The Empress of the Qing Dynasty is from the Northeast

Chapter 305: Living in the Yangxin Palace

Hutuli had not yet thought about how great an impact the female official system would have on the Qing court and even the entire country, but Hongyan had already thought about it.

If he were to be honest, he supported his mother.

My father once said that when the world employs people, the capable ones will be given the positions.

This capable person, regardless of age, experience, and of course gender, should be considered. No matter whether it is a man or a woman, as long as they have real talent and knowledge, a truly wise monarch will naturally give them a chance to display their talents.

What's more, with his mother and sister by his side, and having seen the first female princess of Mongolia, Mengguqing, Hongyan would never doubt that women did not have this ability.

I just don't know if this path is feasible.

Changning naturally thought about the problems that Hongyan was considering, but she felt that she could not not do it just because it was too difficult.

She consulted many classics and found that there was actually a female official system in ancient China, but most of them were in the harem. Starting from the Northern Wei Dynasty, concubines were separated from the female official system, who were responsible for managing the harem.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, the Six Shangs, Six Sis and Six Dians were designed.

Later dynasties added twenty-four departments, including the Palace Administration, etc.

However, this is slightly different from the female official system that Changning wanted.

She not only wanted the ladies-in-waiting from the harem, but also the ladies-in-waiting from the previous dynasty.

Let women also read and write, take exams, and participate in politics.

Truly improve the dignity of women in terms of social status.

Of course, the resistance is definitely very great at the moment.

So Changning thought of taking a step-by-step approach, first restoring the female officials in the Forbidden City, and then slowly and subtly changing people's minds.

Moreover, she is the mother of the country and the empress of the Qing Dynasty. It is only natural for her to handle this matter.

After the female official system became popular, the government then promoted women's reading and martial arts, opened girls' schools, allowed women to do business, and finally allowed women to take imperial examinations.

This may take many years.

However, Changning felt that he could wait.

For this purpose, she even went to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

Yinzhen had issued an edict before that as long as it was the Empress, there was no need to notify her at any time and she could just come in directly.

However, Chang Ning still asked Su Peisheng: "Is the emperor meeting with the ministers now?"

When Su Peisheng saw Changning, he stood in awe with his head bowed from a distance, and hurried forward and said with a smile: "No, no, the emperor was just talking about you! He said that you haven't come to the Yangxin Palace for four or five days. I don't know if something has happened to you, and he asked the servants to look for you!"

Changning also curled the corners of his lips and felt a little more relaxed.

As soon as he entered the palace, Yinzhen was sitting alone on the dragon throne, seemingly reading a memorial. When he saw Changning coming in, he said in surprise, "You are finally here. You have been lazy for four or five days. I punish you to grind the ink. If you are a few days late, the ink in the Yangxin Palace will be dry."

Changning couldn't help laughing, and Su Peisheng also chuckled. Seeing that the two masters were sticking together again, they tactfully withdrew.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs sent me two more rolls of Yuehua brocade. This is all we got in the past four months. I thought of making you a hundred-worker skirt. What do you think?"

Changning of course believed in Yinzhen's aesthetic taste and nodded.

Seeing that she was satisfied, Yinzhen smiled again: "The glass doors and windows you mentioned last time are now ready, but the time for installation has not been set yet. How about you stay with me in the Yangxin Palace for the next two days?"

"Live in the Yangxin Palace?" Chang Ning was slightly surprised for a moment, but then she thought, since she is the queen, it is only natural for her to live with the emperor. What else can she say? So she agreed readily, "Okay, I'll ask Chuixue and Zhuiyu to go back and pack some things."

Yinzhen held her hand and said tenderly, "What are you packing? Just keep the new backups you want here."

Chang Ning glanced at him and said with a smile: "That won't work. I've been busy writing memorials these past two days."

"Write a memorial?" Yinzhen was confused. "What's wrong? What big thing happened in the harem?"

Changning took the opportunity to express his thoughts.

"I want to focus on establishing a female official system in the palace. The palace is becoming more and more redundant, and there are still some eunuchs and palace maids who have not been released. This is a good opportunity to clear out a group of them and select some talented and capable ones."

Yinzhen's first reaction was: "What did the Ministry of Internal Affairs do?"

After all, this matter is of no trivial importance. It is equivalent to recasting the structure of many official positions in the inner court, especially the Imperial Household Department, which is full of money and involves many forces of the Eight Banners.

"Not really. It's just that many maids and palace maids clearly have the ability to do these things, but they don't have the corresponding ranks, which makes people feel uneasy."

Yinzhen also understood that Changning was not trying to take action against the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but wanted to get a rank for the maids and palace servants to improve their status.

After thinking for a while, Yinzhen felt that it was not a bad idea.

The system of female officials has existed since ancient times, but it was abolished in the Qing Dynasty in order to strengthen control over the harem, and was replaced by the Imperial Household Department.

Over the years, the Imperial Household Department has become a mixed bag with various forces entrenched in it. Although the Chief of the Imperial Household Department is a minister newly promoted by himself, he has mentioned the dirty things inside to him more than once, which is really annoying.

If we can take this opportunity to conduct a comprehensive personnel review, clear out those who do not know who their masters are and who embezzle money, and then select some talented people, and have the female officials and the Ministry of Internal Affairs check and balance each other, the balance should be better.

So he agreed without hesitation, and praised Changning for her kindness and her sense of responsibility for national affairs, saying that she was truly a virtuous queen.

Although Changning knew that Yinzhen would not oppose her, she did not expect it to be so satisfying. She was also praised by him. She was a little proud, so she continued: "In addition to the female officials in the Forbidden City, I also want to issue a decree to allow women to study and open girls' schools. I can also set up maternity and child care institutions to accept homeless women and children and teach them how to make a living, such as weaving or cooking."

Yinzhen raised his eyebrows: "Anything else?"

"This is only temporary. I hope that in the future women can also read and write, ride horses and shoot arrows, take the imperial examinations, and participate in politics."

After saying this, Changning almost said directly that he wanted women to have the same status as men.

Yinzhen pondered for a moment and said, "I know what you mean, but this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. At present, the Fourteenth Prince is still fighting against the Japanese pirates, and in the northwest, Nian Gengyao has been at a stalemate with the Junggar. The Qing Dynasty is still developing its national strength, thinking about increasing tax revenue, filling the treasury, and supporting military supplies.

The current conditions in the Qing Dynasty are not suitable for expanding the scope of women's participation in politics. However, I promise you that when the times are prosperous and peaceful, it will be done! "

Changning nodded. She believed that Yinzhen would not make empty promises, and she could understand that. After all, this matter was of great importance, and the most urgent task was to fight.