Save the Bachelor of Heaven

Time flies, and the first year of Qianlong is coming soon.

In February, Lang Hua was blessed, and everyone in the palace was very happy.

Because after the emperor ascends the throne, the first son born to him has the same status as the eldest son and legitimate son. He is also a noble son.

If Lang Hua is born as the next elder brother, he will really have the legitimate son, the eldest son, and the noble son. It is really extraordinary, so everyone in the palace will be extremely envious.

Langya herself was very cautious. After confirming her happy pulse, she asked the Taiyuan Hospital to take careful care of her to ensure everything was safe.

Xiang Nan took it very seriously and specifically told his servants Su Lian and Qi Ru from the Imperial Hospital, "The queen must be careful about her diet, soups and medicines, and check everything in detail. And the fewer people who get involved, the better."

He was worried that some people would be evil and take advantage of Langya's pregnancy to secretly kill her.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Su Lian and Qi Ru both said.

"Queen, you can take care of your pregnancy with peace of mind. I think the matters in the palace will be left to Ruyi and Zhuying as assistants for the time being. What do you think?" Xiang Nan looked at Lang Hua again.

Langya was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Although she was reluctant to let go of her power, her first priority was to protect her pregnancy now. Giving birth to the first prince after the emperor ascends the throne is the top priority.

By then, she will have her eldest son, second son, and noble son. With the third son in hand, she is extremely precious. Who is she afraid of taking away the position of queen?

…

Subsequently, Xiang Nan issued an order to appoint Ruyi and Zhuying to co-manage the Sixth Palace.

"We still need to cut down the palace's expenses as much as possible." Xiang Nan told the two of them, "Old palace maids should be released from the palace when they should be released.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is an area hardest hit by corruption. You should check the accounts carefully to see if those minions are working hard and whether there are rats or dogs stealing and lining their own pockets. "

The imperial courts of all dynasties would regularly release palace maids for marriage. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, it was stipulated that palace maids who were over thirty years old would be released. During the Yongzheng period, this age was set at twenty-five.

Unlike in TV dramas, where concubines frequently beat and scolded palace maids, and were even ordered to die if they looked displeased, in fact, palace maids in the Qing Dynasty were not that miserable.

Because those who can enter the palace and serve as maids are all children of the Eight Banners and have a certain status, so they are not allowed to punish or die at will.

Qianlong's favorite concubine Chun Fei was demoted to the rank of concubine because she beat the palace maid to death; Daoguang's Lin Changzai was demoted to the rank of concubine because she beat the palace maid and forced her to leave the palace;

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is the emperor's small treasury, which is responsible for palace affairs, such as royal daily meals, clothing, storage, etiquette, engineering, farms, animal husbandry, guards, mountains and rivers, etc. It also controls the salt administration, distribution and customs clearance. , accept tribute.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for managing millions of acres of farmland, taxes at more than a dozen checkpoints, furs, ginseng, and jade outside the customs, tributes from provinces and vassals, foreign trade for thirteen industries, salt taxes, and so on.

It can be said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a large-scale monopoly state-owned enterprise, and it can make a lot of money.

However, the annual income of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is only two million taels, so there is naturally a lot of trouble in it. It was not enough to feed thousands of people in the palace, but they actually had to allocate funds from the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Xiang Nan is familiar with poetry and books and knows how greedy the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are.

For example, eggs cost a few cents each, but they dared to ask the emperor for ten taels of silver each.

Emperor Guangxu was extremely surprised when he heard that his teacher Weng Tonghe ate four eggs for breakfast. He said he didn't expect the teacher's breakfast to be so luxurious, which frightened Weng Tonghe and quickly changed his story, saying that the eggs he ate were bad, so they were cheap.

Emperor Daoguang's dragon robe had a hole in it, so he thought he could still wear it after repairing it. But the Ministry of Internal Affairs still offered a sky-high repair fee of three thousand taels.

It's a pity that these emperors were kept in the deep palace for a long time and knew nothing about the economic situation of the outside world, so they were played and applauded by these minions.

Xiang Nan, who is familiar with the economy, will naturally not be fooled by them, so rectifying the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a must.

Otherwise, in the future, the series of steel, glass, cement, clocks, soaps, perfumes and other products produced by his factory may be embezzled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs before being sold.

Not only will you not make any money at that time, you may even lose money.

Xiang Nan asked Ruyi and Zhuying to investigate the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but it was just a pretense, a feint to attack. The two concubines didn't have much knowledge and had never studied accounting or management, so they couldn't find out anything wrong with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

When the time comes, they will be careless, giving Xiang Nan an opportunity to take advantage of.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ruyi and Zhuying both nodded.

The two of them also happened to hear something about the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

For example, Qin Li, the eunuch in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, worshiped those who were superior and despised those who were inferior. He was more flattering to favored concubines, such as Queen Langhua, Ruyi, Zhuying, Hailan, Wanyin, etc.

Concubines like Jin Yuyan and Su Luyun, who had no heirs and were not usually favored, were relatively cold. There are even cases where monthly fees are deducted.

Such a chief eunuch deserves a good beating.

…

Ruyi and Zhuying then started to check the account books of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but they were destined to find nothing.

The gang of errands have been errands for generations, and they already have a lot of accounting techniques and speech skills. Little girls like them can't find out just by doing a few casual searches.

Xiang Nan didn't expect them to really find out anything.

However, after Qin Li was beaten, he still behaved for a while, and he no longer dared to be so obvious about being a superior and a subordinate. The monthly money of the palace maids and eunuchs was also paid in full and on time.

This made Ruyi and Zhuying unanimously supported by the palace people.

…

In May, Xiang Nan issued another decree prohibiting "official fees".

It turns out that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, in order to dredge rivers, hundreds of craftsmen were summoned every year to serve as officials, called officials. Officials and subordinates cheated and received less or no work and food.

If the craftsman cannot do the work himself, he will secretly collect money to help, which is called subsidy. As a result, officials indulged themselves in favoritism, and all kinds of bad regulations made the common people suffer.

Xiang Nan was familiar with history books and knew this disadvantage, so he ordered it to be banned. From now on, all river construction costs will be paid for by public funds and reported to the Ministry of Industry for actual sales, without increasing the burden on the people.

After this decree was promulgated, the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, who suffered from the "official salary premium", all shouted long live and shed tears of gratitude, which also made Xiang Nan gain a lot of popularity.

In June, Xiang Nan once again issued an order to cut miscellaneous taxes in eastern Guangdong, southern Yunnan and other places.

It turns out that there are a lot of miscellaneous taxes in eastern Guangdong and southern Yunnan, such as dung, cattle bones, farm tools, cotton slivers, daily miscellaneous goods, fish, shrimp, fruits, vegetables, etc., and there is also a salt tax and so on.

There are many types of miscellaneous taxes, many of which are excessive and excessive, making the people miserable, so they are all abolished.

After the decree was promulgated, the people also shouted long live and were extremely grateful.

…

In the same month, Tiangongfang's glass workshop was officially put into operation.

Glass has existed since ancient times, but most of the glass produced in China is lead-barium glass, which is brittle and turbid in color, so it is also called colored glaze, medicinal jade, etc.

Most of the glass produced in the West is soda-lime glass, which is not only resistant to high temperatures but also highly transparent and more practical. The glass produced by Tiangongfang is the soda-lime glass formula provided by Xiang Nan, so the glass produced is crystal clear and very beautiful.