"The new loom, it's done so quickly?" Wang Linlang asked in surprise.
She remembered they had just discussed the loom with the artisans some time ago and were surprised it was already made.
"The artisans said it was easy once they understood the principle." Furthermore, with sufficient rewards, there would be brave individuals, and with ample incentives, the artisans naturally put in their best effort.
"Then let's go over now. The new loom is a great asset for us." The development of the textile industry would enable many women to become the primary breadwinners for their families, and controlling the household economy naturally led to having a say in household matters.
"Yes, on the way, you can tell me in detail about the assembly line you mentioned earlier."
Establishing factories, setting up schools, raising commercial taxes, and opening sea trade – reforms from the top down and changes from the bottom up. All the secret guards and personal guards under the new emperor were dispatched to supervise officials, preventing them from feigning one course of action while pursuing another.
Did not many reformations in history fail because once policies were issued, they were not truly implemented at the lower levels, or they were arbitrarily misinterpreted for the benefit of a certain class, leading to widespread public discontent?
Those dispatched secret guards and personal guards served precisely this purpose.
However, Lin Yan's measures did not affect the interests of the scholars and officials. Instead, they even brought some aristocratic families along to prosper.
The increase in commercial taxes boosted the national treasury, and the opening of the national gates made the treasury of Da Qi even more prosperous. The aristocratic families who followed the emperor, or rather, who did business with Lin Yan and Wang Linlang, all made substantial profits.
The second preliminary examination for the imperial examination after women were allowed to take it saw nearly a thousand registrations. Since women could not find guarantors for the imperial examination, Lin Yan specifically asked the scholars from the Lin family who had passed to vouch for them.
Since Lin Yan's identity was revealed, the Lin family found it very difficult to accept. After all, the child they watched grow up had suddenly become a girl.
The patriarch of the Lin family even considered dismantling the archway commemorating his jinshi status. However, after waiting for a long time and not receiving any punishment for Lin Yan, and only hearing news that Lin Yan, despite constant impeachment, was still serving as an official in the capital, they took no action. Later, when Lin Yan and the Crown Prince remarried, many male members of the Lin family attended the grand wedding. Only then did they feel at ease.
It was this wedding that made them understand Lin Yan's position in the Crown Prince's heart. Lin Yan was undoubtedly the future empress, and their Lin family would become imperial relatives, a true empress clan.
Before they could get too ambitious, Lin Yan sent a letter back, instructing the patriarch to discipline the clan members and warning that anyone who violated the law would be punished more severely.
The entire Lin clan, under the discipline of the patriarch and the Crown Princess, diligently restrained their restless hearts.
This time, Lin Yan had anticipated that the women who wished to participate in the imperial examination would have no guarantors. So, she had all those with academic titles in the Lin family go out and provide guarantees for them.
Of course, before vouching for them, they had also understood the general circumstances of these individuals.
Out of the thousand women who participated in the preliminary examination, sixty percent passed. Those who failed did not feel too disheartened, as they had only studied for a short period compared to men who had toiled for years.
Those who passed became even more united. The women who came to participate in the preliminary examination came from families of no small standing. After all, in this era, it was difficult for men to study, and it was even harder for ordinary people to become literate, let alone women.
After participating in the preliminary examination, these women also realized their shortcomings. Thus, they gathered together to discuss academics and purchase more reference books.
Since they came to take the exam, they surely wanted to prove themselves, gain an official title, and forge a different path than before.
The development of the textile industry allowed women to become the main income earners for their families. The silk and cotton fabrics from the south, and wool textiles from the north, significantly increased the income of ordinary households.
With surplus money, they also began to acquire their own businesses and properties.
The aristocratic families saw that the returns from land were diminishing, and they could not compete with other industries, so they also began to invest in other sectors.
Of course, land annexation still occurred, but it was much milder than before. There was no way around it, so Lin Yan could only encourage the common people to open up more wasteland and have the national treasury fund the purchase of some land from the aristocratic families.
The purchased land was leased out by the government to the poorer individuals. The land rent was not high, but they had to plant crops specified by the government.
Initially, everyone did not understand this policy. Later, after seeing the benefits of doing so, they all understood the advantages of this decree.
In the tenth year of Mingde, the entire Da Qi entered an era of prosperity. The people were well-fed and clothed, the borders were peaceful, and all nations paid tribute.
Furthermore, due to the reward system for artisans, the country's technology was constantly progressing, and various useful items emerged incessantly.
Those who initially opposed women serving as officials now saw the women working under them and fell silent.
As for those who persistently refused to accept it, they had all left the center of power in the court for various reasons in recent years.
In the sixth year of Mingde, Lin Yan gave birth to a princess. Due to Lin Yan's previous use of medication, this pregnancy had been very difficult.
During childbirth, she endured immense torment. Zhao Hao, watching from outside the delivery room, saw basin after basin of blood being carried out, and he felt as though he was about to faint.
He could only clench his fists, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms, using the pain to keep himself somewhat awake.
"An'an, don't worry, everything will be fine. Yan'er knows medicine herself; she prepared the medicine for herself in advance, don't worry." The Empress, looking in the direction of the delivery room, was also very worried, but all she could do now was comfort her son.
"A physician cannot cure themselves. Mother, will Yan'er really be alright?" How much blood could a person's body hold? Each basin of blood was like a knife plunged into his heart.
Yan'er had explicitly said she didn't want children. He had agreed to her having this child. Although he had no children himself, his father had many brothers, and the Zhao family had many collateral branches. Couldn't they find someone from among them to adopt?
He truly hadn't expected childbirth to be such a painful ordeal. "Mother, can I go in to be with Yan'er?"
"An'an, Yan'er doesn't want you to go in. Didn't she say so from the beginning?"
"But I can't hear her voice or see her, and I'm really worried."
"Childbirth is like this. You just wait patiently. Yan'er's first child, so it's likely to take a long time. It'll be better with the second child."
Speaking of which, the Empress thought of her two sons who had died young, and her heart filled with sadness. She was so heartbroken that she wished she could dig out the corpse of the deposed emperor from the imperial mausoleum and whip it.
There would be no second child. He would never let his Yan'er endure such suffering a second time.
Their daughter was born after Lin Yan struggled for two days and one night. In the interim, it was only the spiritual spring water that sustained her. After giving birth, Lin Yan merely glanced at her newborn daughter before fainting.