Peace Order
Chapter 597 - 45 When You’re at Odds with the World_3

Chapter 597: Chapter 45 When You’re at Odds with the World_3

A soldier of the Qilin Army came here, saying that the military adviser Yuan Zhi had matters to attend to.

Li Guanyi promptly took his leave with the two elders.

...

Li Guanyi met with Yuan Zhi, who gave him another update on the current situation of the Qilin Army. The matters were complicated, with the most critical issue being the severe lack of talent in internal politics—the officials and magistrates in the cities under the Qilin Army’s jurisdiction all needed to be replaced.

Those cities, having denigrated from Chen Country and Ying Country, fell within the Qilin Army’s domain and hence accumulated numerous governmental affairs. For the time being, Yuan Zhi alone found it difficult to handle everything completely, not to mention the overtures of the major aristocratic families and the cases piled up in jails...

The thing Li Guanyi did the most recently was to shirk internal politics.

Then Yuan Zhi grabbed his arm and dragged him back.

Confronted with the headache of documentation, and then slipping away once more.

Li Guanyi would rather lead armies in the battlefield or delve into dangerous terrains during the Qilin Hunting Conference than face the mountains of various documents. But at this moment, while his place was not short of brash martial artists, there were very few capable of handling these matters.

He could only leave it to Yuan Zhi.

After enumerating all the matters one by one, Yuan Zhi finally dismissed the clerks assisting him and began to play chess with Li Guanyi in order to relax his mind, and said in a grave tone, "Regarding the matter you mentioned, I actually have some clues. If it’s about land distribution, we can link [Military Merit] with [Land]..."

"Similar to the status of Military Merit Titles."

Yuan Zhi produced a document he had prepared, but Li Guanyi stopped him. The young general carefully reviewed the strategist’s proposal and shook his head: "That’s not how I want the land to be distributed."

"If we’re talking about it, equal-field distribution would be better."

"Additionally, remove the things like granting Permanent Land based on official rank and providing oxen for farming. That sounds like something added by some noble son, right? I know exactly what those guys are planning as soon as they lift their butts."

"Don’t just give uncultivated fields; the benevolent fields must come first, starting with the soldiers of the Qilin Army, then gradually extend it to all registered citizens."

"Prohibit the nobility and aristocratic families from exploiting loopholes to seize a large amount of public land."

"Even a colonel of the Qilin Army shouldn’t be allowed to do that... To prevent land monopolies, ah, land monopolies are just like..."

Li Guanyi put down the document and spoke bluntly to Yuan Zhi.

This young, humble-born strategist’s heart pounded fiercely.

Although he excelled in military strategy and battle formations but lacked proficiency elsewhere; this weakness was in comparison with peers from the Academy. In other aspects, he was insightful, especially given his poor background, which made him particularly sensitive to certain special issues.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "The land of Jiangnan has fallen into the chaos of Chen Country, Ying Country, and the Martial World over the past decade or so. Many aristocratic families have fled from here, so the fertile lands you require are available, at least enough for a portion, but..."

"Even so, it’s bound to anger the aristocratic families."

"Once your decree goes into effect, people from all eighteen states of Jiangnan will flock here. There’ll certainly be one problem: the land to be divided among them will be insufficient. Most of it is unclaimed or wasteland; and if you want to give the good lands to the common folk, you..."

Looking at the young general in front of him, he felt a bit surreal, his lips slightly parted as he spoke:

"Are you planning to move against the aristocratic families?"

Li Guanyi picked up a chess piece, directly responding, "They have too much land."

Yuan Zhi said, "You are originally from an aristocratic family..."

Li Guanyi placed the chess piece down and said, "I’ve already spoken with Grandpa. The Murong Family will take the initiative to complete this step; moreover, my father came from humble beginnings, and when I was a child, I roamed around with my Aunt. Aristocratic families cannot decide what I am to do."

"Give the land to the common people."

Yuan Zhi swallowed, suddenly feeling an overwhelming momentum pressing down.

He could almost see what Jiangnan would become afterward.

But he immediately realized another thing and said:

"After, are you planning to implement such a decree as well?"

Li Guanyi replied, "What if I am?"

The young strategist from a humble family fell silent, then spoke:

"If so, you... will certainly make enemies with the whole world."

Li Guanyi looked at him, placed a stone on the board, and said, "You’re mistaken."

"It’s not making enemies with the whole world, but with the aristocratic families of the world."

"Is the aristocracy the whole world? Not really, Yuan Zhi."

Yuan Zhi gazed at Li Guanyi, who continued on his own, "I’m going to the Academy next, bringing back a group of talents on one hand, and on the other hand, returning to Jiangnan to establish an official school, but I want to lower the threshold for entry into the Academy to gather a group of students."

"Yuan Zhi, help me analyze this matter."

The young strategist said, "Lord, are you going to..."

Li Guanyi picked up a black chess piece, placed it on the board without answering, and said:

"I heard a story once about a monk who raised a tiger. He suppressed it like a cat, feeding it only a vegetarian diet. Although powerful, the tiger was very docile. One day, the monk bled from his nose and found the blood on the ground dirty and disgusting, so he pointed at it with the tip of his foot for the tiger to lick."

"But unexpectedly, once the tiger tasted the blood, it became obsessed with the flavor of flesh and blood. Initially, it could still hide its claws and tolerate, but eventually, it could no longer bear a life of eating grass and vegetables every day. One day, it pounced on the monk and ate him."

"Thus returning to the mountains and forests, Tiger Roar Sky."