Chapter 63 Insightful observations, showcasing true skill
He Ying slowly turned around, casting a sharp gaze at Zhang Ting, and coldly asked her:
"During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the military-agricultural system was implemented, which resulted in full granaries, a wealthy nation, and a strong military. But now, however, national tax revenue has plummeted. Why is that?"
"I believe that the reason why the system is unsustainable is because during the reign of Emperor Taizu, there were many disasters and the military farms could quickly supply food and soldiers. Now that the situation is stable and there is no longer a need for large amounts of food and soldiers, the system is unsustainable."
"My opinion is humble and shallow; I humbly request Your Majesty's guidance."
After she finished speaking, she politely bowed to Zhang Ting, but a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. How could a scholar with no connections, and even whose rank was insignificant, possibly know anything about national policies and strategies? Zhang Ting probably didn't even know what land reclamation was.
She wanted to see how panicked, pathetic, and humiliated this down-on-his-luck scholar would be!
He Ying's words shocked everyone present. If she had asked an official from the prefectural city, no one would have been surprised. But you must know that unless an elder in the family is an official in the court and has access to current affairs, even a scholar who has passed the imperial examination would be at a loss for words. Moreover, the person being asked comes from a humble background and only passed the county-level examination last year. Even though he was lucky enough to become a student of Master Zhang, it has only been a few days. How could he possibly be so knowledgeable about current affairs?
He Ying was deliberately making things difficult for Zhang Ting, trying to embarrass her and ruin her reputation.
But since they know this, they must come from a distinguished family. Yang Fuchen understood the key point and immediately asked, "Who is the Lady?"
He Ying glanced at her and said coldly, "I am He Ying from Zhangzhou Prefecture."
Yang Fuchen had heard of this man's reputation; he was the top scholar in the provincial examination in Zhangzhou last year, a man of great talent and from a family of high standing, with his mother even holding the official position of prefect. Yet, relying on his family background and easy access to current affairs, he used his expertise to make things difficult for a mere scholar who was completely unfamiliar with the subject—it was utterly despicable!
She stared intently at He Ying and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty comes from an exceptional family, but others have limited access to these current affairs. Is it not biased for you to raise such a topic?"
Although Xun Han disliked Zhang Ting, she couldn't stand seeing her fellow disciple being bullied. She leaned back in her chair, sneered, and said to He Ying, "She's just a parasite who uses her family background to make things difficult for others."
"How dare you?"
Wu Pingliu pursed her lips and glared at her coldly.
Zhang Shu frowned, looking at his young apprentice with some worry. Although Xiao Ting was well-versed in both ancient and modern matters, politics ultimately required practical experience, and it was difficult to explain clearly without having served as an official.
Suddenly surrounded by three people, He Ying laughed angrily: "Our parents' family background and connections are things we are born with. What's wrong with using those resources to raise this issue?"
"If His Majesty were to choose this as the topic for the palace examination, would you all also claim to come from humble backgrounds and be unable to access such political affairs, and request that His Majesty change the topic? Don't make yourselves a laughing stock!"
"You!" Yang Fuchen slammed his fist on the table, furious. This person was clearly confusing right and wrong, distorting the original meaning, and was simply sophistry.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Zhang Shu sighed and said, "Alright." She thought it best to just admit defeat. She had originally planned to bring her apprentice back for training, but now that she was facing a real threat, she decided against it. At most, she would lose face and be laughed at by a few old dogs, but if Xiao Ting lost her spirit after this ordeal, things would be much worse.
Just as she was about to speak, a steady voice landed: "Regarding Your Majesty's question about land reclamation, I also have some humble opinions. Since Your Majesty is so sincere in asking, then I will humbly offer my humble opinion."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the study looked at Zhang Ting in surprise.
She sat gracefully at the lower end of the table, her eyes lowered. Her voice was gentle and unhurried, like a clear, flowing spring. Her demeanor was humble and proper, truly befitting a gentleman. Faced with He Ying's aggressive questioning, she remained completely calm and composed, as steady as a mountain.
He Ying cast a disdainful glance at Zhang Ting, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Oh?" She didn't believe that a down-on-his-luck scholar could have any profound insights. She chuckled, her laughter tinged with disdain, "Please speak."
Zhang Ting casually lifted his eyelids to look at her, his gaze calm as still water, showing no change even when he met the contempt on her face.
"In the past, when war raged, Emperor Taizu established the military agricultural system to ensure the supply of military food during wartime, to resettle refugees, and to cultivate the frontier. Now, the drawbacks of the military agricultural system have become apparent," she paused, "I cannot agree with the factors of troop strength and military food mentioned by Your Majesty."
Upon hearing what she said, He Ying seemed to sense something; the disdain on her face vanished instantly, and her expression became extremely serious.
Even He Ying's teacher, Liu Yu, unconsciously sat up straight and stared intently at Zhang Ting.
Hearing his apprentice's confident demeanor, Zhang Shu's anxiety immediately subsided.
The room fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as everyone waited for her to continue.
Zhang Ting suddenly noticed a wrinkle in the corner of his robe, frowned slightly, immediately smoothed it out, and then looked up to continue:
"I believe there are roughly three reasons. First, the design and implementation of the military-agricultural system had flaws, which restricted the freedom of soldiers and imposed extremely high taxes, resulting in low willingness among soldiers to cultivate the land; either soldiers deserted and the land was abandoned, or they occupied the land without cultivating it."
"Secondly, land annexation. Zhangzhou Prefecture is establishing a military-agricultural colony system, and I know some of the details from my ancestral home there. Local powerful families are seizing military-agricultural colonies through pawning and tenancy, resulting in a large loss of military-agricultural colonies in our dynasty."
He Ying's mother was the prefect of Zhangzhou Prefecture. The powerful and influential people had seized the military farmland, which meant that Prefect He had failed in his duty. When she heard this, she wanted to refute it, but when she recalled the number of acreage of military farmland she had seen before and after, she was speechless.
Liu Yu stroked his chin, gazing admiringly at Zhang Ting. He had thought that the old woman Zhang had misjudged him, but it turned out that her judgment was even better.
"Thirdly, extensive farming practices deplete the soil's fertility, turning it into wasteland..."
Zhang Ting's arguments were methodical, clear, and specific, even touching on the issue of her mother's dereliction of duty, leaving He Ying utterly ashamed and embarrassed. She lowered her head, feeling utterly humiliated, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
As for Zhang Ting's other three senior sisters, they all stared at her strangely and unfamiliarly, as if they were looking at some kind of monster, as if they didn't know her at all.
Zhang Shu received an envious look from Liu Yu, and couldn't help but straighten her back proudly. She suppressed the corners of her mouth that she couldn't help but curl up, and coughed lightly, saying, "Xiao Ting, I told you to be more restrained, how can you still be so unrestrained, making your Aunt Liu feel so embarrassed!" But her eyes were full of smiles.
Zhang Ting understood immediately, a smile playing on his lips, and gave her a slight bow, saying, "It was my presumption." Then, he humbly said to Liu Yu, "This is just my humble opinion. If there are any omissions, please correct me, Aunt."
Having discussed this to this extent, what could possibly be wrong with it? If Zhang Ting were stubborn and self-willed, one could offer her some guidance, but she was, in fact, the most humble and polite person on the scene—no, she was the first person Liu Yu had ever met who possessed such great talent yet remained so modest.
Wow, Old Lady Zhang really struck gold!
Liu Yu got up and walked towards Zhang Ting, took her hand, and looked at her with great admiration, only regretting that she wasn't his disciple.
He also praised her, saying, "She is a great talent of the nation, with the demeanor of Guan Zhong."
Liu Yu smiled and called over He Ying, who was standing stiffly to the side: "Ying'er, why don't you quickly thank your Senior Sister Zhang for her guidance?"
He Ying walked over slowly, her proud head bowed, as if she had lost her spirit, and she didn't dare to look at Zhang Ting once.
She stammered, "He Ying, thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister Zhang."
Liu Yu nodded. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. If she had run into a brick wall, it would be a lesson in tempering her arrogance. After retraining, she might make a comeback.
She apologized to Zhang Ting for He Ying, saying, "My apprentice was unruly and ignorant of his own limitations. He has offended me greatly. Please forgive me, my junior apprentice." Then she turned and pressed He Ying down to apologize to Zhang Ting.
She was a woman of her word, and the He family of Zhangzhou had no weaklings. He Ying forced back her tears, gritted her teeth, and bowed deeply to Zhang Ting. "It was He Ying who was ignorant of her place and offended Senior Sister Zhang. Please forgive me."
It was just a deliberate provocation; Zhang Ting wouldn't be so intolerant of He Ying. Besides, her senior sisters had mentioned that He Ying's family background was quite extraordinary, and in the officialdom, having more friends meant having more opportunities.
Thinking this, a faint smile appeared on her lips as she helped He Ying up, her eyes gentle. "It's just a casual exchange of knowledge between fellow disciples, nothing to mention."
Everyone was amazed by Zhang Ting's talent just now, and now that they heard her characterize this matter as a question for knowledge, they couldn't help but sigh at her magnanimity and tolerance, which is truly rare!
Even He Ying was quite taken aback. She then truly felt the huge gap between herself and Zhang Ting. Zhang Ting's talent and character were inferior to hers. This time, she was genuinely humbled and admired Zhang Ting greatly.
Zhang Shu looked at her beloved disciple and grew increasingly fond of him; he was perfect in every way. Deep down, she sighed again: going to Lütian County to take on a disciple was absolutely the right decision; if she had missed out on such a student, she feared she would have regretted it for the rest of her life!
The debate has now come to an end.
In the evening, Zhang Shu was unusually excited and hosted Liu Yu and his apprentice in the courtyard. During their conversation, they reminisced about the past, talked about their days as classmates, and occasionally listed each other's shortcomings and made fun of each other's embarrassing moments. They started comparing themselves and chattering away, which gave everyone a headache.
The three sisters, Yang, Wu, and Zhang, found a secluded spot away from their teacher and sat down to chat.
After this incident, Yang Fuchen admired and liked Zhang Ting even more. He said, "Xiao Si is truly amazing. At your age, I only knew that you were talented, but I didn't know that you had such a deep understanding of national policies and strategies. I was so naive."
Zhang Ting simply said, "It's because you're too kind, Senior Sister." She went to get a bowl from the other side to pour a glass of water, but as soon as she stood up, a bowl was handed to her by Wu Pingliu.
Wu Pingliu kept her eyes straight ahead, silently picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Zhang Ting smiled, took it and used it, thinking to herself: It seems I've gained a foothold among my fellow disciples.
After dinner, the five members of the sect escorted Liu Yu and his apprentice to the door.
He Ying hesitated for a long time before finally pulling Zhang Ting aside. "Senior Sister Zhang, um... may I correspond with you in the future?" After saying that, she felt ashamed and turned her face away.
Zhang Ting smiled and said, "It's natural."
After seeing the people off, Zhang Ting returned to the inner courtyard alone. Everyone had been toasting her at the banquet, and her stomach was full of wine. She needed to relieve herself.
As she walked through the corridor, a person suddenly appeared around the corner, startling her.
Zhang Ting patted his chest to catch his breath and looked at the person who had come in.
The other person turned her head and looked at the artificial hill outside the courtyard. She clenched her fist and put it to her lips, cleared her throat, and said with a bit of coyness, "You are very good today."
"This morning was my..." Before she could finish speaking, she looked embarrassed, as if she couldn't bear it, and left.
Zhang Ting frowned, glanced at her hurried back, and cursed her bad luck inwardly.
You're keeping her from relieving herself!
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