The Great Tang General

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed since the Roman Empire sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty.

The May issue of the Tang Monthly will feature an article titled “Agricultural Revolution” written by Li Xuan.

The agricultural revolution in a broad sense began thousands of years ago, or even earlier, such as the cultivation of corn and rice in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Our ancestors used slash-and-burn farming and selected seeds step by step, turning wild grasses into the food we rely on for survival today.

But these are unconscious changes.

Li Xuan wanted to carry out a reform with a clear goal.

In later generations, the British Isles, from a small, backward feudal country, completed the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution and became the empire on which the sun never sets in just three or four hundred years.

China has a long and splendid history, but it has been circulating in history.

The reason why China has not had an industrial revolution in history is very simple.

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce!

Industry and commerce became the most menial duties. Although there were a large number of inventions, they were always "trial and error" and "correction", without any system or scientific development.

Scientists in the British Isles will receive support and rewards from the country if they make inventions.

In most moments of human progress, it is interests that drive it.

You want the horse to run, but you don't want it to eat grass. You curb the power to move forward.

In addition, China's wealth is mostly concentrated in the hands of the powerful.

The idea of ​​a family-based monarchy has never been eliminated.

Merchants are nothing more than lambs to be slaughtered. Wealth is constantly redistributed with the change of dynasties, but it will never reach the hands of the lower classes.

Those who have brilliant ideas will gradually turn into dust without the support of wealth.

Another reason is that throughout the Chinese dynasties, too much emphasis has been placed on the Four Books and Five Classics and Confucianism, which focuses on literature and history.

Confucianism, which was so glorious during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, did not improve but instead regressed and became self-contained.

So much so that later generations would blame Confucius and Mencius for the decline of China.

The imperial examination system urged scholars to study hard, and some of them spent their entire lives studying classics and became nerds.

If physics and mathematics were included in the imperial examinations and more outstanding candidates were selected to pass, it would definitely encourage some scholars to change their careers and allow mathematical physics to develop further.

Li Xuan knew that it would be difficult for him to see the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in his lifetime, but he wanted to be a guide.

In this context, The Agricultural Revolution is particularly important.

The agriculture described by Li Xuan includes grain, fruits, vegetables, animal husbandry, forestry, fishery, as well as some sideline businesses extending from animal husbandry and forestry.

He took the regions into consideration and carefully planned what each county needed to do.

Including vegetable and fruit seeds brought from the Roman Empire, they must be planted carefully.

Before the publication of the Tang Monthly, Li Xuan mentioned the agricultural revolution to civil and military officials at a court meeting.

Reform agricultural tools, furniture, ironware, create daily necessities such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, and vigorously develop the textile industry.

Li Xuan planned agriculture from all aspects, such as wool from sheep, leather from cattle, sheep and minks, down from ducks, eggs from chickens and so on.

Reform pastoral supervision and ranches, and establish clear factories within the ranches.

Then downstream factories such as textile mills and leather factories were built not far away.

For example, in areas with abundant forest resources, furniture factories, woodworking factories, toy factories, paper mills, and woodblock printing factories can be established.

Whether it is planting vegetables or cultivating fruits, you must find guidance from experienced farmers with relevant knowledge, and bring them together to learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses and discuss experiences.

Clearly define the rewards and titles for inventors, and spread them throughout the world as quickly as possible.

In this way, we can truly achieve the goal of "every profession has its top talent".

While all this was going on, the Central Bank of the Tang Dynasty was also being established, with a chief executive who was a senior official of the fourth rank.

Li Xuan promoted Diwu Qi, who was good at financial management, as the first president.

The first step is to design branches in large cities such as Chang'an, Luoyang, Yizhou, Yangzhou, and Liangzhou.

Originally he wanted to use the name of a money house, but then he thought that money house was boring and it would be better to just call it a bank.

The Tang Dynasty is still using "Kaiyuan Tongbao" and will not carry out currency reform for the time being.

Kaiyuan Tongbao does not refer to the appearance during the Kaiyuan period, but it has been issued since the Li Yuan era and is the first currency of the Tang Dynasty.

The coin "Tongbao" first appeared in the Tang Dynasty.

When the Tang Dynasty was first established, it continued to use the Sui Dynasty's Wuzhu currency, which was light, small, mixed and very confusing.

Therefore, in the fourth year of Wude reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, in order to rectify the chaotic currency system, he issued an edict to abolish Sui coins, imitate the strict standards of the Western Han Dynasty Wuzhu, and create the famous "Kaiyuan Tongbao".

Kaiyuan Tongbao is a small flat coin, the smallest and most basic copper coin, which is commonly known as "one penny" among the people.

After Wu Zetian came to power, she created the second currency of the Tang Dynasty, Qianfeng Quanbao.

Qianfeng Quanbao is a kind of "ten valuable coins", that is, one Qianfeng Quanbao is equivalent to ten Kaiyuan Tongbao coins.

Wu Zetian's original idea of ​​minting Qianfeng Quanbao was to increase the circulation of currency to alleviate the "money shortage", that is, the contradiction of insufficient money in circulation.

But the people were not fools. When the Qianfeng Quanbao, which was said to be worth ten times as much, came out, people began to hide their Kaiyuan Tongbao coins. They believed that the Kaiyuan Tongbao, which had been used for so many years, was a good currency.

As a result, the only treasure left on the market was the Qianfengquan treasure, which was worth ten times the value. With the depreciation of big money, it was inevitable that prices would soar.

In addition, there were many people who privately minted Qianfeng Quanbao, so Qianfeng Quanbao was ordered to be shut down after only being minted for more than a year.

Kaiyuan Tongbao is still strong.

Therefore, it was impossible for Li Xuan to mint new copper coins. Although the phenomenon of bad money driving out good money has always existed in the market, it is generally controllable by using small flat coins.

Diwu Qi submitted petitions many times to mint large coins, but they were all rejected by Li Xuan.

No matter how big the coin is, it can't be twice as heavy as the Wuzhu coin.

Setting the face value to ten is equivalent to using copper that can only buy one kilogram to collect five kilograms of copper from the public. Isn't this bullying?

Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of people who are willing to take risks.

As long as large coins are minted, counterfeiting is inevitable.

In history, Diwu Qi took it for granted to establish the third currency of the Tang Dynasty, "Qianyuan Chongbao", which led to a surge in prices and the rise of counterfeiting thieves.

Li Xuan told Diwu Qi the business model and asked him to run the bank well first, as a bank would be established in every county in the future.

For the safety of the bank, it must be located near the county government office and guarded by county soldiers.

Li Xuan also told Diwu Qi some advanced "anti-counterfeiting technology" to prevent criminals from using fake passbooks to cheat him of money.

Establish a bank, deposit money at low interest. In order to make a profit, there must be small loans.

The main purpose was to promote economic prosperity. Merchants no longer needed to transport large amounts of money when traveling to distant places. They only needed to withdraw money from banks in various places.

The most important thing is that Li Xuan wants to establish the country's monetary credit system based on the central bank.

To facilitate future currency reforms.

As a time traveler, he understood the importance of the credit system.

He knew that with finance, corruption would also emerge.

Before the bank was established, Li Xuan was already prepared to take action against it and establish a more rigorous system.

In general, the agricultural revolution and banking system proposed by Li Xuan have far-reaching influence.

After two years of waiting, the imperial examination is approaching.

But if these candidates have not read the Tang Monthly, or do not have the ability to be innovative and flexible, they will definitely fail.

June st.

Yan Zhuang was well prepared and formed a huge Henan and Hebei dethronement office, with dozens of officials and hundreds of petty clerks.

Xue Cuo led two thousand Tiance Guards to protect Yanzhuang.

The Xingyang Military Governor's Office, the Luoyang Imperial Guards, the Beihai Military Governor's Office, part of the Hedong Military Governor's Office, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard must cooperate with Yan Zhuang.

In addition, he ordered the Fanyang Military Governorate and the Pinglu Military Governorate to send infantry south to station in Hebei.

Li Guangbi led the cavalry to fight against the Mohe and Shiwei, while the infantry remained in Fan Yang.

The vigorous movement to eliminate low status and promote virtue was officially launched.

Yan Zhuang also felt a lot of pressure.

He must do it well this time, only then will he have a chance to turn things around.

Fortunately, before setting off, Li Xuan summoned the accompanying officials to Ganlu Palace for a lecture, telling them to obey Yan Zhuang's orders, otherwise they would be severely punished.

Although he felt that Yan Zhuang had huge flaws in his character, he still recognized his abilities.

People like Yan Zhuang are most suitable to stand in the front.

On the day Yan Zhuang left, Li Xuan summoned all officials above the ninth rank in the capital to the Taiji Palace to hold a court meeting on the first day of the lunar month.

When the announcement was made that the lowly would be abolished and the virtuous would be promoted, all the civil and military officials were in an uproar.

Although the system of allocating land tax and evaluating performance had already been formulated, Li Xuan kept the policy of eliminating the lowly and promoting the good very secretive, and no one knew about it except the five prime ministers.

When Li Xuan announced the removal of lowly officials and the promotion of good people, five prime ministers successively supported Li Xuan's movement, claiming that it was a feat that would benefit the country and the people.

In this way, even if other ministers had doubts, they had to agree.

After the court meeting that day, Li Xuan announced it to the world.

"I am ruling the country, hoping for peace and prosperity for the people. However, there are now rampant people who collude with corruption and hoard goods, causing food prices to soar and people's lives to be difficult. There are also powerful families who seize land by trickery, conceal household registration, and take human lives lightly. Such evil deeds are the source of the country's chaos.

I hereby issue an imperial decree, ordering the governors' offices and soldiers of all counties and prefectures to launch a campaign to eliminate the lowly and promote the good. Investigate those powerful families that have annexed land and raised serfs, and punish them severely if found guilty. Confiscate their illegally acquired land, assets, and grain, and distribute them to the people at a fair price or in the form of relief, so that the land can be returned to the people and the people can be relieved. Officials at all levels must abide by the law and must not be partial to or cover up for personal gain. If anyone violates this, I will punish him severely and will not tolerate it..."

After the imperial edict appeared, it was printed overnight using movable type printing and distributed to counties.

As the emperor, Li Xuan was the first to express his opinion.

He closed Daming Palace, Huaqing Palace, and the palaces in Xianyang, Xinfeng, and Huayin. He ordered the closure of Shangyang Palace and Cuiwei Palace in Luoyang, but kept Ziwei City. In name, Luoyang and Chang'an were both capitals, so there had to be a central government.

The palace is closed for maintenance at regular intervals to prevent rapid decay.

Among them, the magnificent Daming Palace was renovated and the main palace area was blocked off as the site for the Central Military Academy.

More than 5,000 palace maids, women from the imperial music troupe, and disciples from the opera troupe were released.

If they have a hometown, give them money and let them return to their hometown.

If not, or if they don't want to go back, let them choose to marry unmarried soldiers in the army.

Palace maids have longed for love since ancient times and could not bear the loneliness in the deep palace. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, the emperor improvised and allowed the palace maids to leave the palace to watch the lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival, but more than 3,000 palace maids ran away.

At this moment, the palace maid was in the deep palace, and her thoughts were even more serious.

By doing this, Li Xuan also helped the palace maids fulfill their wishes.

Anyone who wants to leave will be released, and only those who volunteer will be left.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

In addition, more than 6,000 eunuchs were cut from the palaces, given land, and allowed to live outside the city of Chang'an.

Although the assets and land of these eunuchs were confiscated, it does not mean that they were not rich.

Li Xuan allowed eunuchs to select abandoned babies from the Salesian Hall for adoption.

Relieve the pressure on the Salesian Church.

Some elderly palace servants were arranged to live in the Salesian Church.

Out of true emotion, Li Xuan ordered them to guard the emperor's tomb.

Although a large number of palace maids were still eunuchs, Li Xuan's move shocked the court and the public.

Since ancient times, kings have built palaces to highlight their majesty.

For example, even if Li Xuan built another imperial palace in Daozhengfang, a building comparable to the Wanxiang Palace, the civil and military officials would not say anything.

But Li Xuan did the opposite and closed the doors of many palaces.

Especially the Daming Palace.

What kind of Central Military Academy is this? What abilities do those warriors have?

Even if the main hall for court meetings was blocked, it would damage the royal dignity.

Some ministers tried to persuade Li Xuan to do so, but Li Xuan asked in return: "Can the power of the king ensure that the people have enough food and clothing?"

The Central Military Academy must be a huge complex of buildings, with the purpose of accommodating tens of thousands of students.

Daming Palace has an excellent geographical location. If you want to train, it is very close to Longshouyuan.

Whether it was releasing palace maids or cutting down on eunuchs, it would reduce the court's financial expenditure and increase the country's labor force and grain production.

When this statement reached Chang'an, everyone praised it.

The people call for the elimination of low status and the promotion of virtue!

Even Li Xuan's die-hard and fanatical literati called for the abolition of the slave system.

Sometimes, it is the trend of the times.

One step is completed. Although the next step has not yet been taken, the road ahead is already clear.

Just one day later, the edict was issued.

Zhang Xun, the prefect of Jingzhao, summoned capable generals to remove the lowly and make them good.

On this occasion, Li Xuan once again appointed Yan Zhuang as the ambassador of Shannan West Road, East Road, Jiangnan Road, West Road, Lingnan Road, Jiangnan Road, Huainan Road, and Qianzhong Road.

But in name only.

In fact, it was led by Zhang Hao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who led a group of capable generals south to Wuguan, entered Shannan West Road, and then spread to the entire south, eliminating the lowly and promoting the good.

Among them were Liu Tiao, Vice Minister of Revenue, Wang Changling, Vice Minister of Works, Wang Yu, Vice Minister of Punishments, Zhang Xing, Vice Minister of War, Yang Yan, Secretary of the Secretariat, Li Mian, Censor of the Supervisory Bureau, Wang Zhen, Vice Censor of the Palace, Jing Kuo, Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, and so on.

There were thirteen departments in total, including the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, the Supreme Court, the Audit Office, the Secretary General, the Ministry of Finance, the Censorate, and the Henan Prefecture.

In addition, Pei Zhou, deputy director of the Luanfeng Division of the Jinyiwei, provided the news.

A total of 135 imperial officials and more than 300 non-official officials and minor clerks were brought with them.

They were escorted by 3,000 Tiancewei cavalrymen led by General Luo Xing of the Right Winged Guards.

The main work was still carried out by the county officials, but at the same time, the information fed back by the Jinyiwei was investigated one by one.

The county governor and the county magistrate, if they disobey the order, will be arrested immediately.

The rebels will be executed first and reported later!
All military governorates should be prepared and ready to quell the rebellion and gain military merit at any time!

Hedong was defended by a part of the Hedong Army and the infantry left by the Taiyuan Army. Li Xuan sent Chang Gun, the confidential secretary and censor, to supervise the removal of good people and demote them to lowly status under the escort of the Tiance Guard.

In Jiannan, Li Xuan sent the ruthless man Tian Chengsi to be the Jiannan Road Demotion Envoy to cooperate with Du Fu and Lai Zhen to monitor the Jiannan area.

Although Hexi and Longyou were his territories, he still sent two censors to supervise the county governors and hoped that the powerful families would be sensible.

From Lingwu to Jiuyuan, Li Xuan asked the governor of Shuofang, Wang Rakan, to send troops.

Border areas are one of the regions where powerful people are most likely to emerge.

Shuofang, from Taiyuan area, has been the territory of the northern Dai gentry since the early Tang Dynasty.

The Daibei gentry were basically all Xianbei nobles who were sinicized, and now all of them consider themselves Han people.

Although the Daibei gentry are now in a slump, if they are unsuccessful in officialdom, they will definitely find a way out from other directions.

……

In Chang'an City, near the imperial examination hall, the streets were covered with hemp clothes like snow.

In the first month of this year, the imperial court announced the imperial examinations, with ten more subjects than usual, including the arrest subject, the mathematics subject, the history and classics subject, the Spring and Autumn Period subject, and the astronomy and geography subject, all of which were newly added this year.

But for some subjects, there are very few scholars who sign up, and they are all taking a wait-and-see attitude.

I studied hard just to become an official.

They feel that even if they pass some subjects, they still cannot become officials.

However, some scholars who were well-versed in various fields felt that they were not talented enough and were prepared to try the newly established subjects.

Mingyue Tavern.

Many scholars were gathering here to drink tea and chat, discussing the important event that had just been announced by the court.

"If we eliminate the lowly and make them good, we will only fear unrest in the world."

A scholar said gloomily.

Many scholars came from aristocratic families, and they were worried that their families would be affected by the elimination of the lowly and the virtuous.

Once a trend is formed, it is difficult to correct it.

The movement to eliminate the lowly and promote the good was launched by Li Xuan, who directly regarded the powerful and wealthy families as enemies.

The serfs were released, the land was checked, and they were tried.

This is simply fatal, after all, many powerful families exploit the common people and hold human lives in their hands.

Once the wall falls and everyone pushes it down, the powerful will die without a burial place due to their power.

After all, the powerful families are unpopular, scattered all over the world, and have no military preparations.

Even if they gathered thousands of serfs and tenants, they would certainly be fooled by a hundred cavalrymen. They would not even be able to defeat a hundred well-armored infantrymen.

There is no fort for them to defend now.

Those powerful families who had nothing to hide or had committed crimes without leaving any evidence, gritted their teeth and spent money to avoid disaster.

But for those powerful and evil families who were regarded as the worst by the common people, the only option left was rebellion.

"To eliminate the lowly and to make them good is a great achievement that will be remembered for thousands of years. There is no idle land in the world, but farmers are still starving to death. If we want to restore the prosperity of the world, we must eliminate the lowly and make them good!"

A scholar in simple clothes spoke up.

A person's identity determines his position.

Intellectuals from poor families naturally supported the elimination of inferiority and the promotion of virtue, and the elimination of annexation.

Otherwise, the land of the world will be devoured by these jackals, tigers and leopards sooner or later.

Li Xuan's determination to drive away evil spirits and monsters was supported by scholars from poor families and people with lofty ideals.

"Looking at what the notice says, the Supreme's announcement of eliminating lowly people and turning them into good people is definitely a move to strengthen the country and the people, but the local tyrants and powerful families will not submit obediently. The only worry is that something will go against one's wishes."

There were also relatively conservative literati who believed that eliminating the powerful should not be done too radically and that they could first emulate the household inspection and land expansion movement in the early Kaiyuan period.

The three parties each hold their own opinions and have their own reasons.

"The Supreme Lord cares about the world, and even closed the Huaqing Palace and Daming Palace, and dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs there. We have no achievements to add, so we should not worry about it."

A scholar holding the Tang Monthly in the Mingyue Tavern said this, interrupting the argument among the scholars.

"Yes, the Supreme has always advocated fairness and justice, so the imperial examination system of copying and recording and the system of covering names were born. Everyone knows that land annexation is serious. If it is not stopped, an irreversible situation will inevitably occur."

Another scholar said.

Now that the imperial decree has been issued, it is impossible to reverse the situation. Scholars like them should prepare for the imperial examinations instead of arguing about things that cannot be changed.

As early as the sixth year of Tianbao, literati knew that Li Xuan advocated justice and upheld benevolence.

At the same time, Li Xuan was very ruthless and never showed mercy to officials who had proven to be guilty.

It can be said that as long as no crime is committed, nothing will happen to Li Xuan, even if some old ministers curse him openly or secretly.

Once a crime is committed, Li Xuan will strike hard.

(End of this chapter)