Chapter 355: The Little Scholar in Male Disguise and the Amazing Emperor 12
On this first question, Lin Qinglan was speechless.
She was no longer as relaxed as she was at the beginning, but instead frowned and prepared for Cha Jiu's second question seriously.
"My second question is about border defense." Cha Jiu said slowly, "Merchants are after profits. If we don't implement official policies to control salt and iron, they will be able to spend a lot of money to buy in large quantities, develop their power, and threaten our border defense. What should we do?"
If the first question involves superficial money issues.
So the second question is the deeper issue of national stability.
After Lin Qinglan heard this, his brows relaxed a little.
It's not bad.
She had heard her father, Grand Tutor Lin, and many other literary and artistic figures discuss this issue at a banquet at home.
These literary masters were all writers of books and their thoughts were at the pinnacle of the era. Naturally, their solutions to border defense issues were also ingenious and unique.
Therefore, in order to defeat Cha Jiu, Lin Qinglan simply gave up independent thinking and directly used their point of view to answer: "Of course, it is to implement benevolent policies and make the foreign races submit."
Cha Jiu smiled, picked up the tea and took another sip, then said slowly, "I'd like to hear the details."
Yelu Zongzheng felt that Xiao Shunzi's frequent visits disturbed him and Cha Jiu, so he took the teapot and filled the cup with his own hands.
Very attentive attitude.
He doesn't look like a king who is high and mighty at all.
On the surface, Lin Qinglan quoted from classics and spoke eloquently.
In reality, it is just parroting and mechanically repeating other people's views.
"…So if our dynasty can give up the power to privately operate salt and iron, trade with them, and allow the people of other ethnic groups to live and work in peace and contentment like our people, then they will naturally be happy and submit to our dynasty."
"Besides, the Central Plains has always advocated ruling people with virtue, and militarism is something that only uncivilized barbarians like to do..."
Lin Qinglan hadn't noticed anything wrong when he got to this point.
It was not until Yelu Zongzhen cast an indifferent but cold look at her that she suddenly woke up as if struck by lightning.
Those literary masters and famous people were all literati. When discussing politics in private, they naturally criticized the use of military force and the promotion of militarism.
But Yelu Zongzhen himself was a model of warmongering. He relied on 30,000 soldiers to annex the surrounding small tribes, and then invaded the Central Plains and proclaimed himself emperor.
She is now a critic of the barbarians for their lack of talent and militarism.
Isn't it just pointing at Yelu Zongzheng's nose and scolding him as a barbarian?
Instantly, Lin Qinglan's face turned pale and he remained silent. A chill ran down his spine, and his body couldn't stop shaking under his gorgeous robes!
If I make a mistake, not only will I lose my position as empress, I'm afraid I'll even lose my head!
Fortunately, Yelu Zongzhen did not intend to calculate it.
On the one hand, in order to open up the channels for free speech, he did tacitly allow talented people to discuss politics freely without being easily convicted.
Secondly, today was the day for him and Yan Yang to go out and relax, so there was no need to waste time and energy on meaningless people.
As for Lin Qinglan...
Yelu Zongzheng had already kicked her out of the list of candidates for empress.
Therefore, during the ensuing debate, he did not look at the woman again.
Lin Qinglan was so frightened and confused by his slip of the tongue that he didn't even hear clearly what Cha Jiu said afterwards. Naturally, he couldn't respond and was quickly defeated.
At this time, her back was already wet, and all her confidence and pride were gone.
And Cha Jiu also raised the last question - if the strategy of private management is implemented, the local noble families will be rich and expand, and they will rebel. What should we do?
The last question was even more pointed, directly touching upon the conflict between the aristocratic families and the monarchy.
Now Lin Qinglan was in a dilemma whether to answer or not.
Having said that, if she continues to support the private business strategy, it means she is supporting the rise of the aristocratic families, supporting rebellion, and opposing His Majesty.
But if she gave up, it would mean that everyone would admit that she lost to Cha Jiu.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Lin Qinglan's expression became extremely ugly.
But the people present were not stupid and they could see that the winner had already been decided.
Cha Jiu slowly said the final conclusion: "So I said you are narrow-minded, because you only see whether the farm tools in the hands of farmers are handy, whether the officials are corrupt, and whether the people can quickly accumulate wealth... But what I see is the overall dispatch of the Yuan Kingdom, the stability of the border and the prefectures, and whether Your Majesty can rest assured."
This is also the most fatal flaw in Lin Qinglan's entire political discussion.
She stood from the perspective of the common people and the aristocratic families, but not from the perspective of His Majesty.
But the world will eventually belong to your Majesty. No matter how prosperous the times are, they will only be meaningful if they belong to Yelu Zongzhen.
Cha Jiu couldn't have put it any clearer.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Qinglan had no choice but to admit defeat.
She forced a smile and acted nonchalant: "My Lord, you are right. I lost."
Cha Jiu didn't care whether she was sincere or not. He just bowed perfunctorily in response and sat down.
Yelu Zongzhen sat quietly aside, but his burning gaze never left the young top scholar beside him.
Cha Jiu said so much just now.
But the only thing that echoed in his ears was the last sentence.
——Your Majesty may rest assured.
Not for the court, not for the people.
Yan Yang worked hard on government affairs and had a long-term vision just to relieve his worries.
Thinking of this, how could Yelu Zongzheng not be happy?
His usually hard and cold defenses began to crack slightly, and the petite figure in the green brocade robe turned into a wisp of breeze and seeped into it.
"Ding!" The system notified Cha Jiu, "Yelü Zongzheng's favorability has reached 45%!"
Added five points of favorability.
It seems that this incognito tour was worthwhile.
Cha Jiu was very satisfied.
She held up the hot tea with both hands and took small sips. Her almond-shaped eyes were slightly narrowed in satisfaction. The corners of her eyes were slightly red from the hot mist, and her pink tongue gently licked her wet lips.
The attitude of his daughter that was inadvertently revealed by this action made Yelu Zongzheng, who was already restless, even more gloomy.
Cha Jiu seemed unaware.
Just as this charming atmosphere was spreading, a man came up to talk to me.
It was Li Yuanlang, the illegitimate son of the Minister of Revenue.
"My name is Li Yuanlang. I just saw this young man recite the Ministry of Revenue numbers by heart and do arithmetic very quickly. I really admire him. I wonder if I would have the honor to meet him."
Li Yuanlang himself was a mathematical genius, so naturally he sympathized with people of the same kind.
Cha Jiu thought about it and realized that now was the time when the Yuan Kingdom was in need of talents. If a genius like Li Yuanlang could work for the Ministry of Revenue, it would be a great help to the court.
There is nothing wrong with getting to know someone and examining his character.
So she met Li Yuanlang's gaze and smiled back: "Of course you can, congratulations..."
"Leave."
Suddenly, Yelu Zongzheng's cold voice came from beside him.
Cha Jiu was slightly startled, and before he could react, Yelu Zongzheng grabbed his wrist and asked him to leave the table.
Li Yuanlang was also stunned, and took a few steps forward to persuade him to stay: "Sir, you haven't told me yet..."
Suddenly, when the emperor turned around, he was met with a cold gaze that shocked him so much that his heart shrank sharply and he barely stopped.
He swallowed back the unfinished words.
never mind.
Making friends is important.
But life is more important.
Even after getting on the carriage, Yelu Zongzhen's lingering unhappiness had not subsided.
He asked casually, "You were very interested in Li Yuanlang just now."
What kind of question is this?
Cha Jiu was surprised and replied, "I just saw that he has an extraordinary talent for arithmetic, and I thought I could recruit him to help Your Majesty share his worries."
Yelu Zongzhen's complexion looked better.
But he seemed to have no interest in Li Yuanlang: "No need."
Cha Jiu wondered: "Why?"
"He doesn't understand the mood and he only causes trouble for others." Yelu Zongzhen sneered.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
