Chapter 54: Household Register

Zhao Zhuge came in holding a materials list and paid his respects to the Great King, who almost burst out laughing.

"Where did Mr. Zhao come from?"

"I, a humble subject, wanted to visit Jiangnan, but hearing that Your Highness was preparing a new project, I turned back immediately. The two tacitly understood each other; after saying a couple of sentences about the commercial street, they circled back to the koi."

"In my humble opinion, once the commercial street is completed, we will still need to rely on this method to revitalize."

The Great King thought, this wasn't a hint, it was a clear sign, telling him to sell the goods from the Myriad Worlds to revitalize Youzhou? … Feasible. Originally he had planned to recruit merchants from all of Great Jin to set up shop, but after thinking carefully, Youzhou had little purchasing power; they might not come, even if his houses were excellent and cheap.

The Great King silently noted it down.

He still trusted Zhao Zhuge's judgment deeply; he and the officials' subordinates viewed problems from completely different angles.

"Mr. Zhao, what do you think is the most urgent thing for Youzhou besides encouraging land reclamation?"

Zhao Zhuge pondered, didn't directly say what should be done, he mentioned the outside guards. The attendants withdrew, and his speech became much more casual.

"I, a humble subject, saw that the guards of the prince's mansion, and even the guards of the city gates of Youzhou, had a completely different spirit compared to before. I heard that the Personal Guard Battalion had conscripted three hundred young men from Youzhou; Youzhou lacks no fine young men, but previously they feared military service. Now the lord has twice prioritized conscription from military families, this trend has eased somewhat, but it's still far from enough. I personally believe that what the lord should do now is conduct a comprehensive household registration covering every corner of Youzhou."

"What? What's a household registration?" the Great King said, hearing it for the first time.

"It means establishing a new household register, correct and complete, allowing no margin of error. Youzhou has many outlaws turned bandits, and the bandit problem is hard to dispel. The lord should take advantage of this conscription of laborers, a great opportunity that all the people look forward to, to conduct a thorough population census. It must be made clear that, in the future, this benefit will not only prioritize military families; those found to have bandits in their household will directly lose eligibility. It must also be explained that, after this great census, aside from newborn infants, no one's household register may be altered; losing one's register means one will never again be considered a person of Youzhou. Henceforth, any policies of Youzhou will have nothing to do with those lacking a register, and even famine relief grain will not be distributed to those without a register."

The Great King clenched his tiny fists, "Excellent! Should we first announce it to the whole realm, then investigate? Persuading even a few dozen people to turn back would also be good. After all, suppressing bandits is also a major difficulty for Youzhou."

"Your Highness is wise. It would be best to let the people feel the benefits of Youzhou's household register, thereby fostering a sense of belonging. For example, this year Youzhou suffered a great drought and grain production fell; this winter, families with many members who are poor will surely struggle to get by. The Great King could provide appropriate relief according to the household register. He could let them go to the Official Grain Shop he established, using their household register to purchase grain at a price far below market price. This would give the people some hope, knowing that the lord of Youzhou has not completely abandoned them. The system didn't warn Your Highness, but your city's hunger index is off the charts—could there be a danger of regime overthrow at any moment?"

"Official Grain Shop?" the Great King silently noted it down.

Upon hearing the hunger index, the Great King pouted and wanted to cry, "I know, I've been hoarding grain all along! I just asked Brother Bai to help me buy three hundred thousand ingots from another world, alas! My life is so hard~"

Zhao Zhuge looked at him, a little child with a look of deep resentment, and couldn't help but find it amusing.

"As long as Your Highness has determination and keeps striving on the correct path, Youzhou will only get better."

"Yes," the Great King firmly believed.

Well then, Zhao Zhuge left, and the Great King rummaged around his study—inkstone, brush holder, brush pot, plus a few useless brushes—bundled them up and rushed to the Myriad Worlds Homeland, hawking his wares, hawking his wares!

The Great King could now set up a stall on his own; sitting cross-legged on the canopy, he greeted passersby with a grin, "All are pure handmade by masters—cheap, cheap!"

Bai Yang, seeing him from afar, wanted to clutch his chest—was this still the haughty, arrogant little Great King they first met? Or had he corrupted someone's child, Great King, your stall-hawking is far too practiced!

In the afternoon, the Great King resumed martial training, with Zhang Tu personally instructing him; thus going out to shop for goods would be delayed, but a trip every two or three days was fine.

Zhao Bao felt that their Highness's belongings were dwindling, things around him kept disappearing for no reason, yet he hadn't acquired many other items; full of doubts, he still had to help cover for them.

In the Suiyu Hall, the Great King's daily necessities were changed anew every few days, leaving the Internal Affairs Bureau exhausted. You say it's just paper and brushes, but Your Majesty, why do you replace the incense burner and brush pot so often? Is the quality really that poor?

Therefore, the Great King also summoned the Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau, saying he liked refined items that manifested imperial grandeur, and that coarse ones should not be brought here.

Zhao Bao: … "Your Lordship Star Lord, you've stolen so many things from our Highness, and you haven't even given a return gift."

The Great King hoarded ingots like a little hamster, busy for a month; as the weather turned cold, the commercial street project was halfway done, and his ingot count had reached 128,630.

Youzhou's extensive household registration drive had undergone more than twenty days of publicity and groundwork, even sending people to shout announcements in bandit-infested mountains, and it had finally officially begun.

The government began checking households one by one; after so many days of publicity, everyone attached great importance to it, and notices of which day to check found nearly everyone at home.

Visiting each household and comparing with the previous government register, then re-verifying.

Actually, how many households Youzhou has, the Great King knows better than anyone from his complete topographic map, but he didn't know other more specific information.

Once a household's registration is confirmed, the government will issue them a small hardcover booklet recording every person in that household.

Name, relationship to the head of household, age in the Ningde Year 11, and any military service experience will also be marked on it.

The government's master copy is even more detailed, even including the primary physical characteristics.

The people who received the freshly printed 'Household Register' found it quite novel; flipping a page showed records for two people on both sides, and those who couldn't read would ask the soldiers, "What are the remaining sheets at the back for?"

Onlookers chuckled, "Just have a few more great-grandchildren~"

That old man waved his hand, "Forget it, I can't afford to raise them! Even if the old man starves to death, I'd still feel sorry..."

The soldiers flipped to the blank last page and pointed it out to the old man, "You know the Great King has already conscripted laborers twice, right?" As soon as that was said, everyone felt energized—this is a top-notch thing for Youzhou.

"For example, if there are such matters in the future, you must bring this household register to sign up; they will stamp this booklet to prove you attended this conscription, so no one duplicates the trip. Moreover… anyway, it has many functions—you'd better keep it safe, never damage it, however many pages there are, don't tear any page; if damaged, go to the government office for a replacement, paying whatever… processing fee. You need to pay silver to replace it, got it?"

That old man immediately snatched it from his grandson's hand, holding it carefully, "Sir, this book doesn't cost money, does it? We have no money..."

"Rest assured, this book doesn't require silver. Only intentional damage incurs a fee." Good heavens! These villagers are really chatty! But there's no choice—the Great King ordered it, so when going out to work, his attitude toward the lower-class people must be as amiable as possible; he can't order them around, and he's about to lose his patience……