My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!
Chapter 535 - 350 Yiren's Thoughts

Secretariat.

A group of officials sat inside their own government offices, with little interest in working, frequently glancing towards a certain government office for any noise.

Once again, the Left Prime Minister and the Right Prime Minister had an argument today.

The two had been friends for many years, but in the past two years, their political views had gradually diverged, leading to more frequent quarrels.

Especially in recent months, on the issue of war or peace, their conflict had become almost irreconcilable.

The officials from the Left Prime Minister's faction advocated that external aggressions must be repelled by first stabilizing internal affairs. They believed that the focus should be on internal reforms: implementing healthcare reform, agricultural reform, and optimizing the tax system, so that the people could lead prosperous lives.

The Right Prime Minister's faction held a completely opposite view. They believed that, with Liang Country turning against them and Wei Country eyeing them maliciously, dealing with external crises was more important than internal reforms. Daxia should prioritize military expansion to prepare for the imminent war.

The funds in the National Treasury were limited. Focusing on internal reforms would naturally compress the military budget, while expanding the military would squeeze healthcare and agricultural reforms. Neither was willing to give in, leading to a fierce quarrel every few days.

Inside the government office.

The Left Prime Minister almost pointed at the Right Prime Minister's nose, angrily saying: "Daxia's hundreds of millions of people can't fill their stomachs, can't cure their illnesses, and can't guarantee their livelihoods. Yet you want to recklessly expand the military, ignoring the people's needs..."

The Right Prime Minister, with a calm expression, retorted: "The ambition of Wei Country is well known. This war is inevitable. If we don't use the silver in the National Treasury now to expand the military, will we use it later to cede land and pay reparations?"

The Left Prime Minister reminded: "Loving war leads to certain death!"

The Right Prime Minister countered: "Ignoring war invites disaster!"

...

The Left Prime Minister was silent for a moment, then spoke again: "Aren't you being a bit extreme? Although Wei Country is strong, they won't find it easy to swallow Daxia. Don't they fear Chu, Qi, and Zhao reaping the benefits like a fisherman? War is unlikely in the short term. Expanding the military like this will be a huge burden on the National Treasury, greatly affecting other reforms. Using the silver on military expansion is less important than ensuring that people can eat and get medical treatment..."

The Right Prime Minister laughed mockingly and said: "Reform after reform, for decades, and what have been the results? Countless silver spent, but are the people eating better? Are they getting medical treatment?"

The Left Prime Minister was momentarily speechless.

For decades, every reform, no matter how grand, ended in failure.

The purpose of Confucian reforms was for the people.

All their reforms stood from the perspective of Daxia's people, fighting for their benefits, inevitably clashing with the interests of the nobles and the famous families.

The nobles clung to their privileges due to their Imperial Family status, and the famous families dominated regions, their power deeply rooted in the court. Those who tried to challenge them met unfortunate fates, and each reform inevitably failed.

In localities, the influence of the famous families far exceeded that of the court. Even passed decrees were hard to enforce outside Chang'an.

Even as a Prime Minister, he was powerless against this.

To date, the only somewhat effective reform was reducing the number of nobles.

For years, they tried through various reforms to lower the number of nobles, including reducing titles by one tier per generation to reducing by three, finally compromising at two tiers, but they all failed...

The nobles even wanted to make titles hereditary. How could they make such concessions?

Now, not a trace of the nobles was seen in Chang'an.

The number of nobles in all of Daxia was only a tenth or a third of what it was a year ago.

But this result wasn't achieved through reforms but through Li Xuanjing's blade, through continuous assassinations by the assassins...

This could not but be called an irony.

The Right Prime Minister looked at him and said: "Admit it, your reforms are just a futile struggle. The silver spent, layer upon layer, ends up in the pockets of the famous families and noble clans. How much actually reaches the people?"

The Left Prime Minister was silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "Whether successful or not, someone has to do these things. Even if only the people of one state or one city benefit..."

Neither spoke again, and the government office gradually fell silent.

At this moment, a crisp knock on the door reached their ears.

Li Nuo knocked on the door of the government office, then walked in, saying: "Minister of Justice Li Nuo, here to report."

The Left Prime Minister, seeing him, was pleased and asked: "When did you return?"

Li Nuo said: "This morning."

When he spoke, he didn't use honorifics or bow.

The Left Prime Minister didn't find it inappropriate.

Because at this time, Li Nuo was not only Daxia's Minister of Justice but also a First Grade King of Zhao Country, according to protocol, they should bow to him.

The Right Prime Minister glanced at Li Nuo and said to the Left Prime Minister: "Let's leave it here for today. We'll postpone the discussion of funding."

With that, he left, swishing his sleeves.

The Left Prime Minister ignored the Right Prime Minister, pointed to a chair in the government office, and said to Li Nuo: "Sit."

After Li Nuo sat down, he sighed in relief and said: "You've finally returned..."

Li Nuo said: "The Left Prime Minister called me back, is there something important?"

The Left Prime Minister looked at him and asked: "Do you have grievances against the court?"

Li Nuo asked: "Why does the Left Prime Minister say this?"

The Left Prime Minister asked: "If you don't have grievances against the court, why don't you use your talents in Daxia, but instead achieve great feats for Zhao Country?"

Li Nuo calmly said: "The Left Prime Minister is mistaken. When I was Assistant Minister of Rites, I reorganized the rituals and cleared the court's misconduct, helping the court to establish connections with the Martial Arts world. In Honglu Si, I performed my duties diligently, not only handling my own responsibilities but also helping the court to uncover the Eastern Palace case from more than ten years ago and the murder case of the Liang Country's prince. Later, as Minister of Justice, I diligently fulfilled my duties, overturning numerous unjust cases. When my wife was pregnant, the court assigned me to Qi Country for two years, and I followed the court's orders without any complaints. I have done all I could, both within my responsibilities and beyond them. What does the Left Prime Minister find unsatisfactory?"