The officials could not help but frown.
"The people of Yizhou have suffered greatly from the ravages of the Helian family and the Spring Revival Sect. It is rare for them to have a period of rest and recovery. Forcing them to enlist now may affect the restoration of production..." Liu Qingping looked troubled.
"What you say is true, but the people's enthusiasm is too high. Governor Li's mansion is almost trampled by visitors. He is truly overwhelmed, saying it's a happy burden." Zhuo Wulü slightly smiled helplessly and explained, "Especially the old soldiers who were temporarily eliminated by the court before, they are eager to re-enlist, achieve merits, and repay the nation's kindness."
Minister of War Mu Hong agreed, "Your subject believes that facing persecution from the Helian family and the Spring Revival Sect, countless people in Xichuan still rose up to resist and refused to be corrupted. This shows the people's remarkable spirit. The nation cannot fail their patriotic hearts..."
Xiao Qing pondered for a moment and nodded, "Allow Yizhou to expand its army, increasing the troop strength in the Xichuan region to one hundred and fifty thousand, forming the 'Xichuan Army', for convenient defense against the Southern Barbarians and reinforcement of the western borders in the future. However, issue a general decree to all parts of Yizhou: only sons without heirs may not enlist. If there are two or more sons in a family, at least one must remain to manage the household, to avoid impacting production."
The martial spirit had not waned, and people across the land still took pride in their sons enlisting in the army.
Even though they understood that at least half of the nation's soldiers, during peacetime, tilled the land like farmers.
Being a soldier was harder than farming, but the income was slightly higher. If one was selected for elite service, the income could be even higher, with opportunities to achieve merits. This was also why people were willing to enlist.
Zhuo Wulü continued, "According to the concept of the Marquis of Anguo, our country also needs to prepare sufficient 'reserves' for mobilization during wartime, as a safeguard. These reserves will include some new recruits who meet the previous enlistment standards and retired veterans, with an estimated number of eight hundred thousand!"
Xiao Qing showed a gratified smile.
The reserves were also an indispensable force for the Great Qian Dynasty.
According to the enlistment standards before Liang Xiao reformed the military system, most young men who applied to join the army could be accepted, and the Great Qian army could reach two million.
However, the strict selection criteria, formed by a system similar to elimination, meant that most young people eager to enlist could only be temporarily registered and return home to farm, awaiting imperial conscription.
Considering the high enthusiasm of the Yizhou people for enlistment, and the possibility that other regions might be similar, the current border threats to the Great Qian Dynasty were not to be ignored. Xiao Qing finally decided to expand the national troop strength to one million two hundred and fifty thousand. After all the gold was transported back, the military strength would be adjusted to around one million.
Under Liang Xiao's guidance, the Great Qian army would also provide psychological counseling to temporarily retired soldiers. Of course, this was also on the premise that the state promised them to continue receiving ten to thirty percent of their monthly salary during their temporary retirement.
These soldiers thus firmly believed that they were not being eliminated, but rather that the country was at peace and did not currently need so many soldiers. If war broke out, they would be recalled without fail.
"This year's investment in schools nationwide has already exceeded ten million taels of silver, but the number of Tong Sheng candidates in the national imperial examinations is more than three times that of previous years, with significant results!" This time, He Jingyun was excited.
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once schools are established in various places, the remaining expenses will be for teachers' salaries and so forth, and the costs will naturally decrease. I hope that next year's investment in education will only increase, not decrease," Xiao Qing said with joy.
The Great Qian now was gradually approaching the vision of everyone having access to education and everyone having enough to eat.
But she knew clearly that Liang Xiao's vision was not limited to this.
The vision of everyone having access to education in his heart meant that everyone could receive free education, and at the very least, be literate with three thousand characters!
The current Great Qian Dynasty did not yet have such favorable conditions.
If all the gold could be transported back this year, even an additional ten million taels invested in education annually would not be a problem!
"As for the matter of my identity as empress..." Xiao Qing looked at the assembled officials.
Wang Canghai said, "Your Majesty, this old subject believes that there is no need to disclose it at present."
The officials all echoed his sentiment.
Xiao Qing was stunned, "Why do you say so?"
Wang Canghai explained, "Currently, the Emperor of Great Liang intends to show goodwill to Great Qian, but his health is deteriorating day by day... Although our nation's military and civilians will surely accept Your Majesty's female gender, the military and civilians of Great Liang may not. I believe we can observe for a few years. If the Emperor of Great Liang unfortunately passes away, and the new emperor is tyrannical, or even breaks the treaty, our nation can then unify Great Liang. It will not be too late to announce it to the world then."
Zhuo Zifang also said, "Prime Minister's words are indeed wise. At least the two princes are young and ignorant for now. This matter can at least be postponed until they can discern right from wrong. After all, Your Majesty's prestige now is comparable to ancient sages. As long as the nation is stable, any possibility of unforeseen complications should be avoided."
Gu Hong and others expressed their support. Xiao Qing thought it made sense and had to temporarily put the matter aside.
For her, this matter was not important. The most important thing was that the people of Great Qian would not lose their empress and the Marquis of Anguo!
The reason she wanted to announce it to the world was to keep her promise and quickly restore Zhen Mi's identity, so she would no longer be Concubine Mi, and thus Zhen Mi could get her wish and marry the Xiao Gege she longed for.
If the people of Great Liang did not recognize her as an empress, the difficulty of unifying Great Liang would be even greater.
Especially the aristocratic families and wealthy gentry of Great Liang, who were already afraid of the unification of the two countries. If they discovered she was an empress, their resistance would surely be unprecedented.
Mu Cheng's health was worrying, and the peace between the two countries might not last for five years. In that case, it would be better to solidify the unification first!
"The remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom, Deputy Marshal Zuo Wuji, has surrendered with his elite troops. I intend to confer him the title of Marquis Guiyi and reward him with one hundred taels of gold, placing him under the command of Lord Liang. What do you all think?" Xiao Qing asked again.
The officials had already learned about Zuo Wuji's situation beforehand and naturally agreed wholeheartedly.
Zuo Wuji was not short of money; what he needed was legitimacy.
Temporarily assigning him under Liang Xiao's command and appointing him as a sixth-rank new official, "General of Great Qian," would satisfy his need for power and give him opportunities to achieve merit, making him hopeful of regaining the glory of the Marquis of Zhenbei of Great Liang.
After the important matters were discussed, some trivial matters, such as the people of various regions sending thousands of people's umbrellas to Liang Xiao again, were humbly bypassed by Liang Xiao.
After the officials left, only Liang Xiao, Xiao Qing, and Ning Xuejun remained in the imperial study.
Xiao Qing then nestled in Liang Xiao's arms and pretended to be displeased, "Gege Xiao is usually shameless, but when it comes to truly deserving rewards, he is always so humble."
"I just don't want the people to excessively venerate individuals other than the monarch, lest future generations imitate it," Liang Xiao sighed.
Xiao Qing said softly, "But Gege Xiao is a sage whom everyone can trust, and he is key to creating a prosperous era. It is far more beneficial than harmful for the military and civilians to revere Gege Xiao. At least the country has an illuminating lamp, and in the future, for many decrees, people will be more likely to accept them if they know they are supported by Gege Xiao."
Liang Xiao was stunned and felt ashamed, nodding repeatedly.
He had considered that he should follow the trend of history and adapt to the imperial system before productivity underwent a qualitative change, but sometimes he could not help but view this era with the eyes of a modern person.
In fact, the military and civilians of Great Qian truly needed a guiding light to show them the way for a long time, so they could live better lives.
At least he was now clear-headed and would not do anything foolish that would harm future generations. Accepting this personal worship was indeed beneficial.