I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

Jiang Zuo quite agrees with many of Shen Ye's views.

"Then how do you decide to distribute land equally across the country in the current situation?" Jiang Zuo asked again.

Shen Ye said: "As long as the court takes action, the land of those evil gentry will be nationalized and then rented out to farmers one by one. This will not only increase the court's tax revenue, but also provide a way for the people to survive."

The idea of ​​nationalizing the land is indeed quite insightful.

But Shen Ye seemed to have overlooked that the current situation in the world is not enough to support the court to implement these policies.

Jiang Zuo has always been a realist. He knows that some things cannot be taken too big, otherwise...

"What you said makes a lot of sense. I will definitely inform the emperor." Jiang Zuo said politely.

Shen Ye said excitedly: "Thank you, Lord Jiang."

Jiang Zuo said: "It's just that the policies you mentioned need to be implemented when the country is most stable. Although the court has unified the north and the south, it is far from being able to sit back and relax."

Shen Ye said: "I also understand that among the internal and external worries, I think the greatest enemy of the court is in the south."

"south?"

Shen Ye said: "That's right. Although the nomadic barbarians in the north have been harassing the north for many years, they are not a threat to our dynasty. However, the south is a newly returned homeland, and the situation is quite different. The old tribes of the Chen Kingdom have ruled for many years. If these people rebel, it will be the biggest disaster for the court."

Jiang Zuo nodded slightly, agreeing very much with Shen Ye's point of view. In this regard, he and the empress had the same idea.

Now that the problem of the Southern Kingdom has to be dealt with, the solution chosen by the Empress is to use the method of one family against another to disintegrate the influence of those Southern Kingdom families.

"Then how do you think the court should respond?" Jiang Zuo asked.

Shen Ye said: "Regarding the situation in the South, my suggestion is to change the natives to officials and completely bring the South under Guanzhong."

"Return to the native land?"

There was a hint of surprise on Jiang Zuo's face.

Such a term actually came from a 19-year-old young man.

Jiang Zuo couldn't help but look at Shen Ye, wondering: "Where does this young man come from..."

Shen Ye said: "That's right, the court should abolish the Tusi family forces in the southern countries and send court officials to take over these areas, which will strengthen the ruling power of our central government and reduce the possibility of rebellion."

Jiang Zuo had already thought of this method.

But what Jiang Zuo needs to think about is far more complicated than this.

Although the South nominally submitted to the imperial court at this time, the imperial court could not obtain more taxes from the old territory of the Chen State. On the contrary, it had to pay more financially to maintain its rule over the South.

If we choose to implement the policy of local rule now when the foundation is not yet stable, it may cause more resistance.

What's more, the old royal family of the State of Chen still occupies the mountains and forests in the southwest, and may pose a certain threat to the southwestern border at any time.

The most important thing is that these members of the royal family of the Chen State have appeal. Even if they do not have many troops, as long as someone is willing to respond, the old land of the Chen State will surely be filled with flames of war again.

Thinking of this, Jiang Zuo couldn't help but think of the Prince of Chen again.

I don’t know how he is now, and whether he is willing to submit to the court.

It seems that when I go back today, I have to order someone to report all the situations in the South Country to avoid any more trouble. Jiang Zuo will still need to go and solve it when the time comes.

After thinking about it, Jiang Zuo patted Shen Ye on the shoulder again and said, "That's a good idea. It seems that the court needs talents like you to serve the emperor."

"Thank you for the compliment, Prime Minister Jiang. I learned all these ideas from your book. I must thank you for your guidance." Shen Ye said politely. The more he received Jiang Zuo's praise, the happier he was.

Jiang Zuo stood up and said, "Prepare well for the upcoming palace examination. If you need anything during these days, just let me know. It's getting late, so I'll take my leave now."

"Thank you, Prime Minister Jiang. I'll see you off." Shen Ye said respectfully.

In the past few days, candidates for the palace examination have arrived in the capital one after another.

Most of these people will become court officials in the future.

In response to this, Jiang Zuo specifically ordered his people to entertain them well and not to neglect anyone.

After dealing with these, Jiang Zuo went into the palace and reported everything to the empress.

In the imperial study, the empress continued to concentrate on handling government affairs as usual, with no time to pay attention to other things.

Jiang Zuo walked in and said, "Your Majesty, all the candidates for this palace examination have arrived in the capital."

"Be sure to take good care of these candidates and make sure nothing goes wrong." Chen Qingyun instructed. She also attached great importance to this imperial examination.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Everything has been arranged." Jiang Zuo said.

Chen Qingyun raised his head, looked at Jiang Zuo, smiled and said, "I trust you to do the job."

"So how many days of vacation can I have next?"

Jiang Zuo asked boldly.

Now, as the chief minister of the cabinet, he has become an office worker without a day off. During the day, he has to handle government affairs for the emperor, and at night, he has to serve the empress on the dragon bed...

It feels quite wonderful.

Chen Qingyun put away his smile and said, "What's wrong? Are you tired these days?"

Jiang Zuo said: "I am not as energetic as you, Your Majesty. I have been so tired recently, so I am naturally very exhausted."

Chen Qingyun was silent for a while before he said, "Do you think you still have time to rest now?"

"No time? Has His Majesty not arrived those days yet?" Jiang Zuo asked in a low voice.

"What do you mean those days?" Chen Qingyun didn't understand for a moment.

Jiang Zuo leaned close to Chen Qingyun's ear and whispered a few words.

The next moment, Chen Qingyun's ears turned red, and he said with a little shame and anger: "Why do you care about these things all day long!"

Jiang Zuo scratched his head and said, "Only during those few days can I have a good rest."

"No rest allowed." Chen Qingyun said cruelly.

Jiang Zuo complained: "Your Majesty, you are so cruel! You are really going to kill this old ox of mine!"

Some things only reveal their true colors after marriage.

Although Jiang Zuo has not married the empress, their relationship has already surpassed an ordinary marriage and has become an in-depth communication. With just a random move, they know each other's intentions.

Now, whenever Jiang Zuo heard the word "sleeping with the emperor", he would feel an indescribable strange feeling in his body.

"I won't talk about these meaningless things with you. Have you prepared the test papers for this exam? You must keep them confidential to eliminate any possibility of cheating." Chen Qingyun changed the subject.

Jiang Zuo said: "Don't worry, these test papers are all written by me personally, and will only be released to the public on the day of the palace examination."

Only this method is the most reassuring.

Most of the officials in charge of all the imperial examinations this time were Jiang Zuo's trusted subordinates, or people appointed by the empress herself. Only by having them in charge could everything be done normally...