn’t changed them in days; they hung on his frame, wrinkled like a wilted cabbage leaf.

Since the fires of war had been lit, Pan Jiadao had to coordinate with the military on all fronts while still managing all the affairs of Yeyang, big and small.

The Changping Granary had originally held reserves, but they were requisitioned as military provisions before the end of the year.

Who could have predicted a snow disaster?

Even if they had, there would have been nothing they could do.

The provisions the court had managed to gather were less than half of what was needed. The Prefect was wisely looking out for himself and staying out of it, but Pan Jiadao couldn’t afford to do the same.

If the Northern Pass couldn’t be held, Yeyang would be the first to fall. He’d heard that the Beiliang general leading the invasion was known for massacring entire cities!

Even if, by some miracle, there was no massacre, their fate wouldn’t be much better.

"...the price of human flesh was less than that of dog or swine; a plump one cost no more than fifteen thousand cash..."

History’s lessons were clear. Once you became the slave of a conquered nation, treated as "two-legged sheep," men and women, old and young, were no longer human. They were livestock, penned and raised for slaughter.

They would kill all the young boys. The women would be raped at will, and like the men, could be slaughtered and cooked at any moment. It was better to freeze, starve, or die in battle!

So, under immense pressure and against the opposition of everyone in the government office, he had taken it upon himself to open the Changping Granary, which was meant for famine relief.

Although the Changping Granary was established not only for disaster relief but also for war preparations, opening it for either purpose required an order from the court.

The court knew the border army was short on supplies, and at such a critical juncture of life and death, they still delayed issuing a clear decree. Pan Jiadao had been forced into a corner.

A deficit in the Changping Granary’s grain stores had always been a major taboo for the court.

He already foresaw that regardless of whether the Northern Pass could hold out or what the final outcome was, his own end would not be a good one. At best, he would be demoted or stripped of his office. At worst, he would lose his head.

But he had no other choice.

’War before us, a blizzard behind us. Which is the lesser evil? Which is the greater threat?’

’But what am I to do now? To prevent the majority from dying, is it right to stand by and watch the minority die?’

He wiped his face and staggered to his feet.

Everyone in the hall immediately fell silent, bowing to await his orders.

"The grain... there is none for now. You should all go back... and think of a way... to hold on for a while... I... I..."

His voice was steeped in bitterness, but who was in the mood to appreciate it now?

Without life-saving grain, everyone was suffering!

The hall erupted into chaos. Forgetting all sense of propriety, they swarmed him, anxiously demanding to know how this could be. Why was there no grain? What about the grain from the Changping Granary?

Pan Jiadao took a deep breath to calm himself. Without further explanation, and without even taking the time to change his robes, he ordered a carriage prepared. Leaving behind the words, "I’m going to borrow grain," he hurried out of the county government office.

Left with no other options, the village chiefs went to question the Deputy Magistrate, Jiang Qianxun.

As the second-in-command of the county government, with the County Magistrate absent, he was supposed to help resolve problems and manage the aftermath.

But he simply shirked all responsibility, adopting an attitude of complete indifference. He claimed that everything, good or bad, was the County Magistrate’s idea, and if they wanted an explanation, they would have to wait for his return.

As the group of men left the county government office sighing, a clerk approached Jiang Qianxun and cupped his hands. "My early congratulations, Mr. Jiang. A promotion is just around the corner."

Jiang Qianxun snorted and straightened his sleeves. "I was still wondering how to get rid of that obstinate fool, and he went and dug his own grave. I never thought such an idiot existed in this world."

He threw his head back and laughed, unable to hide his smug satisfaction.

Jiang Qianxun had been in the position of Deputy Magistrate for over a decade and had long wanted a promotion. When the previous County Magistrate was transferred, he had pulled strings and spent a great deal of Silver, and just when success seemed imminent, that brute Pan Jiadao had swooped in and snatched it from him.

Pan Jiadao was a proper Advanced Scholar, appointed directly by the court. Jiang Qianxun could do nothing about it and had harbored a grudge ever since. Though he feigned submission on the surface, he frequently tried to trip him up behind the scenes.

The saying "slippery as a clerk" refers to how low-level officials, despite their limited authority, should not be underestimated.

Most of them were locals, born and raised. Their families might not be prominent, but having been rooted in the area for generations, their influence was a tangled web. They were the true local snakes.

As a newcomer, Pan Jiadao didn’t understand the situation and had indeed suffered many hidden losses.

But he was a capable man. Seeing the unfavorable tide, he didn’t fight it head-on. Instead, he feigned despondence and lay low for a while. After lulling everyone at the government office into a false sense of security, he seized an opportunity and launched a swift counterattack, removing nearly half the staff from the official room alone.

With everyone on edge, he knew when to stop, careful not to alienate everyone.

In this way, he not only made an example of them to warn others but also managed to win over a number of people to his side.

What was infuriating was that he had even been reappointed!

Previously, when General Nie was stationed at the Northern Pass, Pan Jiadao had offended both father and son by repeatedly refusing the General’s unreasonable demands and refusing to cooperate with his reckless, trouble-making son.

Jiang Qianxun had thought Pan Jiadao would lose his post for sure, but in the end, it was General Nie who was transferred away.

If he hadn’t investigated Pan Jiadao’s background beforehand and confirmed he came from an ordinary farming family, Jiang Qianxun would have suspected he had some powerful figure backing him.

’Hmph, he just had a stroke of dumb luck before. But this time, he won’t be so fortunate.’

Hu Liang told Ji Huan and the others that the village chief had gone to the county town but returned empty-handed.

"The village chief plans to ask the families that are slightly better off to donate grain. Whatever they can spare, even just a little. Everyone has to work together to get through this..."

"What about the grain in the Changping Granary?" Widow Xie immediately asked.

Hu Liang sighed. "Who knows? In the end, it’s all managed by those government officials."

Ji Huan knew about the Changping Granary. It seemed to be a type of granary set up by the ancient government to regulate grain prices, store grain for famines, and supply both official and civilian needs.

Specifically, the court would establish warehouses in various regions. In years of good harvest when grain prices were low, they would buy grain at a price higher than the market rate and store it. In years of poor harvest when grain prices were high, they would sell the grain at a low price to stabilize the market.

Therefore, the role of the Changping Granary was crucial. Its fundamental purpose was to protect the interests of the common people, preventing both "low prices from harming farmers" and "high prices from harming civilians."

Besides balancing the normal cycles of good and bad harvests, it also ensured that in the event of a major natural disaster, the granary could be opened to distribute grain and provide free relief to the victims.

The long-term stability of ancient society was largely related to the Changping Granary system.

But the strategy of using bountiful years to prepare for lean ones didn’t always have immediate effects; sometimes it would be many years before the reserves were needed. This led some officials to get ideas about the Changping Granary.

For example, substituting high-quality grain with inferior stock, embezzling it for personal use, or using the opportunity to make a profit.

Listening to Widow Xie and Hu Liang’s discussion, Ji Huan realized that many people likely thought the same thing: that the Changping Granary had been emptied out by someone in the county government.

But Ji Huan thought that was unlikely.

’First of all, this County Magistrate has a good reputation among the people.’

’Even if the grain really had been embezzled, with the combination of war and a snow disaster, the embezzler would have been desperate to replace it, unless they wanted to become the most hated sinner in the entire Northern Pass and die without a burial place.’

’Even if they couldn’t replace it all at once, they would have used any means necessary—even mixing in dirt and sand—to replenish as much as they could.’

’But according to Hu Liang, the County Magistrate told the village chiefs directly that there was no grain and that he was going to borrow some.’

’Regardless of whether his actions were right or wrong, his attitude was at least open and honest.’

’That left only one possibility: the grain had been allocated for another purpose.’

The first thing that came to Ji Huan’s mind was military provisions.