Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

"Your Highness, we have won this business war decisively. Not even a fly can get into the Cui family's shops now."

Should we seize this opportunity and take over all their businesses in Chang'an?

Xiao Shunzi then asked.

Li Chengqian slapped Xiao Shunzi on the head.

"Why would you swallow it? Do you really think those old foxes from the aristocratic families survive on these few run-down shops?"

Xiao Shunzi looked at Li Chengqian with a puzzled expression.

"The true lifeblood of a family lies in its writing brush."

Li Chengqian reached out and tapped the thick copy of the Analects on the table.

"All the books in the world, all the scriptures and articles in the world, are in their hands."

As long as the imperial court continues to test these things, they will be able to continuously stuff people into the court.

Even if trade routes are cut off, they might make some money, but their foundation remains completely undamaged.

"What does Your Highness mean?"

"To cut off the fuel supply from under the cauldron."

A cold glint flashed in Li Chengqian's eyes.

"Don't they monopolize the interpretation of the scriptures? Then let's not examine the interpretation of the scriptures."

The next day, at the Taiji Hall.

Li Shimin sat there with a dark expression on his face.

The officials from the powerful families below all looked dejected.

What happened at the Yue Prince's Mansion last night made all their efforts over the past few days a joke.

Wang De then shouted:

"If you have something to report, do so now; otherwise, the court may adjourn."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chengqian came out.

"Father, I have something to report."

Li Shimin's eyelids twitched suddenly.

This rebellious son is bound to bring trouble.

"explain."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you issue an edict to reform the imperial examination system."

These words immediately drew gasps of surprise from the court.

Li Shimin was also stunned, and his body involuntarily leaned forward:

"The imperial examination system is a vital national policy; how do you intend to reform it?"

Li Chengqian took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"Father, the Liaodong workshops are now in full operation, and the royal trading companies are making a fortune every day. But I have discovered a fatal problem, which is that there is no one."

"Nobody here? Didn't your Crown Prince's Palace just recruit 10,000 Imperial Guards?"

Li Shimin retorted irritably.

"Your subject is referring to people who are capable of working."

Li Chengqian pretended not to hear Li Shimin's tone.

"Accountants, craftsmen skilled in water conservancy construction, and mathematical talents who can measure land are all in extremely short supply."

The imperial examinations in our Great Tang Dynasty now test poetry, lyrics, and the Four Books and Five Classics.

Those who pass the imperial examinations are excellent writers, but if you ask them to do accounting or build a bridge, they're completely clueless and can't even understand the blueprints.

Li Chengqian turned around to face the assembled officials.

"Therefore, I propose that the imperial examinations add two subjects, mathematics and physics, to be given the same status as the classics and the Jinshi degree."

At the same time, the weight of poetry, prose, and classical texts in the imperial examinations was significantly reduced.

boom!

The imperial court erupted in chaos.

Fang Xuanling and Tang Jian exchanged a glance, and their eyes lit up at the same time.

Tang Jian was so excited that he wanted to go up and kiss Li Chengqian.

The new officials in the Ministry of Revenue who were admitted through writing essays couldn't even use an abacus. Every time money and grain were allocated, they would miscalculate by hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, leaving the Minister of Revenue to clean up their messes every day.

If they could really recruit a group of people who understand mathematics, the Ministry of Revenue would be much more worry-free.

"I second that proposal!"

Tang Jian was the first to jump out.

"Your Highness's words are excellent! The various departments of the court urgently need capable people, and adding mathematics is a move that benefits the country and the people."

Fang Xuanling also cupped his hands and said:

"I second that opinion. If we can apply the skills of craftsmen to agriculture, sericulture, and water conservancy, the strength of the Tang Dynasty will surely reach new heights."

Pragmatic officials stepped forward to voice their support.

On the other side, the expressions of the aristocratic officials were beyond just ugly.

This isn't reforming the imperial examination system; it's clearly digging up their ancestral graves with shovels.

Children from noble families grow up in luxury, studying the classics and learning the great principles of governing the country. Who would want to learn those lowly jobs like accounting and blacksmithing?

If the weight given to classical texts is reduced, how will their aristocratic families continue to monopolize officialdom?

Cui Minyuan of the Cui family of Qinghe was the first to lose his temper.

"Absurd! This is utterly ridiculous!"

Cui Minyuan pointed at Li Chengqian and roared,

"The imperial examination was designed to select talented individuals for the court to govern the country."

Poetry and classical texts are the teachings of sages and the foundation of governing a country.

Mathematics and the study of things were nothing more than lowly crafts and menial professions, petty pursuits in the marketplace.

If these people were allowed to enter the house, wouldn't that be an insult to culture and a corruption of the government?

Your Highness's actions are tantamount to destroying the very foundation of our Tang Dynasty's cultural heritage.

The officials from powerful families were outraged and echoed their sentiments.

"We, your humble servants, will risk our lives to remonstrate against this, and we must never set a precedent."

"How can the lowly profession of craftsmanship be compared to the teachings of sages and saints?"

Li Chengqian looked at the group of aristocratic officials jumping up and down and sneered:

"Talent for governing the world? Fundamentals for governing a country?"

Li Chengqian turned around, pulled out a thick stack of account books from his pocket, and slapped them directly onto Cui Minyuan's face.

"Come, Lord Cui, show me this fundamental principle of governing the country."

Account books were scattered all over the floor. Choi Min-won looked down at the books on the ground and asked:

"What...what is this?"

"These are the account books for the past six months for the dozen or so shops your Cui family owns in Chang'an."

Li Chengqian pointed to the account books on the ground.

"I had someone investigate. The people your Cui family sent to manage the accounts were all scions of prominent families well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, weren't they?"

The result? The account was riddled with errors and omissions.

The numbers bought and sold don't match up; even the simplest addition and subtraction can be wrong by 30,000 strings of cash.

You can't even do basic accounting, how can you talk to me about governing a country?

"You can't even manage a single shop, how dare you dream of ruling the entire Tang Dynasty?"

Choi Min-won stammered in rebuttal:

"This...this is nothing but mundane business. A wise man keeps away from the kitchen; how can we let small things cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture..."

"fart!"

Li Chengqian cursed angrily.

"Are money and provisions mundane matters? Are weapons mundane matters? Without these mundane matters, what will the soldiers on the border eat? What will they use to fight? Do you think the Turks will retreat just because you recite a few lines of poetry in court?"

Upon hearing this, the military officer Banley burst into laughter.

Cheng Yaojin started shouting:

"Your Highness is right. I, Old Cheng, am most annoyed by you bunch of pedantic scholars, always spouting classical phrases, yet you can't even hold a sword properly on the battlefield. It would be more practical to send us some weapons made of fine steel."

Yuchi Gong also joined in the commotion:

"Exactly! He can't even do basic accounting, what kind of official is he? He should go home and take care of his kids."

The military officers, one after another, ridiculed the aristocratic officials mercilessly.

Li Shimin watched this scene quietly.

His heart was actually in turmoil.

Add mathematics and the study of things, and reduce the weight of classical texts.

This move is too cruel.

This is tantamount to directly carving a huge hole in the impenetrable walls of aristocratic families, paving a broad road to success for impoverished students and hardworking talents from all over the world.

If this can be accomplished, the imperial court will be able to completely break free from its dependence on talented individuals from aristocratic families.

But Li Shimin also had concerns.

The imperial examination was the lifeblood of all scholars in the land.

Such drastic changes will inevitably provoke a strong backlash from scholars all over the world.

The influence of powerful families is deeply rooted in various places. If they incite students to cause trouble, it could lead to serious chaos.

"This matter..."

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, just about to suggest that they take a longer-term view.

Just then, several officials from the Censorate exchanged glances, a resolute glint in their eyes.

Before Grand Censor Wei Zheng could stop them, a supervising censor rushed out and shouted:

"Your Majesty! His Highness the Crown Prince's actions are heretical and blasphemy, a betrayal of our ancestors! If Your Majesty insists on implementing this, I will today smash my head against this dragon pillar to prove my innocence!"

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen officials rushed out and knelt on the ground, taking off their official hats and placing them in front of them.

"We, your humble servants, are willing to live and die with the cultural heritage of the Tang Dynasty!"