"Even when Handan was the most prosperous in the past, it was not half as good as it is now." Zhao Sheng felt a little disappointed.
It’s only been less than three years! Compared with Zhao Kuo, the previous kings of Zhao State were useless. If he had known that Zhao Kuo would be the king of Zhao and Zhao Guoguo would develop so quickly, Zhao Sheng would have killed Zhao Wangdan long ago and helped Zhao Kuo up.
"This is still far from it. When the expansion of Handan is completed, it will be even more prosperous... However, the location of Handan somewhat limits development." Zhao Kuo said.
From a development perspective, the most suitable city in Zhao to be the capital is Yecheng, which is close to the Central Plains, has the Zhang River, and has convenient transportation.
In comparison, the transportation capacity of water outside Handan is much smaller, otherwise Zhao State would not have specially arranged people to dredge it.
However, Yecheng is located on the border of Zhao State, and across the Huan River is Wei State. It is completely undefendable and cannot be used as a capital.
Unless Zhao will dominate the world in the future. But after unifying the world, there will be a better choice, and it is not Yecheng's turn either... After leaving Handan City, the carriage drove towards Handan College.
Along the way, you can see patches of millet or bean sprouts, and rice is planted in some places near the river.
There are farmers in the fields weeding and catching insects. They take this matter very seriously. These days, the whole family is tied to the land and there is no room for sloppiness.
Zhao Kuo did not go to the college immediately, but chose to get out of the car and talk to the farmers in the fields.
"Why is my husband farming here alone? Is there no labor at home?" Zhao Kuo raised his hand towards an old man not far away who looked to be in his fifties or sixties.
"My father, I have two sons, but the government wanted to recruit river workers, so I let them all go. Do you want to go to the academy?" When the old man saw Zhao Kuo coming over, he stopped and wiped the sweat from his face.
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"Yes, we heard about Handan College in Wei State, so we wanted to study at the college." Zhao Kuo said.
"Does the Zhao government recruit river workers and pay them?"
"Here, why not? I used to give five cents, but it increased to seven cents a while ago. I also take care of the meals at noon. I can have a lot of savings in a month. If it weren't for my husband, I am old and have to manage the fields. I would like to go Yes." When the old man heard that Zhao Kuo was a student, he also let down his guard and said with a smile.
"We in Wei also pay wages, but those corrupt officials embezzle every time. When the wages are paid, there is only one meal left at noon." Zhao Kuo said, pretending to be angry.
"I tell you, those corrupt officials should be killed. Look at our Zhao country, no one dares to embezzle wages. It's because at the beginning of the year, the great foreman Mo Feng chopped off thirteen heads outside Handan City and even It has been hanging on the city gate for a month, and I even went to see it and spit on it." The old man shook his head in the direction of Handan.
"That's what I said," Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"By the way, I heard that the State of Zhao has built academies in various places. Do any of my father-in-law's descendants study in the academies?"
"How can we be so lucky? Apart from the nobles, only the children of soldiers who have made meritorious service on the battlefield can enter the academy. My father-in-law wanted to send my two sons to join the army, but they were eliminated during the selection the year before last, so we can only wait. During wartime, the country only has the opportunity when it recruits soldiers on a large scale." The old man sighed.
"Don't I object to fighting?" Zhao Kuo asked.隚
"Of course it was excluded before, but it's different now. Land, money and food are all distributed in full, and children can still go to school. Even if they die in war, their families can receive pensions. Although we don't know whether it's true or not, we believe it. Your Majesty, he is different from those great kings before." The old man took off his shirt, exposed his chest, and pointed to a scar on his right chest and said,
"This scar was left from the Battle of Longmen more than 30 years ago. At that time, there were more than 10,000 Zhao soldiers, but only 2,000 came back alive. In the end, we still didn't get a penny of reward." Then the old man pointed again. The scar on the abdomen said,
"This piece of land was left over from the Battle of Changping a few years ago. I almost died in Changping, but it was worth it in exchange for the land at my feet."
"The noble man asked me why I don't reject the war. It's useless for us Guizhou leaders to reject it. When the country didn't give anything in the past, when the country was recruiting people, didn't we still have to go? Now we can at least get some land, money and food, even if we die Now, you don’t have to worry about your wife and children being bullied.”
"To tell you the truth, I don't think my life is worth much. In the past, when my whole family was starving, if someone said that they could help my family have enough to eat in the future, I would screw their heads on them without saying a word. "
"My life is still very valuable. Don't give it to others easily." Zhao Kuo turned around and walked towards the carriage.
"Boy, I won't disturb my father-in-law."
"Why does it feel familiar?" The old man looked at Zhao Kuo's back and scratched his head strangely.
"There are so many people who look alike in the world, so it's normal for them to look familiar. No matter what, let's just weed. The harvest this year will depend on this land." After entering the academy, Zhao Kuo did not go to the classroom, but Walk towards the big arena.
If you want to say where the most essential place of Handan College is, it must be the big arena, where you can see the most dazzling geniuses in the world... fighting together without grace... After the incident of the human trafficker case has passed, Handan College continues Returning to the conventional themes of the debate between heaven and man, the debate between human nature, the debate between justice and interests...
When Zhao Kuo walked to the big ring, the two students above were debating the debate about human nature. That is what is called whether nature is inherently good or nature is inherently evil.
However, Zhao Kuo did not dare to be interested in this, because the matter had been debated for more than two thousand years with no result.
"There are so few people? Doesn't it mean that the seats are packed?" Zhao Kuo asked with a frown. The large arena that could accommodate thousands of people watching at the same time had only a few dozen people, and the remaining seats were all empty.
In addition to being used for debates, the big arena of Handan College also has another function, which is to make money. In addition to students in the academy, anyone who wants to watch must buy a ticket.
In addition, officials also set up bets to buy whether either side would win or lose before the debate. Although he was ridiculed by some celebrities for being greedy for money, Zhao Kuo still carried out the plan.
On the one hand, he is really in it for the money. On the other hand, if he doesn't do it, others will do it. Instead of making a mess by then, it would be better for the government to step in and standardize and legalize it.
Zhao Guo initially made a lot of money from this. But...what's going on now? Don’t those people like hearing debates?
"Your Majesty, when celebrities such as Xunzi, Kong Chuan, and Gongsun Long came to the stage to debate, the seats were indeed packed. Many people would rather stand than listen. But Xunzi and others have not participated in debates for a long time, and the other people are far more famous. It’s not as good as them, so the number of people watching decreases.”
"In addition, the college organized a Cuju competition a few days ago, and everyone ran to watch Cuju." Zhan He said helplessly.
Compared with debate, Cuju is obviously more ornamental and more in line with the character of Zhao people. I used to have no choice when watching debates, but now I have a choice and naturally go to watch Cuju!
One thing I want to say is that China’s Cuju now ranks first in the world. Well, the top ten Cuju teams in the world are all in China.
