Governance

Li Xian watched as the physician left the room and a servant girl poured him a cup of tea. Standing outside were two of the guards that had rushed in earlier on.

"Jie Li, Jie He, come in." Li Xian barked and the two guards stared at each other for a few moments before stepping into the room and bowing respectfully.

"My lord!" The two brothers shouted in unison and Li Xian nodded.

"Sit, have some tea with me."

The two guards almost had an expression of incredulity as their faces twitched under their helmets. Liu Zhang had often kept a professional distance between himself and his subjects.

The two brothers shifted uncomfortably but Jie Li, the one who had often been the less cautious one sat down straight away, with Jie He sitting down soon after.

As the smell of Pu'Er tea wafted towards their noses, Li Xian poured them two cups of tea and sipped it, allowing the tea to clear his head and waited for the other two to do the same. There was an awkward silence in the room as the brothers meekly drank from their cups.

After a few moments, he asked the two brothers, "Do the two of you come from farming families? If the two of you went back to farming, will you be able to support yourselves as you do now?"

The older brother, Jie He, spoke hesitantly, "My lord, we are satisfied with our current job postings. If we have done anything to offend you-"

"No, no. That is not what I meant." Li Xian waved his hand, his robes billowing slightly. This was when Li Xian noticed he was dressed in dark blue silk linen which was smooth and embroidered with patterns of flowers upon them.

Jie Li replied, "If our parents and us worked our asses off in the fields, we should be able to barely survive. Being a soldier pays a lot more, my lord."

"Brother!" Jie He hissed but this prompted Li Xian to laugh. This was the answer he was looking for. Sometimes, it takes one that is brasher to give the answers he was looking for and with a smile, he said, "you are dismissed."

Reaching for a brush and his inkstone, he let Liu Zhang's knowledge of writing guide him as he created something simple that can propel agriculture forward. In ancient China, the horizontal water wheels were the most common application of water wheels, where they assisted in duties such as tilling.

What if, just what if, Li Xian applied a regular water wheel to agriculture now? It was only in the Ming Dynasty that such practices became widespread.

After two hours and several revisions, Li Xian clutched the rolled-up note and walked towards the court, greeting several courtiers along the way. Just steps away from the court, he could hear a heated debate from within.

"Why are we holding onto the grain? We can redistribute them to the peasants-" Fa Zheng barked and Yan Yan, an elderly general, shook his head.

"My dear Colonel, if Dong Zhuo marches on us, we need something to feed our troops in a siege. What is there to say that he will not attack us and seize the fertile lands of Yi Province? The Xiliang Cavalry will tear through our armies on open land... But I understand your-" He began his slow explanation but was cut short by Zhang Song who muttered, "Watch the argument. The lord is here."

As Liu Zhang moved through the court, the ministers stepped to the sides, bowing respectfully as he sat down at the head of the court.

"Today, I have a new commitment that I want to make." Li Xian said loudly and all of the officials looked at one another. Liu Zhang was a lord who never made major changes or reforms because rightfully, in his time, things were fine. However, he took the wrong advice of people and ostracized capable ministers, which gave the opening for Liu Bei to take over.

"Fa Zheng, step forward and receive my orders."

Fa Zheng had a clear expression of confusion as he stepped to the middle of the court. He was one of the ministers that had later defected to Liu Bei because his talents were unappreciated by Liu Zhang.

"I want you to expand the Office of Agricultural Affairs and hold it concurrently with your current position. Then implement this across every farm in Yi Province. Have the local soldiers help the farmers craft these for free."

He handed the design of the water wheel to Fa Zheng who was clearly shaken by his sudden elevation in authority.

"I want the farmlands greatly expanded in Yi Province. In five years, I want it to be double the size. Additionally, this is an idea I heard from somewhere..." Li Xian began his lie.

"Have the farmers grow tilapia in the waters of the rice paddy fields. This helps them get rid of pests and can act as a secondary food source. If need be, have the garrison soldiers help them with this as well. In three years, I want this fully implemented across our lands."

Fa Zheng pondered over the idea for a moment. The water wheel, he could understand the purpose. It was so that the farmers can make use of water for many purposes without having to irrigate their fields by hand if they did not live near a dam or low-lying land.

The tilapia, on the other hand, provided a source of meat... Of course, this was a simple solution. And if they provided manpower in the form of soldiers who stood about idly in peace time...

"My lord, what if Dong Zhuo attacks?" Yan Yan, the veteran general asked and Li Xian shook his head.

"I don't believe he will. The road to Shu is hard and even if his cavalry made it towards the mountains, our archers will be able to hold off each road for months on end."

"If we don't feed our people first, our nation will suffer. Once the chaos of war has extinguished, people will look to us to help support the Han court." Li Xian replied and Yan Yan nodded slowly. There was truth in what was said.

Dong Zhuo's Xiliang cavalry was tough but not invincible. As long as they don't make it to the open lands of Yi Province, the mountainous roads guaranteed a formidable defensive line against any incursions.

"Additionally, let this be known to the public, Li Yan, you take charge of this. Any resident with a sound business idea vetted thoroughly by you can come forward to make a reasonable loan request in which we will help fund their business."

There was a stir in the court as Li Yan accepted the edict. This was out of line and unheard of.

"My lord, this will cause a large exodus of the gold that we have saved through times tough and good..." Zhang Song pleaded for a reversal but Li Xian was adamant.

"That is a good point. Zhang Song, make sure one-fifth of all income we make are put to this scheme. Li Yan, I leave it to you to decide how much we ask back for once the business is successful. Don't disburse the funds all at once, but make clear milestones they must reach."

Zhang Song, surprised with the sudden duty, hurriedly bowed.

"Once the civil affairs start to fall in line over the next few months, Yan Yan and Huang Quan, I want you to come up with a proposal for reforming the army. That is all."

As Li Xian stood up to leave, he couldn't help smiling in secret at what he was hearing.

"The stars indicated a good sign yesterday... Is our lord well?" Huang Quan muttered to the others who could only shrug in response.