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

The emperor lay on the couch, his face pale, his breathing rapid, and he spoke intermittently.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Cuiwei's eyes reddened, and her heart ached. After the conversation, she sorted out her thoughts and naturally understood that her brother believed that the Northern Dynasty could not possibly be sincere in forming an alliance. However, there must be a reason for this. The Northern Dynasty would not make a fuss without reason. Either they were preparing to invade the south and deliberately used the "alliance" to make the Great Liang lower its guard.

Either the Northern Dynasty's war was indeed going badly, and they were really after the Liang Dynasty's money and supplies... Even so, the Emperor felt that he couldn't negotiate with a tiger and wait for others to hand over the land south of the Huai River. Instead, he wanted to seize the opportunity to launch a northern expedition and lead a strong army to reclaim the land south of the Huai River.

With the strength of this formidable force and the merit of recovering lost territory, we can turn our attention to this force.

On the one hand, the policy was to weaken the power of the vassal states. This did not actually strip the Tang and Gui princes of their titles, but rather to reduce their armies, forcing them to become wealthy and idle princes, thus eliminating the ability of the vassal states to influence the capital.

On the other hand… was the reform. More than ten years ago, the Northern Dynasty implemented the policy of merging the poll tax into the land tax and requiring gentry to perform corvée labor and pay taxes as well. At that time, the entire court was in an uproar, convinced that the Northern Dynasty would inevitably fall into chaos, and that countless powerful families would rebel, presenting the Great Liang with a golden opportunity to launch a northern expedition against the Central Plains.

But the Northern Emperor's iron fist far exceeded their expectations. While the northern gentry indeed voiced strong opposition, and officials outwardly complied but inwardly resisted, the Northern Emperor dispatched his trusted ministers to various regions, leading the Eight Banners army and 400,000 Han Chinese Green Standard Army troops to forcibly implement his policies, killing anyone who dared to rebel!

After several bloody years, the Northern Dynasties actually abolished the poll tax that had been in place for a thousand years and replaced it with a system where the poll tax was apportioned into the land tax.

Households with no or little land were no longer required to pay the heavy poll tax, while gentry who owned large amounts of land had to pay a large amount of land tax.

Countless disturbances instigated by the gentry were suppressed one by one by the Eight Banners and the Green Standard Army. The people, however, were grateful and no longer fled to the mountains to evade the poll tax. The population of the Northern Dynasty increased significantly, the number of absconding households decreased dramatically, and the national treasury's tax revenue increased year by year. Previously, collecting the poll tax required sending tax collectors to collect it door-to-door, and many people either hid or simply absconded. Now, however, the tax collectors only needed to find the landowners.

The practice of gentry having to perform corvée labor and pay taxes meant that they were no longer exempt from corvée work. They were required to do the same work as the common people, such as carrying soil, digging rivers, and building dikes, and they could not be exempted from paying taxes. As a result, the gentry complained bitterly, and the number of common people who tricked gentry into lending land to them and willingly became tenant farmers also decreased significantly.

Over the years, such events left the officials of the Great Liang Dynasty speechless. The Northern Dynasty not only did not collapse due to internal strife, but its national treasury became increasingly full, and it truly grew stronger and stronger.

However, there are two sides to every story. As a result, some Jiangnan gentry who used to flirt with the Northern Dynasty and wanted to make two plans have completely given up their ideas and their anti-Northern Dynasty sentiment has become even stronger. And now, the national treasury of the Great Liang is also decreasing year by year, and the Emperor is using the imperial treasury to grit his teeth and support the military. If no change is made, he will probably follow the same path as Emperor Mingkai sooner or later.

Zhu Cuiwei stood up with a heavy expression, no longer wanting to disturb her brother's rest. Lizhi glanced at her apologetically, then stepped forward and tucked the blanket around her sleeping brother. Before, when this sister-in-law was just a maid, she was lively and clever, always speaking her mind about important military and national affairs.

After becoming a concubine, the Empress Dowager Lizhi remained silent. Zhu Cuiwei knew that her sister-in-law was intelligent and was avoiding suspicion of interfering in politics within the inner palace. She gave her sister-in-law a forced smile, indicating that she didn't need to worry about her.

Once outside, she ordered Wang Bing to recount the news from the Northern Dynasty again. Wang Bing bowed and accepted the order, then recounted in detail the war between the Northern Dynasty and the Rakshasa.

Two months later, the weather in Heilongjiang was freezing cold, making logistics extremely difficult, and both sides could no longer fight. If the Rakshasa had not yet captured Aigun before then, the Northern Dynasty would not have been worried about losing Aigun, which is enough to show that the Northern Dynasty had not really fallen into the situation of losing its birthplace.

Wang Bingdao said, "This servant and Commander Yan have analyzed the situation carefully. There is a very high possibility that the Northern Dynasty is using a deceptive tactic. They are most likely planning to invade the south, which is why they have offered such a large lure to entice our dynasty to take the bait. Your Majesty, please do not worry unnecessarily."

The middle-aged eunuch's voice was gentle yet powerful.

Zhu Cuiwei nodded, but couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

If the Northern Dynasty only talks about forming an alliance, the many insightful people of Great Liang will not fall for it. However, since the Northern Dynasty is using the area south of the Huai River as bait, things may become more complicated.

With a frown, she boarded the imperial carriage and, attended by eunuchs and maids, returned to the Qianqing Palace, her mind heavy with worries.

If the Northern Dynasty intends to invade the south, the Great Liang should now strengthen its military preparedness. If the Northern Dynasty is indeed being pressured by the Rakshasa, the Great Liang should strike hard when the enemy is down and seize the opportunity to launch a northern expedition.

The strategy has been decided.

She then began to summon the officials one by one. First, she immediately summoned the left and right commanders of the Five Military Commissions and ordered them to investigate the matter of soldiers in the capital garrison and local guard posts receiving salaries without working. She demanded that the investigation be completed within two months and said that she would send censors to inspect the area. If anything was found to be wrong, she would hold them accountable!

Left Commander-in-Chief Zhou Yingyuan and Right Commander-in-Chief Zhang Gu felt a chill run down their spines and quickly replied, "Yes!"

After Zhu Cuiwei dismissed the two men, she summoned Fan Shiwei, the commander of the Yongwei Battalion, and ordered him to intensify the training and reorganization of the army in the coming months to integrate the troops as soon as possible.

The newly appointed commander of the Brave Guard Battalion, Fan Shiwei, slightly furrowed his brows and tentatively asked, "Does Your Majesty intend to...?" Zhu Cuiwei shook her head, signaling General Fan not to say more, lest he cause unrest among the troops. Fan Shiwei's heart was in turmoil, but his face remained calm as still water, and he readily agreed.

Of the four major battalions of the Liang capital garrison, the Fifth Army Battalion is the main infantry force, the Divine Machine Battalion is in charge of firearms, and the Divine Pivot Battalion is the cavalry, also in charge of the imperial dragon flag and the imperial banner. Unfortunately, these three battalions are poorly equipped and somewhat inadequate for defending their territory. Only the 10,000-strong Brave Guard Battalion is the elite of the Liang forces. If a northern expedition is to be launched, the Brave Guard Battalion and the 50,000 troops in the two northern cities will be the main force of the Liang.

After dismissing Fan Shiwei, Zhu Cuiwei pondered for a moment, then issued several more orders to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. She ordered the Ministry of Revenue to investigate the granaries in various regions, the Ministry of Works to send people to inspect the city defenses, and the Ministry of War to investigate the border defenses along the Yangtze River and the local ordnance bureaus to ensure that military equipment was not neglected… Finally, she dispatched Jia Shi'an, the Right Vice Minister of War, to join forces with the Censor Xu Longdao to inspect the garrisons along the Yangtze River…

After issuing one imperial edict after another, my wrists ached a bit. I was also a little tired at noon and didn't feel like eating, so I just ate some pastries.

In the late afternoon, after summoning several Grand Secretaries and the Minister of War to discuss politics, she finally rubbed her temples.

As I walked outside the Qianqing Palace, I stared blankly at the pale sun on the horizon in the autumn sky.

Her brother's illness was far from cured, and she had just retrieved the Imperial Seal from him. After that, unless it concerned the life or death of the Great Liang Dynasty, she would not inquire about her brother again.

The newly enthroned empress thought for a moment, then glanced back at the pile of memorials on her desk, and silently puffed out her cheeks... She figured that from today onwards she would probably be buried in these documents and wouldn't have much time to rest, so she snorted and decided not to review them today.

After visiting the warm pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, I changed back into my everyday clothes with the help of palace maids and returned home before sunset, a long time after my last visit.

The gatekeeper and Steward Wang were somewhat surprised to see her return to the Ning residence so early today, but naturally they respectfully addressed her as "Madam." Zhu Cuiwei nodded, and as she walked towards the flower hall in the second courtyard, she saw the two maids, Chunyu and Qiumu, running up happily to greet her.

She smiled and rolled up her sleeves, revealing her two fair forearms, and casually asked, "When does Master come home?" Chunyu smiled and said, "Madam, Master usually gets home around sunset." She nodded.

Upon reaching the flower hall, she saw her younger sister, Qinghuan, sewing shoes. Qinghuan jumped up at the sight of her, a sweet smile spreading across her face, and called out, "Sister!"

The mistress of the Ning family, only slightly older than her amnesiac younger sister, patted her sister's head, her eyes clear and bright, and softly asked, "What would you like to eat?" Qinghuan replied, "Honey-steamed preserved fish!"