Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 154 It’s time to return to my loyal Chang’an
March 3rd is Shangsi Festival.

According to legend, this day is the birthday of Emperor Huangdi and one of the three most important solar terms in the Tang Dynasty.

It is spring time and flowers are blooming in Chang'an. The concubines are drinking wine, going out for a walk and reciting poems by the lake in the harem to sweep away the gloom of winter.

At the edge of the bustling crowd, Yang sat quietly on the grass by the stream, keeping a subtle distance from others.

In a harem of fourteen concubines and twenty-eight concubines, it was normal for Yang to be marginalized.

It is often said that a mother is honored by her son, but to put it another way, if the prince is out there doing odd jobs, his biological mother will undoubtedly be the number one scapegoat.

Therefore, when Li Ming, the little darling of the Yang family, did something so big in Liaodong, the capital of all kinds of things, that even the locals thought it was a bit too abstract.

None of her sisters wanted to play with her anymore.

Are you kidding? A little disaster star who is suspected of treason, who angered the ministers to death, and almost angered His Majesty to death, anyone who is involved with him will become unfortunate.

Therefore, the Lide Hall, which had suddenly become bustling after the Jiucheng Palace incident, suddenly returned to its quietness.

The concubines spent the whole day catching sparrows at the door, and only the loyal old eunuch came to visit often.

Yang was also happy to have some free time. After confirming that Li Ming was safe and sound, apart from eating, sleeping and accompanying the emperor, she would stay at home and play with Aunt Wang, who was like a Chihuahua.

She sat comfortably on the green lawn, looking at the clear and cool stream, her thoughts drifting far away:
I wonder if the ice and snow in Liaodong has melted, or if it is still covered with ice and snow...

At this moment, she heard the concubines next to her scream.

Then, an exquisite rouge box floated down the stream and came in front of her.

Yang bent her slender waist slightly, gently picked up the rouge box, and looked at her sisters inquiringly.

He met Yin Defei's cold eyes.

"Hey, it's just a rouge box, it can just float away." Concubine Yin De completely ignored Yang and joked with the sisters around her:
"Just think of it as all the bad luck of the year drifting away!"

The concubines didn't even look at Yang who was holding the box in a daze, and continued chatting and playing.

Yang didn't take it seriously. She put the box on her knees and continued to rest with her eyes closed.

"Those women are really mean."

A familiar voice sounded, causing Yang to open her eyes.

It’s Wu Meiniang.

After attaining enlightenment at Longchang of Ganye Temple, this enthusiastic and somewhat talkative talent returned to the social world and visited various palaces.

Together with the neglected Lide Hall.

Therefore, Yang still had some good feelings towards her.

Well, except that she has a bit of a bad mouth...

"Especially Concubine Yin De. After her son, the Prince of Qi, was adopted, she probably felt that your Li Ming had embarrassed her, so she has been targeting you openly or covertly.

"I really don't know where that 'virtue' comes from."

Wu Cairen continued to use her traditional skills to stir up trouble in front of the concubines.

"It is human nature to seek good fortune and avoid disaster." Yang just smiled faintly:

"I can also take this opportunity to take a break. It's really difficult for me to write poetry and drink."

Wu Meiniang was used to Yang's lukewarm personality, and said with a sweet smile:

"Sister is generous."

She landed beside Yang gracefully and sat down slowly, like a fiery red butterfly.

Looking at Wu Meiniang's figure, Yang frowned in confusion.

Why do I always feel that Aunt Wu seems to be becoming more and more feminine?
Does Ganye Temple have such merit?
It's noon, when the warmth of spring is getting stronger.

A young eunuch came quietly, leaned over and said something in Yang's ear.

Wu Meiniang, who was standing by, immediately widened her eyes.

Yang nodded calmly, slowly stood up, said goodbye to the dazed Wu Meiniang, and left the sea pool with the eunuch.

The concubines turned a blind eye to this, and when the others had gone far away, they swarmed around Wu Meiniang and started asking questions:
"That eunuch is your Majesty's personal attendant. Why did your Majesty suddenly look for Yang on March 3rd?"

Wu Meiniang seemed to still be immersed in the shock just now, hesitating:

"Yang Fei, Yang Fei..."

"I'm afraid she will be kicked out of the palace?" Concubine Yin De was somewhat gloating.

Wu Meiniang looked at her strangely.

…………

"Oh, my mom got a promotion?"

The weather in Yingzhou in mid-March is still a bit cold.

At Yingzhou Grand Military Governor's Mansion, Li Ming was reading the letter his father had sent him and he sighed.

The general framework of the Yingzhou bureaucracy has been established, and the temporary provincial government has been moved to the Grand Marshal's Office, where everyone works together.

As for the Hao family mansion that had been occupied before, it was distributed to the craftsmen who came from afar, making those lowly workers who were used to living in pigsties in the mainland feel flattered and grateful.

"My grandfather named my mother Defei. What's the rank of Defei?" Li Ming asked his staff curiously, crossing his legs.

The affairs of the harem were a bit beyond the scope, and several people looked at each other in bewilderment.

It has to be the Minister of Personnel Hou Junji who knows the business:

"Except for the Empress, the four concubines are the most noble, and the four concubines are divided into noble, virtuous, virtuous, and virtuous according to their status."

"In other words, he was promoted twice in a row?" Li Ming spread the emperor's handwritten letter on the table and discussed with his confidants:

"Why? Is there any mystery here?"

The harem is similar to the system, the essence is just three words:

Gain experience.

Therefore, the fact that he was promoted two levels out of the ordinary clearly showed that something big had happened in the palace.

After experiencing this incident of being misunderstood as treason, Li Ming also realized the importance of grasping the court's trends.

You can't just farm in Liaodong, you also have to look at the weather.

Wei Daijia asked:

"A royal edict is required for a noble lady to be promoted. What does the edict say?"

Li Ming nodded:
“It is said that during the time when my father was seriously ill, my mother took good care of him and was promoted two levels.

“So that’s definitely not the reason.”

Xue Wanche's waist was twisted by this sudden turn:

"Isn't it?"

The internal security in Pingzhou was peaceful, and there was the Red Turban Army guarding outside, so he had nothing to do and came to Yingzhou to take care of the situation.

But with his crude brain, he obviously couldn't keep up with the pace of the Fourteenth Party.

"Of course not. Anything officially acknowledged cannot be trusted."

Li Ming gave his crude brother some common sense, picked up the letter and said:

"Father also said..."

"Stop, stop!" Wei Daijia immediately covered his ears:

"You must not disclose the forbidden words, or you will be impeached!"

What the emperor says to his subjects in private is automatically considered confidential and cannot be spread around.

What’s more, it’s a letter from home!
His Highness Li Ming really doesn't treat them as outsiders.

"Tsk, that's really troublesome."

Li Ming curled his lips:

"The court's intention is to fully approve of everything we have done in Liaodong."

"Everything?" Hou Junji was a little surprised.

"Everything, even more." Li Ming nodded affirmatively.

Apart from a bunch of polite words of concern and encouragement, and a mention of Yang, the general meaning of Li Shimin's letter was:

Do it quickly.

The resources such as metals and population that Li Ming had requested before were delivered as soon as possible.

The first batch of craftsmen have arrived from Youzhou.

In addition, the imperial court also increased tax incentives for Liaodong.

Reducing it by half twice in three years is too easy.

The imperial court directly exempted Liaodong from local taxes, allowing it to raise funds on its own, and granted Li Ming almost independent financial power.

It really has the meaning of "regulating" the place.

More importantly, Li Shimin accepted all the candidates for local officials proposed by Li Ming.

Literally, no one changed anything.

In addition, Li Shimin actually accepted all of Li Ming's forbidden treaties - the peace terms with Goguryeo.

Agree not to attack Goguryeo. This year our Tang Dynasty will find a new unlucky guy to bully.

At the end of the letter, Li Shimin proudly mentioned:
Li Mingda missed him and asked him when he would return from Liaodong and to inform him in advance so that the Ministry of Internal Affairs could arrange an auspicious day for his mother's enthronement ceremony.

"This is the situation." Li Ming put down the letter lightly and said to the group of people with a smile:

"It seems that Prime Minister Fang's strategy has worked. It has dispelled the suspicion of our father and the court towards us."

Several people smiled knowingly.

Xue Wanche scratched his head with a silly smile: "Suspicion? What suspicion?"

"I suspect you are having an affair with a decent woman." Hou Junji knocked on Old Xue, who was almost involved in a rebellion.

Wei Daijia smiled and asked:

"When does Your Highness plan to return to Chang'an?"

Li Ming was stunned:
"Ah? Now?"

Wei Daijia: “Ah?”

Not Your Highness...

Your Majesty has almost written "I miss you so much" on his forehead.

We even have to take care of your schedule and arrange a special date for the canonization!

Generally speaking, the emperor decides a date. Even if you princes have something important to do, you have to fly back from other places!

If Your Majesty sends this letter to other princes living abroad.

They would probably be so happy that they would faint on the spot, and when they woke up they would get on the road and fly back to Chang'an overnight!

Are you still putting up airs and picking it up?
"I have to go back for sure. The reason I didn't become a prince was so that I could have an excuse to go back to Chang'an at any time." Li Ming said.

And now that I think about it, this opening is absolutely necessary.

He had only been away from Chang'an for a few months when rumors spread throughout the capital, all sorts of slanderous accusations that he was plotting a rebellion.

If he stayed in his fiefdom for a few years, he would probably find the heavenly soldiers coming to check the water meter when he woke up one day.

"It's just that Liaodong has a lot of work to do and I can't leave for the time being."

Hou Junji and Wei Daijia were speechless.

There is probably only one prince in the world who can squander the emperor's grace like this.

"Your Highness, the night is long and dreams are many. We can come to Liaodong later, but if Your Majesty is kept waiting for too long, and the scoundrels take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in, I am afraid that there will be resentment again..."

The two of them tried to persuade him earnestly.

Li Ming crossed his arms and fell into thought:
"Indeed... Well, I will go back after I finish some things in Liaodong."

The old bachelor Xue Wanche didn't think about anything. He just envied how cool it was to be an emperor, where all his wives had to be counted according to seniority.

If he achieves his ambition one day, he will also have a harem.

At this time, the message came:

"Your Highness, someone is coming." "Oh, please come in quickly!"

Under the puzzled gazes of Hou Junji and the other three, a sloppy and smelly old Taoist priest limped in, rubbing his butt.

At that time, Yuan Tiangang was meditating on the River Map at the Podao Temple in Chang'an, and was about to gain some enlightenment.

Suddenly a group of officials rushed in, tied him up and put him on fast horses, and rode him for thousands of miles to this hellish place.

My big butt is cracked, I'm so mad.

"Oh, Master Yuan Tiangang, you are finally here!" Li Ming jumped down from his seat.

Wei Daijia was very confused: "Your Highness, this is..."

"This is the genius I promised Chang Sunyan and the others, who can help us select qualified officials!"

Li Ming couldn't hide his excitement and held Yuan Tiangang's hand:

"Master, have you brought all the math problems I asked you to do... no, the problems about the deduction of the great Dao of heaven and earth?"

Yuan Tiangang was still mumbling and complaining, but when he heard that the young nobleman was so sincere in seeking the great way, his mood immediately brightened:

"Yes, yes, yes!"

He still remembered the blank check that Li Ming had written, and wanted to establish his own sect in the virgin land of Liaodong!

From the smelly clothes, he took out a stack of smelly toilet paper.

Li Ming took a quick look and saw that the style of the title was roughly like this:
"One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things. How many ways are there to arrange these three numbers?"

It is not difficult and can be used as a logic test for prospective civil servants who have never taken the civil service exam. The difficulty level is just right.

"Not bad, very good." Li Ming was overjoyed.

Yuan Tiangang was not without pride, and reminded:
"Little donor, this matter of establishing a sect and recruiting believers..."

"No problem, I will let my officials study the essence of Taoism as soon as possible!" Li Ming vowed.

Yuan Tiangang grinned.

Wei Daijia came over suspiciously:

"Your Highness, can this really be used to...select officials?"

Li Ming nodded affirmatively:
"As long as all the metaphysical content is removed, it can be used as a test for officials, just like the imperial examination."

The corners of Yuan Tiangang's mouth, which had just opened, froze halfway.

Remove the most essential metaphysics?
So what's left of his Taoist methods?
…………

The first administrative ability test in Liaodong is in full swing.

The exam is held once a year and is open to everyone in Yingzhou and Pingzhou.

Anyone aged 16 or above, regardless of gender, and who can read can participate, and admission will be based on merit.

This method of selecting talents through examinations was almost identical to the imperial examination in form, so everyone quickly accepted it.

In addition, Li Ming vigorously promoted education in the countryside, and farmers raced against time to study during their busy farming seasons.

Therefore, the literacy rate in the two states has been steadily increasing, and young, middle-aged and elderly people are actively signing up

At the same time, all the old officials in Yingzhou who were newly incorporated into the "system" had to take part in this examination.

The officials who fail the examination are not simply "supplying talents to society".

Instead, the newly established "Human Resources Committee" will talk to each person based on their work performance.

The principle of voluntariness is to leave or stay. Those who want to leave will be given fields to cultivate. Those who want to stay will be organized to study and participate in training after get off work.

In this gentle way, Liaodong gradually established and improved a mature and stable bureaucratic system, avoiding the birth of extreme pavilion chiefs, postmen and librarians.

"Let me see what the unreliable Taoist priest came up with for the imperial examination."

Wei Daijia got the test paper and took a curious look at it. He had no idea about the first question:

Graphic reasoning, among the following four pictures, please find the pattern that is different from the other three:
A, ω

Second,(_)
丙、

Man,(_)
Feeling that his career had encountered a major challenge, Wei Daijia couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Xue Wanche took a look and immediately answered:

"Isn't this obviously the A choice?"

Wei Daijia: "Why?"

Xue Wanche: "Because only shape A has two solid black balls, the other three are hollow."

Li Ming happened to pass by and heard the conversation between the two. He said in surprise:
"General Xue is so talented, you can almost be a civil servant!"

Xue Wanche was confused: "Is he praising me?"

Wei Daijia nodded: "Probably."

…………

The administration of officials is the most important part of governance, and Li Ming spent a lot of energy on the administration of officials in Liaodong.

In addition to introducing advanced concepts of civil service examinations, Li Ming also significantly increased the salaries of civil servants and formally included them in the fiscal budget.

This is not because Li Ming himself was once one of them and felt empathy.

Rather, it is a way of “high salaries to maintain integrity”.

Before modern times, clerks, especially local clerks, did not receive much salary.

It all depends on the conscience of the officials who employ them. Kind-hearted ones will give more, while cruel ones will give less or nothing.

And life always finds a way.

Unable to get money from the government, officials would use the little power they had to exploit the people.

This kind of unspoken rule is tacitly understood in official circles, and there is even a special term for it, called "bad rules."

It is equivalent to the court passing the conflicts to the officials, and the officials passing the conflicts to the people.

The saying "It is easier to meet the King of Hell than to deal with the little devils" originated from this background.

Because the officials have a regular salary, while the little devils can only live on the "tips" given by the people.

Of course, such a bad custom could not exist in Liaodong.

Li Ming essentially broke down the barriers between "officials" and "clerks", treating the court officials as mere decorations like the masters of the House of Lords, and allocating their functions and salary budgets to the clerks.

Combined with strict disciplinary inspections, although this is impossible to eliminate the existence of corrupt officials, it can partially eliminate the institutional soil for clerks to exploit the people.

At this point, the ruling framework of Liaodong was completely established.

The rest is development.

The large influx of population, in addition to farming, reclaiming wasteland and construction, also provided a large number of manpower for the production of steel.

Liaodong is one of the regions with the richest coal and iron resources in the country.

For example, Tangshan is here.

There is Li Ming, who has mastered the liberal arts and geography subjects, there are workers who are highly motivated, and there is a reasonable and scientific shift and wage system.

We will definitely be able to build Liaodong into a national steel center, and use cheap steel products to destroy Goguryeo’s domestic smelting industry in one fell swoop!

"The mountains are full of trees..." Li Ming was at a loss facing the vast Yanshan Mountains.

This is the most painful thing in the world.

He knew very well that there were rich coal and iron ore resources under the mountains.

But I just don’t know which mountain it is hidden under.

He is not a student of exploration. In his eyes, every hill looks the same.

Just when he was doubting his life at the foot of the mountain, he met Yuan Tiangang, who was also doubting his life.

Old Yuan originally thought that he could use this opportunity to spread Taoist thought and recruit many disciples.

Unexpectedly, Li Ming took the dregs and removed the essence, transformed his thoughts beyond recognition, and used them as a prop for the imperial examination.

"Master, what enlightenment have you had?" Li Ming asked.

"Humph." Yuan Tiangang didn't even bother to look at him:
"Liaodong's land veins are just like the Liaodong under your rule. They are illogical and even the Feng Shui compass is messed up."

Li Ming was not interested in talking about geological veins or personal connections; he only wanted to find mineral veins.

Well, veins of iron ore.

A compass is a magnetic needle.

Magnetic needle, iron...

Li Ming suddenly discovered the highlight:
"Master, what did you say? The compass is disordered?"

Is there iron ore underground? !

Yuan Tiangang sneered at this question:
"I am not bragging, I do know a little bit about Feng Shui.

"In my opinion, the Liaodong area under your rule is full of disordered earth veins...

"What's wrong with you?"

Yuan Tiangang was halfway through his speech when he noticed Li Ming waving at him, so he naturally bent down.

Li Ming patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"You will be the chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, specializing in prospecting for minerals."

Yuan Tiangang: ???

…………

In this way, under the leadership of a Taoist priest, Liaodong's science and technology made rapid progress.

Not only did the nation's mathematics skills improve greatly, but coal and iron mines were also continuously discovered.

Due to the public ownership policy of coal and iron mines stipulated by Li Ming, Liaodong quickly stockpiled a large amount of steel resources, causing the price of ironware to plummet.

Merchants’ profit margins have been greatly compressed, and they are about to close down when they can no longer sustain themselves.

The Sumo people, who have lived in the area for a long time and are business-minded, have discovered a shortcut to reselling:
The price of iron in Goguryeo remained high, creating a huge price gap with Liaodong.

You can sell it at a high price in Goguryeo!
What's even better is that although successive dynasties in the Central Plains strictly restricted the exchange of ironware between the Central Plains and the surrounding barbarians, some of it could only be resold through smuggling.

But Li Ming did the opposite, completely opening up the market and even supporting merchants to go abroad and export production capacity.

Due to the peace treaty, Goguryeo did not impose any restrictions on Tang Dynasty merchants.

Anyone who doesn't use this precious ironware, which is cheap and large in size, is a fool.

Thus, under the guidance of the invisible hand of the market, a large number of Liaodong merchants were led into the territory of Goguryeo and were everywhere.

However, when the first batch of merchants set foot on this hot land in the north, they found that another "Liaodong specialty" had already taken the lead and occupied the blank of Goguryeo -

Pyongyang Express.

…………

"Yuchi Xunyu, those Goguryeo prisoners of war who defected to our country, are they able to write now?"

Li Ming came to the newly built Liaodong branch of Chang'an Newspaper and carefully inquired about the work details.

The little black charcoal-headed man who was in charge of Liaodong intelligence and infiltration work nodded:
“Although it still needs some polishing by my colleagues at the newspaper.”

Li Ming nodded approvingly.

Free trade and free press were his two main means of subverting Goguryeo.

In order for the text of peaceful evolution to impress the vast majority of Goguryeo people, it is indispensable for the "localization" modifications made by the Goguryeo Run people.

After all, no one understood Goguryeo better than them.

"Administration, farming, mining, economy, intelligence, infiltration..." Li Ming counted in his mind.

By April, he had laid the foundation for several important aspects of governing Liaodong.

What remains is to develop, accumulate, and wait for quantitative changes to lead to qualitative changes.

"There's nothing to do in Liaodong for now."

Li Ming looked up at the sky and talked to himself.

It’s time to go back to Chang’an and see my relatives…

(End of this chapter)