You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 381 A Gentle Discussion of Ideas

After leaving the Church of Our Lady, Liu Rushi hesitated to speak.

Jiang Qingyun noticed her confusion but didn't intend to explain, because explaining why he encouraged missionary work was too complicated, too profound, and too terrifying.

What kind of intellectual sparks would fly when Confucius met Jesus?

That sounds very interesting!
……

The faded slogan at the entrance of the alley still faintly reveals its original meaning: "The New Life Movement is great!"

Jiang Qingyun felt a sense of loss. The vibrant scene of everything growing and thriving was still vivid in his mind. What a memorable period of fighting days it was!

The effects of traveling incognito were remarkable.

The inner city is clean and tidy, with a low population density and ideal sanitation.

The southern part of the city is bustling and prosperous, with a high population density and generally poor sanitation.

Located five miles outside Yongdingmen, the handicraft industrial area was filled with rows of shacks, shirtless men bustling about, the air thick with the smell of coal dust, sewage flowing through the streets, and residents' clothes filthy, making sanitation conditions a serious concern.

The capital city is in turmoil!

The same land, yet three different worlds.

The biggest advantage of traveling incognito is that one can see many things that one cannot normally see as the chief minister, such as: hidden filth and corruption.

In the handicraft cluster area outside Yongding Gate, gang forces resurfaced, street fights broke out one after another, children were sold in the street, and prostitution was openly negotiated.

Jiang Qingyun did not look well.

He felt particularly bad when he saw two teenagers selling cheap food on the street fighting over a customer, their noses bleeding and their pancakes rolling away, while the people around them cheered.

……

Liu Rushi, who was standing nearby, sensed the tense atmosphere, so she tugged at her sleeve and whispered to comfort him, "Young master, don't be sad, these are all normal."

"Is this normal?" he exclaimed. "If this is the case in the capital, one can only imagine the situation in other places."

"But you've already done your best."

Is your hometown like this too?

"Young master, do you think I fell into prostitution at a young age because I liked it? People say that Jiangnan is rich, but that only means that people are less likely to starve to death." Liu Rushi smiled bitterly.

"Is it okay to go down into the river to catch fish and shrimp?"

"No, it's being enslaved or prostituted, where you can get scraps. Compared to the desolate lands of Shaanxi and Gansu, we're still lucky."

Jiang Qingyun was startled; he was deeply shocked by these words.

"Young master, are you aware of the slave rebellion in Jiangnan a few years ago?"

“I know! The Qing army was pressing in, and the penniless servants took up arms and killed their former masters and mistresses. Later, they were suppressed by the Qing army.”

"Yes."

Jiang Qingyun suddenly stared at Liu Rushi and asked a very sensitive question: "Regarding this large-scale slave rebellion in Jiangnan, which side do you sympathize with?"

"I have no idea!"

"Is it that you don't know? Or that you don't want to say?"

Seeing Jiang Qingyun's aggressive attitude, Liu Rushi's eyes instantly filled with sadness and sorrow.

……

"Young master, this is not the place to talk. Let's find somewhere else to talk."

"it is good."

The four of them found a teahouse, paid extra for the tea, and booked the entire upstairs room, with two guards standing watch on the stairs.

Liu Rushi took a deep breath, her eyes filled with sincerity.

“Young master is my savior, I have no secrets from you.”

Jiang Qingyun nodded and slowly stirred the tea leaves.

Liu Rushi looked out the window.

"Logically speaking, I was sold to a brothel when I was young because of poverty. I was taught music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and the arts of love and sex. I should sympathize with the slaves, because we are all pitiful people."

"But I'm conflicted."

"I both sympathize with and despise the slaves. I both despise and sympathize with the gentry."

Jiang Qingyun listened with great interest. "Continue!"

“The servants had no roof over their heads and no place to stand, and their lives depended entirely on the charity of their masters. But their brutality in killing their masters filled me with fear. They threw children into the stove, they raped their masters’ concubines and then drowned them. They didn’t even spare the maids who were also servants.”

"The lives of wealthy merchants and gentry in Jiangnan are extremely extravagant. They own tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, mountains of gold and seas of silver, and beautiful wives and concubines. One meal of theirs is enough for a commoner's family to eat and wear for a year. I often write poems with them. They are knowledgeable, elegant, and very kind to me."

"I... I'm just very conflicted."

After saying this, Liu Rushi's eyes turned red.

……

Jiang Qingyun laughed. Yes, it's normal to have conflicting thoughts. How many people in the world can look at a problem completely objectively with their feet off the ground?
impossible.

"Young master, am I ridiculous?"

"No, quite the opposite, you are very genuine."

"Thank you, sir."

Liu Rushi was greatly relieved. With today's experience and evaluation, she no longer needed to worry about being expelled from the mansion in the future.

For those in positions of power, authenticity is a high compliment, guaranteeing lifelong wealth and status for the person being evaluated.

Jiang Qingyun ended the discussion with a single sentence.

"In the Jiangnan slave rebellion, the masters have committed major faults, and the servants have committed minor faults. But if these servants were to transform themselves into masters, they would be no more virtuous than their masters!"

The biggest problem is...

Jiang Qingyun pointed her index finger at the sky, which made her tremble with fear.

"On behalf of all the people of the world, I thank you, my lord."

“Not at all.” Jiang Qingyun waved his hand. “Frankly speaking, I don’t care at all whether people are grateful to me or resent me. I just want to do my own thing.”

Jiang Qingyun spoke very calmly. He knew very well that for ordinary people throughout thousands of years of history, there were only two possible fates in life—miserable and extremely miserable!

One person's strength is limited, and one person's lifespan is limited. Even if one devotes all one's heart and soul to something, one can only change the fate of a portion of the people.

Les Misérables is still Les Misérables.

Therefore, prepare yourself to go against the tide!

……

Noon the next day.

Jiang Deshun has arrived.

"Greetings, Grand Secretary."

“You are my father-in-law. If it weren’t for official business and if there were no one else around, you wouldn’t need to be so polite. Please sit down and have some tea.”

"Thank you, Chief Minister."

Jiang Deshun only dared to sit on half a stool.

"Is the investigation clear?"

"Yes. The reason why there are so many abandoned babies in the inner city is because of doubts about bloodlines. Many people cannot be sure whose child a newborn is, so infanticide and abandonment occur frequently, and the orphanage in the south city is full again."

"That's right."

Jiang Qingyun laughed. Although he was the one who started it all, he had no intention of admitting his mistake.

"Announce to the whole city that Heaven cherishes life. If you do not wish to raise them, send all abandoned infants to the South City Orphanage. We will take in as many as you have, and the imperial court will raise them all."

"As ordered."

In one month, the Nancheng Orphanage took in more than 4000 abandoned infants.

In two months, the number soared to 7000.

After three months, the number remained at 8000 and finally stopped.

The government and the public were in uproar.

The Manchu bannermen in the inner city remained silent.

Despite opposition, Jiang Qingyun sent 8000 abandoned infants to Miyun for centralized care and personally formulated a rigorous, ruthless, and scientific systematic training and elimination standard.

Spartan warriors must be trained from a young age!
More than a decade later, thousands of cold-blooded and ruthless orphan soldiers, armed with knives and guns, descended the mountain to bloodily suppress a new generation of opposition members who had risen to the top.

(End of this chapter)