Liu Jin came back a little late.
He brought with him several palace maids, several food boxes, and a jar of aged wine.
Accompanying Liu Jin were three young men: Yun Xiyan, Zong Shiji and Wei Wubing.
Liu Jin looked at Fu Xiaoguan cautiously and whispered, "Your Majesty, I acted on my own initiative. Your Majesty needs to drink some wine to vent the frustration in your heart."
After a pause, Liu Jin said softly, "Your Majesty, tomorrow...tomorrow there are many things that require your personal decision."
Fu Xiaoguan laughed. This guy is very smart and a talented person.
"You're so thoughtful. Come on, come on, sit with me."
Yun Xiyan and the other two sat down around the chess table. The palace maids placed hot delicacies on the table. Liu Jin waved them away and personally stayed by Fu Xiaoguan's side, pouring wine for the four of them.
"Come to think of it, it's been a while since we've had a drink together. By the way, Yun Xiyan, we're out of the ingredients for the hot pot base. You need to get some more."
"Hehe, Your Majesty, this won't be a problem anymore."
Fu Xiaoguan was stunned. "Why?"
"Zong Shiji and I have started a side business, transporting hot pot ingredients from Shu to Guanyun City. I bought a shop in Guanyun City, and it's run by Zong Shiji's wife Wei Xianghan and Wubing's sister."
At this point, Yun Xiyan suddenly poked his head out and smiled slyly, "Your Majesty, look at that fellow Sandao. The Shu embroidery shop he opened at home was inscribed with a plaque by the Empress herself. Could you also write a plaque for our hot pot shop?"
"Hahaha..." Fu Xiaoguan laughed. He pointed at Yun Xiyan and said, "You're a smart guy. Okay, I agree to this. I'll choose... Shudihong. How about that?"
Yun Xiyan applauded, "This is a great name. Come on, just for this name, I offer a toast to Your Majesty!"
The atmosphere finally relaxed, and Fu Xiaoguan seemed to have forgotten all his troubles.
Four young men of about the same age were drinking and chatting under the old pine tree, talking about interesting things in the past and their current situations.
Zong Shiji has married Wei Xianghan, Wei Wubing has also married Juan'er, and Juan'er is pregnant and will give birth around July this year.
Juan'er got a fourth-rank imperial decree, and Fu Xiaoguan promised Wei Xianghan a fourth-rank imperial decree.
"Yun Xiyan, does this mean you're still single?"
Yun Xiyan chuckled, "Don't worry. There are many people proposing marriage, but I haven't found the one I like yet. This matter depends on fate. Maybe one day we will meet. When that happens, I will not be polite to you. I will definitely ask you to grant a fourth-rank imperial decree for my wife."
"You're getting married tomorrow, and I'll send the decree to your house tomorrow!"
Yun Xiyan quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no, I haven't even started yet."
Bei Wangchuan, standing in the darkness, had a smile on his face, and Liu Jin, who was serving beside him, also had a smile on his face.
It is a great blessing for the people of the world that Your Majesty can be so happy!
Now Fu Xiaoguan is the common leader of these four regions. The future of hundreds of millions of people is related to him alone. Liu Jin does not think so loftyly. He just simply hopes that the young emperor can be happier.
As they chatted, they turned to the affairs of state.
"My current general idea is this: Jinling will be established as a secondary capital, with a complete set of central government institutions. Once the battle with Fan State is over... I estimate it should be over by the end of April at the latest."
"After the battle with Fan State, the original administrative divisions had to be redivided. I haven't looked at the map yet as to how they'll be divided. Prime Minister Zhuo is temporarily overseeing Yi State. I've also brought those favorable policies with me, and the feedback has been positive; there haven't been any large-scale rebellions or riots."
"I had originally planned to go overseas this year, but now it seems I can't go for the time being. This year we need to integrate, integrate the regions, integrate the people of all ethnic groups, first seek stability, and then seek to optimize and adjust industries in various regions next year."
As he spoke, Fu Xiaoguan looked at Yun Xiyan and said, "Your Ministry of Commerce must be prepared and start reserving talent in advance. The national policy in the future will not change significantly. It will still be about developing both commerce and agriculture. The commerce aspect will fall entirely on your Ministry of Commerce. I will no longer be involved."
Yun Xiyan nodded cautiously, "I will definitely fulfill my mission!"
"Li Cai will be transferred to Jinling, where he will rebuild a Ministry of Commerce. I envision the Jinling Ministry of Commerce governing the Yu Dynasty and the Fan Kingdom, while the Guanyun City Ministry of Commerce will govern the Wu Dynasty, the Yi Kingdom, and the Chi Le River."
"It's not just in commerce, it's also in administration. However, Nanjing doesn't have three provinces, only six ministries. The three provinces are still the highest authority in the new dynasty, and the six ministries in Nanjing are responsible to the three provinces."
Fu Xiaoguan spoke out his plan in a very eloquent manner. This was the best solution he could think of at the moment. Although the number of officials would increase, it would not be too chaotic, nor would it bring too much pressure to the institutions of Guanyun City, and the administrative efficiency would be much higher.
Yun Xiyan and Zong Shiji understood the logic and were extremely impressed by Fu Xiaoguan's plan - the territory of the Wu Dynasty suddenly increased by almost three times!
The population has almost tripled!
They were originally worried about the subsequent governance issues, but now it seems that their worries were unnecessary.
Wei Wubing didn't quite understand what he was saying. As a soldier, he didn't really care about this matter, so he asked, "Your Majesty, doesn't that mean the army needs to be reorganized as well?"
"The army is relatively easy to handle. I plan to establish ten armies in the army, divided into four military regions to guard the four directions. The army's branches will be further refined, but there is no rush for this matter. You and Chen Po should first reorganize the third and fourth armies."
"The conscription is almost over. I will lead the troops to the base in two days."
"Okay, I've gathered a few people from the First Army, Feng Xi, Pan Shuyang, Zhao Jue, and the others. We still need to train the generals, as the talent pool is always insufficient!"
"Last year in the autumn examination, I accepted an extra three hundred Jinshi. Now that my territory has expanded so much, three hundred people are seriously insufficient. We are especially lacking officials at the level of prefects. The Yu Dynasty is relatively good. I am familiar with those officials, and there are many people I can use."
"But Yi and Fan... I'm not familiar with these two countries, so I need to use people I'm familiar with. Oh, and I heard that Fan Tianning, the thirteenth prince of Fan, is coming to Guanyun City?"
"Yeah," Yun Xiyan nodded, "He bought a big house in Guanyun City. I guess he wants to settle down in Guanyun City."
Logically, Fan Tianning was the prince of the Fan State. Such a person's identity was extremely sensitive. If the Fan State was defeated, he should have been arrested and either detained or exiled.
But Yun Xiyan knew that his Majesty did not have these tricks, and he also knew that Fan Tianning had a very good relationship with his Majesty, so he did not say a single extra word.
Sure enough, Fu Xiaoguan thought for a moment and said to Liu Jin, "Please remember to meet Fan Tianning here tomorrow night."
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