CHAPTER 817: CHAPTER 815: WHY NOT EAT MEAT PORRIDGE?

Han Yanhui felt a surge of anger in his heart; scholars value propriety, justice, honesty, and shame, and they emphasize serving the court. Yet this ignorant woman, who hasn’t studied, dares to criticize scholars so harshly—truly detestable!

Ye Xinyan looked back at Han Yanhui without a trace of fear. If this were in the Imperial Court or a public setting, she indeed wouldn’t dare to speak such words. Right or wrong, it’s always hard to defy public outrage, isn’t it?

But things were different now; besides herself, there were only three people present.

The foremost was the Emperor—the supreme boss of the world. The Emperor did not care which class benefited as long as the dynasty remained stable, the State Treasury full, and national power strong. Ideally, His Majesty would be remembered in history, which was his greatest concern and desire.

Another was Jinrong, one of her own. As someone devoted to contending for imperial power, with the goal of becoming the next emperor, Jinrong’s attitude should align with that of Emperor Qianqing.

The only one left was Han Yanhui... In his weakened position, if she didn’t dare to speak, would she still possess the dignity of Miss Ye?

Ye Xinyan raised an eyebrow at Han Yanhui with a somewhat provocative demeanor, "Prime Minister Han, you know, this humble woman hasn’t read much and speaks her mind, but the unrefined words still have reason, don’t they?"

Jinrong cleared his throat but didn’t speak, instead lowering his head to examine the tiles of Qiuyun Mountain House’s main hall. Hmm, they seemed somewhat lacking in the accumulation of age and lacked depth.

Han Yanhui didn’t know how to respond to Ye Xinyan’s words. The opening seemed like she was admitting her lack of education, almost as if there was an element of apology, yet she truly hadn’t admitted any fault.

He indeed hoped for national prosperity and peace, and wished the court’s governance to be clear and bright, with all court officials united for the public good. Yet, originating from a scholarly background, he couldn’t stand someone defaming the image of scholars this way.

Should he rebuke this ignorant woman with a few words?

While Han Yanhui was still in doubt, Ye Xinyan continued, "This humble woman has always disliked dealing with scholars," Jiang Yifan excluded; his identity structure is quite complex, "because most scholars aren’t concerned with the common people but are instead focused on discerning people’s hearts and elevating themselves above others."

"You! Miss Ye, mind your words; the aspirations and integrity of scholars are not something you, as a woman, can casually tarnish?" Han Yanhui said angrily.

Ye Xinyan remained unafraid, "Lord Prime Minister, you may be angry, but your colleagues don’t give you much face. Few would sacrifice their reputation and status for the sake of the nation. Historically, the Imperial Court has had continuous disputes between civil and military officials, and everyone knows that the struggles between countries rely on military force, not on who writes better essays or who has more graceful manners. When have scholars ever truly acknowledged this?"

What Ye Xinyan was addressing was scholars, but in fact, throughout the dynasties, the emphasis on literature over military affairs—except for a few foolish emperors who preferred the graceful demeanor of literati—was mostly due to those in power fearing the military generals might become uncontrollable and pose a threat to imperial authority, leading to such mistaken policies.

Clearly, Emperor Qianqing was not such a foolish emperor; he looked slightly displeased after hearing Ye Xinyan’s words.

"Um," Jinrong finally lifted his gaze from the tiles and reminded, "Miss Ye, we were discussing how to maintain peace and prosperity while implementing patent protection."

"Oh, right, just now Prime Minister Han mentioned ensuring the people are well-fed." Ye Xinyan looked back at Han Yanhui, smiling apologetically, and said, "Prime Minister, have you heard of the anecdote ’Let them eat meat porridge’? This phrase, by itself, can’t be considered wrong. Ensuring the people are wealthy doesn’t solely depend on grains. If there’s meat porridge, vegetables, and fruits, it can offset many times the consumption of grains."

Han Yanhui twitched his mustache, showing a look of disdain. He thought she really was articulate but unexpectedly uttered such foolish words. ’Let them eat meat porridge’ is an anecdote but also a joke—did she understand?

Ye Xinyan ignored others’ expressions and continued, "In terms of sheer consumption, the noble and prestigious households in the capital certainly consume less grain annually than ordinary households because they have sufficient meat, eggs, and poultry at home.

By utilizing wild grasses and leaves across the mountains to develop breeding, there will naturally be meat porridge. By diversely cultivating crops in various mountainous and sandy lands, and having smooth and fast means of transporting goods, fruits and vegetables will also become food... There are many ways to feed the people, but no one has heard that restricting craftsmen’s labor can lead to a well-fed populace."

Well, this seems a bit far-fetched.

In truth, suddenly facing today’s situation, Ye Xinyan also found herself in a daze. But as the matter occurred abruptly, she could only think on her feet and speak off the cuff.

She addressed the Emperor seriously, "Your Majesty, if the craftsmanship sector develops to its utmost, it will undoubtedly make transportation across regions convenient, greatly benefiting weaponry, agriculture, and handicrafts. If we abandon developing the craftsmanship sector while unknown countries are advancing strongly in this area.

Then, after hundreds of years, when their apparatus has developed to a certain level, traveling on speedy tools, wielding weapons a hundred, thousands of times more powerful than our strong bows and hard crossbows, how do you plan to counter them, Your Majesty? With decorum and education? Or with the pens of scholars, or perhaps with the flesh and blood of the Great Xia Dynasty’s people to resist them?"

The Emperor and Han Yanhui’s expressions turned grim, the Emperor frowned and said, "Our Central Plains has stood as a great nation for thousands of years, how could there be such a country?"

Ye Xinyan raised an eyebrow, "The world is vast; so far, no one has reached its ends. The reason distant people may not have invaded could likely be because their transportation speed was slow and couldn’t sustain long journeys. If distant countries possessed the capability for long-distance travel and massive military strength, do you and Lord Prime Minister Han really believe that relying on the benevolence and etiquette of the Great Xia Dynasty could conquer them? When profit is at stake, those with stronger military power have the right to speak, to determine right from wrong."

The Emperor furrowed his brows tightly, recalling the railway carriage built in the capital the year before and the two tracks used for material transport. Previously, he could never have imagined that heavy goods could be moved as swiftly as galloping horses. Ye Xinyan’s words about the ultimate development of speed seemed possible?

"If the course of history proves that craftsmanship or weapon power is enough to overwhelm scholars, would you, Your Majesty, abandon the land and dignity just to maintain scholars’ high positions, or even to uphold etiquette? If we possess a good strategy and don’t implement it, yet others do it first. Once the opponent achieves a certain level of accumulation, the lagging party can only face defeat," Ye Xinyan said softly.

After a long silence, Jinrong suddenly spoke, smiling at the Emperor, "Imperial Father, as of now, all we’ve discussed are conjectures about many years into the future, the unknown future. But now it is approaching winter; next year, when food is scarce, it is also the season when wars frequently break out at the Northern border. Maybe Imperial Father could preemptively send some court officials devoted to fostering civility and education, along with their disciples, to the border pass, to educate the Northern Barbarians in advance, stopping their invasions with decorum and morality."

I’m afraid those who wax eloquent will stay far away, shirking with various excuses, won’t they?