NOVPUBAfter the sacrifice ceremony, just as before, Liu Bei took Li You to train the troops, while Chen Xi led a group of civil officials to deal with the issues that arose from this event.
But when Chen Xi returned to the Political Office, he saw Qu Qi, who should have been continuously engrossed in agricultural research in the greenhouse, sitting there drinking tea.
"Oh, Hanmou, what brings you here?" Chen Xi greeted with a smile, and the gaggle of black-robed civil officials behind him also greeted Qu Qi; everyone was familiar with the remarkable person who could make the lands of Qingzhou so productive.
"You all are too hasty," Qu Qi said with a bitter smile.
"What?" Chen Xi didn’t quite catch that and, sitting in the main seat, beckoned for more tea, pastries, and candied fruit to be brought up—they had work to do.
"I said you all are too hasty. Governor Liu announced it too early. Popularizing education can garner public support and earn the praise of exceptional talents throughout the world. However, do you not realize that just because they acknowledge your benevolence doesn’t mean conflicts will not arise? Qingzhou is strong, but it hasn’t reached that extent," Qu Qi said, still with a bitter smile, "You are cutting off the foundation of the Scholar Families."
"How so?" Chen Xi said, massaging his temples in helplessness, "even if some figures take notice, they will not be able to obstruct us in the short term. And talking about the proliferation of paper printing, that’s beneficial to all Scholar Families. Only a few will truly notice. Our greatest advantage is the cheapness of paper, which allows us to disseminate it widely. By the time they notice, the lower class students should already be able to compete with them. Plus, the interests we provide here will make them overlook such trivial matters."
"Aren’t you too confident? It’s always the top-tier individuals who can cause you trouble. Those families that fail to see this, even if they are sold out by you, will have no clue. Indeed, the widespread availability of paper benefits the Scholar Families, but its excessive cheapness benefits the commoners on the lower rungs even more!" Qu Qi said, frowning.
"But, in this world, ninety percent of Scholar Families can only see the benefits," Chen Xi said nonchalantly, "Most Scholar Families, even after realizing, will believe in the superiority of their own bloodlines and won’t kill their chance for further advancement over a plan that could fail at any time."
"How do you solve the issue of teacher supply, and how do you deal with the annual investment? Don’t think I haven’t pondered this issue. In the entire region of Mount Tai of Qingzhou, there are at least two hundred thousand school-age children. Each teacher is to take on five students for three years," Qu Qi said, looking at Chen Xi. "By the way, your Thousand Character Classic is quite good," he complimented, as if something had just occurred to him. Then he continued to fix his gaze on Chen Xi.
This time, including Jia Xu, everyone was looking at Chen Xi, since at the time he had claimed that the solution would naturally present itself when needed.
"There’s no special solution, live off the land, and as for the forty or fifty thousand students, there’s no need for them to be well-versed in all Six Arts and the Spring and Autumn Annals as you mentioned. I’ve said we only aim for the most basic education," Chen Xi said calmly, "Next year, we’ll be able to fully control Qingzhou and extend our influence to the coast. Then we can start maritime trade with Jiaozhou. The indigenous people there don’t lack food."
Qu Qi frowned. He had been to Jiaozhou. Indeed, there was no shortage of food, but the place was not fit for human habitation, with its heavy miasma. However, maritime trade was far too uncertain.
"Gan Xingba has probably already visited Yiizhou. Using that as a midway point, barring any accidents, there shouldn’t be any significant problems," Chen Xi said with a smile, "I had Gan Ning ensure the location of that overseas region quite early on."
"With that route, the challenges of teaching staff and financing can just about be met, but now I’m going to ask you about the most important matter," Qu Qi said seriously to Chen Xi.
"Go ahead, I’m listening," Chen Xi said casually.
"What are the Scholar Families to you?" Qu Qi asked.
"A kind of grand household that extends through the ages, fundamentally rooted in bloodlines and centered around power, influence, prestige, and wealth," Chen Xi said somewhat uncertainly. "However, it seems that when a noble family declines, their resurgence is simpler than that of ordinary folk."
"What exactly is a noble?" Qu Qi asked.
"Just the upper class that’s above other social strata," Chen Xi casually said, then paused, looking at Qu Qi. Subsequently, everyone present furrowed their brows—they were too close to the issue to see it clearly and had overlooked this fact.
"It seems you’ve noticed; noble families have evolved from the nobility. Their goal is to revert to the noble class, to share the world with the Emperor and to grant land among the feudal lords," Qu Qi paused, then swept a glance over everyone present.
"Do you think those top aristocratic families, those who’ve retained their noble glory generation after generation, would allow the lower classes to share the same opportunities as them? No, they’re destined to sit at the very top and look down upon the lower echelons," Qu Qi said with a smile, looking at Chen Xi and the others.
"The thunderstorm and the dew are all the grace of the ruler; this ruler ah..." Chen Xi murmured to himself.
It was not until that moment that Chen Xi fully grasped why nobility had evolved into noble families, why noble families would evolve into scholar families, and why the Nine-Rank System existed. Everything had been predestined!
For the nobility, hierarchy was of the utmost importance; scholar families were just another form of nobility. From birth, your status in life was determined: high rank, no Humble Family; low rank, no Scholar Family!
"Well then, those who can enjoy endless glory and riches generation after generation, akin to the Zhou Emperor granting land to the feudal lords, nobility remains nobility. Their descendants will enjoy blessings for hundreds of years. Compared to what Lord Xuande is doing now by directly thwarting these noble families’ delusions, the resentment is indeed very deep, and the attraction on the other side is quite substantial," Chen Xi silently acknowledged Qu Qi’s words.
Chen Xi had to admit, the slogan of the noble families was extremely enticing to the noble families themselves. As for the lower class people, go to bed; what does this have to do with you?
Similarly, Chen Xi was more inclined to believe Qu Qi’s words over his speculation, because history had indeed seen occurrences like the ones Qu Qi speculated about—the Nine-Rank System had solidly rooted the foundation of the scholar families!
"So does that mean we’ve now completely positioned ourselves against all the top aristocratic families?" For the first time, Jia Xu felt like he had been foolish. Could it be that none of the grand nobles present had this notion?
"That’s pretty much the situation; however, the good thing now is that Chen Zichuan is still in your camp. You’re really lucky; Chen Zichuan has proven his capabilities, and I’ve also heard that Cao Mengde sent a strategist to congratulate you. It’s likely to be Chen Changwen," Qu Qi commented with a look that suggested you all have such good fortune.
"That’s a relief. The Chen Family has a vast influence. Even though I’ve stepped aside, I will still be seen as a representative of the Chen Family. Therefore, after this incident today, most noble families will keep an eye on my every move. As long as I don’t step out of line, it means this incident hasn’t harmed the foundation of the noble families," Chen Xi secretly wiped a cold sweat, today’s situation had indeed been precarious.
"Nevertheless, after this incident, I guess quite a number of top strategists from these noble families will give up on Governor Liu. Although you’re a public figure, you can’t fully represent the Chen Family, and the threat posed by Liu Bei’s actions is still there. They will search for ways to restore their former glory," Qu Qi said helplessly.
"They will acknowledge Xuande’s benevolence, because Xuande has a status that’s not inferior to theirs. But when it comes to the lower class, they will never allow someone to climb over them. They might pity the lower class, but they’ll never give them the chance to look down upon them," Chen Xi said, resting his head in his hands and smiling bitterly. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
