Tibet.

Chapter 1326: Staying in office for one term

After March, the court began to operate in full swing. Apart from the biggest tax reform, there were no other changes in the court, and it operated completely according to the system of the Regent era.

However, Wei Jiansu formally requested to retire. He helped Li Ye ascend the throne and decided to retire after his success.

Wei Jiansu was already 65 years old, so it was not impossible for him to serve another term until he was 70 years old. However, according to the agreement between him and Li Dai, he would succeed Li Dai as the right prime minister. Once Li Ye ascended the throne, he would have to give the position of right prime minister to Li Mi, and he could continue to serve as assistant prime minister.

However, once you have seen the world, you will never be impressed by other things. Wei Jiansu no longer wants to be the prime minister, so he simply retires after achieving his goal so that he can enjoy his old age at home.

More importantly, he was rather conservative and was no longer accustomed to Li Ye's enterprising style. For example, Wei Jiansu firmly opposed the military action against Nanzhao. Although starting a war on two fronts at the same time was not a taboo, it was by no means a safe strategy.

Li Ye still ignored his opposition and forcibly sent troops, which made Wei Jiansu very frustrated.

In the morning, Li Ye was inspecting the growth of early rice in an experimental field outside the city with great interest. The experimental field was the experimental site of the Agricultural College. This was January. Shortly after Li Ye ascended the throne, he separated agriculture from engineering and established a separate Agricultural College, which was affiliated to the Sinong Temple. Then he divided engineering into two parts, establishing the Engineering College and the Military Equipment College. The Engineering College was affiliated to the Shaofu Temple, and the Military Equipment College was affiliated to the Military Equipment Supervision.

But this was only the first step in education reform. According to his ideas, he wanted to establish a three-level education system of county schools, state schools and imperial colleges. The county schools would last for nine years, studying Confucianism and the various schools of thought.

State schools began to differentiate into literature and mathematics, which included mathematics, astronomy and geography, agronomy, basic engineering, etc.

There were even more colleges in the Imperial College, including the College of Arts, College of Engineering, College of Agriculture, College of Military Affairs, College of Law, College of Shipbuilding and Navigation, etc. Li Ye planned to establish nine major colleges.

But this requires time to implement step by step. On the one hand, there is a shortage of teaching staff, and on the other hand, the whole society needs to gradually accept it.

But the Tang Dynasty was an open dynasty that embraced all. There was no problem in accepting Li Ye's educational reforms. The key was the shortage of teachers. Starting next year, Li Ye planned to start reforming county and state schools.

He planned to let his father Li Dai be in charge of this area. Although his father was the emperor emeritus, he was still a little young and wanted to do something. So it would be most appropriate for him to be in charge of education reform and set up an education committee that would be directly responsible to him.

The Agricultural College has 300 acres of rice experimental fields, all planted with Jiaozhou early rice. Today, Jiaozhou rice continues to be planted experimentally in various parts of the south, but Li Ye is considering giving it a try in Guanzhong. It is still a warm period in history, and it will not gradually enter the Little Ice Age until around 900 years ago, which is still more than 100 years away.

Guanzhong today is much warmer and more humid than it was in later generations. If the experiment of double-season rice is successful, Guanzhong's annual grain output can be increased by 30%.

This is of extraordinary significance to the growing population in Guanzhong.

The experimental fields are growing well and are lush and green. In the distance you can see an old farmer applying fertilizer.

"Yang Yuanzheng, do you think early rice can be grown?"

The Dean of the Agricultural College is called Yang Miao. He was formerly the Secretary of the Sinong Temple. He had been an official of the temple for thirty years and had rich experience in various crops. He could be considered an old hand.

He nodded and said, "Your Majesty, judging from the growth situation, it is going well. I think it can basically be planted. The key is to see the yield. If the yield is good, even if it is the same as winter wheat, I think it is worth promoting. At least it will be vacant in winter, allowing the soil to rest during the winter, which is very good for protecting the soil moisture. In addition, the amount of seeds used is 30% less than that of wheat, which is very important for farmers.

"But it uses a lot of water!" Li Ye reminded.

"That's right. If we really decide to promote double-season rice, water conservancy construction in Guanzhong will have to be strengthened. In addition, the comprehensive promotion of coal use will be very beneficial to protecting the forests in the upper reaches of the Weishui and Jingshui rivers. The flow of the Weishui and Jingshui rivers has increased significantly in the past two years, which is of obvious benefit to Guanzhong agriculture."

Li Ye nodded and smiled, "When it's time to harvest, let me know and I'll come and see it myself."

"The minister obeys the order!"

When he came back from an inspection outside the city, it was almost noon. The official Wei Gao said at the door, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Wei wants to see you!"

Li Ye looked at the time on the big clock in the distance from the window. It was almost noon, so he smiled and said to Wei Gao, "Please ask Prime Minister Wei to come in, and then go and inform the Danfeng Restaurant that I will go there at noon today, two people."

Wei Gao left in a hurry. Not long after, Wei Jiansu came in and put a report on the table.

"Your Majesty, this is the registration for this year's imperial examination. There are more than 100,000 people. It is an unprecedented event. The Tang Dynasty is completely unified."

The imperial examination will start on the 20th of this month, and there is still half a month left. A total of 120 people will be admitted to the three subjects of Mingjing, Jinshi and mathematics. In addition, after the announcement of the list, the entrance examinations of the three major universities of Taixue, Gongxue and Nongxue will follow. Those who pass the mathematics exam also have to go to Gongxue for further study, but their status is different. After four years of further study, they will be directly appointed as Gongshilang, an eighth-rank official. Normally, graduates of Gongxue will be assistant teachers in provincial schools. Assistant teachers are first-class officials. After teaching for five years and becoming a full-time professor, they will be ninth-rank officials.

Li Ye nodded and said, "We need to publicize the benefits of going to a higher education institution to everyone, and let everyone know that if you are admitted to a higher education institution, you can also become an official."

"Your Majesty, everyone knows it! This year, there are 30,000 people who registered for the higher education examination, competing for 1,500 places."

At this point, Wei Jiansu took out another letter of resignation, "Your Majesty, I beg to resign. I beg Your Majesty to approve it!"

Li Ye glanced at the resignation letter and said with a smile: "It's noon, let's go to Danfeng Restaurant for lunch!"

Danfeng Restaurant was built inside the imperial city. It was a restaurant specially built for officials. It was no different from restaurants outside. Its customers included not only officials, but also imperial city guards and officials from the local imperial courts. Its business was good every day.

Moreover, he can provide some food and wine that are not available in other restaurants, such as authentic Kuquan lamb, authentic Songjiang perch and Suzhou sugar crab, as well as authentic Jiannan liquor and Zhangye wine.

Danfeng Restaurant covers an area of ​​ten acres and consists of three floors and four courtyards, but it also has a strict hierarchy. There are no restrictions on Chunyu Tower and Xiafeng Tower, and officials, guards and ordinary diners can go there, but Qiuyue Tower only receives officials above the fifth rank, and Pinxue Courtyard only receives officials above the third rank.

But there are workarounds. For example, if officials of the third rank or above invite guests, officials of the fifth rank or above can also enter the fourth courtyard of Pinxue as guests.

By the same token, if a fifth-rank official is hosting a dinner party at Qiuyue Tower, officials above the seventh rank can also go in.

Officials of the eighth and ninth ranks do not have sufficient qualifications and cannot enter Qiuyue Tower.

Therefore, many low-level officials worked hard secretly, striving to have the opportunity to dine in Qiuyue Building as soon as possible.

As the emperor, Li Ye had a special courtyard called Wanxue, where only he and his family would have meals. However, if the emperor invited guests, other ministers could also enter.

For example, Wei Jiansu, it was his first time entering Wanxue Courtyard, so it went without saying that security was extremely tight. Thirty female guards had already set up a tight net, and not even a fly could get in.

The five maids are all palace maids, not servants outside or ordinary maids. Although they are used exclusively by the emperor, the various facilities and decorations are not expensive, but very elegant.

But when the dishes were served, Wei Jiansu started to smile. They were still the same as before and had not changed after becoming the emperor.

Lamb Hu Bing, spicy soup and roasted lamb have strong flavors.

Wei Jiansu didn't have such a good appetite. He ordered a bowl of five-grain porridge, a few side dishes, and a pot of wine.

He smiled and said, "I'm old now, so I can only eat light food, otherwise my stomach will feel uncomfortable at night!"

Li Ye nodded, "Sometimes I want to change my taste, but after changing it over and over again, I still like the old three. There's nothing I can do!"

Wei Jiansu hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, have you considered Pei Zunqing as the right prime minister?"

Li Ye said frankly: "He is mature but lacks insight. He is still a little bit short of the ability to control the overall situation."

Wei Jiansu secretly admired him. The emperor was indeed very good at judging people. Pei Zunqing was good at details but weak at the overall situation.

Just as he was about to speak, Li Ye said sincerely, "I still hope that Prime Minister Wei can stay for another term. Li Mi is still a little lacking in qualifications and experience. I want him to serve as a local inspector for one term, and a few years of training will be enough."

Wei Jiansu sighed and said, "Your Majesty is determined to make progress. I am too conservative and cannot keep up with your speed!"

Li Ye said calmly: "When a wild horse is running wildly on the street, what it needs most is not a racer or cheerleaders, but someone who can pull the reins at the critical moment, and the prime minister is the one who can pull the reins. I once again request that Prime Minister Wei stay in office for another term!"

Wei Jiansu knew Li Ye very well. He didn't like hypocritical statements, so Wei Jiansu nodded and smiled, "To be honest, I feel that I am still in good health. Since Your Majesty wants me to stay, I will respectfully obey your order!"

(End of this chapter)