Chapter 032: Discussion under the Moon
Han Ruqing laughed heartily, and sat down uninvited, looking quite eccentric. "Don't be surprised. I was implicated in the timber case and thrown into prison. Because of my sensitive identity, I was singled out as a pawn to attack my distant uncle, who was the prime minister. My grandfather was always worried, hating that I had implicated the entire branch of the family. He wanted to kill me to please my uncle. My father had a lot of illegitimate sons and daughters, and losing me was not a big deal, so he removed my name from the family tree. Now I am a true free and easy person—"
Xu Yinxi was stunned for a moment before asking, "What about your mother?"
"My mother died a long time ago. She died of complications during childbirth." The young man casually mentioned his mother's death. There was no emotion in his eyes, only a smile. "So, I, a descendant of the Han family, am just an empty shell."
There was a moment of silence.
Han Ruqing waved her hand nonchalantly, "Don't talk about these unhappy things. Miss, please continue. You just said that society as a whole doesn't allow women to serve as officials. I didn't understand what you said before. May I ask what society is?"
“Heaven, Earth, the people born from Heaven and Earth, and the various relationships formed by people.”
“What is productivity?!”
"The results of labor produced within a unit of material. For example, one mu of land produces 800 kilograms of grain, one person washes ten pieces of clothing a day, and a waterwheel irrigates an area in one go."
Han Ruqing's eyes grew brighter, and his speech became faster and faster. "Then may I ask what resource monopoly is?"
"An item, restricted by social rules, can only be given to a certain person or group. If others want it, they must obtain it from this person. The price, production volume, and how it is bought and sold are all decided by this person. For example, common things like salt, minerals, iron, and even educational resources—"
Han Ruqing was very confused and immediately shouted: "That's not right. How can we talk about monopoly of educational resources——"
"It's naturally a monopoly in the hands of the scholar class. If you want to acquire knowledge, you must find a way. I define anything that requires effort and money, isn't readily available everywhere, and can only be found among a specific group of people as a monopoly. Think carefully, do educational resources meet the necessary conditions for a monopoly?"
Han Ruqing countered, "But if one wants to acquire knowledge, one must go to the scholars... the group..." Han Ruqing seemed unaccustomed to Xu Zhenying's choice of words. "That's simply because knowledge originally belongs to the scholars. If not from the scholars, who else can one go to? According to your logic, then scholars must impart their knowledge to others without compensation, in order to avoid monopoly."
"I'm just saying that knowledge is in the hands of a few people. If others want to obtain it, they have to go to a specific group of people. Monopoly is inherently profitable, and it doesn't mean people should be afraid of it. For example, if I want salt, I have to go to a salt merchant, and the price is also determined by the salt merchant. If I want to study, I have to go to the scholar group, and the conditions are also set by them. Salt and educational resources have both formed a monopoly."
"This..." Han Ruqing felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He could only scratch his head and face in discomfort. He subconsciously felt that the connection between the sage book and the word "profit" was indescribably strange.
Xu Zhenying ignored his hesitation and asked Xu Yinxi, "Where were we talking about just now?"
Xu Yinxi coughed softly, and thinking of the bold words she had just spoken, she felt extremely ashamed.
Oh my god, a woman like her was actually tempted to say such outrageous words as wanting to be more powerful than her own father. If anyone else heard this, they would probably scold her for being disrespectful to her elders and lacking moral integrity.
"Just now we were talking about... ahem... women serving as officials."
"Oh, yes. As I said, if a society has advanced productivity, cheap and accessible educational resources, and a good and open social atmosphere, then it won't be difficult for women to become officials."
Han Ruqing jumped up excitedly, his voice rising. "It's easy for you to say, but the yield per mu is 1,000 catties, the people are well-fed and well-clothed, pens, inkstones, and inkstones are sold at low prices, and the country allows women to take the imperial examinations. I've searched all the history books and haven't seen even a glimpse of such a prosperous era. You're... just dreaming! The ravings of a madman! It's impossible! Just tell me, how can you achieve a yield of 1,000 catties per mu?"
"Popularize education, cultivate agricultural production personnel, allocate experimental land with state funding, cultivate improved varieties, improve agricultural tools, and accurately calculate the perpetual calendar—"
Xu Zhenying studied chemical engineering and didn't know much about agriculture, but he knew that Grandpa Yuan Longping's hybrid rice could produce about 1,000 kilograms per acre.
"Agricultural production talent? You want to make those scholars go farming?" Han Ruqing's face changed, and then the light in his eyes dimmed instantly. He seemed to wake up from his previous frenzy, and then he even laughed in disbelief. "You want those scholars who have studied hard for decades to abandon their bright future and run to the fields with their backs to the loess and their faces to the earth to farm? Paradox! Do you know that children from poor families have spent their entire lives and their entire families' efforts just to escape the fate of farming, and now you have brought an entire family back to where they were with just one sentence? How despicable is your heart!"
"Outrageous! You're spreading lies to confuse the public!" Han Ruqing seemed to have been greatly deceived. He stood up and walked away in a huff. "I thought she was really talented in managing the world, but who knew I'd just run into a crazy woman spouting nonsense! Talk about producing a thousand catties per mu, having enough food and clothing, and women taking the imperial examination. How ridiculous—"
Xu Qingying certainly didn't want to explain to Han Ruqing the diversity of talent. In the Confucian-dominated Zhou Dynasty, scholars always had only one goal: to become officials. Because only the gentry could be considered human beings, scholars had almost no other choice besides becoming officials.
Han Ruqing suddenly thought of something, and his face suddenly changed drastically, as if he had seen a ghost. He was sweating profusely, and he felt his breathing become shorter. He looked at Xu Zhenying with a heavy breath, "You are trying to destroy my Confucian heritage! You have a sinister heart, and you deserve to be killed!"
Xu Yinxi, who was listening in, paled at the words. She knew the magnitude of this crime and shouted, "Master Han, stop your nonsense! Don't bully my sister and me just because we're young! Besides, when has the Zhou Dynasty ever been guilty of speech? Even if there was, it's not your place to speak out!"
Han Ruqing calmed down for a moment, realizing he had lost his composure. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and politely bowed, "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. I didn't mean to embarrass you two ladies. I was just in the heat of the moment and said something without thinking. Please forgive me, ladies."
Xu Zhenying glanced at him, seemingly completely unfazed by his gaffe. Instead, he smiled faintly, "What crime have you committed? It was merely a discussion under the moonlight. Speech is not a crime in the Zhou Dynasty. What we've said today is nothing more than a hope for a better future. Just like the discussion of the "Datong" chapter in the Book of Rites about the common good, Confucius's philosophy was also beyond the reach of his time, yet no one has ever accused him of misleading the public, right?"
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