Chapter 654

Hearing this, everyone felt it was a dead end.

Taxes are collected because the treasury has no money, the people rise up because they can't stand being fleeced, money must be spent to suppress the uprisings, and once too much money is spent, taxes must be increased again, and once taxes are collected ruthlessly, the people rise up again...

An infinite vicious cycle.

He Lingchuan looked at Gao Jilin: "What does Brother Gao think?"

"I think we still need to see clearly where the root of these troubles lies." Gao Jilin said slowly. "The country is suffering from consecutive disasters because the primordial energy is thin and cannot benefit the four directions, showing that the national strength was already weak to begin with. First, see clearly where the crux lies—is it because the monarch is stubborn and fond of grandiosity? Is it because treacherous officials are in power? Or is it because of abusive and tyrannical governance? Only then can we prescribe the right medicine."

The students listened and nodded one after another: "Brother Gao speaks well; one must find the pulse to know the source of the disease."

"Stop talking about that useless stuff!" A voice suddenly rose from the side, drowning out the others. "I ask you, how long has this monarch been on the throne?"

He Lingchuan saw that the person speaking was in his early twenties, with a stout build, a somewhat long face, and a slightly red nose: "For some years now. May I ask who you are?"

"My surname is Du!" This person asked directly, "The country is impoverished and weak—did this only appear after he took the throne?"

"No." He Lingchuan shook his head. "The previous monarch was old, senile, and stubborn, doing many foolish things."

Regarding the former monarch of the Yuan Nation, he naturally had nothing good to say.

"And after the new monarch took the throne and began governing, there hasn't been the slightest improvement?"

"Almost none." He Lingchuan said. "The new monarch also pushed for new policies, but they failed."

This person slapped the table with a 'pa': "Then is there any need to ask where the root cause is? It's with the monarch!"

Before Gao Jilin could speak, Jiang Tao said unhappily: "I say, Du Shan, a nation's weakness has many causes and effects; why do you pin it all on the monarch?"

"The causes and effects you speak of are all superficial; the root cause is the monarch!" Du Shan said bluntly. "If you wish to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. If you cannot reform the old or innovate the new, cannot know and use people well, cannot punish the treacherous and govern the evil, and cannot benefit the country and the people—tell me, whose fault is this?"

Liu Zewu also joined the questioning: "Then according to you, what should be done?"

Seeing more and more people paying attention to him, Du Shan smiled: "There is a superior strategy and an inferior strategy. Which one do you want to hear?"

He Lingchuan chose: "Let's hear the inferior strategy first."

Du Shan immediately shook the wine pot: "Hey, it's empty!"

He Lingchuan smiled and raised his hand to summon a waiter: "A jar of five-year-aged Qinxiang Spring, for Brother Du!"

The wine at Xiangman Restaurant was also divided into different grades, and the best and most famous was its self-brewed Qinxiang Spring, said to be brewed from spring snow gathered from branches and plum blossoms in bud, making it fragrant and smooth.

Of course, the price was also significantly higher than the second or third grades.

The cost of living in Beijia was already expensive, and here it was layered with several more buffs; a jar of five-year-aged Qinxiang Spring cost five silver taels (five thousand coins).

Du Shan was also taken aback, giving a thumbs up: "Generous, who are you?"

"My surname is He."

Jiang Tao muttered in a low voice: "Brother He is confused. This kid won't come up with any good tricks." They were government-sponsored students and didn't lack money at home, but they wouldn't give five taels of good wine to a stranger just to hear an inferior strategy.

He Lingchuan whispered: "It's fine."

He wouldn't throw money around for no reason either.

The wine arrived, and Du Shan smashed the mud seal, sniffed the wine's aroma at the mouth of the jar, and then poured himself a cup.

"The inferior strategy is to find some excuses to punish and confiscate the property of those corrupt officials in the court, and use the silver and wealth confiscated to fill the national treasury; then there won't be a shortage of money in the short term, right?" Du Shan sipped the wine. "You can't scrape any more money from the common people, and since the national parasites have been fattened for so many years, if you don't slaughter them now, when will you?"

He Lingchuan's eyes flashed: "Sounds good, but why is it rarely used by nations?"

Given the current situation of the Yuan Nation, they hadn't taken action against the officials either.

"Roots are intertwined, there's fear in the heart, and they can't bring themselves to act." Du Shan chuckled. "Actually, why hasn't it been used? The Xulu vassal state of the Beijia Nation used it. When the third Demon King ascended the throne, he didn't waive the deficits of officials at all levels, but ordered an audit of money and grain in all regions, setting a deadline to make up for the deficits, otherwise they would be strictly arrested and punished. In just a few years, the money in the national treasury was replenished. He didn't confiscate their homes, but the effect was the same."

Jiang Tao scratched his head: "What you say isn't wrong, but..." It didn't follow the usual rules, and it didn't speak of the principles of governing the world.

Du Shan didn't even look at him: "It's just wine-table politics, just three cups of idle chatter; what method can't be mentioned?"

Wine-table politics—discussing politics while drinking.

Wasn't it just chewing the fat? He Lingchuan said at the right moment: "If the monarch could do it, he would have done it years ago; would he wait until now? If he tries to do it on the spur of the moment, I'm afraid the court and the public will be in turmoil, making things even worse."

The students present all knew that, in reality, even an emperor couldn't do whatever he wanted.

Courage and ability—some people are born with them, while others never get near them until they die.

"That's exactly the logic!" Du Shan slapped the table and laughed again. "That's why I have a superior strategy!"

He Lingchuan had already understood a bit, but still said: "Please speak."

"Since the root cause is the monarch, why not just change someone else to be the monarch?" Du Shan narrowed his eyes. "The throne should be occupied by the capable. Whoever can quell chaos and pacify the people can naturally sit firmly on that throne."

Everyone burst into laughter: "Du Shan is offering a poisonous scheme again, it's always like this!"

"The first strike of reform is to turn around and destroy the monarch. Hahahaha!"

Once He Lingchuan heard this, he knew that this Du Shan liked to take unconventional paths; it seemed he was famous for it even within the academy.

If Sun Hongye were here, these two would probably cherish each other and consider each other soulmates, right?

Facing the laughter of the crowd, Du Shan remained calm: "For a ruler, indecisiveness is a great taboo. The so-called 'if the heart isn't ruthless, the position isn't stable.' To implicate the common people with one's own strength—why bother? Besides, that monarch hasn't been able to strengthen the country or benefit the people for many years, which shows that he is in a position but cannot fulfill his duties; someone should naturally take his place."

"You laugh when I say it, thinking it's a fantasy, but in reality, throughout all dynasties and generations, it has always been like this." He laughed. "I ask you, is the state more important, or is the monarch more important?"

He Lingchuan lowered his gaze, thinking of the Grand Marshal of the Yuan Nation, Nian Zanli, and even the "Holy Master" Hong Xiangqian.

Actually, wasn't what they were doing exactly what Du Shan said? Gao Jilin had been pondering, and suddenly said: "The Yuan Nation is weak internally, with separatist regimes and uprisings, so the royal court has to send troops to suppress them. War is the most expensive thing, and the army can't be maintained without money, so the central government has to increase taxes on the people across the country. The tax burden is further increased, the people are destitute, and nine out of ten lands are empty, so they have to rebel and rise up... This cycle is likely one of the main reasons for the Yuan Nation's decline."

Du Shan slapped the table: "Did you hear that, did you hear that? This is the imminent problem of the Yuan Nation! Come, continue."

Gao Jilin smiled and continued:

"The Yuan army lacks men, horses, money, and grain; in the end, it's just a lack of money. As long as there is money, men, horses, and grain can all be bought. The top priority for the Yuan monarch is to quickly get a large sum of external wealth. In this way, the poor will have a livelihood and won't rise up, the country will have military funds and won't need to levy heavy taxes, and that vicious cycle above will be broken. As long as they persist like this and let the national strength rest and recuperate for a period of time, the Yuan Nation can return to normal and improve."

He added: "There are many reasons for the Yuan Nation's fatigue and weakness; I'm just choosing one to talk about. Not long ago, the Yuan Nation fought a Battle of Hanshui against General Nian, the Governor of Xunzhou. The Yuan army was originally beaten and retreating, forced to retreat to the natural barrier of Hanshui. I heard that later, the Yuan royal court and local areas managed to get money and grain to transport to the front line, and as a result, the Yuan army suddenly fought to a draw with General Nian."

He used the Battle of Hanshui to support his point of view.

Everyone said one after another: "That makes sense, but how can this money be obtained?"

"It's already at the end of its rope, which means all the methods that should have been thought of have been thought of; where else can it get money?"

"Borrowing is fine, stealing is fine, robbing is fine. Otherwise, the country will just wait to collapse, and the monarch will just wait to have his head chopped off." Du Shan bared his teeth. "The superior and inferior strategies I just mentioned don't they correspond exactly to what Brother Gao said? Punish and confiscate the property of corrupt parasites, the people will applaud, the royal court will gain both reputation and money, and both public opinion and practical benefits will be achieved, and there will be money to fight; conversely, if this monarch can't get money, he deserves to fall, and someone who can take action should be brought in to get the money."

Zheng Zewu shook his head: "How can it be that easy? The relationships in the royal court are often intricate..."

Du Shan glared: "It's complicated, so you don't do it? Those who achieve great things endure what others cannot and do what others cannot. The country is on the verge of destruction, and the monarch is still hesitating—a great taboo!"

Jiang Tao scratched his head: "Just killing a few parasites, I'm afraid the money won't be enough, right?"

"Then you can still steal, rob, or borrow; you can't be tied hand and foot." Du Shan smiled. "Is this the time to worry about face?"

Others actually didn't refute his point of view, but followed his line of thought and extended it into a discussion, buzzing like bees.

Among them were some suggestions that He Lingchuan found inconceivable—no, rather, quite inspiring.

He had been busy with his own tasks recently and rarely pondered these major events deeply.

These guys still had some substance in their bellies.

It wasn't until the discussion gradually subsided that he asked Du Shan:

"In Brother Du's view, should a nation's system serve gods or serve monarchs?"

Du Shan picked up a small dried fish to chew and said without thinking: "We are humans; human destiny should naturally be in human hands. Could it be that we let the Heavenly Gods have power over our life and death?"

He Lingchuan smiled.

At this moment, Gao Jilin suddenly said to He Lingchuan: "There are a few people over there who have been staring at Brother He; I'm afraid they have ill intentions. Should we go report it to the officials?"

The public security near the Imperial Academy was still quite good, and the government offices here would definitely respond to reports.

Everyone followed his gaze and indeed saw a table of three or four people sitting by the door; they were all burly men who had only ordered a pot of tea, drinking while staring here, their gazes seemingly unkind.

"Oh, no need, no need." He Lingchuan waved his hands repeatedly. "Thank you all for your concern, but they were sent to protect my safety, not petty thieves."

These were the Tongxin Guards stationed at the Pianxiang Villa, traveling with him in plain clothes today, looking like fierce men.

The students were all taken aback.

(End of chapter)