You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 130 Pilot Program of the Ministry of Revenue
Jiang Qingyun nodded.

"I know."

"Knowing all this, you still dare to submit such a memorial? Are you out of your mind?"

Looking at the slightly angry Shunzhi, Jiang Qingyun knew that he had truly entered the young emperor's heart.

Is Jian in the Emperor's heart?
No, Chiang Kai-shek is in the Emperor's heart.

The famous political physicist Isaac Newton once said:
“When I provide solutions to the leaders of Downing Street, I never submit a single solution. Generally, I will submit three options—superior, medium, and inferior—for the leaders to choose from.”

"Giving the power of choice to your boss is the best protection. Even if things go wrong, your boss can't shift the blame to me. At worst, we'll both lose our lives."

"Later, due to the dual oppression of the Pope and the King, I crossed the ocean to the East and became a guest minister. But I was not discouraged. With my solid knowledge of physics and good fighting skills, I successfully entered the Imperial Cabinet. To be honest, I also have to stand up and toast in London's social circles. I don't actually dislike toasting. I just don't like toasting fools."

"I, Newton, have bowed my head to the heavens all my life."

Jiang Qingyun said in a low voice:

"My idea is to select one of the six ministries and have me take the lead in conducting a pilot program."

Which department?

"I think it would be better if Your Majesty and I each wrote down our answers, and then revealed them together."

"Okay."

……

Newton took a shortcut, while Jiang Qingyun took the main road.

The two strips of paper were unfolded at the same time.

The first one is—"Ministry of Revenue!"

The second one was also—"Ministry of Revenue!"

Emperor Shunzhi slammed his fist on the table in excitement.

"My dear minister, we are of the same mind."

"Your Majesty is wise. In the blink of an eye, you have figured out the plan that I have been pondering for half a month."

"Hahahaha~"

Emperor Shunzhi smiled very happily.

Flattery will get you everywhere. Everyone loves to be praised, even emperors and saints.

Actually~
The Ministry of Revenue was the only option.

The war was not over yet, and given the sensitive nature of military power, Shunzhi would not allow Jiang Qingyun to conduct pilot programs in the Ministry of War. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works were not so important and were of little consequence.

The Ministry of Personnel is indeed important, but the effects of reforming the bureaucracy will not be visible in the short term.

Only the Ministry of Revenue can produce immediate results.

Therefore, Jiang Qingyun had figured this out. What seemed like a multiple-choice question actually only had one option in the end, no matter how you thought about it.

……

After his initial excitement, Shunzhi calmed down.

“My dear minister, this is a matter of great importance. This topic will definitely need to be discussed at the morning court session. You should communicate privately with Ning Wanwo and Fan Wencheng to try to gain more support during the morning court session. Just as you said in your memorial, the central government offices of the Qing Empire must pay attention to procedures and processes.”

"Your Majesty, don't worry."

"Of course I'm at ease. I'm just lamenting how few ministers like you, who are both loyal and capable, are left in the entire court?"

"Have."

"Who?"

"Zhou Shao, Ambassador of the Treasury Bureau of the Ministry of Revenue."

Emperor Shunzhi was stunned. Was it really true?
What is your relationship with this person?

“My close friend served as a secretary in the Ministry of Personnel for many years. Most importantly, he is also a devout Buddhist.”

Emperor Shunzhi picked up his pen and wrote a document.

“Zhou Shao, the Minister of Revenue, is honest and kind; he may be promoted at the discretion of the authorities.”

Then he summoned the young eunuch.

"Give it to Prince Duanzhong."

……

Even the emperor of my Great Qing Dynasty must have his own Leopard House.

In fact, everyone in the Forbidden City knew where the emperor was, but no one dared to dissuade him. They privately referred to the red brick buildings outside the Donghua Gate as the "Red Palace".

Cining Palace.

While pruning the bonsai, Empress Xiaozhuang listened to the Empress's complaints.

"Grandma, the Emperor hasn't touched me for a month and a half. He... he's always out fooling around."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's face darkened.

"You are the Empress, you must speak properly. The moment you utter words like 'flirting,' you sound less like an Empress and more like a shrew." "Your Majesty, I was wrong."

"I can only carry you in through the Great Qing Gate. The rest is up to you. What's the use of you crying and wailing in Cining Palace? Do you think I can lock the Emperor to you? You need to find a way to keep the Emperor's heart! You have to be agreeable to men, don't always go against them."

"But I don't know those seductive tricks."

"You, get out now, get out of here."

……

"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Thirteen Offices."

Very few people know that a secret intelligence agency commanded by the Qing imperial family was hidden in the Thirteen Offices, and its predecessor was the mysterious army commanded by Li Yongfang.

Huang Taiji took complete control of all the secret agents from Li Yongfang and made many outstanding achievements.

During Dorgon's reign, the list of names for this secret intelligence agency was controlled by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang alone. After Emperor Shunzhi assumed personal rule, it became jointly controlled by the mother and son.

However, the Qing court learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty.

Secret intelligence agencies do not have the authority to investigate cases on their own initiative; they can only accept missions assigned by the royal family and obtain intelligence by infiltrating the target's inner circle.

Many princes and ministers in the capital had spies in their residences.

This way of working means that these people will always be rats in the shadows, never able to operate in the sunlight like the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and never able to handle cases independently based on their own abilities.

They had no names, no fixed office addresses, but they all shared the same public identity: palace clerks of the Thirteen Offices.

Empress Xiaozhuang removed the sealing wax, picked out a piece of white paper from the envelope, and then used a brush to dip some liquid and spread it evenly on the paper.

Words slowly appeared on the paper.

Burn after reading.

Half an hour passed.

She instructed the eunuch: "Summon Li Shuaitai to see me."

……

Cining Palace.

Li Lutai, looking nervous, walked in with small, quick steps and performed three kowtows and nine prostrations.

"Get up, I don't have many rules here."

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

"Do you know why I summoned you here today?"

"I don't know."

"You should know."

Upon hearing this, Li Shuotai broke out in a cold sweat. He had misunderstood and was now thinking that his shameful affair in the Red Palace had been exposed.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang stared at him suspiciously.

Why are you sweating so much?

"Your Majesty, I haven't been feeling well lately. I've been experiencing frequent night sweats, and sometimes I can't even sleep at night."

"If you're on your way later, go to the Imperial Hospital and have Director Wu prescribe a medicine to help you recover."

"Yes Yes."

……

The hall was quiet; the eunuchs and palace maids had all retreated.

You know the Red Palace, right?

"know."

"Tell me, what's inside?"

"Rumor has it that Imperial Censor Jiang trained a group of girls from bondservants to sing and dance inside, specifically for the Emperor's entertainment."

"Gone?"

"Gone."

"What's your opinion of Jiang Qingyun?"

"Censor Jiang is arrogant and lecherous, but he is of good character and should be a loyal minister."

"Did you have any contact with the spy I asked you to plant in the Chiang Kai-shek residence?"

"I have never seen it before."

"Alright, then you can forget about this completely and leave now."

"My minister retire."

With a heavy heart, Li Shuotai left Cining Palace and made a detour to the Imperial Hospital. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the aroma of medicine.

(End of this chapter)