Iron Dynasty

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That evening, Fan Zeng submitted his daily observations to the prince’s residence. After reading them, Xiao Ming became even more certain of the current situation.

The village elders, often the most respected figures in their communities, were typically elected as village heads. However, the reality was that many of these village heads colluded with powerful local families for money, oppressing the common people. They were the claws and fangs of these powerful families. Fan Zeng also mentioned the reactions of these village heads, noting that they had likely already reported the impact of the newspaper to their masters.

For Xiao Ming, this was a serious issue. Although village heads held the lowest official rank, they were the foundation of governance. Their actions directly affected his ability to win over the people.

After all, village heads held significant influence in their communities. With the support of powerful families, they also wielded considerable power within their villages.

“Your Highness, are you worrying about governance again?” Luluo entered, carrying a bowl of lotus seed porridge.

By now, both she and Zihuan had grown accustomed to their interactions with Xiao Ming. While they respected him, their relationship also carried a sense of the master-servant bond they had shared with Empress Zhen.

Xiao Ming nodded. “Yes, the newspaper has been distributed, but if a village is controlled by a village head who serves the powerful families, the people remain under their tight surveillance. It’s quite frustrating.”

Luluo and Zihuan were well aware of what Xiao Ming was doing. As his influence grew, his next step was to eliminate the influence of local powerful families in the fief and fully consolidate his control over all aspects of governance.

“Isn’t this like a single piece of rotten meat spoiling the whole pot? If we can just remove that piece, wouldn’t that solve the problem?” Luluo asked, puzzled.

“Easier said than done. The tradition of villagers electing their own village heads has persisted for over a thousand years. If I were to break this tradition now, it would cause an uproar. Moreover, I don’t have suitable candidates to send down to the villages as village heads,” Xiao Ming explained.

Luluo said, “Your Highness, you haven’t lived in a village, so you might not understand. Just like in Qingzhou City, there are conflicts between people in the villages. When it comes to electing a village head, there are often different candidates. Since Your Highness knows how to pit the Qin and Wang families against each other, why not let the villagers do the same?”