Chapter 657: Heartache

Editor: Atlas Studios

Fan Zijin asked coldly, “Then do you know of any talents whom we can deploy?”

Qi Haoran choked. Other than an advisor sent to him by his big brother, his subordinates were all from the Imperial Court. There wasn’t much talent to speak of.

Moreover, the Imperial Grace Examinations only began the preliminary exams this year, will proceed with the intermediate exams next year, and those who pass won’t be assigned to his command until the year after next. Furthermore, those who had passed the Imperial Examination might be good at studying, but they might not be capable in economic or military matters. Qi Haoran frowned in distress.

Fan Zijin snorted. Seeing that Qi Haoran’s expression was dark, he took a step back and said, “Alright, I’ll take care to rest in the future.”

However, both of them knew that if they could not find someone to share the workload, this sentence would only become empty words. Qi Haoran was so anxious that he did not sleep the entire night. When he woke up the next day, he sat on the chair with a bad temper.

Unwilling to see Qi Haoran’s grumpy face, Fan Zijin strolled back to his house without even eating breakfast. Fei Bai helped Qi Haoran wash up amid the depressing atmosphere, then rushed into the backyard as if he was flying. He begged Rain to help him ask the Princess Consort to go to the study to take a look, for the Prince’s expression was so dark he looked like he was about to kill someone.

When Mu Yangling went to the study, Qi Haoran was sitting on the chair in a daze, as if he had suffered a serious blow. Mu Yangling was shocked. Could it be that Zijin was seriously sick?

Mu Yangling held his hand worriedly and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Haoran’s eyes reddened. “Imperial Physician Wang said that he’s overworked. I’m worried it’ll affect his lifespan.”

Mu Yangling didn’t believe him. “Imperial Physician Wang was just exaggerating, right? Even if he’s a little tired, his lifespan won’t be affected.”

Although Fan Zijin was busy, he could at least guarantee six hours of sleep a day, right? With servants around him, other than work, he did not have to worry about anything else in life. In her previous life, she had friends who only slept four to five hours a day for the sake of their careers. They slept at two to three in the morning every day and woke up at six to seven in the morning. They were practically striving at the expense of their health, but she had never heard of anyone’s lifespan being affected due to this.

Although Fan Zijin was also busy, ancient people went to bed early. Every day, they would go back to sleep before 11 pm. Even if they woke up at 4 or 5 am to work, they would sleep from 11 pm to 3 am every night, which was the most suitable time for sleeping. That was much better than those who only slept at 2 or 3 am but slept for eight hours.

“It’s not recent. It’s his incompletely-cured illness from when he was in the capital,” Qi Haoran explained.

In Qiannan, it had been extremely busy for the first two months. However, with the brothers supporting each other here, it wasn’t too taxing on the body. After Mu Yangling came, Qi Haoran tried his best to rush home every night. Since he wanted to go home, he naturally could not let Zijin work alone in the military camp. Hence, he would also drag Zijin back. Even if Zijin worked till late in the study, it wouldn’t be too taxing on the body.

According to Imperial Physician Wang’s diagnosis, the problem lay in what happened two years prior.

Previously, when Fan Zijin was trapped in the capital, he had to endure fright and stress while looking for an opportunity to help Qi Xiuyuan carry out his mission. He truly went all out back then. Then, when Qi Xiuyuan attacked the capital, the rations allocated by the Qi family’s army were almost solely provided by him and Rong Xuan. At that time, it had become normal for him to not sleep for a few days and nights. At that time, he wasn’t even 20 years old, and was at an age where a guy was still growing. Later on, when the world became peaceful again and Qi Xiuyuan ascended the throne, Fan Zijin had been busy and had never fallen sick. Naturally, he did not think of seeing a doctor.

Fan Zijin had always felt that he was in excellent health. Although it was not comparable to Qi Haoran’s, it was not that bad either. However, Imperial Physician Wang’s pulse examination this time had undoubtedly uncovered all the problems caused by overdrafting his body for the past two years. In short, Fan Zijin had to recuperate while he was still young. Otherwise, the hidden dangers left behind would definitely erupt when he entered midlife.

However, what Zijin said was also right. If he relaxed, Big Brother would definitely have to share the burden. While Zijin’s health was not good, Big Brother’s health was only robust on the surface. They all knew that Big Brother wasn’t in good health either because the poison from back then had yet to be cleared.

This was also the reason why Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin tried their best to share Qi Xiuyuan’s burden—they hoped to reduce the burden on Qi Xiuyuan as much as possible.

Qi Haoran’s heart ached at the thought of his big brother and Fan Zijin’s physical condition. He held Mu Yangling’s hand tightly and asked, “Ah Ling, what do you think we should do?”

“In short, distribute your burdens to your subordinates. As long as you give a rough guideline, the supervision won’t go wrong. You don’t have to do everything yourself. For example, I only have to tell them a rough idea and they will be able to develop Dry Rice No. 1 and Dry Rice No. 2. I only have to tell Xiao Ting that I wish to construct terraced fields on our stipend land, and he will carry out the execution himself. I can just read at home and take care of our son, and only need to go to the fields to check on the progress from time to time.”

Qi Haoran looked at her speechlessly. “These are important matters of the Imperial Court, not some casual household matters. How can it be so easy?”

“Everything is interconnected. You’re the ones who overthink and constantly worry. If you don’t try to let go, how do you know that your subordinates can’t do a good job? You’re the rulers. What are rulers? In my opinion, a ruler is one who manages their subordinates well and let them do good work for you.”

“What if someone takes bribes?”

“Can you guarantee that none of your subordinates will accept bribes after everything you do?” Mu Yangling asked in return. “I know that delegating power will increase the probability of corruption and bribery, but the benefits are worth taking this risk. We can set up an inspection agency and investigate from time to time. As soon as someone has been found to accept bribes, we’ll punish them severely. Treat the advisors well and let them see that their hard work, coupled with being clean and honest, will bring them a bright future. Also let them know that they will need to pay a huge price for corruption. They naturally know what to choose.”

Seeing that Qi Haoran was deep in thought, Mu Yangling patted his shoulder and said, “I think that since the new dynasty has just been established, very few people are willing to commit crimes during the height of a crackdown. Haoran, in this era, it is prized for scholars to die for those who understand them. You can use your charisma to conquer them. Corruption is something you only need to worry about when the world is completely stable and prosperous in ten to 20 years.”

Mu Yangling wasn’t just rambling thoughtlessly. She had been watching the establishment of Great Qi, so she saw things very clearly.

The salary given to officials by Great Qi was still according to the old rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which was not too generous. Back then, Emperor Shizong had probably established such a salary system because he wanted to curb bureaucratic corruption. This achieved pretty good results in the first 50 years.

Now, according to the old rules, Qi Xiuyuan was also giving high salaries to officials. Moreover, he was an upright person and was famous for hating loafers and corrupt officials. The moment he ascended the throne, he confiscated the assets of a few famous corrupt officials from the previous dynasty and even used Minister Qin as an example. He repeatedly stated that he abhorred corrupt officials who hoarded the country’s assets and snatched the resources of the common people. Therefore, after the great purge, everyone was all kept on their toes and did not dare to embezzle. That included aristocratic families, noble officials, and poor families, among others.

Even in regions away from the capital, they restrained themselves because Qi Xiuyuan had beheaded a few corrupt magistrates.

Subordinates follow the example of their superiors not just with regards to vices, but also good habits. Therefore, with such an Emperor, fewer officials still dared to embezzle. Mu Yangling felt that it was best to nurture subordinates in such an environment because they could rest assured.

This was the benefit of establishing a new dynasty. Since the officials had yet to figure out the rules of the new dynasty’s bureaucracy, everyone would adopt a wait-and-see attitude. In order to catch the Emperor’s attention and stand out, they would be much more diligent than before.

Chapter end