Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Nie Bing's words did indeed surprise Xiao Ce.

He had thought that the four prefectures in the northern desert would be poor, but he never expected them to be this poor.

Xiao Ce did not doubt the truthfulness of Nie Bing's words.

He turned to look at Nie Bing, his gaze resolute, and said, "I love challenges. And everything I say, I always deliver! What I set out to do, I will definitely do!"

"You should know this, right?"

Nie Bing naturally knew what Xiao Ce was referring to.

When we arrived at the city gate, we started to queue.

In order to prevent disaster victims from flooding into Anwar City, they adopted a system of permits for entry into the city.

The people of Anhua City relied on their identity tokens.

Each outsider is required to pay a deposit of five taels of silver.

Patrols are stationed within Anhua City. If anyone is found sleeping on the street or begging, their pass will be confiscated and they will be driven out.

As long as you abide by the rules within Anhua City, the government will refund your five taels of silver as long as you return your pass when you leave Anhua City.

In short, all their actions were directed at the disaster victims.

While queuing, Xiao Ce noticed that the people in front of him were clearly scholars.

Upon hearing this rule, a hint of disdain appeared on his face as he said, "Anhua City is supposed to be the most prosperous city in the heart of the Central Plains! This magistrate of Anhua City doesn't seem to be thinking about solving the problems of the disaster victims, but he certainly has plenty of ways to deal with them..."

"As an official, instead of thinking about upholding the people's interests, he only thinks about making things difficult for them. The Great Xiao Kingdom is in grave danger..."

"Isn't that right? Seeing these people suffering in dire straits, instead of helping them, they make things difficult for them at every turn. They won't even let them into the city! They're not only unworthy of being officials, they're unworthy of being human!"

"Yes! They draw salaries from the Great Xiao Kingdom, yet they govern so incompetently and lazily! It's because our Great Xiao Kingdom has so many mediocre officials that the Great Xiao Kingdom has no hope!"

These intellectuals are clearly a bunch of angry young men! The more they talk, the more agitated they become.

Yin Pan'er and the others listened to their remarks with excitement, seemingly agreeing with them.

Xiao Ce snorted coldly: "It really is because of studying that your brain has been ruined!"

Nie Bing seemed to be deliberately picking a fight, and said to Xiao Ce, "Young Master, don't you agree with what the other young masters said? What are you humming about!"

Nie Bing deliberately raised her voice a few decibels so that the scholars in front could hear her.

Xiao Ce glanced at Nie Bing.

He thought to himself, "This woman is still not convinced."

We should find an opportunity to properly train him another day.

However, since Xiao Ce dared to hum in response, he wasn't afraid of them hearing him, so he raised his voice a few decibels: "Do you agree with their statements? Do you think the actions of the magistrate of Anhua City are wrong?"

Nie Bing frowned slightly and said, "Of course not! So many disaster victims are starving to death. As the county magistrate, if you don't open the granaries to distribute food for disaster relief, you should at least let the disaster victims into the city. They are citizens of the Great Xiao Kingdom, and they have the right to enter any city of the Great Xiao Kingdom!"

Upon seeing this, the leader of the scholars on one side said, "What this young lady says is true. These disaster victims are also citizens of the Great Xiao Kingdom. They are entitled to enter any city in the Great Xiao Kingdom, including Anhua City! Young master, do you not support the magistrate's actions?"

Xiao Ce glanced at the man. Judging from his attire, he must be a young master from a wealthy family! And he must be the leader of these scholars.

"Of course! I think this magistrate is not only not incompetent, on the contrary, he has done a very good job!"

The young master at the head of the group looked at Xiao Ce with disbelief: "Ignoring these disaster victims? And you call that doing a good job?! Do you know what you're saying?"

Xiao Ce's gaze turned cold as he said, "The saying 'kill the Holy Mother in times of chaos' is absolutely true! Anhua City is one of the largest cities in the heart of the Central Plains, and its geographical location is a strategic choke point! The city has a population of over 100,000. Moreover, as everyone knows, most of the people in Anhua City make a living through commerce, and due to its special geographical location, there is very little arable land."

"If the magistrate were to open the city gates wide and allow the starving refugees to flood into Anhua City, what would be the result? Refugees from all over the Great Xiao Kingdom would flood into Anhua City!"

"With so many people, starving people will do anything for a bite to eat, for survival! Then the 100,000 people in Anning City will no longer have a day of peace, and merchants will no longer dare to do business in Anhua City. In less than a month, Anhua City will be occupied by disaster victims, and then the Great Xiao Kingdom will have more than 100,000 more disaster victims!"

"Moreover, Anhua City occupies a strategic location. If the main roads are controlled by the disaster victims, no merchant will dare to pass through. At that time, the trade and grain routes will be blocked, which will exacerbate the spread of the disaster and lead to unpredictable consequences!"

"Therefore, this magistrate is doing his best to protect his city and ensure the normal operation of Anhua City's commerce! As long as the grain and trade routes are kept open and running smoothly, isn't that a great achievement?"

Xiao Ce's impassioned speech left the scholars speechless for a moment.

The young master in the lead said, "Why are you making the disaster victims sound like monsters? They're just hungry, homeless people! They're disaster victims, not bandits!"

Xiao Ce snorted coldly and looked around.

Their debate at the city gate attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

Xiao Ce said, "You're right! They are pitiful disaster victims, so this magistrate's actions are not incompetent or lazy governance! He is a true 'parent official'! He is doing his best to prevent the people of Anhua City from becoming disaster victims. He may have let these disaster victims down, but as the magistrate of Anhua City, he is not only doing the right thing, but he is also worthy of the title of 'parent official'!"

"Young master, aren't you exaggerating a bit too much?" the leading young master said with a disdainful look.

Xiao Ce disdained to follow their lead and instead addressed the surrounding disaster victims: "Scare tactics? I don't know where you came from, or whether you know anything about the situation outside. My opinion doesn't count; go ask those disaster victims!"

"Fellow countrymen! Are there any of you who previously lived in cities that were not affected by the disaster, but were later forced to become disaster victims due to the influx of refugees?"

Among the onlookers was a gaunt old man.

Although the old man's clothes were covered in patches, he was still very clean.

“What this young master says is true. I am a teacher in Jinhe City! At first, there was no disaster in Jinhe City! However, we took in a group of disaster victims, and as a result, after the news spread, disaster victims came one after another.”

"At first, there were wealthy households providing disaster relief, but as the number of disaster victims increased, the local grain price changed every day. Eventually, the disaster victims started robbing the wealthy households. Once this started, everything fell into chaos! The wealthy households got the news and all ran away! In less than half a month, the disaster victims ate all the grain in Jinhe City. Hearing that there were disaster victims in Jinhe City, the merchants who originally wanted to sell grain dared not come to sell, for fear of being robbed."

"If merchants don't bring grain over, we'll soon run out of food. Jinchi City is just a small city with a population of just over ten thousand. We had no choice but to leave and join the army of refugees... We witnessed firsthand how cities that weren't originally affected by the disaster turned into disaster victims, just like us."

“This teacher is right, I am from Nanhe City!”

"We're from Yangcheng, and we're in the same situation..."

More and more disaster victims joined in, sharing their stories.

Their situations were largely the same.

Some of the scholars blushed as they listened to their words.

The young master in the lead asked, "So, do you also support this magistrate doing this?"

The refugees kept their heads down. The teacher who had spoken earlier said, "Of course we don't want him to do this. We also hope he will open the city gates and let us in, so we can have enough to eat for a few days!"

"However, we also envy the people of Anhua City for having such a considerate magistrate. If our magistrate had been like them, we wouldn't be in this situation now!"

The disaster victims echoed this sentiment, and most of them were still very kind-hearted.

However, when people are extremely hungry, they can forget about benevolence and morality.

The young master in the lead was still somewhat unconvinced: "Then do you think these disaster victims deserve to die? Do you think they deserve to starve to death?"

Xiao Ce scoffed and said, "Hmph, I'm talking to you about whether a county magistrate is a good official. Why are you bringing up other things!"

"The disaster victims must not be allowed to starve to death. Every citizen of the Great Xiao Kingdom is a treasure of the Great Xiao Kingdom. Disaster relief should never be a matter for one city or one county. As you have seen, if we mobilize the resources of an entire city for disaster relief, it will only drag that city down."

"This requires His Majesty to mobilize the entire nation; it's simply beyond the capabilities of any single county magistrate! The magistrate of Anhua City has already done a commendable job! If Anhua City falls into the hands of the disaster victims, the famine will likely expand even further!"

With that, Xiao Ce turned to the disaster victims beside him and said, "My fellow countrymen, don't despair! Hang in there! I promise you, the hardship will pass!"

The young master in the lead said, "Hmph, anyone can talk a good game! In a few days, they won't even have grass to eat, and they'll starve to death. Meanwhile, you'll probably be somewhere else to continue your eloquent talk!"

"Yeah, you're making promises? Who do you think you are, guaranteeing that the difficulties will pass?"

"Are you addicted to bragging? You promise? What makes you promise? Who do you think you are?"

These scholars looked at Xiao Ce and mocked him.

Xiao Ce snorted coldly.

He then flicked his sleeve and stood with his hands behind his back: "I am the eldest prince, Xiao Ce, personally appointed by His Majesty as the King of the Northern Desert! Do you think I can guarantee that?"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent instantly!