It turned out that it was easy to be a high-ranking official. In a short while, a few dishes, as well as the fragrant white fungus and lotus seed porridge, were placed on the stone table in the pavilion.
"Continue." The dishes were already on the table. The middle-aged man looked at him and urged him.
"What was I talking about?" Li Yi was hungry, so he did not stand on ceremony. He drank a few mouthfuls of porridge and said, "Oh yes, I remember. Speaking of porridge … this white fungus and lotus seed porridge is a bit overcooked. The white fungus is all cooked and it affects the taste. However, these dishes are not bad. Do you want to try …"
"…" The middle-aged man was speechless.
"Yes, you are right. This porridge is indeed overcooked." The middle-aged man drank a few mouthfuls of porridge and reached an agreement with Li Yi on this matter.
The old man, who was quietly standing behind the man, could not help but twitch when he heard this.
The emperor of a country went out incognito without the officials of the court, just to discuss the problem of cooking porridge?
It would only take one day to travel from the capital to Qing 'an Prefecture by water. However, if he wanted to return to the palace, it would take at least six or seven days.
This time, he did not go out with great fanfare and did not have a large entourage. However, in order to protect the Emperor and Her Ladyship, almost all the aces in the palace were sent out. Naturally, the journey would not be fast.
If the Emperor's identity was accidentally exposed, the imperial censors and imperial censors would be very busy when they returned to the court.
Time was of the essence. Returning to the palace was the most important thing. What problem was there to discuss?
Of course, these words could only be thought in his heart. He could not say it out loud.
…
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. Well said." Hearing such an argument from a scholar really surprised him.
"If the people could live and work in peace, eat their fill and wear warm clothes, who would have nothing better to do and run over to rebel? They would be angry with whoever rebelled. However, if they did not even have enough to eat, other than rebelling, there would be nothing else to do."
This was the logic. Now that the Confucians were ruling the country, they naturally protected the interests of the Confucians, which was the interests of the aristocratic families and the rulers. As for the common people at the bottom of the hierarchy, they were far from paying enough attention to them.
Since he had nothing to do, it was good to have someone to chat with to relieve his boredom. Although the person in front of him might be a high-ranking official, what he said was not outrageous. Whether the other party listened to him or not, Li Yi did not really care.
"Ruling a big country is like cooking a small fish. In short, don't torment the people, and nothing big will happen." Li Yi poked at a fish on the table. "Just like this fish. If you flip it too many times, the meat will fall apart and it won't taste good anymore."
"Ruling a great country is like cooking a small dish …"
Hearing this again, the man's eyes lit up. When he was about to continue asking, Li Yi waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Let's eat. Let's not talk about these useless things."
"Useless things?"
This was the first time he heard someone say that the way of ruling a country was useless. The man was stunned. He then narrowed his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him. He was not angry. Instead, he was more curious about the young man.
Although he did not speak much, every word he said was a gem. Even some of his words seemed crude, but when he thought about it carefully, there was some truth in them.
"In the past two years, our Jing Kingdom has been plagued by disasters. The drought has just passed, and the south has been hit by floods. In the desolate northwest, bandits and bandits have run amok. Moreover, our evil neighbor, the Qi Kingdom, has repeatedly invaded our borders. There are rumors among the people that it is because the current emperor has lost his virtue that so many bad things have happened …"
"Nonsense!"
Before the middle-aged man could finish his words, he was interrupted by Li Yi. "What does natural and man-made disasters have to do with the emperor? According to what you said, if I accidentally fell when I went out in the morning, can I also blame it on the emperor's loss of virtue? "
Aside from the fact that he was inexplicably made a county lieutenant, which caused Li Yi to have some complaints about the current emperor, he had a good impression of him in other aspects.
After all, from the various government decrees carried out in the Jing Kingdom, His Majesty did not seem to be a fatuous ruler. Just the temporary exemption of taxes in Qing 'an Prefecture and the surrounding cities was enough to make even Li Yi remember his kindness.
The elder behind the man wanted to say "presumptuous". How dare he use such an indecent word in front of the current emperor … However, before he could say anything, His Majesty waved his hand behind him. After glaring angrily at the young man, he kept his mouth shut.
"Well said!"
Naturally, Li Yi did not know that his invisible flattery had hit the heart of the man in front of him.
It was not easy to be an emperor these days!
Within the borders of the Jing Kingdom, wherever there was a disaster, where there was a bandit, where strange things happened … they were all blamed on the emperor. As an emperor, he was really wronged.
Although the young scholar's words were unpleasant to hear, they made him feel good all over. If it was not for his status, even he would have scolded him to his heart's content.
In an instant, when he looked at the young man again, his eyes were full of admiration.
Young man, you have ideas, you have insight, you can be of great use!
Although the imperial examination was still the most common and important way for scholars to enter the official career, the country was in urgent need of talents and would not block all paths. If there were truly outstanding talents in a certain area, they could be recommended by the local officials, examined by the Ministry of Appointments, and then presented to the emperor. It was not impossible to make an exception and hire them.
At this moment, towards the young man in front of him, he clearly had such thoughts.
Of course, with his status, there was no need for the local officials to recommend him. After the examination by the Ministry of Appointments, it was only a matter of a word for him to be promoted.
"At such a young age, you do have some real talent. Although you are only an Elementary Scholar, it is not a big deal. The imperial court will never let talents go to waste. If you are interested, I can recommend you to the imperial court. I think it is possible to get you an official position. What do you think?" The middle-aged man looked at Li Yi and said with a smile.
He really cherished talents. After a few words, he was very much in agreement with Zhou Bao's views on governance. Of course, he did not exclude the fact that Zhou Bao had said 'bullsh * t' just now, which added a lot of points in his heart.
Since he was a talent, he should be used by the country. The ruler and the officials should work together to build a harmonious and beautiful country. Letting talents go to waste … this was not something a wise ruler would do.
Li Yi's hand that had just stretched out froze in mid-air, and his face was a little dazed.
This scene, this scene, it seemed a little familiar.
This seemed to be the second time …
It was just a casual chat, was there a need to be so nervous?
Indeed, a loose tongue causes trouble. If he had known earlier, he would not have said those words just now.
Slowly putting down his chopsticks, he said with a face full of regret, "To tell you the truth, I have been suffering from a chronic illness since I was young …"
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