Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 11 The Most Beautiful Woman in Jiangnan
"Brother Jingxiu, may I ask how you write your policy essays?"

In the student hostel room, Wang Shuishan took the initiative to compare answers with Song Shi'an.

Song Shi'an waved his hand modestly and said, "You go first."

It's very simple. Those who proactively compare answers with you after the exam are the ones who think they did well.

More than knowing Song Shi'an's answer, he wanted his answer to be recognized.

"Let me first share my limited knowledge."

Wang Shuishan smiled demurely and said, "In my opinion, the national treasury is empty, and we must address the problem at its root."

"Ah."

Song Shi'an nodded in agreement.

It seems he has grasped the key points.

"Although Yizhou suffered from a locust plague last year, resulting in a poor harvest, it was only one of the six prefectures of Dayu that encountered this natural disaster. The other five prefectures, especially the Jingzhao region in Guanzhong, even had a bumper harvest. Such a situation is not unusual in the past. In fact, it is quite normal."

Wang Shuishan was not someone who studied books in isolation; he and his father had traveled to many places and had a good understanding of the lives of ordinary people. Therefore, he directly judged: "According to my guess, the grain reserves did not suddenly decrease and the national treasury was empty. Rather, there was a continuous deficit every year. Until last year, when the reserves finally ran out, the court was unable to bear the burden, and the people's anger suddenly erupted."

These words immediately made Song Shi'an look at him with new respect.

That's right, it's extremely rare.

Some young masters from wealthy families who are detached from production, let alone knowing the actual conditions of people's lives, may not even be able to distinguish between hemp, millet, sorghum, wheat, and beans.

Modern people can't distinguish between food and food security, which is fine; without a food crisis, the concept of food security simply doesn't exist.

But the scions of noble families are the heirs of the feudal ruling class.

It's extremely dangerous to not even know these things.

"Actually, it has always been like this. Why is it that we are suddenly unable to bear it?" Wang Shuishan continued, "When His Majesty the Emperor ascended the throne, the records of Dayu showed 40,000 officials and 260,000 soldiers. Now, the number of officials has exceeded 100,000 and the number of soldiers is close to 500,000, which is more than double."

"Does that require reducing redundant officials?"

"No, absolutely not."

Shaking his head, Wang Shuishan said solemnly, "Sun Tuo, the false emperor of the Baiyue tribes in the Southern Mountains, is brave and warlike. He has coerced nearly a hundred tribes into submission to him and commands an army of over ten thousand. Even if we could win against him, the wilderness would be useless to occupy, but we still have to station troops there to guard against him. The Yan King in the northeast of Liaodong, though nominally a vassal, is greedy and fickle. He will bite at any time if there is an advantage. The greatest enemy, of course, is Ji Yuan of the false Qi Dynasty in the north. This man is ambitious and has the ambition to conquer the world. His country's strength is not much weaker than that of our Great Yu..."

"Although our Great Yu Kingdom is the strongest, it is surrounded by enemies on all sides and does not actually have the 'power'. In fact, it can only defend itself and cannot spare any strength to conquer the south and the north and expand its territory."

As he spoke, Wang Shuishan said passionately, "In order to unify the world, land reform is necessary."

As he spoke, Song Shi'an slowly began to clap his hands.

He blushed a little at this: "Brother Shi'an, what's going on?"

“Continue,” Song Shi’an said.

After clearing his throat, Wang Shuishan said, "With food shortages, we cannot reduce the number of officials or soldiers, nor can we raise taxes. The best course of action now is to free up the tenant farmers who have been hidden by powerful families, and then implement the equal-field system to encourage the reclamation of new land. The first year will be tax-free, and the first three years will see tax reductions. After three years, taxes will be levied at 70%. In this way, the national treasury will be alleviated within five years, and within ten years, it will be full, making it no problem to support hundreds of thousands of troops."

"Good, well said."

Suddenly, Song Shi'an exclaimed, "These scoundrel families should have died long ago!"

"..."

Wang Shuishan, who had been laughing, was taken aback by Song Shi'an's excitement and quickly explained, "Of course, that's not what I meant."

You already are.

how to say?

Song Shi'an knew that his heart was absolutely good.

He was like Hai Rui, generous and upright.

But like Hai Rui, he was also a poor official.

Some might argue that Hai Rui reached the rank of second-grade official, so how could he be considered a poor official?

Holding a high-ranking official position does not necessarily mean doing a good job.

He could be a pioneer of reform, but he couldn't lead it. In fact, even if he were a high-ranking official, the area he governed wouldn't exceed one prefecture.

Not to mention the dozen or so counties, with millions of people.

"What do you think, Brother Jingxiu?" Wang Shuishan asked.

"very good."

Song Shi'an nodded in response, his expression serious.

What's so good about it?
The good thing is that he wasn't just talking; he actually wrote those words into his exam paper.

That alone is admirable.

But in reality, it's still a matter of stance.

His father rose from a stable boy to a county magistrate, so he didn't belong to the aristocratic family group.

Naturally, they had no goodwill towards aristocratic families.

When they act, they strike directly at the vital points.

"Is there anything lacking?" Wang Shuishan asked.

"How can tenant farmers be separated from the powerful clans?"

Just as if waiting for Song Shi'an to ask a question, Wang Shuishan presented his series of countermeasures.

His expression was extremely clear.

He also has a considerable understanding of the situation in local prefectures and counties. You could say he's quite knowledgeable.

For someone with such substance, Song Shi'an, as a listener, only needs to listen attentively and offer support by saying "What should we do?" at crucial moments, which will provide them with a wealth of emotional value.

The two of them continued chatting like that.

The sky had completely darkened.

Song Shi'an suddenly realized and stood up: "Oh dear, it's already this late..."

"I'm so sorry, Brother Jingxiu and I really feel like we've known each other for ages. I have so much to say that I've lost track of time."

Seeing this, Wang Shuishan quickly apologized and said, "If you don't mind, why don't you stay in my bed tonight?"

Excellent! Excellent!

"How can this be appropriate?"

"Please don't be shy. If you consider me a friend, please stay." Wang Shuishan said, taking out a straw mat and spreading it on the ground. "I'll go find the shopkeeper to get a mattress. I'll sleep on this mat tonight."

"Isn't that inappropriate?" Song Shi'an quickly said, "I'll sleep on the mat instead."

"Brother Jingxiu, stop arguing and listen to me."

Wang Shuishan made the decision to become the absolute CEO.

Then, I went to the shop to get bedding and made a makeshift bed on the floor.

"It's getting late, Brother Jingxiu must be tired. Why don't you go to sleep first and we can talk again tomorrow?"

"Okay, goodnight," Song Shi'an said with a polite smile.

Good night…

Hearing the other person greet him with those two words, Wang Shuishan felt a sense of closeness.

Goodnight? That's quite interesting.

Lying in bed, before blowing out the lamp, Song Shi'an looked at the 'meal ticket' under the bed and unusually made a conclusion: "Shuishan, you will pass the imperial examination and become a scholar."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuishan smiled subtly.

Lying on his back, he looked at the hazy moonlight outside the window and said expectantly, "I still want to pass the Asian Yuan exam, and preferably become a candidate official directly. The reform of the Great Yu is imminent."

"No problem, we all have a bright future."

After making the joke, Song Shi'an blew out the lamp.

"Brother Jingxiu, what is your strategy..."

Just as Wang Shuishan was about to say something, he heard Song Shi'an snoring as he slept.

Did you fall asleep so quickly?

Wang Shuishan smiled as he covered himself with the blanket and went to sleep.

Song Shi'an, who was sleeping on his side with his back to Wang Shuishan, slowly opened his eyes.

Hey, will this guy pass the imperial examination?
Such a radical approach could very well lead to erectile dysfunction.

Never mind, time to sleep.

.........

Song Shi'an slept very well at the student inn, waking up naturally.

Upon waking, the already noisy sounds outside became even clearer.

At that moment, he saw Wang Shuishan standing by the window, leaning out and looking outside.

So he went over and stood to the side: "What are you looking at?"

"..." Wang Shuishan was startled, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Song Shi'an, and said, "Everyone's watching."

Indeed, Song Shi'an was on the third floor, and a bunch of heads were also peeking out from the room below the second floor.

On the street below the post station, a carriage with curtains, jewels, and sachets was parked. The carriage was drawn by two horses, with servants escorting and clearing the way in front and behind.

This is the student hostel area, with more than a dozen hostels in a row, and people watching the excitement from every window.

The people on the street seemed to have all their eyes focused on the carriage.

"Who is this?" Song Shi'an asked.

Wang Shuishan said with great interest, "The current Minister of Works, Lord Sun, said that all the top scholars in the capital city would be invited to his birthday celebration."

"Sun Situ is such a fan."

"Oh no."

Wang Shuishan was speechless and said, "On the surface, Minister Sun is celebrating his birthday, but in reality, he is using this imperial examination to find a husband for his youngest daughter. And this is his youngest daughter, who came all the way from Yangzhou."

"You're so young, how could you have such thoughts?" Song Shi'an complained.

"No, I do not covet power and wealth."

At this point, Wang Shuishan blushed and said shyly, "But that young lady of Minister Sun is known as the most beautiful woman in Jiangnan."

"Humph."

Song Shi'an shrugged dismissively, his face expressionless.

Then, with his elbows resting on the window frame and his body leaning forward, he did the same thing as all the students, watching the carriage slowly lift its curtain.

(End of this chapter)