Liu Yu shook his head and sighed.

To be honest, he personally agreed with Su Wanwan's suggestion.

Those dowry businesses that bring in huge profits should be kept to generate wealth, and the profits should be invested in the construction of the nine border regions. This is the long-term solution.

Moreover, Xiao Bin did a very good job.

Building bridges and roads, though not constructing fortifications, is still a significant initiative that benefits the nine border regions.

After much deliberation, Liu Yu decided to send his wife, Madam Qiu, to the palace to request an audience with Su Wanwan and seek her opinion.

Su Wanwan flatly rejected the suggestion to sell her dowry properties and use the proceeds for the Jiubian region.

"Since it's an imperial edict, you should ask the Ministry of Revenue for the money. When I donated my dowry, I made a three-point agreement that it cannot be touched."

If she were still the Su family's young lady who was at the mercy of others, the Ministry of War would probably take over her dowry properties and sell them off.

Why bother with the "three rules"?

But she is now the Empress, and the Ministry of War can't just forcibly seize her.

"Where would the Ministry of Revenue have any money?" Madam Qiu sighed with a sorrowful expression.

"Putting aside other things, let's talk about Han Fu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who proposed that instead of transporting grain from Huguang to the capital, silver should be transported here."

"But the people in Huguang are adamant that they have no money. What can you do about it?"

"Now it's Han Shilang who's caught in the middle, worried sick that his hair has turned white."

Su Wanwan thought of the current commander-in-chief of Huguang, Marquis Jiang Ji of Dingxi, and the influence of the Empress Dowager Wang.

Now that Lu Xingjian refuses to make Yanruo a concubine, how can Huguang possibly supply grain and silver to the capital?

Su Wanwan pursed her lips, lowered her voice, and whispered a few words to Madam Qiu.

Madam Qiu's eyes flickered with fear and uncertainty: "Could Vice Minister Han agree?"

Su Wanwan smiled gently: "Madam only needs to pass on a message to the wife of Minister Han. As for whether it will succeed or not, we'll wait and see."

Madam Qiu looked dazed for a moment.

His gaze toward Su Wanwan became complicated.

This woman is too bold.

Is there anything she wouldn't dare to do?

Su Wanwan looked at Madam Qiu with a half-smile, without saying anything more.

Madam Qiu paused for a moment, then made a decision instantly:

"Your Majesty, just give me your orders. As you know, my husband was promoted by Grand Secretary Su."

This was the first time Madam Qiu had shown any sign of surrender.

Su Wanwan was a little surprised.

Mrs. Qiu's sense of smell is too sharp.

Was I being too flamboyant?

Why would a courtier's family need to pledge allegiance to an empress who was poisoned and nearly died just two or three months after entering the palace?

"Madam, you flatter me. This matter is beneficial to Minister Han, and there are precedents for it. I am merely offering a suggestion to get things started."

"This is a good thing for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, and I can also protect those dowry properties. It's a win-win-win situation."

Madam Qiu was slightly disappointed, but still nodded and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my best to handle this matter properly."

Soon, Han Fu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue who proposed changing the tax system in Huguang from grain to silver, submitted a startling memorial.

Please order the various departments of the Huguang Prefecture to adopt a new recruitment method for officials—paying silver to exempt them from examinations and become candidates, in order to make up for the number of officials retained in the capital this year.

Since Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces) refused to pay silver or grain taxes, they decided to raise funds by "selling official positions."

Calling it selling official positions isn't actually that bad, but it has a broader scope.

Because the officials in charge of official duties were public officials appointed by the imperial court, registered with the Ministry of Personnel, and whose status was lower than that of officials.

Clerks were an indispensable role in prefectures and counties. They were responsible for managing documents, collecting taxes, maintaining public order, and other daily affairs, and were an important group of officials in local government.

Since the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty, the sources of official records have mainly been four: assistant officials, penalty officials, planning officials, and reporting officials.

The term "Qianchong" refers to the government's selection of local people for service. The criteria were honesty, youth, and literacy. Slick and unsavory people from the marketplace were prohibited from being selected as officials.

The punishment of being sent to the clerk's office was a punitive measure for officials, scholars, and students who had committed crimes or performed poorly.

"Seeking official positions" refers to ordinary people actively seeking to become officials.

For ordinary people, clerks were also considered officials, and they were highly sought after.

They could receive a salary, tax exemptions, and many other extra incomes, so many ordinary people secretly sought to change their social status.

During the reign of the deposed emperor, in order to alleviate the financial crisis, the court once implemented the "sell official positions" policy.

In other words, when ordinary people paid tribute in goods and silver, the imperial court would allocate quotas of officials to them.

Since then, the practice of appointing officials through the guona system has become increasingly popular, essentially replacing the previous system of appointing assistant officials.

Previously, this portion of the revenue from the tax revenue was pocketed by local officials.

Han Fu's memorial was equivalent to elevating this policy, which had been in practice for many years, to the level of the imperial court.

The biggest change was that the income from the tax collection went to the imperial court.

When Liu Jin nervously presented the memorial to Lu Xingjian, he was already prepared to be scolded.

"Selling official positions and titles" is basically a label only used by incompetent rulers.

The emperor is young and ambitious; how could he possibly accept being labeled with a tag that would be condemned in history?

Lu Xingjian stared at the memorial for a long time without saying a word.

Finally, he simply said with a cold gaze, "Xuan Hanfu."

...

That night, Su Wanwan was half asleep when suddenly a heavy body pressed down on her.

Su Wanwan instinctively resisted: "What?"

"who I am?"

The man's tone was exceptionally cold.

Su Wanwan's mind was still a complete mess, and she didn't know why he suddenly asked that question.

"Your Majesty," she said, uttering two words.

However.

These two words did not satisfy Lu Xingjian.

He pinched her chin, carefully examining her sleepy face.

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