People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1831: Earn a living opportunity for the people of the world

After the rain in May, Songshan Mountain is quiet.

Countless soldiers in red and golden armor stood on both sides of the mountain road of Songshan, with long spears like a forest and flags fluttering.

In the Zhongyue Mountain Temple in Songshan, Li Xuan stood before the mountain god and bowed solemnly.

Zhang Sunyue, who was three months pregnant, knelt on the mat with the support of Dou Yuer and Yang Xiuyan, praying for the safety of the fetus in her belly.

Dou Yuer and Yang Xiuyan also knelt down and kowtowed gently.

Several other Yang women stood further back and bowed their heads slightly.

I left the palace today to worship at Mount Song, but Yang Meir was not there.

Li Xuan stood up, then bowed to Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan who were standing on the side, and then said, "Thank you, two senior brothers."

"Your Majesty is humble." Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan bowed in return, and then said, "Your Majesty, please."

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded, glanced at Chang Sun Yue, and said, "You guys go to the other courtyard. I have something to discuss with my two senior brothers."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chang Sun Yue, Dou Yuer and Yang Xiuyan bowed together and then carefully left the hall.

Li Xuan turned to look at Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan and said, "Two senior brothers, let's go to the backyard to talk."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan nodded and saluted.

……

Walking among the trees in the backyard, Li Xuan felt much more relaxed. He couldn't help but smile and said, "No wonder Emperor Gaozong often came to Songshan. Here, he can really let go of many worldly obstacles."

"Your Majesty is responsible for the entire world, so you can relax occasionally." Ye Fashan gently advised.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "Brother, you are right. So this time when I came to Songshan, in addition to praying for the fetus in Changsun's belly, I was also praying for the disaster victims in Hebei and the world. Although I tried my best to deal with the drought this year, it was ultimately insufficient. So I felt uneasy and prayed for the mercy of the gods."

The drought came as expected, but the only fortunate thing is that, perhaps because of last year's floods, there are not many places in the world that are truly suffering from severe droughts.

Only the Qi and Lu areas east of Hebei and Henan experienced relatively severe drought, while Luobian, Jingxiang, and Huainan experienced minor droughts.

As for Jiangnan and Guanzhong, the situation is much lighter.

"Your Majesty is merciful." Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan bowed at the same time.

"I have exempted Zhao County from taxes for one year because my beloved concubine Changsun is pregnant." Li Xuan took a deep breath and said, "Zhao County is a big county. If we exempt the taxes there, more food can be concentrated there. People from other places can also find a way to survive in Zhao County."

"Your Majesty is wise." Although Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan were born into Taoist sects, many of the Taoist scriptures at that time were related to the principles of governing a country, so it was not difficult for them to understand Li Xuan's words.

"The rest is to divert water and manage it." Li Xuan looked at Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan and said, "I originally planned to repair the roads in Shannan and Hebei at the same time this year, but the disaster situation in Shannan was unexpectedly light this year, so I transferred a large number of manpower to Hebei."

"The Taoist sect is willing to support Your Majesty in disaster relief." Sima Chengzhen bowed with a solemn expression.

The emperor talked for such a long time but never got to the point. Wasn't his purpose to ask the Taoists for food for disaster relief?
Don't worry, they understand this principle.

However, even though I understand it, it is not easy to make this decision, after all, it involves real money.

Hearing Sima Chengzhen say this, Li Xuan was slightly stunned, then smiled bitterly and said: "That's not what I meant, but since the Taoist sect is willing to support the people of the world, I can't refuse, right? When the time comes, Senior Brother, give me a list, and I will personally write a thank you letter and post it at the gate of each county."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Sima Chengzhen breathed a sigh of relief. With Li Xuan's words, he could give an explanation to the Taoist people.

"But Brother, I am not here for this reason." Li Xuan waved his hand, raised his head, looked at the sky above Songshan Mountain, and said softly: "I often think about the billions of people in the world. How can I govern them? Therefore, I must find a way for the people of the world, especially those poor people at the bottom."

Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan looked at each other. They were not sure what the emperor wanted to do.

Li Xuan took a deep breath and said, "The common people in a village are under the care of their parents from birth to the age of six or seven. It is not my turn to worry too much. But when they are seven or eight years old and start to think, I need to prepare them for school."

"So your majesty is opening schools in local villages and towns?" Sima Chengzhen looked at Li Xuan in surprise. "I want to print more books and open schools so that children from ordinary families can read more and have more options." Li Xuan sighed, then shook his head and said, "But if there are ten people in a county who can study and make it, that's already a lot."

Sima Chengzhen fell silent. Although a career in officialdom is rich and glorious, to be honest, among billions of ordinary people, only a handful can actually enter the officialdom.

"If you can't study, then you can only join the army and fight on the battlefield, in the East Island, the South Xinjiang, the West Region, and perhaps in the future there will be wars on the grasslands." Li Xuan turned to look at Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan and said, "However, this is only a path for young people. It will be difficult to struggle until you are thirty years old."

Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan were beginning to have trouble keeping up with Li Xuan's ideas.

Li Xuan raised his head and continued, "Then at this time, you can either give birth to children and raise the next generation, or try to enter the county government or township to work as a minor official." After a brief pause, Li Xuan said, "But if those who fail to study, are weak, can't farm, and can't go to the battlefield, do they deserve to die?"

Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan's expressions suddenly became serious.

Li Xuan smiled, took a deep breath, and said, "But there is always a way out. The Tang Dynasty still cares for filial sons, so I plan to let the localities recommend filial sons and let them serve as local models. Of course, they will not be given official positions or silver, but will only be exempted from taxes on 50 acres of land."

"Your Majesty is so kind." Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan bowed at the same time. They understood that if Li Xuan gave more rewards, who knows how many people would come out to grab them.

"But this is not enough." Li Xuan shook his head slightly, and then continued: "Some people are not interested in Confucian classics, but are interested in Taoist classics, so I plan to let Taoist sects all over the world recruit children from poor families, learn to read and write, and then participate in Taoist examinations."

"Dao Ju?" Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan frowned immediately.

"During the Shangyuan period, the Queen Mother ordered the people of the world to learn Laozi, and erected stone tablets throughout the world, and then included Laozi in the Mingjing test." Li Xuan paused for a moment, and then said: "So I plan to go a step further and have many classics such as Laozi, Zhuangzi, Liezi, and Wenzi listed separately as Taoist scriptures."

"May I ask your Majesty?" Ye Fashan stood up, bowed, and said, "Can Taoists participate, or can all scholars in the world participate?"

"Taoists, only Taoists." Li Xuan's expression became solemn, and then he said: "Those selected by the Taoists are naturally Taoist officials, Fanzhou, Changzhou, Western Regions, Andong, Silla, Annan, and of course, the better ones are in Jiangnan. I will build a large number of Taoist temples in two years, and the Taoist officials at that time will come from the Taoist selection."

After a short pause, Li Xuan shook his head and said, "The appointment of Taoist officials is a matter for the future, but I hope that those poor scholars and children who failed to learn Confucianism can become famous Taoists and live in a wealthy family even if they cannot become Taoist officials... If they cannot do this, they can become ordinary Taoists to get rid of the shackles of their destined fate."

Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan now completely understood that Li Xuan wanted to increase the upward channels for people from the bottom.

Yes, Li Xuan explained everything in detail from beginning to end, but the two of them did not figure out what Li Xuan was thinking.

"So, Your Majesty wants the Taoist sect to send people to the world to search for the seeds of Taoism?" Sima Chengzhen looked at Li Xuan seriously.

"Don't look for rich and powerful families. The Taoist sect is to save the world, not to engage in petty and despicable activities." Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "I will have people check the backgrounds of the Taoist scholars every year. If there are any concealments or frauds, I will treat them as deceiving the emperor and demolish the entire Taoist temple." Li Xuan put his hands behind his back and said softly, "If that doesn't work, I will look for the Buddhist sect."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I can supervise it personally." Ye Fashan bowed slightly.

"Okay, that's it." Li Xuan smiled with satisfaction, and then said, "I will let Zongzheng Temple and the two brothers follow up on this matter. By the way, I will go to Jingzhou in June, and maybe I will go to Wudang Mountain. Two brothers, who will go with me?"

"I'll go." Ye Fashan said, looking at Sima Chengzhen for a while, smiled and said, "Compared to my senior brother, my legs and feet are more agile."

"That's good." Li Xuan nodded and said, "Then let's do it this way. I'm going back to the palace... By the way, don't forget about the donation, my two brothers."

Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan were speechless.

……

After a while, Sima Chengzhen and Ye Fashan were the only ones left on the mountain.

Sima Chengzhen looked at Ye Fashan and asked, "Junior brother, what do you think His Majesty wants to do?"

“What else can we do? Use the common people to divide the poor families, and use the poor families to contain the noble families. This way, the imperial power will naturally be stabilized.” Ye Fashan saw things very clearly.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the world?" Sima Chengzhen looked worried.

"If it is implemented only within the Tang Dynasty, it will definitely be a bad thing, but the emperor wants to conquer Silla. If he can conquer Silla and use Silla as nourishment, it will be enough for the people of the world to live in peace for 60 years." Ye Fashan shook his head and said, "As for what will happen after 60 years, Junior Brother can't see through it."

"Not many people can see through it." Sima Chengzhen smiled, looked towards Luoyang, and said softly: "Anyone who can see through the past five years is already a person who understands the world."

"Let's first see what happens in Jingzhou and the Xu family in Anlu." Ye Fashan sighed softly.

(End of this chapter)