Minister Qian lowered his head, unable to think of any good solutions.

The Great Jin Dynasty had a law that stipulated that princes, nobles, and even court officials who received titles or rewards were exempt from paying any taxes to the court.

This is also the reason why the Great Jin Dynasty has not granted fiefdoms in the past ten years or so.

Who would have thought that a small village that had just recovered from the plague could amass such a fortune?

Minister Qian pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "I do have a plan, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not."

The emperor frowned, somewhat displeased. What kind of time was this, for this old man to still be beating around the bush with him?

Tell me about it.

Minister Qian carefully considered his words and said, "In my humble opinion, it would be better to let the Princess of Kangle Township make some contributions to the scholars of the Great Jin Dynasty by presenting the method of making bamboo paper, and then reward her accordingly."

Although Minister Qian's method was somewhat underhanded, it was still a good method nonetheless.

But the emperor absolutely could not agree to it. If the vassal kings of the Great Jin Dynasty followed suit, wouldn't things descend into chaos in the long run?

With constant battles on the border, I submitted a petition two days ago requesting supplies and troops. We are currently facing both internal and external troubles.

The emperor clutched his forehead, his head throbbing. He waved his hand and said, "Let me think about this carefully. We'll discuss it again later."

Minister Qian glanced up and saw that the emperor was already showing signs of drowsiness, so he took his leave.

After Minister Qian left, the chief eunuch stepped forward and reminded the emperor, "Your Majesty, why don't you take a short rest?"

The emperor looked at the pile of memorials laid out before him, which he had not yet reviewed, and had no time to take a break.

Suddenly, he turned his head and saw an unfolded memorial.

The border war is intense, and there is a shortage of not only food and clothing, but also a need to replenish troops and doctors.

The Princess of Kang Le Township is a physician by profession. If she were to be sent to the border to treat the wounded and sick, serving as a model for all physicians in the Great Jin Dynasty, it would be a wonderful story.

The border is extremely dangerous. If the lord of Kangle Township were to die unexpectedly, there would naturally be grounds to reclaim this fief.

Thinking of this, the emperor's mood immediately brightened. "Quickly! Draft an edict!"

Although the chief eunuch did not understand why, since it was the emperor's order, he immediately sent people to make preparations.

Five days later, the imperial edict was delivered to Tianxin Village by fast horse.

At that time, Lu Qiqi, the head of Kang Le Township, was sitting in the accounting office of the paper mill counting money.

Holding stacks of large banknotes in her hand, she couldn't stop smiling.

With these banknotes, she could not only expand the paper mill, but also the lime factory.

The paper mill was expanded directly next to the old factory building, and the lime plant could be built on the hillside where limestone was mined.

Once the lime plant is expanded, it will be able to provide jobs not far from home for the extra labor force in the villages within the fiefdom, in addition to farming.

Once the factory is built, she can not only build manor villas in the veterans' village, but she can even build manor villas throughout the entire Tianshui village.

Thinking of this, Lu Qiqi couldn't stop smiling.

Just as she was about to ask Li Changlong to bring Zhao Xiaodong over to discuss expanding the paper mill.

Zhao Xiaodong showed up uninvited.

"Lord of the Township".

Zhao Xiaodong could tell at a glance that he had run in from outside, drenched in sweat and out of breath.

Upon seeing the person arrive, Lu Qiqi raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I was just about to send someone to look for you, but I didn't expect you to come here."

"You've come at the right time. I'd like to discuss expansion with you..."

“Princess, there’s a high-ranking official outside. He says he’s here to deliver an imperial edict to you, Princess Kang Le,” Zhao Xiaodong interrupted Lu Qiqi.

"What did you say?"

It's no wonder Lu Qiqi was surprised; after recovering from the plague, what kind of imperial decree could there be to be conveyed?

Moreover, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty was known for his stinginess in giving away his own writing materials as a reward.

Even a fool would guess that she wouldn't receive any further reward.

Immediately, Lu Qiqi's upturned lips straightened, and she said in a deep voice, "Where is the person who was to deliver the imperial decree?"

"Village entrance".

"Let's go take a look first."

The matter of conveying an imperial edict is of great importance; even if the minister is not in his residence, he must be found immediately.

Moreover, Lu Qiqi was merely a minor village head who possessed a fiefdom but held no real power.

Lu Qiqi quickly arrived at the entrance of Tianxin Village, where she saw an official in a green robe standing at the entrance, with two fine horses and a soldier in armor carrying a sword behind him.

The two looked travel-worn, as if they had rushed here day and night.

Lu Qiqi was very puzzled. What important thing could be so urgent?

An official dressed in a green official robe saw Lu Qiqi and announced loudly, "Now that everyone has arrived, please, Princess Kangle, receive the imperial decree."

Having learned from her previous experience of receiving a reward, Lu Qiqi knelt down on one knee with practiced ease.

The official was about to reprimand Lu Qiqi for daring to disrespect the Emperor's decree.

But when he thought that Lu Qiqi probably didn't have much time left, he stopped worrying about these trivial details.

The official unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Lu Qiqi, the Lord of Kangle Township."

Healing the wounded and saving lives is the heart of a healer. Now, with war raging on the borders of the Great Jin Dynasty, Kang Le Township's residents receive their salaries while performing national duties.

The Prefect of Kangle Township is hereby specially dispatched to serve as a model physician, and is ordered to travel to the border within three days to treat wounded soldiers. No negligence is permitted. This is the imperial decree!

Upon hearing this absurd imperial decree, Lu Qiqi was utterly bewildered, let alone able to accept it respectfully.

Regardless of what Lu Qiqi thought, the official repeatedly reminded her, and seeing that Lu Qiqi still did not accept the imperial decree, he directly stuffed the decree into her hand.

Before leaving, he deliberately instructed, "Princess Kang Le, His Majesty's will has been conveyed. Please set off as soon as possible and do not delay."

Lu Qiqi gripped the imperial edict tightly in her hand, stood up and said, "May I ask Your Excellency, does this edict order me, the village head, to go alone as a physician, or to go together with the physicians who have been summoned?"

There simply wasn't enough time to gather doctors within three days, so it certainly wouldn't be the latter.

But officials would never tell this to someone who is nearing the end of their life.

So he said calmly, "The Lord of Kang Le Township shall obey the imperial decree."

After saying this, he mounted his horse and led his soldiers away from Tianxin Village.

After everyone left, Li Changlong approached Lu Qiqi and said, "Qiqi, what should we do? The border is dangerous, and the Tartars' iron hooves could be pressing in at any moment. This isn't an imperial edict! It's clearly a..."

"Brother Long!" Zhou Yi interrupted Li Changlong, afraid that he would blurt out the words "death warrant".

This is a serious offense of disrespect. If it were reported by someone with ulterior motives, these ordinary people would be in serious trouble.

As Lu Qiqi watched the two people who came to deliver the imperial decree disappear on their fast horses, she vaguely thought of something.

With constant border wars, as early as when they fled famine, the Tartars crossed the border and ate human blood and flesh within the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The border city was recaptured two months after they fled to the veterans' village.

Now the emperor has issued an edict, ordering her to go to the border alone.

They call her a role model for doctors, but in reality, they fear she has threatened the interests of certain people and they want to take her life!

Lu Qiqi has always been resilient; even after the plane crashed, she was able to arrive in the Great Jin Dynasty and be reborn.

What else could possibly frighten her?

Bring it on!