The prince is more stable

Chapter 862 Imperial Harem Recommendation
To govern a country with deep-seated problems, one must start with the most difficult aspects.

That is the entire bureaucratic system.

The revision of the new policy is no longer important; Zhao Xiaoqian had a negative attitude towards the revision of the new policy from the beginning.

The root of the problem is not to correct the shortcomings of the new policy.

No matter how perfect the policies and laws are, if the people implementing them are problematic, they will ultimately become bad policies that cause widespread resentment among the people.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian could not expect all officials in the country to be honest and dedicated to their duties; that was simply impossible. Throughout history, corruption and inaction have been the true nature of bureaucrats, unchanged for thousands of years.

Let every official in the land have a sharp sword hanging over their neck at all times.

It makes officials consider the seriousness of the consequences before they consider taking bribes.

Of course, Zhao Xiaoqian was well aware that implementing the separation of supervisory powers would not be easy and would certainly encounter a lot of resistance. After all, this time it affected the interests of too many people, and neither the new party nor the old party in the court would agree with his decision in their hearts.

In other words, he will face opposition from the entire court, as well as local officials and powerful landlord groups.

Perhaps, as he said, it really is time to take action.

He held imperial power in one hand and a butcher's knife in the other.

No matter how many people are killed, this matter must be carried out.

We can never trust human nature. Only long-term, stable, mature and perfect laws and systems can suppress the evil in human nature for thousands of years to come.

The court assembly at the Council of State Affairs ended in a rather unpleasant manner, with the emperor and his ministers nearly falling out.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian's attitude was firm: no matter what, the court should increase its oversight of officials and separate the power of supervision from the system of the two offices and three departments, forming a separate system that was accountable only to the emperor.

…………

Back at Funing Palace, Zhao Xiaoqian felt a little depressed.

Playing mind games with those old foxes in the imperial court is really exhausting. He's just a young man in his twenties, at best a little fox. He's still lacking in experience to compete with a group of old foxes. He doesn't know how these old foxes will oppose him.

Zheng Chunhe quietly entered the hall and saw that Zhao Xiaoqian looked exhausted. She stepped forward and asked with concern, "Your Majesty, would you like to have a meal or rest? This servant begs Your Majesty to take care of your health and not be like the late Emperor..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "I cherish my health more than anyone else. I would never do anything that requires painstaking effort. I eat when I'm hungry and sleep when I'm tired. I put aside all matters, no matter how important they are."

Rubbing his throbbing temples, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly stood up and said, "Old Zheng, help me change my clothes and dress me up as a wealthy young master. Bring a fishing rod; I'm going out of the palace to fish by the Bian River."

Zheng Chunhe was startled and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, as the Emperor, is too noble to leave the palace so rashly..."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "It's alright. I have you by my side, as well as Chen Shou. I trust you both."

Zheng Chunhe smiled and said, "Yes, this servant will arrange it right away."

When he felt down, he would go for a walk or sit by the river to fish to relax. Zhao Xiaoqian never wronged himself, nor would he waste his energy on himself. If he was going to waste energy, he would waste it on others.

Dressed as a wealthy young master, Zhao Xiaoqian stood in front of the bronze mirror, admiring his own dashing appearance, and was momentarily stunned.

"This outfit suits me better than the yellow robe..." Zhao Xiaoqian murmured.

"When I wear the yellow robe and women chase after me, they only care about my power. When I wear ordinary clothes and women chase after me, they are purely attracted to my looks and personal charm."

Zheng Chunhe laughed from the side, "No matter what the emperor wears, he will be pursued by women, and most of them will not be able to win him over. A true man should be like this."

These words sounded nice, and Zhao Xiaoqian's brows relaxed considerably.

Staring at himself in the bronze mirror, Zhao Xiaoqian earnestly praised, "That's right, as expected of me, truly as expected of me."

"Go away!"

Upon exiting the palace gates, Chen Shou, leading a group of men disguised as guards, was waiting outside.

After ascending the throne, Chen Shou was appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Palace Guards, working alongside Di Zi as one of the two commanders. Zhao Xiaoqian entrusted the security of the entire palace to them, which was a great trust from the emperor for his subjects.

Upon seeing Zhao Xiaoqian leave the palace, Chen Shouhe's imperial guards quickly surrounded him, maintaining a certain distance from each other while being positioned to protect him at any time.

Having frequently accompanied Zhao Xiaoqian on his outings, Chen Shou and the Imperial Guards were already very familiar with the routes. They often practiced how the Imperial Guards should protect Zhao Xiaoqian, how to escape, and how to fight back if he encountered assassins.

Upon seeing Chen Shou, Zhao Xiaoqian patted him forcefully on the shoulder and laughed, "Haven't seen you for several days. You've become a high-ranking official, and you're ignoring people now, huh?"

Chen Shou smiled wryly and said, "Your Majesty, since I was appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Generals, I have been patrolling the palace day and night, setting up overt and covert sentries. I am really too busy. Besides, Your Majesty has a lot of important affairs to attend to. If I had nothing to do, how would I dare to disturb Your Majesty in doing important things?"

After saying this, Chen Shou seemed to remember something and suddenly pulled out a thick stack of gold leaves from his pocket, handing them to Zhao Xiaoqian with both hands.

Zhao Xiaoqian was shocked: "What's going on? A subject bribing the emperor? This is unprecedented and unparalleled. I've never even heard of it before. Tell me, what trouble have you gotten yourself into? Let me see if I can cover for you. If I can't, I'll have no face to take this money."

Chen Shou was both amused and exasperated: "It wasn't a bribe, but rather an unexpected windfall for me." "After Your Majesty ascended the throne, palace eunuchs often approached me, offering me favors. Perhaps they knew I had served Your Majesty for many years and that Your Majesty held me in high regard, so they wanted to use my connections..."

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly realized: "What do they want from you?"

Chen Shou smiled and said, "The eunuchs are just messengers. There are many women in the harem who have never been favored by the late emperor. I would like to ask that I speak well of them to Your Majesty and hint that Your Majesty should favor them in your spare time."

"To date, no fewer than ten women in the harem have entrusted eunuchs to deliver messages. All the benefits they have given me are here. I dare not take them without permission. It would be better to hand them over to Your Majesty for decision."

Zhao Xiaoqian's expression suddenly became complicated as he stared at the gold leaf in Chen Shou's hand, sensing that something was off about its taste.

"They want to sleep with me, and they'll pay me afterward... This..." Zhao Xiaoqian stroked his chin, lost in thought. "Are these women in the harem just too lonely for too long, so they want to pay for things?"

Looking again at the gold leaves in Chen Shou's hand, it was a thick stack, quite heavy.

Most of the women selected to enter the palace were daughters of officials, and their families were quite wealthy. Simply put, they were a group of rich and beautiful women who were not short of money. The important thing was that they slept with the emperor, and they didn't care how much money it cost.

That's a bit intense...

Looking up at Chen Shou, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known, and the money would have been safely in my pocket. Why did you tell me?"

Chen Shou said earnestly, "I should not have any secrets in front of Your Majesty, especially such a shameful secret. I cannot accept this money; it's too hot to handle."

Zhao Xiaoqian was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Fine, the money is in your hands, so take it. It's my permission, a legitimate and legal income, and no one dares to investigate you."

Chen Shou looked troubled: "Your Majesty, this money..."

"Take it, consider it a reward from me."

Patting him on the shoulder, Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "Your loyalty is far more valuable than the gold in your hands."

Chen Shou was immediately excited. Without saying a word, he stuffed the stack of gold leaves into his pocket, then clasped his hands in gratitude and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go through fire and water for you, even unto death!"

Zhao Xiaoqian clicked his tongue: "You're pretty quick at taking money. You've been through a lot of practice, haven't you? You've trained hard through the sweltering summer and freezing winter."

Chen Shou smiled sheepishly and said, "Since it is a reward from the Emperor, I will naturally not stand on ceremony. This money will be enough to buy a lot of fertile land back in my hometown and build a row of big tiled houses. It will solve the problems for my descendants."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "Over the years, you and your brothers have followed me, but you've missed many opportunities to make money. You must be envious of Zhong Jianzhong's soldiers making a fortune, right?"

Chen Shou grinned and said, "Of course I envy you, but I'm not jealous. Following the Emperor is more important than making money."

Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Later, you should pass on a message to those palace women who sent money, saying that I discovered their money and confiscated it to the imperial treasury. As for who gets favored, we'll talk about that after the Empress returns to the capital. I'm too lazy to care about matters of the harem."

"The minister obeys the order."

"Let's go fishing."

It was already afternoon, and the weather was quite hot, but even the heat couldn't dampen the angler's determination.

The group traveled discreetly and arrived at the Bian River. Zhao Xiaoqian ordered Zheng Chunhe to bring fishing rods and toolboxes, and then set up a sunshade and placed a folding chair on it.

The fishing rod was exquisite; Zhao Xiaoqian had specially bought it at the Bianjing market, and it was said to be made of some kind of purple bamboo from the South China Sea.

The seller's claims were incredibly exaggerated, as if as long as you had a fishing rod in hand, even the Dragon King of the sea would obediently take the bait. This made Zhao Xiaoqian, the true Son of Heaven, very uncomfortable. His upper lip throbbed slightly, and he wanted to ask him about the crime of treason.

The toolbox will then contain many more items.

The bait for groundbaiting, various hooks of different thicknesses, various fishing lines, bait suitable for the tastes of various fish, and a folded banner that can be displayed in public at any time after catching a big fish, with the words "This fish weighs XX jin" written on it.

Yes, the banner is for the highlight moment. We may not always need it, but we must have one.

This is also the angler's obsession.

To be honest, it took Zhao Xiaoqian a lot of effort to make this toolbox. He gathered a large number of craftsmen, and in terms of craftsmanship, it was more expensive than that South China Sea purple bamboo fishing rod.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian aims to break the curse of "poor students having too many stationery items" with tangible results.

What a bad student! He's clearly a successful person who's very thoughtful.

Mix the feed, release the line, apply the bait, and create a feeding area...

With a flick of his long fishing rod, the fishing line and hook fell into the middle of the Bian River. Zhao Xiaoqian sat on a folding chair, with a newly erected sunshade overhead. On the low table beside him was a glass of chilled plum juice that Zheng Chunhe had just taken out.

Zhao Xiaoqian sat steadily, his hands firm, dry and strong, his gaze solemn as he stared at the shimmering river surface.

Behind him, Chen Shou and Zheng Chunhe stared intently at the goose-feather buoy on the river. The two held their breath, even more nervous than Zhao Xiaoqian, waiting for the buoy to sink and the big fish to take the bait, so they could immediately shower the emperor with endless flattery to highlight his achievements.

However, half an hour later, the river remained calm, and the buoy did not move.

(End of this chapter)