On the other hand, Qin Qiong was more sensitive and noticed this. He cupped his hands and said, "My son and the others are naughty and mischievous. The three of them came up with the idea of slacking off, but they were too lazy to do it. Luckily, Kong Sheng put in a lot of effort and spent a year to complete the book. Otherwise, it would definitely be covered in dust."
Cheng Yaojin also came to a realization. He nodded and said, "Kong Huisuo, this Old Man heard my son mention you before. He said that you are one of the few Confucian scholars in the Imperial College that he likes. As expected, the younger generation will surpass us in time. "
"Thank you, High Duke Lu, for your praise." Kong Huisuo said respectfully.
Kong Yingda let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, the three of them had turned the situation around. The focus of the court was once again on Kong Huisuo.
Li Shimin nodded and looked at Kong Huisuo. "Since you are Kong Sheng's descendant and have created such a valuable book for the children of the world, you will first become an assistant teacher in the Imperial College. Your rank will be one level higher, seventh rank."
"Seventh rank assistant teacher!" Kong Yingda couldn't help but sigh. Originally, he had planned to send Kong Yingda to Chongwenguan Hall. That way, it would be much better than staying in the Imperial College.
Kong Huisuo was about to thank him when he suddenly heard Merton say, "Your Majesty, please wait. The Minister thinks that Brother Kong's Dictionary has a huge contribution that has been neglected. Your Majesty's reward is not enough to neglect a meritorious official."
"Oh! A huge contribution? You brat, don't talk nonsense. You think that just because you have a good relationship with Kong Huisuo, you can help him get credit. "Li Shimin warned.
Kong Huisuo was also confused. He was the one who created the Dictionary. How could he not know how many merits there were in it? How could there be any huge contribution?
Even Kong Yingda was shocked. He didn't know what Meton meant by this.
Meton said proudly, "Your Majesty, if it is just the Dictionary, of course, the contribution won't be huge. However, if it is combined with elementary school, it will be a huge contribution."
"Hmph! Spit it out! "Li Shimin snorted. He hated it when Meton kept him in suspense.
Meton immediately felt embarrassed. He picked up a dictionary and said, "Your Majesty, please take a look at the dictionary. Brother Kong not only used radicals and strokes to sort the words for ease of searching, but he also used sounds and rhymes to sort the homophones in order."
"So what?" Li Shimin was puzzled.
Meton laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but as the saying goes, different tones are different from each other. Our Tang dynasty is thousands of miles long, and the difference between languages has long been a matter of tone. For example, if a southerner goes to the north and communicates with other people, it's like playing the lute to a cow."
"Rude!" Du Chuke scoffed at Meton.
Meton retorted, "This is the truth. Take all of you as an example. You must be elites from all over the world. You have been in Chang 'an for a long time, so naturally, you can speak the official language. However, if you ask yourselves, compared to the language you spoke when you were young, I'm afraid that your accent has already changed!"
Many officials fell silent. They had lived in Chang 'an for a long time. Sometimes, when they went back to visit their relatives, they did find that their accent had changed. They could understand what their relatives said, but it was difficult for their relatives to understand what they said. Sometimes, it would take them a few days to get used to it.
"What does this have to do with the great contribution you mentioned?" Li Shimin frowned and asked.
"Of course it has something to do with it. This dictionary is compiled according to homophones. If we go one step further and compile it according to the official language of Chang 'an, and let the Headmaster teach it to every student through primary school, then all the students in the world will learn the same voice. Wouldn't that be the achievement of homophones that even Emperor Qin Shi Huang did not achieve?" Meton said excitedly.
"Homophones!"
"Homophones!"
It was as if Meton had thrown a deep water bomb, which suddenly blew up the calm imperial court into turbulent waves.
The important officials, who were usually indifferent to honor or disgrace, were now all surprised. No one had thought that such a grand plan would come from the hands of two young people. If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would not have believed it.
Li Shimin stood up excitedly and could not help pacing back and forth. Emperor Qin Shi Huang burned books and buried Confucians, and carried out tyrannical rule. However, no matter how the later generations discredited him, they could not erase Emperor Qin Shi Huang's contribution. That was, books were written in the same language, carriages were on the same track, weights and measures were unified, and the world was unified.
This was the achievement that no emperor of the past dynasties could surpass. Now, the Tang dynasty might realize another plan to unify the world, that was, homophones.
At the thought of being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Emperor Qin Shi Huang, this was a great temptation for Li Shimin, who valued reputation highly.
At this moment, Kong Yingda's gaze towards Modun became indescribable. Originally, he was filled with resentment because Modun had messed up Kong Huisuo's contributions. But now, Modun had actually given Kong Huisuo a huge contribution with a flip of his hand.
"There are different dialects in the world. Homophones are not only convenient for the students of the Tang dynasty to communicate with each other, but also a sharp tool for education. For example, if an official in the capital takes office in a foreign land for the first time, he can't even speak the local language. How can he govern the people? If all the dialects are homophones, there will be no such inconvenience." Meton added fuel to the fire.
Many officials nodded. They came to Chang 'an from all over the world and found the language inconvenient. If they went to another place to take office, they would probably encounter the same situation. If all the dialects are homophones, there would be no more obstacles.
Meton continued, "Besides, in addition to educating the people of the Tang dynasty, it also has a miraculous effect on domesticating the various tribes at the border. Since ancient times, how many barbarians have invaded Huaxia? Are they still alive? Not all of them have integrated with Huaxia, but this integration is passive and hidden. If we take the initiative to open primary schools in the various tribes of the barbarians, teach them Chinese characters, speak Chinese, and preach Huaxia etiquette, when these young people grow up and understand etiquette, speak the same language, write the same characters, and wear the same clothes as us, even if they are blond barbarians, how can you say that they are not Han people? "
Hundreds of officials nodded. If a blond barbarian wore Han Chinese clothes, everyone would think that he was just a monkey wearing a hat. If he spoke fluent official language, he would naturally feel more amiable.
"Take the repeated rebellions of the officials in the southwest as an example. The biggest reason is that the language and customs are different and communication is not smooth. If the imperial court opens primary schools in every village and teaches them official language that can be used anywhere, in the long run, the customs and customs will be changed and quietly integrated into Huaxia. At that time, it will not be empty talk that Huaxia and barbarians are one family," Meton said excitedly.
"I'm afraid it won't be as easy as Merton!" Du Chuke could not help but retort.
Meton said proudly, "If one generation does not succeed, then two, three, or five generations will succeed. As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people. In less than a hundred years, even Tuyuhun, which has just been conquered by the Tang dynasty, will become the most loyal and inseparable country of the Tang dynasty. This is the century-long plan of the Tang dynasty."
"A century-long plan."
In an instant, Li Shimin felt a rush of excitement. This was the best weapon for domestication. In this way, whenever the Tang dynasty conquered a land, as long as they carried out this plan, Huaxia would definitely be able to gain a firm foothold in a hundred years.
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