Peace Order-Chapter 1641 - 41: Prince Qin in the Eyes of Money
"Commoner, commoner!"
"Shameless martial artist, vulgar, vulgar!"
"Rites are collapsing, music is dying, rites are collapsing and music is dying, since ancient times, even a tyrant has never demanded money from the gentlemen, Prince Qin, you, you!"
"Have you fallen into the money pit?!"
The noisy sounds woke Nan Hanwen, this scholar was busy until late last night—under the power of the Mo Family Mechanism Technique and the martial artists, the construction of the Qilin Academy had advanced rapidly, and part of it was already in use.
General Fan Qing, a trusted confidant of Prince Qin, used carrying wood as a new training for recruits.
The martial artists, with strength greater than bulls, directly elevated the construction speed of the new academy to a higher level, but this left Nan Hanwen exhausted, working into the night every day, today he half-consciously raised his head early in the morning, with a somewhat painful expression.
"Ah? What’s going on?!"
"Hmm? Grandfather hasn’t slept?"
His grandson said: "It’s noisy outside."
"Noisy? What’s the noise about?"
Nan Hanwen wrapped himself in his clothes and went out to see, noticing the numerous well-mannered scholars were flushed, their hands trembling with anger, and his grandson explained: "I heard it’s about the king’s coming of age ceremony, and the king said he wants a thousand gold."
"A thousand gold?"
Nan Hanwen was astonished, feeling the number was quite subtle.
A thousand gold, theoretically equivalent to ten thousand taels of silver.
But at the gold-to-silver exchange rate, a thousand gold could basically be exchanged for twelve thousand to thirteen thousand taels of silver.
Equivalent to thirteen thousand months spent at Huichun Hall during the king’s youth.
Money for a lifetime.
It’s unknown which wise person advised this, an amount that these great scholars can afford, but would feel the pinch, yet despite the pinch, to catch this opportunity at Prince Qin’s coming of age ceremony, enough to make one’s name go down in history, they’d still grit their teeth and pay.
Nan Wenjie said: "Grandfather, won’t you sleep a bit more?"
Nan Hanwen was previously quite tired, but now he was refreshed, saying: "With such a good show, who would sleep?"
Nan Hanwen had been belittled often by these so-called great scholars and men of renown. Now watching their flushed faces, sleeves waving like a rooster’s feathers, raising their voices in anger, it was indescribably satisfying.
Sleep?
Ha, sleep what sleep! Sleep my foot! 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Watch the fun.
Though he was a serious, melancholy old scholar longing for peace under heaven, he had an innate interest in fun, especially watching these outwardly untainted men who could easily produce a lifetime’s savings of the city’s common folk.
Nan Hanwen asked his grandson to bring some fennel beans, placed them on the window sill, steadied a pot of yellow wine, leaning against the Long Wind, enjoying some rare leisure days, watching these people’s antics, stuffing a handful of beans into his mouth, and drinking some wine.
Laughter, amidst the laughter, there was a lot of bitterness.
Absurdity, laughable, preposterous.
Such is the world.
Merely drink the fine wine down the belly.
Actually, Nan Hanwen didn’t know that a certain exceptionally gifted Prince Qin, originally intended to first demand a thousand gold, then a while later offer one for nine hundred and ninety-eight.
Only eight hundred and eighty-eight for the first ten.
Fang Ziqiao forcibly stopped him.
"Demanding money is not disrespectful, but this would make it disrespectful, junior," he said.
The inner politics genius, warm and gentle as jade, directly invoked Mr. Wang Tong, saying: "If one must demand, simply demand strongly."
Prince Qin said: "Demand strongly?"
Fang Ziqiao gently said: "Yes, the Lord sets the rules, and these great scholars will naturally adapt, you, my Lord, spent relatively little time under the teacher, let me temporarily stand in for the teacher to explain the Saint’s Method of Confucianism for you."
"Ignoring rules and acting on one’s desires, what I desire is to raise troops for conquest, this is power."
"Set rules that are reasonable and observed by the world, this is kingship."
"If one disobeys the king’s command, raising troops for conquest becomes propriety."
"Although conquering, it does not hurt the innocent, this is kindness."
"To chop the bandit leader into mincemeat, steam it into meat soup, distribute it to the people to eat, is military ceremony, the ancient kings did so, this is righteousness."
"How could the noble king’s command be altered back and forth like the morning breeze?"
Li Guanyi pondered: "For the scholars, I can demand harshly, but without reducing the request, harsh demands are just absurd tyrants, frequent reductions for requests harm the king’s prestige, right?"
Fang Ziqiao said: "Yes."
Li Guanyi said: "A thousand gold, without changing?"
Fang Ziqiao said: "Cannot change, changing it damages the king’s prestige."
Li Guanyi said: "Will they give?"
Fang Ziqiao said: "A thousand gold, still given on their knees."
Li Guanyi said: "I ask them for a thousand gold, over ten thousand taels of silver per head, and they still have to kneel in gratitude, then hand the money to me?"
Fang Ziqiao said: "This is the Saint’s admonition."
Li Guanyi finally understood, saying: "So that’s it, the Saint’s logic is such candidness, such strength." The two exchanged a glance, Li Guanyi couldn’t help but laugh, picked up a nearby chess piece, casually placed it, and laughingly said:
"Anyway, all this is left to you, senior brother."
"I accept the command," Fang Ziqiao smiled, seeing Prince Qin finally dispel that kind of idea, he also breathed a sigh of relief inside, if His Highness Prince Qin really did such a thing, it would damage the king’s prestige.
Just as he was about to urge Li Guanyi to continue the chess game.
His gaze swept over the chessboard, discovering his way forward in this game was already gone.
Prince Qin, chatting idly, had already surpassed him.
Fang Ziqiao looked at the remaining pieces on the chessboard for a long time, couldn’t help but sigh, yet didn’t know who raised Prince Qin, though he didn’t understand the Saint’s principles, his skills in qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, and many arts were all at a remarkable level.
