Xie Nanxiao gave a cold laugh. “What an impressive display of official authority. What crime have the common people committed but wanting to stay alive? I have no interest in arguing over this nonsense with you. If you want something, state your terms plainly.”
His unyielding attitude caught Wen Zixin and the others off guard.
Did he even understand that this was Sizhou, their territory?
Yet if it came to an actual fight, they did not dare make a move.
They had no fear of the more than ten thousand Jinyang troops who had come to Sizhou for disaster relief. With the strength of Sizhou’s two commanderies, wiping out ten thousand men would have been easy enough.
But what would happen afterward?
Given Princess Jinyang’s power and methods, she would never let Sizhou off lightly. At present, Sizhou could not afford to make another enemy.
Wen Zixin looked again at the refugees glaring angrily at them, and his heart gave a shudder.
No, things had changed. The Jinyang army was no longer an isolated force without support. In barely two days, it had won the backing of these disaster-stricken people.
At that moment, Wen Zixin began to doubt.
Perhaps they truly had been wrong.
The lives of these commoners might be worth little in the eyes of the powerful, but the people's loyalty was exceedingly precious. And Sizhou, it seemed, had never possessed it.
After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth. “In that case, we shall not disturb you further.”
Zhang Balang stared at him in astonishment. “Lord Wen?”
Wen Zixin ignored him and turned back toward the city.
The county commandant and county magistrate exchanged a glance, then followed after him.
By now, they too understood: even on Sizhou’s own ground, the Jinyang army, with the refugees behind it, was no longer something they could simply move against at will.
For a moment, Zhang Balang stood there with his mouth open, unable to accept it.
The authorities of Tao Commandery were simply abandoning him?
He turned to Qi Pingwei. “General Qi, this matter...”
Before he could finish, Qi Pingwei cut him off. “These horses of the Jinyang army were indeed exchanged for the prescription.”
Zhang Balang stared at Qi Pingwei for two breaths, only to feel the pain in his chest worsen.
He took a deep breath to suppress the frustration boiling within him, shot Xie Nanxiao a vicious glare, and turned toward the county seat.
Though utterly unwilling, he had no choice. He had only a little over a thousand men. Even with the Zhang family retainers in the county seat, they numbered only two or three thousand.
Without the government’s support, the Zhang family was no match for the Jinyang army.
But there was no need to rush. He had already sent a carrier pigeon to his father. His father would surely persuade His Majesty to intervene.
Thinking of everything that had been taken from him made him want to cough up blood. It was more than half of the Zhang family’s fortune.
Watching his retreating figure, Xie Nanxiao’s eyes flashed coldly. It seemed they would need to accelerate their efforts in the various regions.
Jiang Jin still had no idea that she had acquired another sizable trove of wealth. Although that had been part of the intention behind her authority to act as circumstances required, the outcome ultimately depended on how those carrying out her orders handled matters.
She was studying a newly drawn map of Chongzhou when she remarked, “Though Chongzhou is mountainous, it also has no small amount of arable land.”
Qiu Liao nodded. “Indeed. Unfortunately, most of it lies abandoned.”
It was fortunate that Jiang Jin possessed high-yield grain seeds. Otherwise, with the current population, feeding so many people would be far too difficult.
Jiang Jin nodded. “Land is the foundation of the people’s livelihood. It cannot be allowed to go to waste.”
Qiu Liao’s eyes flickered. “Does my lord intend to redistribute the land?”
Dongzhi frowned. “Redistribute the land?”
Jiang Jin smiled. “I do have such plans. But the details will depend on this year’s yield of saved hybrid-rice seed. We shall decide after seeing the results.”
As her territory continued to expand, no matter how much energy she had, she could no longer cultivate all the land herself.
But the supply of hybrid-rice seeds in her space was limited. Until Mu Qing and the agricultural academy succeeded in developing hybrid-rice strains, she could not simply allow the common people to use the seeds as they pleased.
So, beginning this year, she had Mu Qing plant a number of experimental fields using seeds saved from the hybrid rice. If the yield per acre proved acceptable, she planned to distribute some of the land to the people for cultivation.
Qiu Liao stroked his beard. “There are certainly benefits to distributing the land. The people will take better care of fields that belong to them, and they’ll feel more a part of the community.”
“However, if we do that, what happens if they sell their grain at high prices to other factions...?”
He had never trusted human nature.
There were people who observed rules and maintained their principles, but there were also those who disregarded all rules and had no limits whatsoever.
Jiang Jin was thoroughly confident. “The land will be nationalized and allocated to households according to the number of people in each family. Private buying and selling will be prohibited.”
Qiu Liao was stunned. “My lady, are you planning to implement an equal-field system?”
Jiang Jin nodded. “That’s right. Although I’ll be distributing fields and farmland, ultimately, the land will still belong to me. We can also raise the rent.”
Qiu Liao was puzzled. “Raise the rent?”
Jiang Jin nodded. “From now on, we won’t call it rent. We’ll call it the national grain levy. The people farm the state’s land, and the state’s soldiers protect them. Naturally, they should each contribute their share to the state.”
Bailu’s eyes lit up. “Like merchants paying taxes?”
Jiang Jin smiled. “Exactly. Everyone will contribute to building our country. We may not be a country yet, but sooner or later, we will be.”
Her words stirred everyone’s spirits.
Unable to hold back, Qiu Liao asked, “My lady, when do you plan to proclaim yourself emperor?”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “There’s no rush. I’m not asking for peace throughout the realm, but at the very least, all of Yan must be under my control first.”
Qiu Liao and the others were stunned for a moment. Then their hearts began to pound as they faintly grasped the meaning behind her words, and they were filled with soaring ambition.
They had truly been like sparrows, unaware that the ambitions of the great swan reached far beyond a single Yan Kingdom!
This was also the first time Jiang Jin had revealed the scope of her ambitions.
Suppressing his excitement, Qiu Liao continued the earlier discussion. “Even if we raise the national grain levy, the farmers will still have surplus grain. They can sell it to others, then use the money they receive to buy grain at a lower price.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “That is true. But what if, after the land is distributed, the farmers no longer receive grain coupons?”
Qiu Liao froze, then his eyes brightened. “In that case, the farmers will have to keep enough grain for their own food. After paying the national levy, they won’t have much grain left to sell.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “If they can sell that portion at a higher price and use it to improve their own lives, why not?”
From beginning to end, she had only ever had one goal: to keep most of the grain under her control, ensuring that the national treasury remained well supplied, grain prices stayed stable, and both her soldiers and her people had enough to eat.
“But on one condition: the people under our rule must not sell grain to the barbarian tribes,” she added, her voice firm.
“Exactly,” Dongzhi agreed. “Selling grain to the barbarians is the same as aiding the enemy. No amount of money makes it acceptable.”
The atmosphere here was calm and harmonious. In stark contrast, when Jiang Chun received news that the Zhang family had been robbed, he nearly thought he had read it wrong. It was only after reading it twice that he confirmed he had not.
Just then, Dong Cheng hurried in to report, “The Zhang family of Tao Commandery has been robbed. Their patriarch wishes to seek an audience with Your Majesty and ask you to uphold justice for them. Would Your Majesty like to see him?”
Jiang Chun ground his teeth. “Let him in.”
Before long, Patriarch Zhang hurried in at a half-run. With a thud, he dropped to his knees on the floor, sobbing, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must uphold justice for my Zhang family!”
Jiang Chun looked down at him, his gaze icy. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Patriarch Zhang wiped away his tears. “Two nights ago, a band of brigands calling themselves ‘Hu Lai’ raided my family’s fortified estate.
“Not only did they steal our horses and grain, they also took every last bit of gold and silver my Zhang family had hidden in our secret chamber. They killed dozens of my household retainers and wounded hundreds more.
“Even my eighth son was injured, and badly at that. Your Majesty, I beg you, you must uphold justice for us!”
