The most arrogant in history

Qiang'er didn't say anything.

Liu Zhao said: "I met him once later and found out that he was the son of the Wan family. He was fat and ugly, and there was a gap on his upper lip..."

Sang Buyi sneered, "So, Qiang'er changed her mind and secretly agreed to spend her life with you, and also agreed to elope, right?"

Liu Zhao lowered his head: "Almost... that's it."

Sang Buyi sighed, "Liu Zhao, you knew that Zhao'er was already engaged, but you were still attracted by her beauty, had an affair with her, and even agreed to elope. How can you be a gentleman? Zhao'er was already engaged, but you despised the ugly appearance of the son of the Wan family and turned to someone else. This is immoral and shameless!

In my opinion, you two should be detained and sent to the local government office for trial according to the law!"

Qiang'er and Liu Zhao were both trembling with fear.

"Lord Sang, I think this matter can be discussed."

Ye Kun waved his hands and said with a smile: "Qian'er's engagement with the Wan family was decided by her parents, not her own wish. Now that she is older and sensible, it is right for her to decide her own marriage and pursue her own happiness!"

Sang Buyi was silent for a moment and sighed:

"Your Majesty must exonerate Qiang'er and Liu Zhao, I have no objection. But such behavior must not be encouraged, otherwise, how can we govern the country in the future?"

"What does this have to do with governing the world?"

"If all girls in the world were like Qiang'er, and regretted their engagement, wouldn't that be a mess?"

"A man can break his oath, but why can't a woman go back on her word after getting engaged?" Ye Kun said with a smile:

"I think that marriages in the future should be voluntary, and arranged marriages should be declared invalid. The strength of the Chinese nation starts with the self-reliance of individuals. If individuals cannot be independent and self-reliant, no matter how powerful the country is, it will be a strong country with weak people, and the country will not last long."

"But if that happens, the number of lawsuits in the world will double!"

"What are you afraid of? Our prisons are there to help people with lawsuits! If we don't have any more lawsuits, what's the point of having a prison?"

"Your Majesty, I..." Sang Buyi was very upset and clasped his fists and said, "This matter has far-reaching consequences. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

Ye Kun thought about it and said with a smile: "After returning to the capital, let's discuss it again. If it really doesn't work, we will hold a nine-department conference and invite the academic community to participate in the discussion."

Sang Buyi nodded and asked, "How should we deal with Liu Zhao and Qiang'er?"

"I must protect these two people." Ye Kun looked at Liu Zhao and Qiang'er:

"Liu Zhao, you and Qiang'er, come with me to the capital. You don't have to worry about the things in your hometown. I will send someone to explain and make sure your parents will save face and agree to your marriage.

When we get to the capital, I will arrange things for you to do, and you won’t starve to death.”

Liu Zhao and Qiang'er were moved to tears and knelt down and kowtowed together.

Ye Kun glared: "Get up, we have abolished the kneeling ceremony long ago!"

Sang Buyi laughed, said goodbye and went to bed.

Ye Kun also ordered his men to take his own handwritten letter and go to Liu Zhao and Qiang'er's hometown overnight to resolve the matter.

With the emperor as matchmaker, the marriage between Liu Zhao and Qiang'er was a foregone conclusion.

As for the unlucky Wan family, they can be dealt with with silver.

The next morning, Ye Kun continued on his way and asked Liu Zhao: "Liu Zhao, can you ride a horse?"

"Your Majesty, I will!"

"Give him a horse and follow me!"

Ye Kun rode his horse forward, galloping through the snow.

After running for more than fifty miles in one breath, Ye Kun stopped at a post station to take a short break and asked Liu Zhao, "Have you ever read a book?"

"I started studying late. When I was twelve, the emperor unified the nine provinces and our village finally had a school. I studied there for three years and then went home to work."

"What kind of work can you do? Do you have any skills?"

"I don't have any skills. I only know how to farm, ride a horse, and drive a horse-drawn carriage..."

"That's fine. When you get to the capital, just learn slowly." Ye Kun nodded and asked, "Do you have any ideals? In other words, what do you like to do?"

Liu Zhao smiled shyly: "Your Majesty, I don't have any ideals. I just want to make more money so that Qiang'er can eat some good food and gain some weight..."

"That's right. This is also a lofty ideal."

Ye Kun suppressed his laughter and said thoughtfully, "When you get to the capital, you can work in the palace. There are good things to eat there, including fish and meat every day."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"By the way, I have something to ask you." Ye Kun wanted to understand the people's sentiments and asked, "What did you eat every day at home?"

"We eat rice and noodles. Sometimes, we also eat barley porridge and wild vegetables. But in the past two years, we have stopped eating barley porridge and wild vegetables. We can't finish all the rice and noodles at home."

"Is there any meat to eat?"

"My grandfather only eats meat every other day. We can only eat two pieces of meat and drink a bowl of meat soup every three to five days. The same goes for eggs and fish and shrimp. We can only have a little bit of what my grandfather can't finish."

"It's good to eat meat and drink soup occasionally." Ye Kun nodded and asked, "Can I eat brown sugar often?"

"It's not often eaten, but women who are in confinement after childbirth can eat brown sugar."

"How are your village chiefs and township chiefs? Have they bullied you or asked you for money?"

Ye Kun also asked about other matters, asking whatever came to his mind.

Liu Zhao was a kind man. He would answer every question and tell you everything he knew.

After some inquiries, Ye Kun was quite satisfied with the people's sentiments in Shuozhou.

After all, this place has a coal mining economy, and the local people have some ways to make money relying on the coal mines.

Liu Zhao smiled and said, “In fact, in our village, some wealthy families eat meat every day, and the whole family eats it.”

Ye Kun laughed and said, "He eats meat every day, so he must be a butcher who kills pigs, right?"

"No." Liu Zhao shook his head and said:

"Several families in our village secretly dug coal at home, and then secretly sold it to make a lot of money. Coal can be dug in many places in front of and behind our village. Sometimes you can even dig out coal while growing vegetables. We didn't know that this thing could be burned before, but now we know, everyone secretly digs it..."

Illegal coal mining!

Ye Kun frowned: "Who will they sell the stolen coal to?"

The coal mines were a monopoly of the imperial court, and the sale of coal was also a monopoly of the imperial court.

Checkpoints have been set up throughout the Shuozhou area, and official coal-carrying vehicles must register on their way there and back.

Although illegal mining by the private sector cannot be completely eliminated, the private sector does not have the ability to transfer coal on a large scale.

That is to say, they can dig it out, but they cannot transport it out.

Liu Zhao said: "They will sell it to coal dealers, and the coal dealers have ways to sell it."

Ye Kun thought about it and said to the people around him:

"We must find a way to stop the illegal mining of coal by the people. It's okay for ordinary people to dig a little coal for their own cooking. But if they sell it secretly to the outside world, the scale will become larger and larger, affecting the tax revenue of the court and posing a safety hazard."

Huang Jian smiled bitterly and said, "The coal fields here are like the salt wells in Yizhou, almost everywhere. There is no way to stop the illegal mining by the people!"