Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 75 Hu Yuan's Disappointment

"But the common people benefited, didn't they?"

The young man retorted, "The Book of Documents says: 'The people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is firm, the state is at peace.' What's wrong with the court relinquishing benefits to the people?"

"I was just expressing my personal opinion!"

Zhou An replied calmly, bowed slightly to Hu Yuan, and said, "Scholar Hu, I have finished speaking!"

He recognized the young man, but didn't know his exact name. He had sat at the same table as the top scholar at the Deer Cry Banquet, so he must have ranked quite high in the provincial examination.

However, he was too lazy to argue with the other party. The problems of corrupt salt administration and excessively high salt prices did indeed exist.

Even if the imperial court abolishes government-run businesses, will the people really benefit?

Individual monopolies are more terrifying than imperial monopolies.

If the imperial court opens up state-run monopolies, how can ordinary merchants possibly access salt, iron, tea, and horses?

This is clearly unrealistic; in order to maximize profits, businessmen will inevitably form regional monopolies.

To put it bluntly, even if some corrupt officials appear in government-run enterprises, most of what they embezzle is still government money.

The decline of the salt administration and the resulting decrease in the imperial court's revenue from salt production are prime examples of this.

After privatization, businessmen need to bribe officials at all levels and protect their own interests, so they can only earn money from ordinary people.

The so-called argument in the "Discourses on Salt and Iron" that benefits the people does not refer to ordinary people at all.

The representatives gathered at that time were local gentry and Confucian scholars. These people advocated giving back to the people, but they were referring to themselves. Ordinary people didn't even have the right to speak.

However, this kind of topic is too sensitive, and the other party brought up the idea of ​​putting the people first in the Book of Documents.

If Zhou An continued arguing with him, it would inevitably lead to some sensitive topics.

"Yes, please sit down!"

Hu Yuan nodded slightly, gesturing for Zhou An and the young man to sit down.

"What you just said each has its own merits; it's not a matter of who's right or wrong, just different perspectives. But I'm very disappointed in you!"

Hu Yuan paused for a moment and said, "The Four Books and Five Classics are all treasures left by our predecessors. Their meanings should have been thoroughly studied long ago."

Why have scholars throughout history continued to study these subjects? Why have so many great Confucian scholars emerged throughout history?

Is it true that people have always revered the past and belittled the present? It's because the ancients left behind a lot of valuable experience, some good and some bad.

Confucius once said: "When three people walk together, one of them will be my teacher. I will choose their good points and follow them, and correct their bad points."

The principle of respecting the past and belittling the present is essentially this. We scholars have the experience of our ancestors, we follow and emulate the good experiences of the sages, and we use the bad ones to remind ourselves.

We should thank them, therefore we should respect the past. And it's our duty to do well; if we don't, we should feel even more ashamed!

Hu Yuan's gaze swept over everyone, and they all lowered their heads in response to his gaze.

"But nothing in this world is immutable. We cannot simply copy the experiences of our predecessors to solve the problems of today."

I asked you to talk about the "Discourses on Salt and Iron". Although some people mentioned some drawbacks of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they almost all just glossed over them.

Instead, they used examples from various dynasties to provide evidence.

However, the previous dynasties all perished, indicating that the methods used in those dynasties may not necessarily be applicable.

After you return today, each of you shall write an essay titled "New Discourses on Salt and Iron," and submit it in three days!

"Yes!" the crowd replied respectfully.

After Hu Yuan finished his reprimand, he began to formally teach. He did not talk about "Discourses on Salt and Iron", but instead talked about the salt administration system of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Many people actually only have a superficial understanding of the systems and procedures of some of the government's institutions.

Take salt and iron as an example. The imperial court managed these matters through the Salt and Iron Bureau, one of the Three Departments.

Salt transport commissioners were also established in each route to be specifically responsible for the salt affairs of that route.

But few people could explain exactly what they did or how the Great Zhou Salt Administration system operated.

Hu Yuan asked everyone to write a new treatise on salt and iron, so that the students would understand the process involved.

After an unknown amount of time, a clapper sounded outside; it was the bell ringing to signal the end of classes at Tongzhou Academy.

Before long, the quiet academy became somewhat noisy. But Hu Yuan still showed no sign of stopping.

It wasn't that he went overtime, but rather that this class was temporary, and he was the only one teaching it.

Unlike regular classes at the academy, which are divided into several sessions, this one was not like a regular academy class.

He only teaches one class each in the morning and afternoon, and the duration of each class depends entirely on himself.

Hu Yuan gave a detailed account of the entire salt administration system before announcing her dismissal.

Dozens of students immediately stood up, bowed, and shouted in unison, "Respectfully bidding farewell to the scholar!"

After Hu Yuan left, the students straightened up and sat down.

"Huai De, when did you arrive?"

Guan Yan walked over and asked with a smile.

"It just arrived yesterday."

Zhou An smiled and said, "Let's pack up and go outside to chat."

"Alright, I'll treat you to a welcome dinner later!" Guan Yan nodded.

Zhou An shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it won't work today. I brought my wife with me this time. She's new to Tongzhou and doesn't know anyone here. I need to go back and check on her."

"You brought your sister-in-law along too?" Guan Yan asked in surprise.

He knew that Zhou An was an only son in his family, and in such cases, the wife would usually stay at home to serve her parents-in-law after marriage.

"Um."

Zhou An said somewhat embarrassedly, "As you know, I'm the only son in my family, and my parents want me to have children as soon as possible!"

He brought Shulan to Tongzhou, and that's what his parents told everyone else.

This way, people won't say you're unfilial; instead, fulfilling your parents' expectations is seen as an act of filial piety.

"I'll bring my sister to visit you another day, and I'll encourage her to spend more time with Lingzheng!" Guan Yan said.

Lingzheng is the term used by friends to refer to someone else's wife.

"Thank you very much!"

Zhou An didn't stand on ceremony. Shulan could still look at the accounts of the farm and shops at home and teach Yu Jie'er.

There was practically no one to talk to in Tongzhou.

At this moment, the pageboys from next door came in and began tidying up their masters' things.

The two stopped chatting and, after packing their things, left the school together.

"Scholar Hu really knows how to give people difficult problems, actually asking us to write 'New Discourses on Salt and Iron'."

Guan Yan whispered, "This kind of article is not easy to write!"

"There must have been some recent changes in the court. Just write down whatever you think is right!" Zhou An whispered.

"Um?"

Guan Yan was taken aback, then seemed to understand something, and said, "Is it Hu...?"

"Shh!"

Zhou An quickly made a gesture and said, "Don't ask anymore!"

He told Guan Yan because Hu Yuan hadn't specifically instructed him not to tell anyone, but he couldn't go into too much detail.

"I see!"

Guan Yan laughed and said, "Scholar Hu really thinks highly of you."

He was certain that Zhou An must have learned something from Scholar Hu, which was why he was told to write whatever he wanted without worrying about anything else.

Zhou An smiled but didn't reply.

The two chatted idly as they left the academy, where the strict coachman was already waiting at the entrance.

Guan Yan invited Zhou An into the car and sent him back.

Knowing that Zhou An's wife had arrived, Guan Yan did not enter the house.