Empress Su Mingyue finally recovered from her deep thoughts.

She glanced at the sky outside the window, which was nearing dusk, and then at Zhou Ming, who sat opposite her with a calm expression, before standing up: "Let's go, accompany me to eat."

With just this one sentence, Zhou Ming's status in the heart of Empress Su Mingyue was completely set.

From his beginnings as the Kitchen manager, to later becoming her advisor, to researching Sorcerys, creating the Divine Phoenix omen, bringing back the sword manual and the Sorcery Jade Slip today, and finally, those unheard-of strategies for governing the country from just a moment ago.

The attitude of Empress Su Mingyue toward Zhou Ming had shifted from "a usable talent" to "an irreplaceable person."

This change was not written on her face, but carved into the details: she let him accompany her for a meal, a treatment that not even Su Mingli had received, aside from her parents.

The ancients valued silence while eating and sleeping, so the dinner was finished in silence.

Returning to Qianyuan Hall, Chunlan replaced the hot tea once more, and the candlelight was brightened, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daylight.

Empress Su Mingyue sat back behind the Dragon desk, lifted the hot tea to take a sip, and raised her eyes to stare at Zhou Ming, her gaze more solemn than before.

"Continue."

"The fourth step: severely punish private feuds and reward military achievements."

Zhou Ming set down his teacup and straightened his posture.

"Youzhou has always had a fierce folk custom; the youths of the borderlands grow up wielding knives and guns, drawing their blades at the slightest disagreement."

"Yet, when they reach the battlefield, these people often flinch. The saying 'brave in private feuds, cowardly in public battle' is an old ailment."

"Therefore, private armed struggles among the populace must be banned. Those who engage in private feuds should be punished according to the severity of their actions, with the most severe penalty being execution."

"But conversely, military merit on the battlefield must be heavily rewarded. Beheading one enemy earns a title, land, and even the right to become an official. Beheading two armored soldiers allows one's family to be pardoned."

"Beheading three armored soldiers allows a slave to become a commoner."

"When military merit accumulates to a certain level, it can even be exchanged for corresponding Sorcerys and sword manuals, such as the sword-controlling Sorcery Eldest Young Miss just saw in the Jade Slip."

"Those who flinch in battle will be stripped of their titles and punished by being made slaves."

"Of course, this is just a general idea; how to reward must be carefully divided."

Empress Su Mingyue nodded; she did not have much objection to this.

She herself had killed her way out of the battlefield and held deep affection for those soldiers who charged into the fray.

Enabling these soldiers who shed their blood and sacrificed their lives to live comfortable lives had always been her wish.

Zhou Ming's words were merely expressing what she had thought about for a long time but did not know how to articulate, presenting it through a clear system.

"The fifth step: reward farming and weaving, reward childbirth, and prioritize agriculture while suppressing commerce."

Seeing that Empress Su Mingyue did not object, Zhou Ming continued.

"Anyone who produces grain and cloth exceeding the standard can be exempted from corvée labor."

"Anyone who gives birth to a child, regardless of gender, will be exempted from the year's corvée labor and taxes, and may even be rewarded with land."

"Merchants, however, will be heavily suppressed; they cannot become officials, cannot wear silk, and must bear heavier taxes than farmers."

"In particular, merchants must be prohibited from trading grain; we cannot allow grain to be hoarded by aristocratic families, leading to the phenomenon where 'behind the vermilion gates meat and wine go to waste, while on the road lie the frozen bones of the poor'."

"At the same time, we must use generous policies to attract populations from other regions to settle in Youzhou."

"For example, give them land, give them houses, and exempt them from corvée labor."

"Youzhou is vast and sparsely populated; as long as people come, the land will not lie fallow."

"In this way, in less than two years, the granaries of Daming will be piled high as mountains."

Empress Su Mingyue raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard the four words "reward childbirth," but she did not interrupt him.

She knew that population was the country's greatest resource. Youzhou had been at war for years, and the loss of able-bodied men was immense; this policy came at just the right time.

"The sixth step: change the nature of land ownership." Zhou Ming raised his last finger and threw out the most core point.

"Change land from private ownership to public ownership."

"Currently, most of the land is in the hands of aristocratic families; those who have land have no one to farm it, and those who farm have no land."

"Land will be reclaimed as state property and redistributed according to population. If aristocratic families want to acquire more land, they will need to trade their military achievements for it."

Hearing this, a flash of extremely bright light suddenly swept through the eyes of Empress Su Mingyue.

She was silent for a long time, longer than when she had abolished the system of hereditary officials and emoluments.

State ownership of land—this was a forbidden zone that even she dared not touch lightly.

The hereditary official system touched upon titles, but state ownership of land touched the very roots.

Why are aristocratic families considered aristocratic families? Not because of their surnames, but because they have land. With land, they have grain; with grain, they have people; with people, they have soldiers.

An aristocratic family without land is like a tiger with its teeth pulled out; no matter how fierce, it cannot turn the world upside down.

Empress Su Mingyue stood up and paced back and forth behind the Dragon desk.

Then she stopped in front of the map, her back to Zhou Ming, her voice heavy and astringent like iron:

"The reason aristocratic families can rule the world together with the Son of Heaven relies on the land, talent, and infiltration into local governance that they control."

"Once these laws are implemented, Youzhou will fall into great chaos."

Zhou Ming set down his teacup, his gaze falling on the back of Empress Su Mingyue: "That depends on whether Eldest Young Miss has the courage."

"The thing this world lacks the least is people, and I believe that in the face of life and death, many will choose to compromise."

Zhou Ming's voice was as calm as water. "Besides, isn't the Black Armor Army of Eldest Young Miss meant to suppress great chaos?"

Empress Su Mingyue turned around and looked at Zhou Ming with a complex gaze.

The man before her, this little attendant who grew up with her, whom she had beaten until his nose was bruised and face swollen, yet who dared not fight back.

Was currently paving the road beneath her feet, making it wide and straight in a way she had never seen before.

She was silent for a good while, then suddenly changed the subject and asked: "After the laws are implemented, have you thought about your own ending?"

Zhou Ming raised his eyes, meeting the gaze of Empress Su Mingyue.

The candlelight danced in the depths of his pupils. His voice was not loud, but it carried a heavy weight: "If it benefits the country, I am willing to die; how could I avoid it for fear of misfortune?"

The brows of Empress Su Mingyue twitched slightly.

Zhou Ming added another sentence, his tone still unhurried: "To settle the affairs of the world for the ruler, and to win a name for oneself both in life and after death."

Empress Su Mingyue glared at him, her eyes carrying three parts helplessness and three parts reproach: "Speak human language."

Zhou Ming moved his teacup half an inch to the side, retracted the playful expression on his face, and looked at Empress Su Mingyue earnestly.

"I wish for the Great Unity of the World, where everyone is like a Dragon."

Empress Su Mingyue: "..."

Empress Su Mingyue glared at him again, but said nothing more.

She moved her gaze away from Zhou Ming's face and cast it toward the ink-black night outside the window.

The night was deep. Most of the ten thousand lights in Yongning City had been extinguished; only the candlelight in the Imperial Palace remained lit.

She was silent for a long time, then turned around and sat back behind the Dragon desk.

For the entire night that followed, Qianyuan Hall remained brightly lit.

Chunlan went in and out I don't know how many times, bringing in fresh tea each time and removing the cold, old tea, but she could never insert herself into their conversation.

The candle burned from a full cup down to only half left, and from half down to a pile of wax tears.