12dz Chapter 320 The Little Nun 48
Chapter 320 The Little Nun 48
With all external enemies eliminated, some internal discord was also inadvertently resolved by Tao Er.
Having unwittingly acquired a large sum of money, Ling Yi began to take decisive and drastic measures.
First, she had to save the famine victims who were barely clinging to life. When she opened the granary of the powerful clan and found that the grain inside was moldy, she inadvertently caught a few of the surviving young masters of the powerful clan who had been acting quite agitated recently.
It's decided that you will be the ones to build His Majesty's mausoleum from now on!
It's time for you to experience the pain of not having enough to eat.
Secondly, there's the issue of profit distribution. Those who are being granted official positions shouldn't be in a hurry; they can wait until the new dynasty is established before granting them all at once, hoping for a good omen.
The ones below are more urgent.
After the war, so many soldiers will become a huge burden on the imperial court.
After leaving enough border troops and soldiers stationed in various places, Ling Yi first distributed land to the soldiers who were slightly injured.
Ordinary people receive one, soldiers receive one and two, and those who make meritorious contributions receive an additional amount as appropriate.
Land distribution has always been a physically demanding task, even at the beginning of a dynasty.
During this period, several fortified villages sent out their troops and clashed with the soldiers who were going to survey the land.
Those powerful clans who held military power thought that with the arrival of a new dynasty, they would be greeted with an imperial edict to recruit them. However, instead of the edict, they were met with soldiers who plundered their land!
But how could their insignificant strength compare to that of the rebel army?
As mentioned above, the land allocated to the veterans in this batch will be distributed again when they return home or arrive at their post!
Now you are measuring their land, and in the future when they become minor officials, they will measure your land!
For the sake of your future livelihood, be serious!
For the sake of these lands, they've started learning those nauseatingly strange numbers and letters that General Ling issued, and now these people dare to obstruct them!
How abominable!
Is this world still the general's world?
In their anger, someone's voice rang out: "Charge! Victory!"
Yup!
These are all war achievements!
Now that the Southern Army and the Imperial Court have been wiped out, the only remaining chance to make a name for oneself is with small groups of bandits!
But those were all for generals who were bored out of their minds; they had no chance of being taken by ordinary soldiers like them.
If that's the case, then the person in front of them is their only remaining merit for dividing up land!
With the land's blessing, combat power doubles!
The lord of the fortified village suddenly felt a chill down his spine. After several fortified villages were breached, they finally came to their senses.
This new dynasty is militarily powerful and has no intention of negotiating with them.
Right now, if you don't want to die, you have to surrender!
Therefore, Ling Yi, who was far away in the imperial palace, inexplicably received donations of land and treasures.
When windfall gains come from heaven, why wouldn't you accept them?
She didn't care about the two sarcastic remarks about competing with the people for profit that followed.
If you're so capable, go and say it to her.
Thanks to her busy political work and Xue Zhen's tireless efforts in suppressing bandits, the area surrounding the former capital was completely transformed in just one winter.
When the rebel army left the place the following year, the fields by the roadside were full of lush green rice seedlings, and the little kids who could barely get enough to eat were drooling by the stream, waiting for a small fish that they could catch.
The vitality of ordinary people is always awe-inspiring; they die as easily as weeds, yet grow back tenaciously as weeds.
As Ling Yi sighed, she saw a group of believers praying earnestly in front of a temple.
At that moment, she thought of the nunnery where she first arrived and the elderly couple at the foot of the mountain.
For a moment, she was in a daze and said to Master Xu beside her, "Make a note of this: monks and Taoists who leave home without a certificate of ordination are considered to be illegally ordained. They will be fined thirty taels of silver and sentenced to three years in prison."
She paused for a moment, then added, "Furthermore, temples are not allowed to acquire land, and existing land and donations must be taxed!"
There are no monks or nuns out there, only leeks that haven't paid their taxes yet!
Master Xu was taken aback by her words. Just now, seeing Ling Yi looking at the temple with a thoughtful expression, he thought she was thinking of the temple that had raised her and her master whom she had not seen for a long time.
But to his utter surprise, at this critical moment, this ruthless work machine was still thinking about paying taxes!
If it weren't for her genuine kindness to the people, Master Xu would have suspected that she might introduce a breathing tax or something similar in the future, making the people pay a tax for their breathing!
Ling Yi glanced at her sideways: "What kind of look is that?"
"Why don't you ask your master?" Master Xu was at a loss for words; he had never heard of taxing monks and Taoists before.
"Why ask? My master only has one house, and the land he cultivates is just low-grade land that can barely support a person. It's nothing like those monks and Taoists who have thousands of acres of land and countless believers!"
Moreover, what is the past? A new dynasty brings a new atmosphere. In her dynasty, everyone has to listen to her!
After a pause, she added, "From now on, the quota for ordination certificates for each temple will be based on their tax payments!"
She's so smart!
Master Xu: "..."
This guy is the kind of person who can squeeze oil out of molten iron!
He couldn't help but turn his gaze to Xue Zhen: Aren't you going to do anything about it!
Although it was Ling Yi who did the work, it's you who bears the blame!
He dared not imagine how history would describe Xue Zhen in the future.
Xue Zhen asked, puzzled, "Why are you looking at me like that? Isn't what Ling Yi said perfectly fine?"
"And I think these people shouldn't exist at all; they should all be farming!"
Why should so many people who are starving make offerings to these people who do no work?
Master Xu: "You should take a rest!"
He shouldn't have asked this yes-man who always said "Yes, yes, whatever Ling Yi says is right!"
Ling Yi looked at him with a smile: "You insisted on asking, and you don't want to hear the answer."
She knew that Master Xu was not only asking about the matter of monks and Taoists, but also about who would be in charge of the court in the future.
As the war ended, Ling Yi's role in the rebel army became increasingly important, to the point that the common people only knew of General Ling and not of the Prince of Yan.
Such excessive prestige is by no means a good thing for a subject, especially a subject of the founding emperor.
The other generals were initially worried that Ling Yi might die because of this incident, but when they discovered that the general not only did not blame Ling Yi for it, but also wanted to entrust her with various matters, their thoughts changed.
They knew about the general's past record. You might not believe it, but there really are people in this world who don't want to be emperor!
You've already taken ninety-nine steps, old man, you won't stop trembling at the last moment and give way to Lingyi!
What about us old brothers? How do you put us here?
If you don't show up and let Ling Yi promote those weak and powerless scholars, are you trying to abandon your old brother?
Compared to those brutes, Master Xu naturally thought more deeply. He knew that ruling the world and conquering the world were completely different things, and he also knew that Ling Yi had no intention of abandoning those generals.
Unfortunately, the generals' demands were too loud, and he feared that if he didn't investigate soon, those brutes would start plotting to purge the court of corrupt officials.
Judging from the results of the inquiry, it seems the generals are going to have a difficult time for a while.