After Qin Ling delivered a passionate and stirring speech, his gaze locked intensely onto Qin Yu.
Grand Tutor Yin, standing beside him, also looked at Qin Yu expectantly.
It was clear from their expressions that they were waiting for Qin Yu to declare her position.
Seeing this, Qin Yu knew she had to show her determination.
She took a deep breath and said firmly, “I will not fail the late emperor’s long-cherished wish. I will lead the Chengji Empire forward with great strides!”
“Good!” Qin Ling laughed happily.
“Excellent! You should first study the art of rulership, and then I will have you govern the state in the capacity of Crown Princess, managing the affairs of the court!”
Qin Ling then entrusted Yin An with a nod: “The Crown Princess’s matters will be in your hands.”
Finally, Qin Ling looked at Han Youcheng, who had been standing quietly by: “From now on, you will assist the Crown Princess. I hereby appoint you as the Right Vice Minister of the Secretariat. Start familiarizing yourself with the Secretariat’s work.”
Han Youcheng’s heart blossomed with joy.
He had originally been a humble Hanlin Academy scholar, but now he was suddenly promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Secretariat, a fourth-rank official.
This advancement was rapid indeed.
With this, he could easily manage his mortgage in Yongan City.
Although inwardly thrilled beyond measure, Han Youcheng remained outwardly calm and replied respectfully, “Understood!”
***
The meeting finally ended.
Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu walked out of Weiyang Palace, with Grand Tutor Yin following beside them.
“What exactly is Father’s illness?” Qin Yu couldn’t help but ask Grand Tutor Yin.
“It’s a stroke. He probably has only about two years left,” Grand Tutor Yin answered truthfully.
‘Two years?’
Qin Yu silently asked herself—she would have to take over the Chengji Empire in two years.
Could she really do it?
***
At lunch, Qin Yu still kept replaying the scenes from the court meeting in her mind, mechanically pushing food into her mouth.
Luo Shangyu noticed Qin Yu’s distracted state and decided to say something.
“Are you worried about something?” Luo Shangyu started the conversation.
“Worried? Not exactly worried, just…” Qin Yu struggled to describe her feelings.
“I’m just afraid I won’t be able to govern the country properly and might ruin the entire empire,” Qin Yu said hesitantly.
Before reincarnation, she had been an ordinary high school student.
On top of that, she had spent fourteen years in the Illusion World just slacking off.
How could she possibly govern a nation?
“Besides, I kind of regret all the times I skipped classes and wasted time…”
Upon hearing this, Luo Shangyu smiled gently and said, “That’s not a big deal. The emperor said he doesn’t expect you to take over immediately. You still have a buffer period. You can learn and practice at the same time. You’ll probably grasp the fundamentals of governance soon enough.”
“Moreover, His Majesty arranged for Han Youcheng and Yin An to assist you. With them by your side, everything will be much easier.”
“Hm… that does sound right,” Qin Yu agreed.
“Since that’s the case, there’s no need for you to think you won’t manage the country well. If you feel guilty about skipping classes before, then you should focus on the present and study seriously from now on, rather than dwelling on the past.”
“That makes sense!” Qin Yu exclaimed.
‘Learn from past mistakes without regrets, and know that the future is within reach!’ Qin Yu made a firm decision—starting today, she would refuse to slack off anymore!
“Don’t worry, no matter how difficult the problems you face, I will always be by your side!” Luo Shangyu said sincerely.
Qin Yu met Luo Shangyu’s gaze, her own eyes growing resolute, her fighting spirit ignited anew.
“Alright! I will work hard!”
***
That afternoon, Qin Yu’s “Emperor Crash Course” officially began, taught by Yin An.
Today’s topic was the political structure of the Chengji Empire.
“Our court is divided into ‘Two Cabinets, Three Departments, and Six Ministries,'” Yin An explained.
“The two cabinets are the Imperial Secretariat and Lingyan Pavilion. The Imperial Secretariat functions as the emperor’s secretariat, responsible for advising him. The head of the Secretariat is called the Imperial Secretariat Chief, while the other members are collectively known as Grand Secretariat Scholars. This system was established by the late Emperor Qin Hao in Qianyuan Calendar 6846 and has been maintained ever since.”
As Qin Yu listened, she felt as if memories from a past life were striking her—this was no different from the Ming dynasty’s Secretariat system she knew of!
“Next is Lingyan Pavilion. Lingyan Pavilion oversees all practitioners of the Mage and Warrior professions. They keep detailed records of everyone in these professions to facilitate management. Lingyan Pavilion also has several operational groups and reserve operational groups, which stand ready to respond to the emperor’s orders. They sometimes undertake special missions. Their leaders are the Pavilion Chief and the Pavilion Colonel.”
Qin Yu found the role of Lingyan Pavilion easy to understand.
Such a vast country with countless mages and warriors needed a unified department to coordinate them.
“Then come the Three Departments. The Zhongshu and Menxia Departments have merged into the Zhongshu Menxia Department, led by the Shangshu Ling and Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi.”
“Shangshu Ling and Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi?” Qin Yu repeated.
“Are those two separate positions?”
“No. Shangshu Ling and Menxia Shilang are the heads of two departments, while the Pingzhangshi is an additional title meaning they participate in the affairs of both departments simultaneously.”
“Hm…” These official titles were confusing to Qin Yu.
“The Zhongshu Menxia Department is responsible for formulating and reviewing policies. The emperor and Secretariat members jointly propose policy outlines, then the department discusses and refines the details, offering opinions and correcting unreasonable parts.”
“Finally, there is the Shangshu Province. Shangshu Province is mainly responsible for implementing imperial decrees. After the Zhongshu Menxia Department finalizes policy details, they hand them over to Shangshu Province for execution. The head of Shangshu Province is the Secretariat Left Minister, who must be meticulous and capable of ensuring policies are carried out.”
“So Father chose Han Youcheng for this position?” Qin Yu asked.
“Yes. His Majesty considers Han Youcheng loyal and cautious, with clear logical thinking—an ideal candidate for Secretariat Left Minister,” Grand Tutor Yin said.
“Han Youcheng passed the Imperial Examination System in Qianyuan Calendar 12573 and entered the Hanlin Academy as a scholar. Although he’s only been working for three years, he is highly regarded. Quite fortunate.”
After a moment of reflection, Grand Tutor Yin continued: “Having introduced the Three Departments, let me explain the Six Ministries. They are the Ministries of War, Revenue, Rites, Personnel, Works, and Justice.”
“As their names suggest, the Ministry of War oversees the national military; the Ministry of Revenue manages the population registry; the Ministry of Rites handles ceremonies and rituals; the Ministry of Personnel supervises court and local officials; the Ministry of Works manages infrastructure; and the Ministry of Justice governs the law nationwide. Each ministry is headed by a Minister.”
Qin Yu understood.
These Six Ministries were very similar to those in her previous life’s history, and their functions could be understood just by their names—no difficulty there.
“Having explained the central government, let me now explain the local administration. Our country’s local governance is divided into three levels: States, Commanderies, and Cities.”
“Several cities make up a commandery, several commanderies make up a state. The head of a state is called a Provincial Governor, the head of a commandery is a Commandery Administrator, and the head of a city is a City Magistrate. Of course, there are exceptions.”
“For example, Yongan City is the capital, led by the Yongan Magistrate. Yongan City does not belong to any state or commandery. Yongan City and its surrounding areas are collectively called the Jingji, so there is no Commandery Administrator or Provincial Governor here. It is directly governed by the Yongan Magistrate.”
“Hmm…” Qin Yu carefully considered every word Grand Tutor Yin said, trying to commit it all to memory.
“Local troops are organized mainly by commanderies, with their commanders called Sima. The commanders of state troops are called Military Inspectors. Both the Military Inspectors and Sima primarily supervise training and drills and do not have full authority to deploy troops.”
“Only Imperial Inspectors appointed by the court have the authority to deploy soldiers. The military district under an Imperial Inspector is called a Dao. For example, Jizhou and Shangzhou near Yongan City together form the Jingnan Dao, and its military commander is the Jingnan Dao Imperial Inspector.”
“In times of sudden war, the court may dispatch Colonels to lead one or multiple Dao Imperial Inspectors on joint expeditions.”
“As for the central army, it is divided into Left and Right Imperial Guards, each consisting of 50,000 soldiers, totaling 100,000 troops. Each is commanded by the Left and Right Imperial Guard Colonels and garrisoned around the capital’s outskirts.”
“The force responsible for internal city security is called the City Gate Guards, consisting of 5,000 soldiers led by the Jinwu Guard Commander and stationed inside the inner city.”
This long list of official titles left Qin Yu dizzy, and she barely remembered a few names.
However, the title Jinwu Guard Commander impressed her most.
In her previous life, someone had once said, “If you become an official, be Jinwu Guard Commander; if you marry, marry Yin Lihua.”
This had left a deep impression on her.
“Of course, one person can hold multiple positions, serve in absentia, or concurrently…”
Grand Tutor Yin had just finished explaining the basic ranks when he began describing combinations of different official titles, which overwhelmed Qin Yu.
***
After an entire afternoon of being “alkalized” by knowledge, Qin Yu felt dizzy and had little appetite for the full dinner spread before her.
Compared to Qin Yu, Luo Shangyu was far more excited.
She had found a breakthrough point to ascend to the seventh tier, and now her strength was gradually evolving toward the eighth tier.
Outside the window, the autumn wind howled as the weather turned colder.
The cold air from the Frozen Plain swept through the Chengji Empire—another deep autumn.
Qin Yu sighed.
This was the first time since her transmigration that she had studied seriously, and her energy was nearly depleted.
“Tomorrow morning you’ll study magic, and in the afternoon, the art of rulership,” Luo Shangyu said.
“Huh? How do you know?” Qin Yu asked curiously.
“Grand Tutor Yin just gave me a note. He told me to supervise you and make sure you study seriously, so you don’t slack off!” Luo Shangyu waved the note in her hand.
“Nooo…” Qin Yu wailed.
“I just got tired from this morning, and now my brain’s going to be alkali-burned again in the afternoon. Please, have mercy!”
Luo Shangyu said, “If you’re tired, you can do some stress-relief exercises!”
“Stress-relief exercises?”
“Yes, like hugging. When I was tired, I used to hug my master,” Luo Shangyu reminisced.
No sooner had she spoken than Qin Yu pounced into Luo Shangyu’s arms, hugging her tightly, burying her head in Luo Shangyu’s softly rising, warm chest.
“This is way too sudden…” Luo Shangyu was left speechless.
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