The City Lord's mansion was crowded with the local elite, each with a troubled expression or banging on tables in anger.
The atmosphere was tense.
"Why?"
"Why should we bear the responsibility for the trouble caused by those two major sects?"
"Resettling refugees is one thing; at least it's a benevolent deed. But having to share the compensation to several surrounding countries? Does the Great Qian imperial family think we won't resist, letting them fleece us at will?"
"This is madness, absolute madness!"
"Every Foundation Establishment family has to fork out one thousand low-grade spirit stones. Are they trying to bleed us dry?
One thousand low-grade spirit stones.
I won't be able to use that much in my lifetime."
"If they push us too far, we'll just pack up and leave. We held back from destructively exploiting some resources for long-term development. If they force us out, don't blame us for taking our mineral deposits and spiritual veins with us!"
"It's hard to leave one's homeland..."
"He's gambling on our reluctance to leave our homeland, that's why he's pushing us. No, I'm not reconciled, not reconciled!"
Not a single person present was satisfied with the tasks assigned from above. They were all venting their anger and resentment, with many ideas forming in their minds.
Some were even contemplating leaving the Great Qian Dynasty altogether.
After all, the Great Qian Dynasty had lost the protection of a Nascent Soul ancestor. Even if it recovered, it would be at the mercy of others. If their families had Yuan Ying Venerables, staying might even bring some benefits, but they were just small Foundation Establishment families. Even if there were benefits, they wouldn't reach them, and they would only be forced to bear the drawbacks.
Like the spirit stones that had to be handed over this time.
The tasks were likely passed down from the higher authorities to the large sects, and then from the large sects to the large families, eventually reaching them. The tasks of some large sects and large families had probably been pushed onto them, hence the demand for so many spirit stones.
This operation was no different from mortal families.
On the surface, it was a general tax increase, but in reality, the aristocratic families and wealthy merchants saw no increase, and even a reduction, while the increased taxes were all borne by the common people and small merchants who had no power to resist.
They, these weakest Foundation Establishment families.
Naturally became the lowest rung.
Became the ones assigned the most tasks.
"Alright, alright, everyone, please be quiet.
These are the tasks assigned from above. I haven't dared to add a single spirit stone, and it's a time of national crisis. Let's work together and stop complaining. I don't think you want to see the Great Qian Dynasty collapse, do you? There is no home without a country.
One thousand low-grade spirit stones is indeed a lot, but I believe you can scrape it together if you try.
If you can scrape together spirit stones, then for the rest, which only require silver and grain, don't tell me you can't.
Time is pressing, and the refugees will be arriving soon.
Everyone, go back and diligently complete the tasks assigned to you and submit them. That way, I can also complete my mission and, in parallel, build temporary housing nearby to accommodate the arriving refugees.
If you evade or fail to complete these tasks now, not to mention punishment from above, your reputation will be forever tarnished. I hope you all think carefully and don't bring ruin upon yourselves!"
The City Lord couldn't be too forceful, demanding immediate compliance, so he had to resort to veiled threats.
Hoping everyone would consider their reputation.
However, the tasks assigned this time were indeed a severe blow to each family. Thus, they remained quite resentful. After the meeting ended, they didn't disperse but regrouped in small groups to privately discuss whether they would accept.
If not, how would they respond?
Would they stubbornly resist or simply pack up and leave?
After several major families discussed and deliberated, they returned to their own residences and convened another meeting with their elders. Ding Yun had recently revealed her Foundation Establishment cultivation, successfully becoming a Supreme Elder of the family.
Therefore, she was naturally qualified to participate in the discussions.
After much deliberation, their biggest sticking point was whether this assignment, or rather, this distribution, was a one-time event or would continue. If it was a one-time occurrence.
Then, they could grit their teeth and accept it.
Suffering a blow was better than starting anew. Competing for resources on someone else's territory with other Foundation Establishment families would lead to casualties, and the losses would likely be even greater.
But what if this distribution didn't solve the problem, and a second or third round followed? Who could endure that? It was truly difficult for these small Foundation Establishment families to earn spirit stones.
They were extremely reluctant to use spirit stones for their usual cultivation.
Only when breaking through a realm would they reluctantly use a few spirit stones. Most of the spirit stones earned were saved up in preparation for purchasing Foundation Establishment Pills.
After all, the foundation of a Foundation Establishment family lay in its Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Without Foundation Establishment Pills, where would they get Foundation Establishment cultivators? This was their root. One thousand low-grade spirit stones would take them several years to save. More importantly, Foundation Establishment Pills weren't always available; it required luck. If they had to save for a few more years due to the lack of these one thousand low-grade spirit stones, delaying the purchase of a Foundation Establishment Pill.
On a small scale, it meant missing an opportunity. On a large scale, it could lead to the family's inability to sustain itself.
And this was just one aspect of the problem. Another issue was that the drought caused by the death of the drought demon would not be alleviated in one or two years. This meant that for the next three to five years, or even longer, half of the Great Qian Kingdom's territory would be a barren wasteland.
Completely devoid of life, yielding no harvest.
Consequently, the refugees fleeing from those lands would need to be supported indefinitely. Supporting two-thirds or even four-fifths of the country's original population with half the land, even after many had perished, would be incredibly difficult.
Moreover, the territory originally occupied by the Xu Ri Sect was the most fertile region of the Great Qian Kingdom. The surviving regions combined would not even match the grain output of the destroyed territories, even if doubled.
And their Beihai Commandery had even more barren land.
If it weren't for their proximity to the sea, which allowed them to supplement their diet with seafood, people would likely starve every year. Therefore, ensuring the incoming refugees didn't starve would be a major challenge.
Deducting half of their already meager rations to provide for the refugees, who could endure that? Not to mention the increased taxes and corvée labor imposed by the authorities.
It was practically driving them to their deaths.
"Brilliant, truly brilliant. The person who came up with this method is exceptionally clever. In reality, both compensation and disaster relief should be the responsibility of the imperial court. Yet, they are now delegating and distributing this responsibility.
This is equivalent to shifting the conflict.
While some aristocratic families may resent the imperial court for doing so, they have diverted the conflict with the refugees. If they didn't do this, the refugees, unable to eat their fill, would cause unrest and certainly resent the court.
Such a large number of refugees could quickly gather millions, even tens of millions, of rebels, which is terrifying.
But by distributing the refugees to various commanderies and cities.
Firstly, it prevents them from gathering and rebelling.
Secondly, it shifts the conflict. If those commanderies and cities fail to adequately provide disaster relief, leading to the refugees starving, the refugees' first reaction would likely not be resentment towards the court, but towards the officials and aristocratic families of those commanderies and cities, and towards the common people for their inaction.
At that point, the conflict would be between the local officials and aristocratic families and the refugees, not between the court and the refugees.
Regardless of whether the local officials and aristocratic families provide disaster relief and rescue the people, or fail to do so and resort to slaughter.
The court can remain aloof, and even act as a referee, enacting a policy for the benefit of the people!"
After listening to everyone's discussions, Ding Yun, sitting in one of the four uppermost seats, couldn't help but sigh.
This was an open scheme, a scheme as open as the "Enfeoffment of Princes" decree, relying on the court's legitimate status.
As long as the court held legitimacy, this approach was almost impeccable. After all, if the court issued an order and you disobeyed, it would be defiance of imperial decree. If you obeyed, you would have to bear the consequences the court had shifted onto you.
After Ding Yun's analysis, the Liu family elders present also came to a realization. Although they didn't understand theories like "main contradiction" and "secondary contradiction," they could comprehend Ding Yun's specific meaning and understand the situation.
"Then what should we do?
Are we truly helpless?"
"There is a way. Disaster relief. We will provide full disaster relief. We will take this opportunity to expand our influence. As for food and spirit stones, you don't need to worry about anything. I will handle it. The refugees of the entire Jiyun City.
Will be taken care of by our Liu family!
If possible, it would be best to take responsibility for all the refugees in Beihai Commandery, or even all the refugees in the Great Qian Dynasty. This perfectly aligns with my upcoming plans, which are desperately in need of people. Let's do it this way!"
Ding Yun had no clear plans for a long time, not fully understanding how to gain enough influence. Until today.
Over a hundred million refugees represented an immense pool of human resources.
The destroyed lands.
Represented a vast amount of land resources.
Previously, acquiring these people and this land would have been as difficult as climbing to heaven. But now, both land and people were a burden, a hindrance to the Great Qian Dynasty. If someone was willing to take them in.
They would undoubtedly be happy to let go.
And wasn't this Ding Yun's opportunity?
Moreover, this way, she would not only gain influence that would shake the world but also the gratitude of these common people. Whatever she wanted to do in the future, even establishing a nation, would not be difficult.
The biggest difficulty would be supporting these people.
But this was not a problem for Ding Yun.
Not to mention the various high-yield grain seeds and even special grain seeds in her soul space, the two cultivation techniques she practiced were not only highly suitable for farming but also for purifying the now almost destroyed lands.
With enough people and land.
How could expanding her influence be difficult?