After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Chen Yuezhi, with his elegant three-strand beard and wearing a blue round-necked official robe, spoke with a hint of doubt and determination.

As the former Crown Prince's son, he was born into the new emperor's direct line.

After His Majesty ascended the throne, he promoted him to the rank of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a fifth-rank official.

Ten days ago, without any wrongdoing, His Majesty transferred him to the position of a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of War.

The coveted Ministry of Personnel has become the miserable Ministry of War.

The fifth rank became the sixth rank.

To outsiders, it appeared as a demotion.

Chen Yuezhi himself couldn't help but feel a jolt of surprise.

However, on the day he was demoted, he was summoned by the Emperor. Accompanying him were Gao Congzhe, the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet; Luan Zongyuan, the Minister of War; Fang Xiaofan, the Minister of Revenue; and Sun Chengshan, the Right Vice Minister of Revenue.

All four are high-ranking officials at the ministerial level.

It was also Chen Yuezhi, who was always arrogant, who believed that he would eventually climb to the top.

Takashi explained to him the political maneuvering behind the North-South alliance.

Chen Yuezhi was shocked and realized that he had not been demoted by His Majesty, but was about to be put to great use!

"The Ministry of War must be staffed entirely by His Majesty's men. The previous Director Ge was incompetent and held his position without doing his job, which is why you were replaced. Director Chen, you must not disappoint His Majesty's high expectations."

Minister of War Luan Zongyuan spoke to him earnestly.

Chen Yuezhi suppressed his shock and immediately nodded:

"Lord Luan, please rest assured, I, Chen, would never dare to disobey or fail to give my life for you."

Such a momentous event was known to no more than ten people within the imperial court. Even within the cabinet, only Grand Secretary Qin and Vice Grand Secretary Gao knew the truth; Grand Secretary Li and Grand Secretary Liu were kept in the dark.

After taking up the position of principal officer in the Ministry of War, Chen Yuezhi worked tirelessly day and night.

Not only did they speed up the inspection of the Beijing Garrison and the two northern city walls to investigate cases of receiving salaries without working, but they also thoroughly inspected and rectified the Beijing Armory and the eighteen Ever-Normal Granaries, uncovering many corrupt officials and ensuring the completeness of military equipment and provisions.

In particular, Chen Yuezhi directly oversaw and inspected the grain and armor that Grand Tutor Gu had collected from Huguang, and arranged for his most capable people to guard against fire and theft in order to prevent any unforeseen events from occurring.

After a month or so, he had become much thinner and darker, and could be considered a capable official.

Zhu Cuiwei also commended him for his loyalty to the king, and arranged for several candidates who had been recommended to her to serve in the Qingli Division, which was of the eighth or ninth rank.

Regarding Chen Yuezhi's question.

She slightly raised her delicate eyebrows and smiled:

"Don't worry, Lord Chen. This reform is just a small experiment. If it goes well, I will continue it next year; if it doesn't go well, then we won't do it next year."

The young doctor had told her about it.

When it comes to reforms, don't be impatient. Just say it's an experiment, a chance to try something new, take it one step at a time, and "if all else fails, we can just shut it down."

In this way, it's unlikely that civil officials would quit.

Once they discover that there are ways to profit from the new law, they will stop opposing it and will automatically become reformists.

"It's easy to get military generals to be fearless, but it's difficult to get civil officials to be incorruptible. Let's focus on getting things done for now; those who can get things done are good officials."

The young doctor said this to her in the letter.

Zhu Cuiwei then decided to take it slow and use 50,000 taels of silver to test whether the quality of the weapons would be better and whether more weapons could be produced.

Since taking over as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Sun Chengshan has been trying to promote the land survey in order to prepare for the land tax reform. However, not to mention other ministries, even within the Ministry of Revenue itself, it has been fraught with difficulties in promoting this.

He urgently needed reformist talents to fill the Ministry of Revenue and fight for him, but Xu Longdao, Liu Zhi and others were assigned by His Majesty to the Censorate.

Chen Yuezhi was supposed to be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, but he ended up in the Ministry of War.

He recommended several talented individuals to His Majesty, such as Li Yanting, the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, and Tang Lianbin, the second-ranked scholar. However, His Majesty put them aside and allowed them to remain in the Hanlin Academy.

Sun Chengshan knew that this was a time of unprecedented change for the dynasty, and that once he succeeded, it would be a great achievement that would be worthy of being offered sacrifices at the ancestral temple!

His Majesty and the court must be focused on their own affairs. He could only lament his predicament and put the reform on hold for now.

Upon hearing His Majesty's words, Sun Chengshan frowned slightly:

"Your Majesty, doesn't this seem like a case of changing one's mind frequently?"

Mencius said: "He who has no constant property has no constant mind."

If we use this method this year and then stop using it next year, it might leave those below feeling confused and uncertain.

"Master Sun,"

Zhu Cui smiled and said:

"If you can improve yourself one day, improve yourself every day, and keep improving yourself. This is the principle you taught me. Reform is imperative, but it will not be accomplished overnight."

"If we are afraid that others will say that we change policies frequently, then we will be constrained in our reform efforts."

"To err is human, to forgive divine. If this action was indeed wrong, it can be corrected next year. As for shaking the very foundations of the nation..."

She smiled and looked at Chen Yuezhi.

"Master Chen, if such a small change can shake the foundation of the dynasty, then our subsequent plan to emulate the Northern Dynasty by implementing the land tax system and requiring gentry to pay taxes to replenish the national treasury would be digging our own grave."

"With such a small change, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Military Governor's Office are already crying and complaining. What will happen when the court actually requires high-ranking officials to pay taxes to the nation? Won't they really cause a huge uproar?"

The Empress's words were plain and simple, yet they carried a heavy warning. Chen Yuezhi felt a chill run down his spine.

Sun Chengshan pondered for a moment, then rose and bowed to the increasingly formidable Empress, saying:

"Your Majesty, I have learned a great deal."

Zhu Cuiwei calmly raised her eyes:

"The Northern Dynasties emperors implemented the policy of 'equalizing land tax and poll tax,' which resulted in the deaths of many people."

"How did he kill him?"

"The Eight Banners' 'iron pole crops' remained unchanged, while only Han gentry were exempted from land tax and corvée labor."

Zhu Cuiwei looked out at the daylight.

Sun and Chen, along with Yan Yuqing and Wang Bing who had fallen silent, all felt a chill creeping into their hearts.

"Gentlemen,"

The Queen spoke in a calm tone:

"If we want the dynasty to continue, if we want the national treasury to be prosperous, if we want to complete the great reform that the late emperor and the former emperor have always cherished, then we must first have our Eight Banners, Eight Banners that can wield swords. With new 'iron-clad crops' in addition to the land... new Eight Banners..."

The Empress's gaze swept across the room one by one.

Inside the side hall where no red was visible.

A strong stench of blood gradually spread through the air.

……

……

"Bah! The new knives from the Ordnance Bureau, to put it nicely, are cheaper, but they're actually short of iron!"

"I wish the blade would be cut even half an inch shorter than you!"

"It's incredibly crisp. It could even chip the blade of a knife while chopping pork, let alone armor."

Lu Kun spat on the ground.

As one of the 1000-man commanders of Jiangpu Army, he and several of his comrades who had come to Nanjing with General Jiang cursed in hushed tones.

Someone shrugged with a wry smile and said:

"You get what you pay for. The old goose-feather sabers from the Ordnance Bureau are still pretty good, and the bows are decent too. It's just that the cheapest new sabers are too poor. The ones from the Armory Bureau are too expensive; if you buy them, they'll probably only be good for your personal guards."

All three stands—the stands for the Ordnance Bureau and the stands for the Armory Bureau—were packed with people.

The third stand was nearly deserted, except for Jiang Luzhi of Jiangpu Army who briefly passed by and left.

At this time.

A clear, childlike voice rang out behind them:

"Gentlemen, what kind of knife do you want?"