"Brother, what kind of place is Lin Yuan Bookstore?" Ye Jing'an asked, feigning curiosity.
His mother had told him that Lin Yuan Bookstore was the "root of all evil".
If this bookstore is allowed to continue operating, everyone in the world, regardless of status, will be able to read and write. Then, the advantages of noble families and royalty will vanish, and the Great Abyss will be thrown into complete chaos due to the ambitions of those who are educated, resulting in widespread suffering and death.
He didn't understand why his elder brother would open such a bookstore. Even his mother could understand this, so how could his elder brother, who was so intelligent, not understand it?
"Linyuan Bookstore, to put it simply, is just a bookstore; to put it more broadly, it is a place that can educate all people, and can help those with a heart to break free from their cocoons and transform into butterflies, cultivating more talents for Dayuan!" Ye Jingchen said as he walked.
At this moment, Ye Jing'an sincerely admired his mother; she was absolutely right! His elder brother really did think that way!
How could my royal brother be so naive?
“But if everyone becomes literate, and everyone wants to study, hoping to rise to the top through the imperial examinations, then who will farm the land? If no one farms the land, what will happen to the food? With so many people in Dayuan, what will they eat?” Ye Jing’an asked somewhat excitedly.
Ye Jingchen chuckled at his question, then patted Ye Jinghe's head, saying, "You little head of yours has quite a lot on your mind."
"But this problem—" He first looked at the youngest, Ye Jingning, "Little Jingning, what do you think we should do if the people stop farming and there's no food?"
After being called out, Ye Jingning stared blankly at Ye Jingchen for a long while before hesitantly asking, "Are you all going to die?"
"Pfft—Little Wood, so after thinking for so long, all you came up with were these four words?" Ye Jinghe mocked.
His fifth brother was mocking him.
Realizing this, Ye Jingning looked at Ye Jinghe with a wronged expression.
"Jinghe, how could you laugh at your younger brother? Apologize to him." Ye Jingchen also looked at Ye Jinghe.
Ye Jinghe's smile froze. "I'm sorry, little blockhead."
"I... am not... a blockhead!" Ye Jingning puffed up her cheeks in anger at this title.
This time, Ye Jingchen didn't hesitate to reach out his devilish hand and gently pinch Ye Jingning's cheek, while also scolding Ye Jinghe, "As the older brother, how can you just give your younger brother a nickname? You're not allowed to call him that again!"
The way Ye Jinghe looked at Ye Jingchen was as if he were looking at a heartless man.
"I'm sorry, little brother! Is this alright now?"
It's just that at eight years old, his face wasn't as youthful as Ye Jingning's at five, so he wasn't attractive to his older brother!
"That's more like it!" After pinching Ye Jingning's face, Ye Jingchen also pinched Ye Jinghe's face. Look at his little eyes, they're so resentful!
Ye Jinghe's face lit up instantly. Just as Ye Jingchen was about to pull his hand back, Ye Jinghe grabbed it and rubbed his cheek against it.
"You're such a grown-up, yet you still like to act like a spoiled child!" Ye Jingchen said indulgently.
Ye Jingning pursed his lips, thinking to himself that his fifth brother was really strange. He was just pinched on the cheek by his brother, so why was he so happy?
They're even more childish than him!
It's unbearable to look at!
It's unbearable to look at!
"Ahem—elder brother, is it really as Seventh Brother said, that everyone in the world will stop living?" Ye Jing'an coughed deliberately, feeling a little tired, to interrupt the childish behavior of his elder brother, the Crown Prince and Fifth Brother.
They were clearly discussing a very serious issue, couldn't they have been more respectful?
"Jinghe, tell me your opinion. Is there any necessary connection between farming and reading and writing?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
"No!" Ye Jinghe said happily.
“But if everyone goes to school, won’t they have no time to farm properly?” Ye Jing’an asked, unconvinced.
"Seventh brother may not seem very smart, but sixth brother, you're truly stupid!" Ye Jinghe glanced at Ye Jing'an with disdain. "If you had to choose, between studying and surviving, what would you choose?"
"Of course, it's about living," Ye Jing'an said without hesitation.
Reading is important, but what's the use of reading a lot of books if you're dead?
"Then why do you think others would be stupid enough to choose to study?" Ye Jinghe retorted.
Ye Jing'an was speechless.
He felt something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
He thought and thought silently, and finally, he realized something was wrong.
He was unknowingly led by the nose by his fifth brother!
"Is there any necessary connection between surviving and studying?" he asked excitedly.
They were just talking about the relationship between studying and farming, how did it get to the topic of survival and studying!
"Of course there's a connection. Ordinary people toil in the fields all year, only to have less than a tenth of their harvest. If they didn't work so hard, they simply couldn't survive. So what's the necessary connection between survival and education?" Ye Jinghe asked him.
“If that’s the case, what difference does it make whether they can read or not? Even if they could read, they wouldn’t have time to study!” Ye Jing’an retorted instinctively. “Isn’t it redundant for Your Majesty to open this Lin Yuan Bookstore?”
"You're focusing on the wrong thing," Ye Jinghe reminded him in a cold tone.
"Where did I go wrong?" Ye Jing'an asked, puzzled.
"I said that the people work hard all year and only keep one-tenth of their harvest. Aren't you curious about where the remaining nine-tenths go? Or do you think they only deserve one-tenth?" Ye Jinghe asked him.
"Of course not!" Ye Jing'an quickly replied.
“Dayuan’s tax system is clearly not that strict. There is only a 10% poll tax and a 1% land tax, not even 20%. How could the people’s income be less than one-tenth?” he retorted.
Ye Jinghe scoffed and said sarcastically, "You know quite a lot at such a young age."
"So you were lying to me just now!" Ye Jing'an glared angrily at Ye Jinghe.
Ye Jinghe shrugged. "I'm not lying to you. Of course, people who own their own farmland won't pay 90% of the taxes, but ordinary people in Dayuan don't even own their own land."
"Then where did their fields go?" Ye Jing'an pressed.
"There's an ancient poem from the pre-Qin period that can answer your question. You've always been a studious person, I wonder if you've seen it in a book?" Ye Jingchen replied.
"What ancient poem?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"The poem is called 'The Big Rat.' Big rat, big rat, don't eat my millet! I've served you for three years, yet you never care for me. I'm leaving you to go to that happy land. Happy land, happy land, where I can find my place? I don't think I need to recite the rest to you, do I?" Ye Jingchen asked, looking at him.
Ye Jing'an had indeed seen this ancient poem in a book, but he had only read it.
He roughly understood the meaning of the ancient poem, but subconsciously dared not delve into what the "big rat" in the poem actually referred to.
“You can read this poem to your mother and then ask her who the ‘big rat’ is,” Ye Jingchen said with a smile.
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