A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Wei Zhao's eyes lit up immediately.

This method is actually quite similar to what he had in mind.

Since Han Dashan and Zhou Laodao have emptied the granaries of Bianzhou and plundered the powerful families of three counties, then don't blame him for reaching out with his knife and tearing out everything they just swallowed, bones and all.

Hit the richest one.

Hit the fastest.

The goal is to make sure the whole world knows that the new Wu Dynasty is not short of money or food, but rather that it will not use the last bite of food from the people to fill the army's pots.

But Wei Zhao quickly suppressed his excitement.

not enough.

Winning a battle is not difficult. The difficulty lies in what to do after winning it.

Whether it's Bianzhou, Chenliu, or even the granaries in Han Dashan's hands, taking them down only means getting the keys.

Behind the key are the county government office, fields, powerful families, fugitives, account books, military households, and granaries.

No one answered; it was still a lump of mud.

Wei Zhao tapped his fingertip on the military map, his voice slowing down.

"Miss Fang, I've also considered this method."

Fang Fuyao looked up at him.

Wei Zhao didn't beat around the bush.

"I can defeat Han Dashan, I can defeat Zhou Laodao. I can even personally lead the army all the way from Chenqiao to Bianzhou and devour all the grain they have hoarded, the silver they have plundered, and the soldiers they have recruited."

He paused, his gaze falling on the stack of recruitment rosters on the table.

"But what happens after the fight?"

No one in the hall responded.

Fang Fuyao looked at him, and finally a hint of seriousness appeared in her eyes.

"Since Your Majesty has thought of this, my visit has not been in vain."

Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Fang Fuyao walked to the military map and pointed her finger at Bianzhou.

"Governing a region is not difficult."

Wei Zhao stared at Fang Fuyao's fingers.

He knew she would say more.

As expected, Fang Fuyao continued:

"The difficulty lies in how, in the current situation, we can simultaneously win over the hearts of the people, suppress the powerful families, and prevent those who control money, grain, ships, and land from causing trouble behind our backs."

Wei Zhao's eyes lit up completely.

Correct.

This is it.

County magistrates are easy to find, and accountants are easy to find too.

However, what the new Wu Dynasty truly had to face were the deeply entrenched local powerful and wealthy clans.

Those people may not dare to openly rebel, but they can delay, hide grain, cause account books to catch fire, cause fleets to break down on the river, and turn displaced people into rebels overnight.

A knife can kill.

A knife cannot make a group of powerful families truly hand over their grain sacks.

At least we can't rely on a knife alone.

"Go on," Wei Zhao said, leaning forward half an inch.

Fang Fuyao glanced at him.

"His Majesty posted the recruitment notice because he intends to employ people without being bound by convention."

Wei Zhao did not deny it.

"When I saw the recruitment notice, I guessed that Your Majesty probably wanted to recruit more than just a few capable people."

Her voice was steady.

"Your Majesty wishes to break the old Wei dynasty's system of recommending officials for their positions."

The faces of several former officials in the hall changed.

That's too blunt.

They weren't even given a fig leaf.

Wei Zhao smiled.

"continue."

Fang Fuyao said, "It's just not possible right now. The country is not at peace, the prefectures and counties are not stable, the examination halls cannot be set up, and the examiners may not be clean. If Your Majesty pushes it now, the powerful families will join forces to cheat, the old officials will use the regulations to set traps, and the scholars from poor families will be suppressed by them again."

Su Qingyun nodded gently.

She understands these people's methods all too well.

As long as there are rules, there will be people who circumvent them.

As long as there's a list, someone will sell it.

Without sufficiently clean officials and strong oversight, a selection process originally intended to dismantle aristocratic families could easily become a mere shell for them to continue profiting from their privileged backgrounds.

Wei Zhao slowly suppressed the thought of "the imperial examination" in his mind.

It can't be rushed.

He hates the phrase "can't be rushed".

But some things really can't be rushed.

Fang Fuyao then pointed at Chen Qiao.

"Therefore, before the world is at peace, Your Majesty needs another method that is more direct, faster, and more effective in demonstrating its benefits."

Wei Zhao squinted.

"What method?"

"Military merit system".

As soon as those three words were spoken, the Hall of Supreme Harmony fell silent.

Fang Fuyao did not stop.

"In the old Wei dynasty, officials and nobles mostly came from wealthy families. Sons of powerful families already held official positions and owned land before even going to the battlefield. A lowly soldier on the frontier might be able to behead ten enemy soldiers and still not get a hot meal."

She looked at Wei Zhao.

"If Your Majesty wants to break this deadlock, you can't just open the door to scholars, you must also open it to those who dare to fight and take risks."

Wei Zhao remained silent.

But my mind was already racing.

Merit was recorded based on the number of kills, land was awarded based on military merit, titles were conferred based on military merit, and official positions were entered based on military merit.

Once this thing is released, the first to be blown up won't be the rebel king, but the old nobles.

If the military merit system is implemented too harshly, the army will only recognize heads and not military discipline.

Killing innocent people to claim credit, falsely reporting battle achievements, stealing heads, and slaughtering surrendered soldiers—all these things will emerge.

Wei Zhao was not unfamiliar with history, nor was he unaware of what a system could become when it fell into the hands of people.

What he wanted was a broken family, not a pack of mad dogs who only knew how to behead and exchange titles.

"How can we prevent someone from falsely claiming credit?" Wei Zhao asked.

Fang Fuyao seemed to have been waiting for this sentence.

"The battalion is the unit of defense, and the general is held jointly liable. Captures, flags, breaks through enemy lines, protect supplies, defend cities, repair weapons, and heal the wounded are all meritorious, not just the heads of the enemy."

Shang Wanqing looked up.

"Does repairing machinery count?"

"Calculate."

Fang Fuyao looked at her:

"Without weapons, how can soldiers earn merit? A skilled craftsman who builds a good crossbow might kill a hundred more people than ten brutes. Why doesn't that count?"

Fang Fuyao continued, "A physician who saves ten wounded soldiers should also be commended. A grain transport officer who protects a cart of grain should also be commended. A scout who discovers the enemy camp should also be commended. If military merit is only calculated by beheadings, the army will become a pack of wild dogs fighting over heads. If military merit is divided in detail, everyone will know what they are supposed to do."

Xie Daoning whispered from the side, "Can saving the wounded also be exchanged for land?"

"able."

Fang Fuyao said, "As long as the imperial court recognizes it."

Wei Zhao looked at her, and his initial wariness completely turned into interest.

This is not just empty talk.

She really thought about it.

The military merit system is most vulnerable to brutality.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, she broke down the battle achievements, including the vanguard, the city defenders, the grain transporters, the craftsmen, the doctors, and the scouts, all of whom were included in one net.

This is not simply encouraging killing, but rather linking the entire war machine together with interests.

it is good.

very nice.

Su Qingyun then spoke up: "If military merit is awarded as land, where will the land come from?"

This is the knife in the ledger.

Wei Zhao looked at Fang Fuyao.

Fang Fuyao said, "Rebel against Wang Tian."

With just those three words, the old officials in the hall turned pale once again.

Fang Fuyao's voice was not loud.

"Since Han Dashan and Zhou Laodao have rebelled, it is perfectly justified for the new Wu Dynasty to punish them. All the land that the rebel kings forcibly seized, the land that the powerful and wealthy landed with the rebels, and the land that they hoarded grain to defy the imperial edict, after being confiscated, part of it will be put into the official granary, part of it will be used to resettle the displaced people, and part of it will be distributed to the meritorious soldiers according to their military achievements."

She paused.

"The land that is conquered is immediately distributed as a reward. Soldiers know why they are fighting, refugees know who they can rely on for food, and powerful families know that they will lose their land if they do not surrender."

Wei Zhao's finger stopped.

Pretty.

This blow wasn't just aimed at Han Dashan.

It was a massacre of rebel kings, powerful clansmen, refugees, and soldiers.

Soldiers who receive titles and land will fight desperately.

When the refugees see fields, they will waver in their allegiance to the Holy Fire Church.

When powerful local magnates see that the imperial court dares to confiscate the land belonging to those who have submitted to the rebellion, they will start calculating which side they should side with.

The territory that the rebel king had just seized, before he could even enjoy it, would become a bounty for the new Wu Dynasty.

This is what it means to use war to sustain war.

It wasn't simply about seizing food.

It is about turning war into a system and victory into order.

Looking at Fang Fuyao, Wei Zhao suddenly realized that Fang Zhaoru was truly ruthless.

Instead of coming himself, he sent this knife.

Moreover, it's a knife that old officials dare not criticize, powerful families dare not look down on, and commoners will keep a close eye on.

"What will happen after the war ends?" Wei Zhao asked.

Fang Fuyao raised her eyes.

"Once the war is over, Your Majesty can then create the official selection method you truly desire."