The Provincial Marquis of Yang Province, Zhang Hong—Zhang Guodong—had asked to meet Pan Long, and he really did want to discuss disaster relief.
He got straight to the point. As soon as he arrived in Yang Province, he had sent people to inspect the government granaries across the province. The results were far from encouraging. If famine truly struck, Yang Province would struggle to protect itself, let alone support anyone else.
That struck a chord with Pan Long. Although he had remained wary of this affable, smiling marquis, he could not help sighing.
"Yes. I've seen quite a few granaries on my travels. Things are bad."
Zhang Guodong nodded. "The Wind Patrol Envoys reported that wherever you went, money often appeared out of nowhere in commoners' homes..."
Pan Long smiled. "Is such a small matter really worth a Provincial Marquis's personal attention?"
"No matter concerning the realm is small." Zhang Guodong's expression grew solemn. "A thousand-mile dike can collapse through an ant hole. Neglect the small matters, and the great ones often go wrong. In thirty years as an official, I've seen more than one example."
Pan Long nodded, taking the lesson to heart.
Of course he had heard that no matter concerning the realm was small. But for a Provincial Marquis to pay attention even to money suddenly appearing in commoners' homes... The foremost scholar in the realm had taught him a lesson through his actions.
"I thought that since you were giving people money, you must be paying attention to the disaster. So when I heard you'd arrived in Yang Province, I sent someone to find you. I wanted to hear what you thought of the situation."
Pan Long considered for a moment. "You know far more about disaster relief than I do, so I won't presume to