After my mind was read, I became the emperor's favorite

"Now let's move on to the next topic: how to obtain funds for disaster relief."

Seeing that they had almost finished talking, Qi Mingze changed the subject.

Originally, this was a werewolf self-destruction, uh, a rhetoric, to pave the way for what happened later.

Unexpectedly, the effect was better than expected. I basically had a general understanding of the situation of each major family.

From then on, the real highlight officially began.

"The court allocated funds." Li Liangxin blurted out.

"The teacher has already said that the Ministry of Revenue has no money now." He Yuxin, who did not get along well with Li Liangxin, immediately retorted.

"Ma Jie, what's going on?"

Ma Jie felt that he was innocent. He didn't know the details of the situation. "The Minister of Revenue is my father, not me."

"If this road doesn't work, you can try another approach," Qi Mingze kindly reminded.

"I will ask my uncle to cut the Crown Prince's allowance in half and use it for disaster relief."

The people were living in dire straits. How could he be content with enjoying himself and ignore the lives of the people?

But he doesn't force others, he just sets an example and does his best.

After the prince expressed his stance, several members of the royal family also expressed their willingness to contribute.

"We can raise funds." Luo Cheng said something shocking again.

Then, a new round of donations started in the classroom.

"Yes, I'm willing to donate my little golden pig."

"I took out all my New Year's money."

"I will donate one thousand dan of rice."

[Hmm? This is a novel idea. Does he have a rice shop?] Qi Mingze poked the system.

Upon hearing this, the system immediately retrieved the files. [Wang Zikui, his mother is from the aristocratic Xu family, and his uncle's family controls the largest rice trade.]

Who is the actual operator?

【Huh?】The system didn't react for a moment.

[Who runs the rice and grain business?] Qi Mingze patiently explained.

[In the hands of Xu Gaoquan's half-brother.] Why does the host ask this?

[Hmm.] This is useful information.

"I can donate five hundred taels."

"..."

When the children were about to roll up the donation, Qi Mingze stopped them in time.

【Host, why did you stop? 】

[Why are you cheating children out of their pocket money? Just give it as a token of your appreciation. Knowing that they are kind-hearted children is enough. You really want them to have to eat coarse food in the future.] If you want to cheat, you should cheat the rich.

The system said that it felt wronged. It was clearly the host's fault, so why did it become the scapegoat?

[Host, you're right.] It's better to shut up, lest it be accused of something else.

"I know you all have good intentions, but individual strength is just a drop in the bucket. Everyone should do what they are able to do." Qi Mingze continued to guide.

“We can rally others to join us in fundraising.”

"Let my dad donate, he has plenty of money anyway." An Biqin never stops talking until he's shocked.

Humph, instead of spending so much money to support a concubine and making my mother sad, it would be better to use it to do charity.

[Pfft, he's truly his father's best son, full of hatred and resentment.]

The system burst into laughter, thinking that it was so natural to cheat his father.

"And my dad."

"My dad too."

"Okay, among the scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, which group has the most money?"

Seeing that the topic was about to go off track again, Qi Mingze corrected it in time.

"Businessman." Everyone said in unison.

"Then how can we get them to donate money?" Su Peiwan wondered. His cousin who was in charge of business was the most stingy person.

To put it nicely, he is calculating; to put it bluntly, he is stingy.

He often cried poor to his grandmother, talking about how much money the family had spent, and even talked about his uncle's social interactions.

There was no way to ask him to donate money, even the decisions of the elders would be disrupted by him.

"Yes." Although none of these people have officials in their families and are engaged in business, there are still many businesses in the clan.

Especially those important businesses are controlled by the illegitimate sons of the direct family.

They have also come into contact with these people, and they are all people who will not do anything without profit. Don't even think about asking them to donate money.

What's more, no one in the clan would agree to fundraising.

"Everyone in the world is busy seeking profit. It's enough to make them feel that the value of their donations is greater than the money they donate, isn't it?" Qi Mingze gave another new idea.

"What do they want?"

"My cousin wants to become an imperial merchant."

"My third uncle wants to be famous. He said that he has been losing business to a filial son recently, so our family's living standards have shrunk significantly."

"..."

"It's hard to satisfy everyone. These are not something that one person can give."

Cen Minghe received his friend's signal for the fifth time and had to speak.

His friends were always worried that he wouldn't fit in, so they wanted to take him along for everything.

He felt that the topic was relatively safe, so he joined the discussion.

"Yes." Everyone agreed, and the issue came to a deadlock.

"Why are businessmen in such a low position?" Qi Mingze raised the question again.

“Because agriculture is more important.”

"The merchants are too cunning, buying and selling at a loss, and hoarding rare goods."

"Because they have been registered as Shang citizens, neither they nor their descendants can take the imperial examinations."

The prince thought of the Xialin Law and various legal codes he had been studying recently, and directly pointed out the reasons for the embarrassing status of merchants.

"Yes. The current head of the Zhou family forced his half-brother to become a merchant, and only then did he get the position of head of the family."

Everyone turned around to look at Chen Bo Ke in the back row. The Chen family was the most upright family among the eight great families.

This secret instantly aroused the children's curiosity.

Seeing that Qi Mingze did not stop him, Chen Boke immediately gave a concise account.

"The Zhou family has always been indifferent to the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and only values personal ability.

The Zhou family's illegitimate son is superior to his legitimate brother in character, strategy and knowledge, so the old patriarch intends to let him ascend the throne.

As a result, the eldest son of the Zhou family joined forces with his uncle's family to arrest his mother's entire family and forced him to become a merchant.

Then the Zhou family began an eight-year internal struggle. Although it ended with the illegitimate son's family being expelled from the family, the family was severely damaged and could only fall to the bottom of the aristocratic families.

My father has always used this incident to educate my brothers and me.”

Because our family is one where the capable are promoted, the mediocre are given way, and the mediocre are demoted.

"Okay, now that I've heard the short story, let's get back to the main topic.

"If you were a businessman and offered money in exchange for a chance to take the imperial examination, would you do it?" Qi Mingze asked.

"Definitely." The children reached a consensus again.

“Well, let me summarize your views.

For merchants, use benefits to lure them. They may exchange money for the opportunity to take the imperial examination, or they may exchange money for fame.

Qi Mingze simply switched concepts and put all the "credit" on these students.

"Let's move on to the next question."

"..."

“This is the summary solution for the last question.

As for the refugees in the suburbs of Beijing, they can be asked to build dams, provide work in exchange for relief, and migrate to find food.

Send imperial physicians to the disaster area to prevent post-disaster epidemics."

Two hours passed by unknowingly.

Qi Mingze guided the children to solve the problems they raised one by one, basically covering all aspects of disaster relief.

Even those that were not discussed gave indirect hints.

"Okay, it's getting late, today's class ends here." Qi Mingze clapped his hands for everyone to be quiet.

"After ten days, each person will submit a policy paper and can ask for help from others."

【Host, you are so kind. 】

All disaster relief matters have been broken down and thoroughly explained to them. I wonder how many people will praise this policy once it is completed.

This is a plan that combines China's modern measures with the actual situation of the Xia Lin Dynasty. Even after a few hundred years, it can be said to be a top strategy.

Compared with those seven or eight pages of empty rhetoric, it pales in comparison.

The host gave up his reputation so selflessly.

I said I would solve this matter, and I will definitely do it if I promise.

Qi Mingze didn't care. He didn't care about reputation in his previous life, let alone now.

[Others took the risk, so the reputation naturally belongs to him.]