Yunshui County is undergoing rapid changes, and its tens of thousands of residents are now full of vitality.

With the previous tyranny gone, the princess also exempted the people from taxes for three years, and the people in the county and the eight major villages were deeply grateful.

Sure enough, when the news of the princess recruiting private soldiers spread, eligible young men, without their families even having to ask, excitedly packed their bags and went to the county for an interview.

The quota was for 1,000 people, but there were more than 5,000 applicants.

After five days of open selection, one thousand people were chosen.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this group will become Yunshui County's top surprise force in the future!

At this stage, these people are all naive teenagers who don't understand anything.

Jiang Yue first handed this group of people over to the half of the soldiers left behind by Prefect Liu for training, and then went to discuss the next training direction with her maternal grandfather.

Yes, Grandpa.

My maternal grandfather was not only a highly skilled doctor, but also a military enthusiast.

When I was young, I went to the battlefield, but only as a military doctor.

After liberation, my grandfather opened his own small clinic and continued to dedicate himself to his beloved career.

But he had been on the battlefield and his favorite genre of TV dramas was military-themed.

What special forces?

Firefighters~

Draw your sword!

In short, ask your grandfather; he might have some good suggestions.

In fact, she asked the right person!

Back in modern times, Old Master Gu was...

Ahem, those were the days, too painful to recall, let's not dwell on them.

They immediately came up with many ideas, such as weighted running, which involves carrying wooden stakes for a certain number of kilometers.

This "mud training for endurance" stuff is basically just holding your breath in mud while practicing punches.

There are also activities like climbing, hiking, and obstacle courses...

Jiang Yue wrote down what her grandfather said, and then the two of them studied it for three more days.

Finally, a new recruit training program was developed.

Of course, with goals come rewards.

The top ten receive generous rewards, both in terms of fame and money.

At the end, an elimination system is adopted, and the bottom ten are eliminated, with the candidates taking their place.

In this way, only the best of the best are selected and these thousand soldiers are trained!

The training items are listed publicly, and can be taken away by Prefect Liu's private soldiers after they leave. If the tests are successful, they can be presented to the imperial court without any problem.

But she also had a backup plan.

She used the ten soldiers who were eliminated to form an intelligence organization and train them to gather intelligence!

In her eyes, there are no useless soldiers, only "generals" who can't lead troops!

The school building is now complete.

The recruited teachers have been arriving at their posts one after another.

The school is divided into six different classes and teaches more than just traditional Chinese culture. Parents who mind this should not send their children to the school.

Surprisingly, Grandma's Crash Course in Pastry Making was the most popular class.

My grandfather's medical class, on the contrary, had very few applicants.

There's no rush. Studying medicine must be based on interest and passion; better to have nothing than something bad.

Everything was proceeding smoothly here, but the major families of Jinling Prefecture were being dragged down by their "distant relatives" from Yunshui County.

At this point, the only option is to cut ties and become indifferent.

His Majesty became increasingly complacent, and Princess Jiang caught his eye.

Along with him, the prefect of Anqing Prefecture also caught his eye.

With such an official to share his burdens, why should Tianyao worry about the loss of his ancestral legacy?

If we're going to get promoted, we absolutely have to promote this Prefect Liu!

So he summoned his most trusted tutor, Grand Tutor Xu, as well as the Crown Prince and Cao Guojiu to an audience.

In the Imperial Study—

Baili Youqin first greeted her father, the emperor, and then bowed to her tutor and uncle.

Grand Tutor Xu feigned surprise and delight, but inwardly he was very wary.

It's unclear when it started, but the Crown Prince has been hiding his ambition well in public, while his actions behind the scenes have been ruthless and cruel.

With such a crown prince, one wonders what the future holds for Tianyao...

He could only wait and see, and consider the overall situation.

"I have summoned you here because there is something I wish to discuss with you..."

His Majesty was very satisfied with the Crown Prince. After offering seats to several people, he explained the diligence and love for the people shown by Prefect Liu of Anqing Prefecture in recent years, as well as his numerous proposals for national policies. He now wanted to promote the prefect and wanted to hear the opinions of the people.

Especially the crown prince; once he abdicates, the crown prince will become the ruler of the country.

His idea was to leave this person to the Crown Prince for important responsibilities.

Cao Guojiu and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance, both seemingly having a strong impression of this person.

Grand Tutor Xu, with his eyes wide open and ears attentive to everything around him, stroked his beard and lowered his eyes as if deep in thought.

But in his heart he was thinking that he had inquired about this person and learned some more secret things from Qingyun.

This man apparently wanted to marry his mother-in-law as his second wife, but she politely declined.

However, his son was on good terms with Qingyun, and the two families had a very close relationship...

Furthermore, as the Grand Tutor, His Majesty did not hide many things from him.

He knew that every time his mother-in-law offered a suggestion, it was first given to Prefect Liu, who would then deliver it to Nanjing to be presented as a national policy...

This person was indeed a gentleman, and did not take advantage of others' misfortunes. Every time he presented a national policy, he signed it as his mother-in-law's.

It would be strange if someone like that didn't get promoted.

But what kind of official position should one be promoted to?

Many important positions in the imperial court were occupied by the four great families.

The positions of officials in the previous dynasty have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the dynasty.

That's where the difficulty lies.

"Your Majesty, Minister Li of the Court of State Ceremonial has recently retired to his hometown. After careful consideration, I think it would be better to give Minister Liu a chance to serve as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial and gain some experience."

Baili Youqin bowed and offered a compromise suggestion.

The position of Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies was not one that held significant military power.

However, he was in charge of matters concerning guests and funeral rites, and led the two offices of the Director of Guests and the Master of Ceremonies, to command their officials and perform their duties. The Junior Minister served as his deputy.

His duty was to distinguish the ranks of any rulers or chieftains from the four directions who came to pay homage, and to treat them as guests.

The official rank of the fourth grade is considered a promotion.

From both a moral and logical standpoint, it is appropriate.

If he performs his duties without making any mistakes after a few years, he will be given important responsibilities once he ascends the throne!

The emperor, behind his desk, looked pleased.

He was very satisfied with what the crown prince said.

"What does the Grand Tutor think?"

"Your Majesty, I second that suggestion."

Grand Tutor Xu, observing the prince's words and expressions, naturally echoed the prince's sentiments.

Cao Guojiu was the Crown Prince's maternal uncle and father-in-law, making them even closer relatives. It was impossible for him to contradict the Crown Prince.

Thus, the new imperial edict was drafted, and to show its importance, it was escorted to Anqing Prefecture by the emperor's chief eunuch...

Upon leaving the Imperial Study, Grand Tutor Xu walked with steady steps, but slowly.

He felt it was a bit hot in the imperial study; the emperor's clothes were a little too thick.

"teacher--"

A voice called out from behind.

He wanted to pretend he hadn't heard, but instinctively didn't want to cause trouble, so he pretended to look around blankly.

"Teacher~"

Baili Youqin had no doubts; it was normal for her teacher to be hard of hearing due to his age.

"Your Highness, you called me?"

Grand Tutor Xu seemed to only then realize what was happening, and quickly bowed with his hands clasped, smiling kindly.

Baili Youqin, unaware of anything amiss, respectfully said:

"Teacher, I have a request."

"Your Highness, please speak."

......