Save the Bachelor of Heaven

"Okay, have a good rest. I'll come see you tomorrow." Xiang Nan nodded and walked out, but he happened to see Wang Qin chatting with Lang Hua's maid Lian Xin.

"I respectfully send you to your Majesty~" Lang Hua saluted from behind.

Wang Qin was shocked when he heard the queen's words. He quickly let go of Lian Xin's hand and glanced at Xiang Nan. He saw that his face was ashen, and he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Unlike "The Legend of Zhen Huan" and "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace", in which Yongzheng married Su Peisheng and Cui Jinxi, and Langhua married Wang Qin and Lianxin, the real Qing Dynasty palace regulations strictly enforced the relationship between eunuchs and maids.

Because the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty had exclusive power, there were lessons learned from the past. Wei Zhongxian had a rivalry with Ming Xizong's wet nurse, the Hakka family, so he was favored after Ming Xizong succeeded to the throne. In the end, he formed a clique for personal gain, disrupted the imperial court, and caused chaos in the world at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty not only did not allow eunuchs and palace maids to have sex with each other, but also did not allow palace maids to marry eunuchs. If the palace maids and eunuchs are described as uncles and nephews, brothers and sisters, or siblings, they will all be kicked out of the palace, and even their family members will be exiled to the frontier.

It is also stipulated that eunuchs and palace maids are not allowed to talk, laugh or play without permission; eunuchs and palace maids walk towards each other, and eunuchs are not allowed to fight with the palace ladies; eunuchs who are the leaders of each palace are not allowed to stand and talk for a long time in the master's room without obeying the order. , had to punish the palace maid at will according to the master's order...

Of course, "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" is a novel after all, and it is ultimately different from real history. But it was extremely inappropriate for Wang Qin and Lian Xin to fight each other.

Because the palace maids of the Qing Dynasty were all bannermen and came from Baoyi families, they were not only clean, but once the emperor took notice, they might fly up a branch and become a phoenix in the future.

For example, the eighth prince Yinhu's mother-in-law was born as a palace maid in Xinzheku. Later, after giving birth to the eighth prince, she was promoted to concubine and mistress.

Therefore, the maids in the Forbidden City all have the opportunity to rise to the top, and they are all women who belong to the emperor.

The eunuchs in the Forbidden City were ordinary people who were too poor to survive. They were castrated and entered the palace in order to survive. Their status was not that different from that of palace maids.

What's more, all the women in the palace belong to the emperor. How could Wang Qin, a eunuch, get involved? ! Isn’t this an act of arrogance?

…

"Your Majesty, this slave deserves to die, this slave deserves to die!" Wang Qin immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

Lian Xin was also startled and knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty, this slave deserves to die, this slave deserves to die. It was the prince who forced the slave to talk and wanted to give the slave a jade hairpin. The slave doesn't want it..."

"Wang Qin, is what Lian Xin said true?" Xiang Nan looked at Wang Qin and said.

Wang Qin looked at Xiang Nan with sweating profusely, and was about to quibble when he saw a cold flash in Xiang Nan's eyes. He was frightened to death and had to admit, "It's... it's true."

"That's it, Lian Xin, get up and don't do your business." Xiang Nan ordered, and then looked at Wang Qin, "Go to the Punishment Department to get fifty boards yourself. I don't want to say anything else."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Wang Qin quickly thanked him.

Seeing that Wang Qin was punished by the emperor and was about to receive a fine of fifty pieces, Lianxin couldn't help but feel a burst of joy.

Wang Qin harassed her many times, which deeply disturbed her. It's just that Wang Qin is the eunuch next to the emperor, with a high position of power, and although she is the maid in front of the queen, she is not a maid at all, she is a maid in the dowry.

She was the queen who served her after she married into the palace. There was a layer of relationship between them, but they were not close to her after all. Therefore, facing Wang Qin's harassment, he had no choice but to endure it.

Now that he is finally better, Wang Qin was beaten fifty sticks by the emperor, and he will definitely change his mind. She also had a heart attack.

The most important thing is that the emperor himself said that this matter was none of his business and that Wang Qin was not a despicable person to seduce. This saved her reputation and silenced everyone in the palace.

…

After this incident, Wang Qin went to the Shenxing Department and received fifty large boards.

Although he was the chief eunuch, the Chief of Punishment would hold him high and handle him gently during the execution, so that his muscles and bones were not injured, but in order to put on a show, it was inevitable that he would not be able to get out of bed for more than ten days.

Xiang Nan took the opportunity to bring Li Yu up and temporarily took over the position of chief eunuch.

Although Li Yu is not a slave who came out of the dormitory, he is clever and has a loyal character. He is much better than the duplicitous and domineering Wang Qin.

Xiang Nan also had a good impression of Li Yu, so he was willing to use him.

After Wang Qin recovered from his injury, Xiang Nan did not keep him by his side anymore. Instead, he placed him in the Qianqing Palace, where he was responsible for enshrining records and holy teachings, incense and candles in Jiangshan Sheji Hall, collecting utensils for gifts, etc.

Although the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace is also a fifth-grade eunuch, he is far inferior to the one who always accompanies the emperor.

After all, he is a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister, let alone following the emperor. Even the queen has to treat him with a thin face, which is very embarrassing in the palace.

Not to mention anything else, just to please him, the eunuchs and maids of various palaces gave him a lot of filial piety.

However, the Qianqing Palace is only a place to worship the records and holy teachings of the holy ancestors. It sounds noble, but in fact it is just an idle job. It can hardly get any oil or water. Compared with being by the emperor's side, it is a world away.

But Wang Qin didn't have to worry about it. If he dared to tease the palace maid, it would be an advantage for him not to be lame on one leg and expelled from the palace.

…

After rectifying corrupt officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Xiang Nan began drastic reforms.

Compared with before, where the Ministry of Internal Affairs was in charge of everything, he proposed a contracting system.

Farms, pastures, minerals and even fur, ginseng, jade business, etc. under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are contracted to private individuals. Bidding is held every five years, and the highest bidder wins.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is in charge of millions of acres of farms and pastures, in charge of taxes at more than a dozen checkpoints, in charge of thirteen lines of foreign trade, in charge of ginseng, fur, and jade outside the customs, in charge of tributes from provinces and vassals, and even There is a partial salt tax…

Such a monopoly giant's annual income is only more than two million taels, which is obviously a huge mismatch. Not to mention anything else, how could the foreign trade business alone only cost more than two million taels.

You must know that the Southern Song Dynasty was located in a corner of the country. Relying on foreign trade, it could earn two million yuan a year (one yuan equals one thousand pence). Besides, it was still the twelfth century.

Now in the eighteenth century, the territory of the Qing Dynasty was almost four times that of the Southern Song Dynasty, and its products were even richer. Overseas trade also became more prosperous. It is no exaggeration to say that a fivefold increase to ten million taels of silver per year should not be excessive at all.

It is deplorable that these officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are corrupt, pervert the law, and commit theft themselves. They are actually not as good at doing things as the people of Song Dynasty six hundred years ago.

No wonder there is a folk saying in the capital, "Fang Xinshu's small paintings are not ancient, this person must be from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

This means that if you become an official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you will immediately make a fortune and build a big house.

Because the house is newly built and the trees are newly planted, they will naturally not grow big. After getting rich, people tend to be arty, but they don’t have much ink in their stomachs, so the antiques they buy are all fake.

Xiang Nan now implements a contracting system, contracting out profitable projects such as farms, pastures, mines, furs, ginseng, and jade to private individuals, instead of sending people to take care of them from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In this way, redundant staff in the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be eliminated, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be able to prevent the Ministry of Internal Affairs from harming the public and enriching private interests, and it will also increase the income of the royal family.

After all, Xiang Nan is very clear about the advantages of the contract system.

…