296: Chapter 0296 So Good

The next two days passed.

As the first unit of the Zhenbei Army arrived in Yu Prefecture from Yong Province, the cleanup work in Yu Prefecture drew to a close.

The ones leading the troops were none other than General Zhao Kuan, Qin He, Xu Zhen, and a few other old brothers from the Border Army.

Since the New Year was approaching, they also wanted to return to Baishui City to join the festivities with the folks of Stone Fortress.

Of course, military authority over Yu Prefecture was also formally handed over to the Zhenbei Army.

According to the laws of Great Gan, under special circumstances, women could inherit hereditary titles.

Thus, Yu Yingying naturally became the new Earl Yushan.

Furthermore, she led the remaining dozen or so nobles of Yu Prefecture to sign documents agreeing to surrender non-fief lands to the government without compensation.

To put it bluntly, except for the small amount of land granted to their ancestors, all other lands seized through various means had to be relinquished!

As for why everyone agreed... naturally, it was because those who didn't had "disappeared."

Just as some officials, merchants, and commoners in Yu Prefecture thought Lin Xiao would take these lands for himself, a "Land Contracting Decree" sent the entire prefecture into a frenzy!

With a stroke of his pen, Lin Xiao reserved only ten percent for the Zhenbei Army to be cultivated by the long-term stationed troops.

Ninety percent of the arable land was contracted out to the commoners of Yu Prefecture.

The commoners only needed to pay one-fifth of their harvest and perform an annual routine registration.

For a time, the voices of support for the Zhenbei Army among all the people of Yu Prefecture grew louder and louder; they practically wanted to worship Lin Xiao as a deity!

Inside the Generals Mansion.

Lin Xiao sat drinking tea with his old brother, General Zhao Kuan, and a few others.

"Worthy brother, I suspect this Land Contracting Decree of yours has been 'long-premeditated,' hasn't it?"

General Zhao Kuan said with a smile, "Back in Baishui City, when my younger brother's wife led the team to reclaim wasteland, you must have already been thinking this way, right?"

Lin Xiao nodded. "I've looked into it. Currently, ninety percent of the land in Great Gan is controlled by the powerful gentry and nobility. This is clearly wrong."

"However, if I had done this in Baishui City, the gentry of the Six Prefectures of the Northern Territory would have certainly joined forces to oppose us."

"Now that I have seized military power over the Six Prefectures of the Northern Territory, I can finally do what I did today—forcibly reclaim these lands that should have belonged to the people from the hands of the Yu Prefecture nobility."

General Zhao Kuan said with deep emotion, "Worthy brother, you are skilled in both the pen and the sword, but what I admire most is your pure heart that cares for the country and its people."

Beside them, Zhao Caiwei, who was brewing tea for the two, smiled sweetly and couldn't help but nod as she heard her cousin praise Lin Xiao.

"Brother, you flatter me. It's all thanks to the support of the brothers in the Zhenbei Army; otherwise, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

Lin Xiao, of course, wasn't without his own motives. He wanted the people's hearts, so he naturally had to provide them with tangible benefits.

"Haha, how many of those in the army don't come from a humble background?"

General Zhao Kuan's eyes sparkled as he said, "Worthy brother, you have no idea. Once those little rascals heard they were going to punish the local gentry and distribute land to the people, they were more excited than they are when killing barbarians!"

Lin Xiao's expression turned serious. "Brother Zhao, there is something I need you to keep an eye on for me."

"When our Zhenbei Army seizes the assets of those gentry, it must be done according to the law and regulations. There must be no personal vendettas or use of excessive torture!"

"We are government troops, not bandits. We cannot deliberately make things difficult for people just because they are wealthy or powerful."

General Zhao Kuan clearly felt a sense of pressure. Recalling the previous 'Eleven Rules,' he knew Lin Xiao placed great importance on military discipline.

"Rest assured, worthy brother. I will keep a close eye on it and repeat it to the soldiers several more times."

Lin Xiao actually understood that it was impossible to cover every detail, but his stance had to be made clear.

At that moment, Xiao Qingxuan returned, accompanied by Leng Bingyan and Xie Juner.

"Husband, everything regarding the officials in Yu Prefecture, large and small, who need to be investigated has been arranged."

"Although Inspector General Fan's abilities are average, he is quite reliable in his work, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Xiao Qingxuan said with a smile, "We can return to Cang Province now."

Lin Xiao slapped the table happily; he had been waiting quite impatiently.

"You've worked hard these past few days, my wife."

"Husband, why are you saying such things to me?"

Xiao Qingxuan glanced at Xie Juner beside her. "Actually, I should thank the Princess. She is more familiar with the situation in the north than I am and helped a lot."

Lin Xiao nodded. Although Xie Juner was a bit tsundere and aloof, her abilities were indeed strong.

Furthermore, the fact that this girl was willing to risk her life just to gain his recognition truly touched him deeply.

In fact, if Xie Juner hadn't intentionally hidden her identity at first, they wouldn't have gone through such a long detour.

"Princess Ningxiang, if you want to stay by my side, you should learn more from Qingxuan in the future and stop trying to be so clever."

Xie Juner originally wanted to argue a bit—she was a Princess, so how could she be like a little maidservant, following someone else's orders every day?

But she suddenly snapped out of it and realized a key point!

"General Lin... you... you said I can stay by your side?"

"What? You're not willing?"

Xie Juner shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. "Of course I'm willing! I'm just so surprised. I thought... you would think I was too useless..."

As she spoke, Xie Juner's eyes began to well up with tears again.

She felt she had been a constant burden to the man; she went for disaster relief and epidemic prevention, only to end up imprisoned and needing him to save her.

"The fact that Yu Prefecture could clear away the gloom this time means you've stumbled into some merit. It's not considered being a burden."

Being praised, Xie Juner's pretty face immediately turned beet red, and she was overjoyed.

"But there is one thing you must remember!" Lin Xiao's tone grew a bit more serious.

Xie Juner quickly wiped her tears. "Tell me, I'll agree to anything."

Lin Xiao saw her obedient look and found it quite cute. Wouldn't it have been better if you were like this from the start?

"You, Xie Juner, are entering the Lin family's door not because of any imperial marriage decree, nor because of your status as a Princess."

"There is only one reason, and that is because I, Lin Xiao, am willing!"

Xie Juner was stunned for a moment before lowering her head in secret delight. "This is... excellent!"

Beside them, General Zhao Kuan shook his head with a bitter smile. If those words got out, it would be a capital offense. This worthy brother of his truly had no regard for the imperial court!

"Congratulations, Princess. You've finally married into our family before the New Year. Your hard work and nearly losing your life weren't in vain."

Xiao Qingxuan didn't feel uncomfortable at all about Lin Xiao's choice.

In fact, she had long advised Lin Xiao to take in Xie Juner. Even if he didn't care, given the current situation, it was definitely better to win over the Xie Clan than to make enemies of them.

One must know that many people in the imperial court were supported by the Xie Family or were direct descendants of the clan.

She took Xie Juner's hand. "From now on, we are sisters of the same family."

"Sister, you can just call me Juner. I still have so many things to learn from you."

Xie Juner spoke sincerely. Following Xiao Qingxuan these past two days, she had truly seen the gap between women.

She had thought that even if her martial arts weren't great, she could at least surpass the women around Lin Xiao in other aspects.

But who would have thought that in front of Xiao Qingxuan, she was essentially like a student who had everything to learn.

The matters in Yu Prefecture were settled.

After Lin Xiao had the women quickly pack their luggage, he didn't linger and set off overnight for Cang Province.

When they passed through Huanglong Prefecture in Sha Prefecture, the roads had already begun to turn into cement roads.

The flags of "Northern Road Administration" could be seen from time to time.

Every dozen miles or so, one could see road supervisors and rest stations.

The carriages on the road moved at a speed that could be described as "lightning fast" compared to the official roads elsewhere in Great Gan!

"Wife, this road is well-built. Is the road administration operating smoothly?" Lin Xiao asked.

Xiao Qingxuan frowned and said, "It's currently acceptable, but I'm worried that building cement roads throughout the entire Northern Territory will not only be a hassle for material transport, but the quality of the roads will also become an issue. By then, the efficiency might drastically decrease."

"After all, we have no way to train a large number of skilled road-building workers in a short amount of time."

Lin Xiao heard the logic in her words. "You've considered it thoroughly, my wife. However, none of these are problems. I have a method."

Xiao Qingxuan immediately perked up. "Husband, tell me quickly, how should we handle it?"

The other women in the carriage were also curious and expectant, their beautiful eyes all fixed on the man.