My Lady is well

Shen Yue's eyes trembled slightly, her eyes moved left and right, her palms began to sweat, and her fingertips trembled slightly.

She was secretly nervous. What did this have to do with her? She was just a spectator.

She took a deep breath secretly, pretended to be calm, stepped forward and bowed, thought for a while, and said with embarrassment.

"I just feel that Lord Chen's loyal and frank advice is what a good minister should do, but... this point of view..."

She turned her head and glanced at Lord Chen with a frown. There were clouds and geese embroidered on his court robes, so he must be a fourth-rank censor.

Lord Chen was very displeased when he heard that a woman dared to question his advice.

His eyebrows were twisted into a "川" shape, with a layer of anger on his face. He glared at her and interrupted her with a bow.

"Your Majesty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. How can a little concubine like you presume to discuss state affairs?"

Shen Yueyao really shut her mouth obediently, pursed her soft lips, and rolled her eyes at him secretly in her heart.

What's wrong with the woman?

Jing Ruzhang stared at her with his starry eyes, and a hint of disdain flashed across her eyes, which he just caught.

This is Shen Yueyao. She appears to be more obedient than a cat, but in reality she is more assertive than anyone else.

The haze in his eyes dissipated a lot, and his voice became softer.

"It's okay. This is not the imperial court. What Shen Cainu said will not be spread outside the imperial study, but you can say it."

Lord Chen glanced at her with contempt. Shen Yueyao curled her lips inwardly, feeling a little uncomfortable.

After hearing what Jing Ruzhang said, he just let go and spoke.

"Why not nationalize salt? This will benefit the country and not harm people. It will increase the revenue of the national treasury and prevent merchants from raising the price of salt privately, becoming rich enough to rival a country and causing unrest in the country."

Jing Ruzhang has been wanting to bring private salt under government control recently, just as Shen Yueyao said.

First, to enrich the national treasury.

Second, to prevent merchants from raising the price of salt privately and causing unrest.

This statement was only made twice in the court, and many ministers jumped out to oppose it.

Most of them are clichés like competing with the people for profit, which is not what a gentleman should do.

Now, after hearing Shen Yueyao's words, his cold eyes suddenly lit up, filled with a hint of admiration.

"It is good for the country and harmless to the people."

He was determined to do this, and was worried about how to defeat those stubborn old sayings.

Now these eight words are enough.

His heart, which had been shrouded in fog, suddenly became clear. His eyes were fixed on her with a faint smile on his thin lips.

How could Lord Chen listen to this?

His face turned green, his eyes widened, and his voice became a little higher.

"The national treasury does not need to be increased by such unethical policies."

Shen Yueyao's eyes moved around for a while, and finally moved her gaze to his slightly wrinkled face.

"Is that so? Internally, from disaster relief to school building to official salaries, which one doesn't need money? Externally, to resist powerful enemies, without sufficient military equipment, can we win the war? Which one of these doesn't need money? It can be seen that the economic base determines the superstructure. May I ask, Lord Chen, what methods do you have to increase the income of the treasury?"

Master Chen looked at her like a proper teacher.

As if to say, child, how could you have such dangerous thoughts?

He sighed deeply, trying to save her from the misguided path, and educated her earnestly.

"The court officials can live frugally and reduce their salaries to enrich the treasury. How can they follow the example of the merchants, betraying morality and pursuing profit, and losing their integrity?"

Shen Yueyao was shocked for a moment by his stubborn thinking and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Lord Chen is also a ruthless man. Since there is no money in the treasury, his idea is to cut costs rather than increase revenue.

He even did not hesitate to sacrifice himself and reduce his salary, but he was shaking his head in his heart.

If such a person were placed in her world, he would be a low-level employee, working diligently and doing thankless work. The company has no money and is willing to cut wages. I guess the boss must have found a treasure.

Shen Yueyao smiled faintly and exclaimed in admiration.

"Master Chen has a great sense of integrity! But there are countless officials in the court, both big and small. Do we expect them to be as upright as Master Chen? As the saying goes, you should take care of your emperor's worries if you eat his salary. Now that he has lost his salary, who will share his worries?"

Lord Chen stared at her with eyes wide open, full of sorrow. This person is hopeless!

On second thought, he thought to himself, this woman's thoughts are different from those of ordinary people, but they are definitely not the thoughts of a gentleman.

If she gains favor in the future, she will surely bewitch the emperor and become a witch who brings disaster to the country and the people!

Jing Ruzhang lowered his eyes quietly, with admiration lingering in his heart. He sighed secretly, thinking it was a pity that she was a girl.

Suddenly I thought, it’s a good thing that she is a girl.

He collected his thoughts, raised his eyes, and said calmly.

"In your opinion, is there any plan to enrich the national treasury?"

Shen Yueyao hesitated for a moment, fixed her eyes on the ground, and whispered.

"Yes, I do, but I'm afraid..."

She deliberately timidly glanced at Lord Chen, only to see that his nostrils were flared with anger as if smoke was coming out, and his eyes seemed to be able to spit fire.

Jing Ruzhang understood and raised his hand.

"But it doesn't matter."

Shen Yueyao raised her head and said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Vigorously develop industry and commerce. Only when merchants can make profits can taxes be collected. If we only focus on promoting agriculture, if there is a natural disaster, the court will not only have nothing to harvest, but also have to provide disaster relief. Therefore, to develop the country, we still have to develop the economy."

Lord Chen raised his trembling fingers and pointed at her angrily.

"You! You! You! You! What a ridiculous thing! Iron can be broken, jade can be shattered, the sea can be dried up, regardless of life or death, we must stick to our principles. The Great Jin will never be reduced to a place full of profit-seeking merchants."

Shen Yueyao, as a person who has received modern education, just made her own analysis and understanding. What does it have to do with her whether it is adopted or not?

Who knew that this old man would always teach her about integrity, and Shen Yueyao's fighting spirit was successfully ignited, and a sense of winning suddenly arose in her heart.

"The ancients also said that the heaven is vigorous and the gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement; the earth is gentle and the gentleman should be virtuous and bear all things. Mr. Chen, be virtuous and bear all things."

Lord Chen's face flushed red, veins popped on his hands, and his weathered eyes stared straight at her. After a moment, he uttered something weakly.

"Only women and villains are difficult to raise."

After saying this, he bowed to the emperor, originally wanting to ask the emperor to punish Shen Yueyao for her crime of arrogance and unrighteousness.

He staggered, then suddenly slipped and fell to the ground.

Shen Yueyao was so scared that she jumped to the side and thought to herself.

Oh no, this is a big trouble!

He quickly waved his hands and said, "No, it's not me."

The man at the imperial desk's eyes darkened, his brows slightly frowned, and he spoke loudly.

"Mr. Xuan."

He stood up slowly, lowered his brows and thought, thinking to himself that he must not be allowed to go out and talk nonsense.

Otherwise, Shen Yueyao would be in danger.

He ordered, "Come here, help Master Chen to the inner room."

The two eunuchs received the order and stepped forward to help Lord Chen up, almost dragging him into the inner room.

Jing Ruzhang walked slowly to Shen Yueyao, looked at her for a long while with a strange look, and his clear voice was mixed with unclear meanings.

"Ms. Shen, you are such a good speaker! Lord Chen was eloquent in the court and once debated with five great scholars. But today, you made him faint."

[The content of this chapter's debate is adapted from the famous Salt and Iron Debate during the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty. It is beneficial to the country and harmless to people. It was the viewpoint put forward by Gong Hongyang, the Imperial Censor at the time. Interested friends can go and learn more about it.]