The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class-Chapter 240

Xu Wan was also surprised by the little devil's performance. This kid had an incredible ability to grasp the key points. The idea of "raising treacherous officials" wasn't even mentioned in historical records; it was mostly speculation by later generations. Yet, Jin Cheng seized this point to counterattack, completely disrupting the opposing team's debate strategy. Wenxiu looked like he was on the verge of collapse.

For a moment, Xu Wan was unsure of what to do. She turned to look at Baili Weihong, only to find her nodding and smiling in approval.

Throughout history, various schools of thought had always taught people to be upright and loyal officials. Society believed this was the right path, but those upright officials rarely met a good end. She didn’t want Wenxiu to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. Learning to be a bit more cunning from Jin Cheng might not be such a bad thing.

Seeing that Baili Weihong had no objections, Xu Wan nodded to Zong Jincheng, signaling him to continue.

The little devil blinked and pointed to the books on the table. "He Zheng and I have compiled the amounts of silver confiscated from the most notorious treacherous officials in history. The most corrupt was Liang Ji of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who amassed 3 billion taels of silver—half of the national treasury's tax revenue. To give you an idea of how much that is: 20 taels of silver could feed the Jingzhe siblings for eight years. 3 billion taels could sustain 16 million people for eight years."

This calculation of silver was something Zong Wenxiu had first explained to him, reshaping his understanding of money and the hardships faced by the common people.

Now, he skillfully used this method to present his case to everyone in the room. One by one, he laid out numbers, historical records, and articles on the desk, leaving everyone stunned. They looked at each other, feeling as if they were in a dream.

Shen Yibai leaned closer to Wei Xinglu and whispered, "Bro, when you had someone spray that talisman water on Jin Cheng last time, are you sure it didn’t reveal some ghost possessing him?"

Was this kid still the same leader of their little troublemaker gang?

With his logical and well-reasoned arguments, he could easily pass as the leader of the four young prodigies.

Wei Xinglu's lips twitched. "I tried it. No ghost appeared. It’s probably really him."

Shen Yibai: "..."

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No, as long as he refused to believe it, it had to be fake.

Zong ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‍Wenxiu was still arguing, his face flushed with anger. "I know how enormous 3 billion taels of silver is, but isn’t this just the result of what you called the 'pig-raising theory'? Why must we raise a treacherous official? If we cut it off from the start, wouldn’t all of this be avoided? Can eight years of food saved at the cost of breaking the hearts of the people really save us for a lifetime?"

He didn’t understand. He couldn’t accept it.

The little devil looked up and said, "Brother, you’re too naive. These ugly truths are never exposed openly. As long as those in power keep it hidden, when the treacherous official is finally executed, the good officials and the people will only praise the court’s wisdom. The good officials will never know the truth, and the people will be grateful to the point of tears. Everyone will be satisfied."

There was one more thing he didn’t mention, something the crown prince had taught him: a treacherous official could serve as a weapon in the hands of the ruler, doing things the ruler couldn’t do openly.

Zong Wenxiu’s voice trembled. "But even if the good officials don’t know, even if all the people are kept in the dark… when you think of those harmed by the treacherous official, won’t you feel even a little guilt?"

The little devil replied solemnly, "Brother, between saving 16 million lives and feeling guilt for those harmed, which would you choose?"

"I…" Zong Wenxiu was stumped again.

Good officials were willing to sacrifice their lives for the court and the people. Faced with the choice between saving 16 million people or dying themselves, they would undoubtedly choose the latter.

But to die so miserably at the hands of a treacherous official felt more like being cooked as ingredients—a sacrifice that was forced, exploited, and far from honorable.

Yet, as his younger brother had said, the court could keep it all hidden. The good officials would die believing they simply hadn’t lived to see the treacherous official brought to justice. History books would still praise the good officials and condemn the bad ones. Talented scholars would continue to walk this path without hesitation.

Tears streamed down his face.

Zong Wenxiu closed his eyes and admitted defeat. "I shouldn’t have known so much. It’s better to die as a fool."

…

The third debater on the moral high ground had conceded.

The treacherous officials’ team had won.

"Wow! Big bro! We won! We actually won! We beat the good officials’ team!" He Zheng was the first to jump up in celebration.

But the little devil’s face remained stern, his gaze fixed on his crying brother. Though he had won the debate, he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.

Shen Yibai and Wei Xinglu went over to comfort Zong Wenxiu. "Brother Wenxiu, you did really well. Don’t cry. Losing is just part of it. We can win next time. We’ll wait for the next debate."

Zong Wenxiu wiped his tears, but they kept falling like broken strings of pearls, faster and faster.

Baili Weihong also went to comfort him, but the boy was too old to be held in front of so many people. She could only pat his shoulder and stand by him in silence.

Xu Wan stepped forward to announce, "The opposition team has won this debate. Let me reiterate, the arguments made during the debate do not represent the actual stance of the participants. Please do not take it personally."

"Understood," the children chorused.

Xu Wan nodded and continued, "This debate was very engaging. I’ll assign some homework. You have three days to complete it independently and hand it in. The opposition team’s essay topic is: How to Be a Good Official. The pro-team’s topic is: How to Deal with Bad Officials."

The essay topics were the reverse of the debate topics, forcing them to refute their own arguments and summarize their thoughts.

The four little troublemakers weren’t afraid. No matter how poorly written, they could always cobble together a few sentences. But Zong Wenxiu’s moral compass had shattered. His essay would likely read like a good official’s last testament.

As soon as the session ended, Zong Wenxiu couldn’t hold back any longer and rushed out. The others were still laughing and chatting, but the little devil kicked He Zheng, who was still giggling, and hurried after his brother.

He Zheng’s smile froze. "Why did big bro kick me?"

Shen Yibai crossed his arms and snorted. "He probably thought you were stealing his thunder by laughing so loudly."

Wei Xinglu nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Jin Cheng loves being the center of attention. He led the team to victory this time. Why were you, a mere follower, laughing so obnoxiously?"

He Zheng scratched his head, confused. "Oh? Is that it? Then next time, I’ll wait for big bro to laugh first before I join in."

"..."

With the debate over, the maids rearranged the desks, and the tutors busied themselves summarizing the lessons. They would use the children’s performances to plan their next steps in teaching.

Baili Xi slowly walked down from the podium and smiled at Xu Wan. "The child you’ve raised is truly remarkable."

He had watched Zong Jincheng’s transformation step by step. In all his years, Baili Xi had never seen a child grow so astonishingly fast. Even with Xu Wan’s advanced teaching methods, Zong Jincheng was clearly pulling ahead of the other children.