The student who uses "Dream" as their pen name is Liu Haitang. The student who uses "Stream" as their pen name is Murong Yu. The student who uses "Hometown" as their pen name is Qian Qiankun.
The three students immediately caught the attention of the court officials.
The civil officials were surprisingly supportive of these stories, which they normally considered beneath their dignity. This was because the stories' reach to the Xiongnu and other nomadic tribes further solidified their position as the culturally legitimate center of power in the South.
The three students were specially received by Li Ling, who encouraged them to do well in their exams and to benefit the local people in the future.
The three students were all young and ambitious. With the encouragement of the contemporary Confucian scholar, Vice Minister of Rites, and Grand Councilor, they naturally studied even harder.
After reading the three stories, Xie Lanzhi specially commented: "The writing is concise and steady, and the stories are simple and unadorned yet profound in their meaning."
Actually, the three stories weren't particularly outstanding for her, because in modern times these kinds of stories are commonplace and already widely known. But the situation was different here; the difference lay in the fact that the government authorized the writing of villains as sons of officials. There was a certain degree of open-mindedness involved.
Breaking free from constraints and embracing freedom has always been a cherished human aspiration. Therefore, the popularity of "The Great Judge's Judgment" lies in its willingness to break with established ideas and prejudices, and its progressive thought that aligns with public opinion. Previously, books like this were not read by the lower classes, but now they are flourishing and bearing fruit among them.
Si Xitong smiled faintly and remained silent. It seemed she still had more to do.
Looking at the little phoenix's perfectly prepared demeanor, she suddenly couldn't help but feel a chill: "You wouldn't... start the story by waging a cultural war against the Huns, would you?"
"Lanzhi understands me best."
The Hun court actually didn't care about these three stories at all. They had been living in the Central Plains for a hundred years and had been influenced by the culture of the Central Plains to some extent. They even had poets who were no less than those in the southern Central Plains.
Logically, they shouldn't care at all, but unexpectedly, it sparked heated discussions among the people, who greatly admired this simple, easy-to-understand, and righteous story.
The common people and nobles of the Xiongnu were different. They knew very few words and understood profound truths through oral tradition passed down from their fathers. They had never encountered a storybook like this before, where one only needed to know a hundred characters to comprehend its contents. It was simple and easy to understand, far better than what teachers in schools could teach.
Some children from the Xiongnu people even developed a love for reading after reading the three stories of the Duke's Judgments. Unfortunately, there are no longer any similarly simple and easy-to-understand texts for children to read. The Xiongnu people deeply regret this. Some even imagine that people in the southern Central Plains could once access such easily understood and engaging knowledge.
Moreover, it was written by a nobleman's son to enlighten the common people.
Unlike the Xiongnu, where only nobles were qualified to read and write, ordinary people in the Xiongnu were considered wealthy if they knew their own surname.
It turned out that the Southern Central Plains were not the desolate, war-torn land of famine and cannibalism that everyone had imagined. These three impartial judgments shattered the stereotypical image of the Southern Central Plains held by the Xiongnu people. They even sparked a beautiful imagination, much like their ancestors, when still in the vast desert, longed for the vast and abundant Central Plains, a land where food and drink were plentiful, and where the people lived in peace and prosperity.
However, their imaginations were far from ideal. After entering the Central Plains, they didn't enjoy many good days. Everything turned out differently from their beautiful expectations.
After the nobles entered the Central Plains, the lower classes did not enjoy any benefits upon arrival. They were allocated land but did not know how to cultivate it, so they sold it to the nobles, who then taught them how to farm it. As they were taught, the land eventually became the property of the nobles. When the harvest was plentiful, they were overjoyed, but the next moment, all the grain had to be piled up in the nobles' granaries. Even if it was just to fatten up field mice, they could not take a single extra grain.
They should be grateful for even a full meal. They shouldn't covet anything more, otherwise it would be disrespectful to the nobles and the king.
Never before had anyone been as pragmatic and dared to criticize the brutal acts of the nobility as those in the Southern Central Plains. And they were even commended by the imperial court!
The Hu and Xiongnu nobles never expected that the common people would be so enthusiastic about the Grand Justice Judgment, and that the Grand Justice Judgment had killed the sons of officials. The news had spread widely in the South Central Plains. Weren't they afraid that the common people would rise up in rebellion?
With this question in mind, the nobles also began reading the Duke's Judgments. What kind of book could cause such a stir among the common people?
Upon reading it, the nobles were immediately enraged, pointing out that the Grand Duke's Judgment was a forbidden book of insubordination.
The nobles ordered that no more of these forbidden books from being imported into the Central Plains. However, because they had come into contact with so many Xiongnu people, even though the books were banned, the people could still pass them on orally with great interest.
When the nobles realized that simply banning books was ineffective, they immediately sent people to prohibit the common people from discussing the Grand Judge's cases, otherwise they would be punished with forced labor.
I thought the matter would come to an end, but I didn't expect that the Hu and Xiongnu people would be so rebellious. The more we told them not to talk about it, the more they wanted to talk about it, and they even wanted to adapt the content of the Grand Judge's judgment and pass it on.
The seats in each teahouse were once completely full.
Even without the impartial judgments of the Central Plains, the Huns could compile their own cases and be self-sufficient.
The nobles did not expect that the common people would also oppose them, spreading the contents of these banned books in other forms, and even adapting them, replacing all the original content and locations, alluding to the Grand Duke's judgment.
As a result, many storybooks, although not based on the principle of impartial justice, still bear the imprint of it.
The nobles never expected that a small book could challenge their authority, and they even wanted to forbid the common people from creating these kinds of stories that they considered insubordinate.
The new king, Aqina, allowed the people to circulate judicial judgments and asked scholars to fabricate their own judicial judgments in order to resist the cultural invasion from the South Central Plains.
Therefore, the scholars of the Hu and Xiongnu began to fabricate various unjust cases in the history of the Central Plains, pointing out that the Central Plains had long persecuted the people, and that the Hu and Xiongnu should not be deceived by them.
Scholars, using the injustice done to Dou E and the weeping at the Great Wall to expose the darkness of the officialdom in the Central Plains, wrote new stories to reveal the unjust accusations against loyal officials.
The writing skills of these Hun people were no less than those of Mengxi Sanxiang. In fact, Hun nobles used their wealth to order storybooks and distribute them to the people for free, and even had storytellers promote them extensively in teahouses. It became a trend among the Hun people, in no way inferior to that of Tianjing.
Xie Lanzhi didn't expect the other side to retaliate. She bought several books and read them a few times, finding them indeed easy to understand, comparable to Mengxi Sanxiang in Tianjing. Moreover, the other party even had a pen name: Gouhuo Liuyuan.
The implication was obvious. Xie Lanzhi was somewhat amused and exasperated: "Little Phoenix, did you see that?"
"It seems that there are still quite a few scholars in their country who are well-versed in the culture of the Central Plains."
Si Xitong calmly sipped her tea, then immediately said, "Maybe you won't be laughing in a moment."
Xie Lanzhi said, "The common people seem to be easily influenced, which is because they lack a sense of security with the imperial court."
"Lanzhi, you need to have confidence in me, and you also need to have confidence in yourself." Si Xitong poured her another cup of tea. Xie Lanzhi felt like she had almost drunk a bellyful of tea.
Not only in Tianjing but also in the Southern Regions, people read in storybooks that the Huns and Xiongnu satirized the Central Plains as the perpetrators of injustices since ancient times.
The other party has grasped the facts.
The common people would certainly not be easily swayed, but no one took the stories seriously. Si Xitong's attitude was one of acceptance, so the officialdom was in a state of tacit acceptance and did not come forward to prohibit it.
However, the officials were far from calm on the surface. Privately, they submitted countless memorials hoping His Highness could stop the spread of the issue and prevent it from having a negative impact and shaking public morale.
Si Xitong did not introduce any policies, but simply let the people discuss them.
Since she and Lanzhi had opened a window for the people to participate in future reforms, they must do everything in their power to maintain it. Once it's closed, the influence of the newsstand will be wiped out.
Both women were well aware of what their officials, both civil and military, were thinking. What clashed with their political views was that everyone only wanted to cover up the truth. Even with that cover-up, the unavoidable realities remained.
At this point, the public is mostly expressing sympathy for the victims of the wrongful convictions in the book, but there hasn't been much momentum yet.
Until a local official, seeing that the story of "framing loyal officials on trumped-up charges" was jeopardizing his career, immediately shut down all publications in the county under his jurisdiction, prohibiting their further distribution.
Unexpectedly, a local official's ban quickly spread to neighboring towns. The county magistrate in the next town, fearing for his own future, followed suit and banned the book. While the common people didn't react much, the magistrates' bans, one after another, created a serious chain reaction. In total, four counties and five towns were banned.
The people were immediately enraged, believing that the government was guilty. Everyone condemned the officials, and local students even wrote to the capital, Tianjing, to accuse the county magistrate of banning books.
However, the county officials believed that every dynasty had strictly controlled the prohibition of books, and any book detrimental to the court had to be banned. Even if scholars accused them, the court would definitely side with them. They might even be rewarded for their quick thinking in preventing the spread of ideas that could shake the court.
Unexpectedly, instead of settling the case, Si Xitong sent Zhang Changle to personally unseal the books and periodicals in the four counties and five towns, and fined the local officials three months' salary.
For this, Si Xitong even gave these county officials a special rebuke: "What business is it of yours?"
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-01-22 20:29:08 and 2022-01-23 19:48:29!
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Hongyan and Ruyasuihe (1 each);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Glass Grass (10 bottles); Hongyan (5 bottles); Xinxin (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 162 A Bountiful Harvest Year in Tianjing
This made the county officials feel extremely ashamed. Zhang Changle not only lifted the ban on storybooks, but also specially rewarded the students who dared to sue the county officials.
The imperial court expedited the dissemination of righteous ideas throughout the regions. This move instantly garnered widespread praise among the people. Of course, some ignorant citizens believed that the court was only temporarily compromising to save face.
This claim was quickly refuted by local learned elders, who also educated the people, saying that no dynasty in history had ever allowed the people to speak freely and even dared to make bold improvements.
This dynasty is undoubtedly the most lenient and benevolent in history.
Thus, the three stories about the Southern Central Plains became a bridge for communication between the people and the imperial court.
In teahouses, restaurants, and even roadside stalls across the country, diners will often take a moment to ask, "Did you read 'The Injustice to Dou E' today?"
"After seeing it, everyone in the family, young and old, cried their eyes out."
"That's right. I had heard that it was performed in operas before, but I didn't expect that the Xiongnu could adapt it. After watching it, I felt that the imperial court was really dark."
"Shh, are you starving or freezing, and you're making fun of the imperial court?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Her Highness is a wise and benevolent ruler, one in a thousand years, who loves his people like his own children. She won't blame us for saying a few words."
"You have to keep a close eye on the children at home and not let them talk nonsense."
Although people were wary, they still maintained a degree of restraint. At the same time, Si Xitong ordered the establishment of public service complaint boxes to collect information on people's needs from various regions.
The county government set up complaint boxes and sent officials to spread the word. At first, no people dared to submit their opinions, thinking it was just for show.
Local officials waited anxiously every day, fearing that too many public complaints would lead His Highness to believe they had failed in their governance. As a result, the public complaint boxes were first distrusted by the people, and then caused panic among the county officials.
Si Xitong specially sent people from Xiwei to appease the county officials in various places, and even had people cross out the place names on the petition boxes, only looking at the petitions and not the place names.
The county officials were immediately relieved. They sent people to guide those in need to submit their petitions, and even sent their clerks to help the people write down their requests.
At first, the people were just trying it out, and most of their demands were for national peace and prosperity, enough to eat and wear, followed by access to education or more land to grow crops. Later, other people with different ideas came up with various other demands.
The petition box was sent to Tianjing, and the Military Affairs Department became very busy, sorting out various petitions and then reporting them to Si Xitong.
Si Xitong and Xie Lanzhi reviewed the statistics from the complaint box, and basic necessities remained the top priority. Specifically, they wanted to eat rice.
Xie Lanzhi thought about it. Logically speaking, the total amount of grain produced last year and this year is enough for people to have thirty meals of white rice a month. So why are there still people who rarely eat rice?
Could it be that the distribution was uneven across different regions, leading to embezzlement? Once this thought crossed their minds, the two of them came to the same conclusion.
Si Xitong ordered Zhang Changle to report all corrupt officials from various regions.
It was eventually discovered that there was indeed embezzlement, but the embezzled items were all valuable peanuts, which were sold to merchants for extra income. No one dared to embezzle the grain.
The two quickly turned their attention to the grain fields in various places.
Si Xitong ordered the Minister of Agriculture to send people to the grassroots level to survey the arable land, and what crops were suitable for the unsuitable land. It was best to adapt to local conditions.
She allocated one million taels to the officials in charge of agriculture, instructing them to go to the countryside and begin analyzing the soil and climate of various regions to determine what crops were suitable for planting.
Xie Lanzhi said, "I will send out Xie family merchants to facilitate agricultural trade in various regions."
Si Xitong said, "We really should rectify the situation among the people."
Previously, the goal was to increase grain production capacity. Now, with favorable weather and the large granary of the southern region, grain distribution per capita is sufficient. However, due to different environments in different regions, the quality of grain naturally varies.
There are many places where people can eat their fill, but there are also many places where people don't.
With the year drawing to a close and wanting everyone to have a good New Year, Si Xitong originally intended to order grain merchants to sell grain at low prices during the holiday. However, she had already controlled grain prices, preventing them from rising even once. The grain merchants were earning a guaranteed minimum price for the imperial court. The transportation costs were even covered by the court itself.
Xie Lanzhi devised a solution for her: allow private merchants to participate in economic flows, allocating a certain share of business to them to reduce the government's costs. Furthermore, she proposed temporarily designating a certain number of private merchants from each town, with nearby villages simply coming to work in those towns. The local government would then manage the labor force, specifying monthly wages.
Moreover, merchants and commoners must employ a certain number of laborers, and the imperial court will provide subsidies or tax reductions to them.
The commercial tax has only been in effect for a little over a year, and it has been thoroughly implemented in the two southern and central plains prefectures. Except for the Si clan and high-ranking officials of the fourth rank, almost everyone below them is subject to mandatory taxation. Furthermore, it is supervised by the Western Guard.
Xie Lanzhi decided to use road construction to create more jobs. After all, food was plentiful now, and with food supplies secured, many things could be accomplished smoothly if managed well.