She knew that wanting to completely prevent powerful officials from looking down on scientists was impossible. There would always be diversity among people in this world; some idiots had to be tolerated.

But she could change the social climate, making their contempt contrary to social norms.

Therefore, the Scientific Academy must be established. Well, the climate cultivation should begin with the newspapers.

Not only must they cherish agricultural scientists, hydraulic experts, mathematicians, and all kinds of specialists like young seedlings, they must also cherish the Zhao family army, who had been protecting them from warfare and were now still working hard everywhere to suppress bandits and construct various projects and river embankments.

Oh, now that all of Dajin’s military forces were under her jurisdiction, she regarded them all as the Zhao family army.

The reputation of soldiers was getting worse and worse. This wasn’t their fault but the fault of those in power. Like customs, it changed bit by bit, and then social morals declined.

The status of military personnel in ancient times was once very high. Before the Han Dynasty, not just anyone could be a soldier.

Qin used military merit to recruit commoners into military service to unify the Six Kingdoms. But before Qin, during the Spring and Autumn period, those who could enlist and fight in battles were all named citizens. Commoners and slaves without surnames were only fit for logistics and didn’t even have the qualification to go to the battlefield.

Going to the battlefield involved various rules and etiquette. Compared to the current battlefield confrontations full of strange tricks and shamelessness, many wars of that time were more like ceremonial contests and grand military reviews.

The early Han Dynasty was also fine. The military still enjoyed a good reputation among the people, with high prestige, until the end of Han.

To compete for territory, local strongmen and warlords captured people for soldiers. They fought back and forth, preventing the common people from cultivating the land, who naturally couldn’t pay military provisions.

When people are starved to extremes, they’ll do anything. Without enough grain to feed soldiers, what to do?

Naturally, they robbed the people’s property and grain. Large numbers of village massacres and plundering incidents occurred. Soldiers gradually became synonymous with bandits. Then, to supplement military expenses, those in power simply sent soldiers to dig up tombs. The reputation of soldiers became even worse.

Those who gave orders were the powerful, the scholar class, the prominent clans, but the reputation of their entire class wasn’t much affected. Those criticized were often only individuals. But the soldiers who executed orders were different.

The reputation of soldiers grew worse and worse. Moreover, due to oppression from top to bottom, soldiers’ lives became increasingly difficult, and their advancement paths were repeatedly compressed. They would conscript soldiers from common households, recruit idle members of society, and also pull criminals from prisons into the military—lawbreakers, those who failed in political struggles, all dragged into the army.

Finally, they directly grabbed people on the streets. Children as young as eleven or twelve, elderly men of forty or fifty—as long as they could hold a weapon, they were dragged into the military.

Thus, the military’s reputation became even worse.

Among the common people, there was almost universal fear of soldiers. In the people’s eyes, soldiers equaled bandits. The Zhao family army’s good reputation began with not plundering the common people and was also because Zhao Hanzhang raised the banner of justice.

Military personnel were heroes protecting home and country. They deserved positive evaluation.

Thinking of the Zhao family army currently deployed for river management, Zhao Hanzhang personally wrote an essay praising the military and sent it to the official gazette.

Zhao Hanzhang said to Ming Yu: “The Censorate should also be reorganized. It shouldn’t only investigate based on rumors but should also have the responsibility and authority to verify. I want the teacher to produce specific correction methods.”

Investigating based on rumors—the advantage was deterring all officials. Just a hint of rumor, without needing verification, could impeach officials. But the disadvantages were even more obvious. Because verification wasn’t necessary, some censors could fabricate rumors, or not even fabricate—just say they heard something and submit memorials for impeachment.

This way, the supervisory and remonstrance officials and executive officials were locked in bitter conflict. Dajin’s customs had been passed down, which was why censors always found fault with executive officials, whether justified or not. When there were no faults, they created them.

Meanwhile, local officials instinctively resented censors upon seeing them. Before anything was done, they first fought among themselves.

From last year until now, Zhao Hanzhang had sent out many censors to supervise local governance and development. Many problems were indeed found, with some results, but few were verified. Upon deeper investigation, seven out of ten matters turned out to be fabricated rumors, wasting local work time and significantly increasing her own workload.

Zhao Hanzhang naturally didn’t want supervisory officials and executive officials to get along harmoniously, joining hands to deceive her and exploit the common people. But she also didn’t want to increase their conflicts, making them waste energy fighting each other.

So she hoped to improve the supervision laws, giving the Censorate not only the right to report but also the authority to investigate and partial authority to handle matters. This would reduce baseless fabrications and focus more on verification.

But modifying laws wasn’t a day’s work. Zhao Hanzhang had Ming Yu keep it in mind but didn’t demand immediate results. “Try to submit it after next spring.”

Ming Yu: …How different was that from now?

But Ming Yu still agreed.

Having spoken too much today, after finishing official business, Zhao Hanzhang picked up a cup of hot tea to soothe her throat while chatting with them. “Have all the taxes arrived in Luoyang? How much revenue did the treasury collect this year?”

Ji Yuan also set down his brush, leaning back in his chair with a cup of tea for casual chat. “Jingzhou’s hasn’t arrived yet. Oh, and Yangzhou also sent taxes to the capital, though not much.”

Zhao Hanzhang was surprised. “The Prince of Langya actually paid me taxes?”

She had only sent an official document to Yangzhou in a probing manner, requiring them to submit taxes according to the court’s newly promulgated tax system, not expecting he would actually give any.

Ji Yuan smiled. “Apparently the Prince of Langya’s face isn’t thick enough.”

Ming Yu looked up at them, then lowered his head to continue writing.

Zhao Hanzhang thought of historical evaluations of the Prince of Langya and Wang Dao from over a thousand years later. Although separated by more than a millennium, those evaluations might not all be correct, but from some historical events, one could see that the Prince of Langya had limited ability and an insufficiently ruthless heart. Though Wang Dao was intelligent, his personality was too lenient. With this combination, if not for Wang Dun and other aristocratic clans relying on his authority to commit evil deeds, the monarch and minister might have had a good beginning and end. What a pity.

Although Wang Dao eventually assisted the Prince of Langya’s son to ascend the throne and governed the Eastern Jin well, the Prince of Langya indeed died of melancholy, and the monarch and minister’s final harmony was only superficial warmth.

Zhao Hanzhang asked Ji Yuan curiously: “Have you met Wang Dao, teacher?”

Ji Yuan nodded with a smile. “Yes. In earlier years, he and the Prince of Langya were in Luoyang and once visited to pay respects to my master. Both have gentle personalities. The Prince of Langya is somewhat weak. With Wang Dao’s assistance, being a feudal prince is fine, but if he wants to go further, it will be difficult.”

The Prince of Langya didn’t have that capability.

And the Prince of Langya’s flight to Yangzhou to set up separately was also because he heeded Wang Dao’s advice.

Could they persuade the Prince of Langya to return to Luoyang to be a prince and bring Yangzhou under court jurisdiction?

Just as she was thinking this, Zhao Hanzhang heard hurried footsteps approaching.

She lifted her eyes toward the door. In just an instant, she lowered them again, sipping her tea. Only then did she set the cup on the table. Ji Yuan and Ming Yu also heard the footsteps and turned their heads just as the door was pushed open. The Secretary from the Intelligence Office hurried forward and reported: “Grand General, Jingzhou and Yangzhou have started fighting.”