Datang: Acting as a celestial mystery at the beginning

"Do you still remember, Mr. Lang, I once said, the specific method of the rich country?"

In the previous assassin incident, Li Yi'an mentioned it to Du Ruhui in order to highlight his own advantages.

"Official salt and iron, the main industry, is run by the imperial court, cracking down on land mergers, changing tax laws, and rectifying taxes."

Of course Li Shimin still remembers: "My husband didn't tell us how to do it at that time."

"That's right, I won't talk about how corrupt the current salt and iron system is."

Li Yi'an picked up the freshly printed "Legend of the White Snake" and said: "Let's start with the main industries. The reason why the Five Surnames and Seven Wangs are so strong is that they have mastered too many resources of the Tang Dynasty. Simply put, they are monopoly , and this monopoly also includes books, or scholars, right?"

"Monopoly is a good use of the word! That's why the master suggested that Datang need to restore the imperial examination system of the Sui Dynasty." Li Shimin said.

In fact, he still had some resistance to the imperial examination, because it was something that Yang Guangguang vigorously promoted.

Part of the reason for the demise of the Sui Dynasty lies in this.

"The imperial examination system, where poor families select scholars, is to break the status quo of their monopoly on scholars."

Li Yi'an said: "The abilities of poor scholars are not inferior to those of aristocratic families. What they lack is an opportunity. Ma Zhou is the best example. Therefore, if they want to get ahead through studying, they have to rely on the aristocratic family. The poor family recommended by the aristocratic family Son, in the end, of course, I didn’t serve the family, not Datang, and it wasn’t for Lang Jun.”

Li Shimin nodded in agreement, as a monarch, he felt the deepest.

Because of this, whenever something important happened, Li Shimin would automatically ignore the officials recommended by those aristocratic families, and go to discuss with Du Ruhui and other close officials who had been with him through life and death.

The fundamental reason is that he doesn't trust the family.

"If a book of Analects is sold by us for less than [-] yuan, how would you feel?" Li Yi'an asked him another very shocking question.

"It's less than twenty dollars, how can it be so cheap?"

Li Shimin exclaimed, paper is very expensive, and a book made of paper can be sold for hundreds of dollars at a low price.

If it is the bamboo slips, the books will be more expensive, and the books for less than [-] yuan a book are almost the price of cabbage.

He had never seen such cheap books.

"A newspaper, such a large piece of paper, costs us less than a penny, but that's just the cost of producing a piece of paper."

Li Yi'an said slowly, "If mass production is done, the price will only be lower, and books will become less and less valuable."

"If the price of books is low, and scholars want to read books, they don't need to go to the aristocratic family, and then implement the imperial examination system, it will be possible to select scholars from poor families and anti-monopoly."

"In addition, we need to vigorously promote Guozijian, a government-run school."

Guozijian, also known as Taixue.

The concept of Taixue began in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and then the names of various dynasties were different. Yang Guang changed it to Guozijian, which was later used in the Tang Dynasty.

"Guozijian, the recruiters are not only the noble children, but also the humble scholars."

Li Yi'an thought for a while, then continued: "Chang'an is not the only place. It can be set up in large numbers in every state capital and every province. Different schools are set up according to different types. For example, if school-age children want to study, For the time being, we will call it an elementary school, but if you are a scholar with a certain amount of knowledge and want to increase your knowledge, you can call it a university, all of which are run by the government."

"In this way, the scholars who enter the court as officials in the future will no longer be the disciples of the five surnames and Qiwang, but the disciples of the court, that is, your disciple, Mr. Lang."

At the end, Li Shimin sat up straight.

Then, his eyes lit up, and his whole body was about to tremble with excitement.

Scholars all over the world are his disciples, so all the officials elected by the imperial examinations only serve him.

There is no doubt that the method proposed by Li Yi'an is super good. Selecting scholars from poor families, so that truly talented people will not be buried because they cannot be recommended, this is still a strategy for strengthening the country.

If it can be carried out, the future aristocratic families will not dare to be as arrogant as they are now.

Mister is really capable of governing the country. Even Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui couldn't come up with such a strategy. The most important thing is that Mister is young, and his knowledge and knowledge are unprecedented. Is this really true? God descends to earth?

However, the method is good, but Li Shimin said awkwardly: "Sir, what you said, the court also has difficulties, the most important thing is that there is no money!"

If it's just Chang'an's Guozijian, it's not a problem at all, and you can stick to it by gritting your teeth.

However, in all the state capitals of the Tang Dynasty, various government-run schools were opened, and the treasury was not directly emptied.

"In terms of money, we can actually go back to rich countries."

Li Yi'an smiled and said: "It has nothing to do with breaking the monopoly of the aristocratic family. For example, the books I mentioned just now, as the main industry, must be printed and distributed by the imperial court. Mr. Lang can set up a Chang'an Bookstore, and others need to print and distribute books." Publishing books is of course possible, but every time a book is sold, a certain tax must be paid to Chang’an Bookstore.”

"There is also salt and iron. As far as I know, the five surnames and Qiwang sell salt and have never paid taxes. This will cost the court a lot of money."

"In addition, there are the perfume I gave to the queen, and various minerals in the Tang Dynasty, etc., all of which can be set up in different departments and run by the imperial court. We call it official business, and the main business is nationalized. , Mainly based on national production and manufacturing, income minus expenditure, that is the national treasury. Others want to operate, get permission from the court, and then pay taxes, otherwise they will all be investigated.”

Rich country, it turned out to be that simple.

These methods sound very special, but if you think about it in depth, if they can be implemented, the national treasury can definitely be filled like never before.

However, the family monopoly is not so simple and can be anti-monopoly.

The most important thing is that the world is based on agriculture, and government-run business, Li Shimin thinks it will be a bit difficult.

However, it is worth a try.

Li Shimin thought of another point, and quickly asked: "Sir, can you sell the refined salt used to make salt-baked chicken?"

Li Yi'an nodded and said: "Of course, that's why I asked Mr. Lang to take down that piece of land. I also decided to start the government-run business from the top of the salt. But how to do it will have to be done after Mr. Lang rectifies the salt and iron industry. , I’ll talk to Mr. Lang in detail.”

Li Shimin thought for a while, and an idea came to the back of his mind. He asked, "Sir, I want to appoint you as the Chang'an Salt and Iron Envoy to help the imperial court rectify the salt and iron and collect salt taxes. I wonder if the master can agree."

If the husband agrees, it is tantamount to pulling the husband into his camp completely.

Chang'an Salt and Iron Envoy is only a small official position, but it can open the prelude to your husband's entry into the court as an official, and he can continue to be promoted based on various merits in the future.

Li Shimin can imagine that many years later, Li Yi'an will become a servant of the three provinces, and in the court hall, just like Du Ruhui and others, he will serve the country and the people.

"It's not impossible for me to be the salt and iron envoy."

Of course Li Yi'an understood what he was thinking, but he didn't refuse: "I have one condition, Mr. Lang, let Lao Wei go to Yushitai to help me first, otherwise it will be difficult."