For the villagers of Village Mo, the villagers' meeting would be held in a few days, and all the materials had been prepared.
"Dang, dang, dang!"
As the call to assemble sounded, the villagers quickly gathered in Mozi Square.
When the villagers saw that there were two more seats behind Meton on the rostrum, they were not surprised. The news that there was a noble in Village Mo today had been spread all over the village.
And the two seats were taken by Li Shimin and Li Chengqian. After all, Li Shimin was the crown prince and the successor chosen by Li Shimin. Since the villagers' meeting was a novel way of governance, Li Shimin naturally allowed Li Chengqian to attend. Although Li Tai was favored, he was not allowed to attend the meeting. Instead, he stayed aside to look after Li Zhi and Princess Jinyang.
Li Shimin and Li Chengqian looked at the backbone of Village Mo on the rostrum in front of them and nodded. Although Village Mo was small, it had all the essentials. It was indeed something.
"This year, Village Mo spent 103,000 strings of cash in wages and 67,000 strings of cash in taxes. As for the material expenses …" As the village head, Li Yi was the first to speak and made the expenditure of the whole village public.
A string of huge figures made Li Shimin completely understand the real potential of Village Mo. The salary alone was 103,000 strings of cash, which was at least 6 strings of cash and nearly 500 coins per month. In the Tang dynasty, a salary of 500 coins per month was very little. The income of 6 strings of cash was much higher than that of farming.
Not to mention, they also paid 60,000 strings of cash in taxes to the imperial court. Although it was much lower than last year, considering the crisis of Village Mo this year, it was already commendable.
As expected, Li Yi said, "We spent 50,000 strings of cash in the national debt and 50,000 strings of cash in the Xie Qianchou dealer's deposit. Plus the money donated by you, the actual loss is about 130,000 strings of cash. As the village head, I can't absolve myself from the blame, so I submit my resignation to you. Please approve it."
The villagers were in an uproar. At this moment, the crisis of Village Mo had passed. No one expected that Li Yi would take the initiative to resign. Li Shimin also looked at Meton with interest, wondering how he would deal with it.
Modun frowned. He pondered for a moment and said, "Uncle Li! There are many problems in Village Mo this time. The main responsibility is not on you. "
Li Yi insisted, "As the village head, the Old Man, no matter what the reason."
Li Shimin couldn't help nodding. He couldn't help thinking highly of Li Yi. Li Yi really couldn't absolve himself from the blame.
Meton nodded and said, "In this case, Uncle Li's salary will be deducted for one year. As for the resignation, I think the villagers have more right to speak than me. So please vote secretly to decide whether Uncle Li should stay or leave."
"Vote secretly!"
Li Shimin and Li Chengqian looked at each other and thought of something. It was the first time for them to hear that the villagers could decide whether the village head should stay or leave.
In the past, most of the officials in the imperial court were directly appointed by the imperial court and their superiors. There had never been a saying that the position of the superiors could be decided by the people at the bottom. However, Li Shimin was a great emperor. He instantly thought of the advantages of this method. In this way, if the village head was unpopular or had a bad reputation, the villagers could directly oust him. In this way, how could the village head not do his duty?
"It's really something!" Li Shimin was very interested. Since ancient times, it was normal for officials to deceive their superiors. In the implementation of this method, the villagers could decide whether the officials should stay or leave. How could the officials dare to bully the villagers?
However, when he thought of what Meton said just now about a small country with few people, he couldn't help but shake his head bitterly. This method was indeed good, but as Meton said, it was probably a real strategy to govern the village.
"Voting begins!"
With Han Zheng's shout, the representatives of thousands of families in the Village of Mo came to the voting box in front of Han Zheng.
Soon, thousands of votes were counted. After carefully checking, Han Zheng said loudly, "There are 1100 people in the village meeting. Out of the 1100 people who voted, 826 people supported Li Yi, 174 people opposed, and 10 people abstained. More than half of the people supported Li Yi. Therefore, Li Yi's resignation is invalid!"
"Thank you for your trust. This Old Man doesn't deserve it." Li Yi was moved. He didn't expect that so many people would support him.
Meton said softly, "Uncle Li's contribution to the Village of Mo is seen by all the villagers. How can we not understand? Uncle Li, please continue to take on the responsibility."
"I won't let you down!" Li Yi cupped his hands and said.
Li Chengqian shook his head disapprovingly. This seemed fair, but there was a flaw. If there was a strong person in power, wouldn't he be able to keep on being re-elected? If there was no way to get rid of him, it would not be suitable for the interests of the imperial court.
Li Shimin also noticed this and couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression.
Meton suddenly stood up and said, "At last year's meeting, I strongly advised Uncle Li to be the village head for one year. Now after one year, since all the villagers support Uncle Li, I hereby announce that Li Yi is appointed as the village head of the Village of Mo."
"Thank you, Young Master!" Li Yi bowed and said.
Meton continued, "According to the rules of the Village of Mo, the term of the village head of the Village of Mo is three years. Every three years, there will be a new election. There can be no more than two people in the position. The age of the person in the position cannot be more than 60 years. Li Yi will be the first village head of the Village of Mo."
"Village rules!"
"The term of office is three years. It can be renewed once."
"The age of the person in the position cannot be more than 60 years old."
Li Chengqian suddenly understood. It turned out that Meton had already thought of a countermeasure. With the term of office and the age limit, the hidden danger of the elected village head being too old would be eliminated immediately.
"Wonderful!"
Li Shimin's eyes lit up. Just like the imperial court, the throne was mostly made of iron and the Prime Minister was flowing water. The biggest reason was to prevent the Prime Minister's authority from threatening the imperial power. As the Emperor, he often needed to use the Prime Minister and guard against the Prime Minister. Once the Prime Minister's prestige was too high, he would even take action to suppress it.
However, if the term system and age limit were introduced, then the prime minister would automatically be replaced when the term expired. This way, it would preserve the monarch's and minister's reputation, and it would also prevent the prime minister from having too much power. The prime minister would also be able to plan carefully during his term without worrying about losing his position, and avoid the collapse of the government.
"Stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade. Today's trip was not in vain!" Li Shimin took a deep breath and said.
Meton continued, "Next, I will commend some representatives of the younger generation. Tie Ping, Yu Er, Mo Da …"
As for the villagers' meeting, Li Shimin didn't stop paying attention to it. Instead, he lowered his head and pondered. Sometimes he was enlightened, and sometimes he frowned.
It wasn't until the end of the villagers' meeting that Li Shimin was suddenly awakened.
…
"Let's go back to the palace!"
Li Shimin saw that it was getting late, so he ended today's patrol. He had only planned to stay in the Village of Mo Village for one morning, but before he knew it, a day had passed.
At the entrance of the Village of Mo Village.
"Father!" Princess Jinyang and Li Zhi looked at the Village of Mo Village and said reluctantly.
"Your Highnesses, please come often in the future. The Village of Mo Village will definitely welcome you!" Merton thought that if Li Shimin wasn't around the next time they came, Princess Changle would definitely follow them. For some reason, it was getting more and more difficult for him to meet with Princess Changle recently.
Princess Jinyang and Li Zhi then stepped on the carriage.
"The Ink Technique of the Village of Mo Village is indeed magical. Brother Mo, let's talk about it some other day!" Li Tai said excitedly. Today's trip had opened his eyes and made him more interested in the Ink Technique. Take the greenhouse as an example, it seemed to be related to his Encyclopedia of Geography, which gave him a lot of new ideas.
"It's my pleasure, Minister!" Meton bowed and said. It seemed that Li Tai had gone further and further on the road of learning.
Li Chengqian also cupped his hands and stepped on the carriage.
"The strategy of governing the village is really good!" Under Modun's expectant gaze, Li Shimin gave a perfunctory sigh of praise, stepped into the carriage, and left.
"See you off, Your Majesty!"
Meton was not disappointed. Instead, he was happy. Li Shimin had always been rude to him, so the word "good" was already a very high evaluation.
The carriage went all the way to the east along the six lanes. Soon it reached the intersection, turned, and sped all the way to Chang 'an City.
Through the glass of the new carriage, Li Shimin looked at the Village of Mo Village that was getting farther and farther away. Thinking about today's experience, he felt that he had entered a paradise. Everything in the Village of Mo Village was unique, but people couldn't help but indulge in it.
"No wonder it's the first village in the world."
Li Shimin said with a smile.
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