System Blessing: The Young Master of the Dong Family and Diao Chan's Fate

"But if we want to quickly increase the population, we may need some extreme measures."

Xun You stroked his beard and said seriously.

“It’s best to do both.”

"We need to take our time with domestic affairs. We should focus on how to quickly increase the number of registered residents."

Dong Yu's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked Xun You for advice.

"The Han Dynasty fell, the government became corrupt, and the people were living in dire straits. Many people, unable to survive, gathered in the mountains and forests."

"These bandits, ranging from thousands to hundreds, not only bring untold suffering to local people, but are also a force that cannot be ignored."

"My Lord, please send troops to suppress the bandits and try to recruit these people."

"The elderly were sent back to their hometowns and given land to continue farming."

"Young men can be recruited into the army. In their spare time, they can cultivate the land and train, and in times of war, they can take up arms and fight."

Xun You stroked his beard and offered a strategy to Dong Yu.

Although this strategy is not a war strategy, it is a strategy that can make political achievements show results in a short period of time.

Not to mention far away, even in the Sili area, there are tens of thousands of bandits.

The regular army can almost crush these weak bandits.

It is entirely possible to register these people at the lowest cost and increase taxes for the court.

"Well, this is a very good plan."

"I wonder if there are any others?"

Dong Yu nodded slightly and asked again.

"I shouldn't have said this, but since my lord has asked, I can't refuse."

"When the people could no longer make ends meet, some fled into the mountains and became bandits, while others sold their land to local wealthy and powerful families."

"Once all the money and food are used up, the powerful families will absorb them as hidden households."

"If you can liberate these hidden households and bring all the people under your jurisdiction, you can gain hundreds of thousands of people."

"However, this method will offend those powerful families. It is not advisable to use this risky move unless it is absolutely necessary."

Xun You spoke with an embarrassed look on his face.

He was from a noble family, so he naturally knew how many hidden households a noble family could have.

To put it bluntly, these hidden households are actually slaves.

The wealthy and powerful families provide them with food and clothing, and they spend their entire lives farming and working for them.

After so many generations, the number of hidden households in ordinary powerful families will not be less than 10,000. For those larger aristocratic families, it is possible that the number may be as low as tens of thousands or as high as over 100,000.

The reason why Xun You said this was simply because this matter did not infringe on his interests.

The Xun family is the Xun family, and Xun You is Xun You.

Although Xun You's surname was Xun, he was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir, and all the honor and disgrace of the Xun family had nothing to do with him.

When the Xun family was powerful, only Xun Yu's lineage benefited.

He had forgotten how many years it had been since he had returned to his master's home in Yingchuan.

"Let's talk about this later."

After hesitating for a while, Dong Yu hid his thoughts.

Although the Dong family has a bad reputation, it is not tolerated by the aristocratic families.

However, there were also some aristocratic families in the Sili area who did not stand on the opposing side, and even most of the officials in the court were children of aristocratic families.

He must take action, but if he does so now, all the noble families in the world will become his enemies.

In the final analysis, the Han Dynasty was still ruled by aristocratic families. No matter how much the Cao, Sun and Liu families suppressed the aristocratic families, they could only rely on them in the end.

This is the reality. If we want to completely defeat this group, we need to take a long-term view.

"Gongda, I heard that the current patriarch of the Xun family is Xun Yu?"

"I wonder what this person is like?"

Dong Yu looked at Xun You and asked Xun Yu's question for the first time.

Although he knew that Xun Yu had almost no reason to defect to him.

But this status is equivalent to the great talent of Zhuge Liang of Shu Han, and he really can't let it go.

Perhaps Xun Yu is not as famous as Wu Hou in terms of historical status and reputation, but on the stage of the late Han Dynasty, Xun Yu played an important role.

It can be said that without his help, Cao Cao's entrepreneurship would probably have been no easier than Liu Bei's.

With extensive connections, strong abilities, good vision and good character, no one would be uninterested in such talents.

"Before I was imprisoned, I heard that my uncle led his people to move to Jizhou, intending to seek refuge with Yuan Shao."

"He probably hasn't left yet."

Xun You frowned, tried hard to recall, and guessed.

"Hmm... Can we trick him into coming here?"

Dong Yu's eyes lit up, and his words made Xun You's eyes twitch.

Wow, you’re saying it so bluntly?

Have you admitted that you deceived me?

“It should be difficult.”

"My uncle represents the Xun family, and everything will be based on the interests of the Xun family."

"Dong... What the Prime Minister did was very different from what his uncle did."

"Besides, my uncle is much smarter than me and will never be fooled easily."

When Xun You mentioned Xun Yu, there was obviously a hint of fear in his eyes.

As the legitimate heir of the Xun family, Xun Yu received far more resources than others.

"Is that so... Sigh."

Dong Yu sighed with some regret.

I originally thought that if I couldn't get it, I would destroy it, but in the end I had to give up this idea with regret.

Come to think of it, if a person like Xun Yu could be easily deceived, he would not be able to help Cao Cao establish his ambitions and hegemony.

But I think he will go to Boss Cao soon.