Chapter 276: Chapter 271: Ruthless
Xie Jue and Fengyu wrapped up their deliberations at the Prefecture Office, and it was already midnight. Xie Jue was still brimming with energy, but Fengyu was utterly exhausted. In his single-minded work ethic, Second Young Master had overlooked that she was a young lady, fragile since childhood, and not as robust as a man. After a brief introspection, he assigned a Shadow Guard to escort her back to rest while he continued to hold an all-night discussion with the Prefecture’s steward.
Fengyu sympathized with the officials at the Prefecture in her heart. As she stepped out of the office, Qiuxiang whispered to her, "Miss, the Little Marquis came during the evening hours but left quietly."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
"You were busy with the Second Young Master; he didn’t want to disturb you."
Fengyu had indeed lost track of time. She had only managed to eat a simple meal at the office and hadn’t seen Xie Xun. Second Young Master had said Xie Xun was occupied with military affairs—was his visit meant for her?
She instructed Nuanyang to ask whether Xie Xun had something urgent, but Xie Xun was inexplicably vexed. "Since when do I need urgency to seek her? She and Second Brother seem to be having a delightful chat. I’ve never seen her so talkative with anyone."
"Nothing urgent. This Marquis is simply idle."
Nuanyang was taken aback by the sudden yelling, and secretly asked Feiying, "What’s wrong with the Master?"
Feiying pondered. Ever since the Marquis Mansion fell apart, when had the Marquis or the Second Young Master ever been in a good mood? While Second Young Master remained stoically calm, the Marquis’s temper was visibly volatile.
The Miss was still coldly at odds with the Marquis. Today’s military discussions saw several proposals vetoed outright by the veterans. Unease naturally clouded his mood.
Feiying inquired, "What’s the Miss planning for tomorrow?"
"The Miss has invited a few seasoned farmers and experts in canal construction. Tomorrow, she’ll visit Daling Mountain."
Daling Mountain is where Ningzhou’s agricultural land is most densely concentrated, located outside the South City Gate. The entirety of Daling Mountain comprises military farmland owned by Marquis Zhenbei. Su Yuejiao had poured six years of effort into transforming the six mountains into terraced hills, conserving soil, retaining water, and enhancing crop yields. Originally, these six mountains were lushly vegetated and fertile, but they had now been converted into arable land. Unfortunately, Ningzhou’s arid climate posed significant challenges for irrigation, as the reservoirs atop the mountains struggled to store water, necessitating the construction of canals to divert it.
Fengyu possessed Su Yuejiao’s notes and, before her marriage to the Marquis, Su Yuejiao had planned on constructing a second canal to expand the planting area around Daling Mountain. Since cultivable land in Ningzhou was scarce, reclamation was the only solution.
While Fengyu lacked expertise in this field, she excelled at gathering insights. She invited over a dozen experienced farmers and craftsmen who had worked on the first canal, striving to collect diverse opinions.
Her ambition extended to developing wastelands in Jinzhou, West Continent, and Huangzhou. For this, she needed expertise and practical experience beyond mere written records.
She allocated a test plot for two of the senior farmers, allowing them to experiment freely as long as they improved yields. If their methods proved successful, she intended to promote them widely within the city. By the time noon rolled around, her stomach was growling with hunger, and under the scorching sun, Fengyu nearly succumbed to dizziness despite wearing a veiled hat. Sweating heavily, she took refuge under a tree’s shade, panting as she sipped iced tea.
This tract of farmland had to ensure military supplies, serving the dual purposes of cultivation and mobilization for the Iron Cavalry. During particularly busy wartime periods, it would be leased to civilian households. But what about the land assigned to civilians? Ningzhou, as Yanyang’s largest city, had to accommodate the Iron Cavalry, with most of its residents being military households. The civilian population was primarily tenant farmers. Fengyu began considering—what if all farmland were distributed to tenant farmers, and as more settlers moved to Ningzhou and established residence, how would the city manage?
If civilians gained farmland of their own, how would grievances about military estates be resolved? Throughout the day, Fengyu toured five military farms of Ningzhou. Su Yuejiao had converted Ningzhou’s southern and southwestern mountainous regions entirely into military farmland. This extensive reclamation avoided encroaching on civilian lands, focusing solely on opening new terrain. Through meticulous management and emphasis on productivity, these five military farms were now the most fertile agricultural lands in Ningzhou.
Under such allocation methods, inequity in distribution was bound to arise, potentially inciting civilian unrest. Fengyu deliberated deeply before arriving at a bold idea. Flushed with excitement, she sought out Xie Jue to discuss.
She proposed a radical land policy for Ningzhou City—to transfer all land ownership to the Ningzhou Prefecture. Everyone would rent land for cultivation, leaving only two military farms for Iron Cavalry dual-purpose usage. With all land centralized under government control, it could be leased to the populace, while taxes could be collected either in crops or silver.
This arrangement would ensure the Prefecture had ample financial resources. With money in hand, they could procure military supplies across Yanyang’s territory, boosting civilian enthusiasm and attracting refugees to settle in Ningzhou.
This policy could draw labor-ready, previously starving young men to Ningzhou—gaining public support means gaining dominion. Leveraging population growth, Ningzhou could rapidly expand.
Xie Jue’s ideas coincided with hers; in fact, he had conceived of this even earlier. He had already pitched the policy to the stewards last night. This strategy was unprecedented in Yanyang’s history, incredibly ambitious yet challenging to implement—relegating all land to Prefecture control. Should the Little Marquis overthrow Yanyang, all land would become publicly owned, untradeable, and solely rentable.
The clan aristocrats would absolutely rise up in fury, refusing to accept!
This policy couldn’t apply to all of Yanyang but could work within Ningzhou City. Ningzhou’s military farms already belonged to Marquis Zhenbei due to military reclamation, serving dual purposes of cultivation and mobilization. While Ningzhou had its own clans with landholdings, the Prefecture could acquire those lands through compensation—or, if necessary, forcefully annex them.
Such actions would inevitably incite public outrage. The clans within Ningzhou City would undoubtedly resist.
The brothers were plotting rebellion, and the edicts hadn’t even been issued yet—they couldn’t afford widespread dissent. Thus, financial compensation seemed the only viable option. When Xie Jue initially proposed this, the Prefecture’s stewards had dismissed it as fantastical, citing Yanyang’s lack of precedent and the sheer absurdity of the plan to centralize land under Prefecture control, likened to a national treasury.
Xie Jue, however, deemed it feasible—the only problem being a lack of funds.
Third Miss privately thought: Second Young Master truly is her kindred spirit.
"I have money!" Fengyu declared decisively. "Buy!!"
As long as Xie Jue had the resolve to implement the policy, she would provide the funds to purchase all privately owned lands.
Xie Jue paused quietly. "...You have that much money?"
Since the Xie Family’s rebellion against the Capital City, ironically, their ancestral properties in both the Capital City and Jiangnan had become the private assets of the Yanyang Royal Family. Xie Jue and Xie Xun currently wielded little actual wealth.
"I calculated on my way here—I can buy all privately owned lands in Ningzhou. Consider it a loan to you!" Fengyu declared magnanimously, "No interest."
"Fine!" Xie Jue responded coolly. "When can I see the silver?"
Fengyu furrowed her brows and said, "Prior to that, shouldn’t the Prefecture’s institutional arrangements and Ningzhou City’s jurisdiction be unified first? Though the army is stationed in Ningzhou City, the Prefecture remains under Mr. Li’s administration. Since we’ve already rebelled, there’s no need to adhere to Yanyang’s old system."
Xie Jue nodded. "We’ve discussed this point. Ningzhou City will no longer have a Prefecture in the future. Zhixu would declare himself king; all authority will rest with him, and I’ll reorganize the city’s subordinate positions."
He was truly stretched thin, overwhelmed with responsibilities and urgently in need of talent.
"Fine. Jinzhou can allocate five million taels of silver to you. This route is rife with bandits, requiring escort by an Iron Cavalry unit."
"Alright!" Xie Jue promptly decided for both her and Xie Xun. "Set out tomorrow. Zhixu will lead fifty thousand men to escort the silver from Jinzhou to here. You’ll first write a letter, and I’ll dispatch it with express riders to Jinzhou. It should instruct the merchants in Jinzhou City to accumulate grain supplies and bring them back with the cavalry."
Fengyu secretly mused: Second Young Master truly squeezes every last ounce from a passing opportunity.
But then, she had another thought—Xie Xun was accompanying her to Jinzhou?
"You two are cold-warring in Ningzhou. Cold-warring en route to Jinzhou makes no difference—don’t waste time." Xie Jue’s voice was icy. "Find a way to persuade him to stay in Jinzhou."
Fengyu: "..."
Her kindred spirit truly is ruthlessly unyielding!!!