Fang Yun sat in the study of the Left Prime Minister's Office, dismissed everyone, and had Dong Yueqian guard the door, forbidding anyone from entering.
Holding his official seal, Fang Yun waited patiently.
Three days earlier, Fang Yun had obtained information on the Jing Kingdom's land resources from officials in the Water and Land Ministry. Though incomplete and still lacking in places, it already revealed the kingdom's severe problem with land consolidation.
In fact, not long after Ten Rainbows Across the Sky appeared, Fang Yun had examined the Ministry of Revenue's records. He had discovered not only the problem of land consolidation, but also that the Jing Kingdom's finances had been in trouble since the last war against the Barbarian Race.
Were it not for the external threat of the Demon Barbarians, the Sacred Academy within, and the relatively abundant resources of the Saint Origin Continent that kept the common people from starving, the tax increases after that war might have brought the Jing Kingdom widespread famine or even rebellion.
After organizing the information and records, Fang Yun had convened a secret meeting of the Grand Secretariat Councillors. With conclusive evidence and rigorous reasoning, he demonstrated that the Jing Kingdom's finances and land situation had already reached a precarious state. If any major upheaval occurred within five years, the kingdom would inevitably run into trouble.
The empress dowager had also attended that meeting.
Thus, Fang Yun had demanded reforms to the Ministry of Revenue, beginning with finances and land.
All the senior officials present understood the gravity of the situation and gave Fang Yun their full support. Even the empress dowager raised no objection.
Only after that meeting did Cao Dean declare that reform would begin with the Ministry of Revenue, paving the way for the smooth establishment of the