The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

This actually made the emperor feel more at ease with Qiao Yelan—after all, at this moment, the other party looked more like a young man.

The man who could so easily and effortlessly dismantle the Tsai Ing-wen faction, Qiao Yelan, was somewhat terrifying.

Qiao Yelan took a few breaths, his chest heaving slightly, and then bowed to the emperor to apologize.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my reckless words! I was filled with righteous indignation and a touch of arrogance, so I spoke without thinking—I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

"Alas—you are mistaken, my dear minister. It is clearly you who spoke out for the people, and this is factual evidence. What is there for me to blame you for?"

The emperor waved his hand.

Qiao Yelan bowed again.

That's it.

For a suspicious person in a position of authority, if the other party has not seen them for more than half a year, they will inevitably gradually change their appreciation for their previous achievements into fear.

After all, he had the cards that the emperor already had, and he crushed the entire Cai faction, and swallowed up most of the inheritance and benefits. Not only did he not have the weakness of a python swallowing an elephant, but he even made the emperor more and more adept at controlling the court.

Especially considering that Qiao Yelan is still so young.

If I hadn't always acted as if I had no interest in my career, the emperor might have already arranged for Wang Zhi to monitor me.

A perfect political machine is easily suspected by the emperor of plotting something, especially with a "gem" like Prime Minister Cai Yan as a precedent—he would worry about the emergence of another powerful minister who is too big to be controlled.

However, a young and talented person who is indignant about the plight of the common people will be considered by the emperor to need more training.

Because he discovered the suspicious nature of the Grand Commandant of Da Yan, Qiao Yelan's plans in Da Yan had to be extended. Therefore, he needed to take some measures to ease tensions in his relationship with the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I was indeed short-sighted in this matter, and I acted too hastily."

"It's alright. Even if you're being too hasty, you must have some ideas in mind—why don't you tell me?"

Qiao Yelan was not surprised. The emperor's trust in him had been restored, so he was looking forward to seeing the plans and action schemes that Qiao Yelan could present.

"I do have a preliminary idea—which is why I mentioned before that it is necessary for Eunuch Wang's Junior Chamberlain to participate in it."

Wang Zhi was taken aback. Did they really have something important to discuss when they called him here?

"After the autumn harvest this year, various regions will submit their annual harvest reports, and the Ministry of Personnel will send inspectors to various regions to examine the performance of officials. After summarizing the results, they will be submitted back to the Ministry of Personnel, which will then classify them into grades A, B, and C. Based on the grade, local officials will be rewarded or punished."

“In previous years, when the Ministry of Personnel was controlled by Gao Cheng and Cai Yan, the year-end assessment was naturally a disaster area. But this year, His Majesty has swept away the filth in the court, so there will surely be a new atmosphere.”

Qiao Yelan first laid out the preamble before starting to explain his plan.

"However, the officials within the Ministry of Personnel still have their own ulterior motives, and the special envoys sent out have developed various unspoken rules over the years. Even though His Majesty has purged the Ministry of Personnel, these lower-level bureaucrats all have their own set of survival rules."

"Therefore, this year's performance evaluation is probably not much different from previous years, and many mediocre officials who have been protected by Gao Cheng in the past will probably be hard to find."

The emperor's face turned serious.

He could understand what Qiao Yelan was saying, and what she said went straight to the heart of the problem—

How is he going to find those parasites?

The entire Great Yan Dynasty was a vast market, with the emperor at the top and the people at the bottom.

The bureaucratic landlords were the middlemen.

The fewer intermediaries there are, the more wealth the emperor can collect from the people.

Similarly, the fewer intermediaries involved in the policies implemented by the emperor, the more rights the people can enjoy.

There will always be more and more middlemen, more and more layers, and more and more links—when a certain critical point is reached, the emperor will have to cut off a wave and replace them with a new batch of middlemen.

If the emperor doesn't execute the decrees, then the people will rise up and help him execute them—

While you're at it, kill the emperor too.

There is no doubt that the tipping point has been crossed—the people can still tolerate it, but the emperor can no longer.

He desperately needed wealth and public support to consolidate his position.

However, there are techniques to killing people; it must be done in a way that is reasonable and convincing.

"This is why I said we need Eunuch Wang's involvement—he will definitely be able to expose all these corrupt officials!"

Qiao Yelan stretched out his hand, and the bewildered Wang Zhi was revealed.

Ah I?

The eunuch's instincts kicked in instantly, and Eunuch Wang knelt down with a thud.

"This servant is foolish and ignorant; please enlighten me, my lord!"

"Your Majesty knows that among the Celestial Masters under the Dali Temple, in addition to adjudicating cases, they also have the responsibility of supervising all officials in the country—this is called the Suzheng Yuan (Court of Censors). However, there are not enough Celestial Masters, and very few are qualified and capable of conducting supervision independently."

Qiao Yelan unveiled his plan.

"In that case, why not take this opportunity to have both the Imperial Household Department and the Court of Judicial Review assume this function, but operate separately? The Celestial Master has a superior position but lacks manpower, while the Imperial Household Department has a lower position but has abundant manpower."

Wang Zhi's heart skipped a beat.

He climbed his way up to become a high-ranking eunuch in the palace. When he worked with Qiao Yelan before, Qiao Yelan did not keep anything from him. Therefore, although Eunuch Wang still acted awkwardly, he had actually already grasped the situation of the Imperial Household Department.

Qiao Yelan's approach was exactly the same as the way he had previously brought down Cai Yan—to use the Heavenly Master's name as a shield and then take control of the whole situation under that shield.

The emperor nodded slightly; this method did indeed have some merit.

The Imperial Household Department has made remarkable progress in recent days. Its network for monitoring officials in the capital has begun to take shape. Wang Zhi has compiled and submitted a great deal of information and intelligence to the emperor, covering even the smallest details.

This is the path Wang Zhi chose after consulting with Qiao Yelan.

When the emperor wanted to investigate a person or matter, he would submit everything without any personal summaries or screening—even if the emperor scolded him for submitting such trivial matters, he never changed his principles.

Although the emperor verbally scolded him, that was all he did. He not only refrained from further punishment but also bestowed many rewards upon him, praising his meritorious service.

However, just because it can be done well in the capital does not mean that the Imperial Household Department can roll out this system throughout the entire Great Yan Dynasty—such methods can only be held by the emperor, and therefore can only be limited to the capital.

"Your Majesty can select the best detectives and fighters from the Imperial Household Department to form a special team. When the Imperial Censorate goes to investigate a certain place, this team can secretly infiltrate. The whereabouts of the Celestial Master are easy to be exposed, but the team from the Imperial Household Department can easily hide their whereabouts."

"Moreover, if the whereabouts of the Imperial Household Department's troops are also leaked, it will be much easier to investigate."

Qiao Yelan chuckled softly, a laugh that made Wang Zhi's hair stand on end.

"What Lord Qiao says is true. If it's a problem within the Imperial Household Department, this servant only needs to go through the whole process and I'll definitely be able to find those scoundrels!"

Grandpa Wang quickly expressed his opinion.

The emperor nodded slowly.

Expanding the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department) to the entire Great Yan Dynasty is unrealistic, but organizing a special undercover investigation team to explore various places under the cover of the Celestial Master is an effective and feasible approach.

"Wang Zhi".

"The slave is here."

"You should immediately begin preparations. Select a group of skilled individuals from the Imperial Household Department to form a team specifically responsible for sending them out to conduct investigations in various regions. I want to see the capabilities of this team during the Ministry of Personnel's inspection tour at the end of this year."

"This slave accepts the order!"

Wang Zhi knelt on the ground, but hadn't finished speaking.

The team is now in his hands, but he only has confidence in the people under his nose in the capital. If this person goes out for a stroll and comes back, who knows if he will be bribed by someone else?

It's better to add an extra layer of insurance.

"Your Majesty, this team originated from the Imperial Household Department, yet it is different from the Imperial Household Department. In fact, just like the Imperial Household Department, it works directly for Your Majesty—we request Your Majesty to bestow a name upon it."

After a moment's thought, the emperor made his decision.

"They bear my expectations and are my henchmen, yet they must operate in the shadows, unknown to outsiders. Just as a person in fine clothes must travel at night—let's call them the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the name!"

Wang Zhi then got up from the ground and respectfully walked to the side.

Qiao Yelan couldn't help but look at this Eunuch Wang with newfound respect.

These words, though nominally bestowed by the Emperor and directly under His Majesty, meant that even if something went wrong, it would be His Majesty who would handle it—in reality, the command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also in the hands of Wang Zhi.

This means that if the Embroidered Uniform Guard achieves something, Wang Zhi can benefit from it; if the Embroidered Uniform Guard has problems, Wang Zhi will not be implicated.

He really did learn some of his godfather's skills; he truly knew how to minimize the possibility of being implicated.

The emperor ignored Wang Zhi and instead turned his attention back to Qiao Yelan.

"Minister Qiao, you have solved another major problem for me."

"Your Majesty flatters me. I was merely offering a suggestion to elicit further discussion. Your Majesty cares deeply for the people of the land, which is why you believe my words can alleviate your worries rather than cause unnecessary trouble."

Qiao Yelan bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if Your Majesty has read the memorial I submitted before entering the palace?"

His goal has been achieved. The emperor now has a new channel for receiving information that is not deceived or controlled by anyone. So, someone who was still weaving an information cocoon after the late emperor's death is likely to be caught off guard.

So Qiao Yelan once again brought the topic back to the main point.

"I have already read it. Your mission this time was extremely arduous. Although there were one or two people who were out of touch with reality, they were all insignificant figures. You have already persuaded those who will truly affect the flow of Lungmen Dollars. This is a great achievement."

When the emperor spoke of Lungmen coins, his expression brightened. Compared to the back-and-forth with the bureaucrats, this kind of open-source project was always more pleasing.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

"During your visit, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue have produced a complete set of brand-new currency designs and a new mint. The Ministry of Justice has also tailored a new law for the Lungmen coin based on sentencing guidelines. I have ordered them to publish this law before the Lungmen coin is issued."

Although Qiao Yelan has left, many people still care about this matter. Cai Yan and Chen Fan are still arguing fiercely on the surface, but when it comes to actually doing things, they are quite efficient.