after all.

It's one thing to say it, but it's another thing when it happens to you.

No matter how well the rumored Fourth Princess was promoted, she was actually seizing the territory of Chongming Kingdom.

And seizing Chongming Kingdom's territory means war.

War means merit to the generals above and territory to the monarch.

But for ordinary people, it means death, a life of displacement, and endless taxes...

No one likes war.

But soon, people in the three counties discovered that the fourth princess was really different from others.

After the Fourth Princess's army took control of the county, the first thing they did was not to plunder, but to issue a pamphlet requiring everyone to follow the law of equality between men and women. They also set up a women's assistance office next to the county government office to handle unfair cases of abuse, coercion, and restrictions on educational freedom suffered by women. The women's office had the same rights as the county government office.

At the same time, it was required that all colleges and private schools must equally recruit female students and allow women to enroll. Private schools that did not agree to this would be severely punished for discriminating against women. For families who took the initiative to send their daughters to school, the county government would present a plaque of a model family after verifying the authenticity of the family.

Those who have a plaque of a model family will receive a one-time material reward from the county government, and tax exemptions for girls before they reach adulthood.

all in all.

In the area governed by the Fourth Princess, the status of women was unprecedentedly improved, even more than the gender equality she had previously advocated.

So much so that many men began to worry that if the situation continues to develop in this way, the status of men and women might be reversed one day in the future.

But soon.

They won't worry.

Because among the people, a rumor about a wise man suddenly spread.

after all.

This is the territory of Chongming State. Compared with the huge Chongming State, Luo Shuang's few thousand people are at most bandits. They may be driven away or eliminated at any time...

While she is in power, just play with her. When Chongming Kingdom regains its lost territory, everything will return to normal.

The worst that could happen is that they would send the girls to school for a few days. They wouldn’t suffer any loss anyway. On the contrary, there are some girls who don’t send them to school.

Maybe the fourth princess will take this opportunity to cause trouble, and the knife of taxation will be chopped down on their heads...

Model family was just an excuse for the Fourth Princess to raise money and food.

Passed on by word of mouth.

All the stubborn people seemed to wake up in an instant, and they rushed to send the girls to school, and then went to the county government to receive the plaque of model family.

The policy of gender equality seems to be in line with the will of the people and is being implemented very smoothly.

That’s not all.

Same reason, same excuse.

The establishment of the Chamber of Commerce and the Craftsmen's Association, which advocated equality for all, was also very smooth, with almost no resistance...

Within two or three days, the three counties captured by Huangfu Yue had completed their transformation and switched to another operating mode.

It seems that everyone is a pioneer of change, and no stubborn conservative group is willing to step out to stop the pace of change.

In the past, this would have been impossible.

Huangfu Yue had heard from his father about conquering the tribes outside the Great Wall. After winning the war, education has always been the most difficult task, and it would take at least several decades to complete.

But He Xu created a few plaques and spread a series of rumors, and he easily transformed several counties into the model he wanted.

That creepy guy is horrible.

Why would such a talented person fight in such a disgusting way?

These two days.

Huangfu Yue had a lot of things to do, but whenever she had free time, her mind would involuntarily flash back to the battle scene that night.

She would involuntarily get goose bumps all over her body and feel itchy all over, as if the water snakes were still wrapped around her.

Doug's voice, appearance and smile seemed to have taken root in her mind and could not be erased no matter what.

For two nights now, she has been dreaming about the dancing of water snakes.

I felt lost after waking up.

By now, Huangfu Yue was a little confused as to whether her feelings towards Duger were hatred or not.

…

Doug naturally knew the public reaction.

What he wants is something simple and easy to implement, no matter what method is used!

Practice makes perfect.

Everyone is afraid of trouble.

With these three counties as pilot areas, it will be easier for them to convince other counties in the future.

If anyone disagrees, then just as the rumors say, the knife of taxation will be chopped down on their heads...

True and false, real and fake.

Isn’t this what Sun Tzu’s Art of War teaches?

…

The problem of military rations is also easy to solve.

Duger issued a special notice that for those who voluntarily donated military rations, money, and cloth, the Fourth Princess would issue a donation certificate. After the restoration of the country in the future, they could use the donation certificate to obtain three times the compensation, or convert it into military merit, and could even enjoy the treatment of being conferred a title. Because of the previous rumors, most people were still looking forward to Chongming Kingdom regaining its lost territory and were not keen on donating food in exchange for a title.

The slogan of gender equality is fake, but the food in hand is real. If it is donated, it will be gone. The certificate issued by the fourth princess will be a piece of waste paper when she dies...

But Doug has his own way.

After the announcement was sent out, Duger asked Huangfu Yue to find a bunch of people to create the illusion of enthusiasm for paying taxes.

Cartload after cartload of grain was sent to Yutang Pass.

The big landlords and wealthy businessmen who got the certificates of grain donation became the guests of honor in Yutangguan. They would return to the county town with rosy faces every day. However, when others tried to find out what benefits they had gained, they could not find out anything.

But the next day, more grain trucks drove into Yutang Pass in an endless stream.

The common people also confirmed through the servants who were loading the grain that the grain loaded on the carts by the rich families was real grain and not a lie...

Rich people represent the trend of fashion, and the people believe that their vision is not wrong. Moreover, they do not look like they are under duress.

then.

Those who had abundant money and grain at home also tentatively carried the excess grain on their shoulders and hands and sent it to Yutang Pass in exchange for a donation certificate from the Fourth Princess. The donation certificate was gold-plated and placed in a wooden box wrapped in red silk, which looked quite luxurious. In addition, they also wore red and colorful clothes at Yutang Pass, spoke on the stage facing the officers and soldiers lined up neatly below, and were thanked solemnly by the Fourth Princess and treated like VIPs. They were so dizzy when they returned home.

I felt like I was walking on clouds, and I felt that the food I donated was not a loss at all...

after all.

In this world, ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to be respected and valued by everyone, just like the moon surrounded by stars.

With the first household, there came the second household, and more and more grain trucks were sent to Yutang Pass, perfectly solving the food crisis of the soldiers guarding the pass.

…

"Master, is it not a good idea for us to do this?" Luo Shuang looked at the batches of food coming in, feeling a little uneasy. "Should we really return these grains to those rich families?"

"Of course I will. Didn't I say it before? A man cannot stand without trust. If you don't do what you promised them, it will be impossible to get their support in the future." Duger said, "Princess, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. If you lose the hearts of the people, we will never have a chance to restore our country."

What do you mean I have ruined the people's hearts? If anyone wants to ruin the people's hearts, it's you who ruined them!

If the people knew what you did, I would be the first one to be torn to pieces...

Luo Shuang complained and said sadly: "The money of the gentry will be returned in full, and the money of the people will be divided into 30% and 70%. Are we being too harsh on the people by doing this?"

Aside.

Huangfu Xing looked at his nose with his eyes, and then looked at his heart with his nose. Until now, his heart was still a mess.

He had never thought that Duger would cheat for food and grass in such a way, return the money of the gentry in full, and split the money of the people in a 30-70 ratio. This guy's heart is completely black! At this time, Huangfu Xing even suspected that He Xu had reached a conspiracy with the Fourth Prince. According to his practice, no matter how stable Chongming State is, it will not take long for him to mess up the people's livelihood.

He didn't even need to do anything else, just run away with the money and food he had collected.

“Is it too much?” Doug smiled. “Didn’t the people get what they wanted? We told them the purpose of the donation certificate from the beginning. We didn’t deceive them! They also took the initiative to send the food…”

"That's true, but..." Luo Shuang frowned.

"Princess, don't you have confidence in yourself?" Doug looked at Luo Shuang and casually pulled out the cane. "Have you forgotten your purpose just because of a small Yutang Pass?"

"Master, I didn't." The moment Luo Shuang saw the cane, she became nervous and stuttered.

"That's fine. When you restore your country, you can fulfill their promise and there won't be any problem." Du Ge said seriously, "Princess, I never thought of deceiving the people. All the donation certificates were signed in your name, and those wealthy businessmen were also impressed by your credit.

If you want to preserve your reputation and not disappoint the people who have placed high hopes on you, you must devote all your energy to the issue of restoring your country.

This is a pressure on you, but also a motivation for you. Otherwise, if you fail to restore your country, you will become the most infamous princess in history, the kind that will be infamous forever..."

But you did all this! Luo Shuang's tears rolled around in her eyes, but she didn't say a word to complain about Doug.

She knew that everything Doug did was to help her get revenge, and she should bear the consequences of all this.

otherwise.

With Master's talent, why would he do such dirty things!

Luo Shuang took a deep breath: "I understand, Master."

(End of this chapter)