"Yizhou is initially settled, and the policy of abolishing the head tax and implementing a land tax will be promoted throughout the regions. This will undoubtedly cause some landlords to harbor ill intentions. To ensure complete safety, it seems we should not rush to announce it to the world?" Wang Canghai reminded.
Everyone agreed, nodding in unison.
Compared to national stability, the guise of "leprosy" was no longer important, as the three great clans had already fled completely.
In contrast, eliminating all unforeseen circumstances and ensuring the people's peace of mind was the top priority.
After asking Liang Xiao for his opinion, Xiao Qing also sent Ding Wuyi to deliver the decree: "His Majesty approves the memorial!"
Thus, the palace finally issued a proclamation: Princess Ningshuang has given birth to twins, mother and child are safe, and both sons will bear the surname Xiao. The granaries are opened, and the whole city celebrates!
The common people rejoiced, and everyone offered congratulations!
The current imperial family of Daqian is deeply loved by the people, and of course, they do not wish for the imperial lineage to be broken.
"By the way, when will our Emperor announce his good news too!"
The streets and alleys were abuzz with discussion.
In the eyes of the common people, Princess Ningshuang had children, and if the Emperor had no heir, he could choose from the two children.
However, such inauspicious thoughts must be eradicated. Therefore, they hoped that the Emperor would have offspring, and that each generation of emperors would love the people as the "Great Qian Sage Emperor" did.
Xiao Qing, lying in bed, heard the people's discussions and watched Liang Xiao, who was pouting and coaxing the children beside her, stifling a laugh.
Don't we already have them?
Seeing Liang Xiao's happy expression, Xiao Qing's little face turned red.
At that time, when she had fallen unconscious, she recalled past events.
She also remembered how she had been promoted from "Eunuch Qin" to "Little Shuangzi," "Shuang'er," and "Niangzi"...
For this scoundrel, she had risked everything countless times and finally won him over, and now they even had a child!
A moment later, Luo Qingxue brought in two zoetropes from outside and placed them beside Xiao Qing and Zhuo Xun's beds.
Candles were lit inside the lanterns, and the heat generated by the candles created airflow, causing the wheels to rotate. The wheels had paper cuttings, and the candlelight projected their shadows onto the screen, making the figures and horses constantly move.
"This is a zoetrope that husband taught us to make. Let's consider it a simple souvenir. He's away on campaign and doesn't have time, but he didn't want outsiders to make it, as it would seem insincere."
Luo Qingxue explained the usage of the zoetrope with a smile, and Xiao Qing and Zhuo Xun were surprised and delighted.
"Look at the tangrams that husband made." Yue Lian took out seven colored boards from her luggage and arranged them into various patterns.
Xiao Qing and Zhuo Xun gazed eagerly, each asking for a set and beginning to assemble them.
"This is wonderful. The children can play with them in the future~" Xiao Qing said happily.
From then on, Daqian also had zoetropes and tangrams.
The happiest of all was Jian Qin Wan.
Her mother had safely delivered Xiao Qing without any danger, and she no longer felt guilty.
Liang Xiao was in a great mood and went out to greet Zhuo Zifang.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, Liang Xiao leaned in front of Zhuo Zifang and quietly told him about the letter left by the female chieftain of the Jian clan.
"Were our ancestors also so amorous?"
Zhuo Zifang's old face flushed, and he pouted, "Don't you Liang family laugh at others when you're just as bad."
Just then, Wang Canghai, Huang Xing, and Zhang Yang approached with several official documents and handed them to Liang Xiao for review.
As Xiao Qing still needed to recuperate, and Ding Wuyi and Ning Xuejun did not possess Liang Xiao's administrative skills, any matters were to be handled by Liang Xiao, and Xiao Qing would then approve them.
The documents contained the latest personnel appointments and regional grain reserves.
"Liang Xiao, why do you instruct the regions to prioritize storing grain and not rice?" Zhuo Zifang could not help but ask.
Liang Xiao explained, "Grain is more durable and suitable for dealing with unexpected famines! Of course, rice should also be stored in large quantities. If there are no disaster years, we can take out the old rice each year and replace it with new rice for storage, ensuring foolproof measures."
Zhuo Zifang was impressed.
Zhang Yang said, "It's necessary to arrange some of the granaries, similar to the grain cellars you proposed, in each region for convenient storage."
Liang Xiao nodded, "Ensure they are waterproof, moisture-proof, insect-proof, and rodent-proof."
The granaries he designed for the Ministry of Works were based on the design concepts of the three great granaries of the Sui and Tang dynasties. It was only a preliminary concept that required further refinement by the Ministry of Works. With Zhang Yang and Huang Xing in charge of the Ministry of Works, he would not be disappointed.
The three granaries of Hanjia, Luokou, and Huiluo in the two dynasties stored more than half of the national tax grain at the time.
There is even a saying that the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was inseparable from the stored grain in the granaries of the Sui Dynasty.
Having experienced the earthquake in Luzhou that collapsed the city walls, Liang Xiao deeply understood how powerless humanity was in the face of natural disasters.
The Little Ice Age in the late Ming Dynasty had dealt an irresistible and heavy blow to the dynasty.
It is said that success depends on man and is determined by heaven, but Liang Xiao preferred man to conquer heaven.
Therefore, regional grain storage was particularly crucial!
As long as it could be ensured that no rebellions occurred in various regions, or that granaries were not captured by rebels, granaries were necessary. Especially in militarily secure areas, it was even more important to store grain and provide support to various regions at any time.
Sweet potatoes and potatoes had high yields, but they were not suitable as staple foods for the common people, nor were they as durable as rice. They could serve as a buffer for Daqian's grain reserves, allowing the people to eat more new crops, freeing up some ordinary grains for storage, and slightly lowering the price of rice.
In the future, the cost of procuring provisions for the army would also be correspondingly reduced.
Zhang Yang submitted the draft blueprints provided by the Ministry of Works, and Liang Xiao examined them with pleasant surprise.
He was not familiar with the specific details of the three great granaries of the Sui and Tang dynasties, but his mind was agile now, and he could infer from the blueprint designs whether the structural functions were reasonable and reliable, and whether they could successfully achieve various preventive measures.
Zhang Yang then went to make arrangements for the preliminary design.
Liang Xiao, accompanied by Wang Canghai and Zhuo Zifang, went to the Secretariat to review household registration.
With the promotion of the land tax policy, the poor people in all regions were freed from the oppression of head taxes and no longer had to work as tenant farmers or even as servants for landlords and gentry.
However, there were still many hidden households and unregistered individuals who had not reported their household registration, even though the authorities had declared that they would not pursue them.
After all, this was not a glorious matter.
"Regardless of whether the people report themselves or not, the court must ensure that landlords and gentry in various regions do not have too many private armed forces. For the sake of national stability and to prevent people from being hidden, large-scale inspections are still necessary, but it is not necessary to rush. We can wait until Xichuan is stable and the land tax policy is fully implemented nationwide," Liang Xiao stated solemnly.
Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Zhuo Zifang whispered, "His Majesty still has eight million taels of gold remaining, but the country truly lacks resources such as iron ore. The diagrams from the Dongye clan are helpful for discovering mineral veins, but they are only a glimpse of the bigger picture. After all, the Dongye clan has limited numbers, and their records only cover resources that have already been discovered. I believe that Daqian, with its vast territory and abundant resources, cannot possibly have only this much."
"With Yizhou pacified and no worries about the rear, we need to send officials from the Ministry of Works' Bureau of Mining to open mines throughout the country," Liang Xiao replied.
In the Dongye clan's topographic maps, one-fourth of the mineral veins were in Xichuan, including a deep mountain iron mine that urgently needed to be exploited.
The eight million taels of gold in Xiao Qing's private vault, worth over eighty million taels of silver, plus the remaining treasury funds, were currently sufficient for all expenditures.
Daqian lacked upgraded military equipment and resources that could improve people's livelihoods, such as cotton, medicinal herbs, and steel...
Of course, more money was always better.
At the same time, deep in the Mobei region, in the western lands, a group of elite cavalry arrived from the west. The commander of the army, clad in heavy armor and wielding a long spear, bore a striking resemblance to Achilles, but with a more sinister countenance than Achilles.