Chapter 133
Qin Su played for a while before remembering the question she had asked at the beginning, and urged Ye Yan to answer it again.
Ye Yan was a business tycoon for two lifetimes. Even if he was a little slow to react to political affairs, he was very clear about people's hearts and the ways of the world.
He explained to Qin Su in detail: "For ordinary people, the government always hopes that they will focus on the good aspects rather than the bad ones. So even if a problem is not solved perfectly, they will still choose the good parts to praise. People's thoughts can be influenced, and in this way, the people's attention will be diverted, which can stabilize the people's hearts and make it easier to govern."
"When referring to superiors, this superior refers to the official's boss or His Majesty. Officials also hope to be praised and not punished. When they sing praises, they hope to please their superiors and are also indirectly praising themselves to claim credit."
Ye Yan smiled and said, "Just like you said, His Majesty is good at raising children. That's a double compliment, praising His Majesty as well as praising himself."
Qin Su interjected promptly: "I'm different from them."
Ye Yan smiled and said, "Of course, what Your Highness said is an undeniable fact."
Qin Su felt a little embarrassed when he said that.
Her reaction when she was embarrassed was different from others; she didn't blush at all, but just glared at Ye Yan with her eyes watery.
Ye Yan suppressed a laugh and continued, "From the perspective of superiors, would they dislike subordinates like this?"
Qin Su thought of what Emperor Jingxi had said—that he only needed useful officials—and shook her head, saying, "Probably not."
“That’s right,” Ye Yan said. “On the one hand, it’s human nature to like hearing good things and dislike hearing bad things. On the other hand, superiors also want the people’s hearts to be stable.”
"Take this locust plague as an example. The locust plague did cause a lot of losses, but the final result was good. The Great Yu found a way to solve the locust plague. His Majesty no longer needs to worry about this matter, the officials no longer need to be anxious about this matter, and the people will no longer have to worry about locusts in the future."
"As long as the officials below can do a good job in disaster relief and support, His Majesty will be satisfied."
Ye Yan wanted to say that this was the rule of the workplace, but then he remembered that this was ancient times, so he changed his words and said, "This is more like the basic rule of officialdom."
Qin Su said, "But these are all from the perspective of the imperial court. What about the common people?"
Ye Yan hesitated for a moment.
He understood why Qin Su had doubts. She was standing from the perspective of ordinary people, believing that the officials in the court were all working for the people, and if the people were suffering, then this matter was not worth praising.
However, the underlying principle involves imperial power, and the current representative of imperial power is Emperor Jingxi, Qin Su's current blood father, so he didn't know how to bring it up.
Ye Yan tried his best to be tactful: "There is a saying in the court: 'He who eats the emperor's food bears the emperor's worries.' This emperor is not the common people, but His Majesty."
What the officials wanted was for the emperor's satisfaction.
As for Emperor Jingxi, he was the emperor, and he would neither fully stand on the side of the common people nor on the side of the court officials.
The emperor himself could be said to have taken a different stance.
Qin Su remained silent for a moment, then understood.
She gripped the ropes on either side of the swing, stopping the swinging motion, and thought of more: "The downfall of dynasties recorded in history books always has various reasons, such as wicked concubines ruining the country or treacherous officials in power, but in reality, the emperor is the most important. The emperor's words, actions, attitudes and preferences directly affect the court and then the whole country."
The popularity of duck farming was precisely because she was Emperor Jingxi's most beloved princess.
Because raising ducks has brought great benefits, the officials tacitly agree not to provoke them, not to mention the harm of setting such a bad example, and remain silent.
That depends entirely on the self-awareness of those in power.
When those in power exercise self-discipline and restraint, there will be fewer problems below. However, if those in power neglect their duties, the negative impact will be numerous.
Ye Yan, worried that Qin Su was upset, comforted her, saying, "His Majesty is a wise ruler and has done a great job. The people are very satisfied."
“I know,” Qin Su said. “It’s just that I’m struck by the fact that everyone in this world has their own stance.”
Ye Yan said, "Yes."
"And what about you?" Qin Su looked up at him as if remembering something and asked, "Ye Yan, do you have your own stance?"
"Me?" Ye Yan smiled. He walked over from beside the swing, squatted down in front of Qin Su to talk to her, so that Qin Su wouldn't get tired from craning her neck. "My stance is that of Your Highness."
Qin Su looked at him.
Sunlight streamed through the lush flowers and leaves beside him, casting shadows on Ye Yan's face and making his skin appear exceptionally white.
It is said that General Ye Hongtao's grandmother was a Hu woman, and the Ye family has some Hu blood in these two generations. Therefore, Ye Yan's eye sockets are deeper than those of people from the Central Plains, and his nose is more prominent. Even at a young age, he can be seen to be quite handsome.
Qin Su blinked, first saying "You're so pretty," then asking "Why?"
Ye Yan was both amused and exasperated.
He had many answers, but none of them were suitable to say to Qin Su now.
Not wanting to give Qin Su a perfunctory answer, he said, "I'll tell Your Highness about this when you're older."
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