The ministers presented their reports, their hearts ablaze with passion.
Since his transmigration, after activating the Life Simulator system, Chu Chen's sole desire had been to live a good life in this world.
He met Princess Xin Yue, courted this willful and capricious princess, and desperately climbed the ranks, clinging tightly to the royal family's coattails. He treated himself like a dog, not hesitating to offend Prime Minister Chen Yuanliang and the Imperial City Guard Captain Xue Yun.
Ultimately, he became a man of influence, winning everything and able to live with his head held high.
The promotion of the Yun Yue plow and waterwheels, accompanying Princess Xin Yue on her travels to punish corrupt officials, allowed him to witness the suffering of the common people and the rampant abuse of power by officials.
His journey to the Eastern Frontier, accompanying Princess Xin Yue, exposed him to the brutality of war and the cheapness of human life.
The setbacks with the three new crops made him deeply realize that the common people were not even treated as humans, but as beasts, or worse.
At some point, Chu Chen felt that he was living, standing tall, enjoying endless wealth and honor, and his cultivation had become so profound that no one could match him.
He even managed to change the once capricious princess, and the two fell in love. He had a girlfriend, a successful career, status, and was now part of the high-income privileged class.
Chu Chen did not know how the people of other countries lived. He only knew, through intelligence gathered by the Dark Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, how the common people truly lived.
The people of this world were still suffering! Suffering! Suffering!
Day after day, their labor never ceased. Their eyes were numb, their faces devoid of smiles. The death of children in their homes was commonplace, and countless died from starvation, cold, and illness.
They were called commoners, but in reality, they were like tenant farmers or beasts. They needed someone to stand up for them, someone to light the path forward for them.
Chu Chen, with the system in hand, felt that if not him, then who?
Did they not see that throughout history, pioneers, even without a system, dared to sacrifice everything for the people, pleading for them and illuminating their path forward!
If they dared, then with his system, what was there for him not to dare!
At this moment, all preparations were made for this very day!
He would not fail the people's title of Saint Chu, nor the system that brought him here, nor his position of high authority and extensive capabilities!
The Empress could barely contain her excitement and exclaimed, "Excellent! In times of national crisis, heroes will emerge! I can call you a hero of the nation!"
"Our Yun Yue Kingdom, with such a hero, shall not perish! It shall prosper and its people shall be strong!"
Princess Xin Yue was completely stunned. She looked at Chu Chen with a blush and a hint of understanding, then looked at her mother, sensing the difficulties of emperorship.
She knew that her mother rarely showed such excitement and fervor. Now, she could hardly suppress her emotions, all because of Chu Chen's words and the current situation.
"With great power comes great responsibility!"
"Everyone is human. Because they are called human, they are human, not beasts."
"Everyone is the same, with no distinction between noble and lowly. Everyone has a mother, and everyone is born of a mother. Why should it be like this?"
Princess Xin Yue recalled her conversations with Chu Chen in the past. Upon reflection, she realized that Chu Chen likely harbored these thoughts even then.
Looking at Chu Chen, who no longer displayed the initial cautious desire to survive but was filled with righteousness, and then at the civil and military officials who always appeared righteous and upright,
She suddenly felt she had grasped something and understood Chu Chen's greatness.
In her heart, she felt a mixture of shame and contentment at being able to marry such a man.
"I will also cheer for you and support you!"
Princess Xin Yue looked at Chu Chen's handsome and resolute face, silently exclaiming in her heart.
"Your Majesty, since I have decided to reform and strengthen the nation, I implore Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict and decree to announce this to the world!"
"I humbly request that the corruption of officials, past and present, not be pursued today. However, from this point forward, if any are found to have transgressed again, I will personally teach them the meaning of royal law and order!"
After his initial excitement, Chu Chen did not forget the main business and immediately shouted.
The Empress calmed herself slightly and called a female official to write.
"I have long pondered, diligently attending to state affairs daily without the slightest slackness, yet the nation's fortunes continue to decline. I am deeply uneasy, fearing I will have no words to face my ancestors in the netherworld. At this juncture, Prime Minister Chu's counsel suggests that the Yun Yue Kingdom is gravely ill and requires potent medicine. He wishes to implement reforms to strengthen the nation and revolutionize heaven and earth."
"I deeply agree and pledge not to abandon this vow. To reassure him, I have betrothed him to the Fifth Princess, Li Xin Yue, a gesture made before the entire court to signify my resolve!"
"I agree with Prime Minister Chu's words. On the seventh day of the eleventh month of the three thousand two hundred and forty-second year of the Qingzhou Continent, from this moment onwards, past acts of corruption shall be forgiven. I urge all officials to conduct themselves wisely. Henceforth, any who repeatedly transgress and continue to embezzle shall face doubled penalties, with old and new accounts combined, for severe punishment. Do not say you were not warned!"
"At this juncture, we shall implement tax reform, land surveys, and tiered taxation! These shall be promoted to achieve reform and strengthen the nation! As my imperial decree dictates, all officials who see this must assist, and not stubbornly resist change. Those who fail to comply shall, at the lightest, be stripped of their hats and sent home, and at the heaviest, be imprisoned and thoroughly investigated!"
"My resolve for new reforms shall never waver!"
The female official, sweat beading on her forehead, tremblingly finished writing the imperial edict.
Finally, the Empress personally picked it up and read it through. Once it was accurate, she handed it to the old eunuch beside her, instructing him to take it to be printed using movable type.
Having completed all this, the Empress sat back on the dragon throne with satisfaction, not even glancing at the civil and military officials. She smiled and said, "Prime Minister Chu, what are the merits of the three methods you mentioned earlier?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, tax reform is to change the current tax system of the Yun Yue Kingdom. Previously, the Yun Yue Kingdom only had agricultural tax, while local areas had various miscellaneous taxes such as poll tax, gate tax, and stall tax. However, only the agricultural tax was converted into silver and sent to the capital; all other taxes were retained by the local authorities."
"I believe that the poll tax and gate tax are inappropriate. The former places a heavy burden on the populace without land or production. If a household has five members, and only one works, they must pay not only agricultural tax but also poll tax for their family members. In such a case, if there are no working individuals in the household, their fate will be extremely tragic."
"The elderly parents in the family are aged and weathered. Many rely on their children to carry them to the mountains to end their own lives, or they sell their children into servitude."
"As for the gate tax, it hinders trade and prevents rural folk from bringing their goods into the city."
Having said this, Chu Chen paused for a moment and continued, "Currently, the Yun Yue Kingdom's agriculture is aided by the Yun Yue plow and waterwheels, doubling grain production. Furthermore, trade is abundant and profitable. I believe that non-border checkpoint taxes should be abolished and replaced by commercial tax. Any citizen of the Yun Yue Kingdom who engages in business to a certain extent shall be taxed. In this way, with agricultural and commercial taxes in parallel, the nation will have sufficient funds and grain for development and construction!"
"Land surveys are to prevent local authorities from concealing land and attempting to pay less tax or no tax at all. Simultaneously, it clarifies how much arable land the nation still possesses and whether its output is sufficient to meet the population's needs!"
"Tiered taxation means classifying based on the amount of trade, with higher amounts being taxed more. This also applies to land."
"Excellent, excellent!" the Empress exclaimed with joy. "With these three methods, the Yun Yue Kingdom shall surely prosper!"