Subsequently, the Empress summoned officials from the Ministry of Revenue and issued an edict: "The people of our dynasty who were once captured by the Xiongnu should have their household registrations investigated and be escorted back to their original places of residence. Those who have no relatives or friends to take them in should be given land to cultivate and oxen to ensure their peaceful lives."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"As for these two hundred thousand head of cattle and horses, Qin Chuan, I will give you one hundred thousand head first..." The Empress looked at Qin Chuan and said with a smile in her eyes.
Qin Chuan hurriedly waved his hand: "Your Majesty, you mustn't. Last year, Shandong and Henan provinces suffered from disasters, and there were refugees everywhere. The situation has not been fully resolved yet. There are also these people who have been sent back to their hometowns. If they go back to farm, they will lack oxen. The oxen can be rented to the people in the form of 'renting instead of selling'. In this way, the court can also make some money, and the people can also get some benefits."
"Rent-to-own? What is rent-to-own?" an official from the Ministry of Revenue asked.
Qin Chuan smiled faintly and explained, "To give an example, if a family is short of cattle, the government can rent them a cow and charge them a certain amount of rent each month. When the family wants to buy the cow, the rent they have paid can be used to offset part of the purchase price, and they can even continue to rent it indefinitely."
Upon hearing this, the Empress smiled and said, "This is a good idea! The national treasury will be able to earn a lot!"
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue shook his head and said, "It's just that the oxen raised by the Xiongnu don't know how to plow the land."
“Uh…” Qin Chuan thought for a moment and then had a flash of inspiration and said, “This is easy to do. Some big farmers raise hundreds or thousands of cattle and want to monopolize the cattle market. We can exchange these cattle and sheep for draft cattle at the same price, and then rent the draft cattle to people who lack cattle through a ‘rent-to-own’ program.”
The Ministry of Revenue official still looked distressed, saying, "I'm afraid those large cattle farmers won't agree to an equal exchange."
The Empress frowned slightly upon hearing this.
Qin Chuan tapped his head lightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Then please ask Your Majesty to issue an edict to limit the number of oxen each household can raise. Each household is limited to two males and one ox. If more are raised, a breeding tax will be levied. For each additional ox that reaches adulthood, one string of cash will be paid to the authorities every month. In this way, these large households will no longer dare to monopolize the cattle market."
Upon hearing these words, the Ministry of Revenue officials widened their eyes in astonishment as they stared at Qin Chuan.
How did the King of Yan come up with this idea?
In that case, who would dare to raise more oxen for draft purposes?
These large-scale cattle farmers have no reason not to change.
"Very well, we'll do as you say. After I return to the palace, I'll have someone draft the decree," the Empress said with a smile.
Qin Chuan continued, "Furthermore, there are over 100,000 captured horses, all of which are warhorses. They should be handed over to the Imperial Horse Administration for initial care before being distributed to various border towns and garrisons for defense."
The Empress nodded slightly and hummed in agreement.
The look in her eyes as she looked at Qin Chuan was not only one of approval, but also carried a hint of affection.
Qin Chuan ignored her gaze and instead looked at the endless line of over 90,000 Xiongnu prisoners, asking, "Your Majesty, these Xiongnu prisoners, and the Tuqi, are they to be dealt with by you..."
The Empress paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure how to handle this either..."
Qin Chuan was taken aback; he truly hadn't expected the Empress to say such a thing.
What about these people?
To kill or to spare?
Now that they've been brought back, we can't just massacre them, can we?
These people need to eat, and they're eating large quantities of grain.
The Empress looked at Qin Chuan with her phoenix eyes, "Tell me, how should we handle this?"
Qin Chuan looked at the three officials from the Ministry of Revenue. "What do you suggest we do?"
The three officials from the Ministry of Revenue looked at each other, and finally, the Minister of Revenue said, "Your Majesty and the Prince of Yan, in my humble opinion, these Xiongnu people can be sent to various provinces to perform labor service, build dikes and dams, develop water conservancy projects, and carry out civil engineering construction. All of these require manpower."
Qin Chuan glanced at the Minister of Revenue and smiled, "That's a good idea!"
The Empress nodded, "Then let's do as you say, and leave this matter to your Ministry of Revenue!"
Having resolved the issue of the more than 90,000 prisoners, only the Tuqi Chanyu remained.
"Bring Tuqi here!"
Qin Chuan waved his hand, and a small squad of soldiers pushed the prison cart over.
At this moment, Tu Qi in the prison cart was shackled, his hands were in chains, his feet were locked, his eyes were numb, his hair was disheveled, his lips were white, and his face was dirty. He no longer had the domineering and majestic air he once had.
The Empress slowly walked around the prison cart, then coldly shouted, "This traitor has repeatedly plundered our people and stolen countless livestock from the northern border. Bring me my sword!"
The eunuch presented a golden sword adorned with blood-red tassels with both hands.
The Empress drew her sword and plunged it into Tuqi's chest...
This scene not only stunned the ministers and soldiers, but also Qin Chuan.
His Majesty personally executed the Xiongnu Chanyu.
This will be a significant event in history.
Tuqi Chanyu had been ravaging the people of the northern border for more than a decade. Every year he would go south to plunder and even attack the border cities, causing the people of the northern border to live in misery and suffering. He truly deserved to die.
Qin Chuan was still wondering if there was a more sophisticated way to handle it...
The decision not to kill the tyrant demonstrates Da Gan's tolerance and virtue.
Unexpectedly, the Empress stabbed Tu Qi through with her sword without saying a word.
The golden sword was extremely sharp, easily piercing through Tu Qi's body. The tip of the sword protruded from his back, seeping blood that dripped onto the wooden prison cart.
However, Tu Qi was not dead at this moment. Instead, he grinned maliciously at the Empress: "My beauty... if it weren't for this man, you would have been my concubine sooner or later... hahahahahaha!"
The empress was furious upon hearing this, drew her sword, and stabbed him again.
"Well!"
The instant the Empress drew her sword, Tu Qi's eyes widened in agony, and blood gushed from his chest like a fountain...
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