Poverty Alleviation in Qin: A Sky-High Review of "I Am the Female Prime Minister of All Time&qu

Sweetie lowered her eyes and gazed at the inscription on the monument, reciting each word slowly and deliberately:

[In governing, we must straighten the fields, improve irrigation, promote agriculture and sericulture, refine agricultural techniques, and benefit all the people.]

[The invention of papermaking broke the millennia-old monopoly on knowledge, abolishing bamboo slips and ushering in paper books, allowing written words and ink to enter ordinary people's homes.]

Reduce taxes and levies, rectify official corruption, prevent powerful families from annexing land, and severely punish local bullies.

[Putting the people first, avoiding factionalism and cronyism, staying away from the power struggles of the court, and adhering solely to the pragmatic approach of bringing peace and prosperity to the people, De'an County, which had been impoverished for years, has been transformed into a prosperous and happy land.]

Upon entering the imperial court, he adjusted the Qin laws, treated the common people leniently, corrected the harshness of the laws, and repaired the loopholes in the administration.

[To guard the borders, stabilize the court, check and balance the powerful, restrain aristocratic families, curb land annexation, and facilitate trade throughout the land.]

[We do not establish powerful clans or factions; we only promote those from humble backgrounds who are truly capable.]

Countless ordinary people have been lifted out of poverty and entered officialdom because of your promotion and support...

Finally, Tian Tian looked at the inscription at the very end, her voice soft yet deep:

[Serving under several emperors throughout his life, standing firm in the court for a century, his original aspirations remained unchanged.]

He did not vie for power, fame, or personal gain; his lifelong pursuit was solely for the well-being of the people and the peace of the world.

He died at the age of 120 and should be revered as the greatest prime minister of all time.

The short inscription tells the story of a remarkable life.

Beneath the sky, all was deathly silent.

Song Ye's eyes were filled with fluctuating emotions, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Xiao He, standing beside him, gazed at the tombstone, his mind reeling, unable to recover for a long time.

But what he was really thinking was: following a lord like this, the future must be so bright that I can't sleep at night.

...

Time slips away quietly.

On the sky, Tian Tian walked along the long path and crossed a wide open square.

In the center of the square stands a colossal statue, several times taller than an average person, with flowing, elegant drapery and a hazy, solemn face, as if gazing upon humanity for millennia.

The base of the statue is inscribed with several lines of text, but the camera did not zoom in, so the writing was illegible.

Many people walked around the statue, some stopping and standing silently for a moment before bowing and leaving.

Sweetie stopped a short distance from the statue and explained, "Because it's the season for preparing for the civil service exam, many students come here to pay their respects to Song Ye, making wishes and praying for success in their exams."

Everyone: What does that mean??

Song Ye: ...That won't do, comrades. Instead of wasting time on superstition, you should use that time to study!

As everyone knows, taking the civil service exam is now extremely competitive, with only a very limited number of positions available.

[Because Song was also the greatest pragmatic minister in history, upright and impartial throughout his life, and an idol for countless students preparing for civil service exams; moreover, Song was undoubtedly the greatest pragmatic and virtuous minister in Chinese history, honest, upright, and fair in his dealings.]

Therefore, many people would come to worship before the exam, hoping that Prime Minister Song would protect them and help them pass the exam.

Song Ye: "..."

Unfortunately, she wasn't a turtle in a wishing well, and couldn't fulfill so many of her wishes to pass the civil service exam.

I'm afraid I can't help you all.

【Okay, that's all for today's roundup. See you next time!】 After saying that, Sweetie stretched out her palm and covered the camera, and the screen instantly went dark.

The sky disappeared, just as suddenly as it had appeared.

The images, sounds, and words that had just filled the entire sky have all vanished completely, leaving only the ordinary afternoon light and the sound of the wind, as if I had just had a long dream.

Under the eaves, Song let out a soft breath.

Thank goodness, they're finally gone!

This content creator talks too much and is too dense with information; every sentence feels like a test of a knife's edge.

Fortunately, Tianmu didn't continue speaking, leaving him time to make some plans.

"Xiao He, go and prepare the gifts."

"what?"

"Come with me to visit...my future father-in-law." Song choked up as he finished speaking.

...

At the same time.

The vast square in front of Xianyang Palace was deathly silent.

Ying Zheng stood atop the white jade steps, his gaze still fixed on the sky where it had just hovered, as if to confirm that the streak of light would never reappear.

After a long while, he slowly turned around and glanced at the officials below the steps.

"What are you waiting for? You must find out the whereabouts of De'an County."

Upon hearing this, the entire court of officials seemed to awaken from a dream.

One hour later.

Inside the Imperial Study.

Ying Zheng sat upright behind his desk, flipping through the documents and bamboo slips sent from various places. His fingertips paused slightly on the edge of the slips before slowly moving down.

Grand Censor Feng Jie stood before his desk, with stacks of newly retrieved county and prefecture maps and registers piled up beside him, casting a slanted, shallow shadow on the ground.

Li Si stood to his left, looking straight ahead, his thoughts unreadable.

After a long silence, Ying Zheng raised his head and asked, "Is there any progress?"

Feng Jie bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, I have thoroughly checked all the maps and place name registers of the prefectures and counties throughout the country, and examined each county, circuit, township, and pavilion under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Censorate. There is no county seat named De'an within the territory of the Great Qin."

He paused briefly, carefully choosing his words, "We surmise that the De'an County mentioned in the imperial edict is a name that was changed in later generations to commemorate the Song Dynasty chancellor."

Ying Zheng remained silent, his gaze fixed on the unfolded map of the territory.

"The difficulty now is that no one knows which city will be renamed De'an in later generations."

"I have ordered all counties to sort out their household registrations. All county magistrates with the surname Song must be registered. There are already dozens of such people in this category alone."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent again.

"....."

"Then continue the investigation. Don't be fixated on place names; investigate the people." With that, Ying Zheng glanced at the people before him. "Which county has clean governance and stable livelihoods? Which magistrate, though of humble origins, has achieved remarkable political success? I refuse to believe we can't find them!"

"Here you go—"

The three highest officials of the Qin Dynasty were known for their efficiency in handling affairs.

The Censorate quickly retrieved the relevant documents and official performance records from various counties over the past three years, while the Left and Right Chancellor Offices dispatched a large number of clerks to verify household registrations, resumes, and performance records.

"Your Majesty, we have reviewed the officials across the country one by one according to the four criteria of clean governance, humble origins, and outstanding political achievements, and selected several people whose resumes highly match the criteria."

He spread out the roster and slowly read out each name, like pebbles falling into the deathly silence of the room.

"The magistrate of a certain county in Shu Prefecture, Song, came from a humble background. In the three years since he took office, the number of bandit cases has decreased significantly, the official granaries are full of grain, and he is widely praised by the people." After reading the first point, Feng Jie paused slightly, leaving the emperor room to think.

"The magistrate of Kuaiji County, Song, studied alone in his youth and gradually rose through the ranks from a minor official. During his tenure, he reclaimed wasteland, expanded farmland, and repaired ditches, resulting in a surplus of grain in the county every year."

"..."

"The magistrate of Nanyang County, Song, rose from humble beginnings. His administration was lenient and peaceful, and he never levied additional taxes. As a result, the number of registered households under his jurisdiction increased year by year."

"..."

"The magistrate of Liaodong County, Song, was a farmer's son who entered officialdom through self-study of law. He cleared up three years' worth of backlog cases within a month."

"..."

"The magistrate of Pei County in Sishui Prefecture, Song, whose place of origin is unknown, has been in office for nearly three years. He has built roads and bridges, regulated markets, taught farming techniques, and dug irrigation ditches, turning Pei County, which was always short of food, into the granary of Sishui Prefecture."

After reading the names of the last person, Feng Jie fell silent.

Ying Zheng's gaze was fixed on the last line of the book, and he read it carefully twice, comparing and verifying this record with all the details he saw in the sky.

After a long pause, he spoke in a calm tone, like a chess piece steadily placed in its designated position: "Pei County... I remember, Minister Meng once went there to inspect the area?"

Li Si turned his head slightly and they reminisced about the past.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yi, who was standing on the outside, stepped forward and bowed in response: "Your Majesty, I was previously ordered to inspect the administration of Sishui County and passed through Pei County. The local people praised the magistrate highly, saying that after he took office, the whole county has been completely transformed."

After hearing this, Ying Zheng focused his gaze on the entry for Magistrate Song in the register, and checked with Meng Yi what he had said in the sky.

After a moment, he ordered in a deep voice, "Then this matter will be entrusted to you to go to Pei County personally." After a brief pause, he added, "As for the other four, Feng Jie, you should send people down to check them one by one."

"Here you go—"