Chapter 667: Nothing good happens when you encounter text
Wei Zheng looked at the field in front of him and finally his eyes fell on a vegetable field in the distance. The vegetable field was right on the edge of the field, but it did not occupy the cultivated field.
It wasn't until Zhang Yang, Li Tai, and Shangguan Yi arrived that Wei Zheng withdrew his eyes and said, "The vegetable fields in Lishan are actually doing well."
"Mr. Zheng was joking. These were planted in his spare time. We also have a seedbed with the crops we cultivated."
Zhang Yang kept talking and said: "Brother Wenwen, why are you here too."
Cen Wenwen smiled awkwardly and said, "Let's check the accounts of Lishan Brewery and Paper Mill. When will His Highness the King of Wei be able to use the paper recycling technique? I looked at last month's accounts and found that the court had a loss of sixty guan.
Your Majesty has come to inquire about this matter several times."
The paper mill was already losing money, let alone meeting the paper needs of the DPRK and China. As a result, the losses were compounded, and the loss was sixty guan a month. The production scale was still small, and fortunately the scale is not large now.
If you expand the scale, you will only suffer more losses.
Li Tai has been busy with steam engines recently and has not cared about anything else.
Zhang Yang patted the fat man on the back, signaled him not to speak yet, and then helped explain: "There are still many technical aspects that need to be solved in the paper recycling technology, and His Highness the King of Wei also has to watch the construction of the entire Lishan Mountain
Progress, I don’t have so much time to spare, we will put it on the schedule when we have time.”
Seeing that he was still a little worried, Zhang Yang added: "Lishan owns 30% of the profits of this paper mill. When we made the deal with His Majesty, we made it very clear that Lishan is in charge of some operations."
Since the management is handed over to Lishan, it is also Lishan's business as to when to turn losses into profits.
Cen Wenwen sighed: "I will explain it to Your Majesty."
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "A lot of tea leaves have been sent from the East China Sea and Jiangnan this year. They were sent by Xu Yushi. They are all new tea leaves this year."
Xu Xiaode was originally from the famous Xu family in Donghai, and his relatives in the Jiangnan area could be considered to be well-connected.
Xu Hui learned that fried tea had become popular in Guanzhong, so she asked her father to buy some mountainous land for growing tea. After learning that the climate in Jiangnan was suitable for growing tea, she persuaded her father to arrange for relatives in her hometown to do it.
this matter.
Xu Hui is a very smart girl. She said that she is a disciple in Lishan and she also thinks about her family. The Xu family in Donghai is lonely and is no longer the same as before, but she thinks that she can make the Xu family in Donghai rich again through the tea business.
She could also use Lishan's trade route to sell it outside the customs. When she helped Li Yue sort out the accounts, she discovered that the price of tea increased several times as soon as it left the customs. Three taels of fried tea cost one penny in Guanzhong, but the price outside the customs could be as high as
Sold for ten or fifteen cents.
If the tea grown in Jiangnan is good enough, it can even be sold for hundreds of dollars.
Of course, the cultivation of these teas in Jiangnan is indeed very good. The climate in the south, especially Huainan and the southeast, is very suitable for growing tea.
Therefore, tea was once a cheap commodity in the south. The Xu family planted tea extensively and bought a lot of mountainous land. In Jiangnan, these teas were not valuable, but outside the customs, the price could be doubled several times.
This girl keenly grasped the business opportunity. The mountainous areas that cannot grow food can be used to grow tea trees. As a result, the Xu family has been vigorously planting tea trees in the past two years. Now most of the tea in Lishan comes from Xu Xiaode's people.
Sent.
Sending these tea leaves outside the customs was nothing more than Lishan doing it casually. Li Yue was happy to help this proud disciple. The better the disciple was, the more satisfied she was.
A gust of spring breeze blew by, and Zhang Yang put his thoughts back. Li Tai's guards had already made tea.
Zhang Yang held up the tea bowl and said: "There is something that I have been concerned about for a long time. The court asked Princess Changle about her marriage, and whether it was also about the marriage of King Wei."
Hearing this, Li Tai's expression was also a little awkward. He showed a nonchalant attitude and was unwilling to leave.
Wei Zheng took a sip of tea and said, "The court did mention this matter, but according to your Lishan rules, men and women must be twenty years old before they can get married."
Zhang Yang nodded heavily, "This is our Lishan rule, and this rule will remain in place in the future."
Wei Zheng nodded and said nothing.
Children in Lishan should be strong, smart, and energetic.
Shangguan Yi, who was sitting aside, finally said: "Mr. Zheng doesn't know that it has been four years since the county prince and His Highness the Princess established this rule. In the past four years, we have had fifteen new-born children in Lishan, and there have been very few dystocias.
, and they did not die young, and the children are very healthy.”
Wei Zheng whispered: "If the biological parents are strong, the children will naturally be strong as well."
Shangguan Yi added: "But the children born to women under twenty years old often do not go well. In addition to taking care of the cultivation of the fields, Taifu Temple also compared the population of various places. Women under the age of sixteen gave birth and died early in childbirth."
There are many, and the Western Regions and Turks are even more barbaric."
"The lower official believes that it is the embodiment of my Tang Dynasty qualities to discuss marriage regardless of whether a man or woman is twenty years old. Some..."
At this point, Shangguan Yi remained silent. In this era, it is very foolish to argue with others about ordinary things, because you can't break this bad habit at all.
Just like talking about freedom and equality in front of the emperor is a very stupid idea.
Shangguan Yi has experienced many experiences over the years and has undergone many changes. He is the person who has adapted best to Lishan's new system and is also the first person to practice Lishan's values locally.
The value and subjectivity of Lishan are different from many places.
Wei Zheng smiled and said: "Okay, I came to Lishan this time to discuss with Zhang Yang the strategy of educating people in the Western Regions."
Zhang Yang cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Zheng, please speak."
Seeing that this boy had a good attitude, Wei Zheng said in a deep voice: "The court also has concerns about this matter. Is it appropriate to use the books of sages to educate the people of the Western Regions, let alone the Uighurs? Once they are in turmoil, all the efforts made will be in vain."
There are costs for doing things in the DPRK. Although the current Tian Khan is finally not as poor as he was then, it is also because he has some financial resources.
Although the matter of Du Zhilang has now been in the hands of Fang Xuanling, the money shortage situation in the court has still not been solved. The imperial examination is about to take place another year, and Chang'an City is still busy preparing.
Imperial examinations and supporting education are a huge burden.
Originally, he did not want the emperor to build the Taiye Pond so quickly. As soon as Tian Khan had some money, he wanted to spend it lavishly, so Zhang Yang resisted the construction of the Taiye Pond at first.
After selling the papermaking technology, Li Shimin received 200,000 guan. This 200,000 guan gave Tian Khan a lot of confidence.
The DPRK and China will not be short of money for some time to come.
But the inflow of money was still very small except for taxes. From the emperor's point of view, he felt that once a penny reached Lishan, Lishan could use this penny to have the effect of three pennies, or even ten pennies.
Little did they know that this was using the creations of the Central Plains to harvest the fruits of foreign affairs. The Central Plains was too poor, and the people of the Tang Dynasty were all barbaric.
Lishan is no longer satisfied with being involved among the villagers of the Central Plains with weak purchasing power. The nobles of the Western Regions are good customers worth harvesting.
Such customers may be Tibetans, Uighurs, or Turks.
These are all the benefits that Lishan can create for North Korea and China, so there was not much resistance from North Korea and China when the internal and external customs goods tax was initially set up.
After arguing for a while, the matter was settled.
It’s good to get a return on your investment.
Although there is no short-term income from supporting education and the imperial examination, the imperial examination created a siphon effect in Chang'an City, absorbing all the aspiring and talented people from the entire Central Plains. Through the imperial examination, these people can enter the court and become officials.
This is also the reason why the imperial examination can continue to be maintained in the DPRK.
But the current strategy of educating people in the Western Regions is obviously a matter of unstable returns.
Cen Wenwen said in a low voice: "Whether it would be possible to get twice the result with half the effort by allowing people from the Western Regions to participate in the imperial examination? I heard someone in the court talking about it. This matter was brought up by Tang Shanshi."
Zhang Yang shook his head and said: "People from the Western Regions do not directly participate in the imperial examination. Chang'an City will open an official residence specifically to educate the people from the Western Regions. As for who can come to learn, the court can carefully select them. It is best for such people to be Tubo or Western Regions people."
Children of nobles, the higher their status outside the customs, the greater their influence."
When Wei Zheng heard this, he nodded slightly and said, "You mean that education matters are different from imperial examinations?"
"Mr. Zheng is right. The imperial court selected the aristocratic children from the Western Regions to study in Chang'an, and sent special personnel to teach them so that they could understand the essentials of Confucian classics. They also needed to take a test, and only after they were satisfied with their learning results could they leave Chang'an City and return to their hometown to serve as clan leaders.
Or the leader."
Cen Wenwen asked suspiciously: "What if they don't come?"
"Brother Wenwen is overly worried. With the endorsement of Datang and the direct appointment and guarantee of Datang, we all know that Datang has the best reputation. We don't have to choose it ourselves. There will be many people flocking to it, and for this we
We can charge very high fees, and the nobles of the Western Regions are far richer than we thought."
Wei Zheng had no idea about the aristocrats of the Western Regions. In fact, through the development of the Sui Dynasty or two dynasties, the aristocrats of the Western Regions had already accumulated a lot of wealth.
Zhang Yang asked again: "Does Mr. Zheng still remember the former Prince of Gaochang and his son?"
"Of course I still remember."
"After the prince of Gaochang was tortured to death by the slaves they enslaved, many nobles who gathered in Gaochang also left. Later, Gaochang was taken over again, but Gaochang did not lose its vitality."
"It is located at the throat of the Western Regions. After Gaochang was governed by a different person, the original nobles of the Western Regions came back, business and trade resumed, and Gaochang's taxation level returned to the same level in a short period of time."
"The Foreign Affairs Council has many records that record the origins of many nobles, and also record the wealth exchanges between nobles."
Cen Wenwen remained silent. When he first heard about enlightening the barbarians in the court, he still had no confidence in his heart.
Hearing what Zhang Yang said, he finally had a direction. He said seriously: "What a pity. Why are you at Taifu Temple? You should have come to Zhongshu Province."
Wei Zheng nodded in agreement, "It is indeed a pity. I think you are still serving as the Minister of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In the future, you have other ideas. Write more memorials to the Central Committee. There were still memorials in the first two months. Why have you been here in the past two months?"
No more writing."
"Your Majesty accepts remonstrances widely, and it is appropriate for ministers to give remonstrances. It is said that I have been unwilling to see you leave the Ministry of Rites. It has backfired. Although I don't know what happened between you and Your Majesty, I thought that if you can let the great minister
Tang Dynasty is powerful and cannot be left to its own devices."
The other meaning of Wei Zheng's words is that if what you are doing now is right, you should challenge His Majesty now instead of obeying now.
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "Mr. Zheng, I have never given up on the Ministry of Rites. I brought it up single-handedly, and Xu Jingzong is also someone I can trust."
"Okay, let's not talk about this." Wei Zheng looked at Zhang Yang with a bit of appreciation. People like this who know how to advance and retreat can live for a long time, and sooner or later they will return to the court if they have the means. Zhang Yang is too young.
Not yet thirty.
The younger you are, the more opportunities you have and the more choices you have.
Wei Zheng is still very sure about Zhang Yang's future.
As he said, Xu Jingzong is a trustworthy person. Nothing in the Ministry of Rites has changed. Even if he does not go to the Ministry of Rites, the Diplomatic Academy can still operate normally and handle things well.
Wei Zheng was a man who dared to challenge the emperor, a man who dared to confront the emperor. Death was only a hundred pounds.
What do these false names mean?
Live an upright and aboveboard life, with no shame in your heart, say what you need to say, and scold when you need to be scolded.
In rejecting internal friction and internal involution, Wei Zhengjian set a very good precedent.
No wonder there are people in the court saying that I, Zhang Yang, will become the second Wei Zheng.
While everyone drank tea, Zhang Yang and Wei Zheng talked about the strategy of civilizing the barbarians. This strategy was actually very simple. First, recruit students. The students should be selected with prominent positions in the Western Regions, and young people under the age of twenty.
Standing tall at thirty and not confused at forty. For older people, their values and concepts have become rigid.
Those who can educate and shape people are best if they are under twenty years old.
The aristocratic children of the Western Regions have prestige, connections, and the academic endorsement of the Tang Dynasty. Their status will be higher and their influence will be greater.
In this way, these people can be used to educate other barbarians, and the sage-Confucian spirit of the Central Plains can be spread throughout the wider world.
After saying this, Zhang Yang bid farewell to Duke Zheng, "Confucius said that there is no distinction between education and distinction. If we can use the saints' classics to educate more people, this is also a great thing, and it is our duty to do so."
Wei Zheng felt a little sad at the moment, and he didn't know whether the old man was happy or angry.
Not long after, Li Tai also walked out of the village with Cen Wenwen.
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "Brother Wenwen, I have discovered that every time I meet you, there seems to be no good thing."
"Shilang Zhang, this is inappropriate."
"Why is it inappropriate? It's very suitable." Zhang Yang cleared his throat, "Every time I see Brother Wenwen, I always encounter some troublesome things. Last time, it was about the old gentleman and the official school. Just that time
Brother Wenwen hurt me more than three times."
Cen Wenwen was about to say something, but it was really true. After thinking about it again, he still smiled and said: "Shilang Zhang is joking. The reason why I came to meet you is because of important affairs of the government. I am not harming Shilang Zhang."
After that, he smiled heartily and walked away, striding forward in the direction of Chang'an.
Zhang Yang and Li Tai looked at him worriedly, "Your Highness, King Wei, this person may bring us trouble."
"Why don't you drive him away next time you come?"