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

Fusu, dressed in plain-colored gentleman's clothes, saw Chunyu Yue's pleading gaze, his brows slowly furrowed, and his eyes were filled with deep helplessness.

He studied under a Confucian scholar from a young age and always respected his teacher, Chunyu Yue.

But the future recorded on the sky is already predetermined, and no one can change it.

He gently shook his head at Chunyu Yue, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Even if Fusu intended to favor the Confucian school, he could not stop the prevailing trend of the world.

Upon seeing this, the civil officials who were affiliated with the Confucian school and often accompanied Fusu all lowered their heads, and a deathly silence fell over the scene.

In October of the 28th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, the scholar Chunyu Yue led a group of Confucian officials in submitting a memorial to the throne, earnestly requesting the restoration of the old system of enfeoffment. He then engaged in a heated debate in the palace with Li Si and other Legalist officials.

The scene abruptly shifts, freezing on the solemn and majestic main hall of Zhangtai.

Chunyu Yue stepped forward, holding his scepter, his posture upright, his tone resounding, displaying an air of concern for the nation and adherence to the ancient sage kingly way: "Your Majesty, I report: The Zhou dynasty's system of enfeoffment, bestowing titles upon relatives and rewarding meritorious officials, served as a protective barrier for the four directions and a safeguard for the royal family, thus ensuring over eight hundred years of peace and stability for the nation!"

"Now that Your Majesty has unified the land, your sons and brothers are all commoners, without an inch of land to their name. If any county or prefecture falls into turmoil, or if unrest breaks out on the borders, the imperial family will be without support, and the court will be without reliance!"

"Abolishing ancient systems and abandoning the rites of Zhou is not the way of a benevolent ruler! We earnestly request Your Majesty to reinstate the feudal system and revive the ancient rites!"

A group of Confucian scholars stepped forward one after another to second his opinion, their voices righteous and dignified: "What the scholars say is absolutely right! Ancient systems cannot be abolished, and the way of the king cannot be disregarded! The independent governance of prefectures and counties is a dangerous path for a lonely ruler and his few ministers. Only by enfeoffing princes can the state achieve lasting prosperity!"

For a time, the hall was filled with the sounds of Confucian scholars, who used the righteousness of sages and the way of the king to disguise their selfish motives as something righteous and honorable.

Among the Legalist ranks, Li Si, his face cold and stern, stepped forward, refusing to yield an inch: "A pedantic argument? The enfeoffment system of the Shang and Zhou dynasties was not the way of the king; it was a helpless measure taken when the land was vast and the population sparse, and government orders could not be effectively implemented!"

"You constantly spout ancient rites and the way of the king, ignoring the scourge of a century of war and failing to see the achievements of unification and stability!"

"Talking about restoring the past and reversing the advantages and disadvantages is to disregard the peace and stability of the people! The enfeoffment system must never be restored!" Li Si's words were firm and resounding, directly refuting the grand arguments of the Confucian officials, leaving them full of loopholes and unable to refute them.

The camera then gently pans to a figure standing to the side in the hall.

At that time, Song Ye, who was in the central government, stood quietly beside the court officials in a simple and solemn official robe.

I simply watched this debate between Confucianism and Legalism, between the old and the new, with a cold and quiet eye.

On the high dragon throne, the First Emperor's gaze swept over the two groups of arguing officials, finally settling on Song Ye, who stood silently observing, and he asked softly, "Minister Song, what is your opinion on this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all eyes in the hall instantly focused on Song Ye.

Chunyu Yue glanced at her casually, not taking her seriously at all.

In his view, Song was nothing more than a minister who implemented practical new policies, but he did not understand the classics and the way of the king. At most, he would just echo a few words and could not cause any trouble.

Li Si also frowned slightly, a hint of impatience in his heart.

Both sides have already made their arguments clear, so there's no need to go through with anything further.

But the next second, Song also slowly stepped out of the queue, his expression calm: "Your Majesty, I think they are not doing this for the good of Great Qin at all."

"They talk about respecting the past and upholding etiquette, and about caring about the country, but what they really want is to restore the privileges of the old era, dismantle the power of the court, and disrupt the current stable world order."

"This group of people may seem to be preaching the principles of sages and saints, but in reality, their intentions are no different from those of the remnants of the six former states. They specialize in disrupting the government and causing trouble. Their words are unacceptable and their reasoning is intolerable."

"In my opinion, we should just kill them to eliminate any future trouble."

As the words fell, the sky and the earth seemed to change.

The entire court was dumbfounded, none of them able to believe their ears.

"???"

"?! %&?!"

Li Si's pupils shrank sharply as he stared blankly at Song Ye, who remained calm, his heart trembling violently.

Ruthless, too ruthless.

When others tried to reason with her, she simply demanded their lives.

Upon hearing this, Chunyu Yue felt his blood surging and almost couldn't catch his breath.

His pride in the righteous path and his vast knowledge were stripped bare by Song Ye's few words of plain language, who labeled him a traitor who brought disaster to the country and a remnant of the six states, and even made him seek death!

"!!!"

Chunyu Yue trembled violently, his beard and hair shaking, his finger pointing tightly at Song Ye, his face flushed red, and he was speechless with anger for a long time, repeatedly stammering, "You...you! Arrogant! Insolent!"

Having lived most of his life as a court scholar and Confucian teacher, he had never been so publicly humiliated and completely negated. He was both ashamed and angry, and almost fainted on the spot.

Song Ye remained calm and unyielding, speaking bluntly and sharply, each sentence piercing the heart:

"Where am I being arrogant? I'm just telling the truth."

"You are old and hold an official position in the court, receiving a salary, but you never do anything practical for the Qin Dynasty."

"All they do is cling to outdated rules and regulations, causing trouble and creating chaos for His Majesty."

"My mind is already muddled; I can't keep up with the current trends, and I don't understand that the new policies benefit the people and the country."

"If you can't do your job properly, go home and stay there. Don't just occupy a position without doing any work. Give the vacant positions to young people who are willing to work hard."

After he finished speaking, the sky fell into complete silence.

Li Si was horrified and secretly clicked his tongue: This mouth is truly merciless, it's almost as if it's about to carve "occupying the toilet without doing anything" directly onto Chunyu Yue's forehead.

"..."

I feel much better now, what's going on?

Behind him, Chunyu Yue's vision went black; he had fainted from anger.

"Teacher!" Fusu's expression changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to support Chunyu Yue, who had suddenly collapsed and fainted.

On the high platform, the First Emperor coldly looked at Chunyu Yue, who had collapsed and fainted, his face showing no emotion, only disdain and indifference.

A few unpleasant words were easily dismissed.

With such a mindset and character, one is truly incapable of shouldering great responsibilities.

He didn't bother to look at it again, casually waved his hand, and said in a flat tone, "Send it down to recuperate."

The palace servants immediately stepped forward, carefully supported the unconscious Chunyu Yue, and quickly withdrew.

-

Meanwhile, above the sky...

Song continued to spout off, his words never stopping, each one a stab to the heart.

Li Si and a group of ministers beside him were so frightened that they quietly retreated a few meters, not daring to utter a sound, for fear of getting caught up in the storm and being inexplicably implicated.

Chunyu Yue was so embarrassed by the rebuke that his face turned bright red, the veins on his neck bulged, and his face turned a deep liver color.

He found that no matter how he reasoned or talked about Confucianism, he couldn't win an argument with Song Ye.

You can't win an argument by reasoning with them.

As a result, Chunyu Yue began to act like a senior and arrogant person.

He kept talking about how he had lived most of his life and served the court for many years, and then he said that Song was a young man who was rude and didn't know the rules, trying to use his age to intimidate people.

But Song Ye didn't buy into his act at all, and turned to Qin Shi Huang to advise: "Your Majesty, I have a very capable subordinate who is far better than many of the old ministers in the court who are just coasting along."

"In my opinion, some people are getting old, their minds aren't working properly, and they're unwilling to do their jobs well; they only hold others back. It would be better for them to step down and make way for more capable people, giving younger people more opportunities to take over and do the work."

"Oh, tell me about it?" Ying Zheng became interested.

"This man is named Xiao He. He and I both came from Pei County, and I now work under him."

As soon as those words were spoken, it was as if the whole world had been put on pause.

Pei, Pei what county...?!

"?"

"!!"

Xiao He: "???"

The people of Pei County: "????"

Song Ye: ...The revelation of his identity was completely unexpected.