manynovel Chapter 495: Come on, fight, they love to watch!
Chapter 495: Come on, fight, they love to watch!
"If the king can exercise benevolent government over the people, reduce punishments, lower taxes, deepen ploughing and ease weeding, and allow the strong to have leisure time..."
This chapter started with Mencius' words. Guo Cong'ai paused and planned to continue listening.
"Practicing the kingly way, holding to the mean, and seeking balance, benevolent government lies in selecting the virtuous and capable, listening to advice, advocating justice and seeking harmony, and giving generously to the people so as to help the masses..."
This is the introduction, and the following should be the argument.
Guo Cong'ai's gaze fell on the young man standing among the group of students. He had asked about Jiang Youzhen before.
I heard that this boy is a natural beauty with an excellent demeanor. Now among all the students, this boy is the most outstanding, standing out from the crowd. It must be him.
Everyone was listening attentively. When they heard "develop water conservancy projects, enrich farmers and benefit the people", they couldn't help but think about it, and some students hesitated to speak.
Guo Cong'ai nodded repeatedly after listening to this. The article quoted from classics and used flowery words, but it was not empty talk. On the contrary, it was quite practical.
However, when he heard the words "develop water conservancy projects, enrich farmers and benefit the people", he frowned.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. Guo Cong'ai turned around and was shocked.
Opposite him was a man in his forties, but with silver hair on his temples, he looked a little old. However, his face was fair, but there was a vertical line between his eyebrows, indicating that he often worried about trivial matters and worked hard.
Guo Cong'ai was about to salute, but was stopped by the other party. The man pointed to the study, then stood there and gestured for silence.
Guo Cong'ai immediately stood behind this person in fear and trepidation, his face full of disbelief.
However, when assistant teacher Chen Enhui read about opening up border trade and sea markets and not closing the country to the outside world, Guo Cong'ai suddenly broke into a sweat.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, then carefully raised his head to look at the expression of the man in front of him on the left. Sure enough, he saw that the man was frowning, which made him even more frightened.
After reading this, even Assistant Professor Chen was a little frightened and his throat began to tighten.
This guy dares to write anything! I looked at the content below and found that it was only mentioned in one or two sentences, so I started to read on with confidence.
At this time, people below had already started whispering, and everyone was shocked by this article.
Is the article good? Of course it is! But this guy is too bold. If it gets out, it will be a disaster.
"Jiang Youzhen is so bold in his quest to become famous."
"Tsk tsk! See! If the court doesn't care, then it's fine. But if they do, hmm..."
After reading the article with trepidation, Assistant Teacher Chen felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
"What do you think of Mr. Jiang's article? Tell us something!" Assistant Chen looked at everyone. However, at this moment, everyone was like a gourd with its mouth sawed off. They looked at each other in bewilderment, and the study room fell silent for a moment.
"What? Don't you have any ideas?" Assistant Chen raised his eyebrows. If these scholars didn't even have this much courage, he would be a little disappointed.
Jiang Youzhen dared to write, but these people don’t even dare to express their opinions?
"Teacher!" The young student who had first spoken rudely to Jiang Youzhen stood up and saluted.
"Well! Luo Qin, what do you think?"
"Teacher, I think that Junior Brother Jiang's article is well written. The whole article is written in gorgeous language and cites classics. At first glance, it is a good article."
Everyone nodded in unison. It had to be said that his literary talent was unquestionable to be able to become the top scholar.
"But the students think that this article is flashy and empty, just empty talk." These words were very serious, and everyone was immediately moved when they heard them.
Good boy! Come on, fight! They love to watch!
"Oh? Luo Qin, why do you think so? Tell me!" Even Assistant Chen became excited, his eyes full of anticipation.
So, in the eyes of everyone's expectation and excitement, Luo Qin began his boasting.
Jiang Youzhen kept smiling throughout the whole process, was not angry, and acted as if he was listening attentively.
"Students think that building water conservancy projects, enriching farmers and benefiting the people is just empty talk. Our dynasty has already started to build canals, but in order to build a canal from Jiangnan to the capital, countless manpower and material resources have been consumed. Although there is a solution, it is not enough to support the imitation of other places in our dynasty. Isn't this just empty talk?"
The man standing outside the window and hiding his body nodded at the same time. It was indeed true!
"And I heard that this new policy of the court was proposed by Junior Brother Jiang. I believe Junior Brother Jiang should know the disadvantages of this method."
Luo Qin's words shocked everyone present. Someone asked suspiciously, "What does that mean? Was it Jiang Youzhen's idea to open this canal?"
"Don't you know? You don't care about the government affairs, do you? My father has mentioned Jiang Youzhen's name a long time ago. It was Jiang Youzhen who proposed the opening of the canal and the tea permit system. He has hooked up with an important figure and has already made suggestions to the court.
I heard that during the morning court session, the current emperor praised him highly. This matter is no longer a secret. Most officials in the court now know Jiang Youzhen's name. Otherwise, why do you think the teacher would recognize Jiang Youzhen?"
This student was the son of an official, so he knew all about this.
Unlike the past, news spreads very slowly here. Some people in remote areas or those who are oblivious to the outside world do not know much about government affairs and cannot keep up with current affairs.
"Is he so powerful?" Everyone was talking about it, finding it incredible.
After Luo Qin finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Youzhen, but Jiang Youzhen still looked calm and even nodded.
"Brother Luo is right!"
Everyone was confused. Why did Jiang Youzhen agree with Luo Qin's words?
After Luo Qin was stunned for a moment, a smile appeared on his face.
"Junior Brother Jiang is still young, so it's understandable that he doesn't think things through. As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. The ancients are truly inferior to me!"
Seeing Luo Qin shaking his head with a very proud look, Jiang Youzhen couldn't help but smile.
"Shouldn't what you said be something that the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court should solve? I just put forward an argument, do I have to propose a solution? Moreover, water conservancy construction does not only refer to the opening of a canal."
Jiang Youzhen said, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Digging canals, pulling water wheels, storing water for irrigation, this is related to water conservancy, and it solves the problem of farmland irrigation. If you want to enrich farmers and benefit the people, the first task is to ensure that the people have enough food and drink, and increasing the yield of the fields is the top priority."
Many of these scholars do not work in the fields, and many of them are from aristocratic families, so naturally they do not understand these things.
Guo Cong'ai and the man who were standing outside the window couldn't help but nodded, especially the man, who had a glimmer of admiration in his eyes.
"Brother Luo, if you want to do something that benefits the country and the people, traveling thousands of miles may not work. You also need to understand the people's sentiments."
Jiang Youzhen looked at Luo Qin with a half-smile, which made Luo Qin's cheeks slightly red.