“Your Majesty…” Wei Zhong stepped forward and whispered in Bai Qingyan’s ear, “Lords Dong Changyuan and Li Mingrui have arrived.”
Shen Tianzhi had always been sharp-eyed and perceptive. Seeing Wei Zhong whispering to Bai Qingyan, he rose and prepared to leave, bowing deeply to bid farewell: “If Your Majesty has other matters to attend to, this subject will take his leave first…”
“Minister Shen need not be in such haste.” Bai Qingyan waved her hand at Shen Tianzhi, signaling him to sit, and said to Wei Zhong: “Have the two of them come in.”
Dong Changyuan and Li Mingrui entered the hall, paid their respects to Bai Qingyan, and knelt behind the small tables that Wei Zhong had ordered to be brought in.
After Bai Qingyan finished explaining to Dong Changyuan and Li Mingrui about her plans to abolish the lowly people system, she continued: “As for how this matter should be implemented and how to ensure smooth implementation, you two must come up with a plan!”
Shen Tianzhi had not expected that Bai Qingyan would want to abolish the lowly people system. This would indeed be good news for those common people who were slaves, but for those wealthy families who owned lowly household registration servants and slaves, this probably wouldn’t be good news.
After all, lowly household registration servants could be beaten to death or sold at will by their masters, completely treated as their master’s property. If they encountered a somewhat better master, they might be able to buy their freedom and escape their lowly status, but if the master simply refused to release them, even the authorities had no recourse.
When he was in Shouyang, he had heard Bai Qishan say that the initial purpose of establishing the Bai Family Army was to protect and safeguard the people, but seeing the conduct of the Bai clan, he didn’t believe Bai Qishan’s words. Now, watching Bai Qishan’s eldest daughter, who had ascended to the imperial throne after becoming emperor, she had not, as he had imagined, extensively consolidated military and imperial power, but instead implemented new policies, with every new policy truly considering things from the people’s perspective.
Moreover, Shen Tianzhi could sense that Bai Qingyan planned to weaken imperial power after the new policies were fully implemented, delegating more authority… If Bai Qingyan truly did this, it would be unprecedented in history.
Looking at his cousin, Dong Changyuan was somewhat stunned. After all… Dong Changyuan, being a descendant born into an aristocratic family, had long been accustomed to servants and slaves being the private property of their masters.
But Dong Changyuan also understood in his heart that his cousin must have her reasons for doing this. At least in Dong Changyuan’s view, every new policy his cousin had implemented so far had been beneficial to the people. He was the first to express his position: “This subject will certainly do his utmost!”
Bai Qingyan nodded with a smile, then looked at Li Mingrui, whose brow was deeply furrowed.
Li Mingrui had many doubts. Could abolishing the lowly people system make the country stronger? It seemed it could not…
Moreover, lowly people were used as vanguard soldiers and cannon fodder in armies. Without these vanguard soldiers and cannon fodder, elite warriors would suffer losses. His Majesty came from a military family and had led troops before; how could she not understand this?
Furthermore, such new laws would inevitably disturb families who owned lowly household registration servants, perhaps even causing unrest in the Great Zhou. Not to mention the Li family, even the Bai family had servants.
Why… would Bai Qingyan go to such great lengths to change something that had almost no benefit for enriching the country and strengthening the people?
“What is it, Minister Li? Do you have questions?” she asked.
Li Mingrui hurriedly stepped forward, kowtowed to Bai Qingyan, and said: “Your Majesty, forgive this subject’s presumption. Previously, when Your Majesty implemented new policies, this subject could understand it as… Your Majesty is winning the hearts of the people, but now…”
“Minister Li, my new policies… are not merely to win hearts!” Bai Qingyan interrupted him before he could finish, her tone serious and steady as she looked at Li Mingrui. “I want to establish an unprecedented country, create an unprecedented world. In this world… everyone is equal, everyone! This includes these lowly household registration servants! Because they, too, are my people! I want all the people of Great Zhou to live as human beings! To live without worry about food and clothing! This is my greatest wish in this lifetime, and it is what I will do everything in my power to accomplish.”
Although this world could never achieve true equality for all, wherever there was power… wherever money was involved, inequality would arise. Bai Qingyan was willing to use her greatest ability to create a fairer country for the people, to let them live like human beings.
Bai Qingyan only had some simple documents left by Empress Ji, so implementation would require her and the ministers of Great Zhou to explore and advance together.
Li Mingrui was stunned. Meeting Bai Qingyan’s bright, clear, yet profound eyes, he was suddenly enlightened. Li Mingrui had always been intelligent, and he understood that his mistake was in trying to gauge Bai Qingyan’s thoughts using the same methods he had used to speculate about previous rulers’ minds.
He had originally been bold enough to risk offending Bai Qingyan by raising his doubts to show his loyalty to her, wanting to tell Bai Qingyan that he was willing to be straightforward with her, to be a solitary minister, an upright minister, and a minister who safeguarded imperial power—a minister who could be trusted and used by Bai Qingyan. But he hadn’t expected that today, from Bai Qingyan’s words, he would understand that her thoughts were different from other emperors who were solely focused on consolidating imperial power.
He stepped forward and bowed to Bai Qingyan: “This subject understands now. This subject is willing to brave fire and water for Your Majesty’s unprecedented aspirations, hoping that in this subject’s lifetime, I can witness together with Your Majesty the world that Your Majesty hopes to establish.”
“Then I must trouble you two…” Bai Qingyan nodded slightly to Li Mingrui. “If you encounter any difficulties, you two may go and consult Minister Shen Tianzhi!”
Speaking thus, Bai Qingyan looked at Shen Tianzhi: “Minister Shen…”
Shen Tianzhi was startled. Since becoming Minister of Works, he had never formed factions, yet Bai Qingyan’s current meaning was to place Dong Changyuan and Li Mingrui under his guidance. What did this mean?
The shrewd Shen Tianzhi further guessed that Bai Qingyan was openly placing personnel under his command, having him support and cultivate Li Mingrui and Dong Changyuan as his right and left hands, preparing for future heavy responsibilities to be entrusted to him. He quickly rose and bowed to Bai Qingyan: “I will not disappoint Your Majesty!”
In the second year of Yuanhe, on the first day of the fifth month, the first imperial edict of commendation from the Great Zhou Emperor for those who had merit in the destruction of Western Liang was issued.
Bai Qingqi was enfeoffed as Prince Huguo.
Bai Jinxiu was enfeoffed as Prince Fuguo.
Bai Qingyu was enfeoffed as Prince Zhenguo.
Bai Qingjue was enfeoffed as Prince Zhongguo.
Bai Qingyun was enfeoffed as Prince Xingguo.
Bai Jinzhi was enfeoffed as Prince Gaoyi.
Shen Kunyang was enfeoffed as Prince Zhennan.
Wei Zhaonian was enfeoffed as Duke Zhongyong.
Bai Jinzhao was enfeoffed as Marquis Yongyi.
Bai Jinhua was enfeoffed as Marquis Zhongde.
Bai Jinse was enfeoffed as Marquis Yinghui.
Gu Wenchang was enfeoffed as Marquis Dingshan.
Cheng Yuanzhi was enfeoffed as Earl Yongding.
Additionally, Sima Ruodan, the greatest contributor to capturing Yecheng Pass, was enfeoffed as Princess Xiangxie, and Sima Ruodan’s mother, Lady Cai, was posthumously granted the title of First Rank Imperial Consort. An order was also issued to reinvestigate the case of Sima Ruodan’s mother’s maternal family, the Cai clan.
These were all noble title enfeoffments. The rest would wait for the army’s triumphant return, when those who should be promoted would be promoted, and those who should be advanced would be advanced.