Ye Youlan's daily life of traveling through time

The Seventh Prince asked Youlan to take the child to rest first, as he wanted to meet the local officials.

Ye Youlan held him back and said, "You should take a rest too. Let the officials from all over the country stay at the inn for one night. You can meet them tomorrow. I'll be listening from behind."

The Seventh Prince's eyes were filled with mischief. Ye Youlan patted him hard, "What are you thinking about?"

"I didn't think of anything, did you?"

Ye Youlan blushed: "That's nonsense. I just want you to have a good rest so that you can have the energy to talk to those officials tomorrow."

The Seventh Prince said seriously, "That's what I thought too!"

The two of them walked towards the room, chatting with each other.

Yueyue stood there and asked Dingxiang, "Did Mom and Dad forget that they have a lovely daughter?"

Dingxiang smiled and picked up Yueyue: "I'll take you to rest. I heard that your room is big and beautiful."

This time, Dingxiang and Dingyu both came along, but Yueyue's wet nurse didn't come because she didn't want to be separated from her family.

Li Zhi arranged a group of maids and servants in the new palace in advance.

Neither Ye Youlan nor the Seventh Prince were people who cared about appearances, so Ding Xiang was still responsible for taking care of Ye Youlan, Ding Yu went to take care of Princess Yueyue, and the others were waiting in various courtyards in the mansion, doing their own things.

Gucheng's air is dry and sunny. Ye Youlan reminded the people brought from the capital to drink plenty of water and wear sunscreen. She designed several sun-protective clothing and had the embroiderers in the mansion make them.

Ye Youlan likes the kind of sun-protective clothing that reaches her ankles, covering her tightly from head to toe, leaving only her eyes exposed.

The next day, officials of all ranks from the three places gathered in the meeting hall of the palace to report the situation.

In recent years, droughts and heavy rains have occurred in the fiefdom, crops have failed, people's lives have been difficult, people's livelihood has been declining, and it has been difficult to collect taxes. The situation in the fiefdom is difficult to describe.

Ye Youlan felt a headache listening to them from behind. They were all complaining about the environment, and no one suggested how to change it. It was not their fault, after all, many measures could not be implemented without the owner of the fiefdom coming.

Ye Youlan secretly stretched her head to look and found a familiar figure. It was Mr. Zhang, the prefect of Linzhou. He was promoted from county magistrate to prefect in less than a year. He must be quite talented.

Everyone talked a lot in the meeting room, and the documents recorded everything.

The Seventh Prince told all the adults to stay in the palace for lunch and continue in the afternoon. If no measures were taken to solve the existing problems, they would have to continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Ye Youlan was very smart. She brought a great chef from a restaurant in the capital and took his whole family with her.

The chef was very happy. Today was his first performance. He put all his efforts into the kitchen and prepared a sumptuous meal for all the officials.

Many officials had not eaten food from their hometown for a long time, and they were so moved that they burst into tears while eating.

After the meal, everyone was full of energy and not as restrained as they were in the morning. Everyone expressed their opinions and many sparks of inspiration flew. The Seventh Prince was very satisfied, and Ye Youlan nodded repeatedly behind him.

When they were talking about being thirsty, Dingxiang asked the maids to bring tea. Everyone took a sip and their thirst was immediately quenched. The aftertaste was sweet and they all said it was good tea.

"This is Snow Mist Tea. I brought some from the capital."

Everyone was surprised. They all knew that Snow Mist Tea was as precious as gold. How could the prince treat them with such precious tea? How could they be so worthy of this? From now on, they would swear to be loyal to the prince until death, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

We had dinner at the palace again, and we had noodles, steamed buns made with local flour, and local millet porridge, along with some local side dishes. Although not as luxurious as lunch, it was very comfortable and satisfied my stomach just as much as lunch.

After eating and drinking, everyone dispersed. They went back to think carefully, as they would continue the meeting tomorrow.

Magistrate Zhang was left behind, and he was very surprised when Ye Youlan came out to see him. He had always wanted to talk to the Seventh Prince alone about the situation in Linzhou, but he didn't expect that the princess was there too.

Magistrate Zhang told the princess that the biggest problem facing Linzhou right now is the strong wind and sand, and insufficient water resources. Farmers work very hard but harvest very little, and some people have been forced to leave their homes.

Ye Youlan asked Dingxiang to spread out a map.

"Zhang Zhifu, why don't you let the farmers in Linzhou plant more trees and flowers that are drought-resistant and heat-resistant, such as red-skinned sand jujube, Mongolian leek, poplar, purple-flowered Buddleja, cactus, and Ammopiptanthus? Plant various fruit trees in areas with less wind and sand. Let the farmers just plant, and I'll take care of the sales.

To encourage farmers to plant trees, I'm planning to reward them like this: if they grow a tree taller than an adult, they'll receive a 500-wen reward; if it survives for five years, they'll receive a tael of silver. Each tree should have a sign indicating the planter and planting date. Each year, the top 100 households that plant the most trees will receive various rewards, such as exemptions from taxes and labor service. In areas completely free of wind and sand, we'll plant some crops. To encourage land reclamation and cultivation, they'll only have to pay 20% of the grain rent for the first three years.

Magistrate Zhang was very excited. If these measures were implemented, everyone would be very motivated.

"I will go back and make arrangements."

Ye Youlan smiled, "No rush, let's wait until the meeting is over tomorrow! If other states have good suggestions tomorrow, you can learn from them. And when we go back, make a budget. The palace will allocate funds to Linzhou first. Linzhou, which is the most difficult, will be a model first, so other states won't be so reluctant."

The next day, Ye Youlan and the Seventh Prince came to the conference room together.

The Seventh Prince asked Ye Youlan to remind the officials to remember it carefully and then go back and do it.

So Ye Youlan told about the plans she had made in the capital.

Linzhou was to focus on economic forest cultivation, Qingzhou was to be developed into a grain production base, and Gokseong was to be the political, economic, and cultural center of the fiefdom. Development measures for each region would be compiled into documents and distributed to the various regions. Officials were evaluated annually, with the capable promoted and the incompetent demoted.

The performance evaluation of officials is not only based on economic development, but also on local social security and people's satisfaction with their lives.

Evaluations won't be based on comparisons, as local conditions vary. We'll only compare with local past performance, aiming for yearly improvements. Rewards will be based on performance, starting at fifty taels, with no upper limit. Earning a living based on your own abilities and receiving bonuses is a source of honor for your family and far more comfortable than living in fear of corruption.

Everyone was very excited and couldn't wait to go back and get to work.

The official had another meal at the palace in the afternoon before leaving.

Ye Youlan returned to the house and threw her shoes on the bed without taking them off: "I'm so tired. Starting a business is so hard."

The Seventh Prince came in and pulled her up: "Give me another idea about the garrison."

Ye Youlan half-opened her eyes: "Your Highness, you have become lazy. The military is your profession. I am an outsider and cannot offer any advice."

The Seventh Prince hoped: "You can do it. The current garrison in the fiefdom is less than 3,000, and they are all old, weak, sick and disabled. They have no fighting power at all. Even if we turn the fiefdom into a paradise, we won't be able to defend it."

Ye Youlan pinched the Seventh Prince's face: "Are you testing me?"