"The Confucian School is guilty! They have caused Your Majesty to be wronged. "
The next day, Kong Yingda submitted a memorial to beg for forgiveness. Although the Heaven's Perception was created by Dong Zhongshu, the Kong Family was the representative of the Confucian School. Naturally, the Kong Family was to be blamed for this.
Li Shimin said with an amicable expression, "What crime have you committed? The solar eclipse is just Mo Jiazi's words alone. How can it be taken seriously? "
"This concerns Your Majesty's reputation. How can we not be careful? I suggest that the Imperial Historian Bureau re-examine the astronomical phenomena to prove Your Majesty's innocence and prevent people from slandering Your Majesty's reputation." Kong Yingda bowed.
Once the solar eclipse happened, people would think that it was a warning from the heavens. Naturally, people would point fingers at it. Many rebels would even take advantage of this to cause trouble.
Li Shimin raised his head and said righteously, "I have pacified the world all my life. After ascending the throne, I have been cautious and conscientious. The world is at peace. How can the heavens punish me? Even if there are people spreading rumors, it is nothing more than an itch. It is not worth mentioning."
"Your Majesty is wise!" All the officials agreed.
After Li Shimin finished his show, he turned to Li Chunfeng and said, "Minister Li, the Imperial Historian Bureau should immediately flip through the history books and investigate the ancient records. We must find out the truth behind the solar eclipse and prove the innocence of the past emperors!"
The officials could not help but twitch their lips. Since ancient times, it had always been the people who cried out for injustice and the officials who asked the emperor to prove their innocence. Who would have thought that there would be a day when the emperor would be blinded by injustice and need to prove his innocence?
Li Chunfeng bowed and stepped forward. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
How could all the civil and military officials not know about such a big thing happening at the exhibition of Moton's skills? They had probably spent the night calculating. Anyone in Chang 'an who had some foundation in mathematics would be able to calculate that the next solar eclipse would be on the first day of May based on Moton's hints.
At this moment, everyone knew that Mo Jiazi's guess was probably correct. The Imperial Historian Li Chunfeng was just going through the motions. Otherwise, why would Kong Yingda apologize for the Confucian School so easily? If they waited until the first day of the fifth lunar month and were publicly slapped in the face by Mo Jiazi, the Confucian School would be in an even more awkward position.
Kong Yingda heaved a sigh of relief, apologized, and retreated.
Everyone who saw this could not help but sigh. Although Li Shimin had let the Confucians off the hook this time, the civil officials knew that their leverage against the imperial power had been greatly reduced. Whether an unrestrained emperor was a blessing or a curse was still unknown. The main culprit behind all of this was the son of Mohism.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, please ban the use of pesticides!"
As soon as Kong Yingda retreated, Quan Wanji and Su Lingnong stepped forward and spoke in unison.
Apart from the solar eclipse, the most controversial topic in the exhibition was the use of pesticides. The pros and cons of pesticides were clear at a glance.
Everyone knew that once pesticides were applied, there would be no pests or pests in the fields, and they would definitely be able to increase the production by a large margin. However, the disadvantages were also very clear. This was a poison that was comparable to arsenic. Even if the Mo Family had said that there would be a lot of pesticide residues in the fields, how could they not be worried when it was put into the mouth?
"Lord Quan, what is the meaning of this? Once pesticides are used, the commoners will be able to harvest year after year, and the Imperial Court will be able to feed more people. How can we ban them?" Su Lingnong angrily said. Now that the farmers had overcome the drought and the plague of locusts, pests and pests were their last weakness. How could Su Lingnong not pay attention to them?
"Lord Su, there is no need to be anxious. This one only has good intentions. Although pesticides can increase yield, they are still poisons. Even if it is as Mo Jiazi said, if you eat them every day, the toxins will accumulate in your body and endanger the foundation of our Tang dynasty," Quan Wanji sneered.
For a moment, all the officials nodded in agreement.
Even in the modern era, when technology was so advanced, the commoners were already fearful of pesticides. There were even strange cases of people buying vegetables with wormholes. Moreover, in this era where the commoners were ignorant, the slightest carelessness would cause panic among the commoners.
To the officials of the court, their bodies were like gold. How could they take any risks? Quan Wanji had grasped this point and taken the initiative to write a memorial to Li Shimin. He was not a Confucian scholar without any scholarly achievements, and with the support of the officials, he was extremely confident.
"This is only your guess! In less than a hundred years, the population of our Tang dynasty will explode. If we don't plan ahead, how can we feed so many commoners? When the commoners are starving and have no way to make a living, you will know how precious food is, "Su Lingnong said sternly.
To the Mo Family, pesticides were just a type of Mo Skill. Even if they banned pesticides, Meton would only sigh and not say anything! However, to the farmers, pesticides were extremely important. This was related to the rise and fall of the farmers.
Moreover, during the Deng Drum incident, Meton had already taught the officials of the court a lesson. Faced with such a large population pressure in a short period of time, Su Lingnong was deeply worried. Mo Jiazi's introduction of pesticides was simply timely help.
Quan Wanji coldly said, "My Great Tang's weather is favorable, and we've overcome droughts, locusts, and floods. We've been reaping bountiful harvests year after year, and our future is bright. How can we carelessly use poison for some small profit?"
Su Lingnong laughed angrily, "The drought, locusts, and floods that you mentioned were all thanks to Mo Jiazi."
Quan Wanji was unmoved, "The Old Man admits that Mo Jiazi has contributed greatly, but that doesn't mean that Mo Jiazi is right."
Su Lingnong said coldly, "Then you'll have to see if the commoners agree."
Cutting off someone's path to wealth was like killing their parents. Using pesticides was beneficial to the farmers. No matter how much Quan Wanji said, it would not be able to stop them.
"Therefore, the Minister of Foreign Affairs requests Your Majesty to ban the Mo Family Village from producing pesticides to prevent future troubles," Quan Wanji said resolutely.
"Your Majesty, you can't! Food is the God of the people, and the increase in grain production of our Great Tang is a sign of prosperity. How can we destroy our future? "Su Lingnong loudly shouted.
Quan Wanji retorted, "It's precisely because food is the God of the people. How can food be mixed with poison? Who dares to eat such food?"
"Your Majesty, please make the decision." The two of them asked Li Shimin at the same time.
Li Shimin slowly stood up, "There are advantages and disadvantages to using pesticides. What the two of you said is reasonable. However, I believe that it's the duty of a doctor to determine whether it's edible or not. Didn't Meton say that he wants the Mo Family Village to eat crops that use pesticides? Won't the doctors know when the time comes? "
"Your Majesty is wise!" Su Lingnong said delightedly. He knew Morton well. He believed that Meton wouldn't do something that he wasn't confident in.
"Then what about this year's pesticides?" Quan Wanji asked anxiously.
Li Shimin took a deep breath and said solemnly, "The pesticides will continue to be produced, but they can't be sold to the commoners privately. The imperial court will send them to the Ten Roads of the Tang dynasty. Once there's an insect disaster, they will immediately use pesticides to kill the insects. The grains that are harvested will be purchased by the imperial court. Our Tang dynasty isn't so extravagant as to waste food. "
The two of them could only bow and agree!
Quan Wanji's face suddenly darkened. He didn't expect that he still couldn't stop Mo Jiazi even though he had the support of all the ministers in the imperial court.
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