"It won't hurt anyone."
Li Shimin excused him,
"This cigarette is a good thing. It can make people clear their heads and improve their efficiency. You said it is harmful to the body, but I haven't noticed it yet."
"As long as you don't smoke non-stop and smoke in moderation, you'll be fine."
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"Can you control it?"
He rolled his eyes and said,
"This stuff is addictive, and it's hard to quit smoking it!"
Li Shimin responded seriously:
"If there were no worries or government affairs, I could control it or even quit."
"The reason why it happens so often now is because there are too many things. You can't do anything good if you are upset. Smoking can only calm your mind..."
Xu Fenglei was a little helpless.
"I believe you as a ghost..."
Old smokers always have excuses of one kind or another, and sometimes they are quite high-sounding.
But no matter what, it comes back in the end - I can do it in the future, but I can't quit now anyway.
"Let's not talk about it. Let's get back to business... Now that the magic box has been opened, it cannot be closed."
Xu Fenglei said again,
"People are selling cigarettes privately and making huge profits. This cannot be allowed."
"I don't know where they got the supply from. Your Majesty needs to check it out. This must be cut off."
Li Shimin nodded slightly.
"You are right. I remember that tobacco is only for the palace. It is only given to some ministers. There should be no possibility of it going out."
He mused,
"Unless someone intercepted a shipment before the supply came in."
"There are moths in here!"
With his shrewdness, he quickly thought of an industrial chain hidden underwater!
Khitan tobacco was shipped in, a batch was concealed, and was sold privately to private traders.
Black traders then use their own small workshops to produce cigarettes and sell them on the black market or on the streets to make huge profits!
According to the market price of ten taels of silver, this black product may have made huge profits!
"definitely."
Xu Fenglei said seriously,
"Now the Khitan's supply of tobacco to the Tang Dynasty is stable, and His Majesty has also planted tobacco in northern Xinjiang."
"I think that since there is such a huge demand among the people, the sale of tobacco should be opened up, and we should resolutely crack down on illegal private traders, cut off their channels, and close their workshops!"
"Then, impose heavy taxes on tobacco! In this way, all the profits from selling tobacco will be nationalized! This is a huge profit that will definitely fill the national treasury!"
Li Shimin's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"How big can the profit be?"
He continued,
"You estimate."
Xu Fenglei smiled slightly.
"Your Majesty, don't underestimate the tobacco tax. As long as it develops, it will definitely be a big hit in the future! It is much more than the agricultural tax!"
He said,
"Based on the military expenditure of the Tang Dynasty, in peacetime, one year's tobacco tax was enough to support the army for three years!"
"If His Majesty launches a war, tobacco tax revenue can also support Datang's war. It won't be too strenuous!"
When Li Shimin heard these words, his heart suddenly became warm.
Tobacco taxes are so huge!
Of course he would not doubt Xu Fenglei's words, because this guy is also an economic expert!
"Good, good...very good!"
Li Shimin put his palms together and smiled,
"My biggest headache is military expenses."
"Once this war starts, the money will be spent like water. The little money in the treasury will not be enough!"
"It is precisely because of this that I hold back my temper, avoid causing trouble, and rest and recuperate..."
"If it's true as you say, then we'll have to fight in two years, so there's no need to worry! Fight if you want! Wei Zheng and the others can't fart!"
Xu Fenglei blinked.
"Didn't His Majesty say he won't start a war?"
He said,
"Why, do you feel itchy again?"
When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately snorted coldly:
"I bear it in my heart, Xue Yantuo, Tuguhun, Gaochang, Goguryeo, Qiuci and other countries are not submissive countries!"
"When I first defeated the Turks, they were still more submissive, paid tribute and called me their vassal, and respected me as the Khan of Heaven. But after only two years, they became lazy."
"Especially Tuyuhun and Gaochang are very disrespectful! Their barbarian leaders are even a bit arrogant!"
"I will destroy them sooner or later!"
Xu Fenglei secretly clicked his tongue.
Good guy, why don't you tell me the names of the dishes here? You can tell me so many countries at once!
However, Li Er was indeed an activist and wanted to kill them. In the end, he really destroyed all these countries!
Oh, Goguryeo in history was destroyed by Li Zhi.
But this time, Datang's economy was stronger and its military strength was stronger! Maybe during Li Shimin's tenure, he could directly conquer Goguryeo.
"If His Majesty has this intention, he must promote the formalization of tobacco sales as soon as possible and establish a tobacco tax law."
Xu Fenglei said,
"When the time comes to fight, we won't have to worry about running out of money."
Li Shimin nodded.
"I know it and will arrange for people to do it well."
He said,
"By the way, I have something else to ask you."
"How do you think the twenty-four new scholars should be trained?"
"Should we fill the vacancy directly in the court, or should we place it somewhere else?"
"I asked the official department yesterday. There are not that many vacancies in the central government, nor at the local level. There are at most three or five retired people. If the positions are not enough, why not give them to casual officials first?"
Xu Fenglei responded without thinking:
"Your Majesty can set up an academy in the middle of the court, and call it whatever you want, such as Hanlin Academy, Museum of History, etc. The main purpose is to educate people and further their studies."
"If there is no shortage of new scholars to fill, they will study in this courtyard, compile historical records, and do some noble work. While studying, they can also become familiar with the operation of the court and become familiar with it in the court."
"When there are vacancies, they can be released to other places. In this way, they can be regarded as officials for a while, and their official appearance has come out. It is just right for them to go to the local government to practice as parent officials."
"After that, we will follow the normal procedures of the bureaucracy. Those who do well will be promoted, and those who do not will be demoted."
Li Shimin suddenly realized.
"Okay, that's a good idea, just do what you said."
He agreed,
"Just like setting up a literature museum in Tiance Mansion before, set up a Hanlin Academy and let the new scholars be Hanlin Academy bachelors and editors for a while!"
"I am so happy to have gathered twenty-four young people in one breath! Hahaha... I personally selected all those test papers. After all, I am also their mentor!"
Xu Fenglei laughed.
"That's natural. Jinshi has the reputation of being a disciple of the emperor."
He said,
"At that time, His Majesty will also hand-pick the top pick, the second pick, and the third-best girl. I have already contacted the third-best talent. He is an honest and responsible farm boy. He has great potential and is worth cultivating!"
Li Shimin's eyes glowed.
How new is this! The first No. 1 pick, the first No. 2 pick and No. 3 pick in the Tang Dynasty will be born in his hands!
"That must be a beautiful thing."
He smiled and said,
"At that time, a large court meeting will be held for all officials to witness! Let the historian record it!"
…
A few days later.
The emperor held a grand meeting and summoned twenty-four new scholars in the Liangyi Hall. He personally named the top three candidates and awarded them the rank of sixth grade!
The remaining twenty-one Jinshi were also awarded official titles of the seventh rank and the seventh rank respectively.
After the court meeting, Li Shimin also interviewed each Jinshi separately. Among them, the one who chatted for the longest time was not even released until late at night! Everyone admires him.
The next day, Li Shimin stood in the Liangyi Hall, looking at the newly established Hanlin Academy, and couldn't help but sigh again:
"From now on, all the heroes in the world will be in my arms!"
The grand occasion of the imperial examination became a hot topic of conversation among court officials and ordinary people. It was not until the arrival of a major event that the enthusiasm for the imperial examination was suppressed——
Datang Academy will officially enroll students on June 15th!
…
In the south of the city, outside the Tang Dynasty Academy, there was a huge crowd at the moment!
Countless parents stood outside with their children and waited eagerly.
"Son, during the selection later, you have to bring out your usual cleverness! Whether our family can rise up or not depends entirely on you!"
"Son! Come on! If you can pass the exam, our family and our clan will do whatever it takes to help you study and become a talent!"
"Don't be nervous, just act like you normally do, you hear me?"
"Good girl, I don't ask you to get ahead, I just ask you to be sensible so that you can help your father take care of his business. We will find a son-in-law in the future..."
"..."
The parents held their children's hands and kept urging them.
It can be seen that the children may not be very nervous about this entrance exam, but the parents are very nervous, with sweat on their foreheads.
Xu Fenglei slowly walked out of the academy and was startled when he saw the huge crowd of people outside.
"so many people?!"
He smacked his tongue and said,
"...It's too much!"
In his mental prediction, there would indeed be a lot of people, but they should only be a few thousand at most.
But he obviously still underestimated the parents of the Tang Dynasty who hoped that their sons would become dragons and their daughters would become phoenixes.
At a glance, there are at least tens of thousands of people!
If the south of the city wasn't relatively remote and the Datang Academy occupied a huge area, this blockage would have paralyzed traffic.
"It's normal. After all, the warm-up started two years ago, and many people know about it."
Next to him, Li Chunfeng, the dean of the School of Mathematics, smiled and said,
"The main reason is that you didn't set a threshold, and you didn't say what books you want to examine, so whether they are noble children or ordinary farmers, they will come to try their luck."
"What if I get selected?"
"So... there are so many people! You should arrange the exam quickly, otherwise there will be more and more people."
Xu Fenglei nodded slightly.
If it were to set a threshold, that would not be his original intention.
The purpose of opening a school is to promote class mobility and not to allow the right to study and literacy to be monopolized by noble families, but to allow more children of the common people to take the lead!
Thinking of this, he quickly stepped forward and shouted to the crowd:
"Everyone, be quiet!"
"Anyone who makes noise will be immediately disqualified from the entrance exam!"
Swish!
In an instant, everyone became quiet, and the orders and prohibitions were enforced, almost like an army!
They are really afraid of being disqualified!
Xu Fenglei nodded with satisfaction and said loudly:
"I didn't expect so many people to come."
"It can be seen that it is not easy for everyone. In order to provide a good education for their children, it is heartbreaking!"
When all the parents heard this, they all nodded.
So right!
It’s all for the children!
"Seeing so many school-age children, I really want to recruit them all, but there is no way. Space is limited and resources are limited."
Xu Fenglei said,
"With the size of the academy, it can only recruit a maximum of five hundred Meng children!"
"No matter how many students there are, there really won't be enough room to sit down! The classroom will be very crowded and the quality of teaching will decline. This goes against the original intention of Youxue."
"So, no matter how many people apply, there will only be 500 places, not one more!"
When all the parents heard this, they all looked nervous.
Five hundred!
Only five hundred!
They have at least 10,000 people here, so if their children are to be selected, they must be at least one of the top 20!
This competition can be said to be huge!
Suddenly, many parents felt uncertain when they saw their children like that.
"I knew I would have asked you to read more books, hey!"
"It's over now. I'll get the first five hundred. Son, do you have confidence? Why does dad feel so uncertain..."
"Five hundred? My child, you can do it! Remember, your goal is not to be in the top five hundred, but to strive for first place! Only in this way will you be noticed by the dean and receive the most resources!"
"..."
Xu Fenglei waved his hand.
The field fell silent again.
"Let me tell you the truth, when the Academy was first established, several people contributed money."
Xu Fenglei said,
"They are considered one of the founders of the Academy! So naturally, their children can enter the school without taking the exam! This occupies a part of the quota."
"There are also a few smart children that I had my eye on before. They passed the assessment and entered the school in advance, so they also have to take up their spots."
"In other words, the total number of places is less than 500! It is expected to be around 450!"
"Competition is cruel!"
Parents: "!!!"
Boy, this is another bolt from the blue!
The quota has been reduced again!
However, it is also understandable that there are relevant households everywhere.
The principal can speak out openly and inform everyone, which is already considered good!
"I hope the children can maintain a good attitude. What I am examining today is not the content in any classic book, but thinking and conduct."
Xu Fenglei said,
"So, whether you are full of knowledge or illiterate, it has little to do with the exam! Even if you don't know a word, you can still pass the exam! After all, it is normal for Mengtong to be illiterate!"
"Now, come on in!"
"Because there aren't that many seats, you have to sit on the floor."
"Parents, stop!"
Wow!
Amidst the warnings, the Meng children left the arms of their parents and walked into the school palace.
With the help and guidance of Jinwuwei, the children entered the venue in an orderly manner without any disturbance.
After a while, the children were divided into several areas, and the children in the first area were assigned a piece of white paper and a pen. The rest of the area was waiting silently.
You have to be well prepared, otherwise you won’t even have enough supplies of pens and paper!
Bang bang bang!
The door of the academy is closed, and the nervous parents can only stare at the door and wait anxiously...
(End of chapter)
