I want to ruin the country

Peng Yunzhang said,

"Grain should be given to officials and scholars first. If they eat the grain, the common people will be left with nothing to eat. Won't they die first?"

Yining frowned and said,

"You mean officials and scholars are of higher status than common people?"

Peng Yunzhang answered without even thinking,

"As the sage said, all things are inferior except reading!

Scholars are superior to others, and officials are the best among scholars. How can peasants be compared with them? "

Yining Road,

“But they didn’t grow the food!”

Peng Yunzhang said,

Officials: All land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king’s subjects!

Officials are the emperor's spokespersons, and scholars are the officials' backers. Isn't respecting scholars and officials the same as respecting the emperor? "

Yining asked seriously,

"Think about it, if you were that commoner, would you really give the grain to officials and scholars?"

Peng Yunzhang saw that the emperor did not agree with his statement, and his mind began to think rapidly.

After thinking for a long time, I suddenly realized, damn, it’s the end of the world, let alone scholars, even officials are nothing!

How could the common people give their food to scholars and officials? That's not just stupid, it's pure idiot, lunatic, and psychopath!

He changed his words.

"The people can survive!"

Yining knew that he had come to his senses and asked,

"why?"

Peng Yunzhang said,

"The common people have food to eat, but the officials and scholars have none!"

Yining asked,

"Aren't officials supposed to manage the people? They can order the people to give them food!"

Peng Yunzhang said,

"There are only three of us. Who's in charge of whom? Whoever has the stronger fist has the upper hand!"

Yining asked deliberately,

"Scholars can teach the people the truth, endorse their books, and write them essays, explaining to them the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and how they should be loyal to the emperor and love their country!"

Peng Yunzhang is a master of one thing, and all things are mastered.

"That's useless. Can reading keep you from getting hungry?"

The old scholar was forced to swear, and Yining couldn't help but smile.

"It's useless for scholars to memorize books and articles, right? Then officials can be bought with gold, silver and jewelry!"

Peng Yunzhang puckered his beard.

"I'm not selling them. They can't be eaten, so what's the point of having them?"

Yining Road,

"So the authority of officials and the temptation of gold and silver are no longer effective?"

Peng Yunzhang nodded.

"Yes, the people have eaten up all the food, and maybe they will eat the flesh of the officials and scholars as well."

Yining further induced,

“Why do people do this?”

Peng Yunzhang answered without hesitation,

"To survive!"

Yining nodded.

"Yes, this time you hit the crux of the matter. Everything is for survival. The most important condition for survival is food, not officials and scholars, right?"

"Correct!"

Yining asked again,

"Let's switch gears. The official has a bag of grain, and the common people only have a knife. Who will die first?"

This time Peng Yunzhang answered immediately,

"Scholars and officials die, and the people live!"

"why?"

Peng Yunzhang said,

"At this point, laws, authority, and preaching are all useless. Only the sword will work!"

Yining Road,

"Master Peng finally understands what the world ultimately needs!"

Peng Yunzhang said,

“Ultimately, what is needed is food, and the people are the ones who produce it, so when the people have food and drink, both face and the law are binding on them!

When it comes to life and death, survival is the most important thing, everything else is bullshit!"

Yining Road,

"It's a rough statement, but the truth is, the people who produce food are the foundation of society. Everything else is built on the premise of having enough food and drink, right?"

"Correct!"

"Here comes the crux of the matter. Since the people are the most important, which of the six ministries do you think is the most important to them?"

"Is it the Ministry of Personnel?"

Peng Yunzhang said,

"no!"

"Yes, they have nothing left, so why should they be afraid of officials? If they are not afraid of officials, does it matter whether there is a Ministry of Personnel or not?"

"Here comes the crux of the matter. Since the people are the most important, which of the six ministries do you think is the most important to them?"

Seeing Peng Yunzhang thinking for a long time without saying anything, Yining asked,

"Is it the Ministry of Personnel?"

Peng Yunzhang said,

"no!"

"Yes, they have nothing left, so why should they be afraid of officials? If they are not afraid of officials, does it matter whether there is a Ministry of Personnel or not?"

"unimportant!"

"Is it the Ministry of Revenue? We just said that money is not as effective as food in critical moments, so the Ministry of Revenue is dispensable to the common people, right?"

"Correct!"

"The Ministry of Revenue is not important anymore. Is the Ministry of Rites useful to the common people?"

"It's no use!"

“Is the Ministry of War important to ordinary people?”

"unimportant!"

"No, if soldiers are there to protect the people from being bullied by others or foreign countries, then they are important!

If soldiers harm the people and become accomplices of officials, the people will rise up against them, right? "

"Correct!"

"The same goes for the Ministry of Justice. If it can fairly and impartially uphold justice for the people, it will gain their support. Otherwise, the Ministry of Justice will be useless and the people will eventually overthrow it!"

Peng Yunzhang nodded. These principles were not difficult to understand. How could he not understand them!

Yining Road,

"Let's talk about your Ministry of Works. If you can prevent the Yellow River from bursting its banks, what a great achievement that would be for the people!"

Peng Yunzhang said,

"The Yellow River floods have plagued us for years. We've tried to control them every year, and we've spent money every year, but they still burst every year. It's really heartbreaking!"

Yining asked,

"Do you know what the crux of the matter is?"

"Your Majesty, please let me know!"

"There's still so much embezzlement going on, and no money is actually spent on governance!"

How could Peng Yunzhang not understand this? He nodded and said,

“It’s hard to reverse the situation!”

"I must do this well. Do you have confidence?"

"Uh...I promise to be of the same mind as the emperor and not to take a penny!"

"Okay, do your best and manage your subordinates. I will take care of the rest. Let's not discuss that today. Let's continue with the previous topic!

If you can effectively manage floods for the people, drain water during floods and irrigate the land during droughts, thus reducing disasters, do you think the people will support you?"

"Of course I support it!"

“If you can get skilled craftsmen to create some farm tools that save the people a lot of work, will the people be grateful to you?

If you can get some people to grow wheat with better yields, and double the yields of rice, corn, soybeans, sorghum, and sweet potatoes, do you think the people will kowtow to you?

If you let talented people invent stronger building techniques and materials to replace thatched houses and adobe houses, would you leave your name in history?

Peng Yunzhang was no fool, he finally got the idea. He said excitedly,

"Your Majesty, now that you put it like that, our Ministry of Industry is truly important!"