Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 97 Meeting with Zhuge Liang, Improving Disaster Relief (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The sunlight was particularly dazzling;

Perhaps it's because I haven't used it for too long.

It took Gu Yi quite a while to adjust before he gradually got used to the first-person perspective.

He wasn't in a hurry.

Instead, after watching Gu Ye finish his breakfast and end his morning study session, she controlled Gu Ye to head towards the Prime Minister's residence with a thought.

The political center of the Han Dynasty is now located in the Prime Minister's residence.

The seventh generation of the Gu family are all living abroad now.

This naturally made the Marquis of Champion's residence look somewhat deserted.

However, compared to the Gu family's Marquis of Champion's Mansion, the Prime Minister's Mansion was located further away from the palace, which is enough to illustrate just how extraordinary the Gu family's status was in the Han Dynasty.

Gu Yi planned to go see Zhuge Liang.

Although Gu Chen had repeatedly said before his death that there was no need to give any preferential treatment to the Gu family members.

But given Liu Shan's personality, he had a natural affinity for the Gu family members.

It not only allowed members of the Gu family to associate with the princes;
Traveling to and from various places is also one of the privileges.

Everyone knows this perfectly well.

Throughout the journey, Gu Yi kept pondering the details.

Gu Ye is indeed the most outstanding among the Gu family members of this generation. Although he is not yet old enough to participate in politics, he is very clear about the overall situation of the Han Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty is currently facing not only natural disasters from all directions;
Similarly, there were also rising unrest in four states.

This is entirely an inevitability of the times.

No matter how hard the imperial court tries to provide disaster relief, it is impossible to take care of everyone. There will always be refugees who have nowhere else to turn and choose to fight desperately, becoming disaster victims who only know how to plunder.

In addition, there were the barbarians from all sides who were gradually becoming dissatisfied with the Han Dynasty.

Gu Chen has been gone for far too long.

The deterrent effect he once had has long since dissipated with time.

If the Han Dynasty had remained strong, this crisis would not have come so suddenly.

But that's different now.

To put it bluntly, the barbarians in the surrounding areas are simply parasites living off the Han Dynasty.

Their inferior productivity was insufficient to support self-sufficiency; submitting to the Han Dynasty to obtain the necessary assistance was their only way to survive.

However, internal strife broke out within the Han Dynasty.

This system is bound to be affected, so how could they not feel dissatisfied?

Gu Yi's mind raced as he considered how to resolve the situation quickly.

Although he was just an ordinary college student.

But China's thousands of years of history have provided him with far too many precedents to learn from.

Including his absolute perspective as a modern person.

This is an existence that no one in this era can surpass.

Although Gu Yi understood that he was no match for Zhuge Liang and others in terms of detailed coordination and treatment.

However, if we simply want to develop a more advanced disaster relief strategy...

He can definitely do it.

Regardless, Gu Yi must resolve the natural disaster as quickly as possible and extricate the Han Dynasty from this quagmire.

To prevent the barbarians from all sides from becoming too powerful at their peak!

This is the most crucial point!

Countless thoughts flashed through Gu Yi's mind.

And so, Gu Ye arrived at the Prime Minister's residence without even realizing it.

As the most composed member of the eighth generation of the Gu family, this was not Gu Ye's first visit to the Prime Minister's residence.

The Gu family's lineage did indeed experience a break.

The biggest difference lies in education.

Compared to the education provided by previous generations, the seventh and eighth generations have lost this long-standing tradition.

Even if they still know how to educate.

But it's not like before, where they were constantly teaching by example.

Before the natural disasters occurred, Gu Ye would often come to consult Zhuge Liang. Although the two were not officially master and disciple, they already had a certain master-disciple relationship.

Zhuge Liang is indeed too busy right now.

Whether it's within the imperial court or in the situation on all sides.

His hands-on nature has already determined just how tiring his life must be now.

He now has almost no rest time, and he's even more so than Gu Xi back then.

However, Gu Xi is blessed with the effect of the Longevity Card.

But he didn't.

Due to years of exhaustion, Zhuge Liang's health visibly deteriorated rapidly.

But how could he stop?

Perhaps only by reaching this point, where one shoulders the heavy responsibility of a nation, can one truly understand the actions of Gu Xi and Gu Chen in their later years.

There are so many things they want to do.

It's a pity that time waits for no one.

When Zhuge Liang heard that someone had come to see him, he almost instinctively thought that there had been another disaster somewhere.

It wasn't until the servants announced that Gu Ye had arrived that they heard it.

His solemn expression softened slightly, and after hesitating for a moment, he nodded and had someone lead Gu Ye in.

"This humble one greets the Prime Minister."

Gu Ye was quite understanding.

He also held Zhuge Liang in high esteem.

This is also the fundamental difference between Gu Ye and the eighth generation of Gu family members. Apart from him, the eighth generation of Gu family members also inevitably picked up the arrogant nature of aristocratic children.

"Please rise, young master."

Zhuge Liang nodded and looked at Gu Ye, asking, "What brings you here, young master?"

As he spoke, he didn't even put down the memorial in his hand.

Seeing this, Gu Yi couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

Only by seeing all this with our own eyes can we truly understand the difference between the ancients and most people today.

They have easy and comfortable lives, yet they are willing to fight for their ideals, even at the cost of their lives.

Gu Yi, of course, wouldn't watch. With a thought, he immediately controlled Gu Ye to say, "Prime Minister."

"I've been thinking a lot these past few days and would like to discuss disaster relief with the Prime Minister."

Gu Ye's expression was very serious.

This is the nature of manipulation; as long as Gu Yi has a thought, Gu Ye will also have a corresponding thought.

This time, Gu Yi didn't intend to hide anything as he had done last time.

The Gu family had only just started out.

But now, the Gu family has reached the pinnacle of power and prestige.

Gu Yi no longer needed to hide his brilliance.

All we need to do is go all out and try to end the current chaos as soon as possible.

At the same time, we should also use this opportunity to lay the foundation for future power.

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang's expression immediately changed.

If a descendant of another family had said these words to him, he might have been indifferent.

But the son of the Gu family was ultimately different.

Moreover, Zhuge Liang knew Gu Ye's character well and knew that Gu Ye was not a boastful person and would never joke about such a thing with him.

Although he didn't think Gu Ye would say anything earth-shattering.

But he put down the memorial in his hand and said softly, "Please speak, sir."

As he spoke, he pointed to the seats next to him, gesturing for Gu Ye to sit down.

Gu Yi didn't hesitate and directly controlled Gu Ye to walk over in a generous manner.

"Prime Minister."

As soon as he sat down, he manipulated Gu Ye to speak immediately, his expression completely calm: "Prime Minister, the world is currently facing a calamity."

"In my opinion, it is definitely no less severe than the natural disasters that Empress He Xi faced in the past."

Gu Yi was very direct.

In fact, this is the thought of many officials in the court, but none of them are willing to bring it up directly.

Gu Yi wanted to tear away their psychological comfort and force them to deal with the disaster with the utmost seriousness.

“I have carefully studied the various systems my great-grandfather used for disaster relief in the past, as well as the systems my grandfather used when he quelled the rebellion.”

"I've come up with some ways to improve this."

Through Gu Ye's words, Gu Yi directly explained the strategies he had been thinking about over the past few years.

This is a strategy he devised over the years by observing Zhuge Liang's disaster relief efforts.

Its scope is not so large as to be unattainable.

Almost all of them are overall strategies that are most suitable for the present situation.

Zhuge Liang listened very carefully.

As Gu Yi went deeper into the conversation, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes, as if he could hardly believe that Gu Ye was saying these things.

His expression became increasingly serious.

In fact, the strategy that Gu Yi proposed was not a brilliant plan.

From a modern perspective, this is more like the basic operation of some capitalist companies, except that Gu Yi used these methods for disaster relief.

—For example, the work-for-relief program loaded first.

The Han Dynasty's work-for-relief program has not been very successful.

Because the disasters continue and there is no end in sight.

Although they can survive, the refugees still harbor resentment due to the long hours of labor.

Under various factors;

This inevitably leads to setbacks in disaster relief efforts.

Gu Yi proposed using certain methods to provide incentives in this process.

As long as a certain amount of work has been completed.

This would allow them to receive more money and food under the daily relief.

In reality, human nature is not as complicated as it seems at times.

Being able to survive and earn money and food is an absolutely wonderful thing for disaster victims, and it will definitely greatly stimulate their potential.

Besides--

There are also policies that are impossible for powerful families.

In fact, Zhuge Liang had already taken action against the powerful clans, confiscating their grain and supplies for disaster relief.

But this kind of thing can't be done too extreme.

Given the current situation, Zhuge Liang certainly doesn't want to incite another large-scale rebellion by powerful clans.

Gu Yi's proposed solution was to have them voluntarily hand over their grain and fodder.

In addition to incentivizing the common people, similar methods were used against the powerful Gu Yi.

He proposed two incentive methods to encourage powerful families to actively participate in disaster relief.

The person who leads the relief efforts the fastest will be rewarded by the imperial court.

And he was given a special flag;

As long as this flag exists, it can be used to exempt a certain amount of taxes for a year after the natural disaster has passed.

Those who donate the most grain will also receive a reward.

Not only will they receive imperial commendation, but their family members will also be allowed to directly participate in the final imperial examination when officials are selected next time.

This has fundamentally transformed disaster relief into a competition for fame and fortune among powerful figures.

This bound powerful figures from all corners of the land to the war machine of the Han Dynasty.

Although the Han Dynasty no longer places as much importance on prestige as before, there is still a fundamental difference for powerful clans.

The benefit of direct access to the Beijing civil service exam is definitely something they would appreciate.

How many powerful and influential people are there in the world today?

In every assessment, far too many sons of powerful families fail even the most basic test.

Gu Yi capitalized on this mentality: whether or not one can become an official ultimately depends on their genuine talent and ability.

Besides--

There are also specific strategies for dealing with plagues and locust plagues.

Regarding the plague;

Gu Yi simply proposed a more scientific strategy: to establish more unified isolation zones and to distinguish infected individuals at different levels based on the different colors of wooden signs.

This is used to address different levels of governance.

Gu Yi doesn't understand medicine, and this kind of information can't be found online in a short time.

He can only improve the details of disinfection and reduce the amount of contact involved.

As for locust plagues, they are even more direct;
Using the knowledge he had learned online, Gu Yi suggested collecting locusts and drying them into powder while eliminating them.

By using the name of Gu's family's inheritance of ancient books, the value and benefits of the books were explained.

It can be eaten by both humans and animals.

The entire hall was completely silent.

Staring intently at Gu Ye, Zhuge Liang was completely stunned.

Although his physical condition was not as good as before, his mind was still very clear.

After hearing the strategy that Gu Yi had proposed.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

He's considering its feasibility!
Zhuge Liang was already fully aware of all the details of the disaster relief efforts, but it was precisely because of this that he was even more alarmed by what Gu Ye had said.

This was an answer that Gu Yi had given after careful consideration, so how could it be wrong?

But given Zhuge Liang's personality, he would not make a decision directly.

He needs to think carefully.

Furthermore, it is necessary to discuss this with the officials in the court.

But the very fact that he had this thought was enough to show that he approved of Gu Yi's adjustments.

He stared intently at Gu Ye, remaining silent for a long time before finally exclaiming, "Young Master, you are truly a man of great talent."

"You flatter me, Prime Minister."

Gu Ye, being a calm and composed person, immediately bowed and stood up to leave without needing Gu Yi's prompting.

Zhuge Liang did not stop him.

Gu Ye is still young, and it would be against etiquette for him to directly participate in politics.

However, just before Gu Ye left, he still earnestly said, "If a decision is made at that time, I will definitely inform you, young master."

"Thank you, Prime Minister."

Gu Ye quickly bowed and then turned to leave.

Gu Yi did not interfere; he did not intend to directly mention the threats from the barbarians.

After all, this was just his guess.

Moreover, Zhuge Liang had a calm and composed personality.

This is both his strength and his weakness.

Even if Zhuge Liang could see the risks involved, given the current situation of the Han Dynasty, he would absolutely not choose to launch a military campaign.

Moreover, Gu Yi wasn't in a hurry. Gu Ye was only twelve years old, and he had plenty of time.

Zhuge Liang stared intently at Gu Ye's retreating figure, his expression growing increasingly complex.

He only slightly shifted his gaze after Gu Ye's figure had completely disappeared.

First, he sent someone to summon all the officials.

He himself went into a room and looked at the three figures enshrined there, his expression becoming increasingly complicated.

Those are portraits of Liu Bei, Gu Chen, and Gu Ze.

Zhuge Liang would come to pay his respects every day.

He has now reached his peak, and only in this way can one fully understand why Gu Chen worked so hard in his later years.

This had become a major concern for Zhuge Liang.

He feared he wouldn't have enough time to leave behind people to shoulder the heavy burden for the Han Dynasty.

But today.
That person seems to have appeared.

"The late Emperor, Sir, Lord Gu, are you helping me?"

He spoke softly and slowly knelt down directly in front of the portraits of the three people.

Although no decision was made directly.

But without a doubt, Zhuge Liang had already approved of Gu Yi's proposed reform strategy.
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(End of this chapter)