I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 487 Implementing the Ban
[Huh? The details of the ban on brothels have been improved quite a bit.]

[Let me take a look... After the brothels are closed, the imperial court will pay wages to select skilled people from all walks of life to serve as instructors, teaching the courtesans the skills to make a living, such as silkworm raising, spinning, weaving, needlework, carpentry, masonry, making silk flowers, blacksmithing... Uh, isn't this skills training a bit too comprehensive?]

[Who came up with the brilliant idea of ​​sending a delicate girl to work as a blacksmith? They should at least have her physical training improved first!]

Chu Liuzheng flipped through it.

[Prince Rui?]

[Well, okay, that's a trick that only Prince Rui would come up with. Blacksmithing is such strenuous work, no flower maid should be willing to do it... Waqu, actually someone signed up!]

Chu Liuzheng stared at that unusually delicate name, and really couldn't imagine how a girl with such a name could wield that heavy iron hammer.

Respecting your personal choices will help you succeed.

She silently gave the girl a thumbs up and continued to dig into the details.

The system for redeeming courtesans has also been improved. Once a courtesan has saved enough money, she can redeem herself at market price and regain her status as a free citizen. At that point, she can choose whether to continue working in the brothel or find another way out, entirely up to her. Anyone who dares to obstruct this, or who feigns compliance while secretly resisting, can be reported to the authorities, and the obstructer will be compensated ten times the market price.

[There are also punishments... um... mainly targeting those lazy, good-for-nothing prostitutes who sell their bodies for money without any ambition. The imperial court will appoint special personnel to supervise them.]

[This clause is probably for preventing clandestine prostitution, right?]

[Let me see... Once caught soliciting prostitution, the first time, a fine, and both the prostitute and the client each receive thirty strokes of the cane. The second time, a fine of three times the original amount, and both the prostitute and the client each receive forty strokes of the cane and three months in prison. The third time, a fine of ten times the original amount, and both the prostitute and the client each receive sixty strokes of the cane, the prostitute is branded, and the client is castrated. If caught more than three times, upon discovery, the sentence is execution, with no redemption...]

"Things shouldn't happen more than three times, right? If he can't change this habit, he might as well die. But... how can he go whoring after being castrated?"

Touching on a knowledge gap, Chu Liuzheng slurped up a frozen pear and began to think outside the box.

[Does that mean just cutting off the testicles and not the penis? That probably... won't work, right?]

She looked through the list of those who proposed the punishment and found that it was Imperial Censor Wang.

"Hmm... if I have the chance in the future, I must ask Imperial Censor Wang about this."

*
Once the decree banning brothels was issued, it received countless supporters and countless opponents.

At the center of the storm, Prince Rui handed over the capital and its surrounding area to Imperial Censor Wang for supervision, while he himself requested an army from the emperor and set off from the capital in a fierce manner to sweep across the south.

Brothels along the route will be shut down. Those who disobey will be forcibly shut down and fined. Brothels will be renovated; those who disobey will be forcibly renovated and fined.

Wherever the army went, chaos ensued, with some cursing and others laughing.

Seeing that the imperial court was determined to ban brothels, the previously unpopular position of instructor suddenly became quite sought after, with skilled individuals from all walks of life vying for the job.

However, the imperial court suddenly added a regulation that instructors could only be women, since they were teaching female students and there was a difference between men and women.

The men, who had been so eager, were suddenly doused with cold water, watching helplessly as their wives stood tall and earned a living through their own abilities.

The army marched south, and along the way, wiped out several notorious bandit dens.

Brothels across the land trembled at the mere mention of Prince Rui's name, closing their doors before the army even arrived, some disbanding, others changing professions. In a short time, brothels in Dasheng virtually vanished, and even clandestine brothels became rare.

Behind this, the emperor's support was indispensable, as were the gold and silver.

First, there was King Xiao's need for travel expenses; then came the dispatch of troops to support Gaochang; next, King Rui led his troops south; and then there were other matters of state, large and small, such as disaster relief. All these things piled up, and the national treasury was burning through money. The newly appointed Minister of Revenue was so worried that he was practically bald, and he came to the emperor every day to complain about being broke.

Xiao Jingfan was also worried. Although he wasn't losing a lot of hair, according to Chu Liuzheng's observation, the emperor was looking at the account books more often, as if he wanted to find more numbers in the account books.

At this time, some court officials even submitted a memorial to the emperor urging him to hold a grand selection of concubines to fill the harem and ensure the continuation of the royal lineage.

Not to mention that the emperor didn't want to hold elections in the first place, he should have scolded these ministers who submitted the memorials. They had no sense at all and didn't know that elections cost money.
Desperate for money, Xiao Jingfan summoned the ministers who had submitted memorials, closed the door, and berated them for half an hour. He made two of them cry, one faint from fright, and the remaining two crawled out.

It wasn't that the emperor deliberately made them crawl; their legs were simply too weak to stand. Even when eunuchs offered to help them, they declined, saying the ground was cooler.

When the news reached the inner palace, Consort Shu and Consort Chun discussed it and ordered the inner palace to cut expenses to ease the Emperor's burden. Although 1,800 taels was not much, it was at least a token of their goodwill.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager invited the Emperor to speak with her.

Elections are expensive; we can choose from the young ladies of the capital. I've already picked some; there are quite a few eligible women.

Xiao Jingfan hurriedly left after saying "I won't choose," leaving the Empress Dowager staring blankly, regretting that she hadn't disciplined her son enough in the past.

Spring arrives, the snow melts, and greenery abounds.

A convoy, which had been delayed by snow for two months, was escorted to the capital by the army. It was carrying all the stolen goods that the navy had seized on Wangyue Island, as well as the property confiscated from wealthy families with ties to pirates, such as the Huang family.

The arrival of the convoy was like a godsend, relieving the emperor's urgent crisis and dispelling the Minister of Revenue's idea of ​​jumping into the moat.

Along with the convoy, a letter and a person also traveled to Beijing.

The letter was written by Prince Rui, and the person was Yi Zhen, a scholar whom the emperor had been searching for for several years.

This scholar Yi might have had some connection with bandits. He had only been away from the pirate den on Wangyue Island for a few days when he was captured by mountain bandits. He had no choice but to return to his deceitful ways until Prince Rui led his army by chance, destroyed the bandit camp, and rescued the hostages.

Yi Zhen originally intended to blend into the hostages to enter the city and continue his carefree life, but unexpectedly, he was recognized by Prince Rui and sent to the capital.

Xiao Jingfan was overjoyed and ordered someone to bring Yi Zhen into the palace immediately.

Chu Liuzheng was also quite curious about Yi Zhen. Since the emperor didn't kick her out, she just sat there and listened.

Half an hour later, a young man dressed in white was led into the Wenhua Hall. "This humble subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Chu Liuzheng glanced at him sideways. The boy was just like the one in the painting, with a handsome appearance. In person, he was even more lively than in the portrait. The white robe with wide sleeves made him look like a celestial being. No wonder he could fool both sea pirates and mountain bandits.

Xiao Jingfan was also sizing up this "expert" he had been searching for for several years, his eyes filled with shifting emotions.

The emperor did not call him to rise, so Yi Zhen obediently knelt down, his thick, straight eyelashes drooping, making him look rather docile.

This is a little different from the Yi scholar I imagined.

Chu Liuzheng peeled an orange and had just put two segments of orange pulp into his mouth when he suddenly heard a sentence.

[System, this tyrant is quite handsome! Quick, take two pictures, I need to save them!]

(End of this chapter)