Chapter 764: Baby Nuo’s Ingenious Plan
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ever since Prince Guang entered the capital, he had been very well-behaved every day.
Every morning, before dawn, he would stand outside the throne room, waiting to kowtow and pay his respects to Gu Yihan.
Then, he would walk back to the Zhuyou Palace.
The officials saw this. Some people thought that Prince Guang was trying to curry favor with the emperor.
However, some people with discerning eyes saw through his intentions.
For example, Censor Zhang.
After the morning court session ended, in the imperial study.
A few of Gu Yihan’s trusted officials lined up and stood in front of his table.
At this moment, Gu Nuo’er was sitting on her father’s seat and practicing calligraphy.
Gu Yihan held his daughter’s small hand and was teaching her to go through the memorials.
“Father, can this word ‘scram’ be written on the memorial too?” The child looked up, her watery eyes filled with curiosity and eagerness to learn.
Gu Yihan was wearing a dragon robe and looked heroic.
He laughed non-stop. “Nuo’er, look, what’s written on this memorial?”
Gu Nuo’er lowered her head and took another look. “It’s the official uncle from State Ke who’s crying that he’s poor and saying that the government office doesn’t have enough money. There are leaks everywhere and many river dams have been in disrepair for a long time. Therefore, he’s asking the imperial court to allocate funds.’
Gu Yihan nodded. “Then does Nuo’er know why Father wrote this word?” The child pondered for a moment.
She said thoughtfully, “The minister uncle from the Ministry of Revenue, who was in charge of organizing the wheat harvest in the various prefectures and counties, said that the lands in State Ke are dry. There was a small drought last autumn.
“Due to the lack of water and the lack of rain, they had even asked shamans to conduct a ritual to pray for rain. Therefore, the harvest in State Ke last year wasn’t very good either.”
The child was enlightened.
“Father is asking this official uncle from State Ke to scram because he lied! Since there was a drought, how could there be rain leaking everywhere? He probably wants to ask Father for money!”
Gu Yihan immediately laughed. “As expected of my daughter. You immediately understand.”
Gu Nuo’er’s black eyes darted around. “But Father only wrote one word. Although it can deter officials, it’s not enough to make them give up their desire for money.
“Even if Father doesn’t give the money to them, some officials might schemingly plunder the commoners. If that happens, the commoners will be the ones suffering.”
Gu Yihan raised his eyebrows and felt that it made sense. “What does Baby Nuo want to do?”
The child poked her chin with her pink fingertips and pondered for a moment.
Her watery eyes flickered with starlight.
She suddenly had an idea.
Her small hand immediately held the brush upright and wrote elegant words.
“The imperial court wants to pay money to rent fields that have yet to be planted with crops. We also hope that officials can lead by example, leading the commoners to work in agriculture.
“Therefore, if an official planted 10 or even 100 acres of land and had a fourth-grade harvest in the coming year, each person would be rewarded with
1,000 silver taels.
“However, officials have to supervise each other. If anyone slacks off and doesn’t plow an acre of land and even bullies the commoners, the person who reported the matter will be rewarded with 1,000 silver taels. The person who is reported will have to pay 1,000 silver taels as compensation. If anyone disobeys, they will be made to scram first before being killed. There will be no pardon.”
Her neat small script enveloped Gu Yihan’s word “Scram” in the sentence and fused it into one sentence.
After the child finished writing, she blew at the ink on the memorial.
“Father, arrange for an imperial envoy to bring the soldiers to State Ke to supervise the agriculture activities there.”
Gu Yihan looked at the memorial and handed it to his trusted subjects standing in front.
“Come, take a look at Baby Nuo’s brilliant plan together.”
One Hanlin official fell silent after reading it.
A moment later, he cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, this subject thinks that this method is inappropriate.”