The Great Tang General

Li Xuan ordered the Ministry of Revenue to compile statistics on the achievements of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Before the campaign to eliminate lowly land and promote good land, there were 38 million mu of registered arable land in Jingzhao Prefecture.

Jingzhao Prefecture had a population of 550,000.

If we follow the previous equal-field system, each household will be granted 80 mu of mulberry fields and 20 mu of permanent fields, which would require 55 million mu.

Therefore, there must be a difference between nominal land grant and actual land grant.

Almost no people completed 100% of the land allocation.

In reality, it was impossible for Li Xuan to grant one hundred acres of land to each household as originally planned.

Moreover, the process of collecting and distributing land should be more strict.

Land can be granted, but must also be taken back.

Of these 38 million acres of farmland, tens of millions of acres are controlled by powerful families, princes, nobles, and officials.

After re-counting, the farmland in Guanzhong increased by another three million acres.

These fields are hidden and not registered at all.

The effect of eliminating low-quality land and turning it into good land is not just the addition of 3 million acres of land to the registered permanent residence.

More importantly, thousands of serfs were liberated in Jingzhao Prefecture, and there were more than 120,000 tenant households of all sizes.

It truly benefits the people in Jingzhao area.

Not to mention the "Henei Road" that has not yet been counted, which is the area including Guanzhong and Shuofang.

"Now that the clients have returned, the only ones left are the people who have fled to the deep mountains and forests. County magistrates in various places need to set up wooden signs among the mountains to guide them back home."

During a meeting in the Council of State, Li Xuan congratulated the prime ministers on the achievement of eliminating the lowly and promoting the virtuous.

Although only Jingzhao Prefecture was included in the statistics, prime ministers such as Li Xian and Liu Yan were all far-sighted people.

To get rid of the lowly and make them good, as long as the prime minister stands on the same side with him and the prime minister issues orders to the civil and military officials, everything can run smoothly.

Through statistics on the land in Guanzhong, Li Xuan realized that the rumor that the Tang Dynasty had more than 1.5 billion acres of arable land was completely false.

Even if the Tang Dynasty could eventually count 800 million mu of arable land, it would be enough to make the people rich and have the ability to deal with natural disasters.

As for military settlements, as of the first year of the Qianyuan period, there were a total of 1,468 military settlements of various sizes.

The military governorates in Jiangnan and other places will also establish military farms in the future, and military settlements will increase in the future.

However, a military settlement is about 20 to 50 hectares. One hectare is 100 mu.

All together they amount to only several million acres, far from the arable land of the common people.

"Your Majesty is indeed foresighted. I didn't expect that the powerful families hid so much farmland. After these lands are returned to the people, the people can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Yang Wan bowed to Li Xuan.

The powerful and wealthy owned tens of thousands of acres of land, spanning counties and prefectures, and were extremely arrogant.

If they are not allowed to return the arable land, the conflict will become more and more intense until it is out of control.

There were more than 100,000 households who rented land from powerful families and were exploited and oppressed in their lives.

Fortunately, Jingzhao Prefecture was located at the foot of the emperor, otherwise, who knows how many of these good people would have been forced to become serfs.

"Local officials have been bribed by powerful families, and the powerful families have fled and counterattacked. This is also a problem that we should pay attention to. Now Henan, Hebei, Jiangnan, Shannan and other places are in full swing to eliminate the lowly and make them good. Tell the deposed envoys and the governor's office in various places to have more soldiers and be ready to fight rebellion at any time."

"The first time we eliminate the lowly and make them good, we must do it with the force of thunder and lightning, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Even if we cannot completely eliminate it, we must completely suppress this trend, return the farmland to the people, and let them prosper."

Li Xuan reminded the prime minister who was present.

Recently, Jingzhao can promptly report the problems and experiences that have occurred here to Yan Zhuang, Zhang Hao and others.

Eliminating the inferior and promoting virtue does not mean “killing the rich”.

Because the Tang Dynasty court had already issued an order prohibiting the annexation of land.

A family may own thousands or even tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land.

This reason alone was enough for Li Xuan to execute them.

But Li Xuan took the overall situation into consideration and made a break for them. He pardoned the wealthy families who had not committed crimes such as rape and looting. He only gave them an average of 100 mu of land, but did not confiscate the wealthy families' property.

What was confiscated were the entire family assets of those powerful people.

"I will inform all places as soon as possible."

Li Xian accepted the order.

"Minister Lu, we must continue to improve the administration of officials. We must conduct strict assessments, and those county magistrates who accept bribes should be severely punished during this period. County soldiers who died at the hands of powerful people should also be rewarded with permanent farmland for their families."

Li Xuan handed over the aftermath to Lu Huan.

The Supreme Embroidered Uniform Guard will handle the pension matters separately.

Treat the fight against inferiority as a war, and regard every death in the war as a sacrifice for the country.

The Tang Monthly will look for some touching stories to comfort the soldiers and the people.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Lu Huan accepted the order.

"Pei Pushe, the assets sent from all over Guanzhong will be stored in the granary and the Zuozangku. The gold and silver will be remelted and stored in the gold and silver vaults according to the standard of 10-jin gold bars and 1-jin silver ingots."

Li Xuan reported the matter to Shangshu Zuo Pushe Pei Zunqing.

Since Li Xuan became the General of Tiance and the King of Qin, he began to store gold bars and silver ingots.

Whether it was tributes from Tubo, Huihe, and other foreign states, or the gold brought by Li Xuan from the Western Regions, or the gold and silver originally stored, they were all melted again.

It is melted according to the standards of ten jin, five jin, one jin, five liang and one liang, and stamped with official seals and dates.

In addition, the gold obtained from various gold mines is directly melted into gold bars for storage.

Those gold and silver jewelry and utensils would also be melted down if they had no artistic value.

There is a very bad thing in the Tang Dynasty, that is, gold and silver have always been the playthings of the nobles and are rarely circulated as currency.

In the Tang Dynasty, goods were mostly traded with silk money, and common people only used silk money.

Only sufficient gold and silver reserves can support the future monetary system.

The Tang Dynasty did not have much gold and silver, but it could use silk to exchange for gold and silver from the Hu people and foreign countries.

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty controlled the Khorasan region, where there were proven gold and silver mines, and the Tang Dynasty could also get a piece of the pie.

In the process of suppressing the powerful, it is certain that a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry will be obtained.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Pei Zunqing accepted the order.

"How much is a liter of rice in Chang'an now?"

Li Xuan asked Li Xian about the price of rice.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the price of rice in Chang'an remained high, and Li Xuan would inquire about it every few days.

"Replying to Your Excellency, the price of rice has dropped to 20 wen per liter. Although it is not as prosperous as the Kaiyuan period, it has returned to the early years of the Tianbao period. People are praising Your Excellency's wisdom."

Li Xian reported to Li Xuan.

Eliminating the lowly and promoting the good will certainly cause unrest, but the effect will be immediate.

The gentry and powerful families were bound to suffer another heavy blow in this turmoil, and the impact was no less than that of the Wu Zetian era.

Although Li Xian was from a noble family, he had a clear conscience.

Follow the footsteps of the Supreme, even if it means being torn to pieces, and have no regrets.

At this time, Li Xian had to admire the Supreme's way of employing people.

The chief and second-in-command officials of the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel.

Among the six ministries, there are Shangshu, Shilang and Langzhong.

The chief and second-in-command officials of the Nine Ministers and Five Supervisory Offices.

Censorate!
Almost all of them were Li Xuan's direct descendants, or had pledged their allegiance to him.

Perhaps they also have family and in-laws.

But in the era of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, losing land was nothing; the most important thing was to hold a high position.

They still have room for advancement.

After all, among the prime ministers, two are very old and may die at any time.

The five-prime minister system has been determined, and they will take turns to be in charge of government affairs. The prime minister will inevitably be reappointed at that time.

It was precisely because Li Xuan had a tight control over military power and the overall situation of the court that Jingzhao Prefecture was able to complete the process of eliminating low status and turning people into good people in such a short time.

"That's right. From now on, we will try to keep the price of grain between fifteen and twenty cents."

Li Xuan nodded.

Things are different now, food prices cannot be ridiculously low.

We must know that food is grown by the people, and every household sells food.

In Chang'an City, many merchants, literati families, dignitaries, etc. were buyers of grain.

Now that people have land, prices must be suppressed, but food prices cannot be suppressed too low.

A surge in food prices will only occur in cases of severe drought or flood when the people have no harvest.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Li Xian understood.

The Supreme has many wonderful ideas and has launched an agricultural revolution.

The civil and military officials all knew that the purpose of the Supreme Emperor's launching of the agricultural revolution was not only to increase the output of grain, mulberry, hemp, cotton, etc., but also to increase the output of vegetables and fruits and improve the quality of life of the people.

Promote animal husbandry and increase the breeding of chickens, ducks, geese, pigs and sheep.

Lift the ban on inedible carp and encourage fishermen who make a living from fishing.

Not to mention that people can eat meat every now and then, even if they eat meat twice a month, they can have a balanced nutrition.

The agricultural revolution is not just about this. It also promotes furniture reform, daily necessities reform, and the promotion of soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.

Improve textiles, cotton textiles, etc.

Advance brick and tile firing technology for better houses.

Promote the common use of glass products, etc.

The agricultural revolution was a great change, and even an old man like Pei Zunqing, who was over 70 years old, was excited.

I wish I could live to be ninety and witness the fruits of the agricultural revolution with my own eyes.

"Time flies by like a white horse. We can't just wait for the local people to get rid of the lowly and become good people. In a few days, the imperial examination will begin. In the future, more and more scholars will study hard to join the imperial examination. However, those who excel in learning will become officials, and most candidates will fail. Tens of thousands of scholars cannot study hard over and over again, and become bookworms who do not work in the fields."

"After the country prospers, only a small number of scholars will become officials. Most people learn to read and write just to enrich themselves and uphold etiquette. Excellent people do not necessarily have to become officials, but can use their knowledge to change the country and still stand out. The world is big, and there are many unknown places worth exploring. I hope that those scholars who have repeatedly failed in the examinations can be persuaded to return to their hometowns and become teachers in the local schools to educate future generations."

Li Xuan told his ideas to the prime ministers.

Times have changed.

We must change the idea that scholars study only to seek official positions.

If you excel in your studies, you will get a job; if not, change your career immediately.

He also knew that with the current level of education, many people were not cut out for study and at most could recognize a few words and understand some simple math.

Medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, literature, zoology, botany, etc., as long as there are some interested and outstanding students joining in, there will always be results.

Li Xuan will be a guide.

"Replying to the Supreme, almost every village now has a village school and teachers. Even if they want to go back to teach, it is difficult to find a position."

Lu Huan reported back to Li Xuan.

"We should build more woodblock printing workshops, increase the output of paper mills, and print books. The scale of village schools should be gradually expanded. Some villages with large populations should also have village schools."

"The village school is the elementary school, which lasts for five years. Each county also has a county school to teach more advanced knowledge, which is the middle school. It teaches a variety of subjects and cultivates students' knowledge more comprehensively, also for five years."

"Finally, universities will be established in major cities. Universities will have many focuses, no longer limited to ancient classics and poetry..."

Li Xuan said to the prime ministers.

When Li Longji was in power, the trend of respecting Confucianism and promoting education was very popular. In the late Kaiyuan period, Li Longji ordered that each village should set up a village school.

In his eyes, a prosperous world is one filled with scholars. Li Xuan was unable to establish a more comprehensive school system.

He would first expand the village school established by Li Longji into a primary school, and then establish middle schools and universities.

It can be understood by both elementary and middle schools.

Although universities were still mainly Confucian, they included many disciplines.

Music, calligraphy, poetry, mathematics, medicine, veterinary medicine, astronomy, music, technology, etc.

These are the subjects taught by the Hongwenguan, Chongwenguan, Guozixue, Taixue, and Simenxue in Chang'an.

But this kind of subject is very vague, and its status varies. It is different from the subject of later generations.

For example, Hongwenguan and Chongwenguan were aristocratic schools that accepted relatives of the emperor, empress dowager, queen, and sons of high-ranking officials such as prime ministers, with a total of fifty places.

Those who can enter the two halls rely entirely on the blessing of blood.

The Imperial College accepted only descendants of high-ranking officials of the third rank in civil or military service and above, with a limit of 300 students.

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The Imperial Academy accepted descendants of mid-level officials of the fifth rank in civil and military affairs and above, with a limit of 500.

The Four Schools accepted sons of low-ranking officials of the seventh rank in civil and military affairs and above, with a limit of 500 students, and also accepted talented young men among the local common people, with a limit of 800 students.

For these schools, the higher the level, the fewer places they have, and the lower the level, the more places they have.

This kind of family-based ideology must be abandoned, as it simply stifles potential talents.

Because many descendants of nobles are useless, even if they are lucky enough to enter the Hongwenguan, they are like rotten wood that cannot be carved.

If you look at the period when Yang Guozhong was prime minister, you will find that most of the top scorers in the imperial examinations were surnamed Yang.

His own son, who could barely read or write, was almost chosen as the top scholar.

From now on, the colleges in Chang'an will gradually be established as universities in Chang'an and Luoyang, with disciplines redistributed and new disciplines added.

It is impossible to make the nobles have no advantages, but the number of noble children will be reduced and examinations will be conducted. Each school will expand the number of students, and the most outstanding students in the county school will enter the universities in Chang'an and Luoyang.

Including Jishengtang, it can be changed to Jishengtang University.

The Jiseitang in the county was changed to a certain affiliated college of Jiseitang University.

Institutionalization and integration.

When the five prime ministers heard Li Xuan's description, they all felt that they had a long way to go.

They all knew that when Li Xuan was defining Confucianism, he also paid great attention to subjects such as astronomy, geography, and mathematics.

They also attach great importance to law, medicine, craftsmanship, business, etc.

Such planning must be carried out step by step.

"This is the phonetic notation method I developed. It must be popularized in rural schools as soon as possible so that students can quickly master Chinese characters..."

Li Xuan made some slight changes to the pinyin and annotated it according to the current "Zhongyuan Yayin".

He gave the prime ministers examples of hundreds of characters, using his standard pinyin to explain to them the benefits of phonetic notation.

Before students learn characters, they should learn pinyin first.

In the future, standard pinyin will be used in woodblock printing of books.

A pinyin dictionary can also be made.

It can enable students to master reading and literacy to the greatest extent.

During the Han Dynasty, China already had the fanqie method, which was a prototype of pinyin.

The fanqie method uses two Chinese characters to indicate pronunciation, the first character takes the initial consonant, and the second character takes the final vowel and tone.

But this kind of phonetic notation is too troublesome and inefficient.

No letter is as plain and simple.

Other direct phonetic methods use a homophone to mark the pronunciation.

The analogy method uses one character to mark the pronunciation of another character and gives a brief explanation of the tone.

Pronunciation is as in the method of pronunciation, with similar-pronunciation characters used to mark the pronunciation.

Although this type of phonetic notation can improve the efficiency of character recognition, it is generally inconvenient.

The prime ministers were all smart people. Although they did not master dozens of letters in a short period of time, they understood the benefits of the letters from the pronunciation of each letter and the logic between them.

This must be possible.

"Your Majesty is a genius. Throughout history, there has never been another person as omnipotent and omniscient as Your Majesty. Such an achievement should be a highlight in literature. Please accept my respect!"

Lu Huan couldn't help but worship Li Xuan.

Since ancient times, emperors have been good at nothing more than civil and military affairs.

Li Xuan was an expert in everything and often surprised his ministers.

Moreover, what Li Xuan did was often groundbreaking.

"My small step is a big step for civilization. However, my power is limited. You must pay attention to geniuses. Perhaps the emergence of every insignificant thing is a kind of change to the world."

Li Xuan said as he took out another piece of paper.

The numbers 0123456789 are recorded on it.

These numbers come from the Tianzhu region.

Unfortunately, the Arab Empire could not rise.

From now on, numbers can no longer be called Arab numbers.

As long as the Tang Dynasty popularized numbers and spread them westward, numbers will be called Chinese numbers from then on.

Ancient China also had numbers, but it is undeniable that the numbers of the Arab world were more concise and convenient.

It’s not that Li Xuan doesn’t respect Chinese culture. In this era, we must take its essence and discard its dross.

Whoever has the stronger fist will dominate everything in this world.

The symbolization of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, together with the simplification of mathematics, is a revolution in mathematics.

Combined with Li Xuan's mathematical knowledge, mathematics will definitely make great progress in the future.

The prime ministers were confused.

They watched Li Xuan use numbers and symbols to solve math problems in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.

"Right Prime Minister, give me a math problem. Add a few numbers and I'll calculate it for you..."

Li Xuan asked Li Xian to give a question.

"Nine thousand nine hundred and twenty-two plus four thousand three hundred and eleven."

Li Xian said something random.

"Fourteen thousand two hundred and thirty-three."

Li Xuan randomly marked it and easily figured it out. He wrote the answer in Chinese characters.

Addition is the simplest math problem in later generations.

In fact, it is not difficult to calculate Li Xian, but it takes time.

Li Xuan can give the answer easily. This is the advantage of digital symbolization and simplification.

The five prime ministers used pen and paper to calculate themselves, and it took them a long time to come up with the answer.

Li Xuan then asked them to solve multiplication and division problems.

What’s even more difficult is not to embarrass these prime ministers.

Compared with the prime ministers, Li Xuan's mathematics was considered to be an expert.

The prime ministers were in awe.

In front of the prime minister, Li Xuan wrote down the multiplication formulas, addition formulas, subtraction formulas, as well as basic knowledge for later generations such as geometry, algebra, equations, and functions.

Li Xuan also drew graphs for things like the Pythagorean theorem in geometry.

Mark the letters again.

Every profession has its own specialties, and it is impossible for prime ministers to understand them.

For example, multiplication formulas have existed since ancient times. Li Xuan simply wrote them using numerical symbols to make them easier to understand.

In the future every student will be able to recite it fluently.

Whether it was letters or mathematics, Li Xuan would first teach them personally to the teachers of various Chinese classics, and then they would compile them into books, carve them using woodblock printing, and print them for dissemination.

“Mathematics is very magical, and its importance is beyond imagination. I am dull, and my knowledge of mathematics is not as good as that of the doctor of the Imperial College. But I hope that after the simplification and symbolization of mathematics, a group of mathematical geniuses can be born. As long as we can master a corner of mathematics, we can dominate the world.”

Li Xuan spoke solemnly to Prime Ministers Li Xian, Liu Yan and others.

Chinese mathematics has always been "practical" since ancient times, that is, it serves some real-life purposes.

It is indeed at the forefront of contemporary mathematics and is one of the birthplaces of mathematics.

Don't compare those perished civilizations with China.

But it is also because of the political environment that mathematics has not been able to serve a good audience.

"We will do our best."

The prime ministers were still in a daze because the emperor was too versatile and they couldn't keep up with the pace.

Since the Tang Dynasty, mathematics has been of equal status. But the emperor himself had to be cautious.

It would be beneficial to enable common people to master some basic mathematics.

When Li Xuan explains pinyin and numerical symbols to the Chinese scholars, they will definitely go to listen and learn.

Judging from the Supreme's appearance, he is determined to implement digital symbols to the end.

"Today ends here. Starting tomorrow, I will spend a month teaching Chinese language teachers about pinyin and numbers. In addition, we should focus on eliminating the lowly and turning them into good people. The news from the counties must be dealt with in a timely manner."

Li Xuan announced the end of the Political Affairs Hall meeting and turned to leave.

The country now is like a blank sheet of paper, allowing him to write freely.

But you can't become fat in one bite, Li Xuan has to take it slowly and build up step by step.

The four great inventions that changed the course of human history are papermaking, printing, the compass, and gunpowder.

Now that papermaking and printing techniques have been fully utilized, the aristocratic families have been completely destroyed.

The compass has already appeared, but it is not of much use now. It has to wait until the great voyages of discovery begin.

Gunpowder had not yet been invented.

Li Xuan has sent people to look for sulfur and saltpeter everywhere. He will become the inventor of gunpowder.

All the dreams he carries will be realized in the coming decades.

……

Jingzhao Prefecture was the first to complete the campaign of eliminating low status and improving people's character, which meant that the first campaign of eliminating low status and improving people's character officially entered a white-hot stage.

The easiest ones among them were Longyou and Hexi, which had been cleaned up once by Li Xuan.

Especially in the newly opened counties in Longyou, there were no powerful families at all.

All of them are Hu people, military households and immigrants.

When the message of eliminating the lowly and promoting the good reached Hexi and Longyou, the powerful people freed their serfs one after another, reluctantly ceded their land, and reported it to the county government and the prefectural governor's office.

In this area where the people are tough, no one knows Li Xuan's prestige better than them.

Apart from anything else, those Hu tribes that are hostile to the Han people will serve Li Xuan as long as Li Xuan gives them a secret instruction.

Furthermore, the assets of the Helong clans were meager. In the entire Helong, including the 200,000 immigrants during the Tianbao period, there were only a total of more than 700,000 Han people, less than the population of a super large county in the mainland.

The vast land and sparse population left the Helong clans with little room to control their tenant farmers.

In comparison, Henan and Hebei are more difficult places to deal with.

Even after the war, the total registered population of the two regions was 15 million.

In addition, I don’t know how many illegal residents and escaped residents there are.

As a result, when the imperial edict to eliminate lowly people and promote good people arrived, it encountered many difficulties.

(End of this chapter)