The meal was tasteless and unappetizing.
After the food was cleared away, Su Jinxia glanced at the three men with a cold expression.
"Alright, let's start talking about state affairs, Ah Chen. What are your thoughts now?"
"Huh?" Zhou Chen pursed his lips and asked tentatively, "What aspect are you referring to, sister?"
Su Jinxia said calmly, "In all aspects."
Zhou Chen twitched the corner of his mouth. He had been so busy competing with Shen Qianxue for people lately that he hadn't had time to think about national affairs.
Zhou Chen bit his lip until it bled, but he still couldn't answer.
Actually, it wasn't that he had no ideas at all, but he was afraid of giving a bad answer, so he didn't dare to speak for a long time.
"Where is General Han?" Su Jin asked someone else.
It must be said that Su Jin was extremely oppressive at this moment.
Han Qing's heart skipped a beat when she heard the title "General Han," but she remained resentful that Su Jin had lied to her about being alive.
He took a breath and said, "I am but a humble subject and dare not comment on state affairs. As for the Zhuang army under my command, everything is in order and awaits your orders."
Shifting blame...
Su Jin was furious, but she couldn't do anything about Han Qing.
Su Jin looked at Shen Qianxue again, and Shen Qianxue blinked, "A-Jin's thoughts are my thoughts, and whatever A-Jin says goes."
Su Jin down...
One or two! Are they all just here to make up the numbers?
Su Jin suppressed her anger and said, "Fine, I'll explain."
"First, let's confirm the responsibilities. The position of Chancellor is vacant; Han Qing will fill it," Su Jin decided directly.
Han Qing and Zhou Chen both turned their heads to look.
"Any objections?" Su Jin raised her chin slightly.
Zhou Chen quickly shook his head, "I'll go draft the decree in a bit."
Su Jin then shifted her gaze to Han Qing.
Han Qing pursed her lips, her gaze softening slightly.
Su Jinxia's decision to directly appoint him as prime minister demonstrates her understanding and trust in him.
In this respect, Han Qing had absolutely no fault with Su Jin.
Han Qing looked intently at Su Jinxia and said, "Han Qing will live up to your expectations and keep in mind the original intention of Zhuangjun's establishment."
Su Jin nodded in satisfaction, thankfully these people were not ambiguous when it came to serious matters.
"Then let Shen Qianxue be the Imperial Censor," Su Jinxia continued.
"What!"
As soon as Su Jin made the suggestion, Zhou Chen objected, "He has never been to the court before, so why should he be given such an important position right away?"
Below the emperor, the most powerful were none other than the prime minister, the censor-in-chief, and the grand commander.
The prime minister is responsible for assisting the emperor in handling state affairs.
The Imperial Censor was responsible for supervising all officials.
The Grand Commandant was in charge of military power.
Su Jin said, "Shen Qianxue has already quelled the war in the Northwest and has made contributions to the country. She should be rewarded. Besides, this is not what you promised yesterday."
"I did agree, but there are still many positions to oversee all officials, and the position of Censor-in-Chief is not vacant." Zhou Chen still wanted to try and persuade Shen Qianxue, not wanting to give her such an important position.
Shen Qianxue is nothing, yet she's already riding on his head. If he were to become the Imperial Censor, that would be unthinkable.
Su Jin reached out and tapped Zhou Chen on the head. "Didn't you say you had uncovered all the clues about Luo Hong's embezzlement? Didn't you discover that the current Censor-in-Chief was also involved?"
Zhou Chen scratched his head; he had forgotten, he had been too busy arguing with Shen Qianxue.
"It's settled then," Su Jin said decisively.
"Who is the current Grand Commandant?" Su Jin continued.
“It’s Qin Yu, formerly a general in the Tiger Forest Army, and a subordinate of Zhou Lin,” Zhou Chen replied.
"Is it reliable?" Su Jin asked directly, without beating around the bush.
Zhou Chen thought for a moment, "He seems like a good person, but Zhou Lin is going back to the Northeast. I wonder what Qin Yu thinks about that?"
"Zhou Lin is going back to the Northeast?" Su Jinxia found it strange. "Is the war in the Northeast serious? Why would he leave at this time?"
Zhou Chen lowered his head, revealing a hint of sadness. "I told him to go back."
After a moment's thought, Su Jinxia roughly understood.
"Alright, the position of Grand Commandant remains unchanged. Let Qin Yu continue in this role. I'll call him over another day and have a talk with him."
Su Jin tapped her fingers lightly on the table. Once everyone's responsibilities were clearly defined, they could get started on handling things.
"We now mainly need to deal with the following two issues. First, how to handle the case of corruption among court officials implicated by Luo Hong? How to reverse the corrupt practices in the court? Second, after the war, everything is in ruins and the people are living in extreme poverty and have a great distrust of the court. How to solve this problem?"
Su Jin then raised the two most important questions.
"Leave Luo Hong's case to me. I'll investigate first and then make a decision based on the specific circumstances," Shen Qianxue said softly.
Su Jin nodded. "Okay."
Only by conducting a thorough investigation can we strike decisively; otherwise, these people will be as difficult to catch as eels.
Han Qing also spoke up: "I already have detailed reform strategies and measures to benefit the people, but this is just talk on paper. To implement them, we need cooperation from top to bottom, which is not an easy task."
Han Qing sighed, "The court has been corrupt for many years. Not only is the court in chaos, but officials in various prefectures and counties are also adept at deceiving their superiors and subordinates. Any good measures will be distorted in their hands."
Su Jinxia's mood also turned heavy upon hearing this, "Then let's change it!"
Zhou Chen shook his head. "It's not that easy to change them. There are criminals and good people here. If we generalize, it won't convince the public! If we were to investigate, there would be too many people. It would take forever to find out."
Zhou Chen's words made sense.
Previously, during the war in the Northwest, Zhou Chen emptied the national treasury to provide disaster relief, but the situation in the Northwest did not improve, and very little actually reached the people.
Zhou Chen sent people to investigate, but there were too many officials involved along the route, and each of them was shrewd. After a long investigation, they found nothing.
Su Jin lowered her eyes and pondered for a long time, "Since it's not easy to change, why not add one!"
"What do you mean?" Zhou Chen asked, puzzled.
Su Jinxia said lightly, "We can add a supervisory position in each prefecture and county to assist in managing all matters in each prefecture and county."
"That would require tens of thousands of officials. Where would those people come from?" Zhou Chen continued to press.
Su Jin tapped the table lightly and said, "The world is now at peace. Apart from the borders, we no longer need many troops, so Zhuang Jun's soldiers... should go home!"
"They fought bravely for the country and deserve better treatment at this time. So, we should send people out of here and send them back to their hometowns to serve as officials. Of course, these people also need to have the ability to supervise."
“Zhang Qi knows everyone in Zhuang Jun very well, so this matter can be entrusted to him.”
Su Jinxia made the arrangements while thinking it over.
Zhou Chen nodded silently, "I think it's feasible. Maybe we can expose more corrupt officials in a short time."
“That’s right!” Su Jin smiled.
Han Qing looked at Su Jinxia, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
Zhuang Jun was Su Jin's reliance, but she weakened this force without hesitation, and her magnanimity is admirable.
Shen Qianxue stared at Su Jinxia with a smile, her whole body radiating light. Suddenly, she felt that letting her stay was a good option.
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