Chapter 747: Strategies for Governing the Realm

During the three months of internal upheaval in Qingming, Wei Yuan shuttled between the northern mountain gate, Qingming, and the five southwestern commanderies of Jin State, wishing desperately for a teleportation array that could transport him instantly.

But such long-range arrays were all immortal arrays, requiring transit through a cavern realm, and the higher the cultivation level, the greater the cost. Though Wei Yuan was now a Law Form, stepping onto a teleportation array still charged him as if he were a Yu Jing, the fees so exorbitant they made him wince—he could only rely on his own body to fly.

For three months, the new system had operated smoothly.

Wei Yuan also established specialized courts in each major city to handle civil disputes and cases of all sizes. These courts first processed cases through the mundane world; those clear and uncontested were judged immediately, while major or highly disputed cases were referred to the newly established Inspectorate for review.

The Inspectorate was headquartered in Ding'an City, overseen by Behind Bao Yun. No matter how complex or cunning the case, no matter how deceitful or cruel the parties involved, none could hide any secret before Behind Bao Yun's Devilish Illusion Form.

Additionally, Wei Yuan established mobile courts that regularly traveled through towns and villages to handle local cases.

Now all cases were handled by the courts, stripping regional administrators of their judicial authority, while ordinary civilians could petition the mobile courts at any time. From then on, regional administrators lost nine-tenths of their power, leaving them no room to maneuver.

With these measures combined, the nascent chaos in Qingming was finally smothered in its cradle; Wei Yuan's qi of human fortune rose daily, and before long, it broke the million mark once again.

By the time all this was settled, autumn had turned to early winter. On this day, Wei Yuan was deeply studying the Five Elements Dao Soldiers technique when suddenly his heart stirred—he sensed someone seeking an audience at the gate. A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed Yuan Yuan Qingyan and Niu Niu Jinbao had arrived.

These two, along with several former disposable county magistrates, had now become the backbone of Wei Yuan's local governance. Since Wei Yuan's primary focus was Qingming, he intended to gradually consolidate the five southwestern commanderies, so he first dispatched these men there: Yuan Yuan Qingyan oversaw all five commanderies, while Niu Niu Jinbao and others each took charge of one, scouting ahead to understand local conditions before proceeding.

Three months had passed—now they had returned to report progress. Wei Yuan invited them in and had them seated.

After formal greetings, Yuan Yuan Qingyan spoke first: "Following Your Excellency's orders, I joined General Cui in assuming control of all military affairs in the five southwestern commanderies. General Cui operated openly, while I disguised myself and spent two months traveling every key location across the five commanderies, carefully inquiring and bribing minor officials in critical positions—finally gaining a general understanding of the commanderies' inner workings. Here is the inventory for Your Excellency's review."

Wei Yuan took the list and saw it densely detailed: population, resources, terrain, troops, aristocratic families, and chief officials of each commandery—all data thorough and precise, clearly the product of immense effort, with not a single day wasted in three months.

Of the five commanderies, two were peripheral domains of the Xu family; the other three were tangled nests of aristocratic power, dominated by the Xu, Cui, and Zhao-Li clans, as well as estates belonging to civil officials and court ministers led by the Left and Right Chancellors. Among them, the Left Chancellor's confirmed landholdings alone totaled 1.8 million mu; the Right Chancellor's, though smaller, still reached 900,000 mu.

The combined landholdings of civil officials and court ministers exceeded 10 million mu, accounting for forty percent of the five commanderies; the aristocrats' holdings also totaled 10 million mu, another forty percent. The remaining twenty percent was mostly held by wealthy merchants, officials, and powerful cultivator families, while ordinary peasants owned virtually no land.

Civil officials and aristocrats paid almost no taxes; combined, the five commanderies collected less than one million taels—equivalent to less than one tael per twenty mu. Mines, specialty goods, and even the mulberry-silk industry Wei Yuan had spent nearly two years promoting—all fell within that one million tael total.

Local wealthy officials paid slightly more, but not by much. They always found civil officials or aristocrats as patrons, and if tax collection grew too aggressive, many simply defected into the ranks of the civil officials or aristocrats.

After reading Yuan Yuan Qingyan's inventory, Wei Yuan pulled out another document: official registry records. Placed side by side, the discrepancies were immediately obvious.

The actual landholdings uncovered among civil officials and court ministers totaled at least 10 million mu, yet the official registry recorded only 400,000 mu. The gap was so staggering that even Wei Yuan stared in disbelief.

Wei Yuan shook the two jade tablets and sighed: "To conceal over ten million mu of land as just 400,000—how dare they! Do they think the entire realm is blind?"

Yuan Yuan Qingyan, long steeped in officialdom, replied: "The censors are all civil officials. As long as they turn a blind eye, the king sees nothing. Whether the people are blind or not? Irrelevant. Even if they saw, they couldn't speak up, couldn't reach the throne—it's better to be truly blind, so they don't see too much and grow heart-sick."

Wei Yuan turned to the military. The five commanderies had twenty thousand regular troops—official forces. Another fifty thousand militia were registered, a formidable force—but how many were real soldiers remained uncertain.

Yuan Yuan Qingyan said: "I secretly infiltrated three garrisons in each commandery and found the actual troop strength barely reached twenty percent—ten percent were strong, able-bodied men; ten percent were elderly, weak, or infirm."

"Even strong men?"

Yuan Yuan Qingyan said: "They're for show. When superiors inspect, these men handle guard duty against bandits, refugees, and at city gates. The elderly and infirm serve other purposes: the elderly fill ranks during roll calls—they cost little, many just need a meal. With them, the unit looks impressively large. The infirm demonstrate compassion: wounded soldiers remain cared for even after disability."

Wei Yuan was surprised: "They know how to win soldiers' loyalty? That's clever."

Yuan Yuan Qingyan shook his head: "No—it's for the superiors' eyes. When civil officials see these disabled soldiers, they assume their subordinates love their troops. Then, having the disabled recount their battlefield injuries at banquets, the literati all feel as if they've fought in wars themselves—everyone moved to tears, drinking, composing poetry. Of course, the next day, when sober, everything returns to normal."

Wei Yuan fell silent for a moment, then said: "I've learned."

Yuan Yuan Qingyan chuckled: "Back then, I did the same—otherwise I'd never have become a commandery governor."

Even the regular troops were only ten percent strong; the militia fared no better.

Wei Yuan asked: "Have all checkpoints been set up?"

Yuan Yuan Qingyan replied: "Checkpoints have been established at all major routes leading out of the five commanderies. As per Your Excellency's orders, we tax only small merchants and traders, ignoring aristocratic and civil official caravans—so operations run smoothly. Actual freight throughput has already dropped by forty percent."

Wei Yuan calculated the time, pointed to the northern border of the five commanderies, and said: "The winter pay is due soon. Tell Cui Yu to intercept it at the border. From now on, this military pay is ours—not a single tael must reach outsiders. If necessary, use force; kill as many as you must. I want the winter pay!"

Yuan Yuan Qingyan bowed: "I can notify General Cui in two days."

Wei Yuan glanced again at the map and turned to Niu Niu Jinbao: "Your commandery is tough to crack."

Niu Niu Jinbao rose immediately: "This commandery is dominated by the families and disciples of civil officials and court ministers—each one arrogant, stubborn, protecting their own, ignoring justice. It's truly hard to touch."

Wei Yuan said: "If it's hard to crack, then smash it. Your commandery has eight major routes connecting to surrounding regions—set checkpoints on all of them. For every passing caravan, regardless of status, seize eighty percent of their goods as military funds. This will inevitably spark conflict."

Then, pick a remote checkpoint, kill some bandit prisoners, dress their corpses in our uniforms, and claim our guards were slaughtered and the checkpoint overrun. Then, under the pretext of hunting down the murderers, arrest the families of the most stubborn, most defiant locals."

Also, arrest the Mobile Corps Commander and his deputy under charges of dereliction of duty and poor governance. Once captured, immediately send them to our main garrison for detention. I'll send personnel to assist you—move swiftly. Understood?"

Niu Niu Jinbao slapped his chest: "Your Excellency, rest assured! Framing and framing—this is my specialty!"

(End of Chapter)