Zhang Xun had mixed feelings. He had heard that the Prefectural Governor of Yuyang County was a heroic youth younger than him. He heard from Sima Xun that the Provincial Governor wanted to see him. His grandfather, Zhang Kan, was the Prefectural Governor of Yuyang a long time ago and had taken root in Yuyang. However, after a few generations, his family had already declined. Although his current life was not considered poor, it was definitely not considered rich. The people of Yuyang gradually forgot about their own families. His father had died under the sabers of the Xianbei people a few months before he was born. It was his mother who had painstakingly raised him. She shouldered the heavy responsibility of thriving the Zhang family and had been studying hard. He did not expect that he would finally have an opportunity. Some time ago, when he saw the Prefectural Governor's talent recruitment document, he recommended himself. He did not expect to be appreciated by the Chief Historian. He had originally planned to go to a county town to manage and rely on his achievements to accumulate the recognition of the Lord Dongfang Jian and revive the Zhang family. However, he did not expect the opportunity to come so quickly.
While Zhang Xun was still in a daze, he had already arrived at Dongfang Jian's Provincial Governor's Mansion with his guards. Seeing that the decoration of the Provincial Governor's Mansion was very simple, Zhang Xun looked forward to this young Provincial Governor even more. He followed the servant to Dongfang Jian's study. A big man from the Black Tower stood outside the door like a door god, making people not dare to look at him. Dian Wei opened the door to the study and brought Zhang Xun in. At this moment, Dongfang Jian was fully focused on drawing a sketch. Zhang Xun wanted to know what the young provincial governor was drawing, but he did not dare to be rude in front of his master. "Zhang Xun is here!" Hearing that Dian Wei had arrived, Dongfang Jian put down the plow he was drawing. Looking at the handsome young man who was highly praised by Xun You, Dongfang Jian was very sure that the man before him was a kind and intelligent person with his ability to read people. He had fulfilled the first condition. While Dongfang Jian was sizing up Zhang Xun, Zhang Xun was also sizing up the young provincial governor. He was approachable, had slightly dark skin, was eight feet tall, had a sharp face, and had a look of wisdom between his brows. His eyes were like torches, giving off a feeling of self-indulgence. He was indeed not an ordinary person. The future emperor of the Empire met the Minister of Agriculture just like that. Later generations commented,"It is precisely because of this meeting that the people of the world have been brought their own spring."”
"Wen Gongda has a very high opinion of Yong Ping. I only know that it's not nonsense after meeting him today. I wonder if Gongda told you why I'm looking for you this time?”Dongfang Jian looked at Zhang Xun in admiration.
"Xun is too stupid. How could Lord Sima and Lord praise him? Lord Xun did not tell Xun why Lord summoned him. However, I am honored to be able to see my lord's elegant demeanor!”Zhang Xun replied appropriately. Although Zhang Xun had flattered Dongfang Jian a little, Dongfang Jian was not annoyed at all.
"This time, I've invited Yongping here because I have an important matter to entrust to him.”Dongfang Jian looked at Zhang Xun and observed the reaction of the handsome man before him. But Zhang Xun was not afraid of honor or disgrace, leisurely sword steps.
"I will do my best to repay my lord's kindness."
" Good, you are indeed a talented man. I wonder what Yongping regards as the foundation of the world," Dongfang Jian continued to ask.
"The people are the foundation of the world. If the people are rich, the country will be strong!”Zhang Xun didn't think much.
" Then what is the foundation of the people?" Dongfang Jian looked at Zhang Xun with increasing delight.
" Land is the foundation of the people," Zhang Xun said firmly after some thought.
"Good! Very good. I've made the decision. I hope that Yongping will be the minister of the Ministry of Agriculture of Youzhou Province! This time, he would hand over the foundation of Youzhou to Yongping. He hoped that Yongping could let the people live a carefree life! Jian planned to attract more refugees to Youzhou. Yong Ping knew that Youzhou was vast, but its population was only seven million. On the contrary, the people did not have land to cultivate. Living a life of vagrancy, hunger, and cold. This is the pain in the heart of the sword!" Dongfang Jian clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, a pained expression on his face.
Zhang Xun was very touched when he heard that his lord was working hard for the well-being of the people. "Sword, set the agricultural reform as the first policy. All Youzhou citizens or refugees from other prefectures can reclaim land in Youzhou Province. Each of them will reclaim 30 mu of land and keep the surplus 30 mu of land as his own forever. If more than 50 acres of land were reclaimed, they had to return it to the state capital after 10 years. Of course, they could continue to plant this part of land by paying a certain tax. The total amount of land owned by each family could not exceed 20 mu. If it exceeded 200 mu, the state government would take it back after 10 years. What does Yong Ping think?" Dongfang Jian looked at Zhang Xun.
Zhang Xun's current expression was very surprised. He secretly sighed that his lord was indeed not someone ordinary people could compare to. In this way, the number of people living in Youzhou would increase rapidly. Moreover, the taxes paid for planting more than 30 mu of land would make the treasury rich. "I have a question. The refugees need farming tools, seeds, and basic supplies at the beginning. Has my lord considered it?”Zhang Xun voiced out the question in his heart.
"Yongping is indeed a genius. This is the second policy of agricultural reform that I'm going to talk about. The commoners can receive related materials from the treasury, but these materials have to be returned. As for the tools for cultivation, they were provided by the Youzhou Prefecture for free. They were permanently gifted. If they were destroyed, they would have to be purchased from the treasury!”Dongfang Jian told Zhang Xun about his second policy of stabilizing agriculture.
When Zhang Xun heard Dongfang Jian's second plan, he was even more surprised. He had never heard of the government lending money to the people. Although 10% interest would bring a lot of benefits to the treasury, such concessions and consideration for the people were unprecedented. Looking at Zhang Xun's slightly surprised expression, Dongfang Jian pulled Zhang Xun's hand and said,""Yongping, as you said, the people are the foundation, the monarch is the light, and the country is the second. He did not know if Yong Ping could help Jian resolve his worries and help Jian bear the foundation of everything so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment.”
Seeing how his lord treated him and entrusted such an important matter to him. Zhang Xun knelt down." I will not disappoint my lord. I will protect the agriculture and the people for my lord!" But if there is a mistake, I hope you will bring your head to see me."
Dongfang Jian helped Zhang Xun up and gave him a big hug. Zhang Xun, whose family had declined, would not betray Dongfang Jian even if he died! Dongfang Jian drew some of his knowledge about land and agriculture into a book and handed it to Zhang Xun. He also handed the patterns of the farm tools he had drawn to Zhang Xun. He also ordered Xun You and Zhou Yi to do their best to satisfy Zhang Xun's requests. Therefore, the agricultural reform in Youzhou Province was carried out vigorously, which provided a basic guarantee for Dongfang Jian to dominate the world in the future!
Youzhou was where the ancient riverbed of Chaobai River was located. The land was fertile and very suitable for agriculture. Ever since Zhang Xun took over as the Minister of Agriculture of Yuyang City, he had devoted himself to agricultural reform and studied the three policies Dongfang Jian had given him. The huge government machinery of Youzhou started to operate. The manufacturing division was responsible for making farming tools, Zhen Yi was responsible for the financial expenditure and calculating the money needed for the agricultural reform, Zhou Yi was responsible for the general direction, Zang Ba's infantry and Gao Shun's camp were fully responsible for the security of Youzhou, and Zhang Liao's Youzhou cavalry was sent to Ji City to prevent Gongsun Zan from doing anything. Everything was running as Dongfang Jian had expected.
Through the word of mouth effect of the refugees, the land reform in Youzhou was spread across the entire territory of the Great Han Dynasty like a spring breeze. A large number of refugees from the Great Han Dynasty poured into Youzhou, and Dongfang Jian also personally participated in the work of receiving refugees.
Under Dongfang Jian's order, Zhen Yi's trade organization was purchasing grains from all over the Han Dynasty to cope with the huge consumption of refugees. Thankfully, Dongfang Jian had a strong family background and could bear such a huge expenditure. In only two months, over 5 million refugees had poured into Youzhou Province, including commoners from other prefectures in Xu, Yang, Jing and Jiao provinces. It seemed that land was fatal to commoners.
Gongsun Zan had been driven mad over the past month as he watched the people under his jurisdiction pour into the other prefectures and counties under Dongfang Jian's rule. Gongsun Zan had set up heavy troops at all the checkpoints leading from Youbei to Ji County, preventing the people from passing through. Unfortunately, there were still countless people who could not resist the temptation of land and risked their lives. They chose the more difficult paths and reached Ji County after much hardship. Of course, Ji County and Dongfang Jian did not disappoint them. They had indeed given the land to the people. Looking at the land that they had been given, a group of simple and honest people hugged each other and cried. Since Dongfang Jian's land allocation this time was only a barren land and did not fundamentally violate the interests of the clans, it did not arouse a major mutiny. However, there were still some small movements, especially the group of Youzhou big families led by Peng Chong, who secretly reported to the imperial court. Dongfang Jian's secret agents had actually been paying close attention to it and had learned about it, but they did not step forward to stop it because Dongfang Jian believed that paper could not hide the truth, especially since the commotion this time was so big that the whole world would probably know about it.
He believed that the Spirit Monarch would know about it even without the secret letters from the major families. However, he could not keep the Peng family any longer. He had to find an excuse to get rid of them. In his territory, he could not allow any faction that was dissatisfied with him to exist. It would affect the safety of his territory.
When the Spirit Emperor received the message from Peng Chong, who was transferred by Zhang Rang, he was very shocked. He had already noticed that a large number of refugees had poured into Youzhou Province under Dongfang Jian's administration over the past few months. He was very puzzled and didn't understand why. However, after reading the message sent by Peng Chong, he understood everything. It was not easy to deal with this matter. Dongfang Jian had settled so many refugees of the Great Han Dynasty, but it was indeed forbidden by the laws of the country. Besides, Dongfang Jian was sent to Youzhou by him, so it was indeed difficult to deal with him. He did not know how to deal with him. He looked at Zhang Rang beside him and handed the secret letter to him. He did not say anything else. Zhang Rang had been with him for decades and had given him countless suggestions. The reason why he could play peacefully was because of him. Zhang Rang read the secret letter. Actually, he had known about this long ago. Dongfang Jian had sent a letter to inform him and hoped that he could find a way to drive Gongsun Zan out of Youzhou. He had also given him a large amount of treasures. Zhang Rang pondered for a moment." Your Majesty, Dongfang Jian is the Youzhou Provincial Governor. It is his duty to settle the refugees. Although he does not abide by the law, he has contributed to the country. Moreover, he has no signs of rebellion. Moreover, the Emperor personally praised him as a role model for the Great Han Dynasty. No matter what he does, such a person will think about his reputation. However, Gongsun Zan of Youbei in Youzhou had caused him trouble time and time again, making it impossible for Dongfang Jian to implement many of his policies. Therefore, the Emperor might as well issue an edict to praise Dongfang Jian, saying that he had done a good deed that benefited the country and the people, and then transfer Gongsun Zan away from Youzhou. In this way, Dongfang Jian would definitely be grateful to the Emperor.”
The Spirit Monarch had a complicated expression on his face. He was worried that Dongfang Jian might be plotting something against the burly man. Seeing that the Spirit Monarch had not expressed his stance, how could Zhao Zhong, who was the best at figuring out the Emperor's thoughts, not know what the Emperor was thinking? Zhao Zhong said," Actually, Your Majesty doesn't have to worry too much. Zhou Yi, the former governor of Luoyang, is loyal to Your Majesty. Why don't Your Majesty order him to closely monitor Dongfang Jian's every move? If Dongfang Jian has any ill intentions, you must report it to the imperial court as soon as possible, so that Your Majesty can make arrangements as soon as possible." Zhou Yi was someone Dongfang Jian had personally requested from the Emperor, so he would not suspect that Zhou Yi was the person the Emperor had arranged to be by his side.”
The Spirit Emperor nodded." We'll do as you say. Father has decreed that Dongfang Jian's meritorious service in helping the victims of the disaster will be rewarded with the title of Marquis of Yan. He will offer you a lot of gold." Gongsun Zan, as a general to protect Wuhuan, worked hard and made great contributions. He was specially transferred to Bingzhou Sima and Xiongnu Zhonglang General. He could take office immediately. In addition, he gave Zhou Yi a secret order to be careful.”
The two of them received the edict, but they did not expect that everything was within Dongfang Jian's expectations. The secret edict probably would not reach Zhou Yi's hands.
With the success of the land reform, they could be seen everywhere in Youzhou Province. Yan Xixi's situation had changed as the population had increased. It was no longer the same as before, where it was difficult to see any traces of people even after walking for dozens of miles. On the contrary, the people were immersed in the great joy of having just obtained land, and their faces were filled with heartfelt smiles. Everyone was grateful to Zhang Xun and Dongfang Jian. Currently, Youzhou had a population of more than ten million, making it the most populated province in Great Han.
Youzhou was no longer a wasteland as far as the eye could see. It was now filled with reclaimed farmlands. It would be hard to imagine how much grain would be harvested next year. Dongfang Jian knew that he no longer had to worry about food now and in the future.
When the Emperor's imperial edict arrived in Youzhou, Dongfang Jian was overjoyed. He immediately rewarded the eunuch with 100 gold coins and asked him to send his regards to Zhang Rang. He also gave him all the treasures.
After sending off the eunuch, Dongfang Jian summoned his strategists to discuss the next step.
Everyone was drinking the best green tea that Dongfang Jian had personally brewed. Dongfang Jian loved to drink green tea in his previous life, so he had done a lot of research on it. Green tea could help promote bodily functions. It was a good thing and could refresh one's mind. Therefore, he drew a picture of it and handed it to Jia Xu and Xi Zhicai. He asked the two of them to be responsible for finding the spies in Youzhou who were now spread all over the Great Han and Xianbei. They were from different professions and brought endless intelligence to Youzhou Province, including this green tea. Looking at the excited expressions of the crowd drinking green tea, Dongfang Jian was extremely pleased. Hehe, a bunch of old-fashioned people.
"My lord, this tea is refreshing. What kind of tea is it?”Xun You was a tea connoisseur, so he could tell that this tea was extraordinary.
"Gongda is really good at tea. This is green tea, which was picked by the sword. It's been brought to Youzhou Province for planting. I'm afraid that you will be able to drink it for a long time soon. Additionally, it's very good for your health. We still have some in stock. After we've finished our discussion, each of you can take some back. You can drink it often when you're tired from work."
The civil and military officials were naturally very touched. Following a lord who often missed his subordinates was the happiest thing. Speaking of which, everyone was enjoying their tea and was in a very good mood. They had followed their lord until now. Now, their lord had more than ten politicians, strategists, and several generals under him. There were many talents under him. He had 150,000 soldiers under his command and 10 million under his rule. He had already begun to take shape.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're here today to continue our next action. You've all seen the earth-shaking changes in Youzhou Province after various reforms. The population of Youzhou Province has already doubled compared to the past 1 million. First of all, I would like to thank Yongping for living up to your trust.”Dongfang Jian looked at Zhang Xun, who was overworked but had a face full of gratification and a hint of surprise.
Zhang Xun was obviously very happy to hear his lord praise him. It had indeed been hard on him recently, but everything was worth it now. The people loved him and the lord appreciated him. " I will serve my lord with my life to repay your kindness." Zhang Xun bowed respectfully.
Dongfang Jian stepped forward to help Zhang Xun up. The two of them looked at each other, and everything was clear without a word. All the civil and military officials congratulated Zhang Xun. Zhang Xun felt that his life was very meaningful now. Hehe.
" The rapid increase of population in Youzhou Province has brought about some problems. Lord Zhen, please announce the financial situation of Youzhou Province." Zhen Yi had already handed over all the businesses of his clan to his eldest son Zhen Yan. As he had become the most important financial officer among Dongfang Jian's aides, he had to make the final decision on all the financial affairs and money usage in Youzhou Province.?
Zhen Yi looked at Dongfang Jian as he stood up and said,""The 18,000,000 that my lord brought to Youzhou and the various transactions have been used up. The main expenditure is to settle the refugees, forge the soldiers 'armor, weapons, as well as war subsidies and daily military expenses. Fortunately, the Bejewelled Nectar brewed by my lord, as well as the paper making and folding fan invented by my lord, are extremely profitable. Now, with the various taxes on hand and the money recovered from our businesses in various places, we have a total of about 100 million yuan. The specific expenses are recorded in detail and can be checked by my lord at any time. We also have to set aside 20 million yuan for food purchases to deal with the continuous increase in refugees!”
" 20 million is quite a lot. It's enough to cover our expenses." Dongfang Jian nodded, indicating that he already knew.
All the officials and generals were thinking about how much 20 million was. They probably couldn't even move it themselves. He did not expect his lord to be so rich.
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