The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Only Hu Cheng, the Minister of Works, and Kuai Xiang, the Vice Minister of Works, looked excited. The rest of them were a bit confused. Pan Yun saw that they didn't understand, so he casually explained: "Although the telegraph machine transmits shortwave information through natural reflection, the transmission speed will not only slow down and become messy, but it will also be lost if the distance is too far."

“Previously, the signal waves between heaven and earth were very clean. With the increase in telegraph machines, coupled with other wave contamination, the accuracy of information would be compromised if telegraph transmission stations were not set up. It was okay for short distances, but the longer the distance, the lower the accuracy would be. For example, from Yunnan to Beijing, from Japan to Beijing, from Southeast Asia to Beijing…”

“Wait a minute,” Yu Qian interrupted her, staring intently at her: “Japan? Southeast Asia?”

“That’s right,” Pan Yun tilted his head and said, “The sea ban has been lifted, didn’t you prepare twenty ships to reopen the South Seas trade? It’s so far, why don’t you bring one or two telegraph machines?”

Yu Qian's lips moved slightly as he asked, "Is that alright?"

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Of course!"

Yu Qian immediately bowed and said, "I humbly thank the Imperial Preceptor for his great kindness!"

The ministers all expressed their gratitude.

Zhu Qiyu was overjoyed and waved his hand, saying, "The longevity of my Great Ming Dynasty is also worthy of celebration. Guards, I hereby grant a general amnesty!"

Xue Xuan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, immediately stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, those who commit robbery, adultery, murder, or treason should not be included in the list of those to be pardoned."

Zhu Qiyu quickly replied, "Of course, the Imperial Advisor said that letting evildoers go is against the will of Heaven. These are all people who have committed serious crimes and are not eligible for pardon. This pardon is only for those who have committed minor crimes such as fighting, tax arrears, and theft."

Xue Xuan was finally satisfied and took a step back.

Cao Nai seized the opportunity to suggest, "Your Majesty, why not reduce taxes and let the whole country rejoice?"

Zhu Qiyu hesitated, and Chen Xun's heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, the national treasury..."

Pan Yun glanced at the cabinet ministers with a half-smile and said, "The national treasury is tight. Last year, several disaster-stricken areas had their taxes reduced. This year, the Northwest and Central Plains are suffering from drought, so taxes have also been reduced to some extent. If taxes are reduced nationwide, where will Minister Chen find the money?"

"Exactly," Chen Xun glared at Cao Nai. "He's talking about tax cuts the moment he opens his mouth. Has he even thought about the Ministry of Revenue?"
Pan Yun encouraged Zhu Qiyu: "If Your Majesty feels that a simple pardon is not enough, then why not take some money from your private treasury to do good deeds?"

Zhu Qiyu had received several sums of money from his private treasury this year, and he was indeed quite wealthy. He immediately asked, "Grand Preceptor, where do you think it should be used?"

"Emperor Taizu Gao always respected scholars and wanted to enlighten the people. I also believe that the future of the country lies in the children, and the future of the children lies in education."

Zhu Qiyu immediately said, "Very well, I will donate one hundred community schools!"

Pan Yun's lips curled up as he looked at the other ministers.

Yu Qian, inspired by a sudden inspiration, immediately said, "Your subject is willing to donate one hundred taels of silver for the construction of the community school."

One hundred taels of silver might not be much for other officials, but it was a huge expense for Qian.

Since Yu Qian took the lead, the other ministers could only follow suit.

Great, this money combined is enough to open about twenty community schools and sustain them for about ten years.

Indeed, donating to a community school is not just about building a house; it also requires funding to hire teachers and providing start-up capital to sustain it for at least ten years before the community school can be considered complete.

It would be much more convenient for the emperor to do this; his money could be directly allocated to the county, where the county magistrate and the education commissioner would jointly supervise the construction and implementation.

Everyone returned to the palace in high spirits.

Empress Wang also heard about the Emperor and the Imperial Advisor's compassionate act, and immediately added to the plan: "Let us open textile schools and workshops in ten places in my name, and hire female workers to study for free." She also said: "Let us also order the redemption of a thousand slaves and release them, or settle them locally."

This money was paid by Empress Wang herself, as the textile workshop she co-owned with Empress Qian was very profitable.

Upon hearing this, Empress Qian also contributed funds to redeem 500 slaves.

This is what they learned from Pan Yun: liberating slaves benefits not only the slaves but also the country.

The Imperial Advisor once said that if one day there were no more death contracts in the world, then there would be no more slaves, and all people in the world would be commoners, while those on living contracts would be laborers. Everyone would work for the country, for the people, for their families, and for themselves.

In the past two years, they have taken to redeeming slaves, allocating land to them, and helping them settle down.
Those who didn't have land to allocate were put to work in workshops or sent to farms.

They sometimes had the illusion that they were just being moved from one place to another, but the royal advisor said that they had signed labor contracts with them, and that they were not slaves but free people, so their legal status was different.

The two naive empresses were only now beginning to encounter something deeper. Before, they always thought they should learn from Empress Ma, Empress Xu, and Empress Zhang, and be virtuous empresses, which meant universal love, loving every citizen, no matter whether they were nobles, commoners, or slaves.

But the Imperial Advisor told them that as the Queen Mother, she should love everyone, but the way to love each kind of person is different. Giving them what is most suitable and what they need most is the best thing for them.

Empress Dowager Sun stayed in the inner palace and did not teach them how to be a virtuous empress.
Consort Wu had never been an empress, so she was even less capable than the two of them and couldn't teach them.

Only the court ladies occasionally taught them, but because of their different statuses, the information was very fragmented.

On the contrary, the Imperial Advisor was teaching Zhu Qiyu how to be a good emperor, and she was also teaching Empress Wang how to be a good empress. Empress Qian would occasionally listen in as well.

There were a few moments when both Empress Wang and Empress Qian felt that the Imperial Preceptor was instructing them in the same way he would instruct an emperor.

Every time the thought crossed their minds, the two empresses felt a chill run down their spines.

If Empress Qian hadn't been childless and her husband hadn't died young, she wouldn't have dared to listen to these things from Empress Wang.

Whenever they thought of this, the two of them felt regret, wishing that Master Jingci was still alive.

Oh, so the Immortal Master Jingci is none other than the deposed Empress Hu.

Empress Hu was also a virtuous empress, what a pity.

Seeing Zhu Qiyu so happy today, Empress Wang hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Immortal Master Jingci was also a devout follower of Taoism. During her lifetime, she prayed for the country in the Chang'an Palace. She was actually without fault, and the late emperor also expressed his remorse many times. In that case, why not take this opportunity to restore her honorific title?"

Zhu Qiyu was stunned and asked in shock, "You, why did you suddenly think of her?"

Empress Wang: "I feel that we cannot wrong an innocent person, nor can we let a virtuous person suffer."

Zhu Qiyu quickly glanced outside the hall and said in a low voice, "Are you crazy? Empress Dowager Sun is still here."

He didn't want to cause any trouble in his life.

Empress Wang: "If Your Majesty were to mention it, all the court officials would agree, and everyone would say that she is a virtuous empress."

Zhu Qiyu: "...She is a virtuous empress, but Empress Dowager Sun is still alive. Restoring her title now would be a slap in the face to Empress Dowager Sun, wouldn't it? She was already unhappy that I inherited the throne from my elder brother; why bother her now?" (End of Chapter)