minions live

Chapter 768 Shuo Rat
Xingji City.

In the depths of winter in the capital, darkness falls exceptionally early.

Normally it wouldn't be time to light the lamps yet, but now it's pitch black.

The vast palace was quiet, with only the imperial study still lit.

This was one of the few times Ren Ning had stayed up late to govern since ascending the throne.

squeak~
The door to the Imperial Study was pushed open, and two tall figures walked in one after the other.

"Your subjects, Du Ziming and Miao Xia, pay their respects to Your Majesty."

"You two have worked hard." Ren Ning nodded with a smile.

His gaze passed over Du Ziming and landed on his sworn brother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

Miao Xia subconsciously straightened her back.

Although he had carefully groomed himself before entering the palace, the fatigue and dust from his long journey were still clearly visible on his face.

"Just returned to Xingji City?" Ren Ning asked gently, looking Miao Xia up and down. "How are you feeling? Have you seen Dongmei at the manor?"

The "mansion" he mentioned refers to the mansion of the Deputy Commander of the Jinlin Guard.

The Deputy Commander of the Jinlin Guard was Miao Xia's official position.

He and Du Ziming, one as the chief and the other as the deputy, jointly commanded the entire Jinlin Guard.

However, Du Ziming was not stripped of his power or his authority as a result. He continued to perform his original duties, mainly monitoring the powerful families in Xingji City, Sulan City, and Longyuan City in Xingluo County.

Miao Xia, on the other hand, started a new organization to monitor public opinion in other counties of the empire, so as to prevent a repeat of the situation a few years ago in Laigu County, where the people were suffering and Xingji City was completely unaware.

However, the territory of Yun Chui is vast, and it is extremely unrealistic for anyone to establish a surveillance network covering the entire empire in a short period of time.

Ren Ning then selected two or three counties as pilot areas, allowing Miao Xia to start from scratch and explore the path first.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am well. I just returned to my residence and saw Dongmei. She was overjoyed that I was coming back for the New Year."

Haha.

Ren Ning laughed heartily.

Last Spring Festival, they were still in Guangxin County, but Miao Xia was the only one missing from the family.

In the past few days, Miao Dong went to the palace and inquired a lot about whether her brother would return to Xingji City to celebrate the New Year together.

Ren Ning couldn't help but make a few jokes.

The relationship between the ruler and his ministers was harmonious and joyful.

Du Ziming, standing beside him, glanced at him and wisely kept quiet, offering only a slight smile.

He understood Miao Dong quite well.

This is His Majesty's adopted sister from his early years, and she mostly lives with Empress Yingpan.

The two got along well, supported each other, and discussed things together. They were a well-regarded sister-in-law.

Later, Ren Ning ascended the throne...

As the saying goes, when one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

If we follow the habits of other emperors, it would be perfectly acceptable for them to bestow the title of county princess or even county princess upon their adopted sister after ascending the throne.

But Ren Ning did not.

Having served the late emperor for over a decade, Du Ziming, though not fully understanding, vaguely grasped the reasons behind it.

There are already too many nobles in the entire empire.

Along with each noble title came a prestigious status, as well as corresponding land, salary, and resources.

The bestowal of titles upon a mere county princess or even a prefectural princess may be of little significance to the court.

However, in the years that followed, as long as the recipients did not rebel, these granted lands and tax reductions would remain indefinitely.

This is tantamount to tearing a hole in the body of the empire.

If it were like the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion or the Marquis of Zhongyong's Mansion, where descendants would risk their lives to defend the backbone of the empire, then there would be nothing to criticize.

However, many nobles, relying on their inherited titles and status, secretly eroded the foundation of the empire.

In particular, in the past few months, under Ren Ning's instructions, the Jinlin Guard has been investigating and prosecuting officers at all levels involved in the Central Army Corps and the Beihai Customs.

Although Du Ziming had anticipated this, it was only after seeing the data with his own eyes that he truly understood the famous term in history books: "big rat".

Many nobles held low ranks and were not well-known; they were not even qualified to enter the imperial palace on ordinary days.

However, through various tax avoidance and land acquisition methods over generations, they amassed immeasurable land and wealth. Even so, many remained insatiably greedy.

Even when the empire faced natural disasters or foreign invasions, they would openly or secretly embezzle the silver and funds allocated by the court for disaster relief or war under various pretexts.

With the money, he purchased land and shops.

They then use their privileged status to evade taxes, thereby accumulating even more wealth.

This cycle continued, and each person became incredibly wealthy, owning vast tracts of fertile land.

The ultimate consequence was the depletion of national treasury revenue.

Whenever the empire needed to allocate silver and grain, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury was empty, with no silver available...

Thinking of this, Du Ziming quietly raised his eyes and glanced at the monarch behind the dragon desk.

As long as I don't make any mistakes, I should be able to hold onto my position as commander of the Jinlin Guard for a few more years, or even until I retire and return to my hometown.

In the days to come, we must work even harder to plan for His Majesty and bring down more parasites in the empire—especially those corrupt officials who are the biggest rats in the country.

As he pondered this to himself, Miao Xia had already held up a thick stack of files.

“Your Majesty, these are suspected corruption cases that I discovered in Hanoi County.”

Ren Ning nodded slightly.

Hanoi, Baihua, and Tianshui were the three counties he chose for Miao Xia as pilot projects.

Especially Hanoi District,

It was a transportation hub of the empire, and historically a place where all sorts of people mingled.

In addition, it was the fiefdom of Chen Xiuzhu, the former King of Qi.

Now that Chen Xiuzhu and his entire family have been executed, the land granted to him should naturally be confiscated by the state.

The vastness of the fiefdoms held by princes is truly astonishing.

Such a vast land is a tempting piece of meat, and who will ultimately govern it and cultivate it has become a major question.

As for Baihua County, it is one of the empire's two major medicine warehouses.

When Ren Ning and Lei Er first went south to the Yingshan camp in Guangxin, they were attacked by local soldiers and yamen runners when they passed through Baihua County.

This clearly demonstrates the chaos in its internal governance.

There is also Tianshui County.
It is adjacent to Yingling Horse Ranch, one of the three major horse ranches in Yunchui.

It was also a place frequently visited by the sons of imperial nobles.

Xiao Li stepped forward quickly and respectfully presented the files that Miao Xia had brought back to the emperor's desk.

Ren Ning casually flipped through a few pages and immediately understood.

In fact, the Ministry of Justice had already heard about these things that Miao Xia reported earlier.

Ultimately, Yun Chui was a centralized, unified empire.

In addition to the regular reports submitted by local officials, imperial censors who traveled throughout the country could also report on matters based on what they heard.

As long as these two channels are not completely blocked, Xingji City can always get a general idea of ​​the situation in various places.

Meanwhile, the acting Minister of Justice has yet to be officially appointed, and Xuan Zuo is now so eager to lay bare his sincere heart on the imperial desk to prove his loyalty.

Having barely caught a whiff of the situation, he disregarded the dead of winter and the approaching New Year, and hastily dispatched his capable subordinates to investigate the truth as quickly as possible, in order to demonstrate the competence of the Ministry of Justice.

"I will review it carefully later..."

Before Ren Ning could finish speaking, the door to the Imperial Study opened a crack, and a young eunuch half-revealed his face, looking anxious.

Little Li frowned and quickly stepped forward.

However, his expression changed drastically in a moment, and he hurriedly returned to the side of the dragon table.

"Your Majesty, we have just received an urgent report from the Prince of Zhenwang's Palace. Princess Yiguang passed away at 1:15 PM..."

what?
Ren Ning suddenly stood up, stunned for a long while, before slowly returning to the dragon throne.

He waved wearily.

His Highness Du Ziming and Miao Xia quickly and tactfully bowed and withdrew.

"When does the Prince's Mansion plan to send Grandmother back to her hometown of Xingluo?" Ren Ning asked in a deep voice.

Little Li dared not delay even slightly.

"Your Majesty, Prince Huo has sent word that as soon as the city gates open tomorrow, he will escort the Grand Princess's coffin back to Xingluo County."