Chapter 774: Baifeng's Majesty

Having been interrupted in his rambling and guidance by his son, Baifeng was not particularly angry, but when he was about to continue speaking, a servant bringing in lunch interrupted Baifeng's train of thought once more, which made Baifeng feel somewhat irritable; his authority as the ruler of a nation seemed to vanish into thin air at this moment.

However, the hunger in his stomach had already suppressed his minor anger; he merely felt a bit annoyed. The kitchen staff prepared a new bowl of noodles for Baifeng, accompanied by three vegetarian dishes, as only such a meal could match his status as the master of the nation.

After the noodles were cooked, they were brought over by a servant trained to never spill the soup even when walking at high speed; the noodles were still steaming, and they had not clumped together.

Seeing that his father was only just now eating, Yulong felt that his own bit of exhaustion did not amount to much. In the end, it was still a matter of his own insufficient ability; he sometimes doubted whether he could manage this nation well, and whether he should share this heavy responsibility with his younger brother.

Baifeng ignored the two of them and simply arranged chairs for them to sit and wait. While Baifeng was eating, Changzhi also arrived. The smell of horses on Changzhi drifted along with the air currents into Baifeng's nose, and Baifeng suddenly felt that nothing was going his way.

Yet he had no reason to criticize an official who worked diligently; if a person who dealt with livestock every day were clean and fresh-smelling every day, that would be the time to properly investigate them.

Baifeng lost his appetite; he now had a strong feeling of eating in a Horse Pen, so he had the meal he had only half-finished cleared away. These leftovers would, of course, not be wasted; Baifeng's leftovers were still much better than what ordinary people ate, and the remaining food would be divided and eaten by several servants before it even reached the kitchen.

Changzhi had ridden a horse all the way here. Now, as the number one horse trainer and rider in Huaxia, he possessed the authority to ride a horse within Huaxia City. Of course, under normal circumstances, he certainly would not ride, but being summoned during his lunch break meant there was definitely an important matter.

Several people gathered together. There were two matters Baifeng wanted to discuss, but they were related. After thinking for a moment, Baifeng decided to talk about the Planned Economy first; after all, the Ministry of Revenue had many affairs, so it was better to let Yulong understand it first so he could get busy and waste less time.

Baifeng wanted to wipe his mouth but discovered his handkerchief was gone. A maidservant quickly handed him another one. Baifeng wiped his mouth and took a small sip of tea.

"The matter to be discussed now is quite important. Originally, a grand assembly should have been convened, but because it is something I thought of suddenly, I called you all over in such a rush. After I explain it to you today, go back and draft a plan, and later I will choose a date to hold an assembly to discuss this matter together."

Baifeng paused slightly and looked at Yulong: "Yulong, this matter has a great deal to do with the Ministry of Revenue; you must pay close attention to it."

Yulong nodded and sat up a bit straighter.

"Considering that now, the various supplies in our Huaxia are becoming more and more abundant, but the method of distribution has some problems. Everyone can only be allocated grain and oil, while the rest needs to be exchanged with grain. If one exchanges, there are few things in the market and many people who need them; everyone is scrambling. Those who run fast grab more, and those who run slow grab nothing. This is not right, and it is not reasonable."

"Therefore, I intend to implement a Planned Economy. That is, for every season and every year, based on how much meat, cloth, and fur can be produced, we will produce a corresponding amount of vouchers and distribute them to everyone according to their population and contributions."

"In this way, as long as one has vouchers in hand, there is no need to scramble, and one can exchange them for the corresponding amount of meat and such in the market. Once the vouchers are used up, there will be no more opportunities to obtain them from the market."

Yulong keenly grasped the key to the problem: "Father, does this voucher need to be exchanged with grain? And is it that we first estimate the production volume and then issue the vouchers? Then what about the surplus output? Also, do these vouchers have an expiration date? For example, are those issued this year to be used up this year, and become void next year?"

Baifeng did not answer directly, but said: "This is not a matter I should be considering. It cannot be that I perfect every plan and then you just execute them. The operation of a nation should not be like this. Therefore, I called you here to have you perfect this plan from the details. Whether it is feasible, the willingness of the people, and how to execute it—you must all spend time investigating and considering it clearly."

"This is not what I should be doing, but what you officials should be doing. Yulong, you should also be like this. You must arrange for your subordinates to investigate and discuss, rather than you yourself visiting every place one by one. You can spot-check the work attitude and quality of your subordinates, but you should not do it personally."

This time, Yulong agreed very firmly: "Yes, Father, I will certainly arrange and execute it earnestly."

Changzhi, on the other hand, listened from the side, feeling very confused. What did this have to do with him, a horse raiser? Although he was also a high-ranking official, this kind of thing should not be for him to do.

Baifeng changed the subject: "Changzhi."

"Yes, King, I am listening," Changzhi replied hurriedly.

"I called you this time to talk to you about the castration of livestock and the training of veterinarians."

Changzhi was very bewildered: "Castration? What is castration?"

Baifeng said with a smile: "It is to cut off the testicles of the livestock, so they lose their reproductive ability. This is castration."

Changzhi felt a chill in his crotch upon hearing this: "King, why must we castrate them? If we castrate them, how will they produce little ones? Our livestock have only just reached this number with great difficulty."

Baifeng asked Changzhi the same question again: "Do you think the meat now is delicious?"

Changzhi was not picky about meat: "I think it is delicious."

Baifeng was shocked by his heavy taste: "Don't you think pork is too gamey and fishy?"

Changzhi was speechless at such bizarre remarks from Baifeng, and without any regard for Baifeng's majesty, he said: "King, that is because you are too picky. You also said that there is only so much meat, and when it is put on the market, everyone starts scrambling. How many times a year can a family grab meat? Although everyone is not short of food, as long as one is human, everyone likes to eat meat. With such a large family, after grabbing that little bit of meat and cooking it to divide, how much can one person get?"

"They might even enjoy that gamey, fishy taste. Besides meat, what else has that flavor? Therefore, I think instead of worrying about whether the taste of the meat is good, you should consider how to properly expand our breeding industry so that everyone can eat meat."

Only after Changzhi finished speaking so recklessly did he realize that what he had said seemed wrong, and sweat immediately began to bead on his forehead.