Only a few days into attending school, it was already time for another break. Han Mo truly liked the welfare system of the Great Song Dynasty.
Compared to the "996" and "007" (working hours) of later generations, the Great Song Dynasty was simply a paradise!
"Brother Mo, are you asleep?"
Han Mo had only been in the study for a short while when Xu Fengnian's voice suddenly sounded outside the door.
"What is it?"
Han Mo asked casually while reading.
"My father had some pastries made and asked me to bring them to you, saying they're for you to eat if you get hungry at night!"
Xu Fengnian spoke as he pushed the door open and entered.
"Leave them there. Please thank your father for me. Tomorrow is a holiday for the Imperial Academy, why don't you come into the city with me tomorrow!"
It was understandable that Xu Sanbao would be so polite after the stir Han Mo had caused today.
Han Mo didn't pay too much attention to this.
"Yes!"
Hearing Han Mo suggest they go out together, Xu Fengnian was actually overjoyed.
He was still a young man at heart, and being confined to his estate every day was naturally very boring.
Now that he had the chance to go out and have fun, he was practically jumping with joy.
"Alright, you can come pick me up tomorrow at Chenshi!"
The next morning, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, Xu Fengnian was already waiting outside the gate.
After a simple wash and a hasty meal, Han Mo took Xu Fengnian and headed towards Bianliang City.
"Who are all these people?"
They hadn't gone far when a large number of ragged people began to appear along the roadside.
"Who else could they be? They are all refugees from Huaixi, fleeing famine and coming to the capital!"
Xu Fengnian seemed accustomed to it and casually replied.
"Refugees from Huaixi?"
Han Mo was stunned. This was the first time he had seen actual refugees.
Huaixi was hundreds of miles away from Bianliang. These people were all emaciated. He truly couldn't imagine how they had made it to Bianliang.
"Stop!"
Han Mo couldn't help but ask Xu Fengnian to stop.
"Second Brother, we can't help so many people! If you help a few, it might cause trouble for us!"
Xu Fengnian quickly advised.
"Doesn't the imperial court have officials for disaster relief?"
Han Mo's expression turned grim.
"The imperial court? The court is currently busy forming an alliance with the Jurchens, where would they have time to care about these common people."
"How did you know about forming an alliance with the Jurchens?"
Han Mo's eyes widened.
He suddenly remembered that the "Alliance of the Sea" affair was indeed from the second year of the Xuande era, but shouldn't such confidential matters only be known to important court officials?
"The young official hasn't been around the city much in the past few months, so naturally he doesn't know the details. Matters of the court were discussed today, and tomorrow morning, it will definitely be the talk of the town in the pleasure quarters."
"So the imperial court won't manage them? They'll just let them starve outside the city? This is right under the emperor's nose, aren't you afraid the Son of Heaven will be angry if he finds out?"
"The officials in Kaifeng Prefecture aren't even allowed to let them into the city. How would the Son of Heaven know? I heard they are waiting for the Jurchen envoys to leave. As long as they don't leave, the court cannot begin relief efforts!"
"Whose words are these?"
Han Mo was truly gritting his teeth with annoyance. He couldn't help it, his sense of justice from his past life was flaring up again.
"Who else could it be, naturally it's Prime Minister Cai!"
"I never expected that I, a student of the Imperial Academy, would be less informed than you..."
"Young official, in the eyes of those prime ministers, what does a few deaths matter? Let's hurry up and leave. If we delay here any longer, we might accidentally catch some epidemic disease!"
Although the words were cold-blooded, Han Mo felt a wry smile. It seemed this was the true reality of this world.
Even a great scholar like Wen Yanbo once directly confronted Emperor Shenzong, saying, "We govern the world with the literati, not with the common people."
The meaning of this sentence was very clear: the emperor governs the world together with the literati, not with the common folk.
Therefore, when considering matters, the interests of the literati should be considered first.
As for the convenience of the common people, these were outside the consideration of the literati.
Although the discussion at the time was about the Baojia system, it already reflected the problems of the social system.
In the eyes of the literati of the Great Song Dynasty, ordinary people were like cattle and sheep. "The people can be made to follow, but not to understand," this was the universally accepted principle.
After hearing him speak, Han Mo's mood became heavy.
He was different from those scholars. His worldview brought from his past life made it difficult for him to be at ease like others.
Is this the true history?
Is this the paradise in the eyes of the literati?
The Great Song Dynasty...
The Great Song in Han Mo's heart was collapsing. Indeed, as the grand structure was about to fall, the Song rulers and ministers themselves were the true culprits!
Food is the paramount necessity of the people!
This was the greatest principle in this world. Without food, people would die!
Just for a bit of intangible face in front of those Jurchens, they were letting so many refugees starve.
If they could still hold on, why would they have traveled thousands of miles to reach here?
This was truly speaking without experiencing the pain!
"Young official, where are we going today?"
"Nowhere. Turn back, I have something to do!"
Han Mo took a deep breath. Although the matter of sales was urgent, this matter of life and death seemed more important!
"We're almost there..."
Xu Fengnian whispered reluctantly.
"Later, I'll go back first!"
Han Mo's voice held some annoyance, and Xu Fengnian immediately dared not say anything further.
"There's porridge! There's porridge!"
Passing by the refugees again, Han Mo suddenly heard cheers from the crowd.
"Let's go see!"
He had only seen porridge distribution in TV dramas, and this was his first time experiencing it firsthand.
"Yes!"
Following the refugees for quite a distance, they finally saw several large sheds.
Inside the sheds, more than a dozen large pots could be seen bubbling vigorously.
Smelling the distinctive aroma of rice, Han Mo saw many people swallowing.
"Go ask who set up this porridge shed!"
Han Mo looked at the crowd lining up to receive porridge with complex emotions and asked Xu Fengnian behind him.
"Yes!"
Xu Fengnian didn't delay and squeezed into the crowd.
"Second Brother, I just asked. It's a porridge shed set up by Prince Xin!"
"Prince Xin? Zhao Zhen, Prince Xin?"
Amidst Han Mo's complex gaze, a trace of warmth finally appeared.