Thief Emperor

Chapter 1054 Pushing the Times Forward
The news sent by the Nine Departments indicated that Li Zheng, the Prince of Yue, who had only recently arrived in Chengdu, had taken dozens of followers and two captains from the Chengdu Army's scout battalion and crossed the mountains to make a trip to Jinchuan Prefecture.

Furthermore, they successfully drew some simple maps.

This news made Li Yun very happy; his second son was really too brave.

Moreover, perhaps because they were born relatively early, before the founding of the country, neither the crown prince nor the King of Yue possessed a strong sense of "nobility".

In other words, they are quite amiable in their interactions with others, at least they are willing to humble themselves.

Emperor Li looked at Du Qian, but did not answer Du Qian's question. Instead, he asked, "If Jinchuan Prefecture can be taken, this boy will be enfeoffed as the Prince of Shu. In the future, we can consider letting him command the Chengdu Army."

"What do you think, Brother Shouyi?"

Du Qian thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, will the Second Prince command the Chengdu Army, or will all the Kings of Shu in the region command the Chengdu Army from now on?"

Without hesitation, Li Yun replied, "Naturally, it's the former. A royal title can be inherited, but local military power cannot."

"Otherwise, we'll just have another Jiannan Jiedushi (military governor) in the future."

"Then I believe that there is no problem with the Second Prince commanding the troops, but this matter should still be handled with caution, after all, the Second Prince is still very young."

"If the Second Prince were to control the Chengdu Army for twenty or thirty years, even if the court did not allow the Prince of Shu to pass on his military power, it would probably be impossible."

The emperor rubbed his temples and continued, "Then let him serve as a deputy general in the Chengdu army first, and see if this boy can fight."

"We'll make arrangements for the future later."

Du Qian quickly bowed his head and hailed the emperor as wise.

After Emperor Li finished considering his son's matter, he began to answer Du Qian's question.

Whether in this world or in the ancient world of Li Yun's previous world, under the small-scale peasant economy, the entire society was almost stagnant.

One city may rise and another may fall, but society as a whole will basically remain stagnant and will not make any further progress.

Although production tools may be improved to be more and more sophisticated, and objects may become more and more beautiful, overall productivity will not leap forward.

Society as a whole is mostly a collection of experiences.

In this situation, no matter how old the experience of our ancestors is, it is generally not wrong, and it can truly be passed down from father to son and from son to grandson.

However, Li Yun had already arrived in this world.

He had to leave something behind for the world, leave some trace; he couldn't just become emperor and be done with it.

Moreover, being an emperor... doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Every day, from the moment he opens his eyes, all he sees are documents. Although there are many women in the harem, as time goes on and they grow old, the life may lose its appeal.

Although the palace is large, how many rooms can one person live in?
Therefore, Li Yun had planned early on to push this era forward.

Regardless of whether his personal strength can push this era forward, or how far he can push it forward, he will do his best to do this in his lifetime.

Even if it's just an inch forward, it would still be an achievement for Li Yun.

The principle of the steam engine is not complicated.

What's truly complex is the chamber that can seal the gas; as long as the gas can be sealed, the steam engine can be made.

The artisans in the workshop spent a full ten years on this one project, and now they finally have a prototype of a steam engine.

As for what kind of blossoming this steam engine could bring to the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Yun neither knew nor could he see clearly.

But something is better than nothing.

As for electricity…

It's not difficult to develop it, but making it useful requires generations of people to push forward. What Li Yun needs to do now is to cultivate a group of young people with science and engineering backgrounds.

Even if these young people have a rough understanding, as long as the seeds are planted, they will eventually grow.

Li Yun even planned to cultivate one of his sons who was interested in science and engineering, so that when this son was enfeoffed in the future, he would have plenty of time to study these things in the palace.

However, scientific exploration requires a long evolutionary process, and what Li Yun wanted to talk to Du Qian about was not these things related to scientific physics.

“Brother Shouyi, the unification of the country and the absence of chaos in the world is merely the beginning of a new era.”

The emperor smiled and said, "If we cannot make this country stronger little by little, and make the people's lives far better than those of the old Zhou dynasty, then you and I should have started our uprising back then."

"When future generations write it in history books, it won't be much different from when Wu Zetian, the founding emperor of the Wu Zhou dynasty, started his uprising."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Du Qian and began, "You and I must push this country forward and make it stronger."

Du Qian seemed to be deep in thought, then said, "As long as the world is well-governed and gradually recovers its vitality, after one or two generations, the world will naturally be at peace and the people will live in happiness."

Li Yun frowned.

Some truths cannot be fully understood simply by saying them.

After shaking his head, he said, "Brother Shouyi, I won't talk about any grand principles. I'll just tell you some of my thoughts directly."

"First, we must gradually abolish the household registration system," His Majesty the Emperor said. "This will allow people to move freely within a limited area."

In this era, there was a strict household registration system. You had to obtain a travel permit from the local government to go out, otherwise you might be arrested and punished by the government.

This resulted in local people, apart from traveling merchants and scholars, hardly moving around.

That's exactly what the government wants.

In ancient times, governments were too small and manpower too limited. Only people who did not move around were easy to manage. Otherwise, if people were constantly on the move and forming alliances, a group of rebels might soon emerge and start a rebellion.

Du Qian stared wide-eyed at Li Yun, then shook his head immediately, saying, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not..."

The emperor looked at him and said with a smile, "Let me finish."

"It's not to say that people across the country can just run around freely. As long as they have a legitimate reason, people from the countryside can certainly enter the city."

"Not being a scholar doesn't necessarily mean you can't leave your hometown."

His Majesty the Emperor continued, "Furthermore, we should elevate the status of merchants and permit their sons to take the imperial examinations."

Merchants had a very low social status in this era.

Why? Because they are all unscrupulous merchants.

Given that the days are constant or the means of production are fixed, all merchants are obviously unscrupulous.

After all, everything in the world is finite. If you buy things and sell them to make a profit, aren't you just a profiteer?

But in reality, business often drives social development.

For example, many important inventions are born from commercial applications. Only by elevating the status of businessmen can productivity naturally evolve.

At least under the current small-scale peasant economy of the Li Tang dynasty, this is roughly the situation.

For example, the silk merchants along the coast could actually improve their looms.

Of course, the imperial court also needs to control these merchants and prevent them from acting recklessly, otherwise these unscrupulous merchants could really harm people.

"A thriving commercial sector can drive the prosperity of all other industries."

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "From now on, the court's taxes will no longer have to be entirely squeezed from the fields and the mouths of the people."

“With the prosperity of commerce, commercial taxes can be collected to replace a portion of the land tax.”

Li Yun talked on and on, pulling Du Qian aside and talking for almost half an hour, all of which were his ideas for promoting the future society over the years.

Du Xiangong was stunned. He stared at Li Yun, speechless for a long time.

Looking at his appearance, Emperor Li smiled and said, "Brother Shouyi, don't worry, I won't act recklessly. This matter can be piloted in Jiangdong Circuit first. Let your student Zhang Sui promote it. At that time, he can be appointed as the Provincial Governor of Jiangdong Circuit and the Prefect of Jinling."

When it comes to governing a country, regardless of the policy, it is best to prioritize stability.

Because some policies, even if you know they are correct, may not be suitable for this era.

Therefore, Li Yun proceeded very cautiously, step by step.

Ten years have passed since the founding of the country, and there have been no major wars in various places until now, only now has he begun to promote these things.

This is the safest way to avoid any mistakes.

After all, he is now the supreme ruler, in control of the country's affairs. Sometimes, even seemingly insignificant mistakes made in the court can cost ordinary people their lives.

Therefore, Li Yun strictly inherited the trial system, and he always tried out any major policy first.

Moreover, it is highly likely that the trial will be conducted in Gangdong Province, the main base.

Because here, his popular support is the strongest, and even if he makes a mistake, it won't cause any trouble.

Du Qian closed his eyes, digesting the information for a long time, before smiling wryly and saying, "I can no longer understand what Your Majesty is thinking."

"It's right that you don't understand."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "If I hadn't had such a dreamlike experience, I might not have understood any of this, but I'm telling you these things."

"This is most likely something the imperial court will have to do over the next ten years."

Emperor Li said quietly, "I hope Brother Shouyi can help me, and we can do these things together."

Du Qian remained silent for a long time before standing up and bowing deeply to Li Yun.

"Your Majesty... I need to see the results of the Jiangdong Circuit first."

Emperor Li nodded and said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll take a look first too, just like you..."

"How effective has the Jiangdong Road been?"

(End of this chapter)