"Why aren't you speaking, young friend?"
Seeing that Shen Jing remained silent, Zhou Yi took the initiative to ask.
"Nothing to say."
Shen Jing came back to his senses, sighed dramatically, and mused to himself.
I need to find a way to deal with this old guy!
Zhou Yi was curious, "Why do you have nothing to say?"
"I really don't see where the imperial court is short of silver."
Shen Jing pouted, "I only see that the rich have their wine and meat rotting, while the poor freeze to death on the roadside!"
Short of silver?
He really didn't think Great Zhou was short of silver.
White sugar cost two hundred taels a catty, and still so many people bought it.
Did Great Zhou really have no money?
At best, one could only say that the common people of Great Zhou had no money; the powerful and influential absolutely had money!
If all the officials of the imperial court were thoroughly investigated, they could probably easily come up with tens of millions of taels of silver.
You want silver, right? Go raid the homes of those powerful and influential people!
Especially people like Yao Jian; raiding their homes would definitely yield results!
Zhou Yi fell silent, repeatedly pondering Shen Jing's words.
The rich have their wine and meat rotting, while the poor freeze to death on the roadside!
Yes!
The powerful and influential of Great Zhou were all well-fed and prosperous, while the common people were in dire straits.
The south was still relatively good, but the north was where the people's livelihood was truly in decline.
If not for the grace of heaven, with several years of favorable weather, Great Zhou would probably have already reached the brink of collapse.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Yi looked at Shen Jing approvingly: "Just for that remark, this old man will toast you."
"No, no!"
Shen Jing raised a hand to stop him, "What's with the 'toasting'? I'll drink with you!"
"Good!"
After one cup, Zhou Yi chuckled again and asked, "So, you think if the imperial court is short of silver, it should get silver from those powerful and influential people?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Shen Jing rolled his eyes at him, "If the imperial court is short of silver, and doesn't get it from the powerful and influential, should it get it from the poor common people?"
As Shen Jing was speaking, a large black float suddenly appeared.
Shen Jing abruptly lifted his fishing rod, creating a large arc.
A giant!
Shen Jing immediately squatted down, ready to start playing the fish.
But the next moment, the large fish suddenly exerted force.
The fishing rod bent and then suddenly sprang up.
He reeled it in and saw that the fishhook was gone.
Damn it!
Who the hell tied this hook?
"Your luck is a bit poor!"
Seeing this, Zhou Yi immediately chuckled and said.
"Indeed!"
Shen Jing nodded in agreement, secretly complaining in his heart.
Isn't my luck poor?
Exposing Prince Ji's rebellion, and then being schemed against by Emperor Zhou!
What a pain!
This has really made him feel depressed.
Zhou Yi smiled and then instructed his servant to get another fishhook for Shen Jing.
While Shen Jing was tying the fishhook, Zhou Yi enthusiastically asked again, "Then what do you think? How should we get silver from the powerful and influential?"
"That's what the imperial court officials should think about; what does it have to do with us common people?"
Shen Jing didn't even lift his head, busying himself with tying the fishhook and re-baiting it.
"Old man, I can't agree with that!"
Zhou Yi shook his head and said seriously, "The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of every common man!"
"Pfft!"
Shen Jing spat on the earthworm hanging on the fishhook.
I've become a common man!
Even with my contributions, you all conspire against me.
How can I possibly be expected to care about the rise and fall of the world?
"Young friend, you don't agree with this old man's words?"
Zhou Yi asked with a chuckle.
"Not at all!"
Shen Jing grinned, "Old man, don't overthink it. I'm just adding some flavor to the bait!"
Saying that, Shen Jing cast the 'flavored' bait into the water.
Come on! Come on!
Aren't you trying to put on a show?
I'll play along with you today!
Let's see how long you can keep up the act!
"You, young man, it's clear you're not telling the truth!"
Zhou Yi chuckled, looking at Shen Jing, and leisurely said, "This old man guesses you're secretly calling me pedantic, aren't you?"
"No, no."
Shen Jing answered carelessly.
Although he had guessed the old man's purpose, he really hadn't cursed this old man.
What did this have to do with this old man?
This old man was surely acting on orders.
If he were to curse, he would curse the dog emperor!
However, he could only curse in his heart.
"Of course you are!"
Zhou Yi stroked his beard and said leisurely, "If you had experienced the wars of previous years and witnessed countless noble individuals sacrificing themselves one after another, even knowing they would die, you would deeply appreciate this saying."
"Perhaps!"
Shen Jing replied perfunctorily, drinking his wine on his own.
Zhou Yi glanced sideways and continued, "Don't think this old man is just talking nonsense; I once offered many good strategies to the imperial court!"
"Really or fake?"
Shen Jing feigned disbelief and teased, "You offered many good strategies to the imperial court, so why didn't the imperial court reward you with an official position?"
"Who told you that offering strategies to the imperial court necessarily means becoming an official?"
Zhou Yi was displeased, huffing and glaring as he said, "There are even people in this world who don't want to be emperor, so what's so strange about this old man not wanting to be an official?"
Uh...
There was nothing wrong with that statement.
Ye Xian wasn't he a clear example?
Including himself, he had never thought of becoming emperor!
Seeing Shen Jing silent, Zhou Yi immediately laughed heartily, "Don't just stand there, drink a penalty cup!"
"Alright! I admit I said the wrong thing, I'll take the punishment!"
Shen Jing shrugged and directly drained the wine in his cup.
Honestly, he had been a bit down earlier and hadn't really savored it, so he hadn't noticed if the wine was good or bad.
Now that he saw through their scheme, after one cup and a careful taste, he suddenly felt the wine was quite good!
By the way, this old man isn't trying to get him drunk, is he?
If he really had that intention, he would have to play along with him properly!
Let's see who gets whom drunk!
Zhou Yi smiled at him, "Although this old man is unwilling to be an official, I am willing to contribute to the imperial court. In my leisure time, I also ponder ways to govern the country and make it strong."
Hmm, that's it!
Contribute to the imperial court!
He was pondering ways to govern the country and make it strong, so he should offer the method for making white sugar to enrich the imperial treasury!
Didn't that fit perfectly?
Shen Jing secretly smiled, then pouted and said, "To put it bluntly, you're purely worrying yourself for nothing!"
Upon hearing Shen Jing's words, Zhou Yi immediately became displeased, "How am I worrying myself for nothing? If you can't explain why, you'll have to drink three penalty cups! If you can explain, I'll drink three penalty cups!"
Oh, it seems this old man really wants to get him drunk!
What's the deal? Get him drunk, then have him muddle-headedly agree to offer the method for making white sugar?
Or, have him babble nonsense after drinking, and then frame him with some crime, further forcing him to use the sugar-making method to atone for it?
Does it have to be this ruthless?
Shen Jing complained wildly in his heart, but his face remained impassive, "Do you still need to think about the way to govern the country? From ancient times to the present, haven't those sages proposed many ways to govern the country? But which dynasty or era truly achieved it?"
"This..."
Zhou Yi was immediately speechless, "Alright, you make a good point! This old man will drink three penalty cups!"
Saying that, Zhou Yi picked up his wine cup, drained the wine, and then instructed his servant to pour more.
The servant secretly worried and tried to dissuade him, "Master..."
"Pour the wine!"
Zhou Yi said in a low, unmistakable tone.
The servant had no choice but to pour the wine...