Chapter201

Elara was wrong. The Divine Doctor Valley had always been known as a great source of healing and helping people. So Elara planned to find time later to bring Oswyn back to the Divine Doctor Valley. She wanted to try to bring the whole valley into her official system.

When that happened, the valley's development would be under her protection, growth, and promotion. She could also build a temple for them across the country, letting the Divine Doctor Valley become famous in a new way.

They, in turn, could solve all kinds of medical problems for her.

Thinking about it this way, she felt it was a perfect solution. Whether the Divine Doctor Valley would agree, she would have to ask them when the time came.

If that did not work, she planned to invite more doctors from the valley to come out and help lead the medical department, like Oswyn and his fellow senior brothers. In short, the medical department was definitely set!

Finally, there was the commerce department, ranked ninth.

The department may have been listed last, but it was the one Elara valued the most.

In her previous life, she had been a businesswoman and knew just how powerful money could be. Sometimes, controlling the source of wealth could even mean holding the lifeline of an entire country.

In this world, there were very few things that could be accomplished without money. Without enough financial resources, none of the other eight departments could be successfully established, and they would all end up as empty shells.

So Elara adjusted the positions of the merchants and directly created an official position for royal merchants. They would guide and manage the future commercial development of Plumera.

To prevent certain merchant families from losing control after becoming wealthy, she would personally oversee and regulate the country's economic growth, avoiding any major unrest.

These nine major departments represented Elara's initial grand restructuring of Plumera's government.

Another point worth emphasizing was that although taxes were considered part of financial income, they were no longer handled by the Commerce Department or the Ministry of Rites. Instead, they were directly collected by Elara's personal guards, who would travel to each county and city every year to collect taxes and send them straight to the national treasury.

All the previous chaotic tax systems had been completely abolished. The new taxation policy was the one she and Scholar Fu had trialed in Marigold County, where those whose annual income didn't meet the threshold would not be taxed, and those who exceeded the standard would be taxed accordingly—the richer they were, the more they paid.

Other shortcomings would be slowly corrected in the future, but the overall tax structure had already been established. From now on, taxes in Plumera would be as reasonable as possible, without excessive exploitation or harsh treatment of the people.

Apart from these major reforms, the system for promoting and demoting officials had also been entirely adjusted. Whether an official would be promoted or demoted would now be determined by new regulations.

That day, the government conference in Plumera lasted from morning until evening.

Because the content was too extensive, it broke many traditional "government practices" that the old officials had grown used to. It also introduced many "advanced" ideas Elara had brought back from the future, several of which severely harmed the interests of the long-standing aristocrats.

For example: "Strictly forbid any person or faction from raising private troops," "Strictly forbid buying and selling official positions," "Strictly forbid joining the court through family background or connections," and even "Abolish slavery," and "Redefine the status of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants," and more.

The old officials twitched their eyes as they listened, their faces filled with disbelief.

Many of them had gotten their positions in court by buying them or using connections, especially through Lord Gregory's arrangements.

Their parents, grandparents, and ancestors had all done the same.

They had already paved the way for their children and grandchildren to follow the same route. As soon as they came of age, they too would gain office through connections.

Now, all of it was banned.

The old officials looked at each other, their expressions bitter and hard to describe.

Standing at the front of the court, General Q, Francis, Scholar Fu, and Hector remained calm and unaffected.

They were all Elara's people and had long accepted her leadership, so they naturally followed her decisions without hesitation.

Although the old officials were deeply pained by these new regulations, they didn't dare make a sound when they looked at the many vacant seats in the court.

Those who had been bold enough to collude with Lord Gregory in the past had already been thoroughly dealt with by Elara.

The ones left were timid and had little power, so they dared not speak out.

After exchanging uneasy glances, the old officials finally turned their attention toward General Q, standing at the very front.

After the ban on private armies, the Q family suffered the most.

Those one hundred thousand Q family soldiers, though technically the national army, had always been privately maintained by the Q family.

Now, the army they had raised for so many years had to be handed over to the court. The old officials didn't believe that General Q would have no objections.

But under their watchful eyes, General Q was actually the first to kneel and respond to Elara.

"Your servant, obeys the decree."

"We all obey the decree."

With General Q taking the lead, everyone else knelt down one after another.

The old officials at the back looked surprised or gloomy, but they also lowered their heads and knelt with the crowd, hiding their expressions.

Elara looked at the scene below, leaned against the armrest of the throne, and nodded slightly.

General Q was a smart man. He knew exactly what was best for the Q family.

The Q family had funded the Q family soldiers for years, and not a single grain of the court's food had been used. It wasn't surprising they were seen as private troops.

But now that Elara was emperor and had taken back control of the military, she would never allow such things to happen again.

She had already found time to discuss it with General Q beforehand.

From now on, all military expenses of the Q family soldiers would be covered by the court. The Q family wouldn't need to spend a single coin, but General Q would still serve as their commander.

Whether it was training, leading, or going to war, he would continue to lead personally.

In short, aside from not needing to personally finance the army anymore, as long as he didn't rebel, nothing else would change.

As for rebellion, this man hadn't revolted even when the Q family was at its lowest. He had continued to lead the Q family soldiers to defend the country.

Now that Elara had promised to restore the Q family's status and might even raise them higher in the future, and since only he and his brother remained, there was zero chance of rebellion.

After their private conversation, General Q had agreed right away.

He was skilled in both civil and military affairs. Even if Elara hadn't spoken to him privately, he already understood that this was the best outcome for the Q family and their soldiers.

With the Q family on board, and since all others holding military power were brought back by Elara from Marigold County, this decree was naturally passed without issue.

From then on, within the borders of Plumera, no one could raise private troops without her special permission.

With the private army issue resolved, the rest of the problems were no longer difficult.

Most of the people Elara brought back from Marigold County had stood out through the examination she held, so they strongly supported abolishing the connection-based system and expanding the three-tier imperial exam.

Seeing all of this, the old officials in the back could only sigh and accept in silence.