The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1191: morality
Chapter 1191 Morality
Then I heard that Bai Qingyan wanted to register the common people in the Great Zhou Dynasty, distribute houses and land to them, and let the common people write IOUs to the government and pay them off in 30 years. Not to mention, the common people would have to pay interest to the government every year!
The general guarding the city suddenly came to his senses. It turned out that the Emperor of Great Zhou had let the people of Xiliang go just to wait here, so that he could bring all the people of Xiliang under the jurisdiction of Great Zhou without dragging down the finances of Great Zhou…
Sure enough, the emperor of their Great Zhou was extraordinary. Using this method not only made the people of Xiliang grateful, but also did not increase the pressure on the Ministry of Revenue.
Bai Qingyan was delayed in Suining City for three days. Yechengguan sent a lot of refugees from Xiliang, and there were also people who ran to Suining City from the cities captured by Dayan. Obviously… Suining City could no longer accommodate them.
So, on the 21st day of the first lunar month, Bai Qingyan arranged the new policy for Suining City, and took Chunzhi, who had been waiting for her in Suining City, the army and the refugees to Fengerlan City.
By the 27th day of the first lunar month, more and more people in Xiliang had come to know the benefits of becoming citizens of the Great Zhou, and naturally they also knew the price to pay for becoming citizens of the Great Zhou.
The people of Xiliang spread the news by word of mouth, and they rushed to the city. This was more effective than the soldiers of Dayan repeatedly assuring the people of Xiliang. The people almost swarmed to the city that had been occupied by the soldiers of Da Zhou, hoping that Da Zhou would give them food and a way to survive.
When Xiao Rongyan heard this, he stroked the goose hairpin in his hand, with a warm smile between his brows.
The reason why they successfully took back Southern Yan was because Bai Qingyan had pointed out to him… The vast power that can be obtained by supporting the people, so in terms of popular support, their Great Yan is indeed no match for the Great Zhou.
“Your Highness, we are fighting to seize cities, land, and people! The Great Zhou is our ally, how can we stab them in the back without any sense of morality? The Great Zhou has taken away all the people, what do we need an empty city for!” The generals of Dayan complained to Xiao Rongyan, “In my opinion, after we capture the city, don’t give them such lenient treatment, just detain them in the city and don’t allow them to leave! Those who leave will be killed! And we have to send someone to tell the Great Zhou not to go too far!”
Yue Shi, holding a sword, glanced at the General of Dayan who was speaking, his eyes were cold. He felt that although the general’s words were in favor of Yan State, why did he look so unhappy?
General Song came from a noble family of the State of Yan, and was a staunch supporter of the Emperor of Yan, Murong Li, both openly and secretly. He had no idea that the discord between Xiao Rongyan and Murong Li was staged, and in order to show his loyalty to Murong Li, he opposed Xiao Rongyan again and again.
“General Song, what you said is inappropriate…” When a general of Dayan heard this, he spoke up for Dayan. “The people of Xiliang were not taken away by force by Dayan. They were willing to become the people of Dayan. How can you blame Dayan? It is Dayan’s ability to make the people of Xiliang become the people of Dayan willingly. We in Dayan cannot let the people of Xiliang become the people of Dayan willingly. We do not reflect on ourselves to see where we are inferior to Dayan. Instead, we rely on the fact that the two countries are allies to ask others not to accept the people of Xiliang. This is unreasonable!”
“That’s right!” Another general of the State of Yan thought of the division of spoils and continued, “Let’s take the several battles we fought… When we divided the spoils, the Great Zhou was concerned about our Great Yan’s lack of food, so they gave us more each time. This was already extremely benevolent. We can’t be ungrateful. If we always let others give us more, what would happen!”
“Then tell me, what should we do? The people have all fled! What are we going to do with an empty city? You tell me!” General Song was irritated. “If we move the people of Yan here, how many people will be willing to abandon their homes and businesses to come here? You tell me!”
The curve of Xiao Rongyan’s lips became more and more obvious. He sat lazily on the chair and said, “The reason why we, Yan State, failed to let the people stay is because of our arrogance. We all think that not massacring the city… letting the people in the city survive is a gift from our Great Yan to the people of Xiliang. Do you think so?”
“Isn’t that a great gift from our Yan State to them?” General Song continued, “The Xiliang army rushed into our Yan State’s territory and killed everyone they saw! They massacred and burned the city! They robbed women and killed the elderly and the weak. We have been very merciful…”
After General Song finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked towards Xiao Rongyan.
“But what about the Great Zhou? The Emperor of the Great Zhou personally told the people of Xiliang at Yecheng Pass… if they are willing to become citizens of the Great Zhou, they can stay and get land and houses. If they are not willing, they will be given money to leave!” Xiao Rongyan swept his eyes over the Yan generals in the battle. “The reputation of the Great Zhou was passed down by word of mouth by the people of Xiliang, and it was actually done. As for us in the Yan State… it was the soldiers who told the people of Xiliang what we could give them! If it were you, which country would you choose to be a citizen of?”
Seeing that the soldiers were silent, Xiao Rongyan smiled and said, “You all would choose the Great Zhou, let alone the people of Xiliang? So it is not unreasonable for the people of Xiliang to go to the Great Zhou to seek a way out! We in Yan should also learn from them!”
“Learn from the Great Zhou?” General Song frowned. “Your Highness, the Emperor of the Great Zhou…is not from a legitimate royal family. If we, the great Great Yan, learn the ways of the Great Zhou, wouldn’t that be telling others that we, the Great Yan, are not as good as the Great Zhou and have to follow the Great Zhou to learn the strategies of governing the country?”
“Then, from General Song’s point of view…” Xiao Rongyan put his elbows on the armrests of the chair, lifted the hem of his clothes, crossed his legs, raised his deep and smiling eyes and looked at General Song, “Do we want the people of Xiliang, or do we want the face of the Yan royal family?”
General Song felt a chill down his spine when he saw Xiao Rongyan’s fake smile, but with his loyalty to Murong Li, he straightened his chest and said, “Of course, we can’t lose face, and we have to protect the people! The Ninth Prince is the regent of our Great Yan, and there must be a way to have the best of both worlds. Otherwise… if he really follows the example of that half-hearted female emperor of the Great Zhou, it would be like trampling the face of our Great Yan emperor into the mud, and the regent may not be able to bear it!”
As General Song spoke, he bowed in the direction of the Emperor of Yan, and his words and actions were full of respect for Murong Li.
Yue Shi raised his eyes and looked at General Song: “General Song also knows that our prince is the regent. Even His Majesty and the Queen Mother have never spoken to our prince in such a tough manner. General Song is so shameless, waving His Majesty’s banner… Are you going to disobey the order of the Regent of Dayan?”