Qin Chuan intends to seriously deal with state affairs.
After all, he has slept with almost every type of stunning beauty, so he can say that he has no regrets in this life.
Moreover, Xiao Yue is right; if one doesn't practice moderation, one might not live a long life...
Next, the most important task is to earnestly work hard to build a prosperous and thriving society.
These days, he always attends court at 7:00 AM, and after the court meeting, he rushes to the cabinet to personally handle major matters.
His handwriting has become more and more beautiful, which is the result of having two Hanlin Academy scholars specially invited to teach him calligraphy.
Inside the cabinet, Lai Mingchuan presented a memorial to Qin Chuan with both hands, saying:
“Your Majesty, in the Jiangzhe region, Princess Xiao Yue has imprisoned 30% of the officials from the county to the province according to the law. Now there is a need to fill the vacancies, especially the position of Hangzhou Prefect. This position is particularly important. I propose that Li Qi, the magistrate of Jianglin County, be promoted to Hangzhou Prefect.”
"Li Qi is a man of outstanding political achievements. In Jianglin County, the government is efficient and the people are harmonious. Everything is thriving. Today, Jianglin can be said to be a place where people do not lock their doors at night and do not pick up lost items on the road. Given time, this Magistrate Li will also be a prime minister!"
"oh?"
Qin Chuan gave an "Oh" with great interest, his gaze turning to Li Qi, who had been promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. He still had some impression of Li Qi, whom Qin Chuan had recommended.
I remember when we were building water conservancy projects, Li Qi made a groundbreaking innovation by using the "daily settlement system," which fully mobilized the enthusiasm of the laborers and made the water conservancy project the first to be completed in the country.
Afterwards, he distributed seeds and supplies to the people and established a state-run supply and marketing cooperative. Magistrate Li was the most proactive county official in all these areas. He was a truly good official who worked for the benefit of the people.
Compared to the gentry and merchants in the Jiangnan region who colluded, disregarded human life, and forced good people to sell their fertile land at rock-bottom prices, Li Qi truly set an example for officials and dared to be the first in the world.
Thinking of this, Qin Chuan waved his sleeve:
"Lift!"
"Not only will he be promoted to Prefect of Hangzhou, but also Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangzhe. Isn't there a vacancy there?"
"Promote Li Qi directly to the position of Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangzhe!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the cabinet, including Xiao Yue, stared at Qin Chuan in astonishment.
The four men stood there stunned for a long time before Lai Mingchuan cautiously opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, to be promoted directly from the seventh rank to the second rank, this..."
He didn't know what words to use to describe this. From a minor county magistrate of the seventh rank, he was directly promoted to the administrative head of a province—a high-ranking official of the second rank. It seemed like he had never read any historical records.
"If I say so, I will promote him. I will have the Ministry of Personnel write down the appointment letter and I will personally mark it with red ink."
Qin Chuan's authoritative voice fell.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Xizhou, as the Grand Secretary, immediately responded.
Seeing that the cabinet members, except for Xiao Yue, were somewhat afraid of him, Qin Chuan knew that this was the effect of the "imperial power" aura. To be honest, he actually quite enjoyed it.
But he still wanted to cultivate a "kind and approachable" persona. After a pause, he changed to a gentler tone and said, "Now every prefecture and county has delivery trucks, and state-run supply and marketing cooperatives have been set up. However, most people live in the countryside, and it is still very inconvenient for them to go to the county to buy things. It is time to speed up the 'village-to-village' plan that I proposed before."
"Let's all share our thoughts."
Grand Secretary and Minister of Revenue Zhu Xizhou said, “Your Majesty is wiser than anyone else, and Your Majesty’s love for the people is evident to Heaven and Earth. However, if every village is to be connected by a main road, it will be difficult to achieve. Firstly, many areas are already rugged mountain roads, making communication difficult. Secondly, the required amount of silver is too great, which may deplete the national treasury…”
Lai Mingchuan and Wang Jiayin echoed this sentiment.
Xiao Yue simply gazed calmly at Qin Chuan, but beneath that calmness lay a subtle, unusual expression.
Qin Chuan didn't want to beat around the bush or play riddles with them, so he said it directly:
"This project is a work-for-relief program that mobilizes the entire population to build roads. People can earn wages, and then use those wages to buy supplies from the supply and marketing cooperatives. In the end, the money returns to the national treasury. Once the roads are built, the government takes the money and uses it to undertake the next round of infrastructure projects. This cycle continues, and strong national infrastructure is the key to a strong national power!"
Zhu, Lai, and Wang were dumbfounded upon hearing this.
Although Your Majesty spoke in plain language, the economic principles contained within were incredibly profound, almost divine!
"Your Majesty is wise beyond compare!"
The three of them said in unison.
Xiao Yue's gaze was fixed on Qin Chuan's face, but her thoughts drifted back to last night, when Qin Chuan pressed down on her, releasing his pent-up emotions, and she reciprocated to the fullest extent...
But she knew very well that such beautiful nights didn't come often, because Qin Chuan had to abstain from sex, and his elder sister Xiao Li and sister Ruyan required him to choose a concubine, preventing him from exclusively favoring Jiang Yao...
"Zhu Xizhou, the imperial edict should be issued in the name of your Ministry of Revenue; there is no need to issue it in the name of the imperial court."
"Your Majesty, I think...wouldn't it be better to issue them together with the Ministry of Works?"
Hearing the words beside her, Xiao Yue pulled her thoughts back and continued Zhu Xizhou's words: "Your Majesty, Minister of Works Yang Weicong is involved in the Hangzhou dike breach case. After the dike breach, his father forced good people to sell their fertile land at low prices and even beat people to death. He was a tyrant in the countryside and committed heinous crimes. I have already imprisoned his father in the local jail. Shouldn't Yang Weicong also be punished?"
Qin Chuan tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. He was aware that Yang Weicong's father had ordered the Yang family to kill someone. If Xiao Li hadn't urgently summoned him back to the palace and abdicated in his favor, he might still be in Hangzhou's Yuhang district dealing with these matters.
Now that Xiao Yue had asked how to deal with Yang Weicong, he thought for a moment and said:
"Everything will still be handled according to the laws of the Great Gan region. His father is only guilty of instigation. As for Yang Weicong, he will be dismissed from his post and an investigation will be conducted to find out whether he has embezzled or accepted bribes..."
"I understand," Xiao Yue said respectfully, bowing her head.
She referred to herself as "I" instead of "your subject" or "your humble servant." The three men in the same chamber, Zhu, Lai, and Wang, were unaware of Xiao Yue's relationship with His Majesty and assumed it was simply because of her status as a princess that she lacked humility.
"Alright, then you can continue to discuss a detailed strategy and issue the edict to all regions. I will have the Directorate of Ceremonial issue an edict to dismiss Yang Weicong. As for the new Minister of Works, we will discuss it later."
"I'm feeling a bit tired. Guards, return to the palace!"
Qin Chuan had indeed dealt with many state affairs during this period and felt very tired, so he had Zhang Cheng and other eunuchs help him out of the cabinet and then returned to Ziyang Palace in the imperial carriage.
Ziyang Palace is not a new palace; Xiao Li's father, Xiao Jinglong, once lived there.
Qin Chuan moved from Weiyang Palace to Ziyang Palace for two reasons: first, Xiao Li was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to live with him; second, his other wives would not agree to him living in Weiyang Palace; and third, he needed to practice abstinence and maintain his health, deciding whose palace he would sleep in every few days by flipping through the nameplates.
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