Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 877 - 727: I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Die on Lantern Festival Night

Chapter 877: Chapter 727: I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Die on Lantern Festival Night

As Li Xuan finished speaking, the court hall instantly fell silent for a moment — everyone sensed his determination from the words of the County Prince Fenyang.

Minister of Punishments Yu Shiyue pondered, "Allocating thirty mu of irrigated land or eighty mu of dry land to each male adult seems insufficient. It’s necessary to realize that the number of military households across the realm reaches four million."

"It is enough," Shaobao Yu Jie, with his hands behind his back and a deep look in his eyes, said, "Since Emperor Taizong’s reign, military households have continuously dispersed, although there has been some recovery under my management. However, the actual number of registered military households is less than two and a half million. During the campaigns of Prince Xiang and Prince Ning, The Court acquired fifteen million qing of fields. Indeed, there is more than enough. After the battle at Xuanfu, the northern region could also expand thousands of miles, opening up several million mu.

It is ridiculous that the government offices around now use ’enrollment into military households’ as a form of punishment for criminal civilians, treating it like a lowly registry. Continuing this way is certainly not a blessing for the nation. I believe the strategy of County Prince Fenyang is good; it can provide a stable life for all military households, adding two and a half million household of modest means to The Court."

The military household system of the Great Ancestor was modeled after the Tang dynasty’s Fubing system, but the land was not in the hands of the military households, thus their morale could be imagined.

The current Jin Dynasty heavily relies on conscription as the main force to respond to military affairs.

Shaobao Yu Jie is not unguarded against Li Xuan’s expanding influence in the court, but if this matter could be accomplished, it would benefit the country and the people.

Minister of Rites Hu Ying then questioned, "County Prince mentioned in his proposal that during wartime all military households can have a full remission of their annual rent for the year if fighting abroad, and a seventy percent remission if on local soil. Besides this, they would train for fifty days a year, receiving silver daily during training and deployment at half the conscript’s rate. Isn’t this too generous?"

"The specific rules can still be discussed," Li Xuan said, though his voice and demeanor remained firm, "but I believe that military policies should be optimal and generous. Otherwise, they are insufficient to stimulate the fighting spirit of the army of Weisuo."

"I believe it could be worth a try!"

As the current Minister of Revenue, Quan Dingtian is increasingly sensitive to fiscal and tax affairs. Clutching his fist, he said gravely, "Since October, in places like Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan, many of the wheat seedlings have struggled to grow due to the harsh winter. This is not a good omen. I estimate that by next October, The Court will face a shortfall of six million dan of grain just from the Weisuo side, and this is the most conservative estimate."

The many regent ministers present were suddenly taken aback.

Li Xuan slightly raised an eyebrow, "However, if this contracting responsibility law is implemented, it could at least increase the grain production of Weisuo’s army by seventy percent, not only achieving self-sufficiency but also subsidizing the state affairs. I have personally inspected Weisuo in places like north Zhili, Datong, Xuanfu, and Shandong these past months. The yield per mu of those excellent fields shockingly low.

This is partly due to lack of careful management, and partly because the local officers conceal the yield. But if we could hand over these grains to individuals for careful management, then the grain production of various Weisuo could greatly increase. Without costing the nation a single coin, it would increase The Court’s annual revenue by ten million."

Public ownership is not necessarily bad; in the world where Li Xuan had come from, some rural areas had shifted from contract system to cooperative due to labor shortages.

However, at this time, whether in terms of bureaucratic cultivation, governance level, or the degree of mechanization, they are far from the standards of later generations.

Moreover, the public ownership of Weisuo belongs to the nation, belongs to the Emperor.

Li Xuan then clasped his fist again, "If my lords have any doubts, we can first try it in the Weisuo of the two Zhili areas. If there are any errors, we can promptly correct and adjust them."

The reason he was willing to trial it was that he lacked a reliable bureaucratic team.

Implementing land distribution has many nuances; there are too many ways it can be manipulated.

The issue is not the scarcity but the uneven distribution. If the land distribution is carelessly uneven, it could instead attract complaints from the military households.

Therefore, Li Xuan would rather progress slowly and steadily, taking care not to leave any problems unaddressed.

His reforms would not rush progress like Wang Anshi did.

And although Li Xuan said it was a trial, but actually, once this decision passes today, it would become an unstoppable trend.

Other military households will think, if The Court distributed the fields of north Zhili, why treat other areas unfairly and not distribute there as well?

The future Court will struggle to resist this overwhelming public will—

"If this method can really make the army of Weisuo self-sufficient, then I also consent,"

said Regent Yu Hongshang, seated on the throne, observing the expressions of the eight regent ministers present. She knew the probability of passing this ’contracting responsibility law’ was very high.

Yu Hongshang was also quite moved. Distributing lands to military households would certainly increase Li Xuan’s prestige. But the imperial edict issued would bear the names of her and her son.

"Let’s please proceed with the decision, gentlemen!"

In the end, six voted in favor, two abstained.

Wang Wengang initially said he would oppose, but whether it was Li Xuan’s rhetoric that persuaded him, he ultimately chose to abstain.

Then Chen Xun renamed Li Xuan’s ’contracting responsibility law’ to ’Law of Juntian’.

Although Li Xuan felt this title wasn’t as clear, he still acquiesced.

However, the second and third proposals Li Xuan presented next still left the eight in attendance utterly astonished.

The second proposal was slightly better; it was about rolling out a new currency system across the realm in two months.

They had actually already seen the coin minting machines and aluminum currency that Leng Yurou had created.

The aluminum one wen, five wen, ten wen currencies, and one tael silver coins, indeed had innovative styles, beautiful patterns, shiny and attractive, hard to counterfeit, easy to carry, and overall possessed many advantages, and the cost was acceptable.

Therefore, the gentlemen all recognized its merits, hoping this method could solve the prevalent issue of silver coin shortages.

The third was related to the royal family. Since Emperor Taizong’s reign, the royal family’s population had grown, the stipends The Court provided for the royal family increased daily, and the pressure grew tremendously.

Thus, Li Xuan planned to set a cap of about five million taels of patterned silver. From then on, The Court’s stipend to all royal family members must not exceed this amount.

Then, the collateral descendants of the vassal kings from four generations after could choose to forsake their noble identity, with The Court paying them one thousand taels of patterned silver as severance, allowing them to forge their own paths, and not forbidding them from taking imperial examinations or joining the military.

As a member of the royal family and acting as Princess Regent, Yu Hongshang inevitably had to harbor ’resentment’ and ’vehemently’ object.

Unfortunately for her, Li Xuan’s influence had already become overwhelming, overshadowing the royal court. In the end, with the support of five out of the eight regent ministers, the Princess Regent had ’no choice’ but to ’reluctantly’ agree.

Following that, the atmosphere of the court meeting settled down.

Everyone began to discuss the era name for the next year, as new coins were to be minted, of course, a new era name was needed.

And with Jingtai having passed and the new Emperor having ascended the throne for over eight months, with only a few days until the new year,

it was indeed time for The Court to choose a new era name, as a symbol to all under heaven of the new Emperor’s ascent and the renewal of all things.

Ultimately, it was Li Xuan who made the decision with a single word, settling on ’Weixin’.

’Weixin’, taken from the Book of Songs - "Da Ya - Wen Wang": "Though Zhou was an old state, its mandate was renewed."

This new era name declared to all the scholars and literati across the realm the court’s and the regent ministers’ intention of revolutionary change and renewal.

※※※※

After the court meeting, Yu Hongshang specifically asked Li Xuan to stay behind to discuss state affairs privately.

Yu Hongshang stared at Li Xuan for a long time and then sighed softly, "Xuan, well-versed in classics and history, do you not know the ways to secure oneself? The contracting law is manageable, but this Ancestral Worship Law will inevitably face staunch opposition from the royal family. You could have chosen someone as a pawn, instead of stepping forward yourself."

Yu Hongshang naturally did not suspect Li Xuan, but she was, after all, only the Princess Regent and the politics would eventually be handed over.

And the policies Li Xuan pushed forward today could provoke suspicion from the emperor, regardless of their nature.

Yu Hongshang worried that in the future, anyone in the position of the sovereign of a nation would not allow such a powerful subject to exist.

Xuan, adept in strategizing for the nation, but clumsy in strategizing for himself, this could lead to unforeseen disasters—

"I only know that clumsily securing oneself is safe, while serving the country can sometimes mean provoking the tiger."

Li Xuan chuckled, "Without my backing, how could this ’Ancestral Worship Law’ suppress the royal family across the realm? How could it make them swallow their grievances?"

Having a ’retreat’ like the Heaven Emperor, he naturally did not care about worldly reputation.

At this moment, holding the military power of the land and possessing high prestige in both the court and military, what could the little emperor’s suspicions do to him in the future?

Once his reforms were completed, he could simply resign, unafraid of the Emperor’s retribution or punitive actions.

Yu Hongshang, unaware of Li Xuan’s schemes, could only silently observe Yu Youlong cradled in her arms.

She thought with Li Xuan overseeing the state affairs, everything was perfectly managed and she needn’t worry at all.

She should instead spend more time on her child, raising him well, ensuring he recognizes the big picture and understands reason, and not allow anyone the opportunity to drive a wedge between father and son.

It would be best to choose an appropriate time to disclose to Youlong his true heritage.

Although father and son could not acknowledge each other publicly, she had to let the child know that his father was Li Xuan, the Great Grandmaster of Confucian Haoqi Liuli, a literary genius unparalleled in the realm, a commander invincible in military strategy, who with singular effort, quelled rebels, established court protocols, and stood tall and resolute, a true hero.

Then, Yu Hongshang further discussed state affairs with Li Xuan, so absorbed that they skipped meals,

Possibly because the Lunar New Year’s Eve was approaching, after the 27th of the last month Li Xuan would not be able to enter the palace for nearly half a month, so Yu Hongshang was especially clingy, holding him until late into the night before letting him leave.

After leaving the palace, Li Xuan began to fret over the approaching New Year and his upcoming birthday.

Now every year, as the year ended, Li Xuan couldn’t help but become anxious and visibly distressed.

Li Xuan felt it was not his birthday nor the New Year, but rather his life-and-death trial, hell’s gate.

Unfortunately, in previous years he had Zhang Yue and Peng Fulai—no, not punching bags, but aides—to share the load.

This year, however, both had learned their lessons and were keeping their distance from him well in advance.

To Li Xuan’s surprise, this year’s Lunar New Year’s Eve and the first day went by peacefully.

Jiang Hanyun, who had been pursuing demons on the blacklist, returned to the Capital City on the 26th, then organized a feast at home, hosting a grand banquet on New Year’s Eve, celebrating both for Li Xuan and for Yu Hongshang, who had secretly sneaked out of the palace.

The household was unexpectedly peaceful and safe; even the more troublesome Luo Yan and Xue Yunrou, and Ao Shuying with Yue Qianqian did not stir up any issues.

Li Xuan had been prepared to be complained about by the girls, or even severely beaten up.

Thus, before the New Year, he had deliberately enhanced his Henglian Golden Body training and consumed several top-tier Spirit Pills to increase the toughness of his Golden Body by about ten percent.

But all that turned out to be needless, as he passed the New Year’s Eve unscathed and completely safe.

When the next day arrived and Li Xuan confirmed he was completely unharmed, he nearly cried tears of joy, his eyes welling up with tears.