Many commoners lowered their heads, seemingly complaining to each other in hushed tones, blaming some for being overly credulous and others for being easily swayed, unable to discern right from wrong.
Yang Ming swept them with a cold glance and deliberately raised his voice, asking, "Princess, yesterday you decreed that every citizen of Qinghuang would receive one hundred jin of grain and fifty jin of seed for free, and that each household would be allocated a portion of land. You also arranged for laborers and soldiers to help the people build houses. Are these individuals who insulted and slandered you to be excluded from these benefits?"
Upon hearing this, the commoners’ faces changed drastically.
They had not expected the princess to provide them with free grain and arrange for laborers to help them build houses.
This was vastly different from the rumors they had heard! How could they have been so foolish? If the princess were a spy from Great Xia, why would the Great General live with them? Moreover, why would the position of the Great General be passed on to the Prince Consort!
The Great General was not an idiot!
Several people prostrated themselves before Bai Sheng, repeatedly kowtowing, "Princess, your humble subjects were blind and believed rumors, misunderstanding Your Highness. We beg the princess's magnanimity and forgiveness."
Following them, dozens more knelt, "We beg Princess Your Highness for forgiveness. We were also manipulated by villains."
Seeing so many people kneeling, the rest also began to kneel.
The commoners, one after another, pleaded with Bai Sheng for forgiveness.
Bai Sheng tugged at the corner of her mouth and said solemnly, "I will forgive the same mistake once, but I will not tolerate it a second time. Therefore, this time, I forgive you.
However, there are some things I need to make clear to you. The so-called Saintess Huang Lian Sheng you speak of actually has half Northern Qiang blood. Her mother was a Northern Qiang spy and one of the main culprits responsible for the destruction of Qinghuang. And your good Saintess has been colluding with the Northern Qiang in secret to this day.
If you continue to be loyal to the so-called Saintess, please leave Qinghuang. We, the Qinghuang Kingdom, do not mind having fewer ignorant subjects who let thieves make decisions!"
"What? The Saintess has half Northern Qiang blood?"
"The Saintess is also colluding with the Northern Qiang? This... Is this true?"
"Have we all been deceived... deceived by the Saintess?"
"Come to think of it, the Saintess hasn't actually done anything for us all these years."
"Exactly! Look at the princess. She has accomplished so many beneficial deeds since her return."
"Emperor Yuan Che was a kind emperor, and his own daughter must also be a great benefactor."
"However, you can't judge a book by its cover. Time reveals a person's true heart. We still need to see. Some people are very good at putting on a show."
...
Listening to the commoners' discussions, General Shen closed his eyes helplessly and said loudly to the crowd, "Everything the princess says is true. You must be wary of those who instigate trouble and sow discord around you; they are likely Northern Qiang spies. The princess has forgiven you today, but there will be no next time! Go back now, disperse! Disperse!"
"Thank you, General Shen, thank you, Princess!" The commoners retreated in small groups.
Bai Sheng glanced at the man being held by Yang Ming and Lu Tong and said sternly, "Yang Ming, interrogate this man thoroughly!"
"Yes! Princess!"
The man tried desperately to argue, but his mouth was twisted, and he could only make muffled sounds. No one paid him any attention.
Bai Sheng asked Lu Shui to call back Zuo Zhu, Hu Da Niu, and others, then led General Shen, Prince Yu, Third Uncle, and Zuo Si Ming to hold a small meeting in the study.
Bai Sheng said to General Shen, "Uncle Shen, are there any records of Qinghuang's former administrative divisions of provinces, counties, townships, and villages?"
Shen Tianjun frowned and thought for a moment, "Yes, I should have a copy of the 'Qinghuang Regional Gazetteer' there."
"Well, please trouble Uncle Shen to go back and find it. Uncle, then find a few more people to make several copies of the Gazetteer. Each core member of the court should have one. We need to be thoroughly familiar with our country's geography," Bai Sheng instructed Zuo Si Ming.
Zuo Si Ming nodded, "Alright, I'll take care of this."
Bai Sheng paused and said gravely, "Currently, Qinghuang's population is extremely sparse, border defenses are insufficient, and there is a severe shortage of labor for land reclamation and farming. Therefore, we should not spread ourselves too thin. We should first gather the people and arrange them systematically.
With Fengcheng as the center, establish local government offices in the surrounding counties and townships, allowing the people to settle down quickly and vigorously reclaim and cultivate land.
Brother Zhu, find more literate people on your end, women are also fine. Quickly search for all citizens within Qinghuang's territory, register the basic information of each person, establish household registration, and then distribute land to each household. I will provide each of you with a horse to facilitate long-distance travel.
After the counties and villages near Fengcheng are arranged, we will expand to other provinces and counties."
"Alright, I will handle it as soon as possible," Zuo Zhu responded loudly.
Bai Sheng looked at Prince Yu, "Cousin Yu, you will be fully responsible for the implementation of household registration and agricultural affairs. Therefore, you can arrange some personnel to assist Zuo Zhu in population statistics, household registration, land distribution, and the distribution of rations and seeds."
Prince Yu said, "Don't worry, I understand what you mean. Regardless of anything else, immediate land reclamation and farming is the top priority."
"Yes, that's exactly the point," Bai Sheng nodded, then looked at everyone and smiled, "There is one more thing that is also very important. We need to encourage marriage and childbirth. Currently, Qinghuang's population is too small, and we are constrained by the lack of manpower in everything we do.
And population growth takes at least twenty years to show results. Therefore, Third Uncle can formulate a mechanism for population growth rewards, encouraging the people to marry more and have more children."
Third Uncle heard this and smiled, "Good, this policy is excellent!"
Bai Sheng smiled slyly, "Uncle Shen, Third Uncle, Cousin Yu, you must hurry up and get married and have more children."
Prince Yu looked at Bai Sheng, his gaze deep, "Little Black Face, is polygamy allowed in Qinghuang?"
Bai Sheng had originally intended to use the law to strictly stipulate that Qinghuang Kingdom could only have monogamy. However, times had changed, and people's concepts could not be changed so abruptly. It had to be a gradual guidance, a transformation in thought and essence. Otherwise, it would be treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, and even if monogamy was practiced openly, many mistresses would still be kept on the side. Therefore, she smiled and said, "Monogamy is advocated, but not strictly required. Polygamy is also considered legal."
Upon hearing this, Prince Yu patted the table and said ambitiously, "Good, then I will marry three wives and four concubines, and have a large brood of children."
Everyone put their hands to their foreheads.
Third Uncle looked at his son, filled with worry.
After the meeting, he pulled Prince Yu aside and whispered, "Yu'er, Sheng'er is now the princess. After the new palace is built, she will be the Empress of Qinghuang. You can no longer call her 'Little Black Face, Little Black Face.' How can an empress be called Little Black Face? It undermines her dignity. From now on, you should call her Princess."
Prince Yu glanced at his father and stubbornly said, "Father, you don't understand. Bai Sheng will always be my Little Black Face in my heart. I will not change my address. Anyone who is unhappy about it can just chop me with a knife."