Li Zhi provided funds to comfort the disaster victims.

No matter how fiercely the beauties of Chang'an vied with each other in splendor, it did nothing to ease the disaster in Liangzhou and Longzhou.

Thus, Li Shimin, who had originally planned to stay at Jiucheng Palace until the end of summer, was forced to hastily return to Chang'an at the end of August.

He needed to prepare for the impending calamity, and at the same time, send a generous gift to his friend Ashina Nishou, who was far away in Western Turkic lands.

It so happened that Ashina Nishou's position as Khagan of the Western Turks was far from secure. The subordinate khans harbored much dissatisfaction toward his rule.

Consequently, Li Shimin, newly hailed by neighboring nations as the “Heavenly Khagan,” became Ashina Nishou's lifeline for retaining his throne.

Ashina Nishou wrote personally, expressing his submission to Li Shimin and requesting an imperial decree to formally invest him.

With this decree, he could wield the prestige of Great Tang to intimidate the lesser khans of other tribes.

Li Shimin, for his part, needed a close ally in Western Turkic lands to lead and ease the defensive strain on the western front. Thus, the investiture edict, written in Li Shimin's own hand, was swiftly dispatched.

Meanwhile, the people of Liangzhou and Longzhou had fallen into utter despair. Although the court had invested much manpower in these provinces, the harvest was pitifully scant.

Some families whose crops had completely failed began to flee toward Chang'an, bringing their entire households. Those who managed a meager harvest could only delay the inevitable.

Recently, the amount of grain acquired was scarce. Therefore, after deliberation, Li Shimin and his ministers decided to instruct the local authorities along the route not to hinder the refugees coming to the capital and to offer what assistance they could.

This approach would also minimize wastage in transporting grain.

The mass migration from the two provinces drew in neighboring victims of disaster as well, swelling the ranks of refugees to over twenty thousand.

Upon receiving this information, Li Shimin immediately summoned all officials above the rank of Minister from the Six Departments to the Hall of Supreme Harmony for a council.

Li Tai and Li Zhi, both qualified to participate in state affairs, were also called.

Li Shimin, his brows deeply furrowed, said, “The number of refugees has already exceeded twenty thousand. In my estimation, the total may well reach thirty thousand or more.”

He swept his gaze over the assembled officials, then, with a grave expression, asked, “My loyal subjects, what solutions have you for feeding these people?”

After Li Shimin posed his question, silence fell over the hall. The methods they could devise had already been tried.

All available grain had long since been brought in from every region.

Yet, out of the six years since the beginning of the Zhenguan era, five had seen disaster.

During this period, a war to eliminate the Eastern Turks had been fought.

Now, even those citizens of Great Tang who had not suffered calamity could barely feed themselves. To expect them to spare any surplus was pure fantasy.

The grain in the court's hands would likely only last until winter arrived.

Beyond that, they could only purchase at exorbitant prices from profiteering grain merchants.

By then, the court's remaining funds would be exhausted, and still fall short.

The atmosphere in the Hall of Supreme Harmony was so tense, it seemed the air itself had frozen. The silence was so complete that even the faintest breathing could be heard.

Li Shimin, seeing this, could not help but sigh.

Just as he was about to speak again, Li Zhi raised his head and said, “Father, your son is willing to ease your burden and spend his own money to purchase grain at high prices.”

Li Zhi’s words made everyone present gasp in astonishment.

Even Li Shimin himself stared at Li Zhi in disbelief.

After a long moment, Li Shimin managed to stammer, “Zhinü, you… you… what did you just say?”

Li Zhi replied, “Father, your son has the money to feed these refugees.”

With Li Zhi’s confirmation, Li Shimin’s mind was utterly stunned.

He was not alone; the others were similarly shaken.

To feed over thirty thousand people—what did that mean?

At two pounds of grain per person per day, more than thirty thousand people would require sixty thousand pounds daily.

Even the cheapest millet, at five coins per pound, would cost three hundred strings of cash daily.

Including miscellaneous expenses, at least ten thousand strings per month.

These refugees would likely stay in the capital for half a year, and the court’s grain could only last until November.

Thus, Li Zhi would need to cover roughly four months of expenses.

Even at current grain prices, Li Zhi would need to spend forty thousand strings.

Many in Chang'an could claim wealth amounting to ten thousand strings.

But their so-called family fortunes included real estate, farmland, and shops—all assets, often jointly owned by entire clans.

Li Zhi was different; he could actually produce this much cash to buy grain.

Everyone wondered how Li Zhi, at his age, had managed to amass such wealth.

Among those present, Li Chengqian and Li Tai’s expressions were the most complex.

Their faces displayed shock, envy, and jealousy all at once.

Their shared thought was: if only this money were theirs, how many followers could they win to their cause?

After a long pause, Li Shimin’s expression began to change.

First, his facial muscles slowly relaxed, then his lips started to curl upward.

Soon, his eyes shone with excitement, and finally he burst out into hearty laughter.

As his laughter rang out, everyone could sense the immense relief, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from Li Shimin’s shoulders.

Many veteran ministers, who had long followed Li Shimin, seemed to see him once again commanding the battlefield with energy and decisiveness.

Wei Zheng, who rarely spoke flattering words in Li Shimin’s presence, was the first to step forward.

Trembling, he addressed Li Shimin, “Congratulations, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is truly blessed to have such a worthy son as Prince Jin—it is a blessing for Your Majesty and for the people.”

Li Shimin laughed even more heartily at Wei Zheng’s words.

Seeing this, the others hurried to join in with their own flattery.

Even the unwilling Li Chengqian and Li Tai managed to call out, “Congratulations, Father!”

Li Shimin, laughing, waved his hand at the officials and tried to restrain his excitement.

After a while, he finally calmed himself and spoke, “Prince Jin, Li Zhi, is loyal to his sovereign and cares for the state, sparing no expense to save the people.”

At these opening words, everyone knew what Li Shimin was about to do.

Their eyes turned toward Li Zhi, full of envy.

Li Shimin continued, “From this day, Prince Jin, Li Zhi, is appointed Governor of Xiangzhou, and holds the commission for military affairs in Xiang, Wei, Li, Wei, Ming, Xing, and Bei prefectures. He shall formally assume the office of Yongzhou Governor and take full charge of the resettlement and relief of the refugees.”

With Li Shimin’s announcement, all present cried in unison, “Long live the Emperor!”

From this moment, Li Zhi’s status could be said to surpass all other princes.