After the map function was activated, Wen Yanran’s personal information interface was also expanded.
[Name: Wen Yanran
Age: Thirteen
Profession: Emperor
Prestige (Central Region): 8,020 (Profession Bonus)
Prestige (Southern Region): 3,020 (Profession Bonus)
Note: This interface will close in ten seconds and can be reopened after ten days. ]
…The display time of this interface truly tests the player’s speed-reading skills.
Wen Yanran thought that, in reality, the new year had already begun and the era name had changed, making her nominally fourteen years old. However, this panel clearly calculated the value based on her actual age.
In the original game, “Monarch’s Conquest,” the personal information interface would have included attributes such as “Governance” and “Virtue Prestige.” Among them, “Governance” represented the administrative capabilities of the court officials, while “Virtue Prestige” was closely tied to the reputation of the ruler and the central government.
However, the version Wen Yanran held was the “Guide to Becoming a Tyrant” game assistance system, updated by the World’s Will with the ultimate goal. The displayed content underwent selective retention. After all, if a player knew exactly in which direction to strive to improve their governance and virtue prestige, they might not be able to resist the urge to actively work for the better. In the end, the version presented removed all content that could assist players in working diligently.
Wen Yanran then summoned He Tingyun and instructed her to appoint a few censors to oversee the Ministry of Works, ensuring that Huang Xu could no longer slack off. However, considering that He Tingyun was known in the storyline as “Suspended He” – another master of avoiding work – she did not forget to remind her not to take charge personally and simply select a few subordinates for the task.
Upon understanding the Emperor’s intentions, He Tingyun showed no surprise. Rumors had long circulated in Jianping that the current sovereign not only worked diligently herself but also frequently urged the officials to continually improve. This directive, it seemed, was also meant to encourage senior ministers, while occupied with their duties, to provide more opportunities for juniors to gain experience.
After clearly arranging matters for the Ministry of Works, Wen Yanran summoned Yuan Yanshi and others but deliberately excluded Attendant Song, mainly to avoid any appearance of favoritism – while Song Nanlou and others had already been promoted within the central government, she still had further plans regarding their future responsibilities.
Wen Xun herself remained in the rear camp, while Song Nanlou and Shi Zhuhe were assigned by Wen Yanran to the front camp.
The front camp was located north of Jianzhou, where Guo Xingdao, recommended by Wang Qishi, was currently serving.
Discipline within the front camp’s troops was lax, and Guo Xingdao had a fiery temperament. Since taking up his post, he had been in constant conflict with his colleagues. However, his work yielded significant results – within a few months, he had uncovered a large number of individuals drawing pay without performing duties and reported numerous cases of encroachment on government-owned land. At that time, the northern regions were awaiting potential conflicts between the Marquis of Quanling and Jianping, reluctant to stir up trouble themselves and let others benefit from their disputes, so many issues were temporarily endured.
Following the practice of the Great Zhou, the rear camp’s personnel were mostly selected from the southern regions, while the front camp was drawn from the north. Knowing that the front camp had many vacancies, Wen Yanran instructed Song Nanlou to recruit soldiers in Zhuang Province before taking up his post.
Song Nanlou hailed from the Song family of Jianzhou, and Zhuang Province, adjacent to Jianzhou, served as a border area between the central and northern regions. It was both a region where the authority of the central government could exert influence and a relatively northern territory. By recruiting soldiers for the forward camp in Zhuang Province, Song Nanlou could ensure that his troops felt a certain sense of geographical identification with him.
Although the Emperor had long resided deep within the palace and lacked formal guidance before ascending the throne, she possessed some understanding of military affairs. However, what others were unaware of was that Wen Yanran’s arrangements had nothing to do with her own military expertise. Instead, it was purely because the netizens who wrote technical posts on “How to Recruit Soldiers with Higher Success Rates” were more honest than those who summarized characters in the comment sections, allowing her to gather useful information. This, in turn, inadvertently deepened her trust in the comment sections…
Compared to the south, the northern regions have always been unstable, with several waves of refugee unrest. Though none have succeeded, the recurring turmoil has never been fully quelled, providing opportunities for the central government to intervene.
Given Song Nanlou’s accomplishments and family background, he could immediately assume the role of commander of the front camp. However, since Wen Xun was too young to manage the rear camp, Wen Yanran issued an edict appointing the Eleventh Princess, Wen Yuansheng, to nominally oversee the affairs of the rear camp from a distance, with Wen Xun serving as her deputy.
In terms of age, Wen Yuansheng was even less qualified than Wen Xun to lead a camp. Yet, when standard workplace rules are applied to members of the royal family, their enforcement inevitably carries some leniency.
Wen Yuansheng herself had no objections. Though young, she had grown up in the palace and understood that the emperor’s move was merely using her status to temporarily stabilize the situation, with no intention of actually appointing her – another child of the late Emperor Li – to a distant post. In a couple of years, once Wen Xun had firmly established herself, her position would naturally be revoked. As compensation, Wen Yuansheng would likely ultimately receive a marquess title.
As Wen Yanran spoke, Cui Xinjing swiftly put brush to paper, refining the Emperor’s verbal decree into a formal edict. Yuan Yanshi and the others also echoed their agreement in unison. Since ascending the throne, the emperor’s authority had grown day by day, and her governance approach had gradually sharpened in clarity. Even veteran court officials were reluctant to offer rebuttals lightly.
One month later.
In the Great Zhou, the deterrent power of the Censorate depended on the Emperor herself. Recalling that they had dared to break into the Marquis Dong’s residence and kill without an explicit imperial decree, they had to enhance their work efficiency. In just one month, they received a total of 1,472 responses submitted from various regions on how to repair the canals.
Following the Emperor’s instructions, the Ministry of Works not only posted notices in Jianzhou to solicit strategies for canal repairs but also issued orders to the southern regions – and the southern regions had received the orders even earlier. It was only then that Huang Xu realized that this matter was not a sudden whim of the Emperor but had been planned long in advance.
Among the 1,472 responses, 856 came from Jianzhou. Originally, according to Huang Xu’s judgment, at least thirty percent of them failed to meet submission standards due to reasons such as illegible handwriting. However, the Emperor specifically sent Cui Xinjing to instruct the Ministry of Works to retain every response, make copies, and examine each one in detail. Of course, it didn’t matter if they didn’t scrutinize them thoroughly because Cui Xinjing also mentioned that the Emperor wanted the Ministry of Works to prepare copies precisely because she intended to review them personally.
Officials of the Ministry of Works: “…”
Was their emperor overly sagacious? Wasn’t the current sovereign the biological daughter of the previous emperor? Why was her temperament entirely different?
In truth, Huang Xu and others initially refused to believe that the Emperor could understand those responses. However, they also remembered how those who had held similar views in the past had ultimately been harshly struck by reality. Considering that the gates of their own homes might not be as sturdy as those of the Marquis Dong, even seasoned ministers like Huang Xu had to become increasingly diligent.
Cui Xinjing diligently brought those responses to the Western Yong Palace in batches -not because she lacked the strength to carry more each time, but to allow the Ministry of Works time to transcribe the copies.
Wen Yanran estimated the thickness of the responses, summoned Cui Xinjing before her, and spoke with exceptional gentleness, “I’ve heard that you come from a family with a rich scholarly tradition?”
Cui Xinjing bowed her head. “I do not deserve such undeserved praise from Your Majesty…”
Different prominent families of the current era had varying educational emphases. For example, the He family, to which He Tingyun belonged, integrated both virtue and law, while the Yuan family upheld Confucianism. As for top-tier families like the Song and Cui clans, they typically nurtured the younger generation to become well-rounded talents.
Since Cui Xinjing was quite renowned for her talent, it was reasonable to expect her not only to be well-versed in various classics, histories, and philosophical works but also to have at least a basic understanding of miscellaneous fields like astronomy, hydraulics, and agriculture, even if not mastered. Wen Yanran believed that, regardless of how undeserving of praise she might feel, her attainments in these areas were certainly higher than her own.
Cui Xinjing was still somewhat puzzled when she saw the Emperor give her a warm smile and kindly instructed her to make the most of her time in the coming days and review the responses as quickly as possible.
“…”
Cui Xinjing realized the seriousness of the situation: while the entire Ministry of Works was working together to review the responses, here in the Westen Yong Palace, it seemed she was the only one who had to put in the effort.
In truth, if the Ministry of Works hadn’t had so many slackers, Wen Yanran wouldn’t have piled the work onto this fresh-faced court newcomer. She offered another consolation. “I will also take a look at them.”
Upon hearing this, Cui Xinjing revised her thoughts – the Emperor truly remained benevolent and wise…
Wen Yanran spoke candidly, “However, my knowledge is limited, so I’ll have to trouble you to explain them to me when the time comes.”
“…”
For the second time falling into silence, Cui Xinjing finally understood that the Emperor’s purpose in reviewing those responses was not to speed up the overall reading process in the Western Yong Palace. Instead, while learning the relevant content, she had also conveniently burdened herself with the additional task of lecturing.
As a family member who had switched allegiance from the Marquis of Quanling, even if Cui Xinjing found her superior’s demands utterly unreasonable, she would still choose to bear the burden and fulfill them dutifully. Almost as soon as she confirmed the content of Wen Yanran’s orders, she immediately shifted into a working mindset.
Wen Yanran instructed the inner attendants to add a desk for Cui Xinjing in her side hall and took a response to review carefully herself. In the original plot of “Monarch’s Conquest,” if the emperor personally participated in certain projects, there was a chance to gain additional skills, though the specific probability also depended on the character’s aptitude. Some players started with the Seventh Prince, Wen Jiangong, and even with the intention of striving to become a wise ruler, they would often trigger the [Sloth] state after just a couple of days, leading them to peacefully give up…
However, after Cui Xinjing’s expectations for the Emperor had hit rock bottom, she found herself pleasantly surprised instead. Although the Emperor claimed to have no knowledge of water conservancy, when she bent over the responses, she didn’t show the confusion typical of someone encountering such content for the first time. As long as the handwriting and expressiveness in the responses were clear, she could comprehend most of them.
As she read, Wen Yanran silently thanked the modern education system. Although she had chosen a profession entirely unrelated to her field of study, the scientific thinking she had developed during her school years had still come in handy.
Her diligence regarding the canal issue, which did not align with the standards of a tyrant, stemmed from her growing understanding of how to command her officials. The canal project was merely a prelude to Wen Yanran’s plan to construct the Grand Canal. She needed the success of this undertaking to persuade others to support her subsequent engineering plans.
Moreover, some news had come from the City Bureau, which had gradually become slightly more functional under the management of Chi Yi and Zhang Luo. Zhang Bingshan, a strategist under Wen Hong, upon learning of Jianping’s plan to repair the canals, had surprisingly proposed an idea that aligned with Wen Yanran’s own: encouraging the central government to undertake large-scale water conservancy projects and using these labor-intensive measures to weaken Jianzhou’s strength.
Wen Yanran was familiar with this individual. In the comment sections, he was summarized as “Zhang Bingshan, the Foreseer.” Initially, she had only been fifty percent confident, but since even Zhang Bingshan considered this course of action problematic, she believed she was once again on the right path.
After more than four days of effort, the Western Yong Palace actually managed to review the responses faster than the Ministry of Works. Wen Yanran was particularly impressed with two of them. The first provided thorough and solid theories, though implementation would be quite challenging – the writer proposed diverting water for daily use from nearby rivers into Jianping, but the difficulty lay in the fact that several mountains stood in the way of the diversion route. The second meticulously analyzed Jianping’s waterway issues, presenting even more detailed and comprehensive information than the first. However, the proposed solution was rather hasty – the writer suggested that, since Jianping had been established for so long and to thoroughly resolve the canal problem, the Emperor might consider moving to a more environmentally suitable city. They even offered to build a new city for the Emperor.
In her heart, Wen Yanran somewhat agreed with the viewpoint in the second response – the canal must be dug, and the city must be built, especially since she had just taken office. This was the perfect opportunity for a round of national extravagance through grand projects.
