Where the people's hearts lay

"Yes, take good care of these peach trees."

Fang Weiyan looked at the peach saplings that had emerged, and felt quite happy.

As long as this immortal peach tree continues to grow, Fang Weiyan will be able to eat more immortal peaches when they grow.

Then it can also be used to reward the Yin God in various places.

Even if taking too much of this stuff leads to drug resistance, it should at least increase lifespan significantly.

"Don't worry, I'm a peach tree spirit, so this won't be difficult for me!"

Upon hearing this, Tao Lingluo immediately patted her chest and assured him.

Fang Weiyan nodded upon seeing this, then turned and left with Yunxi.

"Are there any Yin God Underworld Administration in various regions worth cultivating?"

Fang Weiyan had already handed over all the Yin God to Yunxi to manage long ago.

As they walked back with Yunxi, he asked her softly.

As for the Yin God, to be honest, it's not easy for the spies we sent out to investigate.

Those spies only needed to investigate the officials in various places, which was about all they could do. It would be extremely difficult for the Yin God to investigate.

"There are some, actually. The Yin God in Yanhuai City are quite good; they were all fearless in their battle against the centipede demon."

Upon hearing this, Yunxi thought for a moment and then said something.

Compared to officials in various regions, the performance of the Yin God was relatively much better.

Especially the Yin God of Yanhuai City, none of them had ever been seen deserting in the face of battle during previous duels.

Many Yin God were beaten alive until the stone statues shattered and perished.

Fang Weiyan thought about it and agreed.

If we do it this way, we can then more easily improve the strength of these Yin God.

"Actually, the Jiang Kingdom strength is recovering quite well right now. As long as we create this situation, the Yin God Jiang Kingdom's national strength will recover even faster with the Power of Incense Offerings offerings from the people."

"No reward will be necessary at that time."

This is completely different from before. Before, when the Jiang Kingdom was weak, the Power of Incense Offerings made by the people were basically useless.

However, the Jiang Kingdom strength has recovered extremely rapidly, and it is believed that its Incense Offerings will become increasingly prosperous.

With the offerings of Incense Offerings and other religious items, the Yin God in various regions will recover their strength very quickly.

"Speaking of which, you've reminded me of something."

Upon hearing this, Fang Weiyan immediately thought of something, "Summon the Minister of Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites."

Upon hearing this, the guard beside him accepted the order and hurriedly left.

A moment later, the Ministers of Ministry of Rites and Ministry of Revenue hurriedly entered the Imperial Study.

Both of them entered the study, neither daring to utter a sound.

Seeing the two's somewhat worried expressions, Fang Weiyan went straight to the point, "The Jiang Kingdom currently only has thirty million people, which is rather small."

The two men were taken aback upon hearing this, but then immediately realized that this must be the matter the Emperor had summoned them to discuss.

In that case, they can rest assured a little.

"Your Majesty, the population has decreased significantly due to widespread desolation, an increase in displaced people, and widespread poverty."

Ji Chunzhe quickly responded.

He was, of course, very clear about this matter.

Previously, there were numerous exorbitant taxes and levies, coupled with frequent droughts and floods, making life extremely difficult for the people.

Many people have already starved to death.

A declining population is a normal phenomenon.

After Fang Weiyan the throne, he allocated countless funds and grains and sent many capable officials to various counties, which stabilized the dynasty that was on the verge of collapse.

By this time, the situation had begun to turn around and was showing signs of prosperity.

"I know, but the population is indeed much smaller, so you will need to put in more effort."

Fang Weiyan spoke, he sent the two of them the birth manual he had just written.

In this world, getting married at 14 is far too early; it's easy for problems to arise.

Fang Weiyan asked them to postpone the marriage age a little, but at the same time began to encourage some families who had reached that age to have more children.

Thirty million people is too few.

If the nation's strength increases, with such a small population, the quality of Incense Offerings might be sufficient, but the quantity would be significantly reduced.

If the quality is sufficient, the strength of the Yin God will increase more rapidly.

Moreover, a portion of the Incense Offerings absorbed by the local Yin God must be handed over to Yunxi.

If there is enough Power of Incense Offerings, Yunxi's strength will be able to improve even faster.

Thirty million people is indeed too few.

"Your Majesty, this matter is likely difficult to handle..."

The Ministry of Rites frowned upon hearing this.

People in various places have become accustomed to getting married early.

This tradition has been passed down for countless years, and now the emperor wants to change this concept.

If this policy is to continue, many people will likely not cooperate.

"If it were easy to implement, I wouldn't have summoned you. This matter requires the Ministry of Rites to publicize it Ministry of Rites so that the people understand the reasons behind it."

Upon hearing the Ministry of Rites' words, Fang Weiyan glanced at him and then said calmly.

He knew that changing some traditional ideas would indeed be very difficult, which is why he summoned people from the Ministry of Ministry of Rites.

This kind of thing needs to be properly publicized so that people can gradually change their views after they understand the underlying principles.

Upon hearing this, the Ministry of Rites immediately felt immense pressure. This extremely difficult-to-change concept was now to be implemented by him, and if he did it poorly, things could get very bad.

Recently, so many young men have entered the court, and each of them seems eager to replace them.

The emperor seemed to have no affection for these veteran officials, basically adopting a "whoever is capable, gets promoted" attitude.

The students who had previously come to Yanhuai City to take the imperial examinations received books as gifts from the Emperor after a period of study.

After arriving in various places, many outstanding students emerged, and these students gradually replaced the local officials.

Later, inspectors were sent to various places to patrol and kill many officials.

To these ministers, this was a tactic they were all too familiar with.

Generally, capable monarchs, upon inheriting the throne, will begin to reshuffle the deck and promote their trusted confidants to better control the dynasty.

When they first learned about Fang Weiyan, they knew he was a prefect from Jiangling Commandery and had no connections in the imperial court, so they were somewhat relieved.

Even though the other side had killed many officials, many people were still relatively at ease.

Because it's impossible for the other side to kill them all.

If they were all killed, who would help the other side manage the court? Manage a country?

However, this mentality did not last long before the other side cultivated a group of capable officials.

The fact that the other party could cultivate so many capable officials based solely on a few books truly astonished countless ministers.

These capable officials now control various prefectures and counties, and he, as the Ministry of Rites, had previously helped the emperor promote many policies.

These promotional materials are distributed several times a day.

At first, he didn't understand what he was doing, but now he clearly understands its significance.

At present, all the people of the Jiang Kingdom revere the new emperor.

The new emperor has won the hearts of the people in just a few months since his ascension to the throne.

If the new emperor were to harbor murderous intent towards them at this point, he would simply behead them all.

He believed that the people of the Jiang Kingdom would be applauding the next day, and the new emperor wouldn't need to explain anything; the people would naturally imagine that these ministers had committed some heinous crime.

This is what prompted the new emperor to take drastic measures.

This is the benefit of winning the hearts and minds of the people.

With the will of the people in mind, whatever Fang Weiyan does, the people will imagine a legitimate reason for the emperor's actions.

Moreover, even if they were killed now, the Jiang Kingdom would still have capable officials to handle government affairs.

By this point, these veteran officials seemed somewhat dispensable.

The other side has already taken control of a dynasty.

The Ministry of Rites suddenly realized something upon thinking about this.

Even if the emperor's request was extremely unreasonable and would be unacceptable to the people.

But now that the emperor is the will of the people, the common people will surely abide by his will.

In addition, there are capable officials who have just taken office in various places. These officials were all personally selected by the emperor, and it is believed that their admiration for the emperor is no less than that of other common people.

He helped spread the word, and capable officials in various places also helped with the promotion.

I believe this is not difficult.

Upon realizing this, the Ministry of Rites breathed a sigh of relief.

It would be best if this matter could be accomplished; otherwise, he suspected that some younger generation members might betray him and take the opportunity to rise to power.

"Your Majesty, I will certainly handle this matter well."

After thinking about all this, the Ministry of Rites was immediately relieved and then knelt down and said loudly.

Fang Weiyan looked at the Ministry of Rites, whom he had initially thought was not very capable, but now seemed to be doing well again. He was a little puzzled, but he didn't think much of it.

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. Get it done as soon as possible."

"Some of the content in the manual should be promoted more widely."

Fang Weiyan pointed to the manual in the other person's hand. Much of the content contained basic medical knowledge that ordinary people needed to know.

The Ministry of Rites nodded quickly upon hearing this.

"How are you doing with the business taxes we previously paid you, and the tax adjustments?"

The common people were exempted from taxes, but Fang Weiyan was engaged in business, had no intention of being exempted.

This task has been assigned to Ji Chunzhe, and I don't know how well he's doing.

Upon hearing this, Ji Chunzhe quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the general tax amount has been outlined, but some specific details still need to be refined."

"Hmm, after it's finished, let the other ministers discuss it together. If there are no problems, then present it to me for review."

Fang Weiyan nodded, seeing that he had finished giving his instructions, and waved for them to go back.

Upon seeing this, the two ministers quickly kowtowed and withdrew from the imperial study.

The two walked together, and after leaving the palace and confirming that there were no other eyes or ears around, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Previously, I only felt that the current emperor was decisive and ruthless, perhaps a cruel emperor. I never expected that the emperor's methods would be even more formidable than I thought. The current emperor must not be underestimated."

The Ministry of Rites, relieved, spoke to Ji Chunzhe.

Ji Chunzhe looked at the other person with some puzzlement, "Why do you say that? I think His Majesty has nothing else to offer, except that he is extremely wealthy."

Ji Chunzhe thought about it carefully, and he still felt that the emperor had nothing else to offer except for having too much money.

It seemed that they had as much money and grain as needed.

Since the emperor ascended the throne, how much money and grain has been allocated to various regions?

In the past, when the imperial court wanted to allocate funds for disaster relief, it was always very stingy.

Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, the disaster relief supplies are being distributed by the ship.

His accounts were almost entirely filled with records of how many ships of relief funds and grain were transported to which places.

To avoid any mistakes, he even boarded the ship to inspect it.

The money and grain you're carrying on your boats could probably make some people who've never seen them before faint.

Those were boatloads full of grain and money!

It's absolutely shocking.

Because of this, he always felt that the most outstanding thing about the current emperor was his wealth.

As a subject, I don't know where the emperor's money and grain come from, but it's certain that he has a lot of money and grain.

Upon hearing this, the Ministry of Rites glanced at the other party with a hint of helplessness.

This guy was originally from the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of that area.

In doing so, one's perception of the emperor is limited to such matters, which is truly frustrating.

"Why don't you consider other methods the Emperor might employ after ascending the throne?"

"When the Emperor first ascended the throne, it seemed he couldn't do without us. But look at him now, even if the Emperor killed all of us old ministers, do you think the court would still be unable to function?"

"If someone were to openly rebel now, do you think the people would take to the streets and kill the rebels themselves?"

The Ministry of Rites began to speak one by one.

Ji Chunzhe thought about it carefully, then felt a chill in his heart and suddenly realized what was going on.

What the other party said didn't seem like a big deal a few months ago.

But looking at it now, these things have changed dramatically.

The current emperor has completely taken control of the Jiang Kingdom!

The Emperor has not only gained control of the current court, but also firmly grasped control of all the prefectures and counties.

After all, those who disobeyed were likely killed by that inspector.

According to the information they received, the officials killed by the inspector had all committed acts that violated the law.

But according to their speculation, perhaps this was something the emperor did to promote capable officials, to completely eliminate dissidents, or to gain complete control over the Jiang Kingdom?

After all, they had both witnessed this kind of tactic before.

Such methods were far too common in the imperial court.

The emperor's actions left them no choice but to think things through.

Be careful what you say!

Ji Chunzhe felt a little flustered as he listened. After looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, he quickly scolded them.

"This matter should not be brought up again. The current emperor has no other intentions towards us. We should just focus on our duties while we are in power!"

After saying that, Ji Chunzhe turned and left in a hurry.

He was somewhat worried that if he talked about these things too much, it would cause him unnecessary trouble.