Chapter 52: Takeoff in Beining City

Assigning officials to different regions, in essence, means transferring local petty officials to serve in other prefectures and counties.

The advantage of this approach is that once these petty officials arrive in unfamiliar prefectures and counties, the possibility of them forming cliques for private gain is naturally eliminated.

After all, in a place where they know no one and are unfamiliar with the terrain, even if they harbor malicious intentions, they would not dare to act recklessly for the time being.

"Of course, transferring officials to different regions treats the symptoms rather than the root cause, but for Beining City at present, it is a potent remedy."

Qiu Xingzhi continued, "If the Prince truly wishes to restore integrity to the officialdom of Beining City, the best method is to broadly encourage open speech, allowing the common people to impeach, expose, and even directly accuse officials in court."

"Only by truly devolving the right to seek redress to the common people will they have the courage to confront injustice, and only then will those corrupt officials and avaricious magistrates feel a sense of awe and refrain from easily committing crimes."

In the Great Qi Empire, the common people have always existed at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.

When common people suffered injustices, they were required to appeal layer by layer. If they bypassed the proper levels, they had to endure eighty heavy board beatings first.

For instance, if Zhang San received an unfair trial in his local jurisdiction and wished to appeal, he had to go to the prefectural office of a higher rank to beat the drum and voice his grievances.

At that time, the prefect would open court and try the case, but eighty staff beatings had to be administered beforehand, intended to uphold the authority of the imperial court's officials.

Yet once those eighty strikes fell, let alone ordinary citizens, even a seasoned martial artist would likely lose their life.

By then, with the person dead, how could the lawsuit possibly continue?

Qiu Xingzhi's meaning clearly pointed toward abolishing these outdated systems and encouraging the common people to lodge complaints.

From the perspective of Qin Xuan, a modern-day individual, this meant elevating the people's right of supervision, forcing officials to constantly remember that tens of thousands of pairs of eyes from below were watching them.

"Very well, Sir possesses great righteousness. However, regarding the specific details, I ask that you and the military advisors discuss them together, formulate a complete set of regulations as soon as possible, and then issue them to all prefectures and counties in Beining City."

Qin Xuan never dragged his feet when taking action and made his decision on the spot: "In addition, a separate prefectural office may be established in Beining City, where any commoner may come to lodge a complaint without needing to go through the local county offices."

By doing this, Qin Xuan was essentially hanging a glittering broadsword above the heads of every county magistrate.

Anyone who dared to misjudge cases within their jurisdiction, if reported here, would be digging their own grave.

Hearing this, Qiu Xingzhi's eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily, "So the Prince had already intended this long ago; it seems I was merely repeating the words of others."

"Ah, Sir, you are being far too modest."

Qin Xuan laughed loudly, "Among everyone present, including this Prince, when it comes to the governance of officials, who could possibly surpass you, Sir?"

"Indeed, Sir, we are merely a bunch of rough-hewn warriors who fight battles, and we are truly not well-versed in matters of state administration," Du Manjiang could not help but mock himself.

As military generals accustomed to a life of slaughter and combat, they were indeed out of their depth when it came to political affairs.

"Your Highness, it is not that I am being modest; there is indeed someone far more adept at state affairs than I am."

Qiu Xingzhi smiled faintly, "Does Your Highness remember last winter, when one of my students came to visit me at my residence?"

Mentioning this, Qin Xuan did retain some impression: "Was his name Cui Yu? If I recall correctly, he was demoted to Fuzhou because he offended the Minister of Personnel, and he came to bid you farewell."

"Your Highness indeed has a remarkable memory."

Qiu Xingzhi nodded, "Since his demotion to Fuzhou, Cui Yu has worked tirelessly to govern with vigor, not only transforming a poverty-stricken county into a prosperous region, but also submitting numerous sound strategies for governing the realm to the imperial court."

"Unfortunately, all these memorials were rejected by the Minister of Personnel and subsequently ended up in my hands."

With these words, Qiu Xingzhi drew a booklet from his bosom and handed it to Qin Xuan: "Your Highness, I have copied a portion of my disciple's memorials; please look them over."

Qin Xuan did not hesitate, taking the booklet and rapidly reviewing its contents.

Yet upon reading it, Qin Xuan was deeply shaken.

This Cui Yu had actually proposed a brand-new land distribution system in his memorials, which was nearly identical to the policy Qin Xuan had previously implemented.

At the same time, he also suggested establishing an inspection mechanism and a three-year rotational tenure system, which could only be described as astonishing.

To put it plainly, this inspection mechanism was equivalent to a modern-day disciplinary inspection commission, specifically tasked with investigating and supervising corrupt officials and greedy magistrates.

As for the rotational tenure system, its purpose was to prevent officials from serving in the same location for too long and thereby forming the fiefdoms of local emperors.

Had Qin Xuan not encountered Cui Yu previously, he might have even suspected whether this person, much like himself, was a transmigrator from the modern world.

Such a vision and insight, far surpassing the era, were simply unheard of.

It was no wonder that even a contemporary great scholar like Qiu Xingzhi praised this disciple so highly.

"Where is this person now? I will dispatch men to invite him here immediately."

Qin Xuan was genuinely thirsty for talent and said excitedly.

As if he had anticipated Qin Xuan's thought process all along, Qiu Xingzhi smiled and said, "I wrote a letter to him yesterday. I believe that upon receiving my letter, he will make his way to Beining City."

Because Qiu Xingzhi had previously taken a stand to support Qin Xuan, not only he himself, but even the disciples belonging to his faction, had suffered suppression by the imperial court.

Therefore, he was so certain that Cui Yu would definitely come to Beining City.

"Very well, I must trouble Sir with this matter."

Qin Xuan was overjoyed; the issue of official governance in Beining City could finally be resolved.

"Your Highness, what about the resettlement of the twenty thousand refugees?" Zhao Luoying asked.

The crowd fell silent for a moment. Even Qiu Xingzhi furrowed his brow slightly, only to remark, "The number of refugees this time is simply too large. Even though Beining City now brings in a wealth of gold daily, it cannot sustain such long-term consumption."

"Indeed! In the past two days alone, the grain in the granaries has plummeted drastically."

Zhuge Xuan nodded in agreement.

"I already have a plan for this."

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, Qin Xuan smiled with confidence and said, "Beining City has always been characterized by vast territory and a sparse population. These twenty thousand refugees may seem numerous, but given the sheer expanse of Beining City, they are actually nothing."

As the greatest line of defense on the northern frontier of the Great Qi, Beining City had boasted a population exceeding three million during its most glorious era.

Yet today, the ordinary citizens within the city walls numbered merely around six hundred thousand.

"Land alone is useless; we cannot simply conjure up houses out of thin air for them to live in, can we?"

Du Manjiang muttered nonsensically, earning himself an eye-roll from Ning Yuanfeng.

Qin Xuan smiled, gesturing that it was of no consequence, and continued, "Everyone has actually fallen into a cognitive trap, only thinking about how to provide relief to the refugees. Yet there is another method, which is to provide work as a form of relief."

"Provide work as a form of relief?"

Qiu Xingzhi and Zhuge Xuan were startled simultaneously, and then their eyes gradually brightened.

"Does the Prince intend to employ them so that they can build their own houses and reclaim farmland?"

True to his reputation as a contemporary great scholar, Qiu Xingzhi grasped Qin Xuan's intention at the mere mention.

Zhuge Xuan was no less astute and immediately followed up:

"In this way, not only can their food subsistence problem be solved, but the newly constructed houses and reclaimed fields can also be leased or sold back to them. This is truly a strategy that achieves multiple objectives with a single stroke!"

Qin Xuan laughed heartily, his mood cheerful. Sure enough, the wisdom of the ancients could never be underestimated.

Once all twenty thousand refugees were transformed into a productive workforce, the results they could create would surpass even Qin Xuan's imagination.

The Emperor of Great Qi could never have dreamed that while he originally intended to use these twenty thousand refugees to drag down the entire Beining City, he had instead delivered the most urgently needed labor force directly to Qin Xuan.

With this batch of laborers, Qin Xuan could truly begin implementing his next phase of plans.

At this thought, a sharp glint flashed through Qin Xuan's eyes, and he silently told himself, "Beining City, let your ascent begin from this very moment!"