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The Qingzhou Grand Barracks were bustling with people.
At this moment, Xiao Ming, Fiji, and others stood in the military camp, all smiling as they watched the scene.
Pang Yukun said, “Congratulations, Your Highness. I didn’t expect the Prince of Wei’s atrocities to help Your Highness win the hearts of the people. Now, the fief, from top to bottom, is united as one.”
“This is indeed somewhat unexpected, though it’s not hard to explain. The common people now don’t want to go back to being oppressed by the powerful families,” Xiao Ming said contemplatively.
Fiji and Pang Yukun nodded. Fiji said, “However, although the common people are filled with righteous indignation, we have no way to conscript so many soldiers. The fief’s finances cannot bear it. Quantity is not as important as quality in warfare.”
Although Xiao Ming had ordered a military expansion this time, the number of people who came to enlist was indeed quite large. However, this showed that the national and ethnic education of the common people during this period was beginning to bear fruit.
Apathetic phrases like “What does the nation have to do with me?” could no longer sway the thoughts of the common people.
“That’s right. This time, Yangzhou was massacred, and our idea of acquiring a large amount of supplies from Yangzhou City fell through. Even with the army we’re recruiting now, our treasury will probably be stretched thin, won’t it?” Xiao Ming asked.
Pang Yukun and Fiji exchanged glances, then sighed and responded with a “yes.”
Xiao Ming felt a surge of anger. The Prince of Wei’s scorched-earth policy this time turned the original war dividends into negative assets. Now, he had to find a way to reverse this situation.
Thinking of this, he said to the two, “I have an idea. The government coffers are short of money and grain, but the merchants and common people of Qingzhou have some. I plan to issue war bonds. Anyone who purchases war bonds will receive a share of the spoils of war dividends in the future. What do you two think?”
“War bonds?” Fiji and Pang Yukun were both stunned.
Xiao Ming came to his senses. He remembered that the two didn’t know what war bonds were, so he explained.
In fact, his war bonds were equivalent to national debt, but because it was wartime and the wars were continuously victorious, public confidence was high, which was why he decided to issue war bonds.
Similar to national debt, the purpose of war bonds was to raise resources in advance. The strategic goal set was six months later, so he needed to raise war materials during these six months.
Actually, he had done this before, during the Northern Expedition, but at that time, only a few big merchants benefited. Now, these merchants almost monopolized the grasslands of the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun.
Out of caution against monopoly capital, Xiao Ming did not recruit merchants this time, but decided to issue them throughout the entire fief. The common people could receive war bonds even with grain.
This way, he could prevent his fief from being swayed by war capital. After all, learning from history, he did not want to be controlled by fanatical war capital.
After his explanation, Fiji and Pang Yukun understood. These war bonds were essentially borrowing money from merchants and common people to fight a war, and then returning the profits to the common people, plus interest, once the war dividends were obtained.
Pang Yukun was immediately amazed. Fiji also shook his head repeatedly. He had no idea how Xiao Ming came up with such a brilliant method.
If following Great Yu Empire’s normal system, the solution for an empty treasury was simple: levy heavy taxes.
Now, Xiao Ming didn’t even consider that option, and instead directly adopted this gentle method.
“Do you two understand now?” Xiao Ming asked.
“I understand. Upon returning, I will have the Chamber of Commerce put the war bonds up for sale.” Pang Yukun said.
Xiao Ming nodded. “However, you must control it, limiting the purchase quantity to prevent a very few merchants from buying excessively and making exorbitant profits.”
Now, Xiao Ming’s concern was no longer about unifying Great Yu Empire, but rather that with the reforms in his fief, societal changes might move into an uncontrollable phase.
As popular wisdom blossomed, various advanced ideas would be grasped by the common people. What he worried about most was that public opinion would be manipulated by interested parties, leading to the country being torn apart by ideology.
And the people most likely to exploit public opinion were the big capitalists. Qingzhou was currently only in the nascent stage of capitalism. Once he unified Great Yu Empire and ventured into the oceans, capital would surely grow rapidly like an unbridled horse. How would he tame this beast then?
After all, in this era of isolated and backward savagery, it was not as easy to maintain stability as in modern times.
After finishing this matter, Xiao Ming remembered the matter of the imperial clan that Princess Pingyang had brought up yesterday. At that time, he was with Concubine Zhen. Princess Pingyang had mentioned this after giving gifts to Fei Yue’er and Concubine Zhen.
So he asked, “What do you think of the imperial clan in Qingzhou this time? Now they seem to be openly asking for money.”
Fiji, upon hearing this, immediately looked down, feigning ignorance. He was an old fox and did not want to offend these people.
Pang Yukun, on the other hand, said earnestly, “Your Highness, you absolutely must not continue to support these imperial clan members for free. From Emperor Gaozu until now, the number of royal clan members in Great Yu Empire has reached over one hundred thousand. The offerings for these over one hundred thousand people have become a heavy burden on the national treasury. If Your Highness intends to support this group of people, the fief will be dragged down in no time.”
Xiao Ming was deeply convinced by this, which reminded him of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, these imperial clan members were also a heavy burden on the court, but the Ming Dynasty at that time would rather support them than let them support themselves.
“Councillor Fei, what do you think?” Xiao Ming looked at Fiji. He didn’t believe that Dukes Tang and Rong had not approached Fiji.
Compared to Xiao Ming, these people had closer relationships with Fiji, Luo Quan, and others.
“Your Highness, the number of imperial clan members in Qingzhou City is not large, actually only over a thousand. The others are distributed throughout various parts of Great Yu Empire. However, these thousand people all hold relatively high noble titles,” Fiji said.
Xiao Ming’s intention was actually to force Fiji to reveal his thoughts, but it now seemed that Fiji agreed with supporting this group of people.
“Chief Grand Councillor Pang, you know exactly how much silver is in the treasury now. Aren’t you just adding to the chaos?” Pang Yukun naturally heard the implied meaning in Fiji’s words.
Fiji remained calm as usual. He sighed and said, “Chief Grand Councillor Pang, don’t rush. This is why I’m saying this. We can’t let these people starve on the streets, can we? After all, they traveled thousands of miles to this unfamiliar Qingzhou. To put it simply, these people are Your Highness’s relatives. Even if Your Highness doesn’t provide for them, we should at least find a way for them to make a living. And I am doing this for Your Highness’s future smooth enthronement. After all, these people will still be needed to preside over the ancestral temple ceremonies. At that time, they will become quite important. Moreover, with the support of these people, Your Highness’s throne can be more stable.”
Xiao Ming glanced at Fiji. After all was said and done, Fiji’s thinking was still stuck on the family-based management of the country.