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Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Gong Zheng approached, bowed deeply to Tang Luo, and paid respect: “My lord, Gong Zheng has arrived!”

Looking at the submissive leader of the Righteous Gang, Tang Luo, who had just suppressed his fury, felt a surge of dishonor. Not only because of the actions of these followers, but also because of the foolish actions he had taken after leaving Red Cloud Mountain.

“I will ask you,” Tang Luo looked at Gong Zheng and asked coldly, “Before I left, what instructions did I give you?”

Before the potential for war had even arisen in Xiling, he had instructed Gong Zheng to procure grain from the cities around Xiling. At that time, the price of grain was quite stable, and Tang Luo hadn’t transferred the funds of the Righteous Business Group. Thus, in terms of stockpiled grain, the reserves of the Righteous Gang purchased were no less than those of ordinary households. This was his last safeguard left for Red Cloud Mountain, hoping that if there were any mistakes in grain distribution, Gong Zheng could make up for them.

The camel peak where the Righteous Gang resides did not experience any chaotic events related to distribution. However, the central peak and the camel peak of Red Cloud Mountain were both in total chaos, but Gong Zheng did not come forward to manage affairs, which, to Tang Luo, was an utter disappointment.

Gong Zheng’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly explained, “Master, please understand. It’s not that I didn’t show up. Three days ago, I went to Master Sun to inquire about the situation with the grain distribution. But Master Sun said that if we reduced some, it would be enough to last till you return. I thought that wasn’t right. After all, these people have already become your followers. A half pound of grain is already not much, if reduced to only two ounces it becomes insufficient. Therefore, I took out some stored grain to make up for the other three ounces.”

Speaking up to this point, Gong Zheng still felt that he’d made a smart move and added smugly, “Master, see for yourself. The only camel peak in the entire Red Cloud Mountain Range that didn’t experience chaos was under my control. The common people have even unanimously praised your benevolence!” Looking at Gong Zheng’s foolish appearance, clearly not understanding where he went wrong, Tang Luo frowned and reprimanded, “Before I left, I instructed you to follow Master Sun’s lead in distributing the grain. If the relief grain runs out, it is up to you to supplement it. Who allowed you to act on your own accord!”

Tang Luo’s sudden outburst of anger shocked Gong Zheng, making him shiver all over. If by this point he still hadn’t realized that he’d done harm with his good intentions, he’d have to be very foolish. He honestly couldn’t understand what’s wrong with replenishing the relief grain, but he knew the simple truth – the master is angry, so it must be because he has made a mistake. Therefore, he immediately admitted to his error, “I was wrong. I will correct it.”

His apology was swift, but his direction of rectification revealed that he had no idea what his mistake was. Tang Luo sighed inwardly. If Gong Zheng were a courtier who was selected from academics or the cultivation field, he would definitely have handled things differently. Even if Hua Ji had been in charge, he would never have acted like this. Ultimately, the problem was that Gong Zheng only thought at the level of a small hill, there was no concept of a large collective in his mind. He failed to realize that every decision he made in the team affected the entire team.

As for distribution grain the simplest logic is – fear not scarcity, but uneven distribution. You can only increase, but not decrease.

For human nature, the most disappointing part is greed. If at the beginning, each person only received two ounces per day, then ten days later it increased to three ounces, the common people would be grateful to the nobles. Because, before thirteen days, they were refugees, teetering on the edge of starvation. They would have regarded the nobleman who distributed relief grain as a great benefactor even before two ounces of grain, let alone one.

However, the noblemen initially gave five ounces, then suddenly found that the grain was insufficient. They thought that if they returned to two ounces, they could hold on, so they decided casually.

Of course, this is acceptable within a family. In a blood-related family, under the system of common honor and disgrace, sharing weal or woe, even life and death, is commonplace.

There are countless examples of uncles and brothers raising their nephews as their own after their brothers die in battle. So, the leaders of small families never consider decisions of jointly sharing hardships as something that requires preparation or agreement. Because to them, their sacrifices and dedication are seen by their clan members. If it was necessary to share hardships, it had to be because they could not go on anymore.

But only the clan members can give this understanding, the common people can’t. The common people can only see the little relief grain in their hands and the land in front of them because they don’t have kinship with the noblemen of Xiling.

When there’s no conflict of interest, if you randomly ask a commoner in Xiling who they respect the most, about half of them will tell you, “Of course, it is Master Sun, who is renowned in Xiling as a miracle healer.”

Tang Luo clearly remembered the faces of these supporters. But now, because of a decision regarding relief grain, many people had forgotten how highly regarded Sun Jinfang had been in Xiling and how he was respected as a parent. And all this happened because Sun Jinfang lacked skills in administration while possessing great virtues.

However, Tang Luo always believed that political skills could be cultivated, but a person’s virtues could not be reproduced.

Although this time’s grain distribution caused some unrest, the primary responsibility did not lie with Sun Jinfang and the other noblemen of Xiling.

Instead, it was those who were hidden in the crowd, inciting trouble, and the clueless Gong Zheng standing next to him.

The reason why people on the camel peak of the Righteous Gang did not dare to cause trouble is simple. Everyone in Xiling knows that the Righteous Business Group is Tang Luo’s own business and that Gong Zheng, the head of the Righteous Gang, is his subordinate. They had to respect him even when they were still freemen in Xiling, not to mention now that a large number of people in Red Cloud Mountain had already become Tang Luo’s followers.

Tang Luo did not say that whether Gong Zheng distributed half a pound of grain or not, no one would dare to cause trouble in the territory of the Righteous Gang, which was located on the camel peak. Tang Luo would rather wish that he would do nothing.

‘More is less’, which is to say, doing something to excess can be as bad as not doing enough. It’s the meaning of the phrase ‘the remedy is worse than the disease’.

It seemed like a casual move from Gong Zheng, but it turned out to be the spark that triggered this riot. Although the distance between the peaks is just a dozen miles of mountain roads, considering the refugee’s belief in ‘less movement, less consumption’, most people didn’t run to other camel peaks, because there were grain distribution points on every peak and everyone was the same.

However, Gong Zheng just had to stand out. Master Sun had said to distribute two ounces of grain, but he continued with half a pound. And the people who are moving between the mountains, who are they? They are those who repeatedly receive grain. Even though they accounted for only a small portion of the population, when these people intentionally spread the word that other camel peaks were still distributing half a pound of grain, the jealousy and hatred of the common people erupted.

Why did the common people loudly question the noblemen of Xiling for embezzling relief grain? It was all because of this guy’s foolish act.

So when he was lecturing Gong Zheng, Tang Luo did not avoid people’s presence. Hence, those who were kneeling in the front row, especially those who had yelled the loudest, could clearly hear the conversation between the two.

As Tang Luo rebuked Gong Zheng, these people slowly bowed lower and lower, trembling more and more violently, hardly able to suppress their fear.

Being a follower, in simple terms is a respectful term for a slave. Seeing Gong Zheng, who had followed Tang Luo the longest in uniting the agricultural market of Xiling, and had even become a supreme mortal, reprimanded and only daring to admit his mistakes in silence, they dared not imagine what kind of punishment they would face next..