Chapter 779 - 777 Assigning Tasks
Ye Xinyan was also feeling desperate. "Duke An, old master, are you trying to ruin your granddaughter’s reputation? If she really leaves now and lets Han Yanhui and other old pedants discuss how to protect the interests of the craftsmen of low status, isn’t that absurd?"
"Your Majesty, it’s like this, the humble woman believes that letting scholars decide whether to protect craftsmen is rather unreliable. Those who manage the affairs of the world are scholars, but it is projects like the Dujiangyan and Zhengguo Canal, and improvements in pottery, weaving, and plowing that benefit the people. The humble woman has been destitute before and has heard a saying, which goes ’empty talk leads a country astray,’ ahem, and that’s actually referring to scholars."
Before Ye Xinyan could finish her sentence, she felt several murderous gazes from the Imperial Study Room chopping down on her head. Indeed, although scholars excel in internal strife, when faced with a real enemy, they immediately unite, the gaze this time was unprecedentedly uniform.
"When a major crisis strikes, the deciding factor for success or failure is a country’s overall strength, and technological prowess is an important factor determining the comprehensive strength of a nation and is the primary driving force for all aspects of a nation’s development. The level of technical ability depends on the skill of the craftsmen, not on the scholars’ parchment and pen or their flowery rhetoric."
Pfft... The emperor was taken aback by Ye Xinyan’s audacious words and pointed at her, "You really dare to say anything!"
The emperor scanned the few ministers present. Aside from his three sons and Duke An, the others had all risen to prominence through the imperial examinations. Personally, he thought that Ye Xinyan’s words, though a bit biased, were quite good. But as a woman, you’re now belittling all the scholars in the world, have you no sense of propriety? Are those people you can afford to provoke?
"Enough! You, a young lady, what do you understand about the affairs of state and family? Regarding increasing protection for inventors or whatever it was called... Yes, the laws to protect the rights of inventors, you go back and quickly draft a memorial to submit."
The emperor, in an attitude of keeping peace, assigned Ye Xinyan a task while trying to smooth things over.
The several ministers and princes had not yet recovered from the shock of Ye Xinyan’s words when they were startled awake by what the emperor said next.
A memorial? What memorial? Letting who write it, Ye Xinyan? But didn’t Your Majesty just say that she, a small woman, doesn’t understand state affairs, so why are you asking her to write a memorial immediately after?