Ch 431: The Solution
After personally witnessing Xiao Yuanyang being imprisoned in the dungeon.
Li Hanzhou did not directly return to his own mansion, but instead went to the homes of the several people who died at Xiao Yuanyang’s shop to take a look.
This matter is not yet over. Remember, behind those several people who died, some had entire families to support.
A total of three people died at Xiao Yuanyang’s charcoal shop.
The first was a lonely elderly person without descendants. Because of his own impoverished life, he was preparing to buy a few pieces of charcoal. However, before he even left the shop, he was informed of another price increase. So, because he couldn’t afford it, he was inexplicably beaten to death by the shop assistant.
The second person’s family was still relatively well-off, barely able to afford charcoal. Seeing the elderly person being beaten, he spoke up for justice, but also suffered the same fate.
Just like that, the family’s pillar suddenly lost their source of income, and their future survival became virtually hopeless.
Li Hanzhou had people give this family some money and helped properly bury the first deceased.
When he arrived at the third deceased’s doorstep.
Crossing the threshold, one could see a small and extremely empty courtyard.
In the courtyard, a ragged boy, about eight or nine years old, sat slumped on the ground, staring blankly at the thick snow on the ground, completely oblivious to the wind and snow from the sky falling on his hair and covering it with a thick layer.
Li Hanzhou quickly went to the boy, reached out to wipe the snow off him, and softly comforted him.
Among these three families, this one was the most tragic.
Because this family was almost completely wiped out, only the boy in front of him was still alive.
Their family was extremely poor. With the price of charcoal rising in recent days, they could no longer afford it. They took their family’s money to the Second Prince’s shop, hoping that the Second Prince would sell them some scraps at a cheaper price. However, the shop assistant mocked them for being unrealistic, took their money, and only threw them a few pieces of poisonous coal, letting them burn poisonous coal for warmth.
The weather was cold, they could only take a risk. Coupled with the sealed room, the oxygen in the room was insufficient, causing them to faint and suffocate to death.
As for the boy, he felt a little uncomfortable, so he thought of going out to breathe some fresh air, thus escaping the disaster.
In the Divine Capital, not every household is wealthy; there are still poor families. And things like accidentally purchasing poisonous coal and dying from it, as seen here, are not unprecedented.
The bodies of this family have been taken away and properly buried.
As for the boy, he has permanently lost his family, and his future days will only be lonely and miserable.
One of Li Hanzhou’s subordinates, named Du Xing, saw this, and his heart involuntarily ached.
He stepped forward, came before the boy, and softly said, “Don’t sit on the ground; what if you catch a cold?”
The boy shook his head, “I’m not stupid; I just sat down because I was tired of standing.”
“Then Uncle misunderstood.”
Du Xing spoke softly to the boy for a while. The more he looked at him, the more he liked him, and he couldn’t help but look at Li Hanzhou and say, “This child is truly too pitiful. I humbly request Your Highness to allow me to take in this child.”
Li Hanzhou glanced at the boy and said, “I don’t get to decide; you have to get his consent.”
He knew Du Xing felt compassion and wanted to adopt the boy. But this is also good for Du Xing, because although he has long had a family, he hasn’t had a child for so many years. If he could adopt this boy, it would be like having a successor.
So Du Xing looked at the boy and asked, “Would you like to go home with Uncle?”
Looking at Du Xing’s serious and sincere expression, the boy thought for a moment and slowly nodded. He also knew that if no one took him in, he would probably freeze to death in this icy world in a few days.
Seeing this, Du Xing’s face also showed a smile. He picked up the boy and said, “After we’re done, Uncle will buy you some delicious food.”
Li Hanzhou’s subordinates packed up the poisonous coal that hadn’t been transported yet, intending to take it away and dispose of it.
“Wait.”
Li Hanzhou stopped them, then looked at the poisonous coal in the bag, reached out and pinched it, examining it carefully.
Looking at the coal residue, crushed extremely fine, staining his fingers black.
Li Hanzhou discovered that this so-called poisonous coal was the same material as the coal used on Blue Star; it was completely ordinary coal.
With this discovery, Li Hanzhou’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He thought of how to rescue the commoners of the Divine Palace from their current predicament while also suppressing those merchants who maliciously inflated charcoal prices.
This coal is inexpensive and durable. The Divine Capital is so large; finding a few coal mines would be more than enough to meet the needs of the Divine Capital’s commoners.
And he knew how to make the coal non-toxic and even more efficient to use: make it into honeycomb briquettes.
On Blue Star, almost every household uses this; its range of use is very wide; even poor people can afford it.
Once the coal produced here becomes widespread, there will be no more situations where the commoners cannot afford charcoal for warmth, and those merchants will have no profit to be made, thus solving the current problem completely.
Thinking of this, Li Hanzhou was overjoyed and no longer hesitated. He immediately entered the Imperial Palace to see Xiao Tiansheng.
Xiao Tiansheng also knew about the actions of his Second Prince, Xiao Yuanyang.
Now, after seeing Li Hanzhou, he snorted coldly, a look of anger on his face.
“Your Second Brother, that scoundrel, dares to seize even such unjust wealth! It’s not enough to beat him to death! Just lock him in the dungeon and let him reflect properly. Don’t let him out without my orders!”
He never imagined that while he was working hard to solve many problems for the commoners of the Divine Capital, his second son was acting against him, oppressing the commoners! This was something he absolutely could not tolerate!
He must make Xiao Yuanyang suffer, so that he can truly repent!
“Have the deceased commoners been properly taken care of?” Xiao Tiansheng looked at Li Hanzhou.
“Yes.” Li Hanzhou, seeing Xiao Tiansheng’s attitude, knew that although Xiao Tiansheng was scolding, it was unlikely that he would have Xiao Yuanyang executed for this matter.
“Father Emperor, I found that some officials are negligent in their duties, failing to fulfill their responsibilities, but instead helping to oppress the commoners. So I plan to create a department specifically to supervise these officials. Also, regarding the recent surge in charcoal prices, I now have a solution…”
“Tell me about it?” Xiao Tiansheng became interested immediately.
“As long as we sell the coal we produce, we will certainly be able to resolve the commoners’ grievances…”
As Li Hanzhou explained in detail.
Xiao Tiansheng, listening silently, his expression suddenly became extremely serious. After listening, his eyes showed surprise.
He truly didn’t expect that his son was not only extremely strong, but also incredibly intelligent.
If they implemented Li Hanzhou’s proposal, then the crisis currently facing the Divine Capital could be easily resolved.
Xiao Tiansheng was increasingly pleased with Li Hanzhou and couldn’t help but praise him.
“Both of the methods you proposed are excellent, something I never thought of. If you were to govern the Divine Capital in the future, then our Divine Capital will surely become prosperous and strong, even more prosperous than before!”
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