Chapter 1505: The Source of Power

Having arranged the recruitment issues for the Suiren Tribe, the next item on the agenda was another important task for the coming year: the promotion of commerce.

"Everyone has noticed this year that because we have relaxed our work requirements and allowed people to choose their professions freely, some individuals have already begun selling meals in their own homes or helping others make clothes.

This is effectively the same thing as those private engineering teams; I call this form of activity 'commerce.'

Commerce itself exists to obtain greater profit—buying low and selling high, the two words 'buying and selling.' But it is not that simple; just like those who sell meals, they possess the skill to make the food taste good, which is why they are able to sell it.

Commerce not only allows them to profit, but it also helps our Huaxia facilitate the circulation of goods. In the future, once the scale expands and it becomes more mature, many things will no longer require our government departments to handle them; these people engaged in commerce will be able to help us complete them.

For example, medicinal herbs from Xiao Town currently require our delivery teams to go there and bring some back; from purchase to sale, it is entirely managed by our government departments. But if this matter were opened up and these people were allowed to do it, they could directly handle this task for us.

The money for buying the medicinal herbs would be provided by them, and then they would sell them to our Pharmacy. It might seem like an extra step that increases costs, but we save on the expenses of the round trip, and in urgent situations, they can go and return quickly. This is the benefit of commerce.

Of course, these things cannot be handed over to them yet. Right now, they are purely exploring this model, exploring what commerce is.

What I want to tell everyone is that the emergence of this commerce is inevitable and reasonable. Huaxia must not only refrain from restricting it but must also encourage and support them, letting them develop early on. This is beneficial for the future of Huaxia.

The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and I plan to establish several commercial streets in Huaxia City, specifically for those merchants to move in and conduct commercial trade, replacing part of the work of the State-run Stores. Furthermore, we will also provide support for their materials to let them develop early.

This will be of great help to some of our future plans for Huaxia, especially the gradual cancellation of the ticket policy and its replacement with a currency policy."

The high-level officials knew more or less about this, so they did not feel shocked, but the mid-level officials were hearing it for the first time and felt incredibly surprised. Was Huaxia about to make another big move? Commerce—what was that? How had they never heard of it before?

As for Baoxi and the others, they heard terms they had never heard before and were completely unable to understand the content; they were in a state of pure confusion. However, Baifeng would not explain it to them; in any case, they would be given sufficient training time during the subsequent courses. They would have to learn it whether they wanted to or not. If they could not learn it, well, they should not think about being able to go back and continue managing the Suiren Tribe.

This was a ruthless move by Baifeng. If you want to manage the Suiren Tribe, you must follow the model and concepts of Huaxia and quickly accept Huaxia's transformation. If you are unwilling to learn all of this from Huaxia, then you are not qualified to manage your tribespeople. Since you are already in Huaxia, you have no choice.

Afterward, Baifeng spoke about some other content, but none of it was particularly important. The annual assembly thus came to a quick end. Everyone hurriedly found their positions and began to work hard. Those without tasks naturally received a relatively long vacation and could have a good rest.

This year's rewards were also not forgotten. Some people received Nobility and surnames due to military exploits and other contributions. The number of Nobles in Huaxia has gradually begun to increase, but there is no need to fear; Huaxia has long since formulated countermeasures for this Nobility system. Primogeniture and the Policy of Extending Favor allow them to enjoy honor forever, but they cannot enjoy the benefits forever, thereby preventing them from harming Huaxia.

In the days after the assembly ended, the Nobles of the Suiren Tribe could only travel back and forth between the Official School and Baoxi's home every day, because Huaxia had not yet set up a guesthouse. In particular, the progress of demolition and renovation for the Second Ring houses was relatively slow, so the official guesthouse planned for the Second Ring could not yet accommodate people.

However, Baoxi's courtyard was large enough and had many rooms, so he could allow them to live there together temporarily, and Baoxi had no objections.

Baifeng had people keep a close eye on Baoxi to see what kind of state he was in. But looking at the reports, this Baoxi's state was neither good nor bad. He was not studying very seriously, but he was not failing to study at all either; it was as if he were just letting things take their course.

Baifeng did not quite understand this attitude and state of Baoxi's. He did not know if Baoxi really wanted to go back to the Suiren Tribe to be its City Lord, or if he just wanted to stay in Huaxia City to enjoy comfort. He did not know what Baoxi was thinking, but the final results would make the decision for him.

Among those people, the most serious and hardworking one was Huangpin. Baifeng had long forgotten matters related to Huangpin, and the others were the same; they had all forgotten who Huangpin was. They did not know what connection he had with Huaxia in the past, but they all remembered Wangzuo, who had almost deceived Huaxia back then.

Huangpin studied hard and seriously, and judging by his performance, he was not stupid at all. After looking at Huangpin's file, Baifeng believed that if he were to delegate power to him, it would be a very good thing, because Huangpin would be willing to abandon Baoxi for the sake of power.

Huangpin was someone who had climbed up from the bottom and was a smart person, so he knew very clearly where his power came from. His power was bestowed by others and could also be easily stripped away.

In the Suiren Tribe, his power had little guarantee and could be taken away very easily, depending entirely on Baoxi's mood. But it was different in Huaxia, because Huaxia had sufficient guarantees for officials. With the Establishment System in place, as long as one did not commit a mistake, one would not be directly stripped of power, and the severity of the punishment would be determined according to the magnitude of the mistake committed. Therefore, power in Huaxia had a certain degree of stability.

This was the conclusion Huangpin reached after systematic study, so he very naturally and quickly accepted this concept and shifted his object of allegiance from the Tribal Chief Baoxi to the great King of Huaxia, Baifeng.