Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 77 How to resettle the people?

Jiu Que's first reaction was whether she had just spoken her true feelings, but when she saw Emperor Jingtai's face, which looked a little old due to the successive blows, she felt it was unlikely. She was not a two or three-year-old child, how could she have spoken her true feelings?
Strangely, why would Emperor Jingtai ask her such a question? Generally, shouldn't issues like resettling the people be addressed by the Ministry of Revenue? But then, thinking about the several officials recently dismissed from the Ministry of Revenue, Jiu Que understood. Well, the old emperor truly had no one else to rely on, and coincidentally, she had a proposal.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I do have an idea."

"tell me the story."

"If we support these people, it's just spending a lot of money to support a bunch of idle people. Moreover, once they get used to a life where they have everything done for them, they might become lazy. So it's better to find them a job that they can support themselves and let them fend for themselves. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

"But as you know, most of those who come out of there are the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, and the work they can do is really limited. Even if they are taken in by merchants from other industries such as restaurants and eateries, they have no advantage compared to other young and strong people."

After all, even if he were the emperor, he couldn't force people to abandon more capable personnel and instead choose the old, weak, sick, and disabled to increase his burden, could he? There's no such logic in the world.

Ying Jiuque's mind was racing. When it came to making money, she had quite a few ideas. However, she couldn't come up with a method that wouldn't disrupt her existing businesses. Just then, her gaze fell on a table of imperial food prepared by Emperor Jingtai.

The emperor's diet consisted of delicacies from heaven and earth, from mountains to seas—everything imaginable. At this moment, Ying Jiuque's gaze fell upon a plate of mushrooms. In truth, most mushrooms were past their prime, yet on His Majesty's table, one could still find mushrooms of exceptional quality. In this era, fungi and similar products were only harvested naturally; few knew how to cultivate them. Fortunately, Ying Jiuque did. Given the suitable temperature and humidity, mushrooms could always grow. Moreover, at this time, anything out of season was considered a rare treasure. If they could cultivate it, they wouldn't have to worry about sales. For one thing, the high-ranking officials and nobles of the capital were obsessed with comparisons. If they went out to a banquet and found such out-of-season mushrooms on someone else's table, while they themselves hadn't even tasted them, how could they bear it?

Growing mushrooms might be a bit of hard work, but Ying Jiuque had another idea. She had actually considered the best way out for those people before, and now she could combine those ideas.

"Your Majesty, I do have a way to help them become self-reliant. There is another group of people whose situation also deserves our help."

"Oh? Tell me."

Ying Jiuque frankly told her. Actually, this was an enlightenment given to her by Elder Mu. In those years of constant war, some people were lucky enough to survive the battlefield, but they were often missing limbs or had physical disabilities. In that era, it was difficult for ordinary people without a healthy body to support themselves. Furthermore, many people now believed in the saying "many children, many blessings," so soldiers who finally returned from the battlefield found themselves without a place to call home, and even more so, burdened by their families due to their disabilities, leading to them being neglected and unappreciated.

Many people could survive even without physical disabilities, but upon returning home, they often die within a year or two. It's hard to say they didn't suffer from the immense psychological shock. On the battlefield, swords are indiscriminate, and there's no guarantee of tomorrow; the suffering is unbearable. The only thing one can long for is their hometown and family, but upon returning, they find that their loved ones don't welcome them—what a agonizing torment!

"...We can't let the soldiers bleed and weep at the same time, can we? Fortunately, even though those soldiers have been retired for so many years, they still have the skills they need. With their protection, even the old and weak can survive... Of course, this is just my immature idea. Whether it can be done or not is up to Your Majesty to decide."

"..." Emperor Jingtai was speechless for a long time. He knew Jiuque was a good child, but the child's goodness still exceeded his expectations. Did Emperor Jingtai not know how miserable those disabled warriors had been back then? Was it that he didn't want to care? Of course not, it was that he simply had no other choice.

After the war ended, the imperial court should have provided compensation to the soldiers who returned home. However, Emperor Jingtai was unable to do so; he was extremely poor, having risen from humble beginnings as a rebel leader. He had only managed to rise through the ranks in that turbulent era to become emperor through sheer luck.

Of all the rebel armies at the time, his was the poorest. Even if they achieved final victory, the spoils wouldn't be enough to revive the Great Jing Dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Jingtai had mistreated them. A significant portion of the compensation that should have been paid was not delivered.

This had always been a thorn in Emperor Jingtai's side. Although he would allocate a portion of the national treasury to those soldiers every year, deep down he still felt he owed them too much. However, the court was full of talented people, yet they all seemed to have overlooked this issue. Until today, this question was actually raised by Jiu Que, who had only been an official for a few days and was still just a child himself.

How could this not cause Emperor Jingtai to have mixed feelings?

"What you said is very good, and this method is very effective. Jiu Que, you are truly my lucky star!"

"Your Majesty is so complimentary."

"Then I will entrust this matter to you, so as not to trouble two masters with one matter. I hope you will always remember your original intention today and keep the people in your heart."

"Yes."

Jiuque is willing to do something for everyone.

With someone to fall back on, Emperor Jingtai no longer held back, directly selecting a new generation of Golden Armor Guards to personally descend into Wuyou Cave to capture the enemy and bring the innocent out. The narrow terrain also had its advantages; it was good for training troops. With this experience, they would know how to deal with future urban warfare.

With the formula provided by Ying Jiuque, and using heavy, low-impact grenades to clear the way, followed by signal flares that flashed several times in an instant, the arrest proceeded smoothly. Meanwhile, those on the ground were not idle either. All the officials, civilians, and spies who had handled the money listed in the ledgers were arrested. After this round of confiscation, the treasury of the Great Jing Dynasty was visibly full.

Putting everything else aside, this one incident alone is enough for Emperor Jingtai to value Ying Jiuque. After all, other officials only squeeze money out of him, but Ying Jiuque has made money for him.

(End of this chapter)