The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Upon hearing his words, his friend said, "Don't talk about your judgment. Do you even have the ability to recognize people? You spoke up for Xu Youzhen before, but in this civil-military conflict, he directly impeached you, saying that you were controlling the government and almost branded you as a treacherous minister."

Yu Qian's dark skin became even darker, and then reddish.

My friend kept complaining: "And then there's Shi Heng. You used to value him highly and even recommended him to the emperor. But what happened? He got ahead of everyone else, even his nephew's brother-in-law got promoted. He even wants to find a position for your son so you can get involved with him. This time, he was the most enthusiastic when the Grand Tutor was impeached, just because the Grand Tutor disliked him. He was the first one they found during the military investigation."

Yu Qian: ...

Friend: "Come, come, tell me, what's your talent for judging people?"

Yu Qian remained silent.

Feeling discouraged by his friend, Yu Qian was even more eager to see Pan Yun, wanting to prove that he hadn't misjudged her.

The emperor was also thinking of Pan Yun and used a yellow talisman to beg Pan Yun to return quickly.

Following the corruption case involving the Guangdong garrison, the imperial censors dispatched to various military districts to investigate military affairs have also yielded results.

Corruption exists in all garrison and border troops, differing only in degree.

Among them, the inland garrison mainly engaged in encroaching on farmland and colluding with local gentry to forcibly sell farmland;

The border troops mainly relied on receiving salaries without actually working.

Some of these situations are even more severe than those in Guangdong.

Because so much corruption was uncovered, including involvement of some military officers who incurred public wrath, most of the court officials reiterated Yu Qian's suggestion, strongly demanding that the emperor bring all matters related to military farms, rations, and the distribution of military pay under the control of the Ministry of War.

The emperor was tempted several times, but each time he was about to agree, he remembered Pan Yun's advice and remained silent.

The court officials naturally noticed the emperor's indecisiveness.

“Someone must have said something to His Majesty, otherwise His Majesty would not have hesitated,” the civil officials who supported this method said. “We must find this person and remove the root of His Majesty’s problem.”

The military officers, being astute as ever, noticed it too. They huddled together and said, "Someone must have said something to His Majesty, otherwise His Majesty wouldn't have hesitated. We must find this person and have them persuade His Majesty that such an outrageous thing cannot be agreed to. The Five Military Commands are in charge of military power and land reclamation; this is a rule established by Emperor Taizu. How can it be broken?"

Both sides exerted their efforts simultaneously and learned that the emperor had asked "Has the Imperial Advisor returned?" eighteen times in three days.

Now everyone knows who that person is.

The civil officials couldn't get rid of him, and the military officials couldn't be bribed, so both sides fell silent.

Pan Yun returned to the palace in silence, bringing back a local specialty for the Emperor and Empress.

Upon hearing that the Imperial Preceptor was in Kunning Palace, the Emperor immediately made an excuse to leave Yu Qian and the others behind and rushed to Kunning Palace to see the Imperial Preceptor.

Seeing the large wooden tub swinging wildly in the courtyard, the emperor was stunned and asked, "This, this is a local specialty of Guangdong?"

Pan Jun: "Yes, these are the new utensils that have emerged in Guangdong recently. They can be used to starch clothes and thresh grains."

Emperor: "There's such a thing?"

The emperor instantly forgot everything else and rushed up to see.

Inside the large wooden barrel was an iron barrel, with raised oval shapes on the walls. When it spun wildly, the clothes inside were tumbled, stirred, and rubbed.

Upon seeing this, the emperor's first thought was: "With this bucket, wouldn't the palace be able to hire far fewer palace maids?"

The emperor's eyes lit up. How much money could this save?
After Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, he released a group of palace maids. He tasted the benefits, gaining a good reputation and reducing palace expenses. If he could do it again...

The Empress said, "Your Majesty, even the clothes and curtains of the palace maids are not suitable for washing in this laundry tub. They can be taken to the imperial estate to thresh grains." Pan Yun said, "Threshing grains is done in a separate wooden tub, which I also brought."

Pan Yun took out another wooden bucket from the spiritual realm to show them.

The emperor and empress's eyes widened, but they pretended not to see her conjure something out of thin air and instead looked at it seriously.

Pan Yun enthusiastically explained the differences between the two types of buckets to them.

Actually, they are not much different. The threshing drum is derived from the washing drum and is a work by Wang Cong.

However, the improvements in details made their functions very different. Pan Jun was very proud and praised the inventor repeatedly.

Zhu Qiyu recognized the meaning and asked, "Who is the inventor?"

Pan Jun proudly raised his head and puffed out his chest: "The inventor of the washing tub is none other than myself, and the threshing tub is my senior nephew, Wang Cong."

Zhu Qiyu praised, "The first and second place in the Ministry of Works' invention competition this year should belong to the Grand Preceptor and Wang Cong. In addition to the reward set by the Grand Preceptor, I also have an extra reward for you. What does the Grand Preceptor want?"

Pan Yun: "You set up the prizes yourself, pay the prize money yourself, and then you win the prizes yourself, and you even give yourself the prize money?"

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand dismissively and said, "Since it's a competition of artifacts, the focus should naturally be on the artifacts themselves. How can we discriminate based on status?"

Pan Yun looked at him with a complicated expression, and finally turned to the Empress: "What does the Empress think?"

The Empress said with a serious expression, "Of course not. It's one thing for Wang Cong, but the Imperial Preceptor is the organizer, so he should avoid suspicion. He should just award prizes and give money. How can he participate? Of course, if the Imperial Preceptor provides good items, His Majesty should reward him."

Pan Yun: "Your Majesty, it is good to recommend worthy people without avoiding relatives, but there must be rules. Once there are rules, they must be followed. Only when the superiors set an example can the environment get better and better."

“The things that Wang Cong and I made are naturally good, but if the top prize is awarded to Wang Cong and me today, next year, the year after, and even further into the future, the officials below will try to please me or His Majesty by giving the top prize to me or my relatives. Who will still believe in the collection of this artifact, believe in His Majesty, or even believe in the Ming Dynasty?”

The emperor said regretfully, "I hadn't thought things through."

Pan Yun said, "The precious paper money serves as a warning from the past. My reputation is very important, His Majesty's reputation is very important, and the reputation of the Ming Dynasty is even more important."

The emperor seemed to be lost in thought.

Pan Yun asked, "What is it that Your Majesty urgently summoned me back for? Why couldn't you say it on the imperial edict?"

In her haste to get back, she didn't even have time to see Wang Cong off on his voyage.

The emperor said, "It still comes down to the matter of military farms and the transfer of military pay to the Ministry of War. The civil and military officials in the court almost got into a fight over this."

Pan Jun looked incredulous: "Do military officers really dare to hit civil officials?"

The emperor said awkwardly, "Naturally, it's not a contest between martial arts and civil affairs, but rather a contest between civil and military affairs."

He said, "Not all civil officials support taking it under the Ministry of War, and not all military officers oppose it; it's just that the majority of civil officials support it, and the majority of military officers oppose it."

The two sides held their own opinions and almost came to blows in the imperial court.

It scared him to death.

After all, he had personally witnessed court officials fighting and killing each other, including the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was beaten to death.

The emperor wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, "Grand Preceptor, do you think that land reclamation and military pay should be placed under the control of the Ministry of War?"

Pan Yun: "Your Majesty, why do those who oppose it oppose it? Do you think their arguments are reasonable?" (End of Chapter)