If Ye Jingchen wants to deal with powerful families, how could he not learn about them?
Especially the Wang family, the second largest family in Dayuan.
The Wang family has built a vast network of interests through marriage, and these Wang family daughters naturally became the key figures in it.
The Wang family has always been strict in educating their daughters, valuing loyalty—absolute loyalty to the family—as the most important quality, rather than talent, virtue, or wisdom.
From a young age, they are instilled with the concept that their fate is intertwined with the family's honor and disgrace, and that the family's interests are above all else.
And this was only the standard for raising daughters in the Wang family forty or fifty years ago.
Since the Wang family's carefully raised eldest daughter married into the Xie family, which was not yet granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo many years ago, but was killed by the old matriarch, the Wang family has been even stricter in educating their daughters on loyalty, almost to the point of brainwashing.
In order to better control these married-out women, the Wang family even elevated their status within the family, making them equal to men and granting them equal decision-making power and influence.
Furthermore, married-out women even have their own separate family genealogy. This genealogy does not distinguish between the main family and branch families based on bloodline, but rather on the contributions their husbands' families made to the Wang family after their marriages.
For example, Consort Wang in the palace, after giving birth to a prince, her position in another family genealogy jumped to first place, and the names of her father and brothers also appeared on the main family's page in another family genealogy.
In this patriarchal society, how terrifying is this way of winning people's hearts? Which married woman would not rack her brains and give her all for such a family?
"Little Six is already quite good. At only six years old, he already knows how much tax the common people have to pay. When I was your age, I didn't even know what taxes were!"
After planting a landmine in young Ye Jing'an's heart, Ye Jingchen then praised him in a seemingly relaxed manner.
"The first time I heard about taxes was when I was eight years old in a village at the foot of the Xishan Palace. The old people there told us that they did not own any land. They worked hard all year, but they could only keep one-tenth of their harvest, barely enough to feed themselves. They were all thin and bony, wearing tattered clothes with countless patches, and living in mud houses and thatched huts. They were extremely poor."
“Back then, we didn’t understand why people could live such a miserable life. It was Father who told us that the fertile land that originally belonged to them had been seized by the Wang family. They had no choice but to become tenant farmers, farming for the Wang family. Most of their hard-earned harvest had to be handed over to the Wang family, and the rest was plundered by the government under various pretexts. So when Father found out, he punished the Wang family who had seized their land, as well as the corrupt officials who had plundered the people’s wealth. Xiao Liu, do you think Father did the right thing?” Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
This question made Ye Jing'an extremely uncomfortable.
Although he was very clever, at only six years old, he did not understand the sinister intentions behind his elder brother, the Crown Prince, asking him such a question.
He couldn't understand why a wealthy and powerful family like the Wang family would try to seize a few acres of land from an ordinary person.
How much grain can be grown from one acre of land in a year?
"If powerful families dare to seize farmland near the capital, right under the emperor's nose, how rampant would they be in those remote, mountainous areas?" Ye Jingchen continued to ask.
Ye Jing'an subconsciously followed his elder brother, the Crown Prince, in imagining what he was saying, and the more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt.
He couldn't refute it because the matter of the Wang family forcibly seizing farmland had been definitively concluded by his father, the emperor. If he refuted it, it would be tantamount to questioning his father.
But if he doesn't refute it, wouldn't he have to admit that the aristocratic families are greedy 'big rats'?
"If all the land in Dayuan is in the hands of aristocratic families, then wouldn't Dayuan be ruled by them? Wouldn't the imperial power be undermined by them?" Ye Jingchen continued to provoke.
Little Ye Jing'an turned pale when he was asked the question.
Although he was only six years old, he understood that if the imperial power was usurped by powerful families, they could take it over at any time.
But the aristocratic families my mother described were nothing like that at all.
The noble families my mother spoke of were the meritorious officials who helped the Ye family ancestors establish the Great Abyss. They had no interest in power, but rather cared for the world and helped the people...
"Actually—" Seeing that Ye Jing'an was quite provoked, Ye Jingchen changed the subject, "I didn't understand the pros and cons of this at first. It was only after my father explained it to me personally that I understood a little bit."
"It was also my father's idea to open this Linyuan Bookstore. He said that only when more and more people master knowledge can the monopoly of aristocratic families be broken. The reason for involving the Duke of Anguo's family is simply because the Duke of Anguo's family is my maternal family, and my father wanted to create momentum for me in advance."
"Father Emperor truly loves me so much that he started paving the way for me after my tenth birthday! Consort Wang also loves Sixth Brother, so she should explain the pros and cons to you, right? After all—if it weren't for exploiting the people and oppressing the common folk, how could aristocratic families accumulate such wealth that rivals that of a nation?"
Ye Jingchen felt perfectly justified in pushing all the blame onto the emperor.
He's still so young, his shoulders are still tender, and he can't withstand the wind and rain. His father loves him so much, he certainly won't mind taking the blame for him!
Ye Jing'an's still-new brain received too much information at once, causing it to crash, and he felt dizzy and disoriented.
We've arrived at Linyuan Bookstore.
Since the bookstore opened, it has been packed with people every day, and today is no exception.
In this era, the reason why it is difficult for children from poor families to achieve success is that the cost of education is too high.
Books were monopolized by powerful families, and ordinary people rarely even saw them, let alone could afford to buy them.
Not to mention that after you start studying, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones all cost money, and they are all very expensive.
Throughout history, everyone has known that studying is the fastest way to change one's destiny, but ordinary people in this era don't have the money to afford it.
Under such circumstances, the emergence of Linyuan Bookstore is tantamount to opening up a peerless treasure to everyone, allowing them to take whatever they want.
If Lin Yuan Bookstore weren't only open for four hours a day, those impoverished students eager for knowledge would probably live there indefinitely.
The Lin Yuan Bookstore was crowded, yet quiet. Everyone was diligently searching for books to read or carefully studying the paintings on the walls to learn characters, making the most of every minute.
Ye Jinghe, Ye Jingan, and Ye Jingning were all seeing such a scene for the first time and were deeply moved.
Ye Jingchen always appeared in a different guise when he came to the bookstore. The guards here didn't look at his face, but only at the token he presented.
He randomly picked a guard, showed him the token, and the guard immediately led them to the innermost room of the bookstore after seeing the token.
No need to speak, someone will serve you tea.
Ye Jing'an and Ye Jingning quickly began to pour tea.
Originally, their purpose in coming to the bookstore was simply to have some tea to cleanse their palates. However, seeing so many people so eager for knowledge stirred up their emotions.
Ye Jingchen also picked up a cup of tea and sipped it slowly.
He talked so much along the way that his mouth was dry.
"Xiao Liu, do you think ordinary people don't deserve to study?" Ye Jingchen asked while drinking tea, not intending to let him off easily.
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