After the rebellion in Tiao County, he dispatched people to widely publicize Zhao Hanzhang’s handling of the leaders of the rebellion in Tiao County and brought out the "Letter to the People." For half a month, village chiefs walked the streets and alleys with copper gongs, reciting the letter to make the populace remember Zhao Hanzhang’s benevolence and kindness to the people, and explained the court’s plan for post-disaster reconstruction.

At the same time, he had the village chiefs extensively promote the fate of the Wang clan in Tiao County, urging each family to restrain their younger members to prevent further rebellion.

Then he began dispatching troops to eliminate bandits throughout Jizhou. All captured bandits were registered, given plots of land, and tasked with organizing land and river channels. The particularly vicious ones were sent to the army as military slaves. The confiscated treasures and grain were stored in warehouses to aid the people. Therefore, even before the relief grain from Yu State arrived, Jizhou already had food aid for disaster victims, initiating a work-for-relief program.

When the relief grain from Yu State arrived, Zu Ti was further emboldened and immediately launched a more in-depth work-for-relief initiative.

Most of Jizhou could plant winter wheat, and since the drought was not as severe as in Youzhou, Zu Ti found a way to buy wheat seeds and combined them with seeds sent by Zhao Hanzhang. Registered citizens were given both land and seeds. They plowed, sowed seeds, dug channels, and irrigated... all the people of Jizhou were busy.

Even the army units without bandit suppression tasks joined in the farming. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhao Hanzhang ordered that all armies, except the elite, must undertake land reclamation tasks, acting as soldiers during war and farmers in peace, with training during idle agricultural times, striving for self-sufficiency.

Zu Ti thought her policy was very good. Back when they were in Youzhou, the two of them had an in-depth discussion about it, and at present, there was no better method than having soldiers reclaim land.

When peace was restored throughout the realm, they planned to streamline the army, releasing more people to farm, retaining only a portion of the military.

Acting swiftly like Zu Ti was Zhao Ju in Yan State.

Yan State was the most severely damaged in the recent conflict, the entire state becoming a battlefield, with every county attacked, ... the populace displaced, and countless houses burned down.

The drought in Yan State wasn’t very severe, but the devastation was arguably worse than in Youzhou.

Zhao Ming knew the situation in Yan State was dire, and since Zhao Ju was one of Zhao Hanzhang’s men, Zhao Ming trusted and relied on him more. Zhao Hanzhang was still in the north, while Zhao Ming began sending relief grain to Yan State and dispatched a large number of officials to assist Zhao Ju in managing Yan State.

With such significant support, Zhao Ju quickly stabilized Yan State.

One individual grieves, so keep them busy so they don’t have time to wallow in sorrow; the same principle applies to a state in pain—keep it busy and rejuvenated so that the pain is not just suffering but also a motivation.

Therefore, he quickly initiated the planting of winter wheat in Yan State and actively worked to restore commerce within the state.

The calculation money made the wealthy and gentry in the state reluctant to earn money or to earn it openly and honestly, so he could only write to Zhao Hanzhang for advice.

Zhao Hanzhang directly offered him an idea, "Just reduce or exempt commercial taxes."

Zhao Ju was quite torn about this, asking Zhao Hanzhang, "Since you issued the Calculation Order, it shows a lack of funds. Isn’t it contradictory to reduce commercial taxes at this time?"

Zhao Hanzhang wrote to him, "Calculation money is quick money, aimed at solving the current empty state treasury crisis; commercial tax is a continuous major policy, but currently, the people are impoverished, so it can be appropriately reduced or exempted to restore commerce."

Zhao Ju understood and immediately reduced or exempted some commercial taxes within Yan State, such as fully exempting taxes on grain transactions, while lowering tax rates in other industries.

This was a minor privilege Zhao Hanzhang granted to the State Governors.

During the initial recovery, to better adapt the policies of each state, she allowed a certain degree of autonomy, although these matters still needed to be reported to the court.

Fu Zhi in Yongzhou wrote to Zhao Hanzhang, hoping she would allow the exemption of calculation money and some taxes in Yongzhou.

In Yongzhou, especially in the Jingzhao Mansion area, consecutive years of food shortages had severely afflicted not only the people but also the local nobility and the wealthy, leaving them unable to escape.

When Zhao Hanzhang’s Calculation Order reached Yongzhou, Fu Zhi knew this money couldn’t be collected there. If forced, Yongzhou would surely descend into chaos.

So he took no action, calming the local officials, telling them to wait a bit while he pleaded with the court.

The result was that just as he finished writing his letter, the Prince of Nanyang in Chang’an had already ordered the collection of calculation money. Knowing it was hard to collect, he sent troops with officials and government officials to collect mainly from wealthy merchants and some powerless gentry.

As for the extra officials and wealthy families specifically named by Zhao Hanzhang, he didn’t touch them.

However, this action still threw Chang’an into upheaval. By the time Fu Zhi received the news and rushed from Yongzhou back to Chang’an, the Prince of Nanyang had already been knocked down by Chang’an’s rioting populace, reportedly being thrown from his horse in a panic and dying a few days after being carried back to his mansion.

With Chang’an still in chaos, the henchmen of the Prince of Nanyang wanted to suppress the chaos forcefully to avenge the Prince but feared losing control of the situation, lest Zhao Hanzhang hold them accountable and Chang’an itself be overrun by rioters. In their hesitation, Fu Zhi returned, and Zhao Hanzhang’s appointment letter arrived, directly dismissing the Prince of Nanyang as Inspector and appointing Fu Zhi as Governor of Yongzhou.

Rejoicing, the Prince of Nanyang’s henchmen immediately handed the mess in Chang’an to Fu Zhi.

With his heart weary, Fu Zhi could only come forward to calm the people of Chang’an. This time, he used Zhao Hanzhang’s reputation for benevolence, promising to appeal to her to exempt Yongzhou from calculation money and some taxes.

Through Fu Zhi’s efforts, the chaos in Chang’an was controlled, but emotions still fluctuated between grief and anger, a small spark potentially igniting them.

Fu Zhi, therefore, didn’t dare to relax even slightly, writing another letter to Zhao Hanzhang. Firstly, to inform her of the Prince of Nanyang’s death, and secondly, to reiterate the issue of calculation money and taxes.

In Yongzhou, especially in the Jingzhao Mansion and Chang’an area, food shortages were always severe.

Here, to guard the Great Jin’s passes, taxes were always heavy. Even when grain was available, it went first to the army. Despite this, many soldiers still endured hunger.

Take Beigong Chun as an example. When he was a General in Chang’an, his soldiers often went hungry, almost to the point of death.

Ultimately, the poor civil management in Chang’an meant frequent small droughts and occasional military unrest, leaving the populace unable to farm peacefully.

Without revenue but still incurring expenses, compounded by the Prince of Nanyang’s lack of administrative talent, focusing only on taxing, led Chang’an into a vicious cycle.

By the time Fu Zhi was sent by the late emperor, Chang’an was already critically ill. Despite his various measures, he only managed to slightly ease the situation. However, with the Prince of Nanyang there, many of his policies were either not implemented or canceled halfway, leaving him bound hand and foot.

This time with the "illness and death" of the Prince of Nanyang, although unexpected, Fu Zhi was not saddened but even relieved, worrying only about Chang’an’s future.

Though a bit thick-skinned, Fu Zhi couldn’t resist mentioning a third point: he hoped the court could provide financial assistance to help Chang’an through this difficult time.

Chang’an, too tragic.