Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 491: Surveying the Land! Opening the Imperial College! Taking Action against the Aristocratic Families!

After presenting the improved papermaking technology and movable type printing technology, Liu Xie continued to explain his reform ideas for universal education to Guo Jia and Jia Xu.

First of all, if you want ordinary people to read, you must teach them to read, which is a big problem.

Otherwise, ordinary people won’t even be able to read and write, so no matter how cheap the books are, they will be useless. Educational resources will be a big problem.

The reason why ordinary people have difficulty in reading is not only because books and paper are expensive, but also because there are no teachers.

"Regarding Ruhe's plan to help the people learn to read, I have come up with a special method. I call it the 'Quick Literacy Method'."

"First learn the phonetic symbols, then learn to read the characters through the phonetic symbols, and then further understand the meaning of the characters."

Liu Xie briefly explained the concept of pinyin to the two of them.

In order to make it easier for them to understand, I wrote down all the initials on paper and told them the meaning of the phonetic symbols.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu were both smart people. Liu Xie only explained it to them once, and they understood the usage and convenience of pinyin.

"Your Majesty, how on earth did you come up with this?"

Guo Jia couldn't help but express such emotion and looked at Liu Xie with a look of both admiration and complexity.

In his opinion, this pinyin literacy method is really wonderful. If this method can be implemented nationwide, literacy will no longer be difficult.

Because the pinyin literacy method simplifies characters into phonetic symbols, allowing people to memorize them quickly first and then slowly understand them.

This is much easier than memorizing a word directly.

It is no problem to memorize dozens or hundreds of words a day.

The emperor was able to come up with such a simple and easy way to learn to read. He is truly a genius among geniuses.

He would never be able to figure it out even if he was beaten to death.

Liu Xie coughed lightly, and said calmly, "I just happened to think of it, I just happened to think of it... It's all the wisdom of our ancestors."

He came from later generations and although he traveled through time to ancient times, to him these things were indeed the legacy of his ancestors.

Jia Xu smiled and said, "With this method, the problem of literacy difficulties has been solved, but I think the court still needs to open public schools in various places."

"Having the method alone won't work if there's no one to teach you."

If you want to study, teachers are very important, which is why teachers can be listed on the same level as "Heaven and Earth are close to the King".

A teacher is someone who teaches, teaches and resolves doubts.

Liu Xie said: "I will start preparing for this matter. As for the selection of teachers, I will specially select a group of poor students to be trained in the Imperial Academy, and then let them go to various schools to teach for three or five years."

"Those who excel in the examination can directly enter the government."

Liu Xie mentioned the idea of ​​the Imperial College to Guo Jia and others during their conversation just now. In fact, it is no different from that of the Hongdu School.

It also bypassed the existing recommendation system, with the emperor directly selecting talents to study there, and those with excellent academic performance could directly enter officialdom.

With the example of Hongdumen School established by Emperor Ling of Han, the establishment of the Imperial College would not attract too much attention. At most, people would think that the emperor wanted to emulate the previous emperor and select his own talents.

Of course, the learning content of the Imperial College needs to be revised.

Guo Jia nodded in agreement with the emperor's idea, but then hesitantly said, "But Your Majesty... this will be a huge expense."

Establishing the Imperial College, opening public schools and public libraries in various places, and compiling and printing books all require money.

And it’s a lot of money.

For the Han Dynasty, which had just experienced war and was unified, this amount of money was a considerable burden.

The key is that this investment will not yield returns or produce results in the short term; it is a long-term investment.

"I have already asked Xianyi to liquidate the major families. This should yield a considerable sum of money, so there is no need to worry about the initial investment."

"And I have no intention of implementing it nationwide. I will only conduct a pilot program in the capitals of each county, and then gradually popularize it in the future."

Liu Xie said.

Yuan Xi had already received his secret instructions to liquidate the families that had taken the wrong side in this unification.

Those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be copied should be copied.

Even those families that were pardoned, such as the major families in Jiangdong, had to pay a sum of money to save their lives.

The crime of treason cannot be let off so easily.

This is a good opportunity to extort money.

Of course, this couldn't be done openly, so he asked Yuan Xi to do it privately.

Yuan Xi had blackmailed the noble families in Yuzhou and Yanzhou before, so this kind of thing was easy for him to do.

It would only attract more hatred, but for Yuan Xi, whose entire family had been wiped out and he was the only bachelor left, it would not matter at all.

"So what do you plan to do next, Your Majesty?"

Jia Xu asked, with a worried look on his face: "This method is okay in the short term, but it won't last long."

Confiscating the property of rebellious families and blackmailing the major families are all one-time transactions. You can't just keep pulling the shepherd's purse strings.

"So this involves another reform I intend to carry out, which is tax law reform."

Liu Xie said calmly: "In the final analysis, the treasury is empty. The reason for the treasury being empty is insufficient taxes."

"But the people are suffering, and raising their taxes is definitely not an option, so I want to start with the major aristocratic families and powerful and prestigious families in various places."

"I intend to survey the land and conduct a census across the country."

When Liu Xie said this, Guo Jia and Jia Xu's faces changed.

Survey the land! Take a census!
This is no small matter!

The Han Dynasty adopted the mausoleum town system. The so-called mausoleum town system meant that when the land owned by local landlords reached a certain amount, they would be forced by the court to buy and sell the land and then move their families to the mausoleum town.

This system was designed to prevent the problem of land annexation, but it was also this system that led to the emergence of aristocratic families.

Although the mausoleum town system forced the sale of land, it did not specify to whom it could be sold, so it was generally purchased by people of the same clan.

Over time, large clans gradually began to emerge and after several generations evolved into aristocratic families.

Later, in order to maintain their influence in the local area, these families began to conceal the land and population they owned.

In this way, more and more land and population were hidden.

The aristocratic families became increasingly powerful, while the country became increasingly poorer.

To put it simply, the country originally wanted to collect taxes from 10,000 acres of land and 10,000 people, but these wealthy families openly said that they only had 2,000 acres of land and 2,000 people, but in fact they owned 5,000 acres of land and 5,000 people.

But the total amount of taxes to be collected in various places remained unchanged, so these taxes fell on the remaining 5,000 acres of land and 5,000 people.

Although Emperor Wu issued an edict during his reign to strictly investigate families that dared to conceal information and offered rewards for reporting, the effect was minimal.

Later, as the aristocratic families became more and more powerful, no one reported it, and concealing land and population became commonplace.

As long as one is powerful, there is no one who does not do this.

And now Liu Xie actually plans to survey the land and conduct a population census. Isn't this equivalent to taking direct action against the major families?

Guo Jia couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, isn't it too fast to do this? I'm worried that..."

"What are you worried about? Are you worried that they will rebel?"

Liu Xie interrupted Guo Jia, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, "I have just unified the Han Dynasty, and it is the time when the army is strong. If we don't do it now, we will be even more unable to do it in the future." "Rebellion? Let's see if they have the courage!"

"Besides, measuring the land is nothing. It's just an appetizer. What I really want to do is still to come."

Liu Xie's words were full of arrogance.

He certainly knew that surveying land and conducting a population census would directly affect the interests of the gentry class, but he had to do it.

His current status is similar to that of the founding emperor. His power is at its peak, and the entire army is under his control.

If we don't take action now, then after seven or eight years, or even ten years, it will be too late to take action.

His action was to tell all the major families clearly that I am short of money, the Han Dynasty is short of money, and they should all give up the money.

Do you want to be decent yourself, or do you want me to help you be decent?
Moreover, he had another purpose in surveying the land, which was to prepare for the implementation of the "One Whip System" and the distribution of land tax in the future.

Measuring the land is indeed just an appetizer.

These reforms can only be carried out if we find out how much land and population there are in the country.

"Wenhe."

Liu Xie turned his attention to Jia Xu.

Jia Xu was shocked, and he stood up and said respectfully: "I am here!"

Liu Xie said, "I don't trust anyone else to do this, so it's only appropriate to hand it over to you. The matters of measuring the land and taking the census of the population will be the responsibility of the Embroidered Uniform Envoy."

"I don't care what means you use, I only want the result, do you understand?"

The Embroidered Clothes Envoy is the sharpest knife in his hand.

Today, the Embroidered Uniform Envoy has grown to a scale that is no less than that during the reign of Emperor Wu, and may even exceed it, and is perfectly suited for this task.

The Embroidered Uniform Envoy went to survey the land, representing the will of the emperor. Whoever dared to make any tricks would be attacked by the army next time.

To meet the embroidered robe envoy, or to meet Lu Bu and Zhao Yun.

You choose one of the two.

I have to say, this is the best thing about the founding emperor.

With military power in hand, you can impose sanctions on all parties!
Jia Xu immediately accepted the order and said, "I obey your order!"

Liu Xie then said to Guo Jia: "Feng Xiao, the selection of talents to enter the Imperial College is now handed over to you. Is there any problem?"

"I will definitely do my best!"

Guo Jia stood up and accepted the order, feeling very excited. This appointment by the emperor was exactly what he wanted!

"it is good."

Liu Xie nodded with satisfaction, stood up and patted them both on the shoulders.

"This is the beginning of my great Han reform. The road to reform is long and arduous. Please do not let me down."

"If you have any difficulties, you can directly raise them with me. If I can solve them, I will naturally find a way to solve them for you."

"In short, I want to see results."

Guo Jia and Jia Xu both agreed.

Liu Xie finally relaxed and said with a smile, "I still have to accompany the princess, so I won't keep you here any longer. You can leave now."

After saying that, he left the greenhouse.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu also left one after another.

As they walked out of the palace, the two were still talking about what the emperor had just said to them.

"Your Majesty is truly diligent. Even now that you have unified the country, you have not slacked off and immediately began to work on reforms."

"We, the officials, really can't rest for a moment."

Guo Jia smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Jia Xu glanced at him and snorted, "If your majesty really starts to slack off, you will definitely be the first one to be anxious."

"And I don't know what you are busy with. Isn't it just recruiting people to enter the Imperial College? Is it more important than what His Majesty has given me?"

"Survey the land, conduct a population census... I'll have to sleep with one eye open from now on."

What he was about to do would inevitably offend the entire aristocratic class.

He is under the greatest pressure.

Although the emperor gave him the power to execute first and report later, this power was also a hot potato.

Not everything can be solved by killing people.

Guo Jia rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily, "Do you think it's easy to open the Imperial College? You didn't mention how many people opposed the late emperor when he founded the Hongdu School and how much resistance he encountered."

What he has to do is not much easier than what Jia Xu has to do. As long as it touches the interests of the aristocratic class, it will not be easy.

The only difference between him and Jia Xu is that Jia Xu directly cut the meat from the aristocratic families, while he simmered it over low heat.

"To borrow His Majesty's words, we have to do it no matter how difficult it is. Besides, who makes us His Majesty's lackeys?"

Jia Xu said self-deprecatingly.

There had been similar sayings in the court a long time ago. He, Guo Jia, Yuan Xi, and Lu Bu were known as the emperor's four great henchmen.

But he felt that this was not an insult. Wasn't it an honor to be the emperor's dog?

Hearing this, Guo Jia slowly restrained his expression and said seriously: "Whether they are running dogs or hawks, we just need to walk on the right path."

"My merits and demerits will be judged by future generations. I am not fighting for this life, but for eternal fame!"

Guo Jia believed that hundreds or thousands of years later, his name would shine brightly in history books, and people in later generations would point to his name and say: Look, this man is called Guo Jia, with the courtesy name Fengxiao, and he is the greatest minister of all time!

Now, those people who are hindering the advancement of the general trend will only turn into a handful of yellow earth, buried in the long river of history, and no one will care about them.

"That's good if you think so."

It was rare that Jia Xu did not speak sarcastically to Guo Jia, but spoke with a smile.

He doesn't care about his reputation before or after his death.

He didn't ask for much, just to die for his friend and repay the trust the emperor had given him.

Guo Jia suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, how is Cao Chong now? Have you killed him?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "How can it be so fast? If we kill him now, wouldn't it tell the world that Your Majesty can't tolerate him?"

"We have already sent someone to monitor him. We will let him die of illness without anyone noticing in about a year."

Cao Chong had to die, but his death could not be too obvious. The emperor's reputation had to be maintained.

Guo Jia breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. I wanted to remind you that although Cao Chong is the son of a guilty minister, he is still a child. If you kill him, there will be many hypocritical people who will say that Your Majesty is cruel and can't even tolerate a child."

Jia Xu curled his lips and said, "You don't need to remind me how to do this kind of thing."

The two chatted and left the palace.

(End of this chapter)