858: Chapter 537: Double Heart?
858: Chapter 537: Double Heart?
It was another snowy night.
After each snowy night, the Governnt Office’s branches throughout the city would dispatch staff before dawn, sprinkling de-icing powder along the streets for the easy passage of beast-drawn carriages.
The sleepless rush of the New Year had just passed.
After the seventeenth day of the first month, the festive red lanterns were taken down from the streets and alleys, and people resud their busy lives, though the slow pace kept the joyous celebration lingering.
The de-icing powder spread by the Governnt Office not only lted ice but also prevented slipping.
At the Tian’an Comrce Assembly, which spread across several city blocks, an unremarkable carriage quietly entered and, led by the greeter, pulled into the main assembly’s stables.
The one who stepped out of the carriage was a young man dressed in black with white-edged robes, not strikingly beautiful but handso enough.
Following him was a svelte woman in plain clothes, her face veiled by a thin gauze.
From the eyes that were visible, one could tell her beauty must be breathtaking.
The greeter glanced at the two, observing the woman’s position slightly behind to the left, and roughly decoded the social rank and relationship of the pair.
Possibly a high official from a Sect with a female family mber, coming to make purchases.
Just as he was about to speak and lead the way, the handso young man tossed him half a Silver Tael and gestured with a wave of his hand,
“You don’t have to follow, you can go.”
The greeter’s eyes lit up.
He bit the Silver Tael to test its quality and, discovering it was from the Governnt, his expression imdiately turned obsequious:
“Alright, my lord, please take your ti.”
With that, he bowed deeply, took a few steps back, and then turned and left.
There was a rule within the main assembly of the Tian’an Comrce Assembly that greeters should accompany guests.
But rules are rigid, people are not; a little gratuity given to the duty manager would turn a blind eye.
Xu Yuan slowly looked up at the Tian’an Comrce Assembly after watching the greeter disappear around the corner.
As the facade of the Tian’an Comrce Assembly, it was magnificent enough to command respect.
Red walls majestic, thick columns imposing, flying eaves and towering corners showcasing splendid architecture; the vast building rose from the ground, extending over a hundred yards with a staircase leading up, beyond which a massive uplifted gate ten yards high ca into view.
The ancient building lay like a regal Demonic Beast prostrate on the ground, making every passerby and distinguished guest seem as insignificant as ants.
Xu Yuan retracted his gaze, not bothering with Xiao Bai at his side, and headed toward the entrance steps.
The wide staircase was bustling with distinguished guests, most dressed in splendid garnts with two or three attendants by their sides, among whom Xu Yuan did not stand out.
Bai Muxi hastened her steps to keep up with the young lord, her eyes darting around.
She had heard of the main assembly of the Tian’an Comrce Assembly, but it was her first ti here.
This grandeur she had never seen in the Underground Palace.
Today, the young lord had woken from unconsciousness and without any explanation had summoned her from the Pri Minister’s Mansion, only to head to the Tian’an Comrce Assembly.
Walking closely beside Xu Yuan, Bai Muxi hesitated before asking softly,
“My lord…
why have you brought Mu Xi here?”
Xu Yuan did not look back:
“Didn’t I tell you last ti that I would take you sowhere?”
Caught off guard, Bai Muxi rembered and then asked,
“But why co to the Tian’an Comrce Assembly now?”
“To shop of course.”
Xu Yuan’s reply was simple and straightforward, as he turned back with a smile, “You don’t think that your hundreds of thousands of subjects can eat, drink, and live without Silver, do you?”
Beneath her veil, Bai Muxi’s red lips parted slightly, her beautiful eyes sowhat bewildered before she softly responded,
“As long as they could make it to the surface, the Earth Palace Remnants would be able to sustain themselves…”
Xu Yuan had no doubts about Bai Muxi’s statent.
Having grown up in the harsh conditions of the Underground Palace, enduring hardships was a basic cultivation for them.
He smiled slightly and retorted,
“Have you considered the issue of settling your hundreds of thousands of people?
“In Dayan, which has a thousand-year reign, the powers of various commanderies are basically fixed.
The migration of hundreds of thousands of foreigners might be welcod as they are all labor, but if these hundreds of thousands had a unified cultural belief, binding together, that would be different.
It could harm the interests of the local powers.
“No matter which territory of Dayan they enter, your people will be ostracized, and could even lead to large-scale conflicts with the local residents.
If it escalates, the Pri Minister’s Mansion wouldn’t be able to intervene easily.”
Bai Muxi’s beautiful eyes flickered, and after a mont of silence, she ventured,
“This…
I rember the Imperial Court has relevant policies, don’t they?”
Xu Yuan thought briefly, squinted his eyes, and replied,
“The one about ‘Reclaiming Wasteland’?”
Bai Muxi nodded,
“Yes…
for every ten acres of land reclaid, the people can keep ten, and are exempted from land tax for two years.”
Xu Yuan gave her a aningful look,
“Heh, it seems that in addition to your cultivation, you have also looked into this outdated policy.”
This Reclamation Order had been in effect for decades and was a way for the Imperial Court to generate revenue initially.
With Dayan’s vast uninhabited areas, which included fertile lands, it was easy for the people to beco self-sufficient, and even profitable, by cultivating wasteland.
However, the implentation of this edict had largely failed in recent years.
Initially, the people settled near official roads, which were relatively safe territories, but once those lands were fully developed, only remote areas were left.
Those areas were not only rampant with Demonic Beasts, but also nests of heretical cults.
Those who went to reclaim lands often died.
The Governnt Office’s reach was too limited, and organizing manpower to clear out the area was futile as the culprits would simply beco guerrillas and run off.
Over ti, the finances couldn’t support it, and this edict gradually fell into disuse apart from so truly desperate people who, even if suffering under landlords, did not want to go.
However, these issues were trivial for the Earth Palace Remnants.
“From troubled waters co difficult people; over there, those bandits would see who the real robbers are.”
As he thought this,
Xu Yuan stopped in his tracks, turned his head back to look into her eyes for a few monts, and softly asked,
“So, are you prepared to take this path?”
After a mont’s eye contact, Bai Muxi imdiately lowered her head and quietly said,
“With forty thousand people to settle, Mu Xi just doesn’t want to burden the Pri Minister’s Mansion, but if the young master has arrangents, Mu Xi is willing to follow your arrangents…”
“Hehe.”
His paused steps resud upwards as Xu Yuan, with a smile, looked at the cultivators and rchants coming and going on the steps, and softly said,
“Great chaos is about to start in the world, and you want to find a peaceful haven for your people to avoid war, right?
“Don’t rush to deny it, I understand your thoughts, but…
“Bai Muxi, you must understand that the Pri Minister’s Mansion is not a charity.
“Now with millions already dead in the Northern Frontier, if you want to undo our agreent in the Underground Palace and slaughter forty thousand unregistered people, it wouldn’t be difficult for the Pri Minister’s Mansion.”
With that,
Xu Yuan had already stopped at the top of the steps, standing under that massive gate, turning back to look at the slightly trembling delicate figure of Xiao Bai behind him:
“Mu Xi…
don’t kneel, kneeling now would be too conspicuous.”
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