In the harem, Si Junlin didn't expect that right after dealing with the Empress Dowager, there would be another person he had to attend to.
"Brother Emperor, you've given me a hard time these days," Si Jingcheng complained as soon as he came.
Si Junlin naturally knew that his younger brother had been doted on by him and the Empress Dowager since childhood, so his mind was rather childish. Although he had some talents, he spent a great deal of time on eating, drinking, and having fun, but showed no interest in state affairs. So, it must have been quite difficult for him to handle the state affairs during the past few months when he was acting as the regent.
"You're already at this age. You should shoulder more responsibilities. Otherwise, what's the point of making you a prince?"
Normally, such admonishments were quite common. But for some reason, Si Jingcheng felt that this remark sounded very familiar. It seemed that he had heard it somewhere before. Right! He remembered. It seemed that his sister - in - law had said something like this before.
"Brother Emperor, why did you let sister - in - law out of the palace? Are you going to bring her back this time?" Si Jingcheng looked like he was eager to watch the show.
Si Junlin was really surprised. Originally, the people in the harem were not supposed to be involved in the affairs of the court. Moreover, although he only had this one younger brother, he had never allowed him to enter the harem.
"Take your time, take your time." The draft was coming soon. He could just select his sister - in - law again.
"How can you not be in a hurry? Look, Mother and I are both very anxious. There's not a single person in your harem. You're really a man of few desires. I wonder how you managed to get through these days," Si Jingcheng joked with his elder brother involuntarily. In his opinion, not to mention the emperor, even a prince like him shouldn't have an empty harem.
"You're so unambitious and always thinking about such improper things," Si Junlin thought that if it weren't for the fact that his younger brother had done a good job as the regent during the past few months, he would have sent him away long ago.
"Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"I'm not here for a reward, brother Emperor. I just came to see if you're well." Si Junlin could clearly see through Si Jingcheng's self - defeating act.
So, he casually bestowed some gold, silver, and jewels and sent him away.
Early the next morning, it seemed that the whole country was celebrating, and everything had returned to normal. Since the recovery of the Southern Border, all the small countries bordering the Jin Kingdom had now become its vassal states.
In this way, it could be said that unless there was a major change, the Jin Kingdom would not easily go to war with other countries.
Moreover, the national teacher had announced at the beginning that he would serve as the prime minister again. As a result, the whole court was even more excited, as if a prosperous and peaceful era was about to come.
But who would have known that their emperor had lost three years of his memory, and the national teacher was only serving as the prime minister to handle this matter properly.
Everything was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt. Naturally, everyone had no objections to the draft. Moreover, the matter of dispersing the harem had originally annoyed the ministers. Now they all thought that this was a compromise made by the emperor for them. So, they all agreed, and some ministers even said that they were willing to contribute funds for the selection in their own provinces.
Si Junlin didn't like to make a big fuss in the first place. When he heard that they were going to select common girls from each province, he was even more displeased.
So, the national teacher's words flashed through his mind.
"Dear ministers, you're being too enthusiastic. The whole country is in ruins after the war, and the national treasury is not in good condition because of the military rations and pay. If we carry out the selection for two or three months, it may be too much for the national treasury. It's better to just select a few girls from the noble families in the capital."
At first, the ministers were very pleased to hear the emperor's words. This was indeed a wise move. But when they heard the words "a few girls", they couldn't sit still anymore.
The first to speak was the Minister of Rites, who was in charge of such matters. "Your Majesty, the draft is a major event related to the foundation of the country. Even if it costs money from the national treasury, it's well worth it. Moreover, the etiquette for the draft set by Emperor Taizu cannot be abolished. Back then, Emperor Taizu selected hundreds of girls from exactly 3,300 common girls for the emperor and the Empress Dowager to personally choose and enter the harem. Only in this way can the royal family be prosperous."
Si Junlin was most annoyed by these old ministers using the rules set by Emperor Taizu to suppress him. His grandfather, Emperor Taizu, was indeed a great man. He had made many military achievements in his life, expanding the territory by many cities. And during his decades on the throne, the country was quite prosperous. So, there was really something to talk about.
But now, although he had just taken the throne, he hadn't done anything wrong. He had recovered the Southern Border and a group of small countries, and the hearts of the people were united. Why did they always bring this up?
"I've said that Emperor Taizu was in a difficult situation back then. Many countries asked for marriage alliances, and he couldn't let the blood of the Jin Kingdom be contaminated by foreign blood. So, he held a large - scale draft. Now that our Jin Kingdom is so peaceful, I don't need to go through all this trouble and waste the people's resources."
"Your Majesty is wise," the imperial censor stood up. "But please forgive this old minister for speaking bluntly. We don't need to be so extreme as to only select a few girls. If we only select girls from the noble families in the capital, each family should contribute. In this way, there will be hundreds of them."
Si Junlin rubbed his temples in a headache. Could hundreds of girls be gathered from just the noble families in the capital? It would take forever to select them.
"Fine, let's do it this way. Keep everything simple. Let the prime minister handle it personally. The order of the draft will be determined by the official ranks of their mother's families." If he let these old ministers set some very complicated rules, he didn't know when it would be Su Wan'er's turn.
Fortunately, General Su was already a first - rank official. The Su family had made great military achievements, so they would surely be among the first.
But General Su frowned and stepped forward seriously to report. "Your Majesty, although our Su family should also select a beautiful girl to show our loyalty, there are no girls of the right age in the direct line of our family. I hope Your Majesty will understand. How about selecting a beautiful and intelligent girl from the side branches?"
Si Junlin was really surprised. He ignored the other ministers and directly asked, "General Su, what do you mean? Are you hiding the fact that you have a third daughter?"
The national teacher saw that Si Junlin was about to say something inappropriate. General Su already looked displeased. Now that Su Wan'er had already resigned from her position as the marshal, she was just a young girl in the boudoir. How could the emperor directly ask such a question in the court? So, he immediately interrupted:
"I've heard that General Su has two daughters. Are they both not of marriageable age?"
General Su said even more righteously, "Prime Minister, you may not know that although my third daughter is already twenty years old, she is already engaged. Moreover, my youngest daughter is only ten years old. So, it's really difficult."