Chapter 226 Awakening
In December, heavy snow falls
Preparations for the New Year have already begun in the capital.
It has been almost half a year since the Empress ascended the throne. At first, everyone was shocked, angry, and unable to accept it.
But within half a year, the substantial benefits have been lost.
Without the oppression of aristocratic families, the middle class gained freedom, and the people at the bottom could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The playboys who usually do evil things are gone, and the slaves of wealthy families who oppress the common people are gone.
The empress is so rich that all the people are tax-free for three years. The people do not have to pay food tax this year, and they find that their families finally have money to celebrate the New Year.
The new officials came from humble backgrounds. They changed from the arrogant ones of the past and began to handle cases for the common people. Unjust, false and wrongly convicted cases that had been suppressed and framed were retried, the bad guys were brought to justice, and the good guys who were wronged were acquitted.
Although the patrolling guards have become more numerous and serious, they are highly disciplined and do not harm the people. They patrol day and night. Those young people with unclean hands and feet disappear, and they can sleep peacefully.
The whole capital suddenly felt filled with happiness, and even the air was not that thick. It felt like all the previous years had been in vain.
The most important thing is that the empress has set up five factories, covering clothing, shoemaking, candy, breeding, and planting. The five factories are huge and recruit workers from all people, regardless of gender. Women are even given priority in some positions.
The labor price is clearly marked, which is three times the market price. Anyone who chooses it will get a set of work clothes of good quality and even two meals a day.
For a time, everyone and the people were fighting over each other, and the girls and women who had been suppressed at home suddenly became everyone's hope.
Anyone who can be selected to work in the Empress's factory is as good as being selected in the imperial examination, and has a glorious ancestor.
At first, everyone just went there for the salary, but a month later, all kinds of cheap and sturdy clothes and shoes appeared on the market.
Candies with colorful packaging and slightly more expensive but delicious taste are also available in stores.
Everyone had extra money in their hands, so they couldn't help but buy some to try and taste. In the end, they found that they were more useful and delicious than before. The most important thing was that in the store opened in the name of the empress, no matter they were from wealthy families Or ordinary people, treated equally.
And those who are selected to work in the Empress Factory will receive free items.
Breeding and planting have not yet yielded results, but you can visit the front and be fooled in the future.
——
Xiao Li originally didn't want to build a factory, but after telling her ten thousand times, she still had the same attitude and didn't want to build infrastructure.
She didn't come to this world to build infrastructure, she's so annoying!
But she asked Wang Yizhu to take part in the imperial examination, and the queen's sister-in-law walked up to her with the eyes of the world on her.
As an empress, she can make Wang Yizhu a female official, but she cannot let all the women in the world come out like Wang Yizhu.
Necessary conditions for women to strive for power: economic value, social needs.
Setting up factories, raising wages, and appointing women are the only ways to get people to remove their daughters and wives from home, because the value they create while working is much higher than at home.
After they went to the factory and received their wages, the factory would require them to be literate for production purposes, so Xiao Li arranged for someone to teach them how to read.
Those who are literate can become team leaders, captains, and stewards. Although there is no rank, small official positions are still officials.
Subtly instill in everyone the importance of reading. It is important for sons to study, and it is equally useful for daughters to study.
This is the awakening of people's awareness.
Rather than forcefully telling them that girls are just like boys, let them realize this themselves.
Only by making them feel that their children are of equal value can girls go to school. If there are more girls studying, and with the example of Wang Yizhu, they will be able to take the imperial examination and become officials in the future.
And Wang Yizhu was once a queen. Being able to put aside her status and take the exam again can also play an educational role. She is independent of the secular world and does not show her identity. She relies on her talents to stand in front of everyone.
Finally, Xiao Li brought over those students who were partial to subjects. If they were partial to subjects, then teach, only teach what you know how to do.
Don’t worry that these are just men looking down on girls or something.
If these students dare to insult girls, or take advantage of them, they will be castrated directly.
We are all sisters, so no one looks down on anyone.
Xiao Li: In a word, there are no cows and horses that cannot be used, only owners who cannot use them. As long as they have a name with her, they will work for me!
Students: I failed the imperial examination, but I didn’t fail completely.
——
On December 20, Duan Ji's army returned in triumph, and envoys from several other countries also arrived.
The people spontaneously went to the city gate to greet him. The ten-mile-long street was deserted by thousands of people. Although Duan Ji, the general who conquered the north, was majestic, the most eye-catching thing was the cold and shining silver-armored guard.
Having gone to the battlefield and killed people, the silver armor was even more dazzling and cold.
In the middle of the silver-armored guards were escorted artillery pieces covered with red cloth. News from the border had already arrived. This was the weapon that would frighten the country of Yue and eventually even destroy it.
No one except the Silver Armor Guard can touch what the Empress did.
Wonder, curiosity, awe.
In the past, the family was powerful and the emperor's presence was extremely low. Now the empress is so powerful that it seems unreal.
A Yue country was destroyed as soon as it was said to be destroyed. Is their country already so powerful?
——
"My minister Duan Ji has fulfilled his mission and regained the lost territory. Now he returns in triumph. I pay homage to your majesty. Long live my emperor!"
Duan Ji was wearing armor and kneeling on the ground with a surrendering posture.
Xiao Li twitched the corners of his eyes. Not only did you fulfill your mission, you also destroyed the Yue Kingdom.
Thinking of the plans she had written in recent days to merge the Yue Kingdom, she wanted to give Duan Ji a kick.
Of course, I can only think about this in my heart, but I am still very happy on the face.
"Flat body."
Then he said a few symbolic words, and finally rewarded him based on his merits.
Duan Ji's official position is a second-grade general, becoming the third second-grade general after Rong Qing and Yang Jun. Liu Dong is currently a third-grade general.
Then there is the appreciation of the house and silver.
Those who go down will also be rewarded based on their merits. All members of the Silver Armored Army will be rewarded with money and promoted to one level.
After the reward was awarded, the King of Southern Qi and the Emperor of Yue were brought to Xiao Li. Oh, and there was also King Yanping who was burned into ashes and brought back.
Xiao Li was very satisfied that it was definitely burned to ashes.
It is not safe to kill them now, they must be burned to ashes.
As for the King of Southern Qi, Xiao Li almost didn't recognize him for only a few months.
Is this man with gray hair and a shape like dry grass the king of Southern Qi?
Xiao Jinrong looked up at Xiao Li numbly, with hatred in his eyes, but more of fear.
When Jamel Xiao was here before, they only thought that Princess Xuanyang was too fierce and arrogant, and was too cruel to the consort Lu Yanzhi. Now they realized that she was not cruel to Lu Yanzhi, she was cruel to everyone.
He was not the one who killed King Yanping. They were just drinking tea. King Yanping revealed some thoughts about finding another way to make a living. The silver-armored guard appeared out of nowhere and killed King Yanping. The bloody knife was thrust into his hand. Here, he had to bear this crime, and he didn't even dare to cry out for injustice.
His wife, children, and mother were all in Xiao Li's hands. If the empress dared to kill King Yanping, she might not kill him.
Later, the Yue Kingdom was destroyed, everything happened so quickly, and the forces he once relied on now seemed so fragile and insignificant.
Having personally participated in the battlefield and witnessed the power of the Silver Armored Army, he knew very clearly that it was impossible for him to resist.
He wants to live, and he also wants his family to live.
At this moment, even though he was weak, he insisted on kneeling: "Your Majesty, Xiao Jinrong, pay homage to your Majesty."
The content of this chapter is a bit dry, but I still want to explain it.
Our empress is not just shouting slogans, she is really doing something.
First set the benchmark, then create demand, and then educate women.
If you just recruit a group of noble women to become female officials, it will be a castle in the air.
Fighting for women's rights must be done step by step. Only by laying a solid foundation can we change history, not now, but in the future.