Chapter 650: The Royal Reclamation Group

"So that's what it is." Zhao Xu suddenly looked as if he had just realized something.

Of course, this was feigned.

Ever since these Royal Clan members flooded into Yanzhou, he had never intended to pay them monthly stipends or annual salaries.

At present, there were only three or four thousand Royal Clan members in Yancheng.

He could certainly afford to pay them.

But in the future, once he unified the Great Song, the hundreds of thousands of Royal Clan members spread across the Great Song would all come knocking at his door asking for money.

Furthermore, these Royal Clan members had nothing to do but give birth to children.

Once a child was born, they would report it to the Clan Order and demand silver per head, endlessly.

In contemporary history, the financial collapse of the Ming Dynasty had a direct connection to the support of the massive Royal Clan.

Therefore, it was simply impossible for him to support a group of Royal Clan descendants who were idle, lazy, and spent their days in romantic indulgence.

However, with so many Royal Clan members flooding into Yanzhou, he could not ignore the problems of this group.

He could not just wait until they caused trouble and then kill them all.

It was indeed necessary to point out a path of survival for them.

However, this path was definitely not one that would allow them to ride roughshod over the common people.

Now, since Zhao Fan, the Clan Order representing the royal kin, had raised this issue to his face, he could no longer evade it.

He would resolve this matter completely today.

So he said: "Currently, the Imperial Court is in financial difficulty. Providing such a massive amount of silver to support the royal kin is a heavy burden on Yanzhou's finances. Moreover, Yanzhou will soon face a war with the Anti-Yan Alliance, and the amount of silver required then will be even more astronomical."

Zhao Fan sighed.

In fact, most of the royal kin who could make it to Yanzhou were relatively wealthy.

But even if they were wealthy, there would come a day when their resources ran dry, which inevitably made them worry about the future.

Originally, he did not want to raise this issue with Yan Wang at this time.

But since these royal kin could not see Yan Wang, they came to his residence every day to pour out their grievances.

Having no other choice, he decided to report this matter to Yan Wang.

So he said: "This subject also understands Your Highness's difficulties. When I return later, I will find a way to deflect this matter."

"Actually, there is no need." Zhao Xu smiled; this Zhao Fan was still reasonable, which was why he allowed him to participate in court discussions.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fan showed an expectant look, "Then what is Your Highness's intention?"

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment; in fact, he had been thinking about this matter for some time, and now he had a mature idea.

He said: "When the nation is in danger, everyone has a responsibility. As members of the Royal Clan, you should even more so shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the Great Song, rather than relying on a few scraps of silver from the Imperial Court to live in a daze."

"Therefore, I intend to establish the Royal Reclamation Group and build Royal Manors. In this way, Royal Clan members can receive a portion of the dividends from the Royal Manors' income each year to support themselves."

"Royal Reclamation Group?" Zhao Fan was stunned for a moment.

Zhao Xu nodded.

"In recent years, the Ningjin Regional Military Commission and Jinzhou have suffered from the chaos of foreign tribes, leaving nine out of ten houses empty and vast tracts of land abandoned. Even though I have been recruiting refugees everywhere to cultivate them, it is still not enough to restore the amount of fertile land to its peak period. It is a pity to abandon these desolate fields; it would be better to hand them over to the Royal Clan to manage."

Liu Fu nodded. Currently, what Yan Wang had the most of in his fief were lands, especially in the Ningjin Regional Military Commission and Jinzhou, which were basically uninhabited.

If, according to Yan Wang's plan, he were to take Qinzhou and Yongzhou in the future, there would be even more idle land.

Rather than leaving these lands idle, it would be better to hand them over to the Royal Clan for reclamation.

It was just that this was no easy task; Yan Wang was indeed ruthless toward the royal kin.

This Royal Reclamation Group sounded mighty, but it was actually equivalent to the Agricultural Construction Battalion formed when recruiting refugees.

Zhao Fan naturally realized this, and he was dumbfounded for a moment.

These Royal Clan descendants were pampered and spoiled; how could they possibly endure such hardship?

He feared that if this matter were leaked, they would cause trouble.

So he said: "Your Highness, this does not seem appropriate."

"What is inappropriate about it?" Zhao Xu's gaze swept across Zhao Fan's face; he knew what Zhao Fan was worried about.

So he said: "Let me ask you, was it easy for me, alone, to come to this dangerous place of Yanzhou and build the foundation I have today?"

"Naturally, it was not easy." Zhao Fan's old face flushed, and he immediately felt ashamed.

He could not even find words to refute this.

Among the royal kin, who had suffered as much as Yan Wang? Who had faced as many difficulties?

Zhao Xu continued: "Furthermore, I am not asking them to do the farming themselves. If they have the ability, they can go to the Agency to buy slaves, or go to Gaoli, Dongying, or the Northern Di to capture people to farm for them."

He was doing this to force the Royal Clan descendants to plunder populations from the outside.

Instead of engaging in internal strife within the Great Song.

If this model could succeed, these Royal Clan members could establish plantations similar to those in the 19th-century American South in places like the Ningjin Dusi and Jinzhou.

Thereby providing a steady stream of agricultural products to Yanzhou, such as cotton, potatoes, and other cash crops.

With the development of the textile industry, Yanzhou's demand for cotton was growing larger and larger.

The vast majority needed to be imported from other places.

In this way, the Royal Clan members would have a way to survive, and Yanzhou's supply of raw materials would also be partially resolved.

In the future, if he could take the territory further north of the Ningjin Dusi, he would have the Royal Reclamation Group take the lead and continue to move north to reclaim land.

It was not enough to just conquer territory; one must occupy it through immigration.

This weapon of immigration and reproduction was more powerful than an atomic bomb.

Can't the Royal Clan give birth? Then let the hundreds of thousands of Royal Clan members of the Great Song go and immigrate, and give birth with all their might.

In the future, he would also introduce policies to encourage childbirth.

Time was running out for the Great Song; he had to occupy and immigrate simultaneously to control the territories he would conquer in the future.

Otherwise, a hundred years from now, this world will be just like the present, with the most important resource regions all controlled by the Westerners.

"This..." Zhao Fan was still somewhat hesitant.

Seeing this, Zhao Xu's tone became a bit sterner: "You tell them, this is this Prince's final decision; if a member of the Royal Clan does not fulfill their responsibilities, then do not think about obtaining the rights that come with being part of the Royal Clan."

"It is fine if they are unwilling to join the pioneering group; they can renounce their Royal Clan status, but if they want to stir up trouble, this Prince does not mind dealing with them."

Zhao Fan's heart trembled, and he lowered his head.

This Yan Wang had not received any help from any members of the Royal Clan when he was in Jingshi, having fought his way out solely on his own in Yanzhou.

There was no intersection between them, and if they annoyed him, the one who would be unlucky would definitely be himself.

After all, this was a ruthless character who had even beaten the Northern Di until they were scurrying away in terror; he absolutely believed that this Yan Wang would do what he said and would certainly deal with any Royal Clan members who stirred up trouble.

"Yes, this subject understands," Zhao Fan replied with a bow.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu ordered the ministers to disperse.

At this moment, Yang He suddenly said with a grin, "Your Highness, this subject also has a matter to report."