[I woke up to find the sky had fallen; the chapter was posted in the wrong place. I'm forced to quickly add an extra chapter to cover it up. Ugh!]

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Ying Zheng raised his hand to interrupt the two's bickering and said in a deep voice, "Feng Jie, tell me, is this plan feasible?"

Feng Jie pondered for a moment, then nodded emphatically, “Your Majesty, setting aside any obstacles, if this succeeds, our Qin state can destroy the six states with a mere flick of the wrist.”

Ying Zheng was moved by what he heard. He knew Feng Jie to be a steady and reliable person, and for him to say such things was as rare as the God of Longevity committing suicide.

"Since that's the case..." Ying Zheng drawled, then suddenly roared, "Then let's do it!"

The wicked husband and Li Ba exchanged a smile, extremely pleased with Ying Zheng's decisiveness, and their faces showed a very satisfied smile.

Working for a king like that would be so enjoyable, even without pay!

"Your Majesty... this is far too difficult to carry out. The first to be affected are the princes and ministers in the court." Feng Jie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes filled with horror.

These days, which prince or minister doesn't own some land?

They are too busy with their daily affairs to do any farming; instead, they contract out and sublet the land to farmers, collecting high agricultural taxes in the process.

Once the land tax system is implemented, every household will have land to cultivate. Who would sell their land to others, let alone work for these gentry and nobles?

Ying Zheng smiled coldly, pointed at his wicked husband, and laughed, "With this butcher around, see who dares to shake their head?"

Upon hearing this, the wicked man readily complied, a cold smile instantly appearing on his face. He nodded slightly to reassure Feng Jie.

Feng Jie was taken aback at first, then overjoyed, "That's it, that's it, how could I have forgotten about you, the butcher? This is a good opportunity to clean up the remaining villains."

He is an upright man, almost aloof in court, but don't take him for a fool.

He couldn't stand Lao Ai, Zhao Ji, and Lü Buwei controlling the court, and he often humiliated them, arguing with them until he was red in the face, thus incurring their wrath and becoming a target of their attacks.

He'll never forget that.

Besides, Lü Buwei was somewhat better, as his retainers were all somewhat talented. But Lao Ai and Zhao Ji were different; they practiced nepotism, and the people they placed in the court were all sycophants.

Although Ying Zheng investigated and punished the three men, he did not completely eliminate their influence. He took this opportunity to eliminate them all.

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng smiled and nodded, acknowledging Feng Jie's words.

Having received Ying Zheng's permission, Feng Jie immediately perked up, quickly approached the wicked man, grabbed his hand, and said, "Lord Commandant, could you please explain your plan in detail?"

"Old man, you have two faces, don't you?"

Seeing his behavior, the wicked man smiled and then began to explain the plan of merging land tax and poll tax in detail.

Feng Jie listened and nodded repeatedly, occasionally interjecting with his own opinions, since the Qin and Qing dynasties were different and some policies were not very applicable.

Later, even Li Balang and Ying Zheng joined in, enthusiastically discussing the topic.

Gradually, the land tax reform plan became more and more detailed, and was extremely suitable for the current national conditions of the Qin state.

They didn't stop talking until night fell.

Ying Zheng said, "Now that this matter has been decided, Feng Jie, you will be in charge of everything. You will be under the direct control of the evil man. You can discuss things among yourselves."

Feng Jie nodded, smacked his dry lips, and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, even if I die in this, I will ensure that this plan is implemented."

“With me here, no one will dare to hurt you.” The wicked man took over the conversation, his eyes full of seriousness. “Eight Ounces, after we return tonight, draw a hundred Black Dragon Armored Soldiers and do not leave Imperial Censor Feng’s side for even a moment.”

Feng Jie bowed respectfully and said loudly, "I was wrong before, please forgive me, Commandant. I am deeply honored to have the General's protection."

The wicked man wasn't one to be naive. He quickly helped Feng Jie up and said with a smile, "Lord Feng, you're too kind. I was just trying to scare you, afraid you'd keep bothering me with your accusations."

"Ha ha...."

The group burst into laughter upon hearing this, with Ying Zheng grinning from ear to ear. How could he, as the king, not be happy that his ministers were working together with one heart and one mind?

Moreover, he was very satisfied with his wicked husband's ability to know when to advance and retreat. He was not arrogant, did not form cliques, and only knew how to follow him wholeheartedly. He was truly a loyal minister of unparalleled virtue.

The laughter gradually subsided.

Seeing that there was nothing more to say, Ying Zheng decided to end the meeting.

"Your Majesty, wait!"

The wicked man revealed a meaningful smile. "This humble general has another matter, but I don't know if I should speak of it."

Seeing his mysterious demeanor, the others immediately became curious.

Ying Zheng said, "You brat, just say what you want to say. How did you learn this trick?"

The wicked man nodded, his voice unusually serious, "Just now, when we were talking about the production team, I had some ideas in my mind, but I don't know if this is feasible."

To be honest, the production team did have its merits in that era, and he wanted to test whether it could be promoted in Daqin.

This era was backward and the population was too small. The Qin state was bound to enter a period of rapid expansion. The land of China that it acquired was alright, at least the people of the six states could be considered as its own.

But what about the outside?

Whether it's the grasslands in the north or the barbarian lands in the south.

Whether these people stay or not is another matter, but what should be done with the land they acquired?

We can't just let it go to waste, can we?

Even if all the people of the six states were to submit to Qin, the total population of China would not be enough to cover the lands that had been conquered!

Are we really going to wait until there's a large enough population before developing these places?!

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