novelaction Chapter 425 A Feast for Liu Yi
Chapter 425 A Feast for Liu Yi
Duanmu Chuze then looked at him properly, narrowing his eyes, "And this gentleman is?"
"Oh, Your Highness, it was all my oversight. This is my father-in-law. I was just too in a hurry and didn't have time to introduce him to you."
"So it's Mr. Liu!" Duanmu Chuze emerged from behind his desk, his face beaming with delight. He clasped his hands in a fist salute. "My apologies, my apologies. If I had known it was Mr. Liu here, I would have come out to greet him sooner."
"Your Highness is too kind. This humble subject dares not accept such praise."
"I have long admired your great talent in governing the country, and it is truly an honor to meet you today. If you do not mind, I wonder what your insights are regarding the governance and pacification of displaced people that I just discussed with you all?"
Liu Yi didn't refuse, but simply stroked his beard slightly and nodded. "Your Highness need not be anxious. The people of the world are naturally suffering. Abandoned in their hometowns, their names are merely listed in the Ministry of Revenue's register. This is one of the unavoidable troubles brought about by the refugees. Of course, first of all, if the people could live and work in peace, who would want to be displaced?"
"Mr. Yuan Wen's insights are truly valuable," Duanmu Chuze said sincerely once again.
Liu Yi was quite satisfied with Duanmu Chuze's attitude. He had heard Duanmu Chuze's words just now, and every word he uttered showed his concern for the people and his consideration for the overall situation. This was the mark of a truly benevolent ruler with great talent and vision.
"In my humble opinion, the household registration system must be strengthened to control the movement of migrants. This is not only an important means of controlling the generation of migrants, but also a powerful tool for controlling their movement. The most common method is the 'ten-five' system of the Zhou Dynasty. Of course, this is only for Your Highness's reference and consideration, and can be determined according to the actual situation in Yan."
"That makes sense! Mr. Liu's insight is indeed brilliant!"
Liu Yi waved his hand somewhat embarrassedly, “Actually, what Your Highness said earlier is the most important. As for the people, appeasement is naturally the most important and effective measure. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, we must not use coercive measures. Firstly, it will only make the people more agitated and easily swayed by others. Secondly, it might also damage Your Highness’s reputation for benevolence.”
"Haha! Mr. Liu is absolutely right. My reputation is not important, but the most important thing is that I must not let the people lose heart."
These words really hit Liu Yi right where it hurts!
Liu Yi was a righteous man, and now that he heard the prince act in such a way, he suddenly felt a sense of respect! This was not only an acknowledgment of his status, but more importantly, his thoughts!
"Common relief methods include grain requisition and relief. These relief policies help with post-disaster reconstruction and stabilizing public sentiment, and of course, they can also control the movement of displaced people. However, these alone are not enough. Although monarchs throughout history have gone to great lengths to solve the problem of displaced people, and although many measures taken by those in power can be effective in the short term, they are difficult to sustain."
When Duanmu Chuze heard Liu Yi's insights, he found them to be quite relevant to the common people. It seemed that Liu Yi was not only an outstanding strategist, but also an upright and kind person, truly worthy of being befriended!
"Does Mr. Liu have any other brilliant plans?"
"The root cause of the problem of displaced people lies in the fact that the people have no clothes to wear! If they could all live and work in peace and contentment, this problem would naturally not exist. Therefore, the method Your Highness previously mentioned, which is to curb the annexation of land, is the most effective one."
Duanmu Chuze nodded. These were the only methods he could think of for managing the refugees.
"Mr. Liu, to be honest, according to regulations, I am a prince of the imperial court, and in addition to the army in Yan, I am allowed to maintain my own personal guards."
Liu Yi was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "Does Your Highness mean to start recruiting soldiers from among these refugees?"
“Indeed! According to regulations, my personal guards can be limited to 30,000. Wouldn’t that reduce the number of these refugees by a significant amount?”
"But Your Highness, this so-called Fubing system costs a lot of money! Generally speaking, the service period is from twenty-one to fifty-nine years old. During the service period, Fubing soldiers are exempt from taxes and corvée labor, but they must provide their own military supplies, clothing, light weapons, and food for the journey to their posts. Each squad (ten men) also has to provide six horses for transportation. When people were well-off, it was fine, but now? This self-provided supplies are a heavy burden for farmers."
"Mr. Liu's concerns are valid. These are not major issues. The key is that if we want to govern Yan well, we must first ensure that the people are allocated suitable land. In addition, we must find a solution for reclaiming wasteland as soon as possible."
Liu Yi was slightly taken aback. This prince was indeed not someone who just talked big but did nothing.
"Your Highness, you can first send the selected soldiers to those wastelands. For now, focus on the farmland, and make further plans after things stabilize. Besides, didn't Your Highness just say there weren't any major problems? Why don't we make our soldiers slightly different from those of other princes and give them some food? This would also increase the enthusiasm of the displaced people."
"okay!"
After Duanmu Chuze repeatedly urged him to stay, Liu Yi and Lu Shaofeng had a banquet at the Prince's Mansion. Duanmu Chuze treated Liu Yi with exceptional courtesy, but it didn't make people feel that he, as the prince, was overly praising him. On the contrary, it made people feel that the prince was kind and knew how to use people well.
On the same day, Liu Yi was granted the official title of Grand Lady of the Palace by Duanmu Chuze. That evening, Liu Yi was allowed to stay at the Prince's residence for the night, and the next day, someone arranged accommodations for him in a house that Duanmu Chuze had secretly purchased several years earlier.
Why does Duanmu Chuze keep saying that he has a lot of money, yet it's not enough?
Overall, he has many people to support and many things to plan.
Being a prince, there are some things you have to be wary of, even if you don't want to compete for them. Especially after he realized Duanmu Chen's feelings for Mu Xin Nuan, he gained another understanding of how to strengthen his own power.
He had no interest in that cold, hard throne; his building up of power was merely for self-preservation. Without sufficient power, how could he protect his wife and children?
In recent years, Duanmu Chuze has been using what he learned in his previous life, with slight modifications, to consolidate his power. Of course, winning people's hearts is one of the ways to do this.
Before Duanmu Chuze came here, he had people buy a lot of houses.
He knew the situation in Yan was not optimistic, which was actually good, as it allowed him to demonstrate his strength. Moreover, the more difficult the situation, the more time he would need to govern, and thus, the more peaceful time he could enjoy.