To develop education, money is indispensable.
The Ministry of Revenue has spent too much money in recent years.
In order to reform education and revitalize the literary world, the late emperor specifically increased the Ministry of Revenue's expenditure on education by a large proportion.
But in this way, less money will be spent on other places.
As a result, not only the Ministry of Revenue itself was dissatisfied, but also some officials, especially military generals, were quite critical.
Not long after, the Duke of Jing, Zheng Xiong, also took a step forward and said, "I think Master Ji is right. Money from the Ministry of Revenue cannot be spent on those literati."
"I've spent a lot of money over the years, but the literary world I've been working in is still a stagnant water? It proves that it's useless!"
"Your Majesty, why not use the tax money to make weapons and train soldiers and generals? In the end, being a scholar is not important. Force is the most important thing!"
"That's right! Spending money at the border is the top priority! When the Liang State envoy, the Northern Wei envoy, and the Qi State envoy enter Beijing, who can guarantee that they will not do anything at the border?"
At this time, it was Ming Guo Gong Wei Xiao who spoke. Although he was old, he looked quite energetic and spoke with more momentum.
"Master Prime Minister, Master Lin, Master Lou, you all advocated the late emperor's reform method, but it seems that the results are not enough at present."
"If this continues, the war will be tight and the border will be anxious. Which of you can shoulder this responsibility?"
"Ming Guo Gong, what you said is wrong. I have always spent a lot of money on border customs! Last month alone, I allocated 400,000 taels!"
Lin Bingzheng frowned slightly, his eyes cold.
"Such expenses are higher than in previous dynasties, so why do we say the border is tight?"
His reply was reasonable and he even added another sentence.
"If you think what I said is wrong, you can check the accounts with the account department and see if you spend that much money every month!"
"Master Lin, is it wrong to spend too much money at the border?"
"I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's a mistake to waste education and reduce expenses!"
"Hmph! You are so messy!"
Duke Mingguo snorted coldly.
Neither of them was convinced by the other, so they continued to debate.
The entire court was also in a state of chaos at this time.
Seeing this, Emperor Qian coughed lightly and knew that he had to speak.
"Okay, okay, we've been arguing here so early in the morning. It's been so quarrelsome that my ears are getting calluses."
"What you all said makes sense. The Ministry of Revenue's money must be spent reasonably, and we must take into consideration the education of civilized people, border expenses, and disaster relief."
"But as the prime minister and others from the Hanlin Academy said just now, this literary struggle cannot be cancelled, and I, Da Gan, cannot be the first to show weakness!"
"If I cancel it, it will be a loss of face. People in the world will think that I am afraid of Liang Guo!"
"This matter does not need to be discussed further. By the way, I asked you to write some poems before the literary battle. Have you already finished it?"
Emperor Qian glanced around, and his vague smile did not diminish because of the previous argument.
Hearing this, some people were immediately happy and some were sad.
For some civil servants, writing poetry is naturally not difficult for them.
Although what he wrote is like a firefly or a bright moon compared with the great talents and scholars of Liang Kingdom.
But the level of self-confidence within the country should be quite high.
As for those generals, they had sad faces, and they all held their heads and felt a headache.
"Gao Heng, bring up all their things and let me take a look."
Emperor Qian spoke casually.
The old eunuch Gao Heng nodded, walked down slowly, and then piled those people's memorials together.
However, when he stood in front of the prince and asked for it, the prince Zhou Yuan groaned and did not give it to him.
Afterwards, Zhou Yuan took the initiative to move forward and said confidently: "Father, my son has completed the poem according to Father's request. Please take a look at it!"
He raised his hand gently, his expression extremely confident.
The meaning was already obvious. He wanted Emperor Qian to read him first.
After all, there were so many courtiers here, so it was a perfect opportunity to shine.
If you can prove your level of talent and learning, you can also establish your authority among the government and the public.
However, Chen Yannian's face behind him was extremely dark. After all, he knew very well that this poem was written by himself and had nothing to do with the prince.
The prince was so high-profile, Chen Yannian always felt weak.
As for the other princes around Zhou Yuan, their expressions were all strange, but they didn't say much.
After hearing this, Emperor Qian's face became slightly confused.
"Oh, it's really weird. Usually when I ask you to write a poem, you can't hold back a sentence for a long time, but you are so proactive today?"
"Reporting to my father, I have spent a lot of energy this time. As the saying goes, if you don't complain, it will be a blockbuster! Since you want to write, you must write the best!"
"I couldn't write it before because I was not very satisfied with every sentence I thought of, so I never showed my talent."
Zhou Yuan is quite good at editing, and the chapters are right.
When Emperor Qian saw this, he felt even more strange.
"Okay, okay, if that's the case, let's take a look at the poem you wrote first."
"Gao Heng, submit it, I'll take a look now!"
"According to the order!"
Gao Heng quickly put the prince's memorial first and then put it on the table.
Emperor Qian raised his hand, picked up the prince's memorial, opened it slowly, and scanned it quickly.
In this way, half a stick of incense passed.
Everyone in the entire Zhengyang Hall was quiet, very quiet.
Apart from the sound of breathing, nothing else seemed to be heard.
Prince Zhou Yuan's smile was still confident, and he was waiting for his father's praise.
However, after a long while, Emperor Qian slowly closed the memorial, his expression seemingly unchanged.
"The writing is pretty good. It's not embarrassing at your level. It seems that letting Chen Yannian teach you is of some use."
As soon as these words came out, Chen Yannian was the first to change his expression.
As for Zhou Yuan himself, he was stunned on the spot, a little caught off guard.
"Ah...this...Father, is this son's poem just...just make-believe?"
He couldn't accept it.
This was written by Chen Yannian after he went back and held it back all night. Chen Yannian is a junior master, so there is no need to say much about his level.
I thought that after taking it out, it would definitely make my father smile.
As a result, now, my father's words can only be said in two words: "make do".
This was completely different from Zhou Yuan's original expectation. He was still waiting for praise!
At this time, several princes next to them lowered their heads unnoticeably, and some even couldn't hold back and laughed softly.
That's it? I thought Zhou Yuan was so high-profile, how capable he was!
It seems to be just fine!
Emperor Qian's evaluation is still the same and has not changed at all.
"It's indeed just okay. As I said, it's pretty good for you, but I still have a lot to improve."
"But you dare to let me review it first, which is considered courageous. Okay, let me see who's next."
