"What the hell is going on?" Li Tai muttered to himself. He couldn't believe it. He looked at Meton more like a swindler than he looked at Yuan Shoucheng. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it to be true.
Li Chengqian and the others also stepped forward. When they felt the biting cold, they couldn't help but cry out in surprise. Li Zhi was even jumping around excitedly.
"This is the Art of Creation of Ghosts and Gods!" Yuan Shoucheng exclaimed. He couldn't help but feel excited. If this method appeared in Taoism first, it would definitely raise Taoism's prestige to another level. Unfortunately, Taoism had eyes but failed to see. They had a treasure in their hands but didn't know that such a change could happen. They missed the opportunity.
"This is the Mo School!" Meton raised his voice and said.
"The Mo School?" Li Tai muttered to himself. He thought that he was well-read and had dabbled in all the books of the Hundred Schools of Thought. However, he had never heard of this kind of knowledge.
During this period of time, Mo Jiazi's Mo School techniques could be said to have shaken Chang 'an. However, that was within the scope of ordinary people's understanding. This time, however, Meton was able to make ice in summer. It was simply unbelievable. He couldn't help but feel jealous. He said, "It's just a clever and obscene technique!"
"Your Highness Emperor Wei, you're wrong. The Mo School is a study of the laws of all things in order to benefit mankind. Every year in the Tang dynasty, there are countless people who accidentally suffer from heatstroke due to the extreme heat. If the method of making ice can be popularized, ordinary people will be able to eat ice to relieve the heat. If there is an ice basin in the room, the officials in the imperial court will be able to work in peace. This is something that is essential in summer," Meton explained.
"How much ice can you make with this wall frost?" Li Tai snorted coldly.
"Your Highness Emperor Wei, you're wrong. The wall frost is a mineral. As long as it is mined, there will be a lot of it. Moreover, this kind of wall frost can be used repeatedly. After the ice is condensed, the water dissolved in the wall frost can be dried and the wall frost will appear again. It can also be used repeatedly." Merton.
Li Tai was tongue-tied. He didn't expect the wall frost to have such an effect. If that was the case, the wall frost would be almost non-existent and the cost would be negligible.
"I didn't expect it to be so easy to make ice!" Li Shimin sighed. Thinking of the difficulty of the Ice Concealment Technique, it could be said that using saltpeter to make ice was the easiest way.
"It seems simple, but in reality, different professions are worlds apart. I'm ashamed. Wall frost is something I often use, but I was blind." Yuan Shoucheng said in shame.
"You're too humble, Daoist Yuan. I'm only able to achieve what I have today because I'm standing on the shoulders of my predecessors. I don't dare claim credit for myself!" Moton said humbly.
. "What do you mean by standing on the shoulders of the predecessors?" Li Shimin suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty, among the Pre-Qin Hundred Schools of Thought, Confucianism and Mohism had the deepest influence. No matter how virtuous Confucianism is, it can't compare to the two sages, Confucius and Meng!"
Li Chengqian nodded silently with a look of admiration.
Meton turned his gaze to Yuan Shoucheng and said sincerely, "In Taoism, no one can compare to Lao Zhuang."
"I'm ashamed. What I've learned is less than ten percent of the two sages." Yuan Shoucheng nodded.
"The core of Legalism has long been fixed. The laws of each dynasty and each generation can't escape the two words, 'Settle disputes and stop disputes, and fear violence.'" Meton said.
Li Shimin nodded. Meton was right. The core ideas of the Tang dynasty's laws were indeed those two words.
"As for Mohism, it doesn't have the shackles of the predecessors. It only paves the way for future generations. Mohism's lever principle was applied to the well pressure. Mohism's pulley principle was made into a pulley to lift heavy objects. Therefore, the theory of Mohism's predecessors was not to shackle the descendants of Mohism in this framework. Instead, it was to let the descendants step on their shoulders, see higher, and go further. "
Li Shimin fell silent after Meton finished.
Indeed, although Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism were widespread, it was almost impossible to surpass them. Mohism was the most likely.
"In this world, there are many unsolved mysteries other than the principles of the sages. Mohism is to understand these mysteries, avoid harm, and benefit the people." Meton said with a righteous face.
"Hahaha!" Li Shimin sneered. He knew this little catfish best. Benefiting the people was indeed one of his goals, but it was also necessary to seek personal benefits for the Village of Mohism.
Meton blushed and said, "Of course, before that, Mohism needs to be rich first. After all, studying Mohism also needs a lot of money."
"Humph! You are telling the truth. "Li Shimin snorted.
Meton breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. In order to show my sincerity, the Village of Mohism will give up the duty-free privilege of nobility. We will definitely pay taxes on time according to the tax laws of the Tang dynasty."
This sentence was not said by Meton on impulse. Meton believed that the reason why the status of merchants was so low in ancient times was that they did not contribute much to the imperial court, except for the bad reputation of merchants such as not doing production and hoarding. The imperial court mainly paid land taxes, and the business tax collected was almost negligible. No ruler would like to see a merchant who kept sucking the blood of others without making any contribution.
The Village of Mohism would definitely expand. If they just took without giving anything in return, it would definitely arouse the jealousy of countless people. On the contrary, if Meton could provide an astronomical amount of taxes to Chang 'an City every year, there would naturally be countless people who would protect the Village of Mohism. After all, no one would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Li Shimin did not expect that Meton would have such an idea. He could not help but be stunned.
"Is this really what you are thinking?" Li Shimin said with a serious face.
"Your Majesty, it is already a great favor to make an exception and allow the Village of Mohism to do business without being a lowly citizen. The Village of Mohism will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty. It is a matter of course to do business and pay taxes."
Meton knew that this move might offend a lot of bigwigs who did business secretly. However, the situation of the Village of Mohism was different. The Village of Mohism was allowed to do business by the Emperor, so naturally, Li Shimin would feel disappointed.
"Hahaha!" Li Shimin was in a good mood and could not help laughing loudly. He thought that the Tang dynasty did not need the little tax from you. He waved his hand and was about to reject Meton.
However, on second thought, he realized that Meton had earned 100,000 strings of coins in half a month by the four-wheeled carriage business alone, which was millions of strings of coins a year. The tax collected was at least tens of thousands of strings of coins a year, and this was just a business of the Village of Mohism. He could not help but change his tone and said, "After we go back, Minister Dai will calculate the tax for the Village of Mohism. If you dare to do anything else in the future, be careful of your ass."
"Yes! Your Majesty! " Meton responded hurriedly and did feel relieved in his heart. This time, the four-wheeled carriage earned 100,000 strings of coins a month, which made the Village of Mohism sit on the crater of a volcano. Money moved people's hearts, and the Village of Mohism would be in danger if they were not careful.
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