If it were enlightenment in a traditional dynasty, its definition would probably be developing literary style, cultivating scholars, etc. However, the definition of enlightenment in the Tang Dynasty was somewhat different.
In the Tang Dynasty, the definition of enlightenment was "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism", or if you omit a little bit, it means loyalty to the emperor!
Loyalty education, this is the focus of education, everything else is secondary.
So when he greeted the fleet from China at the dock, he actually didn't pay attention to Tong Shangchao and others, but was thinking about some of the cargo carried by the fleet.
What cargo?
The Tang Dynasty newspaper and various books!
These are the things he values most!
Datang Chao Bao, as the only official mouthpiece newspaper of the Tang Dynasty, is not only distributed in domestic areas, but can also be seen in overseas territories.
Because the official requirements are clear, as long as the territory of the Tang Dynasty, there must be a report of the Tang Dynasty!
At the same time, this is also the main, or even the only, channel for officials, businessmen and even ordinary immigrants overseas to understand domestic developments.
Officials should analyze domestic political trends and major imperial policies from the perspective of the Tang Dynasty, so as to adjust their own policy direction.
Merchants also want to understand the latest industrial and commercial policies of the empire from above, so as to adjust their operations and look for business opportunities.
Even ordinary people need to understand the various policies of the empire, because many of the above policies are closely related to their lives.
Even Gehe Prefecture, which is extremely far away from the mainland, because of this order, every time a domestic fleet sets out, it will carry a large number of Tang Dynasty ships out to sea.
Tong Shangchao's fleet also carried almost all the Tang Dynasty newspapers published in the 10th year of Xuanping, in addition to many books brought from China.
After holding a welcome banquet for Tong Shangchao and others from the fleet, Qian Jiyun returned to his state government office, and then began to simply browse through a large number of Tang Dynasty newspapers in front of him.
The last Datang Dynasty newspaper he saw was published in the ninth year of Xuanping, and he has not read the Datang Dynasty newspaper published in the tenth year of Xuanping. As an imperial official, he did not read the Datang Dynasty.
If you don't read the newspaper from above, you will understand the latest imperial politics and policy trends, and you will not know if you have made a mistake.
I casually picked out a morning newspaper and read it. This was a morning newspaper issued in February. The front page of it was the grand plowing ceremony held by the Holy Emperor at the Qifeng Altar on the outskirts of Jinling City.
Reports say that the emperor plowed an entire acre of land himself, setting an example to encourage the people to engage in farming. At the same time, he also held a ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven to pray for good weather and a bumper agricultural harvest.
The plowing ceremony is almost the most important ceremony every year since the Tang Dynasty. It combines plowing and worshiping heaven, which is very grand.
However, this kind of thing is also an annual practice. Qian Jiyun's focus is not on this. What he focuses on is who is accompanying the emperor in the plowing ceremony.
Because in this most important ceremony every year, there are particularities about who leads the emperor's oxen, who helps the emperor help the plow, who levels the land, who sows seeds, and who fertilizes the soil. Moreover, the number of personnel is not fixed every year, but there are
One thing is certain, that is, from this list, you will find out who is still trusted by the Holy Emperor, who is about to stand up, and who is about to step down.
Because not everyone can have this honor. According to previous years’ experience, those who can have this qualification are all important ministers of the empire. Except for the highly respected Liu Bagou and others, the others are from the second rank, Lu, etc.
People above the rank of Vice Admiral.
To put it bluntly, the list of ministers accompanying the plowing ceremony represents the changes in the imperial political arena!
In the ninth year of Xuanping, Lord Sheng Shangzhao, who was serving as the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, accompanied the emperor to farm for the first time in April. In April, he was ordered to enter the imperial study and served as a walking minister. Two months later, that is, when Xuanping
In June of the ninth year of Ping Dynasty, Sheng Shangzhao was transferred from Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel to the Ministry of Rites and served as Minister.
In addition, in the eighth year of Xuanping, Qian Mengjiu, the minister on duty in the imperial study room who had accompanied the emperor to do the plowing in the previous several plowing ceremonies, unexpectedly did not accompany the plowing. In August of the eighth year of Xuanping, Qian Mengjiu begged for his bones in old age and submitted a petition.
After becoming an official, the Holy Emperor had no choice but to approve what he played after he failed three times.
Almost every change of personnel in the plowing ceremony represents a change in the military and political hierarchy, at least at the level of minister or lieutenant general. This situation is also an important reason why all officials in the empire, and even ordinary people, are very concerned.
As for Li Xuan, he actually used this personal plowing ceremony to ventilate the outside and test the reaction of officials and the world at the same time. After all, changes in high-level affairs are triggered by a single move. Without sufficient preparation, it is easy to cause trouble.
of.
For example, Qian Mengjiu was an important minister of Conglong during the Huang Zhushan era. He had been in a high position for many years and served as the minister on duty in the Imperial Study Room. But to be honest, his abilities were limited. Li Xuan discovered a few years ago that this person could not keep up.
The empire grew.
That is to say, he was still diligent and managed to hold on, but as the empire grew bigger and bigger, and there were more and more things happening, his ability could not keep up after all.
In addition, he has been in a high position for many years, and it is impossible for him to continue to hold the position of minister on duty in the imperial study room. The imperial political arena needs to remain fluid. A bunch of old people have been occupying positions, and a large number of them are ministers and ministers.
People who have been in a position of pride for many years have long been eager to rise to the top.
That's why he tested the officials at the plowing ceremony in the eighth year of Xuanping. As a result, Qian Mengjiu himself knew what he was interested in, and other important ministers didn't have much objection. That's why Qian Mengjiu succeeded in becoming an official and became the history of the empire.
The third minister on duty in the imperial study room stepped down.
At the same time, Li Xuan also expanded the number of ministers on duty in the Imperial Study Room for the first time, from seven to nine. The two expanded places were one for the cabinet and the other for the Hanlin Academy.
The quotas given to the internal side are also very particular. They are specially prepared for the Minister of Commerce.
This has also formed the composition of the ministers on duty in the Imperial Study Room for the past two years: two from the military, one from the Army and one from the Navy; three from the independent agencies, one from the Inspectorate, one from the Imperial Academy, and one from the Hanlin Academy;
There are four cabinet members, namely one person from the Ministry of Agriculture, one person from the Ministry of Personnel, one person from the Ministry of Taxation, and one person from the Ministry of Commerce.
These nine people constitute the highest level of the current imperial political arena!
The plowing ceremony was related to changes in high-level personnel, so Qian Jiyun naturally wanted to pay attention immediately. However, after scanning it carefully, he could not see any sign that any important person was about to step down.
Because although this year's list is different from last year, the overall change is not big. There are only two new faces. However, these two new faces are at the level of minister, and they will not affect the overall situation. At most, they will be promoted to minister.
But in the imperial political arena, there are many senior officials at the ministerial level. There are sixteen ministerial-level agencies in the cabinet. In addition to the ministries, there are six direct-controlled departments in the cabinet. Although these direct-controlled departments are smaller than those of the minister,
The second rank is lower, but it is also a high-ranking official from the second rank.
After reading this pro-farming report, Qian Jiyun continued to read other Tang Dynasty newspapers.
After reading more than a dozen reports in a row, he came across a very interesting report. This report said that the cabinet held a meeting to discuss the reform of the tax department.
Although this kind of preliminary briefing-style report only says that high-level officials are discussing the reform of the tax department, it will never say how the reform will be carried out, because this kind of briefing is basically used to test various reactions, and it talks about ambiguous things.
, and then the top will make countermeasures based on the reaction.
How to reform this tax department?
In recent years, the empire has had more than one discussion!
Because the power of the Ministry of Taxation is too great, in the past when the empire was first established, it didn't seem to matter. But as the empire unified the country and gradually developed, the problem of the Ministry of Taxation having too much power cropped up frequently.
Because in the early years, the Tax Department was not only in charge of tax collection, but also in charge of customs, finance, budget, salary payment of civil and military officials and other matters. Basically, they were responsible for everything related to money in the Tang Dynasty.
Tube.
During the first reform a few years ago, customs affairs were spun off and became a department directly under the cabinet, but the power of the Ministry of Taxation is still huge.
The Tax Department, because of its great power, is also somewhat unscrupulous in doing things. Officials have always been indifferent to the Tax Department, and it will not take a day or two to dismember the Tax Department.
This time, I'm afraid someone wants to take action against the Tax Department, and there are probably quite a few of them, and their weight is not light. I just don't know if the most treacherous minister in the empire, the minister on duty in the royal study room, and the Minister of Taxation, Qian Zuili, can withstand it.
pressure.
Qian Jiyun could almost imagine the violent turmoil that would arise in the domestic political arena due to the reform of the Ministry of Taxation. If he were still serving in the country, he would have to write a letter firmly supporting the split of the Ministry of Taxation.
It's a pity that he is overseas. Even if he writes the fold, it will probably take more than half a year to be sent back to the country. When his fold is returned to the country, it is estimated that whether the reform of the tax department is a success or not, the winner will be decided long ago.
If he loses, there is a chance for him to win!
Alas, Qian Jiyun sighed when he thought of this!
We can't stay in Gehe Prefecture any longer, we must find a way to transfer him back!
However, although he also has some connections in the country, these connections could not prevent him from being demoted to Gehe Prefecture, and they cannot bring him back today. The only solution now is to achieve results in Gehe Prefecture.
enlightenment!
It must be done!
The Gohe Prefecture had made up its mind and decided to go to the Governor-General of India, Huo Chongshan, tomorrow to ask him to support him in organizing the Gohe Prefecture School.
When Huo Chongshan first came here, he wanted to set up a government school here. Naturally, this school was not intended for indigenous people, but for immigrants from the Tang Dynasty in Gehe Prefecture.
Nothing can convey the concept of loyalty to the emperor better than education.
Although Datang Western Company can be regarded as an organization with a semi-official background, their business atmosphere is too strong. They are all about money every day, and they have not paid attention to the education of loyalty to the emperor at all.
He must explain to Huo Chongshan the importance of loyalty education. Even though Gehe Prefecture is the territory of Datang Western Company, it is still imperial territory, and the immigrants living here are still imperial subjects.
All subjects of the empire must be loyal to the emperor!
Therefore, the education of loyalty to the emperor is urgent. If Huo Chongshan still refuses due to lack of funds, then he would not mind participating in a book!