"Dad, why is Yunshan Mountain so bright tonight? How many candles did they light? "
At the foot of Yunshan Mountain, in a small farmhouse in Liujia Village, a little kid was in his own yard after dinner. He looked up and saw that the lights on Yunshan Mountain were obviously brighter than before. He couldn't help but ask his father.
"Little Tao, those aren't candles, those are electric lights! Marquis's new electric lights! Those things are much brighter than ordinary candles! "
A middle-aged man walked out of the house and patted the little boy's shoulder as he said.
"Electric lights? Why are they called electric lights? Could it be a lamp made of lightning? "
"Oh! This oil lamp uses oil, candles use wax, and it's said that electric lights use electricity. Marquis built a hydropower station on Ba River and uses water to generate electricity to light up the electric lights! That's why they're called electric lights! "
"Wow! Using water to generate electricity? Marquis is amazing! Yanhuang College is also amazing! Dad, how much does one electric light cost? When will our house be able to use electric lights? "
"… This electric light can only be used by a godly school like Yanhuang College. Ordinary people like us can't afford it! Little Tao, if you want to use electric lights, the easiest way is to get into Yanhuang College. You know Hu Zhen from Han Village, right? He's the same age as you, but he got into Yanhuang College last year. I believe that our family's Little Tao will be able to get in too! "
"Yes, yes! Dad! I must get into Yanhuang College! "
Yunshan Mountain's location was close to the center of Lantian County. It was surrounded by plain villages. Among the villages, Yunshan Mountain stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens. In addition, Li Zexuan built Yanhuang College on Yunshan Mountain last year. Yunshan's status in Lantian County rose quickly. The people would look up at Yunshan Mountain from time to time as if they were on a pilgrimage!
In their eyes, Li Zexuan was the son of an immortal. Yunshan Mountain was a godly school, a holy land for learning!
Therefore, the Cloud Mountain was lit up with very bright lights tonight. It immediately attracted the attention of the villagers around the Cloud Mountain.
At this time, most people had just finished their dinner and had nothing to do. Therefore, the whole family moved their stools and sat in front of the door. They pointed at the bright lights on Cloud Mountain and discussed animatedly, clicking their tongues in wonder.
"Yamachō! All the lights in the classroom are working normally, which means that the power generated by the three generators is enough to supply the entire Yanhuang College! "
In Yanhuang College, Mo Huai stood in front of the teaching building and said to Li Zexuan with a smile.
"Good! If that's the case, I can be at ease! However, we can't neglect the education of electricity safety in the academy. Let's continue for another two weeks. We must let the students truly understand electricity and learn how to use it correctly! "
Li Zexuan heaved a sigh of relief and nodded to Mo Huai.
Mo Huai smiled and said, "Yamachō, don't worry. The teachers in the Physics Department will definitely perform their duties well. However, with the lights, can the students read in the classroom at night before going to bed?"
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Mr. Yan has already mentioned this to me. Recently, the Academic Affairs Office will set a new class schedule for all classes. In the future, after dinner, the students will have two more classes. They will focus on their own studies and the teacher will explain it to them. I call this evening self-study. After the evening self-study, the students can go to the dormitory to sleep. The dormitory's power outage will be postponed to midnight!"
Mo Huai said with a gratified expression, "That's great! Young people should be diligent and eager to learn. Yamachō has now created the conditions for the students to study hard. The students must cherish it! "
Li Zexuan nodded and said a few more words to Mo Huai. Then, he bid farewell and left.
…
Today, Li Zexuan specially came over to observe the comprehensive test of the lights in the academy. At this time, it was impossible for him to go back to the county. He could only stay with his wife in Yunshan Villa for the night!
What was worth mentioning was that the Yanhuang Academy had installed electric lights and connected the wires. The Yunshan Side Courtyard was also equipped with electric lights. After all, they wouldn't need too many wires anyway!
Li Gang, Sun Simiao, and the other elderly people stared at the electric lights in their own homes for a long time tonight. They stared until their eyes were dazzled, and only then were they willing to look away.
When Li Zexuan returned to the villa, the lights were on in the house. Han Yuxi was sitting in the bedroom, flipping through an unknown book. Her face was full of smiles. It was obvious that she was very happy at this time!
Today, she expected that Li Zexuan would definitely not return to the county after finishing the matters in the academy. So, she came with him!
"Husband, you're back!"
Hearing the movement at the door, Han Yuxi quickly raised her head and saw Li Zexuan walking in. She got up and greeted him.
"En! My wife is still reading! "
Li Zexuan smiled and asked casually.
Han Yuxi helped Li Zexuan take off his coat and smiled.
"En! It's too early. I'm not sleepy yet. Husband, this light is really good! Usually, after we eat dinner, we can only go to bed after a short while. But with the electric light, it's different. After dinner, we can read books. The girls can also embroider under the light. After working for a while, we can rest. I feel that this day is much more fulfilling than before! "
Li Zexuan couldn't help but laugh. "Hey! A small light is actually so good in your mouth? "
Han Yuxi said with sparkling eyes, "Of course! Husband, don't you think that the nights in the past were much more boring than the days? Other than sleeping, it's still sleeping. If you sleep too much, it's easy to be listless! Now that there's light, people can also do things at night that they do during the day. Whether it's reading or needlework, it's much more meaningful than lying in bed and not being able to sleep! "
Li Zexuan smiled and scratched Han Yuxi's white and tender nose. "Hehe! Wife, you're right. However, other than reading and needlework, there's something more meaningful waiting for us to do tonight. Wife, do you want to know what it is? "
Looking at the naughty smile on Li Zexuan's lips, Han Yuxi quickly reacted. Her tender face blushed and she hurriedly said, "I don't know, and I don't want to know … Husband, quickly wash up and sleep!"
"Hehe! If we're going to sleep, of course, we'll wash up together and sleep together! "
"Ah! No! "
…
Electricity and light were used on Yunshan Mountain. Even at night, it was as bright as day. This news seemed to have grown wings. By the next day, it had spread throughout the entire Chang 'an, as well as more than 20 provinces and counties near Chang' an City!
The people were discussing it in private. After all, the appearance of the light was too unbelievable. Everyone was doubting whether the rumors were true or false.
But soon, the official "announcement" came!
It was today's Datang Daily. The headline was about the news of Yanhuang College's official electrification last night. The title was: An epoch-making event! That man brought light to the world's dark night!
The writer was the famous Datang Daily gold medal reporter, Li Yu!
After reading the newspaper in black and white about everything that happened in Yanhuang College last night and the introduction of the light's principle, people finally believed that Yanhuang College had mastered the method of generating and using electricity. They also believed that there really was a light that was several times brighter than candles and oil lamps!
It was human nature to seek the light and avoid the dark. No one liked the dark. Therefore, thousands of people couldn't help but yearn for the light that was mentioned in the newspaper!
Some wealthy businessmen who thought that they were wealthy began to send people to Qiqu Pavilion to inquire if they could buy the light that was mentioned in the newspaper. But without exception, they all received the same answer. That was that it was easy to buy light, but it was difficult to find electricity. Currently, in the entire Tang Empire, only the Bahe Hydropower Station in Lantian County could generate electricity. If they wanted to use the light, it wasn't just about buying a few light bulbs. They also had to ask the Marquis of Yong 'an to provide electricity to their homes!
As a result, those wealthy people who were eager to try and use the light in their homes all retreated. It was true that their families were rich, but in front of Li Zexuan, they could only be considered poor!
"Lord Marquis, ever since the Department of Commerce was established, it has tried twenty-three cases of merchant disputes. This lowly official has personally taken part in every case, and every case was only decided after multiple sources of evidence and conclusive evidence. This lowly official is willing to guarantee that not a single one of these cases was unjust or misjudged. Moreover, all the officials of the Department of Commerce have treated these merchant disputes the same as ordinary civil cases!"
In the Lantian County yamen, County Magistrate He was reporting to Li Zexuan with a serious face.
After Li Zexuan woke up this morning, he had a simple breakfast and brought his wife back to the Marquis' residence in the county. Thinking of the vigorous business tax reform and the "Crackdown on Evil" campaign that had been carried out in Lantian County a few days ago, Li Zexuan didn't even warm his seat after returning to the Marquis' residence before rushing to the Lantian County yamen to find County Magistrate He to understand the situation!
"En! This is the correct way for the government to treat the businessmen! "
Li Zexuan nodded his head and praised, "We have collected heavy taxes from the businessmen, so we have to provide them with protection. To put it bluntly, the government is no different from those local bullies who ask for protection fees from the businessmen. The local bullies have collected protection fees from the businessmen and have fulfilled their duty to protect them. If our government can't do as well as the local bullies, then it will be difficult to collect the business tax of Lantian County again!"
County Magistrate He nodded his head solemnly, "This official will remember Marquis' teachings today and will do my best to make the Department of Commerce better!"
"En! Go ahead and do it. If you encounter any obstacles, just let me know. I will clear the obstacles for you! "
Li Zexuan said with a serious face.
"Thank you, Marquis, for your support!"
County Magistrate He quickly cupped his hands and thanked him. After a pause, he said, "Marquis, there were indeed many people who opposed the new business decree issued by the Department of Commerce at the beginning. But after the gangs formed by the local ruffians in Lantian County were all wiped out, the direction of public opinion immediately developed in our favor. The merchants in the city began to actively file their taxes. Even the merchants outside the city rushed to Lantian County to buy shops in order to enjoy the preferential policies that our Department of Commerce provided for the merchants in Lantian County."
According to this official's knowledge, the reason why these businessmen suddenly came to Lantian County to open shops was to obtain the same status as the farmers and craftsmen. Businessmen have always been a class that has been despised. Now that Marquis has decreed that businessmen, farmers, and craftsmen have the same status, from now on, Lantian County will only be divided into scholars and commoners. When those businessmen who were bullied in other places heard this news, how could they hold back?
As for the second reason, those merchants who wanted to set up shop in Lantian County mainly wanted to send their children to the county school in Lantian County. After all, in other counties, this kind of treatment was something that couldn't be bought with money!
Among these businessmen, the most prominent one was Chang 'an City's number one cloth merchant, and also a member of Marquis' Yan Huang Chamber of Commerce — Cao Wendong. On the day the Department of Commerce was established, he brought his family to Lantian County. He said that he would be settling down in Lantian County in the future. He even bought a house in advance!
Under Cao Wendong's leadership, the businessmen from other states and counties followed suit. The prices of shops in Lantian County rose again and again. In a short period of time, it was hard to find a shop! "
County Magistrate He's words were filled with excitement. He had reason to be excited. The small Lantian County had now become a bustling county, second only to Chang 'an City. There were many shops, and there was an endless flow of businessmen! Although Li Zexuan was the one who came up with the specific strategies and policies, and he was just a "tool man", he was happy to have such achievements even if he was just a "tool man"!
"Mm! I know all of this! After the new tax law is implemented, how much business tax do you think the county office will be able to collect in the first month? "
Li Zexuan smiled and asked again.
Hearing Li Zexuan ask this, County Magistrate He smiled even more happily. He cupped his hands towards Li Zexuan and said, "Marquis, from the monthly profit figures reported to the county office by the major shops in the city, the county office will be able to collect more than 4,000 strings of coins in this month. It's even more than the previous year's business tax revenue!"
"4,000 strings of coins! That's still okay! "
Li Zexuan frowned and muttered softly.
This soft muttering was heard by County Magistrate He, and he could not help but want to vomit blood!
He thought to himself, You're still not satisfied with 4,000 strings of coins in business tax every month? You might as well just lead your troops to the major shops in the city square and rob them!
As if he saw through County Magistrate He's thoughts, Li Zexuan said lightly, "You don't have to think that I'm magnanimous, but the business tax revenue of Lantian County must exceed the agricultural tax as soon as possible. Only when the business tax is much higher than the agricultural tax, then we will have the capital to reduce the agricultural tax for the farmers, so that all the citizens of Lantian County can eat their fill and wear warm clothes!"
Hearing this, County Magistrate He's heart was in turmoil. He did not expect Li Zexuan to raise the business tax to reduce the agricultural tax. At the same time, he could not help but respect Li Zexuan, thinking that Marquis was the one who truly thought for the citizens!
"Marquis treats the citizens with benevolence, this official admires you!"
After a moment of silence, County Magistrate He cupped his hands towards Li Zexuan and said with a face full of admiration.
"As an official, I naturally have to help the citizens! This is what this Marquis should do, and it is also what you should do! "
Li Zexuan said lightly.
"This official understands!"
County Magistrate He cupped his hands, and then he suddenly remembered something, so he quickly asked, "Marquis, this official heard that Yanhuang College used electric lights last night, which can make the night as bright as day. I wonder if this electric light can be promoted to the county?"
Li Zexuan was a little speechless. After a moment of silence, he said faintly, "Do you have a mine at home? The kind that can produce copper! "
…
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