Chapter 1325: Year-End Assembly (Part 22)

For the Ministry of Personnel, this was a massive project; they had far too much to do. But to those Landlords, hearing this meant their status might truly become the same as those officials, because they would all be part of the Establishment System; whether they had power or not no longer mattered.

Baifeng struck while the iron was hot and continued, "There is one last thing, the final unit that also needs to be newly established, called the Gold Bank, used to solve the current problem of grain storage in Huaxia, as well as the issuance of various notes, which will also be gradually handed over to the Gold Bank."

"The Gold Bank is a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Revenue, but it is relatively independent. Currently, I am serving as the head of the Gold Bank. Later, suitable talent will be selected. I have already explained the specific operating methods to Changle and Yulong. Now, Yulong, you come and give them a rough explanation of what this thing is."

Yulong hurriedly raised his head and took over the conversation. Although his father's request was a bit sudden, it did not mean he could not do it; Yulong's ability was beyond doubt. He simply explained to everyone what the Gold Bank was and how it would operate, without going into deeper things, mainly to let everyone understand what the Gold Bank was and that it could solve the problems currently encountered by Huaxia.

After Yulong finished speaking, the people below basically understood, because the operating model was not difficult—at least that was what they thought for now. But they all felt that the Gold Bank was a very good concept, sufficient to solve the problems currently encountered by Huaxia; he was worthy of being the King, able to think of a solution all at once.

But how could they know that Baifeng had too much experience to draw from? There is nothing new under the sun; no matter what kind of problem was encountered, one could always find a similar way to deal with it. So it was only right that Baifeng could think of it; if he could not, that would be the problem.

Every year's year-end assembly might bring news to everyone that was enough to shock their worldview, because basically every major move was proposed at the year-end assembly. They were the first-hand recipients of this news, so the impact they received was even greater.

Perhaps this situation would have to continue for many years. Every year's year-end assembly might be like this, continuing until all the troublesome problems of Huaxia were solved; only then would the overall state of the year-end assembly be more normal, that is, summarizing the situation of the whole year and planning for the coming year.

After Yulong finished talking about the Gold Bank, Baifeng announced the suspension of the meeting, letting everyone rest and continue tomorrow, because the amount of information in what was discussed today was truly too large; everyone probably could not digest it for a while. Let them go down and think about it slowly; if he talked about other things now, they might be absent-minded.

Moreover, it had reached the final item, which was to carry out the rewards, so tomorrow would be just right.

After the meeting, the Landlords looked at each other and then left on their own, saying nothing more, because they were now all competitors. Although they were anxious in their hearts, due to the need for confidentiality, even after returning to their own homes, they could not tell their families or children what they had heard today.

Any item of the meeting content, as long as it had not been thoroughly disclosed and announced to the public, would always need to be kept confidential; they would just have to hold it in for now.

However, it was certain that they would definitely have an opportunity. Looking again at the units the King mentioned, they—these people—should still be divided up later. If they could not get a good one, supporting a Hospital or school was still no problem; in their own towns, there was basically only one Landlord, and no one would fight with them.

But this was the last choice. Their first choice was definitely the Orphanage, because only this could give them the possibility of obtaining Nobility.

Returning home and not being able to speak was truly very uncomfortable. They wanted to tell their children that they already had an opportunity, but they could not say it, nor could they let their sons write proposals for them right now so they could go compete early.

But it was not possible. Their family members wanted to ask, but were all scolded by their children who were Clerks. The principle of confidentiality meant one could not ask. Those Landlords, without exception, all chose to stay in their rooms alone, not meeting with others. Only when the meeting was over and they were allowed to write proposals would they dare to tell others.

Other Nobles did not have such worries. Those who could discuss matters with them were basically officials, and there were also those participating in the meeting on behalf of other departments. Everyone was clear about what was discussed at the meeting; now they were just discussing what impact this meeting would have on them.

And the most excited were those who would receive titles this year. They already knew their surnames and what their titles would be, but since the final rewards had not been issued, they could only keep it bottled up inside.

What surprised everyone the most this year were two people. One was that young locksmith Xi; his lock had not been in front of Baifeng for long, so being able to receive the news that he would be rewarded at the end of the year was truly a surprise. It was also surprising to others, because they did not know there was such a young man and such a matter.

Xi sat in the back and did not speak throughout the whole process. Everyone just thought he was someone from a certain department attending the meeting and was unimportant, so he had no qualification to speak. Xi knew why he came to this assembly, so he was too excited to sit still, and the things he heard over these two days could completely become his talking point after returning. Everyone in the Ministry of Works knew that Xi had been promoted in rank because of an important creation, and he was even given a task, but they just did not expect he would be granted a title.

There were several others who would be rewarded this year: Shaoyin and seven other Soldiers. Because their military exploits were relatively significant, they received rewards, but it could only be a Baron, because Shaoyin already had a title, and his father's title would also be passed down.

Afterward, it would depend on Shaoyin's ability. If he could also reach the rank of Marquis, then the title of his father Xiong would be passed to the second Legitimate Son, and Shaoyin's title would be passed to his own son—two Marquises in one family.

If Shaoyin's own title did not reach the rank of Marquis, then after Xiong died, Shaoyin could hold two titles alone; the higher title would be passed to his Legitimate Son, and his own lower title would be passed to the second Legitimate Son.

The other Soldiers were also only Barons, because they had military exploits, but they were not significant, so they could only be given the rank of Baron.

Another one was for a veterinarian who summarized the Castration Technique for livestock and spread it widely; the mortality rate was low and the effect was good, so he needed to be rewarded. Because this technique had reached its peak and his contribution to Huaxia was considered great, he was given a Viscount title and bestowed a surname.

The two main Zhinu who cooperated with Miaoyin to produce Embroidery would also be rewarded. They were the second and third women in Huaxia to receive titles after the Zhinu, but because the Embroidery was not mature, they could only be Barons as well.