The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

63

The associate officials advised him to follow the long-established charter used by the nearby provinces but Xiao Zhige was not happy with it. Instead, a conversation he had had with An Chang Qing in the manor had captured his heart.

An Chang Qing had suggested to him: "Rather than ordering the people to cultivate the land, it's better to let them take the initiative. The people who are arriving in Yanzhou would need a means to support their family but they do not own the land. The existing fields in Yanzhou are not able to provide enough work for them. As such, we can encourage them to cultivate their own land. Each household will register a portion of land to reform and it has to be done by October. Whatever that they had managed to reform would be theirs to use for two years with tax exemption."

That way, the people would be much more motivated to work in comparison to being forced to do so.

Xiao Zhige believed that An Chang Qing's plan had great potential. However, none of his underlings were suitable to handle this matter and hence, decided that An Chang Qing should be the one to actualize this project. An Chang Qing was a little hesitant at first. After all, he had not been incharge of anything significant in his two lifetimes. Although he had a bellyful of knowledge, it was all just texts that he had read. Now that he had to put it into action, An Chang Qing was concerned about failure but at the same time, he was also filled with passion and eagerness to see it come to fruition.

After all, every man would want to make a name for himself. Before marrying Xiao Zhige, he had wanted to have an official position, not for money or fame, but simply to accomplish something meaningful.

Xiao Zhige was not at all worried. He told him to draft out the charter, then have the relevant officers review and discuss. After considering it from all sides, they could then officially enact this legislation.

An Chang Qing was reassured by Xiao Zhige's encouragement. He dug up Yanzhou's records from earlier years to research and, after integrating some of his own ideas, carefully drafted a detailed charter.

In no time, An Chang Qing was a lot busier than Xiao Zhige. The study was often occupied by him from sunrise till late into the evening.

At first, Xiao Zhige only wanted to help An Chang Qing take his mind off as he had not been in a good mood. Unexpectedly, An Chang Qing had really put his heart into this project. Each legislation was drafted to benefit the livelihood of the people. His dedication and thoughtfulness made Xiao Zhige both surprised and proud.

Ever since he came to deliver the rations and contributed to guarding Yanzhou, Xiao Zhige had already known that An Chang Qing was not weak. Under the delicate and beautiful visage was a body of steel and heart of gold. It was only because he had stayed silent that no one had realized these precious traits.

Xiao Zhige was the only one to notice. He partly wanted to keep him hidden but seeing the excitement in his eyes, he also wanted to show off An Chang Qing's admirable qualities to everyone.

...

An Chang Qing spent half a month drafting the legislation and by June, he had almost everything ready. He was about to look for Xiao Zhige to show him the draft and ask for his opinion on several small details that he was unsure of.

By now, the guards at the city hall were already familiar with him. They bowed and let him enter without questions.

Shen Tu Xu was currently sending the ten thousand 'exilees' to Yanzhou and would arrive soon. Xiao Zhige was discussing the details of settling them in. Although it was favorable to increase the population, proper planning in advance was imperative to help them settle in easily.

When An Chang Qing arrived, Xiao Zhige was still in discussion. He planned to wait outside but was invited to join.

The officers in the room saw An Chang Qing come in and gave Xiao Zhige a baffled look. These officers were not of Xiao Zhige's inner circle so it was inevitable that they had some misgivings with An Chang Qing's presence during a magisterial meeting.