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

"Do you truly desire the restoration of the kingdom, or do you simply want a new group of powerful figures to seize power and for a new faction to exploit the people?"

"..."

"I'm telling you today, the people won't live better just because they change their banner. You should have seen the people in the midst of war, the displaced people who are driven away and bought and sold like objects."

"You've been to school, so you should know that the laws of the old Han state were not much milder than those of the Qin state."

"Then what do you expect? That after the restoration of the kingdom, your relatives will be more considerate of them than Qin Shi Huang was? Do you believe that? Don't you want to laugh?"

"..."

"You, a former nobleman of Korea, have lived a life of luxury since childhood, traveling in carriages and studying on bamboo slips. Have you ever seen the suffering of ordinary people?"

"..."

"You speak of the world suffering under Qin for too long, but who are you speaking for? For those common people who have been exploited by the Korean aristocracy their entire lives?"

Song Ye's voice pierced the crack in the door like a nail, "When the state of Han still existed, weren't the people suffering? Your father was the prime minister of Han. From childhood to adulthood, how many farmers have you seen who couldn't pay their taxes? How many people have you seen who were conscripted to build canals and never returned?"

"When you restore a kingdom, whose kingdom are you restoring? Is it your own kingdom, or the one you lost as prime minister?"

"What right do you, a former beneficiary of the system, have to complain about the suffering of the people?"

"..."

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Liang finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "And what about you? You're a newcomer, what gives you the right to speak for them?"

Song Ye's reply was almost without pause: "I go among the masses, I am among the masses."

"..."

"Zhang Liang, you are silent because you find that you yourself cannot explain why the State of Han is better than the Qin Dynasty."

"The books you read since childhood were all about sage rulers and virtuous ministers, about benevolent governance and the way of the king. But have you ever seen a sage ruler who became a sage by having the people go hungry? How many of those authors actually spent a single day squatting on the edge of a field?"

"You think the state of Han was destroyed by the swords of Qin, but go ask the people who fled from the old Han to Qin. Did they flee from the swords of Han, or from the starving people of Han?"

"..."

"Admit it, Zhang Liang, you only want revenge for your family, not to pity the suffering of the people under Qin." With that, Song Ye turned and left.

"..."

It exposes the truth without mercy, dissecting it layer by layer like peeling back the layers of an onion.

Every word he uttered precisely punctured his years of self-deception and obsession.

Inside the woodshed, Zhang Liang's lips moved slightly, but he couldn't find a single word to refute the other party.

Claiming to uphold national righteousness and using compassion for the common people as an excuse, they package revenge as a righteous path to save the world and its people, deceiving the world and themselves.

His pain was always about the destruction of the Zhang family's glory, the fall of the Korean royal family, and his own personal hatred over the destruction of his country and family.

It's truly pathetic, laughable, and tragic.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

The city of Peixian was calm and peaceful, and the unrest that had been building up over the past few days gradually subsided.

Taking advantage of the few days of free time, Liu Ji arranged his marriage to Cao Shi.

There was no extravagant or lavish celebration; they simply set up a few tables for the wedding banquet and invited their colleagues from the county government and close relatives and acquaintances from the village.

Liu Ji, who used to be a carefree and wandering scoundrel, was unusually shrewd today. He put on clean new clothes and his face was beaming with joy.

Xiao He, Cao Can, and others were all present, and neighbors from the village also came to offer their congratulations.

On his wedding day, Liu Ji was honest and attentive, and he was exceptionally efficient in dealing with guests. He dared not make a single mistake, for fear that Song Ye would find fault with him and he would be reprimanded on his wedding day.

The next day, at the gate of Peicheng.

The city gates were heavily guarded due to the recent heavy deployment of defenses, with officials standing on both sides to check and verify each person carefully.

All passersby, whether merchants or ordinary people, must have their origins clearly stated and be registered; no error is permitted.

Such rigorous inspections were undoubtedly seen as an impenetrable fortress by the group lurking in the shadows.

"With such strict checks, there's simply no way they could sneak into the city!"

"That Lord Song is in Pei County, which is heavily guarded by the prefect. The defenses are impregnable, and ordinary methods simply won't work."

One of them, his face filled with anxiety, said in a low, harsh voice, "If all else fails, then we'll wait until nightfall and break in! These garrison soldiers are nothing more than lowly officials and soldiers from Pei County. If we force our way into the city, we might just be able to fight them!"

As soon as the words were spoken, some hesitated and had concerns, while others were already tempted.

Finally, they decided to take the risk and give it a try.

...

As night fell, two figures dressed in black stealthily crept to the city gate. The gatekeeper, exhausted from staying up late, was starting to doze off. The two men exchanged a glance, then quickly stepped forward and lightly struck the back of the official's neck with a palm strike, causing him to immediately collapse to the ground.

The two slipped into the city, dodging patrolling soldiers as they made their way through the streets to the back of the county government building. Under the cover of the trees, they slipped to the front door.

The two exchanged a glance, and the leader of the men in black raised his hand to push open the door, when suddenly two hands landed on his shoulder.

He assumed his companion was just causing trouble for no reason, so he didn't even turn his head. He impatiently raised his hand and slapped the companion on the shoulder, trying to shake him off.

But as soon as they slapped each other, the hands landed steadily back on their shoulders.

"Stop fooling around, business is more important!" the man hissed in a low voice, turning around impatiently, only to suddenly shudder in fright.

Standing before him was a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, holding a gleaming pig-slaughtering knife in his hand, grinning broadly and warmly—it was Fan Kuai.

Fan Kuai brandished the knife in his hand and chuckled, "Brother, instead of sleeping in bed in the middle of the night, you're sneaking into the backyard. Are you here to steal meat or wine?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly turned to look at his companion, whose pupils dilated in shock.

His companion had been captured at some point, and Cao Can had twisted his arms behind his back, leaving him only able to kick his legs in vain, unable to even groan.

Seeing this, the man was terrified and slipped, turning to run away as fast as he could.

But a quick glance revealed that the courtyard walls and corridors were filled with county soldiers holding weapons and waiting for orders, blocking all escape routes and leaving no chance to even climb over the wall.

Soon after, the two were tied up and left in the courtyard.

Cao Can dusted off his hands, walked to the door, and lightly knocked on the wooden door a few times: "My lord."

"explain."

"Two assassins who broke into the backyard have been apprehended."

After the words were spoken, the room fell silent for a moment, then a warm yellow candlelight shone through the window paper, and a soft rustling of clothes came from inside.

The door was then pushed open.

Song Ye's gaze fell directly on the two people who were tied up in the courtyard, his face grim and terrifying.

At this moment, the two assassins, former nobles of the six kingdoms, who were tied to the ground, looked up and saw Song Ye's appearance. Their hearts trembled.

In the past, based solely on the images on the celestial screen, I always thought that this future female prime minister, Aimin, was kind and gentle. But now that I have seen her in person, I realize that this is not the case at all.

"Fan Kuai".

"Here!" Fan Kuai stepped forward from the side.

"I can't sleep until they're dead..." Song said, lowering his eyes slightly.