Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 719: The Reaction of the Men

In order to pursue higher fiscal revenue, Gao Gan gradually raised commercial taxes in his business operations, which discouraged some merchants. At the same time, there were loopholes in his management of trade fairs. Some ruffians colluded with government officials to force purchases and sales at the fairs, disrupting the commercial order.

Yuan Shao was very angry when he learned about these problems. He summoned his sons and relatives to Yecheng again. In the hall, Yuan Shao looked gloomy and said sternly: "I entrusted such important affairs and territory to you because I trusted you. But now, look at what has happened! The people are dissatisfied, the students are in danger, the army is unstable, and the business is in chaos. Is this your answer to me?"

Yuan Tan and the others bowed their heads, not daring to speak. Yuan Tan was the first to speak: "Father, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so stubborn and didn't fully consider the interests of the people when implementing policies. When I go back, I will punish those corrupt officials, redistribute wasteland fairly, and appease the people."

Yuan Xi also said with shame: "Father, I neglected the corruption problem in the construction of the academy, and I really deserve death. I will immediately investigate this matter thoroughly, rebuild the academy, and ensure the safety and learning environment of the students."

Yuan Shang hurriedly said, "Father, I was too hasty in military management and used the wrong people, which caused the army to be unstable. I will adjust the training plan, select talented generals, and improve the morale of the army."

Gao Gan said: "Uncle, your nephew is short-sighted in business operations and only cares about immediate profits, which has disrupted the business order. Your nephew will reduce business taxes, rectify market management, and restore the prosperity of Jizhou's business."

Yuan Shao looked at them and said earnestly, "You are the ones who are responsible for the future of the Yuan family. You should not seek only temporary success. When governing the territory, you should put the people first and follow the principle of fairness and justice. If you damage the foundation of the Yuan family for your own selfishness, I will never forgive you. This time I will teach you a lesson. When you go back, you must properly handle the affairs you are responsible for."

Everyone said in unison: "Father (uncle) is right in teaching us. I (nephew) will definitely change my ways and live up to your trust!"

After this lesson, Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, Gao Gan and others all changed. Yuan Tan readjusted agricultural policies, severely punished corrupt officials, and personally supervised the allocation of wasteland, winning the trust of the people. Yuan Xi thoroughly investigated the corruption case in the academy, brought the officials involved to justice, rebuilt a solid and beautiful academy, and strengthened the management of the academy. Yuan Shang adjusted the military training plan, selected a group of capable generals, improved the treatment of soldiers, and boosted the morale of the army. Gao Gan reduced commercial taxes, strengthened market management, cracked down on illegal vendors, and Jizhou's business prospered again.

Under Yuan Shao's urging and the efforts of his sons and relatives, Jizhou and Bingzhou gradually got on the right track in the reform, and their strength was further enhanced. However, Yuan Shao's over-reliance on the governance of relatives, although it ensured the concentration of power to a certain extent, also laid hidden dangers. As time went on, conflicts gradually emerged among the relatives of the Yuan family in order to compete for power and interests, which also laid the groundwork for the decline of Yuan Shao's power in the future. But at this moment, Yuan Shao and his relatives were immersed in the joy of the initial success of the territory reform, and were ambitiously planning their future hegemony in the troubled times.

After Yuan Shao severely reprimanded and ordered his sons and relatives to rectify the problem, everyone left and returned to the territory they were responsible for. Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, Gao Gan and others walked out of Yuan Shao's mansion, and their faces quickly returned to their smug expressions.

As Yuan Tan walked, he said to everyone proudly: "Although my father was angry for a while, he also saw our previous efforts. Now we only need to make some changes, and Jizhou and Bingzhou will surely become more prosperous in our hands. In the future, this world will belong to our Yuan family!"

Yuan Xi echoed, "Brother, what you said is absolutely right. Once my academy is well organized and many talents are cultivated, they can all serve the Yuan family in the future. The prestige of my Yuan family will surely rise to a higher level."

Yuan Shang patted the sword at his waist and said with great enthusiasm: "Wait until I train the army to be more elite and build an invincible army, and see which princes dare to oppose us! By then, my father's hegemony will be accomplished, and we brothers will all be granted titles and become prime ministers."

Gao Gan smiled and said, "I will organize the business well, and the continuous inflow of money can provide solid financial support for the great cause of all brothers. If we work together, the glory of the Yuan family is just around the corner."

Everyone was laughing and talking all the way, as if they had already seen a bright future in which the Yuan family would dominate the world, and they were not aware of the strange looks coming from the people around them.

Meanwhile, in the dark, some civil and military officials under Yuan Shao gathered together, their faces gloomy, and they were whispering in private.

The civil official Ju Su frowned and said softly, "My lord, you entrusted such important matters to your relatives this time because you trust them. However, although these young masters and relatives have some ideas, they are young and inexperienced after all. It is not so easy to govern a state. Now that there is a problem, you are rushing to rectify it. In the long run, it may not be a blessing for Jizhou."

Tian Feng also nodded, and said with a worried look on his face: "Yes, Yuan Tan is stubborn, Yuan Xi is too idealistic, Yuan Shang is reckless, and Gao Gan values ​​profit over loyalty. How can they govern Jizhou and Bingzhou in an orderly manner if they each act independently? I am afraid that this move by the lord will cause internal friction in Jizhou."

Military general Zhang He clenched his fists and said helplessly, "We, the military generals, fought bravely on the battlefield and made great contributions to Jizhou, but now all the important military strongholds have been handed over to Master Yuan Shang. It's really depressing that we, the old generals, are not being reused."

Gao Lan also said indignantly: "Yes, Yuan Shang only considers personal connections when selecting generals, not their abilities. People like us who are dedicated to serving our lord are left out. If this continues, how can the army's combat effectiveness not be affected?"

Ju Su added: "This is not only true in the military, but also in education, people's livelihood, and business. Those relatives and children act recklessly in their respective fields, refusing to listen to advice and admonishment, only thinking about their own limelight, and not considering the overall situation at all. The future of Jizhou is worrying!"

Tian Feng pondered for a moment and said, "As officials of Jizhou, we cannot watch Jizhou decline. Why don't we find an opportunity to advise the lord together and persuade him to recruit talents, not to rely too much on relatives, and to focus on the long-term development of Jizhou."

Zhang He said hesitantly, "The Lord has always valued his relatives. If we rashly give advice, will it anger the Lord?"

Gao Lan gritted his teeth and said, "Even if it angers the lord, it is better than watching Jizhou fall into trouble. We are all thinking about the lord and Jizhou. I believe that when the lord calms down, he will understand our painstaking efforts."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard footsteps. They quickly dispersed, pretending nothing had happened. It turned out to be a confidant of Yuan Tan passing by. He seemed to have noticed what everyone was talking about. He glanced at them with a hint of disdain at the corner of his mouth, and then walked away swaggeringly.

Yuan Tan and his companions returned to their respective residences, still immersed in self-revelation. Yuan Tan sat in the main seat in the hall and said to his attendants: "Just wait and see. Before long, under my governance, the northern part of Jizhou will surely become the richest place in the entire Jizhou. My father will surely praise me even more by then." The attendants flattered him one after another, saying: "Young Master is wise and brave. He will surely make the northern part of Jizhou look brand new. Your future is limitless!"

After hearing this, Yuan Tan burst into laughter, with a smug look on his face.

On the other hand, after Yuan Xi returned to the territory where he was in charge of education, he said to his subordinates: "I will run the academy better than anywhere else in the world, so that students all over the world will yearn for Jizhou. When these students become successful, they will all remember that it was me, Yuan Xi, who gave them the opportunity, and the reputation of the Yuan family will surely rise to prominence."

The subordinates quickly echoed, "Young Master has a far-sighted vision. This academy will surely become a holy place for students all over the world. Your contribution to Jizhou's education will surely go down in history."

Yuan Xi nodded with satisfaction, as if he had already seen himself being admired by everyone.

After Yuan Shang returned to the military camp, he said to his generals: "Train the soldiers well. When I build an elite army, we will sweep across the world and see who dares to look down on our Yuan family. By then, you will all be founding heroes."

Although the generals were somewhat dissatisfied, they could only respond in unison: "We will follow your orders, sir!"

Yuan Shang looked at the generals with a proud smile, thinking that these people would eventually listen to him.

After Gao Gan returned to the place where he was in charge of commerce, he said to the merchant representatives: "You can do business with confidence. With me here, the trade route will be unimpeded. But you must also be grateful and contribute more to the prosperity of Jizhou. Then everyone will benefit."

The merchants nodded in agreement on the surface, but they were secretly worried that the senior officials would come up with new ways to increase taxes.

As the days passed, Yuan's relatives still felt good about themselves and continued to act according to their own ideas, but they were unaware that the dissatisfaction among their civil and military officials was spreading.

Ju Su, Tian Feng and other civil officials had been looking for a suitable opportunity to advise Yuan Shao. Finally, at a meeting where Yuan Shao convened all the officials to discuss the development of the territory, Ju Su mustered up the courage to stand up.

After paying respect to Yuan Shao, he said, "My lord, although Jizhou and Bingzhou have achieved some results under the governance of you princes and relatives, many problems have also been exposed. Although you princes and relatives are full of enthusiasm, governing a place requires comprehensive considerations and rich experience. Now they are acting on their own and do not listen to advice. If this continues, Jizhou may fall into chaos. My lord should recruit talented people, regardless of their relationship, and appoint them according to their abilities. Only in this way can Jizhou be stable and achieve hegemony."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao's face changed slightly, and he said unhappily: "Ju Shou, I let my son and relatives take charge of the territory affairs, which shows my trust in them. They are young, and some mistakes are inevitable. Now they are actively correcting them. Why are you saying these things at this time? Are you dissatisfied with my arrangement?"

Tian Feng also stood up and said, "My lord, what Ju Su said is true. We are all thinking about the future of you and Jizhou. The situation in Jizhou is complicated now, and the princes are eyeing us covetously. We cannot weaken our own strength because of internal problems. I hope you will think twice!"

Yuan Shao was a little angry, but he also knew that Ju Shou and Tian Feng were both important officials in Jizhou, and what they said was not entirely unreasonable. He suppressed his anger and said, "I will consider your words. But now the reform is at a critical stage and cannot be changed easily. You can leave now."

Ju Su and Tian Feng had no choice but to retreat. They knew that Yuan Shao would not be able to change his mind in a short time, but their worries about the future of Jizhou grew stronger.

After the meeting, Yuan Shao's sons and relatives learned about Ju Shou and Tian Feng's advice. Yuan Tan said angrily: "Ju Shou and Tian Feng are obviously jealous of our father's favor and are making irresponsible remarks here. How can my father listen to them? Everything we do is for the Yuan family."

Yuan Xi also echoed, "That's right. These old officials always take advantage of their age and can't stand us young people doing things. We must make greater achievements so that they have nothing to say."

Yuan Shang said angrily: "When I have a large army, I will see if they dare to say anything. They are just jealous of the power in our hands."

Gao Gan sneered, "Humph, who do they think they are? We are doing things according to our father's wishes, but they come to dictate our decisions. Ignore them and let's continue to do our job."

The other civil and military officials under Yuan Shao saw that Ju Su and Tian Feng's advice was fruitless, and their dissatisfaction became even more difficult to suppress. They talked more and more in private, and their dissatisfaction with Yuan's relatives was quietly spreading in the army and officialdom. Jizhou seemed calm, but in fact, there was an undercurrent, and a potential crisis was quietly approaching. However, Yuan Shao did not fully realize the seriousness of the problem, and still hoped that his son and relatives could govern the territory well and lead the Yuan family to glory. But he did not know that the hidden dangers brought about by over-reliance on relatives were gradually eroding the foundation of Jizhou, and perhaps in the near future, it would trigger a huge storm.

As time went by, some inappropriate actions of the Yuan family in their respective territories did not change fundamentally. Although Yuan Tan redistributed wasteland in the north of Jizhou, some policies still favored his cronies. Ordinary people did not get much practical benefits, and complaints were still circulating among the people. Although Yuan Xi's academy was rebuilt, he was still arbitrary in teaching management. Some talented teachers chose to leave because they were dissatisfied with his management style, resulting in no substantial improvement in the teaching quality of the academy. Although Yuan Shang adjusted the intensity of military training, he still selected generals based on nepotism. The truly capable generals in the army were not reused, and the morale of the soldiers was not fully restored. In terms of business, although Gao Gan reduced some commercial taxes, he still frequently introduced some unreasonable policies, which made merchants full of worries about doing business in Jizhou. The prosperity of business was only a superficial phenomenon, and the foundation was not solid.

These problems gradually accumulated, making the situation in Jizhou more and more delicate. Civil and military officials communicated more and more privately. Their dissatisfaction with the Yuan family was no longer just verbal. Some people even began to consider their own way out. However, the Yuan family was still immersed in their own world, unaware of the impending crisis, and still complacently planned their "great cause", going further and further on the wrong path. The future of Jizhou became even more confusing.

(End of this chapter)