As the snow fell, it added a festive atmosphere to the north. The ninth year of Zhenguan was finally coming to an end. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the annual end-of-year court meeting.
"Your Majesty, our taxes have been rising year after year. This year, they increased by 10%. Congratulations!" Dai Zhou, the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said proudly.
With the stability of the Tang Dynasty, the power of brick roads and ink techniques was revealed. The economy of the Tang Dynasty grew rapidly. A 10% increase was equivalent to a 10% increase in the future. This was a remarkable achievement.
"So what if it increased by 10%? It's still not enough. The national treasury has been suffering losses year after year!" Many ministers complained in their hearts. The economy of the Tang Dynasty grew rapidly, but there were more places to spend money. Even so, there were still many projects waiting to be done.
Of course, on this joyous occasion, no one would be discouraged. Most of them only reported the good news and not the bad news.
Zhang Liang, the minister of the Ministry of Works, said proudly, "This year, the construction of the Tang Dynasty's brick roads increased by another 1500 li. There are still 800 li under construction. The Wei River Bridge is progressing smoothly. …"
Dai Zhou couldn't help but look at Zhang Liang with resentment. No matter how capable the Ministry of Civil Affairs was, it couldn't fill the bottomless pit that was the Ministry of Works.
Linghu Defen, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, said loudly, "Now, the Tang Dynasty is respected everywhere. The world respects Your Majesty as the Heavenly Khan. In addition, Tubo and the other countries have offered a large sum of money to request for the School of Mo's ink techniques."
"The School of Mo's ink techniques!" The ministers were stunned. They all looked at Meton.
However, this time, Meton didn't need to appear. Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "The School of Mo's ink techniques are the private secret of the people. Even I have no right to deal with it. Tubo and the other countries don't need to mention their request."
"Yes!" Linghu Defen said.
The ability of the School of Mo's ink techniques to turn stone into gold had long been recognized by the court. Even an ordinary ink technique could create great value. Naturally, no one would be foolish enough to encourage the School of Mo to offer up their ink techniques.
As the Six Ministries showed off their achievements one by one, anyone could see that the Tang dynasty's national strength was rising day by day, and the situation was very good.
Kong Yingda proudly stepped out of the ranks and said in a clear voice, "Reporting to Your Majesty, we have received good news from Ya Prefecture. The Confucian teachings are beginning to show results, and the children of Ya Prefecture are entering schools. The people of Ya Prefecture are proud of being able to speak the official language, and the people's loyalty to the Han Dynasty is increasing by the day. In less than five years, Ya Prefecture will definitely be the same as the Central Plains. The people know etiquette and no longer have any thoughts of rebellion."
In the last few years, the Confucian school had been suppressed by the other hundred schools to the point where it could not even raise its head. Now that it was finally able to hold its head high, Kong Yingda naturally would not let go of this chance to make the Confucian school famous. He had chosen the end of the year court to announce this good news.
"Good!" Li Shimin said in a clear voice.
For the dynasty of the Central Plains, the barbarian land was like chicken ribs. It was tasty to eat, but it would be a pity to throw it away. Conquering the barbarian land would allow the Tang dynasty to expand its territory. Expanding its territory was the dream of every emperor, but how to govern it after conquering it was another difficult problem. The repeated rebellions were also a headache for the dynasty of the Central Plains. The Confucian teachings had created a good strategy for the court to govern the conquered land, turning chicken ribs into delicious chicken drumsticks.
"Of course, the School of Mo's help is indispensable." Kong Yingda was in a good mood and took the initiative to show off the School of Mo's achievements.
Many ministers nodded. Whether they liked Meton or not, they could not deny that Meton was indeed capable. In the last two years, the Tang dynasty had been thriving day by day, and the School of Mo could be said to have contributed greatly.
Suddenly, Yu Zhining stepped out of the ranks and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial!"
"Please speak!" Li Shimin said in a clear voice.
"Your Majesty, the tribute oranges of Ya Province are supposed to be a tribute to Your Majesty, but the Village of Mo openly sells them in Chang 'an City, which is a disgrace to the dignity of the royal family." Yu Zhining suddenly attacked.
"Tribute oranges!" Li Shimin could not help but look at Meton in the last row and said jokingly, "Meton, how do you explain this?"
Meton stepped out of the ranks and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the tribute oranges in Ya Province are not one or two, but planted by every family. The output is quite large, which is more than enough to satisfy the needs of the imperial palace. But what about the rest of the tribute oranges? Are they going to rot on the trees? Moreover, with the grafting technique of the School of Mo, the land of Ya Province will be covered with oranges in the coming year, and the output of the tribute oranges will soar several times. Even the imperial palace can't finish eating the tribute oranges three times a day.
Moreover, Your Majesty asked the Confucian and Mohist families to work together to naturalize the three provinces. If the tribute oranges in Ya Province rot on the trees and the people are still poor, not to mention a hundred Confucian scholars, even if Minister Yu personally goes to Ya Province to educate them, I'm afraid it won't help. "
"You! … "Yu Zhining said angrily.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "The output of the tribute oranges is large, so it's not impossible to sell them to the market. Besides, I'm not a greedy person, so how can I enjoy such delicious food alone? It's better to enjoy it together than to enjoy it alone. I'm also enjoying it together with the people."
Li Shimin was very clear that the tribute oranges could naturalize the people of Ya Province. No matter how he looked at it, it was worth a lot.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Hundreds of officials flattered.
Kong Yingda also stood on Meton's side, which was rare for him, and said loudly, "Merton's Get Rich Sutra has played an important role in the naturalization of the three provinces so smoothly. Once the provinces become rich, the people will speak the official language, and they will definitely submit to the Tang dynasty, and there will be no more rebellions.
"Get Rich Sutra!" Li Shimin couldn't help but nod repeatedly. In the nine years of Zhenguan, Li Shimin's greatest harvest was not only the delicious tribute oranges, but also the Confucian method of naturalization and the Mohist method of getting rich.
In particular, the Confucian and Mohist methods of naturalization and barbarian methods were simply successful. Ya Province, which was originally hostile to the Han people, was a living example.
As for the Central Plains, although the miracle of the Mohist Village could not be replicated, as long as they learned a few moves, they would be able to benefit the people endlessly.
In particular, the first sentence of the Get Rich Sutra, "If you want to be rich, you must first build roads, have more children, and plant more trees", was regarded as a classic. Just this year, the imperial court received no less than a hundred requests to build brick roads in the counties. Meton's three vertical and five horizontal roads had already begun to take shape.
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs has some doubts about Merton's Get Rich Sutra. Please enlighten me, Merton." Yu Zhining suddenly said boldly.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him again, Meton couldn't help but smile bitterly. He was just sitting at home, and trouble was falling from the sky.
"The so-called Get Rich Sutra is just my opinion in the Mohist Village. It's not a classic work, and it may not be suitable for other villages." Meton said lightly, as if he didn't care about the Get Rich Sutra that was sought after by the people.
Meton didn't know that the more he acted like this, the angrier Yu Zhining would be. If an ordinary person could write the Get Rich Sutra, he would want the whole world to know about it. However, Meton didn't seem to care at all. This made Yu Zhining burn with jealousy.
"Confucius said, reflect on yourself three times a day. Merton doesn't care about his words and deeds, but he doesn't know that his words and deeds affect the people of the world. If Merton is so careless and misleads the people of the world, I don't know who will bear the responsibility." Yu Zhining rebuked angrily.
The imperial court was suddenly filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
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First set a small goal, such as 1 second. Remember: Scholar's Residence
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