My Sister Insisted on Swapping Marriages, and I Became a Marchioness Instead

Chapter 683: Chapter 683: Only Care About a Few Taels of Silver

This remark from Mr. Songshan, the hermit philosopher, is truly spot-on.

Qin Siyuan felt a stir in his heart and couldn’t help but recall the words Qin Yuan had said about being an official. He realized more than ever how little he knew.

His elder sister in all aspects could be considered his teacher.

She was exceptionally talented and worldly-wise, yet unfortunately, she was not born male, which deprived her of many opportunities to achieve great feats, leaving her secluded in the back residence.

Fortunately, she married Marquis Gu, who could accommodate her and trust her.

Thinking this way, his elder sister was indeed a blessed person; it was fortunate she did not marry into the Lin Family.

Nowadays, his uncle fretted endlessly over his second sister’s marriage, and even his mother often spoke of his aunt losing sleep night after night over his second sister.

This made him increasingly dislike Lin Ziqi.

While he pondered over these issues, he had no idea Qin Yuan’s next words would further earn his immense respect.

Qin Yuan said, ”I plan to make a business of writing essays, not considering Book Sea Pavilion as a competitor, yet certainly we will become rivals.”

Everyone was astonished.

Qin Siyuan blinked his eyes.

Mr. Songshan smiled and asked, ”Explain in detail.”

Marquis Gu looked over attentively.

Qin Yuan casually replied, ”I value the scholars of the world. It’s said that water can float a boat or capsize it. Does the teacher believe we should manage the boat or the water?”

Mr. Songshan puzzled, ”People equate the populace with water; are you equating the scholars with water?”

Qin Yuan nodded and addressed Mr. Songshan, ”Exactly. Building a nation or stabilizing a country relies on securing the people’s mind; at this time, the populace is water, the Imperial Family is the boat. But now, as scholars increase, with the Imperial Family and scholars governing together, naturally these scholars are the water, the Imperial Family is the boat.”

Mr. Songshan squinted thoughtfully, then said, ”True, the situation has changed; the previous years’ governance models cannot reflect this year’s cycles. Now, the country is prosperous and peaceful; as long as the people can maintain their lives, they won’t harbor other thoughts. Stabilizing the country now depends on scholars, not people’s minds.”

Qin Siyuan nodded, agreeing with Mr. Songshan’s words.

”Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants—the scholar ranks first, all else is inferior; only scholarly pursuit holds esteem. Families with some surplus send children to private schools; if a family has a promising student, parents are reluctant to send him to clan schools, clan elders repeatedly persuade and contribute to his schooling.

Though the student’s family isn’t as prosperous as before, clan members still assist scholars attending schools.

The student’s mother constantly teaches him to prioritize studies, so that in the future he will honor the clan’s elders.”

Mr. Songshan sighed.

”In the past, Dongfang Shuo presented three thousand bamboo slips to Emperor Wu to showcase his talent, and after entering the service, he became a favored minister. When asked why, he said nowadays the world is unified; in contrast to the Spring and Autumn Warring States era where talent alone caught a monarch’s eye, emperors seeking talent mostly have demands. Over-demonstrating talent only incites jealousy. Dongfang Shuo’s words and Young Master Nantang’s are remarkably similar.”

After speaking, he looked at Qin Yuan with complex emotions, lamenting, ”I traverse the world, yet haven’t seen as clearly as Young Master. It’s said nobles are born with knowledge; although Young Master is young, he is exceptionally astute.”

He felt quite melancholic.

The world, alas, cannot escape Dongfang Shuo’s words; even Emperor Wu could only tolerate mediocrity, let alone an average monarch.

Qin Yuan felt secretly ashamed, thinking she was not born with knowledge, but merely lived two lives, gaining clearer insights. She hurriedly changed the subject, smiling gently to comfort, ”The teacher praises me too highly; in the beginning, I merely wanted to defend Marquis Mansion’s honor... As for other matters, well, they were inspired by the teacher’s talks today on the ’classry’ and ’scholarly governance’.”

Mr. Songshan uttered ”Oh,” lifting his eyelids to look at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan said, ”May I ask the teacher, now that Southern Scholars are so numerous, what will the situation be in ten or twenty years?”

Mr. Songshan replied, ”The imperial examination trend prospered mainly in Suzhou, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang. Southern people treated it as a profession, even toddlers in alleys knew characters. Northern people were far inferior; when asked for directions they might answer they can’t read. Additionally, educated individuals in Jiangnan enjoyed sponsoring juniors and had a vigorous study culture; fathers and sons taking exams together was common. In ten or twenty years, there will be even more scholars, probably five to six thousand more.”

Qin Yuan nodded, ”Indeed.”

Qin Siyuan gasped, ”Five to six thousand more scholars?”

Mr. Songshan extended five fingers as he began calculating, ”Nowadays, the population has at least tripled since the founding; even then there were five to six thousand scholars. Now the country is secure and flourishing; Jiangnan, rich in rice and fish, has a dense population. As long as the court doesn’t arbitrarily increase taxes, ten to twenty years from now, another generation will bloom. One becomes two, two becomes three, three becomes countless. What do you think?”

Qin Siyuan mumbled, ”Population may grow swiftly, but scholars may not increase that much.”

Ordinary families find it extremely difficult to raise a scholar.

Moreover, the exams are tough; many study a lifetime without success, being called old student repeatedly.

Mr. Songshan replied, ”Previously, the Grand Ancestor imposed restrictions; county and government schools only enrolled stipend students, low scholar numbers and hard exams, but there was court-distributed silver and grain. Later, they added non-stipend expanded student spots, doubling numbers; these expanded students didn’t receive silver and grain but had scholar status, exempted from labor service.

Since twenty years ago, many officials passionately established private schools; Jiangnan saw numerous renowned academies rising, and more individuals pursued studying.

As a result, county schools further added auxiliary student slots, constantly increasing numbers. Imperial examinations gaining momentum, future numbers only expected to grow. Calculating like this, I probably underestimated.”

Qin Yuan nodded.

To become an official, one must first become a scholar and enter official schools; possessing scholar status grants family protection and exemption from labor service.

Thus, Southern regions spend surplus money pushing children to study; even if they cannot grasp literature, learning a few characters helps them seek employment.

”Since Grand Ancestor decreed scholars cannot discuss politics, grievances arose; periodically, academics and courtiers plead for them, yet solutions remain elusive.”

Qin Siyuan asked, ”How can so many petitions be reviewed?”

Qin Yuan remarked, ”True, but more scholars mean more desiring to discuss politics; it’s said preventing is harder than releasing, silencing people’s words is tougher than blocking rivers; especially scholars.”

Qin Siyuan’s eyes lit up, asking, ”May I seek Young Master Nantang’s ingenious strategy?”

Qin Yuan chuckled, ”I am neither courtier nor scholar, merely concerned with business and its worth. Thus, my strategy naturally relates to this trade.”