Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 1767: Yanbei Politics and Finance, Selection of Governor

Suddenly, the bells and drums on the city wall rang five times in succession. This was just as the saying goes, "court starts at the fifth watch." This was the rule of the court.

Everyone was stunned when they heard the sound of bells and drums. It had been a long time since they had attended court. The last time they had attended court was when Wang Yu convened a meeting before the battle of Tianlang Pass. After nearly a year, they finally saw Wang Yu attending court again today.

squeak...

The palace gate slowly opened, and a group of soldiers in distinctive black armor walked out of the palace gate in unison. Leading them, a lieutenant in front of the emperor walked to the gate and waved his fist, saying, "My lords, I've been waiting for a long time. The time has come. Please enter the palace!"

Zhao Anling, Wang Dangzhi and others walked in front, followed by other ministers, towards the inner hall of the palace. No one dared to cut in line or rush ahead. After all, being an official requires official awareness, and there are rules for what to say and what to do.

After entering the palace gate, walk straight ahead, pass the Hall of Yannian and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and gather in the Main Hall.

The hall was already filled with civil and military officials, about thirty or forty in number. They all held coupons in their hands, standing together in groups of three or four, talking and waiting for Wang Yu's arrival.

………………

Wang Yu had a great time last night, and Bai Ruolan was unable to bear the battle. The two maids, Zeng Rou and Zhou Miaotong, were forced to join the battlefield, which consumed a lot of energy. At this time, he had already escaped from the beauty's arms, sat on the edge of the bed, and followed the mantra of the mind method to meditate, restrain his breath, and restore his energy.

"My husband...it's time to go to court at five o'clock. It's already five o'clock. It's time to change into court clothes and go to court."

A gentle voice sounded beside his ears. Wang Yu turned his head quickly, keeping his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart. He remained calm and nodded, saying, "It's almost time. Madam, please change my court clothes for me. This is my first morning court in a year. It's time to discuss state affairs with the ministers."

Bai Ruolan stood up and put on her undergarment. Her eyebrows were like spring water and her eyes were like dark blue. She smiled softly and said, "If you don't go to court again, I'm afraid people all over the world will spread the rumor that the general is addicted to women and has no interest in government affairs."

He was full of charm while chatting and laughing. He was dressed in neat and new court robes. Once they were put on, his whole aura was completely different.

Wang Yu looked at the sky and sighed with emotion: "It's time to go to the palace!"

Bai Ruolan looked at her husband's figure and sighed softly in her heart. The little disturbances in Zhendong City these days could not be completely hidden from him. She didn't know how long such peaceful days could last.

Compared to the general's wife, all she wanted was to live a happy life as an ordinary citizen with her partner for the rest of her life.

However, she was the daughter of the Minister of Rites, and the lives of ordinary people had nothing to do with her! And in this chaotic world, ordinary people were the most miserable!

…………

"The general has arrived..." The eunuch chief nodded, and the hall immediately became quiet. The civil and military officials immediately took their positions, knelt on the ground together, without looking around, and were extremely respectful.

On the high platform in the center of the hall is a dragon throne made entirely of gold. Behind the throne, a graceful figure can be vaguely seen under the yellow gauze. This is the concubine dowager Dongfang Xueruo who is in charge of government affairs behind the curtain.

Half of the platform is the throne of the regent minister Wang Yu.

Wang Yu sat on the throne, looking down at the civil and military officials who were kneeling on the ground in the hall, and felt a majestic aura gathering and blowing towards him. These civil and military officials were all important officials who were virtuous, capable, talented, and skilled, and each of them had a great destiny. All the officials gathered together and knelt down in front of him. The intersection of this pious worship and the noble aura of destiny was so overwhelming that if it was not for the order of the true dragon emperor, it would not be able to suppress the luck of these officials.

Throughout Chinese history, most of the nearly hundreds of kings were short-lived.

Firstly, it was because the king was in the harem, indulging in wine and sex, and indulging in excessive sexual desire, which made his body too weak and morbid.

Secondly, there are mostly women in the harem, and the yin energy is too heavy, and the physique of ordinary men cannot resist this yin energy.

Thirdly, he had to face the worship of many officials every day, and not every king could withstand this great ceremony between the monarch and his subjects.

The wiser the ruler or the more accomplished the emperor is, the longer he will live, and he can even suppress the evil spirits in the mountains and rivers!

In the past, Wang Yu never believed in fate or destiny, let alone martial arts, immortality, or invisible aura. But after traveling to Apocalypse, he witnessed the manipulation and direction of fate with his own eyes. As his martial arts skills continued to improve, and as his body had internal blood and energy, he clearly felt that different people have a certain amount of energy and momentum, the only difference is the size.

"My dear ministers, please stand up..."

Wang Yu opened his mouth and spoke something. His voice was not loud, but it was deep and powerful. It spread out, and the whole hall was filled with his echo.

Wang Yu looked around, his eyes seemed to be able to see through everything, and finally returned to the Minister of Personnel Zhao Anling, and asked: "Minister Zhao, for the past few months, this general has been fighting outside, and I don't know how Yanbei has developed. Please tell me about it in detail!"

Although Zhao Anling was the Minister of Personnel, he was previously the Governor of Yanbei Road.

He is probably the one who knows the entire Yanbei situation best.

Before Wang Yu took power, as one of Wang Chang's right-hand men, he played the role of a logistics steward in the rear.

Zhao Anling replied: "General, Queen Mother, this year, Yanbei has worked hard to implement new policies and achieved stable development. No matter in population registration, farming and water conservancy, national treasury and people's livelihood, or handicrafts, there has been considerable progress and development. I will report to the General and Queen Mother on the above aspects..."

"Our Yan army has 2.4 million soldiers and civilians, living in 131 counties in the nine prefectures of Yanbei. The 100,000 Zhendong Army entered Dongyi and changed to Guandong Army. Later, the civilians were relocated to Dongyi. The family members and civilians who followed them totaled 180,000 households. The population of Yanbei dropped by more than hundreds of thousands. Fortunately, the general relocated the barbarians to Cang, and after more than half a year of resettling the civilians and refugees who fled from various places, the population of Yanbei has not decreased significantly. To this day, there are still more than 2.1 million."

Wang Yu nodded slightly. The people are the foundation of the country. Without the people as the foundation, the prosperity of the country is just empty talk, because all material development and improvement need to be created by the working people. The people are the productive force!
However, as a border area, Yanbei's population may sound large, but it is nothing compared to those truly populous countries.

In areas like the Four Rivers, the worst one had a population of nearly seven million, and the most prosperous Henan Province even had a population of 12 million at its peak.

Its imperial capital, Tianjing, was a megacity with a population of over three million at its peak.

Moreover, although the land of the Four Rivers is a plain with few dangerous places, it is suitable for farming, unlike the mountainous terrain of northern Yan, which is also a major constraint on population development. Of course, for border areas, the advantages of steep terrain are more important. "At the beginning of the year, the ridge planting method was implemented, the sowing density was appropriate, which was convenient for ventilation and drainage, waterlogging, good at culturing, weeding, thinning and mastering the farming season, felling trees, building water conservancy projects, reclaiming wasteland and deep plowing, which greatly increased the annual output of each hectare of land."

"However, the national treasury is still spending more than it earns. In order to appease the people, we have to build water conservancy projects, villages, cities, palaces, border defenses, etc., which costs a huge amount of money. Taxes cannot keep up with the spending, so the national treasury is still at a stage where spending is higher than taking in."

Although Wang Yu's knowledge of agriculture was limited, he did have some insights into financial management, so he interjected, "How much silver is needed for monthly expenditure now? How much is collected? Is there a detailed account of the source and destination?"

Zhao Anling nodded, turned around and glanced at the chief secretary behind him, who took out a book of account from his official uniform and handed it to him.

Zhao Anling took it and flipped open a few pages, then replied, "General, the monthly military expenditure is the largest. The army stationed at the border and the army defending the cities have a total of one million people. In addition to food and salaries, it also includes expanding military funds, raising war horses and weapons, which requires a monthly expenditure of 50,000 taels of gold and 150,000 taels of silver. The salaries of officials in the court are 50,000 taels of silver, and the monthly expenditure on city gates, fortifications, mountain construction, official roads, academies, and water conservancy facilities is 100,000 taels of silver. All the expenses add up to at least 50,000 taels of gold and 300,000 silver per month! ......"

"Now it all depends on Hebei for support. However, the great general is mighty and has already taken over Hedong. With both Hedong and Hebei in hand, I believe that balance will be achieved soon!"

Under Xun Yu's governance, Yannan was able to barely achieve a balance between income and expenditure.

But Yanbei can only operate thanks to the support of Hebei, and now with the addition of Hedong, life should be much better soon.

Wang Yu listened to the general idea and understood the monthly expenses and income. These were the expenses for city defense, city construction, and military pay that the country had to face, as well as the purchase of weapons and armor and the breeding of war horses, which were also urgent tasks.

Yanbei originally started out as a cavalry army. Among the 300,000 Zhendong Army, fully one-third are cavalry. The three major horse farms, including the Yanyun Horse Farm, must be maintained even if they have to sell everything they have.

As Hedong and Shanyang are just coming down, a large number of new soldiers will be recruited in order to restore the troops. If they do not have sophisticated equipment, their combat effectiveness will definitely be greatly affected in the battle.

"In this era of great strife, rituals and music are in disarray, earthenware pots are roaring, the people are displaced, and the people's hearts are unstable. Taxes should not be too heavy, but the court cannot continue its policy of corruption. Let's put this matter aside for now. Afterwards, the minister will summon civil officials to discuss how to increase the treasury's revenue. After a plan is drawn up, it will be reported to this general and negotiated with the concubine."

Zhao Anling crossed his hands and saluted, "I obey the general's order!"

"Go on!" Wang Yu said, sitting upright.

Zhao Anling continued the topic, "Since the general took over as regent, the policy of encouraging farming has also encouraged handicrafts and commerce. Yanbei's iron smelting, casting, lacquerware, textiles, salt boiling and other industries have all developed. In addition, the Dongyi Xiping has surrendered, and the civil and military generals have each taken their positions and performed their duties. They have implemented the Cang Law, registered households, sorted out documents, connected the business of Da Cang and Dongyi, made profits, gradually filled the balance of the national treasury, strengthened the court, and made the country rich and the people strong!"

Wang Yu nodded with satisfaction. Zhao Anling had been Wang Chang's logistics manager for more than ten years, and he did a very good job in this regard.

"However, General, the position of Yanbei Governor is vacant now, which is not a long-term solution!"

"Therefore, I think we should select talented and capable people to serve as soon as possible!" Zhao Anling spoke loudly again.

Of course he knew that he had moved from the original Yanbei Road censor to the current temporary Minister of Personnel. In essence, Wang Yu himself wanted to vacate this position and then help his own people get promoted.

Instead of waiting for Wang Yu to bring up the matter himself, Zhao Anling might as well be straightforward and take the initiative to speak up, so as to leave more room for affection between him and Wang Yu.

Moreover, not only Wang Yu, but even the newly appointed governor of Yanbei Road has to remember his kindness.

"Minister Zhao, who do you think can take on such an important task?" Wang Yu followed Zhao Anling's words and said with a smile.

"The governor of Liaoyang County, Xiao He; the governor of Wudu County, Wang Mang; and the governor of Wuping County, Kuai Tong, all three of them had the spirit of a patriot. When they were in office, the government was stable and the people were harmonious, and they achieved many political achievements." Zhao Anling answered directly without even raising his head.

These three people each have their own advantages, but the key point is that among the nine counties in northern Yan, these three county governors were promoted by Wang Yu himself. The three of them are definitely Wang Yu's direct descendants, so there is absolutely no problem in pushing one of these three people to the position.

Among these three people, Xiao He was born into an ordinary family. His father was not even an official, but just a minor official. Therefore, his family background was of no help to him.

However, among the three, it is obvious that this one has the best political achievements, which is obviously far ahead of the other two.

Moreover, after all, he was Wang Yu's servant, so their relationship was closer.

As for Wang Mang, there is no need to say much, his surname is his best help.

However, although his political achievements were not bad, he always liked to do some fancy things, some inappropriate things. Therefore, among the three, his political achievements were the worst.

Zhao Anling didn't want to push this person from the bottom of his heart. People who like to do fancy things cannot do without being restrained by others. And the higher this kind of person climbs, the fewer people can restrain him, and the greater the possibility of chaos.

But who gave him the surname Wang?
Kuai Tong, with his father around, and also because he was one of Wang Yu’s earliest team members, his future will definitely be bright.

"I heard that the tax collection of Liaoyang County this year is 40% higher than last year!" Wang Yu seemed to have suddenly thought of something and then spoke.

And this one sentence is enough to show Wang Yu's inclination.

Therefore, several people headed by Zhao Anling immediately began to publicize the various measures and achievements that Xiao He had made in the more than one year since he became the county magistrate.

"Xiao He is so talented, it would be a pity if he could only be a county governor!"

"However, Xiao He has only been the governor of Liaoyang for a year. If he is promoted again, I am afraid people will be upset!"

"How about this, Xiao He will temporarily take over the position of Yanbei Governor! If Yanbei is governed well under his leadership, he will be promoted formally."

"The general is wise!" all the civil and military officials spoke out in unison.