Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 182 What Chu Xiong Saw and Heard

The reforms in Northshire are unstoppable. Although spring has not yet arrived, the reform notices have been posted all over the cities under Northshire's jurisdiction, and the Northshire army is leading the way.

When the people heard that Beijun had been declared a kingdom, they were overjoyed, as it meant that the King of Beijun had officially taken over Beijun.

However, the people were soon not happy, because rumors spread that the Northern King was going to take back all the land in the Northern Prefecture and return it to the Northern King's Palace. The people of the Northern Prefecture would only have the right to use the land, not the right to own it.

Land is the lifeblood of most ordinary people. How can they feel at ease if you suddenly take the land back?

The common people flocked to the place where the notices were posted, listening attentively as the Imperial Guards soldiers read out the reform measures and explained them.

In order to make the people of Beijun understand the benefits of reclaiming land use rights, Lu Chen mobilized most of the Beijun army.

Except for the Black Cavalry and the artillery battalion, all the soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Northern Commandery were mobilized.

This reform is very important for both Beijun and Lu Chen. Lu Chen is not trying to create a world where everyone is equal; he is preparing for the industrial development of Beijun.

As a modern time traveler, Lu Chen was well aware of the importance of land. If the problem of land annexation was not resolved, a dynasty would not last long, and land annexation would seriously affect future industrial development.

For example, if you want to build a road, and it's private land, you'll need to spend a lot of money to compensate the other party, but things are different now.

Legally, all land in the Northern Kingdom belongs to the Northern King. In the future, if the Northern King's Palace wants to build roads, no one can stop it. No one will dare to bring up the land issue when the Northern King's Palace develops any industry.

Yancheng.

Today, the gates of Yancheng were just as crowded as they had been a few days ago. Under the control of the Beijun soldiers, only the main road leading into the city was left open.

Without the control of the North County soldiers, the main roads into the city would probably have been blocked by the local people.

At this moment, an old man with white hair arrived at the city gate. He had originally come to Yancheng by carriage, but seeing so many people gathered at the city gate, the old man became very interested. So he let his carriage go into the city first, and he went to the notice board at the city gate to watch the excitement.

At this moment, a member of the Imperial Guard dressed in black and red stood on a table next to the notice board, holding a notice and loudly proclaiming: "Under the vast heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king. From this day forward, the ownership of the land in Beijun legally belongs to the prince, and no one may sell the ownership of the land..."

Chu Xiong's heart trembled upon hearing the words of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

What a grand vision!

This was the first time he had heard the saying, "Under the vast heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king."

He originally thought that Emperor Xia was already radical enough, after all, Emperor Xia had always been thinking about eliminating the aristocratic families. But he didn't expect that his grandson was even more radical than Emperor Xia. He took back all the land and completely cut off the roots of the aristocratic families.

Although there are no major aristocratic families in Beijun yet, the Northern King's set of regulations makes it almost impossible for ancient aristocratic families like those of the Great Xia to emerge in the future.

At this moment, Chu Xiong's expression was rather unpleasant, and his inner emotions were extremely complicated. He had always supported his grandson becoming emperor, but he never expected that his grandson would be even more ruthless towards the aristocratic families.

If Emperor Xia were to step down and his grandson were to take the throne, he would probably be even more eager to eliminate the ancient family than Emperor Xia himself.

Chu Xiong couldn't help but wonder, could it be that he was really wrong?

The right choice for the Chu family is to ally with the Eighth Prince.

At least the Eighth Prince is on the side of the Jiangnan aristocratic families. After the Eighth Prince comes to power, there will most likely be no major conflicts with the ancient aristocratic families. In the end, the ancient aristocratic families and the Eighth Prince will still rule the world together.

But his grandson was different. Judging from his grandson's policies, he was clearly trying to prevent land annexation and to prevent the formation of powerful clans in the northern region.

Without land, aristocratic families are like fish out of water; they can't survive for long.

Thinking of this, Chu Xiong sighed inwardly.

Although he felt a little sad, Chu Xiong still decided to go see his grandson.

After all, he was related to me by blood, and he even called me his maternal grandfather when I was little.

At this moment, the crowd began to stir, and a commoner shouted loudly, "How can Your Highness do this? If you take all the land back, how are we common people supposed to live!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately erupted in a loud commotion.

"That's right! We cleared and reclaimed that land ourselves, why should it belong to the Northern Prince's Mansion!"

"Your Highness is too domineering! I will never hand over my land."

"Whoever wants my land, I'll fight them to the death!"

……

Faced with the indignant crowd, the Jinyiwei soldiers remained remarkably calm. They had been spreading the word for several days, and this was the initial reaction of the people; they had grown accustomed to it.

At this moment, a Jinyiwei soldier said, "From the day the Great Xia was founded, the land of Great Xia has belonged to His Majesty the Emperor. Now the Emperor has enfeoffed the Northern Commandery to the Northern King. The land of the Northern Commandery should rightfully belong to the King. The King is simply enforcing the law to prevent anyone from selling the land at will."

"The land you originally owned will remain yours to use; the prince has no intention of taking back your right to use it."

"Furthermore, the Prince has said that from now on, all agricultural taxes will be exempted, and you will reap the same harvest as you grow!"

"Not only that, next year the Northern Prince's Mansion will also distribute seeds of high-yield grain crops. I believe you have already heard that the Northern Prince's Mansion has grain that can yield several thousand catties per mu. In just this year, none of you here will have to worry about going hungry or freezing anymore."

Upon hearing that the Imperial Guards would exempt all agricultural taxes, the people became incredibly excited.

"Really? Your Highness really intends to exempt all agricultural taxes?"

Is this policy permanent?

"Is the prince lying to us?"

"Where do we go to collect the grain seeds from the Northern Prince's residence?"

……

For a time, the entrance to Yancheng was filled with noise.

Chu Xiong squeezed out of the crowd alone and watched the excited people from afar.

He found it incredible that the policy of exempting all agricultural taxes was so radical, it was no less than legally stipulating that land ownership belonged to the Northern King.

Was this his grandson's own idea, or Emperor Xia's?

As a traditional emperor, Emperor Xia, despite his deep hatred for the ancient aristocratic families, would never have thought of a policy that exempted all agricultural taxes.

Agricultural taxes are an important source of revenue for the national treasury. If the Great Xia Dynasty did not have agricultural taxes, it would probably not even be able to pay the salaries of its officials.

Chu Xiong had been wondering if his grandson might actually be a pawn of the Xia Emperor, but after this policy was announced, he instantly realized that his grandson had absolutely no connection with the Xia Emperor.

The policy of exempting agricultural taxes will have a very negative impact on other parts of the Great Xia territory. In the future, when the people see that the agricultural taxes in Beijun have been exempted, they will definitely think, "We are all people of Great Xia. Beijun has exempted agricultural taxes, so why can't they be exempted?"

This would cause instability within the Great Xia territory, and if this continued, it would inevitably lead to discontent among the people. Therefore, the Xia Emperor would not allow such a policy to appear in the Great Xia.

At this moment, Chu Xiong was filled with questions. He felt that only after seeing his grandson could he resolve the doubts in his heart.

He then stopped and walked directly toward the city gate.

Just then, a beautifully decorated carriage passed by Chu Xiong. A gust of wind blew, and the carriage curtain was blown open. Chu Xiong's gaze fell on the carriage, and he saw the woman inside.

He didn't recognize the woman in the carriage, but he instantly judged from her aura that she was a grandmaster.

After the carriage passed by him, Chu Xiong frowned as he looked at the painting on the back of the carriage.

"Xuan Yue Palace? Could the woman in the carriage be the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace?"

"It seems the situation in North County is more chaotic than I imagined."

(End of this chapter)