Chapter 1711 Who is afraid of whom
Manbao flipped through the booklet and said, "Although the private school only occupies one classroom, it will require at least three rooms for teaching. Let's calculate it as three rooms. How much would it cost to build three rooms next to the Imperial College?"
"Twenty students need to live in the station, so we need at least two dormitories, and basic things like tables and chairs..."
Wang Ji couldn't help but say, "These things can be used not just once, but by future students as well."
"No one can predict what will happen in the future," Manbao said. "What if our Imperial Medical Bureau doesn't accept students from private schools starting next year?"
Ministers: ...
"But don't worry, we haven't taken all the construction costs into account, only a portion. Since you said these are fixed, let's calculate the loss of teaching materials."
Man Bao said, "Take medicinal herbs for example. There are more than a thousand kinds in total. They need to recognize medicinal herbs to study medicine. We need to buy them and identify these more than a thousand kinds. The same medicinal herb can be divided into several states. The most basic ones are raw and cooked. The latter needs to be processed."
"Oh right, to prepare medicinal herbs, you need other materials. Firewood and other things are just the basics, not to mention expensive things like wine." Man Bao continued to flip through the booklet and said, "In addition to these, there are also knives, tweezers, scissors, needles and other things."
Manbao suddenly thought of something, looked up at them and said, "Do you know how valuable a good set of knives is?"
Xiao Yuanzheng, who was standing by, interrupted, "The set of knives that Doctor Fan used, which he made himself, cost over sixty taels."
Officials: ...The set of knives in Doctor Fan's hand must be unique among all the doctors in the world. Why would the doctors they employ at home want to compete with Doctor Fan in knife skills?
Manbao seemed to know what they were thinking, and said quietly, "If a woman has a difficult birth and needs a cesarean section, she'll need a good set of tools."
Officials: ...Okay.
"Okay, there are some other miscellaneous items that cost quite a bit, so I won't mention them," Manbao said, closing the booklet. "Why don't you calculate the cost of those one thousand medicinal herbs?"
"That's the materials for the entire Imperial Medical Bureau. We can't charge all the expenses on the people we sent."
Manbao's face darkened and he said, "Lord Wang, you said you weren't seeking personal gain. If it weren't for the money provided by His Majesty and the Ministry of Revenue, do you think you could have bought all these things with just the 100 taels?"
"Have we been offered a discount on what we were supposed to teach them? Did we, the imperial physicians, take your wages? We are paid by His Majesty, by the court!" Man Bao sternly demanded, "Did the Imperial Medical Bureau and the Crown Prince split the two thousand taels you handed over?"
"No!" Manbao shouted loudly, "The whereabouts of that money have long been listed. It's all used to train students in the Imperial Medical Bureau. And the students of the Imperial Medical Bureau are used to be loyal to the country and to His Majesty!"
"Even if we don't teach you, we imperial doctors will still receive double salaries. If we teach you, we will expend all our energy willingly. What do you think we are doing this for?"
Xiao Yuanzheng knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he loudly responded, "This is for Your Majesty, for the people of the world, and for the Great Jin. Your Majesty, I am wronged, and the Imperial Medical Bureau is wronged!"
Manbao also knelt and shouted, "Your Majesty, even in this situation, he still slanders our Imperial Medical Bureau. He is only concerned with personal gain. Could it be that the skills passed down by so many imperial physicians in our Imperial Medical Bureau are not worth even a hundred taels? Moreover, this money is not for us imperial physicians, but for the people of the world. Please, Your Majesty, help us with this!"
Manbao kowtowed, then tilted his head slightly to look at Xiao Yuanzheng who was kneeling on his left. The two pairs of eyes, one big and one small, met and blinked at each other. Xiao Yuanzheng was experienced, and he felt really wronged, so tears came out of his eyes.
Manbao was anxious and blinked hard, but found that no tears came out, so she stared at Xiao Yuanzheng with wide eyes.
Xiao Yuanzheng only had time to glance at her before he averted his gaze, raised his tearful face and wailed again, "Your Majesty, please make a decision for our Imperial Medical Bureau!"
Manbao really couldn't squeeze out any tears, so he could only stand up from the ground and look towards Wang Ji on the right with a righteous look on his face.
The officials who had previously felt that the Imperial Medical Bureau’s fees were a bit high and who had some resentment towards the Bureau suddenly felt embarrassed.
Everyone thought so too. Xiao Yuanzheng and his colleagues were only responsible for teaching. Although they collected the money, if they did not embezzle it, the money would definitely be used for the Imperial Medical Bureau in the end.
They didn't profit, but instead had to teach twenty more students, but they received the same salary...
Of course, most of the ministers understood and expressed their agreement. Those headed by the Eastern Palace naturally tried their best to stand on the side of Zhou Man and Xiao Yuanzheng, but those who were with Wang Ji and the other five, even if they understood it in their hearts, they could not express it out loud.
Otherwise, he would not be able to escape the charge of living a life of idleness today.
This crime was no small matter. It was much more serious than Wang Ji's previous allegations of family unrest, being an unkind uncle, and attempting to seize his nephew's property. If this were to happen, he would lose his position as an official.
There are many people in the court who are just sitting there doing nothing but eating and drinking, but they cannot be officially recognized because, on the surface, His Majesty and the court do not need people who are just sitting there doing nothing.
As a result, the two groups immediately started arguing as soon as they collided.
It’s just that Wang Ji’s people were not prepared, while Guo Zhanshi’s people were prepared two days earlier, so the Eastern Palace had an advantage in terms of numbers and materials overwhelmed them.
Wang Ji and the others were furious. They argued without saying anything nice. Finally, he pointed at Man Bao's nose and cursed, "Women are hard to raise."
It was Manbao's first time to witness the ministers' quarrel. She was completely stunned when she heard Wang Ji scolding her. She retorted, "You are so angry and shameless. Whether I am difficult to support or not, I have never eaten your rice."
"you!"
"But it's you. Your mother gave birth to you, raised you, and even paid for your education, marriage, and children. Yet, in the end, you were told that women are difficult to raise. You are so unfilial, and you even tried to steal His Majesty's woman. This is disloyalty, you are both disloyal and unfilial!"
Wang Ji opened his mouth to retort, but heard Zhou Man continue to babble breathlessly, "You still want to seize the property of your eldest brother's son. This is unfilial. You also bully your nephew. You almost beat your nephew to death. This is unkind. You are unfilial and unkind!"
“You, you—”
"As an official, you have no love for the people. You only care about taking advantage of the country and the people. This is unkind. Xiao Yuanzheng and you have served in the same court for more than ten years. You have a colleague relationship. But you slander Xiao Yuanzheng for your own selfish gain. This is unjust and unkind!"
Wang Ji's finger was shaking as he pointed at her. Xiao Yuanzheng, who was standing behind Manbao, could tell that something was wrong, let alone Manbao who was facing him.
But Manbao still said the last sentence, "You are unfaithful, unfilial, unfraternal, unkind, unhumane, and unjust!"
Not to mention the emperor above, the entire court fell silent, staring at Zhou Man in amazement as he kept talking.
The duck beak I gnawed on the takeaway tonight was quite useful.
See you at 11pm
(End of this chapter)
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