Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Gu Mingyue turned her head and secretly gave her brother a look.

Do we have to stay in the palace and work overtime?

No one in the palace will punish you. But our father won't just come charging into the palace with a big cleaver, will he?

Gu Mingli felt a chill run down his spine and quickly lowered his head to give an awkward laugh.

Right now, their father is in a fit of rage, like a live volcano ready to erupt at any moment, so it's definitely not a good time to challenge his patriarchal authority.

He coughed lightly and decisively changed the subject.

First, let's give Xiao Ye a heads-up about the news from "Future Headlines".

"Your Majesty, it will take some time before the money exchange is operational, but the anti-counterfeiting land certificates can be developed gradually."

"But there is something more urgent right now. These past two days, while I was strolling around the streets of Beijing to observe the people's conditions, I kept hearing from stall owners complaining that salt prices had gone up again in the past few days, and the people were suffering greatly."

Gu Mingyue instantly understood her brother's intention to retreat and quickly responded without hesitation.

"Yes! Salt is the most important of all flavors and is related to the livelihood of the people. Powerful families still hold salt permits tightly. We need to prepare for this before the land reform."

As she spoke, she looked at the emperor with an extremely serious expression.

"Your Majesty, I should let my brother go and develop a new type of salt first. Once this high-quality, inexpensive salt is fully produced, it won't be too late for him to return to the palace to develop anti-counterfeiting coupons. What do you think?"

Xiao Ye's deep eyes darkened slightly.

His gaze swept over the brother and sister, who looked guilty.

How could he not see through their little scheme to slip away?

However, he also received news that salt prices have recently started to rise.

The manipulation of salt prices by powerful clans has been a headache for emperors throughout history and should not be underestimated.

He didn't object in the end, which was considered as tacitly approving Gu Mingli's "field work" application.

Gu Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to the third page of the booklet.

"Let's move on to the second part of the plan: establishing specialized schools."

She pointed to another square drawn on the paper.

"When Emperor Guangxian introduced the imperial examination system, his original intention was to break the monopoly of aristocratic families on talent. However, books were concentrated in the hands of powerful nobles and aristocratic families, technology was monopolized, and the country's industry could not develop healthily."

"I plan to establish a specialized school in Kyoto under the name of Pujitang. It will not test knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, but will only teach practical skills. Students will be admitted separately for agriculture, medicine, and engineering."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jue stopped folding his fan in his palm.

"No more classics and history?" He raised an eyebrow. "If this news gets out, those old scholars at the Imperial Academy and the Ministry of Rites will probably cause a huge uproar."

Gu Mingyue calmly took a sip of tea.

"To break the monopoly of aristocratic families in the literary world, we must find another way."

"In the early days, the professional school was affiliated with Pujitang. The students trained there did not pursue government careers through the imperial court, but rather entered the public sector."

"Once they complete their studies, they will be assigned to various prefectures and counties to serve as teachers at the Dayong Academy. They will establish free schools to promote universal education, ensuring that children from ordinary families can also acquire useful professional knowledge."

Xiao Ye nodded, finding the idea quite novel.

"In this way, many students from underprivileged backgrounds will have more opportunities to succeed."

Gu Mingyue continued speaking.

"The third thing is to build 'central hospitals' in cities in various states, which will be needed in the later stages of land reform."

"The hospital was initially registered under the name of Pujitang. The Imperial Medical Academy provided personnel and technology, while the Central Bank provided funds, land, and operating procedures. Initially, it was established in various prefectures, and later it was extended to all counties."

After saying these three things, she closed the booklet and looked at Xiao Ye.

"Once the tax office and the school hospital are built, it will involve a large number of employees. There will be at least a thousand people, including craftsmen, apprentices, doctors, accountants, and general laborers."

"A set of rules is needed to determine how these people are paid, how long they work and how many days they get off, what to do if they get sick, and who will take care of them if they suffer a work injury."

"We could set up a Labor Protection Office to specifically handle these matters. Ideally, this office should be under the jurisdiction of the Tax Bureau, as they will later liaise with the Central Bank. It would be better to have reliable personnel managing it."

Xiao Ye understood this time and looked at Xiao Jue without hesitation.

"Fourth brother, you will oversee the Central Bank and the Labor Service Bureau."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Jue cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and readily agreed.

But in his heart, he secretly complained about Gu Mingyue twice.

With all the plans finalized, the money can now be spent purposefully.

Gu Mingyue smiled.

Spending ten million taels of silver in three months is no problem.

Three days later, the Tax Department was officially established.

The tax office was built right across from the logistics park.

The establishment of the tax department brought joy to the merchants in the wholesale market.

With the imperial court stationed to oversee the transactions, the trading in the commodity city completely avoided interference from powerful clans and nobles.

The business environment is becoming increasingly transparent.

The first day that tax officials began their work.

Pei Yu, the Vice Minister of the Tax Bureau, arrived at the Puji Hall office with a group of his subordinates.

Hearing the commotion outside, Gu Mingyue went to the door and saw that there were more than a dozen people standing in the courtyard.

Pei Yu stood at the front, wearing a brand-new official robe for a near-fifth-rank official, looking very smart.

He was followed by seven or eight young men, all dressed in brand-new seventh-rank official robes, standing in neat rows.

There were Lin Xi, Shen Miao, and those Kyoto boys who played forward in the previous Cuju match.

Pei Yu strode up to Gu Mingyue, bowed deeply, and his voice trembled with excitement.

"Master! Pei Yu has come today on behalf of all his colleagues at the Tax Bureau to express our gratitude to Master Gu!"

"Many thanks to Master Gu for the recommendation, many thanks to Master Gu for teaching us, and many thanks to Master Gu for pointing out our career path."

He turned around and waved his hand, and the group of young people behind him bowed in unison.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Gu!"

Gu Mingyue looked at the group of spirited young people and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"Alright, from now on you will all be government officials. Now that you've taken office, let's work hard for the country and the people."

Pei Yu nodded repeatedly.

"Master, His Majesty said that from now on you will be the Inspector General of the Tax Service's 'Special Advisor,' and that we should come to you for instructions whenever we have any issues."

Gu Mingyue smiled with satisfaction.

"Now that the task has been assigned, let's get to work."

"Each person is assigned to a prefecture or county to begin surveying the land. It is imperative to verify the actual area, owner, and current tax amount of every piece of land."

"If any nobles you know ask, you can say: The court will not mistreat you in the future."

Pei Yu agreed earnestly, then, as if thinking of some difficulty, scratched his head.

"Master, what if they send their servants to chase us away?"

Gu Mingyue chuckled and turned to look at the door.

"Rest assured, His Majesty has already considered everything for you. The guards will be returning to the capital soon."

Just then, Lu Qinghe strode in from outside, holding a letter in his hand.

"Master, a large group of people has arrived outside. They say it's a team of craftsmen sent by Lord Gu, and they want to see you."

Gu Mingyue's spirits lifted.

The top-notch team of craftsmen her father hired has arrived!

"Go and greet them!"

Gu Mingyue got up and walked quickly outside, with Pei Yu and Lu Qinghe following closely behind.

In the office area of ​​Pujitang Logistics Park, there were about a hundred people standing in large numbers.

The eight leaders at the front were all experienced masters.

A lean old man in his early fifties, his face weathered, but his eyes were bright and piercing.

He stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Gu Mingyue.

"Greetings, Miss. We are here on the orders of Prime Minister Gu to assist you."

That's quite clear; they are the Gu family's subordinates.

Gu Mingyue quickly greeted them politely, "Everyone has worked hard. Please come inside and sit down to arrange the follow-up work."

She glanced up at the craftsmen following behind her.

The group of craftsmen, dressed in uniform indigo-blue coarse cloth shorts, stood obediently in the courtyard waiting.

They are clearly a well-trained and disciplined team.

As expected of the team trained by her father, they are different at first glance.

However... there are a few people.

She plans to open a hospital, build a school, and undertake a major project.

The workload is enormous. I wonder if these hundred or so people can handle such a large task?

Master Lu and Pei Yu were very perceptive and were warmly welcoming the eight team leaders towards the conference hall.

The moment Gu Mingyue looked away, she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye that when the eight masters turned around, there was a line of large, flowing embroidered characters in gold thread on the back of their indigo-blue coarse cloth clothes!

At first, Gu Mingyue thought it was some kind of family totem or craftsman's hall name.

Curious, she took two steps forward and squinted to take a closer look.

After seeing the row of large characters embroidered on the back of the clothes clearly, he stared wide-eyed and froze on the spot!

On the back of the garment, embroidered in bold detail, were the following words:

【Mede Inchaina】

Gu Mingyue: "!!!"