Chapter 1181 Innovation

After the coronation ceremony, Lin Yuesha stayed in the palace with Qi Heng for three days.

Faced with a mountain of memorials, the two exchanged a bitter smile.

These memorials, mostly sent by officials from various parts of the capital, covered a wide range of topics. Officials in the south were more concerned about the floods and the potential for a widespread plague, and continuously dispatched urgent memorials, which Qi Heng approved with priority.

In other places, those with matters to report spoke of them, while those without wrote a long, exaggerated, and boastful article, the gist of which was that the new emperor was the chosen one, and since his ascension to the throne, the weather had been favorable and the country was peaceful and prosperous.

"This can't go on."

Qi Heng stood up and stared at the mountain of memorials in deep thought.

Since he came to power, he has changed the way officials from all over the country send memorials to the emperor.

Previously, the county magistrate would submit the memorial to the prefect, and so on, passing it up the chain of command. This process was time-consuming and prone to errors.

Officials with real achievements may have their accomplishments erased or stolen, leading to the continuous promotion of sycophants and the fact that capable people who actually do their jobs remain in their positions for years, always remaining minor officials.

Furthermore, with officials protecting each other, if anything were to happen, Qi Heng in the capital would be completely oblivious, like a deaf person.

To rectify this situation, Qi Heng set up special errand runners in several locations throughout the east, west, south, and north of the Great Qi Empire to transport letters and memorials and help those in need deliver their correspondence.

This way, they can earn enough to cover the expenses of the officials' food and lodging, and the remaining money can be used to pay the officials' salaries. It's just a side benefit and won't interfere with their main business.

There were post stations built between each city, so officials only needed to travel to one city.

Making trips every one or two days was fast, allowing Qi Heng to receive memorials from various places more efficiently and promptly.

The idea of ​​delivering letters on behalf of others was Lin Yuesha's, and it also marked the beginning of Xinqi's postal service.

Currently, universal healthcare and postal services are gradually being improved. Although the overall trend is still losing money, it is within an acceptable range and is better than Lin Yuesha had expected.

"My wife has the best ideas."

Currently, there are not enough personnel, so we can only help deliver messages. Once we recruit more officers and servants, we can help deliver food and supplies.

Sending local specialties from the capital to relatives in the north no longer requires hiring a special escort team.

"I have many ideas, all of which are written in a booklet."

The postal service is a very convenient measure. In each town of Xinqi, lines are drawn on the city walls, forming a network of relationships. Within this specific area, there are dedicated personnel responsible for delivery.

Currently, there is a need to increase manpower in various regions. Priority should be given to disabled soldiers and their families in the Northwest and North, and appropriate care should be given to military dependents. In the South, candidates should be selected through examinations and talent should be selected at each level.

With memorials piling up, Lin Yuesha accompanied Qi Heng through several days of reading, finding it all quite tedious.

"These eulogistic articles are a waste of my time."

Lin Yuesha suggested that it would be better to find a talented person in the Hanlin Academy to manage this matter and classify these memorials in advance.

First divide the issues into regions, and then further subdivide them. Whether it's a matter of people's livelihood or something else, label them in the basket and put them in the appropriate categories. This way, Qi Heng can review them much more easily.

All that boasting can be thrown aside; keep it for starting a fire.

In addition, a confidential reporting mechanism is also needed.

The Ministry of Personnel required local officials to undergo an inspection in the capital every six years. Those who received an excellent evaluation year after year could be promoted as appropriate.

Six years is not a short time. If corruption spreads from top to bottom in a certain place and no one reports it, Qi Heng will be kept in the dark forever.

The system is gradually being improved, and the laws of Xinqi also need to be revised.

In the capital, it was common for doctors to pre-diagnose the sex of babies, leading to abortions. Female fetuses were often drowned or abandoned after birth.

People value filial piety, regarding parents as their heavens, and it seems that it is only right for children to be sold or abandoned.

The law has been amended so that if children are sold into slavery, they are not obligated to support their parents in their old age. Abandoning children will result in imprisonment. If a female fetus is killed, the sentence will be at least three years.

Poor and remote areas breed unruly people; private actions are prohibited in various places, and those who report such acts are heavily rewarded.

"This unhealthy trend must be changed."

This is Lin Yuesha's attitude. Although the preference for sons over daughters is a prevailing social norm in this era, and it is difficult to change the bad habits that have been passed down for hundreds of years or even longer, she has the right to speak out on some matters that cross the line.

Perhaps this is the advantage of sitting in a high position—you have absolute authority.

"What my wife says goes."

Qi Heng doted on Lin Yuesha without thinking, and wrote an imperial edict that very day, sending his subordinates to various places to implement it.

The new emperor has ascended the throne, and a special imperial examination will be held on the third day of the third month next year. Zhang Qing'er and Hu Mian have already arrived in the capital to prepare for the examination.

Lin Yuesha's godfather, Lord Zhang, has now risen to the high position of Minister of Personnel, holding the rank of second grade.

Pregnancy is a time that feels like an eternity.

In the first three months, Lin Yuesha experienced spotting several times, each time a false alarm, to the point that she couldn't exert herself and had to lie down to rest every day, feeling as if her joints were about to rust.

Three months later, Lin Yuesha began to recover. Her morning sickness gradually decreased, and she developed a huge appetite, like a bottomless pit that could never be filled. She ate six or seven meals a day.

Qi Heng was busy with government affairs and left many trivial matters to Prince Luo. Even Xiao Chenggui took the initiative to help.

Whenever he had free time, Qi Heng would stay at the Qi residence to accompany Lin Yuesha during her pregnancy.

Before she knew it, the year was drawing to a close. Lin Yuesha was six months pregnant, and her belly was bigger than that of many women who had given birth. She found it very difficult to walk.

Seeing this, Yan Yan specially made a belly band for her. After tying the band, Lin Yuesha felt a little more relaxed.

Six months into her pregnancy, Lin Yuesha's legs and feet were often swollen, and she couldn't wear her shoes at all, so she had to have all her shoes made new.

This year's Lunar New Year's Eve is different from previous years, as it marks the first year since the country was renamed Xin Qi.

After the floodwaters receded in the south, officials took charge of the situation and decided to build water conservancy projects and dig canals to divert the water northward.

With no war and stable grain prices, in order to pray for the baby in Lin Yuesha's womb, Qi Heng gave subsidies to pig farmers, allowing people to buy pork at an extremely low price.

In the past, pork belly cost 20 coins per catty before the Lunar New Year, but this year the imperial court subsidized half of that, so it only cost 10 coins.

Even those who were reluctant to buy meat managed to snag some pork belly, and were overjoyed.

Not only pork, but also rice, flour, cooking oil and other daily necessities are subsidized.

At first, some people didn't believe it and were a step too slow to act. By the time they realized what was happening, their neighbors had already stockpiled a lot.

Prices fell instead of rising at the end of the year, bringing benefits to ordinary people and making them all smiles.

Qi Heng issued another imperial edict, ordering officials in all regions to pay attention to elderly people without children and to visit them with gifts, so as to ensure that everyone can have a prosperous New Year.

When they had some free time, the people gathered together to discuss how the change of dynasty was actually a great thing for them. With the emperor and empress working together, the new Qi dynasty would surely be blessed by heaven!