Inside Chongwenguan Hall.
It was currently break time. The princes curiously gathered in a circle and looked at Meton as he placed one domino after another on the ground.
"It's finally done!"
Meton wiped his sweat and solemnly placed the last red domino. He looked at the colorful dominoes on the ground with satisfaction. He had experimented many times, and this time was the most successful. He had placed the most dominoes.
"Meton, what's so fun about this? We might as well play cuju together!" Li Zhi curled his lips and said. At his age, there was no game more fun than Cuju in his eyes.
"That's right. What's so fun about a few erected signs?" Prince Qi, Li You, also said with disdain.
Only the older princes showed some interest. One had to know that Meton often came out with new things that Meton had never heard of before. These new things often had unimaginable surprises.
A few days ago, the Mo family's new wine sold for 300,000 strings of string of cash in a single day. This simply shocked Chang 'an City. Even the princes were speechless.
Meton smiled and said, "This is an experiment of the Mo family. As long as you push down the first wooden tile, something unexpected will happen."
"Really?" Li Zhi asked suspiciously.
"I wonder which prince wants to experience it for himself." Meton finished his work and turned to ask.
"I'll do it!"
Li Zhi was the most excited and said enthusiastically.
"Your Highness, please!" Meton nodded and extended his hand.
Li Zhi stepped forward and carefully pushed down the first red domino in front of him.
With a "ka" sound, the two dominoes collided with a crisp sound. The first domino collapsed, and under the influence of gravity, it knocked down the second domino.
Suddenly, the second domino collapsed and smashed onto the third red domino, then the fourth, the fifth, and so on …
"Ah!"
Seeing the dominoes fall one by one, Li Zhi was shocked and took a few steps back.
"Meton, you can't blame me for this. I only pushed down one." Li Zhi waved his hand repeatedly to show his innocence.
Li Tai shook his head and thought to himself, What an idiot. Perhaps this is the miracle that Meton was talking about!
However, Li Tai's guess was not entirely accurate. The real miracle had yet to come. Meton had painted the dominoes in different colors, while Li Zhi had only pushed down the red row.
The row of red dominoes fell directly to the center of the dominoes and then spread out from the center.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.
The seven colored dominoes fell down in an orderly manner, showing different colors one by one, like flowers blooming.
"Wow!"
All the princes exclaimed in surprise. When had they ever seen such a miraculous thing? He could not help but exclaim in surprise.
Li Zhi, in particular, was overjoyed. This was done through his hands.
"How can you play here if you don't go to school?"
Li Shimin's stern voice sounded from behind them.
"Greetings, Imperial Father!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Meton and the princes hurriedly bowed.
"Reporting to Imperial Father, this was done by Meton." Li Zhi did not hesitate to sell out Meton.
"Mm!" Li Shimin's eyes turned sharp as he swept his gaze over Meton.
"Replying to Your Majesty, this is a domino experiment of the School of Mo. It is a method to train one's patience and willpower. It is a puzzle game," Meton hurriedly explained.
"Imperial Father is wise. This game uses the simplest dominoes, but it has the wonderful ability to affect the whole situation. As long as you push down one domino, you will be able to push down the rest." Li Chengqian stepped forward to speak up for Meton.
Wei Zheng, who was following behind Li Shimin, asked, "Push one down and the whole board falls down. Pull one hair and the whole body moves. It's really amazing. What's the reason for this?"
"Replying to Lord Wei, Mosheng created this domino game based on his inspiration from the war between Wu and Chu. It requires the players to be spaced at the same distance and to be extremely patient and careful. One careless move and the whole game will be destroyed. It can indeed train one's mind." Meton explained.
"The war between Wu and Chu came. Tell me quickly." Wei Zheng said eagerly. He was a historian himself and naturally had an unusual interest in historical allusions.
"Lord Wei, have you heard of the war between Wu and Chu in the late Spring and Autumn period?" Do you know the original reason? "Meton asked.
Wei Zheng nodded and said without hesitation, "It is said that the people of Chu were the first to invade Wu. Wu fought back and ended up in war.
Meton shook his head and said, "At that time, Mosheng also thought so. He took the initiative to mediate between Wu and Chu in an attempt to resolve the conflict between the two countries. However, he was stunned when he learned the original reason for the hostility between the two countries.
"Oh, what was the reason? Li Shimin also asked with great interest.
Merton: "Perhaps Your Majesty will not believe me, but the original reason was merely that two girls at the border of Wu and Chu had a conflict."
"What?"
Everyone was shocked. They could not believe that this was the reason. Especially Wei Zheng, who could not accept that the war between the hegemons of the two countries during the Spring and Autumn period was because of a conflict between two girls.
"I know. It must be two girls as beautiful as Xishi Zheng Dan that caused the hostility between the two countries." Prince Qi Li You suddenly said with great interest.
Immediately, everyone stared at Prince Qi with astonished gazes, causing Prince Qi's face to turn red.
However, everyone muttered inwardly. If this was true, there was indeed some possibility.
Meton shook his head and said, "They were two ordinary mulberry pickers."
Everyone was disappointed, but their interest was immediately aroused.
Meton explained, "According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn period, the two countries of Wu and Chu were on good terms. At the border between the two countries, the girls of the two countries would even cross the border to pick mulberry leaves.
One time, a girl from the State of Wu accidentally stepped on the foot of a girl from the State of Chu while playing a game. The people of the State of Chu took the injured girl to reproach the people of the State of Wu. The people of the State of Wu spoke rudely, and the people of the State of Chu were enraged. After killing five people, they left. The people of the State of Wu retaliated by killing the entire family of the State of Chu. The State of Chu was furious and sent troops to counterattack the State of Wu. From then on, the two countries of Wu and Chu were at war. In the end, the young master of the State of Wu attacked the capital of the State of Chu, Yingdu. "
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs has indeed seen such records in some historical records." Wei Zheng nodded.
Meton sighed with emotion. "From stepping on the foot of a girl while playing a game to attacking the capital of the State of Chu, there seemed to be an invisible force that pushed the matter step by step to the point of no return. When Mo Zi heard this, he was greatly moved. He used this domino to explain this matter, calling it the domino effect.
Li Shimin's eyes focused as he pensively said, "When the first domino fell, everything else was already decided."
"That's right! Perhaps there was already conflict between the two countries, but the conflict between the two mulberry girls was the first domino to fall, which triggered the series of events that followed. "Meton nodded.
Everyone carefully recalled the story that Meton was telling and could not help but sigh. If an incident was a domino, it was exactly the same.
Wei Zheng immediately sighed and said, "Mo Sheng's wisdom is indeed extraordinary. He actually used a domino to perfectly replicate such a complicated conflict between the two countries. It's simply turning something rotten into something magical.
"In that case, the matter of the grain merchants alliance this time is also the domino effect reappearing?" Li Shimin suddenly asked.
Meton nodded solemnly and said, "When the Zhangjiazhuang began to harvest grain, the first domino had already fallen, and everything else was already decided."
Li Shimin's expression immediately turned serious. The information he received was much more detailed. Not only around Chang 'an, but all the grain merchants in the entire Guanzhong region had already fallen.
Of course, a thousand-year-old example would not convince Li Shimin, but Meton actually reappeared the power of the domino effect right in front of Li Shimin's eyes. With his own strength, he defeated the grain merchants alliance in the entire Guanzhong region. Li Shimin knew the power behind these grain merchants. They represented all the major aristocratic families. Even in the face of such a terrifying gathering of power, even Li Shimin did not dare to act rashly.
Such a seemingly impossible thing was actually done by Meton, and it was all within his control. This was the first time Li Shimin directly experienced the power of the Mohist's knowledge.
Li Shimin suppressed the agitation in his heart and turned to the princes sternly, "Today's lesson is over. Everyone write an essay using the domino effect as your inspiration and hand it in. I want to check it personally."
"Yes, Father!" the princes answered in unison.
Many of the princes looked at Meton with hidden bitterness. If it were not for this guy, they would not have had to do more homework.
Now Li Shimin liked to summon Meton into the palace to interact with the princes more and more. This kid was simply the perfect child of another family.
Moreover, Morton always had some strange knowledge, especially in the field of mathematics. No one could compare to him.
Li Shimin waved his hand and drove the other princes back to the Chongwenguan Hall. Meton also wanted to slip away, but Li Shimin glared at him and he immediately froze.
"I heard you recently made a lot of money." Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said. Previously, Meton's income of 100,000 strings of string of cash in half a month was already unbelievable. He did not expect that not long after, this kid actually made another heaven-defying move and earned 300,000 strings of cash in a day.
On the side, Wei Zheng also looked at Meton in astonishment. What surprised Wei Zheng the most was that Meton earned 300,000 strings of cash, but paid very little.
"Replying to Your Majesty, that's all an advance payment. In the future, I still have to pay for goods. That's a huge expense. In the end, what I earn is just some hard-earned money." Meton said with a sad face.
"If that's your hard-earned money, then the Old Man's life can be considered a waste. The Old Man worked hard for his entire life and can be considered an extremely high official. His lifetime salary is not even as much as you make in a day." Wei Zheng added.
"That's because you are honest and upright." Meton hurriedly flattered.
"Haha, that's a nice way to put it. Do you know how many people in court have complained about you, saying that your actions consume too much food. Of course, it will shake the foundation of the country and cause a food crisis in Guanzhong." Li Shimin smiled coldly.
Making wine was an industry that consumed a lot of food. Xie Qianchou consumed several times more food than ordinary wine. The Mo Family Village sold large amounts of wine and naturally consumed a lot of food.
Meton really wanted to cry this time. He hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, Xie Qianchou's price is high, but its true production is not much!"
"Price is high? Didn't you just say that you earned hard-earned money? "Li Shimin looked at Merton with a half-smile.
Meton was instantly tongue-tied. So Li Shimin was waiting for him here. He could only hang his head and say dejectedly, "I know I was wrong and am willing to be punished."
"Then tell me how to punish you!" Li Shimin continued to "kill" him.
Meton gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "The Smothered Horse and Xie Qianchou of the Mo Family Village indeed consume a lot of food. The Mo Family Village Village is willing to pay heavy taxes on these two kinds of wine to stop people from talking about it."
"Heavy taxes?" Li Shimin and Wei Zheng's hearts jumped, but they looked at Meton calmly.
"The Mo Family Village Village is willing to pay 4% 1 tax." Meton said boldly.
Li Shimin was shocked. The business tax in the Tang dynasty was only 30% 1 tax, but Meton raised it to 4% 1 tax.
According to this ratio, the Ministry of Civil Affairs could earn 75,000 strings of coins. In the future, Meton would have to hand in one horse for every four he bought from the grassland. This was probably the heaviest business tax in history.
"Are you really willing to do this?" Li Shimin asked solemnly. This was not a small number.
"Your Majesty, if it were any other project, the Minister of Foreign Affairs would naturally be unwilling. However, this wine indeed consumes too much food. Moreover, since this wine has already appeared in the world, I believe that the method of purifying the wine will definitely spread. When that time comes, all the wineries in the Tang dynasty will be able to brew this wine with such high quality. Of course, it will cause a food crisis. Since it's the Minister's fault, we should solve it from the Minister's side, "Merton said.
Taxes were the most important adjustment lever, and imposing heavy taxes was indeed the most effective method.
"Your Majesty, Little Mo is right. Rather than causing a great disaster in the future, why don't we control the source today?" Wei Zheng suggested.
Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Although this kid Meton often caused trouble, he had a better way of dealing with his own problems. The previous food price protection order incident, and this time, the high alcohol incident were all like this. She was simply loved and hated at the same time.
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