The Strategy for Military Farming was public opinion deliberately released by the Emperor.
But that didn't mean that just because public opinion had been released, something could be implemented as a matter of course.
There would certainly be resistance.
Or rather, releasing public opinion was precisely meant to counter certain resistance.
The Sun clan of Yangzhou had been the foremost prestigious family in Jiangnan since the previous dynasty. When the Great Yu was founded, they were also among the original stakeholders.
Without question, they were a force that could not be ignored within the Empire's ruling class.
If there was any policy they didn't want implemented, they would naturally unite the old aristocratic groups to resist it.
After thinking it over, Minister Sun had already made his decision.
It wasn't that he couldn't sacrifice anything at all for the country.
This was a matter of the magnitude of loss to one's interests.
At the founding of the Great Yu, the main military force had risen from Liang Prefecture.
Those generals from Qin Prefecture were called the Qin Prefecture Meritorious Nobility Clique. They had followed the Founding Emperor in conquering the realm, all with the merit of following the dragon.
It could be said that all past emperors of the Great Yu were basically descendants of the Qin Prefecture nobility and the Wei family.
Even now, military power was still mostly held in the hands of the meritorious nobility clique.
But back then, the territory that the Qin Prefecture nobles had fought and bled for was basically only in Jiangbei.
Jiangnan was more like a franchise.
So control over Jiangnan had always been delicate.
This was like our Great Emperor Sun Corgi—conquering the realm relied on the Jiangbei clique, but most of his foundation was in Jiangdong.
Among Wei, Shu (Han), and Wu, the one suffering most painfully from the constraints of aristocratic families was Eastern Wu.
Zhang Zhao basically represented the stance of the Jiangdong gentry—if we can't win, then let's just surrender.
If the northern State of Qi invaded and the Qin Prefecture nobles couldn't hold, losing half the realm, the Qi army wouldn't even need to cross the river.
The Jiangnan gentry would say: Let's just surrender then.
If the Strategy for Military Farming were implemented this time, it would touch upon the interests of the meritorious nobles, but not too deeply—after all, they were our own people.
But for the Jiangnan gentry, it would be different.
This was politics.
Only one factor determined one's position—one's stance.
Of course, Minister Sun wouldn't discuss such matters with the younger generation.
"The day after tomorrow is my birthday. I've invited all the top ten Sub-yuan," Minister Sun suddenly decided.
"What about Song Shi'an?" Sun Heng asked.
"He must naturally be invited. You go personally to extend the invitation," Minister Sun said.
"A mere illegitimate son..." Sun Heng couldn't quite understand.
For scholars throughout the realm to study under the Sun clan of Yangzhou was a tremendous honor.
Never mind the son of a Third Rank Sheng'an Magistrate—even if a regional governor holding First Rank came himself, he would still have to be respectful.
Why this special attention toward this youngster?
At this, one half of Sun Yan's mouth curled into a smile.
The other half remained somberly severe.
Under the interplay of light and shadow, he seemed half-smiling, half-angry as he slowly said:
"First, let him come, then we'll talk."
Offending the Emperor was a great disrespect.
But the Emperor's Jieyuan was different.
………
At the Scholar's Inn, in Song Shi'an's room.
After looking at the model answer papers and carefully reading through both essays, Wang Shuishan looked at Song Shi'an with some shock: "With Jingxiu-xiong's level of skill, why did you only pass the provincial examination this year?"
To this, Song Shi'an responded: "I consulted a fortune-teller. He said passing this year would bring me prosperity."
"I knew it!"
You knew it again.
"Whether it's An Exhortation to Learning or Strategy for Military Farming, these two essays truly deserve their dual first-place ranking."
Wang Shuishan didn't know how to express his admiration. He simply held the two model papers, his heart full of sighs.
Is this the gap between me and the Jieyuan?
A vast chasm indeed!
"Aiya, you're too kind, too kind." Song Shi'an raised his hand, looking embarrassed.
Wang Shuishan continued his analysis: "Though An Exhortation to Learning uses simple language, it's also brilliantly written. You can tell that Strategy for Military Farming deliberately restrains its literary flair, focusing on reasoning."
Song Shi'an: "..."
Got it, got it. Sage Xun is eternal, okay?
Indeed, no matter how clever you are, can you be cleverer than our ancestors?
"But there's something I don't understand..."
When Wang Shuishan said this, he looked at Song Shi'an and asked: "Both my policy essay and Jingxiu-xiong's offended the aristocratic families. Why could yours win Jieyuan while mine nearly failed?"
This was what puzzled him.
After all, in his view, if military farming were to be implemented, it would be impossible to avoid seizing some population that belonged to the aristocratic families.
What problem could be solved by relying solely on refugees?
"That's right, both offended the aristocratic families. You could even say both competed with the aristocratic families for population."
Song Shi'an smiled, looking at this rather clear-headed fellow. Then he explained: "But your measure of investigating aristocratic family populations was too radical."
In ancient times, population statistics could be done, but not carelessly.
The population figures obtained from general censuses either excluded those without household registration, or were roughly estimated using the 'mark-recapture method.'
The court could never know specifically which person was in which county, which township, which village.
"Please explain in detail," Wang Shuishan said earnestly.
"Investigating population means you want to know all the population hidden by the aristocratic families. Military farming takes a portion of the population from the total that the aristocratic families don't know themselves."
After saying this, Song Shi'an didn't explain further.
Wang Shuishan froze for a moment, still confused: "That's such a small difference?"
"Yes."
"Just this one difference makes you the Jieyuan while I nearly failed?"
"Yes."
Wang Shuishan was still pondering deeply.
He didn't think such similar essays should have such a huge scoring gap.
Seeing his confusion, Song Shi'an asked: "Shuishan, how many mu of land does your family have?"
To this, he answered without hesitation: "Four hundred twenty-five mu."
After speaking, Wang Shuishan saw that Song Shi'an didn't respond, so he asked: "What's wrong?"
"My family has fifteen thousand mu."
"..."
Wang Shuishan was instantly stunned.
He knew the Song clan of Huai Commandery was prominent, but he hadn't expected them to be this wealthy!
But he also understood that Song Shi'an wasn't here to show off.
So after deeper reflection, he suddenly understood!
It really wasn't a small difference.
His proposal could be said to be ten times more radical than Song Shi'an's!
"That's exactly it."
With a smile, Song Shi'an, who had thoroughly understood this era's situation when he transmigrated, had long known the proper boundaries: "When the Empire faces difficulty, how much the Emperor wants the aristocratic families to contribute—that's fine. But you can't ask them exactly how much they actually have."
Aristocratic families also needed a sense of security.
Wang Shuishan could openly admit how much land his family had because those few melons and two dates weren't worth the court's attention.
So the fact that this guy could pass the provincial examination showed that this generation's Grand Secretaries were actually fairly open-minded.
"I understand everything now."
Wang Shuishan completely understood, and looking at the man before him, he was thoroughly convinced.
After a long moment, Wang Shuishan stood up, clasped his hands together, and bowed to Song Shi'an.
"Eh, eh, Shuishan, what's this about?" Song Shi'an didn't understand and quickly supported him.
Brothers doing this kind of thing?
"Shuishan is currently just a provincial graduate, and in the future might not become any great official. Unlike Shi'an—handsome in appearance, overflowing with talent, certain to become a pillar of the state."
These words made Song Shi'an unable to suppress an enjoying smile.
You're the first man who hasn't overlooked my looks along with my talent. You're being rewarded.
And gazing into his eyes, Wang Shuishan said firmly: "If your younger brother enters the court in the future, I would wish to be part of Shi'an's faction."