Chapter 1005: Let's Speak Openly

Baifeng took the lead and walked out. The Giant Elephant followed behind very obediently. That group of Nobles was still waiting at the entrance. Seeing Baifeng come out, they immediately stood at attention, their hearts filled with trepidation.

"Alright, Giant Elephant, you go back first." Baifeng gave the Giant Elephant a greeting. The Giant Elephant also walked out from behind Baifeng, then nodded to the group of Nobles, which counted as a greeting, and then left directly.

Baifeng took a careful look now; all the Marquises had arrived. The Counts probably felt they weren't qualified enough and didn't dare to come. Baifeng pointed at a young man and said, "Shaohe, you go back too. Don't spend all day wandering around with these old things."

"Very well, King, I will leave now."

Shaohe hadn't really dared to come in the first place; after all, he was only a second-generation Marquis. His father, Wu, had a good relationship with Baifeng, but he himself couldn't say for sure how good his own was. He had been working diligently, and as long as he didn't make any mistakes, the family assets were more than sufficient. His land was much more abundant than that of other Nobles, so he had absolutely no need to worry about supporting his family.

However, these uncles of his had come looking for him, saying that the development of the fiefs was something all Marquises had a share in and that no one should be left out. They even said they had called the Giant Elephant along. Shaohe had no way to refuse, so he had followed them all the way here.

Just now, seeing Baifeng call the Giant Elephant inside, his heart had panicked. He kept feeling that he would be next, but although he was indeed pointed out, he wasn't called in for a private talk.

Perhaps this had to do with the Giant Elephant's lower intelligence and the fact that Baifeng took better care of him. He himself could at least distinguish between good and bad, while the Giant Elephant might not be clear on whether there was profit to be made in this matter.

It was better that he was told to leave. He felt the King was a bit angry, and if he stayed, he might get scolded. Thinking this, Shaohe quickened the pace of his feet.

Sending off the two "children," Baifeng looked at the other hand-wringing Marquises and smiled: "Then come in. You Lords, Marquises of Huaxia, let's just speak openly. It must be quite uncomfortable for you to stand here."

Zhu was pushed to the front: "King, why don't we forget it? We, we actually don't have any business."

"How can there be no business? Sanxin must have told you all, right? Not only can you now formulate policies to have people clear wasteland for you, but I can even exchange your fiefs for ones closer. Why, I don't believe you aren't tempted?"

"You all come in. Come in and speak. Since I can do this for Sanxin, then I can do the same for all of you. One by one, I will resolve it for you. You can't say I'm biased, right? I am the same to everyone."

Seeing that they were truly in a difficult position now, the group of Nobles could only brace themselves and go in. There was no one to serve them, so Baifeng told them to just find a seat wherever they liked.

They were not in the small office now, but in the main hall. Baifeng sat in his seat and crossed his legs: "Come, tell me now what your demands actually are. How are you planning to do this?"

"Regarding the development of the fiefs around your cities, it is the same as Sanxin's. As long as you have the ability to attract people there, you can do whatever you want. Even if you give away grain to attract people, that is no problem."

"I can even say that for this group of thirty thousand people from the Suiren Clan, or even if you run to the Suiren Clan's territory yourselves, spending your own grain and your own energy to pull people and receive them, I tell you, it is all fine. I allow it all!"

"Exchanging fiefs is also possible, but you can only exchange a large one for a small one, understand?"

"Alright, I have said enough. Come, you speak for yourselves. How do you want to do this? Speak up. If you have nothing to say, then leave. This matter is not to be mentioned again."

Yishang was somewhat surprised and asked timidly: "King, can we really go to the Suiren Clan to solicit people ourselves?"

Baifeng looked at Yishang and nodded very directly: "I said it, of course you can. I can even let you use the name of Huaxia, rather than your own names."

"However, I also have a requirement: Huaxia will not send a single person, and you are not allowed to use your official positions to pave the way for yourselves in this matter."

"If you want to go to the Suiren Clan, that is simple. Go yourselves. If you don't have the time or the guts, send your family members, send your servants, or even hire tenant farmers. All of that is fine."

"I will write you a note telling Baoxi not to obstruct you."

"But, no matter how many people you solicit, Huaxia will not provide you with backup funding. You all know that Huaxia's finances are tight right now and grain is needed everywhere."

"When those people arrive, before the land has any output, what will they eat, what will they drink, and where will they live? You solve that yourselves. Although you all keep saying that you have many family members, not enough grain to eat, and great pressure to support your families."

"But as Marquises and high officials, do you really rely solely on the salary I give you to support your families?"

"Each of your homes has so much land and such large Grain Storehouses that the grain is about to mold and rot. It would be better to find a way to use it. You can consider it as providing backup funding for those people, or paying them wages to clear your fiefs."

"However, I don't want to lecture you too much. Those of you who can figure it out and have the ability, go do it yourselves, go handle it yourselves."

"Before you set off, make a document of your fief's treatment policies and send it to me to look at. As long as there are no unreasonable terms that affect the interests of Huaxia, even if you give them free grain for three years or give them wives without collecting taxes, I tell you, I won't care."

"If you bring in too many people, you must also guarantee their schooling and medical care, but it must be in the neighboring towns. To alleviate the pressure on the staff in those towns, you must provide subsidies according to the number of people. If you feel you cannot do this, then don't talk about recruiting or soliciting people; that would just be a disgrace."

"Alright, I have spoken clearly and explicitly enough, haven't I? You all think it over carefully and decide what you should do."

Yishang felt he had understood and nodded repeatedly, his face unable to hide his joy. Those from the Ministry of Revenue, after a quick calculation in their hearts, also felt this was a good opportunity, but they were shocked: how did Baifeng know their Grain Storehouses were so full and abundant?