Chapter Nineteen: Visiting in Disguise

“Pass down my orders: anyone who refuses to carry out commands is to be dealt with as delaying military affairs. Execute them on the spot—no need to ask me.”
“I want only one thing: for all the disaster victims here to have enough to eat.”
“Yes, yes,” the provincial governor replied, nodding repeatedly, visibly shaken by Long Yu’s words as he hurried away.
So agitated was he that, in his haste to leave, he nearly stumbled.
After the governor departed, Long Yu summoned the two generals who had accompanied him.
“Generals, I must trouble you both to assist in supervising the distribution of grain to the victims as well.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“But, Your Highness, is this truly feasible?”
“Trust me. As long as the people have enough to eat, they will not rise in rebellion,” Long Yu replied with absolute confidence.
Thus began a sweeping operation.
Within the rebel ranks, in what had once been the main hall of the local government, anxious insurgents argued heatedly among themselves.
“Given our current situation, I say we surrender. The government has already resettled the populace; we are isolated now,” suggested a scholar-like man.
A portion of the group supported his words.
But soon, another faction, led by a burly man, voiced their opposition.
“Surrender? We are rebels—all of us. Surrender means extermination of our entire clans.”
“That’s right! There’s no turning back for us.”
“Exactly!”
The scholar pressed on, “The imperial court has issued a decree for leniency. Our families won’t be exterminated. We may even be spared our lives.”
“Our uprising was for those who couldn’t even fill their bellies, to let them survive—was it not?”
The opposing side retorted, “Nonsense! Do you really believe those officials will let us go?”
“A true man must achieve greatness in his lifetime…”
The argument raged on, but it was clear that the stronger faction was led by the burly man.
…

“Your Highness, what if we encounter rebels while we’re out here?”
A bodyguard voiced his concern to Long Yu, his face drawn with worry.
“Relax. Do you really think we’ll be in danger? Do you believe the rebels are our match?” Long Yu replied with a calm smile, adjusting his attire as he spoke.
He was accustomed to wearing luxurious silk robes; now, suddenly dressed in coarse homespun clothes like a commoner, he felt distinctly uncomfortable.
But it didn’t matter much. After all, Long Yu was no real imperial prince, and wasn’t bound by strict etiquette. He would soon get used to the rough attire.
He had two reasons for sneaking out this time.
First, to see for himself how the officials were implementing his orders.
Second, to indulge his own desire for a bit of play-acting. Having grown up watching tales of the Kangxi Emperor’s secret excursions in disguise, and being a young man of the twenty-first century who admired such exploits, Long Yu naturally wanted to experience it firsthand.
“This outing is meant to see how well my orders are being carried out—to conduct a secret inspection.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the two guards replied, clasping their fists in the formal gesture of receiving orders.
“No, no, don’t do that,” Long Yu interrupted them.
“Remember, now you are my friends. Walk naturally, as I do.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” They bowed again.
“Hey, haven’t I told you already? From now on, call me ‘big brother’—no more bowing.”
“Yes, Your… big brother,” the two replied awkwardly, almost raising their hands again before restraining themselves.
Long Yu felt exasperated. These two were hopelessly hard to train. So he simply said, “Just follow me closely and don’t speak unless I do.”
The two guards fell silent and trailed after Long Yu.
It was May, the threshold of spring and summer, when all things should be bursting with life.
But the disaster zone was anything but lively—the trees were stripped bare, their bark peeled away.
Not a blade of grass remained; anything green had been eaten.
As for animals, there were almost none left—anything that could move had long since vanished.
The only sounds in the entire disaster area were human voices—those still living were the only ones left.
This was hell on earth. The rich had fled, leaving the poor with nowhere to go, neither to heaven nor to earth.
The more Long Yu saw, the heavier his heart grew. Though this was only a trial, everything here felt real and alive.
How could he remain untouched, witnessing such scenes of human suffering?

“These landlords, wealthy merchants, and corrupt officials all deserve to die…”
Long Yu muttered under his breath, so softly that not even the two guards heard him.
Along the way, he saw that in many places, his orders were already being carried out; at least the people he passed by were able to eat.
But where there are those who comply, there are also those brazen enough to defy. After passing through several areas, Long Yu arrived somewhere new, only to find the people’s lives unchanged.
He stopped a beggar by the roadside and asked,
“Hello, we’re from elsewhere. Along the way, I’ve seen many places distributing grain to help disaster victims. Why hasn’t that happened here?”
The man glanced at the young stranger, noted his plain attire, and was somewhat disappointed, but he answered all the same.
“We have a local gentry here with a brother in high office. No one dares touch him! He’s joined forces with the other gentry and outright refuses to obey orders. The officials are powerless.”
“Is that so? Do they not fear the Crown Prince’s wrath?”
“The Crown Prince? He’s living comfortably in the city! Someone so noble—how could he know what’s happening here? Which official would dare speak up?”
“My son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter all starved to death. I’m an old man with one foot in the grave myself. Anyone who could run has already fled; only those waiting for death remain.”
Long Yu had never imagined such brazen defiance of his commands.
“Sir, let me take up your cause. Will you take us to the local official in charge?”
“Can you really do anything?” The old man saw Long Yu only as a hotheaded youth and had no desire to suffer further misfortune.
Seeing the old man’s reluctance, Long Yu had someone offer him food.
“Here, I won’t ask you to go for nothing. Take this as your reward.”
At the sight of food, the old man’s eyes glazed with hunger and he nodded eagerly, “No problem, no problem.”
He had been starving for days, surviving on water alone—the feeling was unbearable, his insides gnawing at each other.
He took the dry rations, glanced furtively around, and, seeing no one watching, tucked them away like a thief.
Then he broke off a small piece.
Long Yu watched the old man carefully pinch off a bit of the food to eat, cherishing every morsel he had been given.
He wasn’t impatient; he simply waited quietly for the old man to finish.