195: Four states bandit chief

Chapter 194: Rebel Leaders of the Four Provinces

"Item Five: Establish the 'Atonement Field' system, using fields to substitute for crimes. Anyone who commits a crime only needs to surrender sufficient farmland to receive a corresponding reduction."

"Since the implementation of this project, over three hundred officials and nobles have been punished, and a total of over thirty million mu of 'Atonement Fields' of various Ranks of farmland have been confiscated."

"Your Majesty, the Atonement Field system has been implemented for five years, and the state treasury has sufficient arable land. Furthermore, this punishment is too severe, meeting with resistance from many people, and quite a few officials are discussing it in secret."

"Now that the world is in chaos, can the Atonement Silver system be temporarily suspended, or replaced with gold and silver..."

"No!"

Before Lu Xiangqing could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zheng Yi.

"I created the Atonement Field system precisely to confiscate the farmlands of the world and fight for a livelihood for the common people of the world."

Zheng Yi said coldly, "Aside from the Atonement Fields, after the imperial army suppresses the rebels in the other provinces, the nation's farmland will reach an astronomical figure."

"Only then can Great Yu usher in true stability!"

"If the common people have fields to farm and food to eat, they will not rebel!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Lu Xiangqing gave a bitter smile inwardly; it seemed that trying to abolish the Atonement Field system was a dead end with Your Majesty.

He could only wait for the future.

The Atonement Field was simply too harsh for high-ranking officials, large landowners, and others.

Although it allowed them to escape Great Yu's laws, it was uprooting their very foundations!

He reined in his thoughts and continued, "Item Six: Establish the Northern Ocean Navy..."

"This item is hosted by the Ministry of War. Lord Li should be clearer about it."

Li Changfeng, standing to the side, immediately said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Northern Ocean Navy has already been built."

"Among them are over a thousand warships of various sizes, with over one hundred thousand soldiers stationed in Bin Province. They can support combat operations in various provinces from the sea at any time."

"However, the navy is currently putting down rebellions within Jing Province, and Meng Guang is also suppressing them in Jing Province."

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "I am already aware of navy matters. Once the rebellion in Jing Province is pacified and governing officials are assigned, I will order Meng Guang to lead his army into Jiang Province to suppress Yunmeng Marsh!"

Yunmeng Marsh!

This was one of Zheng Yi's greatest purposes in creating the navy.

The area of Yunmeng Marsh was simply too vast, almost equivalent to an inland sea.

Only by relying on the one hundred thousand naval troops to slowly plot against it could the Tuoba Family holding fast in Yunmeng Marsh be rooted out entirely!

"Understood!"

"Right."

Zheng Yi suddenly asked, "How are those rebels across the world now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, most of the rebels in places like Yong Province, Shu Province, Jing Province, Bin Province, and Yue Province have already been pacified. Now, only places like Qing Province, Yangzhou, Xu Province, and Jiang Province remain under the control of the rebels."

Li Changfeng said, "However, the Ministry of War has received the latest news that the rebels in these four provinces want to pool their forces together to resist General Xu Mujun, with the number of rebels exceeding one million!"

"Most of the rebel forces have now arrived in places like Xu Province, intending to intercept General Xu Mujun in Xu Province and resist the imperial army."

"Four provinces remain..."

Zheng Yi said indifferently, "Which factions are the rebels in these four provinces?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the number of rebels in the four provinces is extremely large, and because they are all located in the south, it is where the rebel forces are strongest."

"In each province, there are a large number of rebels."

"Ranging from two or three factions at the fewest, to over a hundred factions at the most."

"However, within each major province, the strongest among them have already united."

"Among them, the strongest rebel force in Qing Province is undoubtedly the White Lotus Sect."

"Rumor has it that this sect has a Legacy spanning thousands of years, and it is deeply rooted among the common people. Ordinary methods are simply unable to exterminate it."

"During the sixth year of zhengyong, Minister Miao once annihilated the White Lotus Sect in Qing Province, but unfortunately, within just a few short years, the White Lotus Sect rose from the ashes and its power grew immensely!"

Li Changfeng said, "The largest faction in Yangzhou is the Yunmeng Lake Tuoba Family."

"This Family is located deep within Yunmeng Marsh, and Yunmeng Marsh lies at the border of Jing Province and Yangzhou, stretching over a thousand miles and covering a huge area."

"And because of the terrain, the Yunmeng Lake Tuoba Family holds fast to the territory of the two provinces, making it very difficult for the imperial army to break through."

"However, thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom in creating the navy, Meng Guang is now stationed in Jing Province, and the vanguard has already approached Yunmeng Marsh. The day of their extermination is just around the corner."

Yunmeng Marsh, the Tuoba Family.

In Zheng Yi's view, this Family was the strongest faction in this rebellion.

Behind them, a Cultivator must be controlling things in secret.

The reason was very simple.

Of the ten strands of innate spiritual energy, one was still located deep within Yunmeng Marsh up to this day, and it had thinned by a little less than half.

If Zheng Yi wanted to pacify the world, the Tuoba Family was his greatest enemy!

Li Changfeng continued, "As for Xu Province, it is the territory of Prince Chen, Zheng Zongkai."

"Prince Chen is a brother to the late emperor and has been well-versed in military books since childhood. He is a rare military formation talent within the royal Family."

"During the Tianqi era, he once attacked Nanyue County together with General Xu Mujun. His relationship with the late emperor was also extremely good, and he was regarded as a comrade-in-arms by General Xu Mujun."

"Yet for reasons unknown, Prince Chen Zheng Zongkai also raised an army in rebellion; this matter is bizarre."

Zheng Yi asked, "Oh? What is bizarre about it?"

Lu Xiangqing suddenly said, "Your Majesty, your servant also knows about this matter."

"The world has been in chaos for two full years, and the imperial army has been cutting through bamboo, recovering several major provinces and counties one after another."

"However, in the territory of Xu Province, ever since issuing his manifesto, Prince Chen has never shown himself in public, and no one has ever seen Your Highness Prince Chen."

"Until now, the affairs of the Xu Province rebels have been presided over solely by Prince Chen's son, Zheng Yuanfa."

"Zheng Yuanfa?"

Zheng Yi muttered, "What is this person's identity?"

"Zheng Yuanfa, twenty-seven years old, is rumored to have disappeared for several years in his youth. After returning, he lived in seclusion and rarely showed himself."

"Yet for unknown reasons, when the world descended into chaos, he once again took charge of Xu Province's major affairs and instigated the rebellion."

"Now, among the many rebel Alliances in the south, Zheng Yuanfa has been jointly pushed forward as the Alliance leader by quite a few people!"

"Zheng Yuanfa? Interesting..."

Zheng Yi muttered, "Disappearing for several years in his youth, then returning with a drastic change in personality... Could it be that he encountered a chance encounter with immortality?"

If something could make an ordinary person's personality drastically change and their lifestyle alter, there was only one answer, and that was immortal destiny!

It seemed that Prince Chen's son, Zheng Yuanfa, warranted heavy attention as well.

Zheng Yi asked again, "What about Jiang Province in the end?"

"Jiang Province..."

Li Changfeng said, "Jiang Province is the base camp of Tianlong Temple. Over half of the entire province is controlled by the warrior monks of Tianlong Temple, wielding tremendous power."

"Although one or two people among Tianlong Temple's higher-ups have been lost recently, the loss is not very significant to them."

"There are rumors in Jiang Province that a few months ago in the dead of night, a huge beastly roar came from the direction of Tianlong Temple, and some even claimed to have seen intense Buddhist light and immortals!"

"Buddhist light? Immortals?"

Zheng Yi frowned slightly. What on earth was going on with Tianlong Temple?

Earlier there was the self-taught Abbot Fayuan of Tianlong Temple, and later there was Fajing who intercepted Xu Mujun.

Now there were even more tricks; could it be that behind Tianlong Temple, there were still Cultivators?!

Zheng Yi took a deep breath, having long since prepared himself in his heart for this matter.

Taiyi Sect had a Late Stage Qi Cultivator like Zhao Xi Zheng, and he had once stated that within the territory of Great Yu, there were also quite a few reclusive Cultivators.

With the world in chaos, these reclusive Cultivators would inevitably make their move.

Furthermore, there was also the factor of those ten strands of innate spiritual energy.

"Pass down the order."

The few bowed, waiting for Zheng Yi's command.

"Order Cui Xiawu, Meng Guang, Minister Miao, General Guan Shan, Zhengkou General Tang, and others to proceed together to Xu Province, and under the command of Xu Mujun, jointly annihilate the rebels!"

"Understood!"

"Lords, now that the rebels of the world have gathered in Xu Province, as long as the rebels in Xu Province are annihilated, the rebellion across the entire world will be pacified."

"You all will also be the ministers of Great Yu's restoration, leaving your names in history!"

"We obey your decree!"

"Minister Lu, continue."

"Understood!"

Lu Xiangqing opened the memorial once more and spoke:

"Item Seven: The Ministry of Rites shall establish a 'Propaganda Department'. Every week, designated personnel shall print official documents transmitting court politics and news transcripts of political intelligence, and may also print other content to propagate the court's ideology."

"This project was completed long ago. The Propaganda Department's official staff now numbers over forty people, and numerous minor officials have been trained."

"Once the world is pacified, they can be dispatched to various counties and prefectures to establish branch offices of the Propaganda Department and control the throat and tongue of the world."

The remaining items were all simple policies, and under Zheng Yi's sole support, they were completed very quickly.

"Item Eight: Taiyuan Hospital and the Ministry of Rites shall jointly establish a 'Medical College', recruiting students interested in medicine to enroll and study, taught by designated personnel from Taiyuan Hospital to spread medical science."

"This policy has also been completed, nurturing over three thousand qualified doctors within five years."

"These doctors have mastered preliminary medical knowledge and surgical treatment methods, and over two thousand of them have been placed within various armies to ensure the safety of the soldiers' lives."

"Item Nine: The military merit system."

"After this policy was issued, it received the support of all soldiers in our Great Yu army."

"Soldiers do not fear death and are always first in every battle, which is why Great Yu's army is invincible and cuts through bamboo in suppressing rebellions!"

"Furthermore, out of the over thirty million mu of farmland confiscated by the Atonement Fields earlier, over five million mu of farmland have already been rewarded to various meritorious officials."

"This policy is a foundational policy of the state and must by no means be abolished now."

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "My beloved ministers, the first Five-Year Plan can be said to have been more than seventy percent completed, though a few policies remain uncompleted due to various reasons."

"I wonder what thoughts you all have regarding Great Yu's second Five-Year Plan?"

"I will propose one first: the Atonement Field policy cannot be abolished."

"At least, it cannot be abolished now!"

The few remained silent for a few breaths, and finally Wang Anshi spoke first, "Your Majesty, the New Policies cannot be abolished."

The New Policies Wang Anshi referred to were the reforms he presided over.

These included numerous policies on land, population, commercial taxes, official taxes, and so on, which had been in place for two years by now.

Lu Xiangqing gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty!"

"The reason Great Yu is currently in world-wide chaos is entirely due to Lord Wang's reforms!"

"To pacify the world, your servant requests to amend several items of the reforms."

"Otherwise, even if Great Yu is re-stabilized, it will rebel again due to numerous reasons!"

Wang Anshi said calmly, "Lord Lu, the new reform policies promoted by this subordinate—benefits in the contemporary era, merits for a thousand autumns!"

"There may be some minor difficulties before administration, but as long as we persist, Great Yu will inevitably prosper because of this matter!"

"Merits for a thousand autumns?"

Lu Xiangqing gritted his teeth and said, "If not for Your Majesty's wisdom, the soldiers' loyalty and bravery, and the full devotion of all officials, how could there be thousands upon thousands of generations!"

"To protect the current general trend of the world, your servant earnestly implores Your Majesty to amend the New Policies after the world is completely settled!"

Zheng Yi asked, "I wonder which items of the New Policies Minister Lu wishes to amend?"

"Official taxes!"

Lu Xiangqing gritted his teeth and said, "Great Yu has been established for over three hundred years, and there has never been any mention of official taxes."

"Furthermore, many colleagues are well-read in the books of sages, viewing money as dirt; why bother imposing taxes heavily upon officials."

"As far as your servant knows, the stipends of some local officials are already not high, barely enough to subsidize household expenses, yet they still have to pay taxes!"

"This... Your Majesty, it runs counter to the teachings of the Saint!"

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