Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

Emperor Jingsheng turned slightly to the side, facing Jia Jing, with one hand on his knee and the other on the edge of the carriage, tapping his fingers one by one.

Jia Jing sat to his right, his back straight as a javelin, his hands neatly placed on his knees, his gaze fixed on the curtain in front of him.

"Zijie, what do you think of the bid?" Emperor Jingsheng asked Jia Jing with a gentle expression.

"Your Highness is gentle and refined, and exceptionally brave!" Jia Jing replied with a smile.

What else can we do?

This is the future crown prince, so of course we should praise him!

Emperor Jingsheng nodded. He was in the prime of his life and had no intention of paving the way for his successor.

"You fought a brilliant battle in the Northwest!"

"Although I had high hopes for you, I never expected that you would be able to destroy the Northern Yuan, pacify the grasslands, and even force the pseudo-Qing and the Hunnic Empire to sue for peace in such a short time!"

"My original intention was to have you stay in the Northwest for a while longer so that you could thoroughly reorganize the army in the Western Garrison of the three border regions of the Northwest."

"It is even possible to first pacify Liaodong and then return, but there is much criticism in the court."

"In addition, the imperial court is currently facing many troubles, with droughts in several provinces such as Henan and unrest in the Sichuan and Shaanxi regions."

"The implementation of the new policies of the imperial court is not going smoothly. The national treasury is short of money, and there are too many things to deal with."

"I need you to return to the capital and oversee important affairs of state with me!"

Emperor Jingsheng's voice was not loud, carrying a rare sense of relaxation after shedding his courtly authority.

He didn't hide anything about the criticisms he faced in court; he was very frank and straightforward, clearly not treating Jia Jing as an outsider.

Upon hearing this, Jia Jing's expression hardened, and he asked:

"Is things not peaceful in Sichuan and Shaanxi?"

He was well aware of most of what Emperor Jingsheng was talking about, such as the empty national treasury and the drought in Henan.

However, he didn't really know much about the intelligence from Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has now basically spread throughout the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty, its deployment only began last year, and the timeframe is still short.

In some areas, our intelligence gathering capabilities are certainly not yet as advanced as those of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Jingsheng's fingers paused for a moment on the edge of the carriage, then continued tapping, one tap at a time, unhurriedly.

He was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and replied:

"A courier named Li Xianzhong emerged from Sichuan and Shaanxi, who gathered starving people to rebel and caused quite a stir."

"I have already ordered the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi to lead troops to quell the rebellion, but there is still no news of the outcome!"

"And in Shandong and Jiangnan, the White Lotus Sect is also restless, bewitching people and causing small-scale rebellions one after another."

"The nation faces many difficulties, and the road to true national rejuvenation is still long and arduous!"

After Emperor Jingsheng finished speaking, he let out a long sigh, his face showing some worry.

Upon hearing this, Jia Jing's expression darkened.

Although he had long known that the Han Dynasty was riddled with problems, he never imagined that the situation had deteriorated to this extent!

Natural disasters and man-made calamities plagued the country. Land annexation was rampant, the imperial court was short of funds, and officials and gentry were corrupt and lawless. The whole picture presented a scene of the dynasty's end!

Even with his several victories in the Northwest and Liaodong, they had little positive impact on the overall situation within the Han Dynasty!

The Han Dynasty's troubles lay within, not without!

Without thorough reforms and sweeping overhauls, it will be difficult to reverse the decline!

Jia Jing remained silent for a moment, then asked:

"What does Your Majesty intend to do? And what does Your Majesty require of me?"

Emperor Jingsheng turned his head and looked into Jia Jing's eyes.

His gaze was deep, as deep as a bottomless pool of water.

Emperor Jingsheng did not immediately answer Jia Jing's question, but instead asked in return:

"Zijie, what do you think of the new policies?"

Jia Jing composed himself, knowing this was Emperor Jingsheng's test. After a moment's thought, he replied earnestly:

"The new policies are certainly good policies! Especially the ones such as merging the poll tax into the land tax, abolishing the fire tax, requiring officials and gentry to perform their duties and pay taxes together, and replacing native chieftains with appointed officials."

"The 'Ding Yin' tax, which was originally levied per capita, was merged into the land tax, and taxes were levied uniformly based on land area."

"This move abolished the poll tax that had been in place for many years, greatly reducing the burden on landless or land-poor farmers, who were able to pay less tax and perform less corvée labor."

"By requiring landlords and gentry with larger landholdings to pay more taxes, the suffering of the people was alleviated, which to some extent curbed the encroachment and land annexation by officials and powerful clans."

"The system of 'returning the fire loss to the public' and the 'anti-corruption allowance' can reduce corruption among officials."

"The reform of the native chieftain system in the southwest region abolished the hereditary chieftain system and replaced it with officials dispatched by the imperial court."

"This move weakened local separatism, promoted trade and commerce, and strengthened the rule of the imperial court."

"As for the requirement that officials and gentry should perform their duties and pay taxes together, it goes without saying that the privileges of tax exemption and corvée exemption for gentry and officials should be abolished, and scholars and landlords with official titles should also be required to pay taxes and perform corvée labor."

"This new law not only increased the imperial court's tax revenue, but also distributed the heavy burden that was originally on ordinary people among officials and gentry. It is an absolutely beneficial policy for the country and its people!"

"While the new policies are good, they infringe upon the interests of scholars and officials across the land, and they are unlikely to be happy about them!"

Jia Jing's words were reasonable, well-founded, and substantial, clearly demonstrating his deep understanding of the new policies, which greatly pleased Emperor Jingsheng.

Emperor Jingsheng's bright gaze fell on Jia Jing's face. Suppressing the surging excitement in his heart, he asked in a deep voice:

"Are all of Zijie's words truly his innermost thoughts?"

Jia Jing met Emperor Jingsheng's gaze directly and said decisively:

"I never lie before Your Majesty!"

These are indeed Jia Jing's true feelings; the starting point of the new policies is certainly good.

However, the extent to which this can be achieved depends on the supervision and efforts of the imperial court at the implementation level.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingsheng's lips curved into a smile. He patted Jia Jing's hand and said with a laugh:

"Very well! With Zijie's words, I am relieved!"

"As Zijie said, the new policies are good, but they are good for the country and the people, but not so good for the scholars, gentry and officials of the world."

"According to intelligence gathered by the Imperial City Guard, there are quite a few instances of local officials and gentry secretly discrediting the new policies and outwardly complying while inwardly resisting them."

"To be honest, if the situation of the Han Dynasty had not reached a point where change was imperative, I would not have been able to make this decision."

"However, the nation's situation is deteriorating daily, and time waits for no one. The court is rotten to the core, from top to bottom. It is absolutely imperative to implement new policies and reforms to strengthen the nation!"

"I intend to spend the next ten years thoroughly reforming all aspects of the court, including officials and systems, in order to enrich the country, strengthen the military, ensure the well-being of the people, uphold discipline, and consolidate the nation's stability!"

"To be honest, I'm prepared to take some risks in this effort to eliminate long-standing problems and strengthen the nation!"

"This road is not easy, and you're bound to face some criticism."

"However, as long as Zijie is of one mind with me, and we, as ruler and minister, work together, what in the world cannot be accomplished!"

"Zijie, are you willing to work with me to accomplish this great undertaking?"

Emperor Jingsheng's words contained both his concerns about the state of the Han Dynasty and his resolute and unwavering spirit.

It is clear that he has made up his mind to use the military victory to carry out political reforms, turn the knife inward, severely punish corruption, and eliminate malpractices!

The reason he said those words to Jia Jing was...

Undoubtedly, this was to unify the thinking of his most trusted confidants and build consensus for future actions!