Chapter 442: Chapter 429: Adding Sand
"A solution? Aunt Annie, which kind of solution do you want? The troublesome one is that you personally supervise, catch the corrupt ones and execute them. When enough are killed, they will naturally be afraid. When the cost of crime outweighs the gain, they will naturally know how to choose." Perfikot spoke with an indifferent expression, but his words were cold and devoid of emotion.
The Eldest Princess Annie gritted her teeth at this suggestion but still shook her head and said, "I can only manage so much myself. Even if I can ensure that the higher-ups aren’t corrupt, what about those grassroots personnel?
The Empire’s vast group of personnel, they are numerous and responsible for practical tasks; I can’t possibly monitor each one of them!
Little Perfikot, do you have a way to ensure they won’t be corrupt? You must have a way, right?"
As Annie spoke, she became excited and looked at Perfikot with eyes full of expectations, feeling that the young girl before her had never let her down.
Faced with the Eldest Princess Annie’s plea, Perfikot sighed helplessly, put down her pen, and said, "Aunt Annie, you really know how to put people in tough spots!"
"Who told you that you’re the smartest in the Empire! Little Perfikot, you surely have a way, right?" Eldest Princess Annie knew she was making things difficult but felt it was a problem that needed solving, so she had no choice but to trouble Perfikot.
After all, troubling only one person is better than troubling the whole Empire.
"My method goes against Aunt Annie’s usual principles, and indeed, it is quite unscrupulous. Are you sure you want to hear it?" Perfikot looked at Annie, showing no difficulty, as countless people in the history of the originary world had already demonstrated effective ways to prevent grassroots corruption in such situations.
Upon hearing Perfikot had a way, the Eldest Princess Annie felt relieved immediately; as for the unscrupulous nature of the method, she didn’t mind.
Given the current situation she was aware of, she was thankful to heaven for having a solution; morality was not the primary concern now.
If being unscrupulous could curb the severe corruption prevailing, she wouldn’t mind abandoning her own morals.
"Little Perfikot, just tell me. If you think the method is unscrupulous and don’t want to do it, then leave it for me to do. I am already prepared to sacrifice everything for the Empire," Eldest Princess Annie proclaimed with great righteousness.
"That’s not necessary, it’s just relatively hard to accept," Perfikot shook her head, then explained to Eldest Princess Annie: "Corruption exists because there’s profit involved. The food used for disaster relief in the Empire is specially transferred from the Empire’s material reserves, which are typically well-selling grain because the Empire has certain standards for purchasing and storing them.
Even if there are problems like mold or spoilage, every year there are people who promptly clean and replace them, so even if there are some issues, it won’t be too severe.
When this grain falls into the hands of those disaster relief officials or grassroots personnel in charge of distribution, they could sell it off since good grain won’t have trouble selling.
Later, whether by substituting quality with inferior products or burning warehouses with dragon fire, they can cover up empty accounts.
So, the simplest solution to this problem is to make everything non-profitable; without profit, these people naturally wouldn’t corrupt.
As I said, when the cost of crime outweighs the profit, people naturally wouldn’t commit crimes."
"I see, then how to implement this?" Eldest Princess Annie looked at Perfikot intensely, waiting for her answer.
"It’s very simple: change the relief grain from the Empire’s standard prime grain to grain that’s moldy, rotten, or mixed with stones and gravel," Perfikot put forth an idea Eldest Princess Annie considered unscrupulous: "This kind of inferior grain isn’t wanted in the market, usually only the poorest buy this kind or food made from it because they can’t afford better.
Therefore, this grain doesn’t sell in the market; often grain dealers sell it to farms as feed or simply discard or burn it.
Once Aunt Annie swaps the relief grain to this type, even if officials attempt to sell it, it won’t be sellable, thus solving the problem naturally.
However, moldy grain adversely impacts health, so mixing sand is better; mixing one-third sand into a sack of wheat not only lets more people eat but also makes the grain worthless."
"No wonder you said this was unscrupulous; it is indeed unscrupulous." Eldest Princess Annie took a deep breath, surprised that Perfikot could come up with such an idea affecting her quite greatly.
Yet, upon careful reflection, Eldest Princess Annie had to admit this method could ensure the grassroots poor at least receive relief grain instead of it being sold off by officials and personnel.
Understanding this point, Eldest Princess Annie took a deep breath and told Perfikot, "I understand; I’ll have someone handle this matter."
"Aunt Annie, are you really going to do this? Actually, it should be handled by Duke Ruth; you’re representing the Royal Family now and have a very good name among the people, a valuable asset not to be wasted like this," Perfikot suddenly stopped Annie, proposing another even less scrupulous yet optimal method: "Aunt Annie can have Duke Ruth send a dishonest noble to handle this task; the person would surely corrupt while executing it to fill their own pockets.
Then, once it’s completed, expose their corruption, execute them, and gather public favor.
Currently, public sentiment is crucial for the Empire; Aunt Annie’s positive image among the people is beneficial for stabilizing sentiment and rallying people to follow the Empire’s decisions, so you better not squander your personal prestige."
"Isn’t this... a bit too..." Eldest Princess Annie found herself speechless at Perfikot’s suggestion, surprised at the extent of her pragmatism.
Yet Perfikot merely dismissed it, picked up her pen again, and continued reviewing documents: "This is nothing; the nobles are a burden to the Empire anyway, better let them contribute in some way."