81 The Aftermath (2/2)
”No macaroons for you for a week as punishment.”
”Harsh,” said An Ning, sticking her tongue out at him.
The emperor laughed.
Watching their byplay, Ling Wan silently heaved a sigh of relief.
”To get back to important matters before zhen was rudely interrupted,” the emperor said, giving An Ning a side long glance, ”Mother empress and I have agreed not to execute the traitors. We have bigger problems than gorge ourselves in revenge by watching them die. As for exile, is that the only solution we have? Let them go and hope they'll settle somewhere far and we don't have to see them again? These men, traitors or not, are citizens of Yuqui. They are not Laniang but Yuqui people. Their loyalties might have been engaged somewhere but their families served Grandfather and Father emperor faithfully. Zhen wants to do the best for his people so if you have an idea how to go about it, now is your chance. Tell zhen what's on your mind.”
Put like that, it wasn't really that difficult to understand. Ten thousand men put to exile was a problem just waiting to happen. If allowed to leave, these men will likely become criminals, and the chances of them falling into similar schemes that proved ruinous for Yuqui were high. Ten thousand was too large a number to be released unaccounted for into the wild. Their leader might have been dead, but there was still the memory of Laniang's destruction to keep the embers of revenge smoldering and alive.
”What if we use them to rebuild Yuqui?”
The voice came from a young girl, Mei Mei, who was sitting next to Ling Nam. Mei Mei's flushed a becoming red when all eyes turned to her. Embarrassed by the attention, Mei Mei moved closer to Ling Nam, whose hand in hers tightened comfortingly.
”Use them? As slaves, you mean?” An elder gentleman seated at the back asked.
All eyes were again turned to Mei Mei.
”No, no,” she said, alarmed by the question. ”That's not what I mean.”
”So, what did you mean...ehrm...,” Kang Jun again leaned into the emperor, ”erhm...Mei Mei, right? If not slaves then what?”
Mei Mei turned towards Ling Nam, who stood up and pulled her with him.
”Your majesty, my name is Ling Nam and I am Wei Wei's fiancee.” A voice behind him harrumphed angrily. ”I am Mei Mei's fiancee,” Ling Nam repeated, glaring at the old man giving him a dirty look, ”and I think what Mei Mei means is that we make use of the prisoners to do the rebuilding for us. You know, pay them to rebuild the palace, the buildings, all that's been lost during the fighting.”
”Pay them? Are you crazy? We wouldn't be in this situation if they hadn't schemed against us first, you idiot!” said the incensed old gentleman behind Ling Nam.
”I know you don't like me but I'm marrying Mei Mei whether you like it or not. I love her and I'm going to marry her and that's that.”
”You insolent....” the old gentleman wheezed angrily.
Gu Sheng turned his face away, biting painfully at his lip. An Ning though was more unconstrained than him. She burst out laughing and immediately congratulated Ling Nam. Mei Mei's father was disconcerted and tried to explain his reasons for not allowing his daughter to marry somebody like Ling Nam who has no future to speak of.
”I think you're forgetting something,” An Ning said. ”Ling Nam is owed 10,000 taels of silver by his majesty's government. So does Mei Mei for that matter. And if they were to marry, there is an additional five acres of land waiting for them in either Laniang or the dowry land I brought with me during my marriage. So, all in all, Ling Nam is not actually a young man without prospects. His future is now assured. He just needs to work harder to make his wife happy, that's all.”
Mei Mei's father seemed to be struck by lightning. The same expression was on everybody's faces. The uncertainty of the imperial summons was so overwhelming and petrifying they clean forgot what the conditions were agreed upon when they signed up to defend the capital. And really, did anybody actually expected the royal family to keep to their promise? Give them money and land to defend the capital? What a joke, right?
”You didn't really think we'll reneged on our agreement, did you?” An Ning was amused. Looking at their shamed faces, she clearly had her answer.Even Gu Sheng looked really unhappy this time.
”I won't pretend that it will not cost the treasury but it's worth it knowing we can rebuild what's been lost. The rebuilding will take time but with all of us working together, it will happen. What's zhen's decision about the prisoners?”
”Mother empress speaks about rebuilding,” the emperor said. ”Many of our people are dead, dying and some are too ill to restart their lives. We need able bodies to help us rebuild so I agree to what's been proposed. Make use of these miscreants to rebuild the capital. They are not to be called slaves but laborers who will pay us reparation through their labors. But how do we go about doing this? Who will be responsible for them? They can't stay in prison for months on end during the rebuilding process, can they?”
”Why not put them under the public works administration then?” suggested An Ning. ”Have them sign a contract for six years at the end of which, they can either chose to remain or leave. But stipulate in their contract that during the six years, although they will receive a stipend and free housing from the government, they are not allowed to own property, build property, own a business, run a business, or even start a family.”
”Not start their own family?” Ling Wan asked somewhat startled.
”Starting a family would entail owning a domicile, which they're not allowed to do; or find a much better job to support such a family, which violates the agreement of reparation. This is not charity but an effort to extract payment from a gang of hooligans trying to run us out of our own city and country. They're not paying with their lives but their labor, which is a pretty fair exchange I should think.”
”As I see it, the only problem we have is who's going to run the agency? The ministry of public works currently needs someone to run it and so far we haven't chosen a candidate yet,” the emperor reminded her.
”Have Ling Wan do it,” An Ning suddenly dropped a bombshell.
”What?” Ling Wan was startled. ”I mean, your majesty...”
”You strike me as a level-headed guy. As his majesty said, these prisoners are to be treated as laborers, who still have rights of dignity and value to themselves. They are not slaves. If we put someone in the ministry with his own agenda, the end-result might be different from what we and the public expect. And I don't want this family dishonored because of a person like that. So, what do you say? Do you want the job or not?”
Ling Wan was dumbfounded but as he met the sincerity in the empress dowager's eyes, his beating heart calmed down and he nodded his head.
”Good,” An Ning said, clapping her hands. ”That's one problem solved. The entire government is at your disposal anytime you want to begin, Ling Wan.”
”I think I need to see the prisoners first, your grace, and explain to them,” Ling Wan said, still a bit overwhelmed by the fast turn of events.
”Of course. You will work with Commander Yi about that. He's in charge of the prisoners. Yi Hai, you've met Ling Wan, right? Okay, you and him work out a timetable then present it to us. We need to start the rebuilding as soon as possible.”
A hand was seen being raised in the back seat.
”Yes? What is it?” An Ning asked.
Mu Xing stood up, showing an expression of not wanting to take everybody's time but since he was already there, then everybody needs to hear what he had to say.
”Your grace, I was wondering. Are we going to cancel the Battle of Talents?”
Everyone looked at him with mouths open.
”The Battle of Talents?” An Ning asked, totally without a clue.
”Yes, your grace. It's one of our biggest events of the year. Talents from different kingdoms will arrive to compete with our students and each other. It starts on the first day of May and ends after a week.”
”That's barely two month's away,” the emperor said, frowning. ”Do you want to cancel it?” he asked, turning to An Ning.
”No. Canceling it would show everyone that Yuqui is weakened and we can't have that. We may be down but not out just yet. How many are expected to arrive?” she asked Mu Xing.
”Last year, we have about two hundred contestants, your grace. A five percent improvement from the previous year.”
”That number will probably double this year when the news of the failed rebellion starts spreading out,” An Ning said with a derisive laugh.
”The news of the rebellion? Why would anybody be interested in hearing about our own domestic problems?” Gu Sheng asked, frowning.
”First, because it's good gossip. Second, because everybody will want to assess how the attempted coup weakened Yuqui's defenses. Yuqui is a powerful kingdom which experienced its first attempted coup in many years. Everyone, including our friends and enemies, will not miss this opportunity to ascertain for themselves how Yuqui is coping with the after effects of its domestic war. It could either be good or bad for us but cancelling the tournament is a totally bad idea. How many students are competing from our end, Mu Xing?”
”More than a hundred, your grace.”
”Begin their training immediately.I want everybody to put up a very good show for our visitors. I want victory and winning and smiles and happiness. We've just won a war so let's celebrate, shall we?”