40: Chapter 40: Gold is born, millet dies; millet is born, gold dies.

"Carry your mother back."

"I will take care of your mother."

Ying Zheng placed his hands behind his back and said to He Zhi, "Send someone to treat the elder sister's illness, and send her one dan of grain."

"Yes, Master."

He Zhi responded.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

The young man knelt before Ying Zheng. He had broken open the stones of the cave to pull his mother out of the grave.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

The old woman spoke to Ying Zheng, her eyes overflowing with tears of gratitude.

"Elder sister, take me to your home to have a look,"

Ying Zheng suggested.

"Yes, yes, yes..."

The old woman and the young man both nodded repeatedly and agreed.

Led by the young man, Ying Zheng, He Zhi, and the Shadow Guards protecting them in secret went together to the village where the old woman lived.

As soon as unfamiliar faces like Ying Zheng and He Zhi appeared, they immediately attracted a lot of attention.

This included the Centurion.

In addition to monitoring the households under his jurisdiction to ensure no one left, his responsibility also included strictly controlling those entering their village from the outside.

Under the system of collective responsibility, if any problem occurred, everyone would suffer. Therefore, even the slightest disturbance would alert the entire village.

In the shadows, the Shadow Guards naturally went to negotiate with the Centurion; there was no need for the First Emperor or He Zhi to worry about it.

Ying Zheng looked at this small village. There were about a hundred households, with dirt roads and mud walls everywhere, and roofs made of thatched grass.

Whether they were elderly, young adults, women, or children, everyone was working in the fields.

The adults wore tattered and worn-out hemp clothes.

The children were bare-bottomed, without a single stitch of clothing. Covered in dust and grime, they followed the adults, working in the fields.

They couldn't afford to buy grain at all, so they could only plant as much as possible to ensure the family's survival.

From children as young as seven to the elderly at seventy, they were constantly busy from the first crow of the rooster until nightfall.

Facing the yellow earth with their backs to the sky, they worked so hard, yet their faces were as sallow as gold paper. They were as thin as laths, their ribs clearly visible. Their arms had no meat, looking like skin wrapped over bone.

Ying Zheng's heart was incredibly heavy. He had destroyed the Six Kingdoms and established an unprecedented unified dynasty, yet the people of Great Qin were suffering so much!

"In prosperity, the commoners suffer; in ruin, the commoners suffer."

This sentence suddenly popped into Zheng Geer's mind.

He remembered that Zhao Fusu had said this.

At the very beginning, he didn't agree with this statement.

In ruin, the commoners suffer—

He could understand that.

But in prosperity, why would the commoners still suffer?

But after seeing these people—regardless of gender or age—working from morning till night, yet still having faces like gold paper, starving until their cheeks were hollow and they were nothing but skin and bones, Zheng Geer understood.

Great Qin had destroyed the Six Kingdoms; its national strength should have reached its peak.

But look at the people of Great Qin; they are all dressed in rags. The elderly have no one to care for them; to avoid being a burden to their families, the elderly even have their sons send them to their graves early.

"Everyone has food to eat, everyone can eat their fill."

For the first time, Zheng Geer felt the weight of this simple sentence.

"Fusu."

Ying Zheng's expression was solemn.

He was now exercising every day according to Xia Wuche's instructions because he wanted to live well. He wanted to see what changes Zhao Fusu would bring to Great Qin after taking power.

"What methods do you have to deal with this grain price crisis?"

While Ying Zheng was talking to himself, Zhao Fusu was conversing with Li Si and Premier Feng Quji.

"Head of State,"

Feng Quji said, "I have heard that you intend to focus on the development of implements."

"Yes."

Zhao Fusu nodded.

For the past week, he had been at the Forging Workshop, studying coking, iron smelting, and steelmaking with the craftsmen.

What Feng Quji said was not wrong.

"Head of State,"

Feng Quji said with an anxious expression, "You said that our Five-Year Plan is to develop agriculture, so that everyone has food to eat and everyone can eat their fill."

"This will benefit the people of the world and is a great virtue."

"But you..."

"But you!"

As Feng Quji reached this point, he shook his head, looking quite disappointed as if his high expectations were not being met.

"I... what about me?"

Zhao Fusu was a bit confused.

Was he being scolded?

The problem was that this scolding seemed to come out of nowhere.

When he sent the Qin Army to surround Feng Quji's residence, Feng Quji hadn't criticized him.

He had just been staying at the Forging Workshop; why had Feng Quji come to criticize him now?

"Head of State, have you not yet noticed the seriousness of the matter!"

Feng Quji's emotions became increasingly indignant.

His breathing became heavy, his beard trembled, and his expression was agitated.

Zhao Fusu was indeed a bit baffled.

He had been chatting perfectly fine with Li Si and Feng Quji when Feng Quji's emotions suddenly became agitated, leaving him completely at a loss.

"I would ask Premier Feng Quji to explain in detail."

Zhao Fusu wanted to hear why Feng Quji's emotions had become so agitated.

He still needed Feng Quji to handle matters for him, so he wanted to know why their previously smooth cooperation was now running into problems.

Thus, he wanted to know what Feng Quji was thinking.

Feng Quji and Li Si had come together, so Li Si's thoughts were likely aligned with Feng Quji's.

Without properly addressing the ideological concerns of Feng Quji and Li Si, it would not be easy for him to develop industry in the Great Qin Empire.

Feng Quji said, "Gold rises and grain perishes; grain rises and gold perishes."

Zhao Fusu said, "Premier Feng Quji, please elaborate."

"Speak in plain language!"

Zhao Fusu rolled his eyes. He didn't quite understand this Classical Chinese, so he needed Feng Quji to explain what it meant in plain language.

Feng Quji began to use plain language to explain the specific meaning of the phrase 'Gold rises and grain perishes; grain rises and gold perishes.'

He said, "'Gold' refers to industrial and mining production."

"'Grain' refers to agricultural production."

"The flourishing of industry and mining causes rural labor to shift, leading to the decline of agriculture. This is what 'gold rises and grain perishes' means."

"Correct."

Li Si nodded in agreement. "When there are more ornate and exquisite implements, more people will engage in industry and commerce. Agriculture will then be neglected, and opportunistic merchants will gain the upper hand. National strength will inevitably be weakened."

"Industry and commerce should be restricted, and agriculture encouraged."

Zhao Fusu nodded slightly after hearing this.

As capable ministers governing the world in this era, the views of these two—Li Si and Feng Quji—basically represented the thinking of the entire ruling class.

This made him think about how wrong many transmigrators were when they traveled to ancient times and relied on producing goods to earn massive wealth.

Gold rises and grain perishes; grain rises and gold perishes.

Feng Quji had explained in great detail that the development of industry and commerce would cause the agricultural economy to collapse.

What was an Emperor?

What were the components of the ruling class led by the Emperor and his ministers?

In short, they were landlords of various sizes.

The Emperor was the greatest landlord of all.

What did they rely on for their livelihood?

They collected poll taxes from the commoners and had the commoners hand over grain to them.

If all the commoners went to work in factories, who would plant grain for these landlords?

If they wanted to receive more grain, what was the first major thing they had to do?