Chapter 1320: Year-End Assembly (Part 17)

The reports from those other towns were nothing worth listening to, because they themselves lacked any significant presence; even the Town Mayors were actually dispatched by Huaxia City or Lema City, and their primary work relied on the leadership of the two cities to make arrangements, which they then implemented themselves.

As a group of people who only needed political achievements to advance, as long as they did what the leadership intended and made no mistakes, there would be no problems; as for matters of construction, that required orders from above, and only when those above provided support would those below have the ability and qualifications to take action, otherwise, with nothing in their own hands, how could they get things done?

Next were the representatives of various trades; they were speaking up for their own industries and for the lives of the people for the first time, so they had absolutely no experience, and the things they said basically failed to grasp the main points, leaving Baifeng unable to get what he wanted.

They also had not truly listened to the thoughts of their colleagues or friends; if they could have walked around more and asked more questions before doing such a thing, they might have been able to offer Baifeng some useful things, but as it stood, there was nothing at all.

Yet Baifeng had to bite the bullet and listen to them speak, because this was an event he had organized himself, and it was his requirement; no matter what, he could not dampen their spirits, and even if it was just for show, it had to be done properly.

He only hoped that by next year, they would have experience and be able to put forward some useful opinions; as for what they were saying now, Baifeng didn't even have the thought to explain, simply tossing the questions to the heads of the relevant departments and letting them be responsible for answering.

If, during the course of a speech, the things mentioned were too outrageous, Baifeng would also interrupt and tell them to stop, as that was a waste of everyone's time.

Once these people finished speaking, it was time to rest again, and everyone suddenly felt that the morning's proceedings seemed a bit hollow, as too many meaningless things had been done.

Regarding the afternoon's matters, Baifeng had already sounded out a group of people and explained some detailed circumstances, which concerned the Landlords; next year, he would provide some power to the Landlords, these very wealthy people, to get them to bring out their grain.

As the ruling class possessing power, having someone come to share their power was certainly not a good thing, but fortunately, Baifeng had made it clear that it was more of a symbolic power, allowing them to enjoy some preferential treatment; they would not be able to grasp real power, and Baifeng could not hand over power to a group that had not passed his own assessment.

These people were likely not brilliant, but they had been able to seize opportunities in Huaxia to acquire so much land and so much wealth, which could also prove that they were at least smarter than the average person, or at the very least, they were not stupid and were also hardworking.

Luck and hard work, they surely had to possess one of the two, otherwise, it would have been impossible to become one of the few Landlords in such a short time; Baifeng only hoped that they could understand what he was saying next, for if they didn't understand, his preparations would be in vain, and the grain in their hands would be even harder to extract, leaving it only to wait and go moldy.

The Nobles, to a certain extent, stood in opposition to the Landlords, because although the Landlords were wealthy, they were also the ruled, while the Nobles were the ruling class; Baifeng's idea could better maintain rule and better allow Huaxia to develop, so Baifeng's idea was also in line with their interests.

Therefore, letting them share a few insignificant privileges in exchange for greater stability in their own rule was naturally something no one would oppose, and instead, they would do their best to facilitate this matter.

The afternoon time arrived as scheduled, and everyone took their seats one by one; as soon as the meeting began, Baifeng pointed out that the theme of this afternoon's meeting concerned a group of Landlords.

These Landlords did not even know they had this identity of "Landlord"; their own perception of themselves was that they were the high-income class categorized for them when purchasing various vouchers, and they were grouped in the same class as the various Nobles, which was something that made them feel honored and was also the first time they discovered they might be a little different.

This time, these few Landlords who all knew each other and were known throughout Huaxia were also invited to attend the meeting, which made them feel even more that they were being valued.

First, Baifeng clearly stated that those who possessed large amounts of land and wealth but lacked power were called Landlords.

Those Landlords also liked this name very much, because the meaning was "master of the land"; the name sounded good, was imposing, and had no problems at all, so they would just be called that, and then they waited to hear how Baifeng would arrange their fate.

"Respected Landlords, you now possess land and possess more grain than you can eat; your clansmen are so numerous, but you still cannot eat enough meat or buy enough Silk, do you not feel that this is not good, that you are unsatisfied?"

A relatively straightforward Landlord spoke his mind: "That is true, King, our grain cannot be used up, so can you not give us a larger quota? We have plenty of grain!"

The more shrewd ones, who had a bit of petty cleverness, thought that Baifeng felt they were earning too much and was going to deal with them, so they were immediately frightened and expressed: "Oh King, I am satisfied, I am very satisfied! Being able to eat one's fill is already quite good!"

The same status, different answers, and based on their expressions, as well as Baifeng's investigation, Baifeng knew exactly what these people were thinking, so he also knew what these people meant.

"You do not need to be afraid; here, I intend to have you participate in the governance of our Huaxia, which is why people were sent to invite you to attend the meeting.

As Landlords of Huaxia, as the first group of people in Huaxia to become wealthy, I believe that you are naturally relatively smart, or rather, relatively hardworking.

You have no fiefs and no power, but to be able to go from an ordinary farming household to becoming a Landlord now, you naturally possess abilities that exceed those of ordinary people, and I should also listen to your opinions.

Furthermore, you have cultivated so much arable land and provided so much tax revenue for Huaxia; you also have ability and have made great contributions, so I should also give you some benefits as a reward for you, therefore, do not worry." Baifeng's smile was extremely kind, and not a single problem could be heard in his words.

Hearing Baifeng say this, along with the foreshadowing from those ordinary people who were industry representatives, these Landlords now felt as if they were the representatives of all those who farmed, and they were also given more importance; those who were excited became even more excited, and those who had worries also slowly set their hearts at ease, for after all, petty cleverness and true intelligence were not the same thing, and if they were truly smart, they shouldn't have been just a farmer back then.