Xu Miaoqing has been extremely busy lately, with just too many things to handle, requiring her, as the Empress, to take charge. These matters are all her responsibility, and it is only right for her to intervene in many of them.

For example, summoning noblewomen was Xu Miaoqing's responsibility. After all, she was the Empress, and sometimes it was inconvenient for Zhu Yunying to personally reward his trusted ministers, but Xu Miaoqing could do so.

In theory, in the operation of a dynasty, there are five powers for foreign affairs and five powers for domestic affairs.

The five symbols represent the five financial powers, symbolized by a plum blossom. All five powers are held by the maternal line, signifying "the mother's virtue and the flourishing of offspring," and assisting the paternal line in managing and balancing these powers.

These are all extremely important matters, especially since the Ming Dynasty has not had an empress for many years. Now, it finally has an empress who can rule the world. Of course, this has also made many noblewomen put in their best efforts to visit and seek audiences more often.

Especially for those from noble families, everyone knew that the current empress was the daughter of Xu Da, the Prince of Zhongshan, and that the empress held a special position. Such inherent advantages would indeed make many noblewomen's hearts flutter.

They might have been Xu Miaoqing's elders, had close ties to the Xu family, or even been her close friends before marriage. Previously, Xu Miaoqing was only the Crown Prince's consort, so it wasn't convenient for her to request permission to enter the palace. But now, she doesn't need to worry about those things; the noblewomen are all under the Empress's jurisdiction.

Moreover, with the year-end approaching, there are many things that need to be arranged in the palace.

The abdication of the retired emperor, the ascension of the new emperor, and the arrival of a princess—these were all significant events worthy of celebration. The Ming Dynasty's imperial family needed to project an image of prosperity and strength at this time.

While palace maids and eunuchs were busy decorating the imperial city, Empress Xu Miaoqing also needed to demonstrate her maternal virtues. The charitable institution was proposed by the late Zhu Yuanzhang, but the young Zhu Yuanzhang also invested considerable effort and resources in it.

The retired emperor and the new emperor both loved their people like their own children, so the empress naturally had to step in as well. The former Empress Ma loved her people like her own children, and she did a lot of work to help the poor, trying her best to ensure that more people in the Ming Dynasty were well-fed, clothed, and free from worries.

Zhu Yunying was not idle at this time either, continuing to review the memorials, and he found it somewhat amusing, "These scholars nowadays probably won't be able to spend the New Year at home. The time for the imperial examinations should also be changed in the future."

It definitely needs to be changed. These are all imperial examinations in February, and some scholars from far away have to set off early. Celebrating the New Year is out of the question then. In fact, many scholars who leave their hometowns this time may never be able to return, and may even have to say goodbye to their families forever.

Zhu Yunying chuckled to himself, seemingly showing little affection for Confucianism. However, he was also well aware that Confucian culture had greatly influenced him, both in his past and present lives. Therefore, sometimes, his methods of doing things, whether intentionally or unintentionally, still appeared to be somewhat traditionally Confucian.

"No problem," Zhu Yunying then said to Wang Chengen, "Go and summon Ru Chang."

Wang Chengen naturally wouldn't run errands himself; he only needed to instruct his eunuchs to serve Zhu Yunying. This was the most important thing to Wang Chengen, and it could even be said to be his only job.

Zhu Yunying felt he really needed to consider the cabinet's affairs. Otherwise, the sheer volume of daily government affairs was simply too much to handle.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty already had Grand Secretaries. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu's reign, Emperor Zhu abolished the positions of Chancellor and Grand Secretariat, and in the fifteenth year, he established the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet, modeled after the Song Dynasty, to serve as advisors to the emperor. However, the current Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet are practically invisible, let alone having any ambition for power. They are completely different from the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.

While waiting for Ru Chang to arrive, Zhu Yunying did not idle around and continued to read the memorials.

"It looks like we'll have to do a census in two years." Zhu Yunying muttered to himself, stroking his chin. "Now, the land area of ​​my Great Ming Dynasty must be over 450 million mu, and that's the most conservative estimate."

In the fourteenth year of the Hongwu reign, the Ming Dynasty conducted its first large-scale population census, also to compile the "Fish Scale Register." The figure at the time was 400 million mu, which wasn't a particularly large amount, but it was definitely enough land to support the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Because a large number of censors participated in and supervised this census, the data is relatively reliable.

Zhu Yunying continued to peruse the memorials, then frowned. "Have the Ministry of Revenue send over the grain taxes from various regions."

Let's look at the numbers; that's the most authoritative way to speak. Zhu Yunying genuinely wanted to reform the Ming Dynasty's tax policy. The Two-Tax System was indeed excellent, but it also had some inherent flaws. This was bad for the court and bad for the people.

However, starting tax reform now would likely require a major overhaul. Ultimately, the current Two-Tax System hasn't revealed too many shortcomings, and the Ming Dynasty hasn't seen many instances of land annexation or concealment. While there are indeed dishonest individuals serving the Hongwu Emperor, most people are still fearful.

Zhu Yunying was indeed considering reforms, but there was a lot of resistance. It might be too early to start reforms now, as he was still lacking some opportunities.

While Zhu Yunying was deep in thought, Wang Chengen whispered, "Your Majesty, Lady Ru is waiting outside the hall."

Zhu Yunying nodded and casually said, "Since he's here, let's summon him into the palace."

Upon arriving at the Wuying Hall, Ru Chang immediately bowed deeply and said, "Your subject Ru Chang greets Your Majesty the Emperor."

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