in2ebook Chapter 201 Offering suggestions
Chapter 201 Offering suggestions
Xin Moyan and Lou Shenghan both gasped, their eyes widening in shock. This was... too monstrous!
Yuan Huaize spoke with extreme righteous indignation, "I thought that person was upright and did not indulge in sensual pleasures or debauchery. I never expected that among this group of noble young men, he would be the most despicable, daring to keep male prostitutes under the emperor's nose. Your Majesty, you must have him cut into a thousand pieces!"
Yuan Huaijun glanced at Xin Moyan, whose brows were furrowed and whose expression was very serious.
"Yan'er, were you frightened by what Fifth Brother said?"
Xin Moyan shook her head and said earnestly to him, “Your Majesty, children are the hope of the nation. Those orphans are already pitiful enough without parents, and now they have suffered such a cruel fate. The fact that Su Mian can open a charity academy in his own name shows that the court has not done enough in this regard. After this matter, could you please send someone to set up a special place to settle the elderly and children who are destitute and helpless? Also, those children who have been harmed by Su Mian, in addition to rescuing them from their suffering, should also have some maids to comfort and console them, and try to reduce their inner pain. It would be best... best to send them to school. Children are the pillars of Yuanqi in the future. If Your Majesty wants our dynasty to be full of talented people, you should encourage children to study more…”
Xin Moyan became more and more engrossed in her speech. Thinking of the nine-year compulsory education in modern times, she suddenly had an idea and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the strength and prosperity of the country cannot be separated from the pillars of talent. However, if the imperial examination is monopolized by aristocratic families, and true talents are not given important positions, it will be a loss for Yuanqi."
"Yes, Yan'er's words make perfect sense. I plan to set up charity halls in various counties so that the destitute and helpless in the world will have a place to live and rely on. The court will provide the funds and manpower to set them up, but..."
Yuan Huaijun slightly curled the corners of his lips and looked at her, saying, "Yan'er, putting aside the crimes of those families mentioned earlier, according to you, what should I do for this person to be given an important position?"
She suddenly smiled slyly, “Your Majesty, everyone says that it takes ten years of hard study, but in reality, only a minority of ordinary people actually study. If all the men in a family are educated, it will be difficult for orphans and widows to make a living. But Yan’er knows that Your Majesty is actually quite wealthy.”
"Hehe~ Does Yan'er mean that she wants me to fund the people's education?"
"When the country is in turmoil, all its subjects should learn martial arts so that they can serve the country at any time. When the country is peaceful and prosperous, literature and etiquette should be valued so that talents can emerge and the country can be secure forever. Your Majesty, ordinary people cannot afford to hire teachers or attend private schools. If private schools are transformed into national schools and the court provides teachers free of charge, it will surely inspire a culture of reading and writing in every household in Yuanqi."
"Yan Yan, you didn't mention it at all, but you brought up something big: asking His Majesty to fund education for all the people of the land. Do you know how much money that costs?"
Lou Shenghan looked pained. Luckily, he wasn't the emperor. If Xin Moyan had designs on his treasury, he definitely wouldn't have agreed.
Xin Moyan instantly understood his thoughts and calmly said, "Who said His Majesty should pay for all of this? The court collects countless taxes throughout the year, and with the three kingdoms coming to court every year, the cost of establishing national schools and hiring good teachers is not much. Furthermore, His Majesty, as the ruler of all people, sets an example by contributing a large sum, and all the civil and military officials contribute according to their ranks. That amount of money is quite substantial!"
His eyelids twitched, and he immediately shouted, "What does this have to do with the officials in the court? Why should they have to pay for it?"
"You've risen to the highest position in the government, and your salary comes from the hard-earned taxes of all the people under heaven. If you're so stingy with money, how can you be worthy of being a prime minister?"
"Yan Yan, you..."
"Hehe~ Yan'er's suggestion is excellent. If we are to wipe out all the powerful families in the court this time, we will really need talented people. Shenghan, you will keep an eye on the matter of Yijiao for me."
Lou Shenghan sighed deeply, "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Let's leave the matters of settling the orphans and widows and establishing the national academy to this topic for now. In your opinion, how should we deal with the Qin family and the other aristocratic families?"
"Cousin Yan'er, what do you think?"
“Me?” Xin Moyan pointed to herself. “How would I know how to handle this? This is a major matter for the court. You receive salaries, so you should serve the country. I’m just here to listen to the gossip.”
"Yan Yan, your mind can be quite clever sometimes. If you have any ideas, you should give us your advice, just to help His Majesty!"
"I don't want to. You all clearly have your own ideas, so why are you asking me? I'm going to find Buyu."
As she spoke, she stood up and added a reminder to Emperor Yuan, "Your Majesty, Su Mian is the most heinous of all. You must not let him off easily."
"Da~da~da~"
The sound of his fingers tapping on the table was crisp. Yuan Huaijun looked up and said casually, "Yan'er's idea is quite extraordinary. I am very pleased. I will reward Yan'er with 100,000 taels of gold and also grant me half a carriage. From now on, you will not have to walk in the palace."
Upon hearing this, Xin Moyan immediately sat down again, "Then... Yan'er will have to have a good chat now."
The two hadn't yet grasped the meaning of the second half of Emperor Yuan's sentence: "The emperor's half-carriage is just like the empress's."
Xin Moyan didn't think too much about it. First, she would get money, and second, she wouldn't have to walk around in the palace anymore. It was a good deal, especially since it was 100,000 taels of gold! Her cousin was more generous than anyone else!
"Your Majesty, regarding the matter of that prefect, since you've discovered he sent thugs to abduct a woman and bribed street ruffians to take the blame, I think we should remain silent for now. Those ruffians will be executed, and their close associates will surely know, as will the victim's family. We should bring both of them to the capital, then catch them off guard and have men surround the villa to rescue the innocent woman. With irrefutable evidence, we should immediately imprison the prefect. I don't believe that Grand Tutor Qin, a fellow official, hasn't secretly colluded with this brother-in-law. With him fallen from grace, Grand Tutor Qin will certainly be more cautious..."
"If we take this opportunity to expose the scandal between the Qin family's young master and the Fang family's concubine, then Minister Fang will definitely be furious and will also make trouble for Grand Tutor Qin."
"Yes, Yan'er, please continue."
"And then there's Shaoqing and Shaochang. Although they came from legitimate examination backgrounds, they must have been recommended by Grand Tutor Qin to have such a smooth career. If, when the Qin family's backyard catches fire, we gather evidence against these two and uproot them and their families, Qin Huai will be thrown into chaos. As for Su Mian, such heinous acts deserve to be torn to pieces. And since he's the nephew of the Grand Tutor's wife, with a string of his confidants falling into trouble, it'll be perfect to catch him off guard!" As she spoke, she raised her hand and made a throat-slitting gesture, which made the others laugh.
"When Grand Tutor Qin's right-hand men and powerful families are defeated one by one, other forces will surely come to Grand Tutor Qin for protection. We will use this as a pretext to thoroughly investigate the Grand Tutor's mansion."