The Fallen Nation System, Turning the Tide - Chapter 87: Planting Trees

Chapter 87: Planting Trees

“Originally, we should relocate residents to cultivate the wasteland.”

Xu Ying said, “I once read in an ancient text that planting trees can prevent wind and fix sand. Unfortunately, tree planting yields results too slowly, and no one is willing to invest the time. It shows that addressing the persistent problem of the Yellow River requires both targeted solutions and patience.”

Sun Wanyun connected this with Xu Ying’s earlier inquiry about brothels and immediately understood her meaning. Raising her eyebrows, she said, “Does Your Majesty intend to relocate the remaining courtesans to the upper reaches of the Yellow River to plant trees?”

Xu Ying nodded. “I have this idea, but I don’t know if they would be willing.”

After this incident, Xu Ying felt she needed to carefully consider her decisions before making them.

Sun Wanyun pondered and said, “If not going further upstream, what about trying Zhenping in the Western Rong borderlands? Our dynasty already has heavy troops stationed there, and now that the Western Rong has been pacified, we should indeed relocate residents to cultivate the wasteland.”

“Grant those courtesans free status on the condition that they plant trees for five years, with financial subsidies. After five years, allocate farmland to them so they can settle and establish themselves. Among them, there are those with skills. Your Majesty could also establish a checkpoint for merchant caravans there, set up a market for trade, and Western cotton from Ji Mo could be directly handled in Zhenping before being distributed and sold elsewhere.”

Zhenping was originally for military purposes, adjacent to the Western Rong. To develop this city, we need to continuously populate it, but it’s too remoteno one would be willing to settle there. Even for exiling criminals, it would have to be for serious offenses like murder and robbery.

Zhang Yu agreed, “Many women were forced into lowly status against their will. If they can change their status, they would go to Zhenping even if they had to pay for it themselves, so we need not worry about them hiding their identities. Your Majesty could follow the precedent of previous dynasties, issuing an edict to establish female households separately, allowing them to peacefully plant trees, farm, weave, and trade in Zhenping. Those women would have livelihoods, and Zhenping would prosper as a resultkilling two birds with one stone.”

Sun Wanyun added, “Especially important is attracting merchants. We could consider reducing commercial taxes in Zhenping. Merchants prioritize profit and would be more willing to trade in Zhenping. Once we have people, everything else will fall into place.”

Xu Ying was startled by Sun Wanyun’s forward-thinking vision and reassessed her, feeling that keeping her in the Grand Secretariat was a waste of talent.

“Sun Wanyun, since this is your idea, I’ll entrust you with leading it. However, leaving the Grand Secretariat to become a county magistrate in a borderlandare you willing?”

Sun Wanyun was momentarily stunned, frozen for a long moment before suddenly coming to her senses. She knelt and bowed solemnly, saying, “This humble official will absolutely not fail Your Majesty’s great trust.”

Xu Ying helped her up. “Afforestation is no easy task, and prospering a city cannot be achieved overnight. Whether you hear praise or criticism after you go, I hope you will uphold your original intentions and move forward steadfastly.Zhang Yu felt sour with envy, but he genuinely admired Sun Wanyun for always excelling at everything, quickly seizing opportunitiesnot someone to be underestimated.

After roughly finalizing several key points, Xu Ying returned to the courtyard and saw Hua Danniang standing nervously in the middle of the road with the other women, as if treading on thin ice. As soon as Xu Ying entered, Hua Danniang threw herself to the ground, kowtowing and pleading loudly, “This common woman did not know Your Majesty had arrived and spoke carelessly, offending Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness!”

Xu Ying quickly helped her up. “It’s not your fault. I was indeed the one who failed to consider everything thoroughly, leaving the women with nowhere to go. I’ve already discussed countermeasures with my ministers. We plan to plant trees in Zhenping to stabilize the soil and address the Yellow River’s problems, develop textile industries to attract merchants to gather there, and bring prosperity to Zhenping. For those willing to go, they will be removed from the lowly status registry and granted commoner status. After five years of tree planting, they can establish female households and be granted farmland. Additionally, Western cotton will be stored in Zhenping’s warehouses, processed, and then sold throughout the land. I wonder if there are any willing to go? If you have any concerns, you may also tell me.”

The women could hardly believe they actually had a chance to escape their lowly statusit felt like a dream. From the day they entered the brothel, they had resigned themselves to their fate, where the best outcome was merely being redeemed as concubines.

Hua Danniang, being more experienced and less naive than the others, considered things more carefully and cautiously said, “Your Majesty, these women of mine have never worked the land before. They can manage some rough labor, but planting trees and farming are beyond their skills. Things like vegetation, beans, and wheat are delicate matters that require experience to handle properly. I’m afraid they might not meet Your Majesty’s expectations…”

Xu Ying nodded. “Your concerns are reasonable. I will dispatch a group of experts with extensive agricultural experience to Zhenping to provide guidance. Moreover, I intend to designate Zhenping, Anchang, and Chuiyun as pilot sites. This is just an experimentif successful, we’ll promote it elsewhere. If it fails, it doesn’t matter. At that time, if there are people with nowhere to go, I will make other arrangements for them.”

Although Zhenping had vast land, Xu Ying feared that Zhenping alone couldn’t accommodate so many people. After discussing with Sun Wanyun and Zhang Yu, they added Anchang and Chuiyun.

Chuiyun was located within Northern Barbarians territory. With Xia Chenglie in the north and the Khan of Beidi unlikely to object, migrating Jin people into Northern Barbarians territory would also facilitate mutual exchange. Considering these multiple factors, Chuiyun was added.

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in astonishmentthey had never heard of using several cities as test sites before. But upon second thought, it seemed to make sense. If the results were good, it would prove the policy beneficial, reducing risks and avoiding losses.

Hua Danniang inquired about some details, and Sun Wanyun answered them one by one. Xu Ying sat to the side, silently admiring her.

Once the general details were settled, Sun Wanyun drafted the edict. Although Zhang Yu didn’t hold the title of Right Chancellor, he wielded actual authority. This time, he had also brought Cheng Guanzhi’s chancellor seal, making it both compliant and not entirely compliant with regulations. Sun Wanyun was appointed as the Magistrate of Zhenping County, responsible for leading people in tree planting and processing Western cotton once it arrived.

The matter of tax exemptions for merchant caravans still needed to be discussed with the ministers upon their return. Xu Ying intended to sign agreements with various countries, but the intricacies involved were profound and numerous. Not being well-versed in these matters, Xu Ying thought it better to leave it to the professionals.

After handling affairs, Sun Wanyun took Xu Ying’s imperial decree and left first with Hua Danniang and the others. Xu Ying had been away for some time and decided to return to Youzhou.

On the way back to the city, Xu Ying asked Zhang Yu, “I remember the person who pushed me seemed to be Zheng Song. What happened to him?”

Zhang Yu immediately begged for forgiveness. “Your Majesty, please forgive this guilty minister for his negligence, which allowed Zheng Song to seize the opportunity. But rest assured, Your Majesty, Zheng Song has drowned. This guilty minister encountered his corpse while searching for Your Majestyit was already swollen and could only be recognized by his clothing.”

Xu Ying shook her head. Those who wanted to die couldn’t, while those who didn’t want to die perished so easily. Truly, fate plays cruel tricks.

Upon returning to Youzhou, Xu Ying expected the ministers to question her decree regarding Zhenping, but to her surprise, they all remained obedient and silent, their eyes filled with resentment as if saying, “We knew you were up to something.”

After reporting her military achievements, Xu Lang asked, “The Cui and Wang clans wish to flee west. How should we handle this?”

Xu Ying had already made up her mind. “Let them go if they wish. There’s no need to stop them. Since they want to go to the Western Rong, we might as well send them on their way. Didn’t Zhang Keqian say the Western Rong are learning the Han language? The Cui and Wang clans have profound scholarly traditionslet them become teachers in the Western Rong and enjoy the joy of mentoring others.”

“Is that all? Such punishment seems too lenient…” Xu Lang believed that since their loyalties didn’t lie with Xu Ying, keeping them posed a hidden danger. They should be dealt with like Yang Jingeradicated root and stemlest they harbor ill intentions and incite the Western Rong to invade Jin.

Xu Ying replied, “The peace with the Western Rong and Northern Barbarians is only temporary, not a long-term solution. Once the Jin dynasty declines, it’s inevitable that some with wolfish ambitions will covet our lands. The best approach is to have them learn our culture, gradually identify with and belong to our dynasty, becoming integrated as our subjects.”

“Then we could send others instead; we shouldn’t allow guilty ministers to go.” It was still necessary to take precautions.

Xu Ying pondered for a moment. “Then let the Cui clan go to the Northern Barbarians and the Wang clan to the Western Rong. Assign supervisors separately and rotate them annually to prevent them from taking deep root locally. Selecting supervisors is also difficult, as few are willing to go. Let’s assign regions for paired supervision.”

“What is paired supervision?” Xu Lang found the term quite novel.

Xu Ying coughed twiceshe had just spoken offhand, adapting the concept of paired assistance to hoodwink Xu Lang: “For example, Wuxing could be responsible for supervising a certain city in the northern territories of the Western Rong.” They would send specialists to monitor the local situation, allowing timely detection of any unusual movements by the Western Rong. Moreover, local officials have fixed terms, and personnel aren’t permanent, reducing the risk of collusion… But this might require agreements with the Western Rong and Northern Barbarians.”

Xu Lang’s eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. “This is an excellent method. It would also allow oversight through the protectorates established in the Western Rong and Northern Barbarians. Since we’ve defeated them now and they can’t refuse anything, we should implement this policy immediately.”

“Let’s set this aside for now. We can discuss the pilot tasks in Zhenping, Anchang, and Chuiyun together with this matter. Also, is the Winter Examination proceeding smoothly?”

Xu Lang lowered his head slightly in disappointment. When Xu Ying asked about the Winter Examination, he perked up and replied, “It’s already concluded. The collected exam papers have been locked away in Taiping Lane, awaiting everyone’s return for grading.”

“Why wait for me? Grade them directly, same as last year. After grading, bring me the top and bottom papers for review.”

“Then who will grade the officials’ papers? Having Zhou Jin and others do it might not be appropriate.”

After all, Liu Xu’s paper was among them. Although names were concealed, his handwriting would likely be recognized by some, leaving too much room for manipulation.

Xu Ying couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “Maybe I should try working myself to death again? Just a blink, and sudden death!”Host is recommended to attempt this,” the system suddenly interjected, educating Xu Ying: “Due to work pressure and intensity, poor lifestyle habits, frequent late nights, and insufficient sleep, sudden death has become common among young people. Host’s previous life was because…”

Xu Ying jumped at the system’s sudden voicealmost dying of fright before any sudden death could occur. She quickly shut the system off, telling it to be quiet.

“What’s wrong? Is it getting cold? Put on an extra layer quickly!” Seeing her shiver for no apparent reason, Xu Lang assumed a chilly breeze had made her catch a cold.

Xu Ying plastered a smile on her face. “It’s nothing. Let’s grade the officials’ exam papers together and finish as soon as possible to wrap this up early.”

Diligent emperors often die youngXu Ying resolved to devote herself to government affairs starting today, silently repeating “I love work” as she headed to Taiping Lane with Xu Lang.