Imperial city.
Purple Palace.
Mu Ci reported to Xiao Ling everything that happened in the Beijing camp without leaving out a single word.
Xiao Ling could easily obtain information about Chu Yan's treatment of his subordinates.
When she heard that Chu Yan, who never took anyone seriously, had a competition with Shi Qingxue in the Beijing Camp and lost miserably in the end, she couldn't help but laugh.
No wonder she didn't choose the wrong person. She asked Shi Qingxue to deliver the list, and sure enough, there was an unexpected surprise.
Xiao Ling was very satisfied with the result, and even the little Tuan in her arms was bullied by her so excitedly that he grimaced.
Seeing this, she felt a little disappointed, threw the cat aside and regained some seriousness.
"General Shi has always had a rather short temper. I originally arranged for her to go to the Jingying to calm Chu Yan's temper. It seems that it is indeed effective."
Mu Ci nodded, then explained: "Your Majesty, it's not that General Shi has a bad temper. He just doesn't get along well with General Chu. Maybe he simply holds a grudge..."
"Really? I have the impression that General Shi is like this in many situations."
Xiao Ling found it a little unbelievable, but did not take it to heart.
"Let's put these aside for now. Following Chu Yan's approach, I always feel a little uneasy. Chu Yi wants him to lead his subordinates north. Mu Ci, do you think he has other plans because of this?"
"This...maybe it's possible. I think Your Majesty should discuss this matter carefully with Lord Chu."
Mu Ci is now very clear about the plan Chu Yi proposed yesterday.
Although she also agreed with this approach, she couldn't help but mention it for the sake of His Majesty and An Guo.
"I am worried too, but Chu Yi has to make the decision on this matter. He is quite confident."
Xiao Ling then waved his hand, "You should leave first. Pay attention to the recent movements of the Beijing camp."
"I'll take my leave..."
Not long after Mu Ci turned and left, Yu Zhu quickly came in from outside the hall and reported:
"Your Majesty, Lord Chu is here."
"knew."
Xiao Ling agreed casually, and when she looked up, Chu Yi had already entered the imperial study.
He walked straight to the dragon throne, hugged the little girl who was lying on the cushion and about to sleep, squeezed her a few times, and then sat down.
"I also know how Third Brother handled yesterday's incident. It was a compromise."
Chu Yi got straight to the point. "I was indeed inconsiderate before, and they had no choice."
"Are you planning to spare their lives?" Xiao Ling asked curiously.
Chu Yi shook his head. "Some people deserve to die, but some can be spared. In my opinion, except for the two masterminds, Yan Yu and Yu Shengwu, all the others must be killed."
Hearing this, Xiao Ling finally felt relieved, but then he said worriedly, "Chu Yan plans to send Commander Yu to Yan. If it's according to your idea, he might re-employ Commander Yu after he reaches the border. Do you think this is feasible?"
Chu Yi nodded. "If we want to deal with Qi, relying on him alone is definitely not enough. His subordinates are capable and loyal to him. They may not be of much use to me, but if they follow Chu Yan in the northern border, they will definitely be put to good use."
In the end, Chu Yi suddenly changed the subject and put this matter aside.
"However...I did not come here to discuss this matter. I have other matters to discuss with Your Majesty."
"What's up?"
"I plan to take advantage of the fact that many places in Annan have just been stabilized to fully implement the previous official system reforms in Annan. In addition, I think the commercial tax and levy reforms implemented by Lord Cheng can also be implemented at the same time." Chu Yi said seriously.
In fact, regarding the new official system, he had first started a pilot program in several places in Annan Province at the beginning of last year.
The new official system solves some redundancy problems in the current Da'an official system. In addition, it also involves the implementation of the performance evaluation system.
Of course, last year when Chu Yi was messing around with these things, he naturally had the intention of forming cliques for himself, but his fundamental starting point was good.
Now that the opportunity had come, Chu Yi felt there was no need to delay any longer and simply put a series of measures in place.
This is also a preparation for the future. There are already many problems within Daan that need to be reformed.
Xiao Ling knew about the benefits of the new law last year, but she was still a little hesitant.
"The Qi army is ahead. Isn't it inappropriate to do this now? What if there's a civil war?"
"Your Majesty, it's precisely because Qi is planning to march south that these matters have to be put on the agenda," Chu Yi explained. "The national treasury can't afford a major war right now, and Annan has experienced a rebellion and the official position is vacant. This is a good opportunity. Once Annan is stable, Annan will have enough power to continue to fight Qi."
Xiao Ling was silent for a while, but when he heard Chu Yi say this, he nodded and agreed.
"I know that Annan needs reform now, but regarding the collection of commercial taxes... Although Mr. Cheng has achieved some initial success, the obstacles are also great. I don't have much hope of quickly getting money from those landlords and gentry in Annan..."
At this time, the little empress's face had returned to a sigh, and finally she couldn't help but snort coldly to express her dissatisfaction in her heart:
"Not only will local resistance be fierce, but I suspect that even the civil servants in the court will not easily enforce the new tax laws when they are implemented."
"Your Majesty, you are too pessimistic. After all, this tax law only applies to commercial taxes. Most officials in the court are my subordinates and will not openly obey the law in secret."
Chu Yi smiled, seeming confident.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling glared at him. "I'm so close to you, and you're unwilling to give me the 10 million I embezzled, let alone them?"
Chu Yi: “…”
"What if I am willing?"
"Really?" The little empress instantly became interested after hearing this and stretched out a hand, "Then give it to me now!"
Chu Yi: “…”
What should I say if I suddenly don’t want to do it anymore?
Chu Yi laughed awkwardly, stroked the cat in his arms, and then deliberately changed the subject:
"Actually... as for who should be sent to Annan to collect commercial taxes, I already have a candidate in mind. There's no need to send the Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate elsewhere..."
Xiao Ling wanted to continue asking about the 10 million silver coins, but Chu Zei changed the subject and mentioned the candidate, which made her curious, so she had to put the silver aside for the time being.
"Then who do you plan to use then? You can't... let Mu Ci take the Tianwei to collect taxes, right?" Xiao Ling was puzzled.
If you want to collect business taxes, you have to find a group of trustworthy officials.
Previously, Cheng Xunyi's initial tax reform relied on the censors from the Censorate to supervise the local areas.
Although the censors also belong to the civil service system and may pretend to obey but actually disobey, supervision is their job after all, and it needs to be linked to their own assessment. Their reliability is at least much stronger than that of local officials.
Now without the Censor's words, Xiao Ling couldn't figure out what Chu Yi was planning.
But the Tianwei only has one guard, and its main job is to manage intelligence. If everyone goes to collect taxes, who will collect intelligence for them?
Seeing that the little empress couldn't think of this, Chu Yi showed a mysterious smile.
Then he casually pointed to a book on the imperial desk.
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