Chapter 299: Chapter 291 Acting_2
"There’s a ghost!"
Fengyu studied the ledger thoughtfully. "I think so too. Chunlu, you’ve been by my side for so many years, managing my daily life—it’s a waste of your talents. Once Zhang Da brings over the household, housing, and land records from the State Mansion, you take charge of sorting and consolidating them. Report back to me when you’re done."
Chunlu froze. "Miss, I... I don’t know if I can do it."
"Give it a try!"
"Alright!" Chunlu’s eyes lit up. "I will not let you down, Miss."
Nangong Heng washed his hands of the matter, the steward and staff at the mansion avoided getting involved, leaving the mansion fully open to Fengyu. Nuanyang brought the cavalry into the mansion to take control. The mansion guards were given the choice to accept reorganization under Nuanyang’s command or leave to seek their own livelihood. The residents of the city were treated equally. Fengyu made a promise to all the residents of West Continent:
Equal land rights, land for those who till it.
For three consecutive days, Fengyu reviewed the ledgers from the mining district. When she encountered parts she couldn’t understand, she marked them and consulted with craftsmen among the outlaws skilled in metallurgy. The smelting losses recorded in the ledger were almost identical to the figures the craftsmen provided.
At the same time, Chunlu, with the help of several leaders, organized accommodations for over ten thousand people, handled registration and archiving, and redistributed the city’s farmland for cultivation based on population. Nuanyang, acting on behalf of the State Mansion, issued new decrees for unified management of the city alongside Chen Jiangdong, registering the native residents and distributing land.
The native residents were extremely hostile toward them. After West Continent fell into disrepair, those who stayed behind were either poor farmers surviving on self-cultivated land, the families of mansion guards, or villagers unwilling to abandon their homeland. Wealthy landowners had long fled, taking their cultivated farmland with them. Now, with plans for redistribution and reclamation, the native residents refused to comply, leading to clashes between thousands of them and the cavalry. They staged sit-ins to protest in the city, including women, elders, and children.
In their eyes, Fengyu and her people were invaders, robbing them of their homes and lands—no different from bandits.
"Miss, it’s clear they’ve been incited by someone," Chen Jiangdong fumed. "Let me bring my men to suppress them by force. There’s no need to treat them gently."
"They are unarmed civilians. I’m no tyrant—what use is forceful suppression?" Fengyu had already devised her plan. "Chunlu, just tell them to cooperate with the registration and archiving. The land they cultivate now will remain theirs; they’ll pay taxes based on acreage. They can cultivate as much as they are capable of."
When she and Xie Jue were negotiating back in Ningzhou, most discussions were theoretical. Here in West Continent, Fengyu was modifying policies based on public sentiment. While Ningzhou hadn’t yet implemented new governance, West Continent became the experimental ground for both Xie Jue and Fengyu. Fengyu further refined the land policies, dividing land by household. Every household received farming land, which legally belonged to the State Mansion and could not be bought or sold.
If city residents wanted additional farmland, they could lease it from the State Mansion at a rate of one tael of silver per mu—a very affordable price. The State Mansion encouraged people to farm and grow more freely beyond designated crops, without interference. Fengyu understood the principles of a free economy and applied these theories to agriculture. She summarized and refined the policies into records and sent them to Ningzhou.
Who would’ve thought that just as she sent them out, Xie Jue delivered his own refined clauses, which he had adjusted after encountering obstacles during his practice in Ningzhou? The one regarding land was identical to Fengyu’s thoughts. With the military stationed in Ningzhou, issues were easier to resolve. Xie Jue compiled the problems and solutions he encountered and sent them all to Fengyu for reference.
"A real timely rain!" Fengyu chuckled. The Second Young Master is truly capable of stabilizing kingdoms with strength and governing nations with wisdom.
After Fengyu revised the decrees, the protests of the native residents diminished. The residents hesitated—should they align with Fengyu or continue relying on the Salt and Iron Department for survival? Just then, an incident of malicious brawling erupted in the city.
Zhang Hu’s younger brother Zhang Meng had a verbal fight with native residents, which escalated into a brawl. The native residents occupied the city’s most fertile land, stoking resentment among the outlaws. Now Fengyu had even made concessions for them by altering policies—policies that benefitted all city residents, yet the outlaws felt indignant, perceiving it as preferential treatment for the native residents. They believed the native residents were being arrogant, taking advantage of Fengyu’s exceptions while still acting ungrateful.
The native residents were once outlaws themselves; the current outlaws came later. The two groups inherently disliked each other. Both were once fierce bandits, and in recent days, friction between them had been resolved repeatedly, leaving both sides simmering with suppressed anger. A single verbal conflict easily escalated into a violent melee.
Such brawls among fierce bandits quickly morphed into large-scale fights involving weapons. Fortunately, Chen Jiangdong had stationed men to patrol the city. Upon discovering the group fight, they swiftly intervened and suppressed it.
Though the brawling caused bloodshed, luckily, no fatalities occurred—only two native residents suffered severe injuries. The incident had been instigated by Zhang Meng. The native residents assumed Fengyu would undeniably favor her own people and didn’t expect her to uphold justice for them.
In full view of everyone, Fengyu had Zhang Meng beaten twenty heavy strokes at the courthouse within the mansion. Zhang Hu then led a bloodied Zhang Meng to apologize to the injured parties and even paid compensation with a sack of potatoes, ending the dispute.
After this incident, the native residents gradually began cooperating with Chunlu for registration and accepted the land policies Fengyu proposed. Chunlu completed the statistics in just two days.
When Nangong Heng heard about the incident, his emotions were deeply conflicted.
These native residents were once bandits too—and some of their sons now worked for the Salt and Iron Department. Recently, they had been deliberately instigated by the Salt and Iron Department to oppose Fengyu and create chaos in her governance of West Continent. Who would’ve thought that impartial handling of a single brawl would lead to their submission?
In truth, West Continent had gone three years without any legal constraints.
In this city, the Salt and Iron Department had become the law. They could kill and burn with impunity. No matter the conflict, if they had ties to the Salt and Iron Department, they could escape punishment. The rule of law had effectively ceased to exist.
When Fengyu declared governance through law, the native residents scoffed. Even after the brawl erupted, they didn’t expect Fengyu to uphold justice in their favor. It was natural for them to assume that Fengyu would protect her own people.
Yet Fengyu had Zhang Meng beaten until he bled heavily, leaving him bedridden.
Nangong Heng wondered—could he truly trust this barely-of-age Third Miss? She could resolve conflicts among residents impartially and still protect the rights of native residents. He had expected her to use cavalry to violently suppress everyone and rule through tyranny.
One advisor said, "Sir, perhaps... we should try cooperating with her."
"I will never yield!" Nangong Heng remained fiercely loyal. Since Fengyu’s arrival in the city, she had only resorted to violence on the first night to quell chaos. Thereafter, she had relied on reason to win compliance, handling frequent disputes between outlaws and native residents without favoritism.
Yet he still refused to betray his convictions.
Inside the Feng Mansion.
Fengyu hired the best doctor for Zhang Meng and provided the best medicine, yet Zhang Meng wailed incessantly. "Miss, you heartless woman! I started the fight on orders, got into the brawl as commanded, yet you really beat me up? Ow, ow... it hurts, it hurts so much!"
Zhang Hu punched him on the head. "Stop shouting! Do you want the entire city to find out that our Miss orchestrated the whole affair herself?"
Fengyu: "..."