Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

After Ye Mo left, Shen Lang also got up to say goodbye.

"Your Majesty, there should be nothing more for me to do here, so I will take my leave now."

"Shen Lang, explain to me clearly why you resigned from your position as the Prefect of Jingzhao?"

Jiang Mengxuan's eyes were sharp as she stared intently at Shen Lang.

"Do you know how important the position of the Capital Prefecture is! I finally managed to seize this opportunity to put it under my control."

But why can't you understand my intentions?

Her words showed that she completely regarded Shen Lang as a confidant and did not deliberately hide her emotions.

Shen Lang had already anticipated Jiang Mengxuan's response and calmly replied, "Your Majesty, even if I don't resign, I am destined to lose this position as Prefect of the Capital."

My actions in suppressing the rioters in the capital have offended the powerful families of the city, and I will soon face impeachment from all sides.

If Your Majesty insists on preserving my position despite their wishes, then Zeng Qian's handling of this incident will have been completely meaningless.

Your Majesty, please think carefully. What kind of impact will it have on Your Majesty if a person whose hands are stained with the blood of noble families and common people, and who is seen as tainted by both civil and military officials, is placed in charge of the Jingzhao Prefecture?

Rather than waiting for this to happen, it would be better to step down voluntarily, to save face for Ye Mo and avoid damaging the relationship between them.

This was a necessary compromise; they absolutely would not allow a force outside their control to sit in that crucial position.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan calmed down her emotions.

“What you say makes sense, but the location of the Capital Prefecture is of paramount importance, and now you’ve handed it over so easily. I’m worried…”

Shen Lang interrupted, saying, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. The status of the Jingzhao Prefecture may not be as important as Your Majesty thinks."

"How do you say this?"

Jiang Mengxuan's curiosity was immediately piqued.

Shen Lang explained, "The fact that this disturbance was quelled so quickly is entirely thanks to the new army; the Jingzhao Prefecture did absolutely nothing about it."

Your Majesty, what difference does it make whether you hold onto such a useless government office or not? The powerful families treasure it like a precious gem, but I find it dispensable.

As long as Your Majesty firmly controls the new army, what is there to fear about who commands the Capital Prefecture? What I fear most is that the powerful clans will use this opportunity to launch a counterattack against Your Majesty.

No matter how you look at it, leaving the position of the Jingzhao Prefecture vacant is actually the best option at present.

After thinking about it carefully, Jiang Mengxuan realized that this was indeed the case.

The new army quelled the unrest throughout the city in just one day after entering. While their extraordinary achievements certainly contributed to this success, the main reason was the new army's superior combat effectiveness and high level of discipline.

Although many soldiers experienced vomiting and chills after their first killing, this is a necessary step for any qualified soldier.

Thinking about this, Jiang Mengxuan felt relieved and at the same time had a strong idea of ​​expanding the army.

As for the Jingzhao Prefecture, after Shen Lang's analysis, it really seems dispensable.

So she said, "Shen Lang, you were able to train such a strong army in just three months."

If I intend to expand the army to 30,000, can you train them for me in the same amount of time?

Unexpectedly, Shen Lang shook his head.

"Your Majesty, these 3,500 new officers and soldiers are merely seed troops. If they were all recruited, what would be the total force of 30,000?"

Even His Majesty might not be able to afford to maintain them. The current treasury can only expand them to a little over ten thousand at most, no more than that. This is already the maximum limit for a private army.

Not to mention it's an army forged from steel.

Jiang Mengxuan: "So what do you mean?"

"The new army still needs the baptism of war. I would like to take them to a few real battlefields so that they can become qualified veterans."

Then, the various formations were disbanded and reorganized, and the agenda for compulsory conscription was put on the agenda, forcing the court to carry out a large-scale reform.

"Shen Lang, tell me, what is the compulsory conscription system?"

"The compulsory conscription system involves recruiting all eligible men into the army for military training."

Each soldier is transferred to the general reserve after serving for two to three years.

In the event of a large-scale battle and a shortage of frontline troops, they can be re-enlisted and quickly deployed to the battlefield; this is the system of compulsory conscription and reserve forces.

Jiang Mengxuan frowned: "What you're doing seems no different from the current system of integrating soldiers and civilians."

Shen Lang smiled slightly: "There are still differences. The integration of soldiers and civilians only applies to the early stages of any dynasty."

As time goes by and social structures change, they are destined to be unable to adapt to the changing trends of the times.

To put it simply, the fact that local gentry use various illegal means to seize farmland will cause many farmers to lose their land and become unregistered residents.

This would lead to a loss of recruits and the cancellation of their household registration, thus inevitably causing the system of integrating soldiers and civilians to decline and eventually collapse completely.

The prerequisite for compulsory conscription is to first improve the status of soldiers, while the imperial court and society must guarantee their livelihood.

The abolition of all corvée labor except for military service, and the reduction of all unnecessary taxes—I have already mentioned this to Your Majesty last time—is also a prerequisite for implementing a conscription system.

The goal is to compile statistics on the population, occupations, resources, income, and land of all regions of our Great Chu down to the individual level; otherwise, this conscription system will be flawed and far from achieving its intended effect.

Jiang Mengxuan: "The implications of abolishing corvée labor and permanently reducing taxes are too broad. If I were to propose it, it would surely be met with opposition from the entire court."

It takes time to compile household registration statistics down to the individual level, this…

Shen Lang: "So Your Majesty, this is not something that can be decided overnight. As I have said before..."

This requires not only courage, but also perseverance and determination to face long-term risks. Do you still plan to continue?

"I can wait, but given the current situation, it's probably too late. In this great struggle, if we miss the opportunity, who knows when we'll be able to find another chance?"

"I don't want to miss any opportunity to strengthen the Chu Kingdom. Shen Lang, do you have a shortcut to make this happen sooner?"

Shen Lang remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Mengxuan immediately sensed a glimmer of hope and went to Shen Lang's side, grabbing his hand: "Shen Lang, you must have a way, right? Tell me, what should I do?"

Looking at that pitiful face, Shen Lang couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, but I don't know what the consequences of doing so would be."

"Tell me what to do, please tell me, I'm begging you."

Shen Lang took a deep breath and slowly uttered two words:

"capital."

"capital?"

Jiang Mengxuan did not understand what he meant.

"To persuade the aristocratic class, who had been landowners for generations, to abandon their traditional land ownership and instead establish factories and industries."

They allowed farmers who had not received land or whose land was insufficient to support their families to work in the factories run by these nobles.

The surplus farmland will be nationalized and then rented out to farmers in need at low interest rates.

Once this stage is achieved, the military reform of compulsory conscription can be implemented smoothly.

At this point, Shen Lang's face turned pale.

Jiang Mengxuan was puzzled: "According to you, isn't this a good thing? But why do you have this expression?"

"Do you really think this is a good thing?" Shen Lang asked rhetorically.

The development of capital inevitably leads to an explosive growth in productivity, but the cost is that, during the initial transition period, the health of countless ordinary people is sacrificed, forcing them to work themselves to the bone on assembly lines.

On Earth, the rise of capitalism was incredibly cruel and bloody. While it brought about an explosion of technological productivity, it also brought endless pain and torment to ordinary people.

Sweatshops in Europe, the slave trade in Africa, plantation farms in North America, and even raw silk workers in Japan lived extremely difficult lives on meager incomes, while only the factory shareholders and farm owners were wealthy.

Even in the 21st century, sweatshops and other forms of old-fashioned capitalism are still prevalent around the world. Even in a superpower like the United States, there are still jobs where employees work more than 13 hours a day but only earn $2,000.

Jiang Mengxuan was completely unaware of these things, but Shen Lang knew them perfectly well.

"Shen Lang, I don't know what you're worried about, but I believe you are a gift from heaven to Jiang Mengxuan."

Whatever you do, whatever the consequences may be.

I will stand in front of you to protect you. I swear here and now, if one day you are truly condemned by everyone...

Regardless of right or wrong, I, Jiang Mengxuan, will stand by you from the very beginning and will never let you face everything alone!

The Empress's tone was unusually firm, and Shen Lang believed that she was not faking it.

"Alas, never mind. Please allow me to think about it carefully. I will explain it to you in detail after I have figured it out."

Seeing that Shen Lang had agreed, Jiang Mengxuan gripped his hand even tighter.

She knew that once the man's tone softened, he would go all out to get this done for her.

……

"Prime Minister Ye, it's rare for you to come and visit me. You're so kind."

"Your Majesty, what are you saying? When I was seriously ill, if it weren't for Your Majesty obtaining a Nine Yang Blazing Heart Grass, I wouldn't be alive today."

Hearing that the Empress Dowager has returned to the capital ahead of schedule, if this old minister does not come, wouldn't she mistakenly think he is ungrateful?

"That was so long ago, and you still remember it? I'd almost forgotten about it. Look, you've come all this way, and you've brought so many things... really..."

Inside the magnificent carriage, Ji Yuxi gazed at the priceless seven-colored cloud coral before her, and couldn't help but smile brightly.

Ye Mo, standing to the side, also greeted her with a smile and tried his best to please her.