After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

As Qin Mincai recounted the preceding content, he couldn't help but sigh, and then summarized, "What we've covered so far is a basic overview and introduction, giving everyone a superficial impression of the Xining Reforms."

Those below realized that Qin Mincai had been talking all along, and this was only the beginning.

"Some people praise Wang Anshi's reforms, while others criticize them, believing he should be included in the 'Biographies of Traitorous Officials.' Of course, this is an evaluation of Wang Anshi, but regarding this reform, whether it is criticism or praise, the arguments tend to be unified and one-sided, that is, it was a failed reform movement."

"Some even say that this was a movement destined to fail under the impact of the reactionary and arrogant landlord interest group. Perhaps everyone thinks that this reform will fail when Sima Guang has completely abolished Wang Anshi's policies? Actually, that's not entirely true."

"That's too simplistic."

"Today we will mainly discuss some of the ideas in Wang Anshi's reforms by looking at the Green Sprouts Act and the Market Regulation Act. Here we must emphasize that we should separate the failure of the reforms from the progressive ideas that were reflected in them."

On the stage, Qin Mincai picked up the chalk and wrote the words 'failure' and 'progress' on the blackboard, followed by a question mark (?) for each.

Zhu Qinggu, who was below, thought that they had already entered the door, and even felt that Qin Mincai's lecture was a bit scattered, talking about this and that. It turned out that they had only just entered the door.

The lengthy preamble served as a prelude, but it also contained many highlights.

She looked at the course materials on the table, which everyone had a copy of; this was only the first page.

"...As we have already seen from our brief discussion above, Wang Anshi had some understanding of the relationship between the production, distribution, circulation and consumption of commodities. The core of his economic theory was basically financial management and the suppression of powerful families. But everyone should understand that his plan to enrich the country was inevitably for the purpose of plundering in order to maintain the rule of the dynasty."

“Let’s trace back to the source and make horizontal comparisons. Let’s compare the understanding of conservatives like Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, as well as their understanding of the world and society. What do you find?”

Qin Min smiled and wrote the characters 'Confucianism' and 'Legalism' on the blackboard.

Those below seemed to have realized something, their eyes suddenly widening, and even the people from the Qin and Han dynasties under the sky began to discuss among themselves.

The Legalists, in particular, were already quite unhappy to see the Confucianists shining so brightly behind them, and now they're laughing heartily here.

Unfortunately, the laughter faded as he laughed. Why? Because Wang Anshi was also interpreting things through a different lens. In my opinion, this kind of commentary on the Six Classics is neither purely Confucian nor purely Legalist.

Confucianists weren't too happy either. After all, knowing that they would prosper in the future, and then showing signs of decline later on, it all showed that they had limitations and were destined to be abandoned. But the Legalists continued to thrive in the end!

It took Zhu Qinggu a while to realize why Qin Mincai had written those two words, but the people below immediately understood.

Because many of the economic measures in Wang Anshi's reforms had a very obvious utilitarian mindset, regarding financial management as a means to enrich the country and strengthen the people, this sense of righteousness and self-interest was deeply ingrained in them and permeated the very core of every theory.

Wang Anshi believed that the Song Dynasty's poverty and weakness stemmed from its rigid system, and advocated for reform.

Sima Guang believed that social problems stemmed from the implementation level, not from systemic issues. He advocated for stability and maintaining the status quo, rectifying official corruption, restoring traditional ethics, and opposing change.

Wang Anshi believed that the new law should involve state intervention in the economy.

Sima Guang opposed excessive intervention, believing that the people should regulate themselves and that wealth should be stored among the people.

Wang Anshi believed that the actual results of reforms were the most important thing.

Sima Guang believed that reforms driven by short-sighted gains would disrupt social balance.

It's hard to say which was the best at that time, but Wang Anshi's economic policies were definitely ahead of their time and not very suitable for the social conditions.

Zhu Qinggu couldn't recall which novel he had read a line that said, "Wang Anshi believed that the government apparatus was fair and just, so it could perfectly execute his policies."

But that's just how people are; the human heart has all sorts of desires and flaws.

Now that Zhu Qinggu has come to his senses, isn't that exactly what was said on the blackboard?

There has been a clear conflict between Confucianism and Legalism since ancient times, and this implicit conflict continues to this day.

Wang Anshi remained calm and composed, showing little unusual expression, allowing the professor on stage to conduct a deeper analysis of him, which created a very subtle feeling.

Qin Mincai didn't continue there, leaving the question unanswered, and turned to talk about the Green Sprouts Act.

"What is the Green Seedling Law? To put it simply, it means that before the planting and harvesting of crops each year, during the lean season, the government will provide loans to farmers to help them get through the difficult time. The principal and interest will be repaid when the crops are harvested."

"The interest rate for loans under the Green Sprouts Law was relatively low, around 20% per annum. We should know that without the Green Sprouts Law, the interest rates for loans from wealthy and powerful people to ordinary citizens would have been around 40% to 50%."

“If you don’t take out a loan, you won’t have anything to eat when there’s no harvest. But if you take out a loan, will the harvest from the land be enough to pay the interest? No, it won’t be enough. At that point, you can only sell your land to pay the interest. That’s how these powerful families gradually swallowed up the land…” Qin Mincai said.

But in reality, many officials below have served in local government, and their situation is even worse and more difficult than Qin Mincai described.

Many farmers living under the canopy of sky already knew this.

When those people buy land, they will drive the price down very low, it's practically forced buying, and they might even force you to become their tenant farmer. If you don't listen, well, the local thugs will harass you so much that you can't survive here.

You ran away? That's even better, we'll take your house too.

However, if you have a clan, you should think twice. This is why clans are highly valued in rural areas. To a certain extent, the cohesion of a surname can prevent others from bullying you so easily.

This kind of thing has its advantages and disadvantages. At that time, ordinary people couldn't afford to live if they borrowed money, and they couldn't afford to live even more if they didn't borrow.

So when there are many annexations, there are people who can call upon anyone, and then there are foxes that howl at night, fish with letters in their bellies, and a one-eyed stone statue in the center of the lake...

Wang Anshi had witnessed too much suffering among the common people. At first, he did want to increase the people's wealth, but after repeated setbacks, his so-called reforms turned into a means for the emperor to amass wealth.