The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 849 Returning to Luoyang
Xiao Xia concluded his fifteen-day expedition, and the fleet he was on began its return to Luoyang.

Inside the cabin, Xiao Xia reviewed the report written by Xiao Yu. After a moment of contemplation, he picked up his pen and wrote a note beside the page: 'Since they are only engaged in smelting, they should not also be considered mine owners.'

Xiao Xia put down his pen, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and gazed at the Yellow River outside for a long time.

The term "miner" only appeared today. Xiao Xia used to strongly resist the household registration system, so he demanded that the system be abolished and that all miners be treated as ordinary citizens.

However, as his governance deepened, Xiao Xia gradually realized that his previous vision was rather narrow. The household registration system was not a decision made on a whim by any emperor; it had strong practical significance. His abolition of it was a decision made on a whim, driven by a moment of passion.

Without household registration classification, many things would be left undone, such as mining. After the prisoners of war completed their three-year terms, they all went home, and the mines suddenly became deserted.

Nobody wants to go into mining; it's hard work, dangerous, and the money isn't much.

We finally found a group of people, but they all ran away in less than two months. In the end, we could only increase wages to retain them. But even with increased wages, many people only planned to stay for a few years and then leave. We finally trained some technical backbones, but they turned around and left.

The same applies to going overseas. On Turtle Island, there used to be more than a thousand households, but now there are less than two hundred left, as they have all returned to the mainland.

The same applies to the frontier regions. Previously, 20,000 households were relocated to the Hehuang region, but in less than a year, 30% of them have already returned.

Therefore, if there is a conflict between national interests and personal interests, and a ruler does not consider national interests but only personal fairness and freedom, then he is an absolute fool and a completely unqualified ruler.

Therefore, the saying "compassionate men should not command armies, and righteous men should not engage in commerce" applies. The principle is the same: to safeguard national interests, it is necessary to sacrifice the personal interests of some people.

Therefore, it was necessary to classify and manage households under the household registration system. Those with household registration in border areas were not allowed to return to the Central Plains, and those with household registration overseas were not allowed to return to the mainland. Even in later generations, the same policy remained.

Miners must mine for generations, soldiers must serve in the military for generations, and artisans must be artisans for generations.

Of course, Xiao Xia's household registration classification was based on national interests and was different from the household registration classification of previous dynasties.

Xiao Xia abolished the slave, musician, merchant, and lowly statuses, as these were unrelated to national interests. So far, Xiao Xia has only approved five special household registrations: border households, overseas households, military households, artisan households, and mining households. Of course, other special household registrations may be added in the future.

Thinking of this, Xiao Xia added another sentence to Xiao Yu's report upon returning: "Thirty thousand households engaged in smelting can be registered as artisan households."

…………

Five days later, the fleet arrived in Luoyang, and Xiao Xia returned to the palace.

After resting for two days, Xiao Xia returned to the Imperial Study and sat down at the Imperial Desk to read the newspapers from that period.

At this moment, Xiao Xia was drawn to a front-page headline: the Great Sui Dynasty's Ceylon Kingdom had decisively defeated the Indian fleet.

He glanced at the date; it was a newspaper from ten days ago.

Xiao Xia quickly pulled the rope, and a bell rang outside. A moment later, Chu Suiliang walked in.

Xiao Xia instructed him, "Go quickly and invite Prime Minister Liu here!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a servant announced from outside, "Prime Minister Liu requests an audience with His Majesty!"

Xiao Xia smiled and waved her hand, "Please let him in!"

Soon, Liu Wenjing strode in, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Long time no see, Prime Minister Liu, please have a seat!"

Liu Wenjing sat down, took out a document, and said, "This year's imperial examination has ended. This is the list of the top three and bottom twenty candidates as determined by His Majesty's requirements. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"

The top ten are all of similar ability, and the selection of the top three is actually a political requirement.

The top scholar, Wang Ju, is from the Wang family of Taiyuan. Last year, only one person from the Hedong aristocratic family ranked eighth, so this year the top scholar was awarded to the Hedong aristocratic family.

The second-place finisher, Yuan Xiuliang, is Yuan Min's son and is exceptionally talented. This award to the Yuan family is a form of recognition for them.

After the Sui army captured Guanzhong, the Yuan family did not demand the restoration of their manors. Instead, they donated the remaining seven manors to the court and began to focus on shipbuilding, establishing a shipbuilding school, and engaging in overseas trade.

Under the leadership of the Yuan family, the Guanlong aristocratic families also abandoned their land and entered the industrial and commercial sectors. Moreover, the Yuan family was among the first aristocratic families to fully abolish slavery.

The selection of the Yuan family's son as the second-place scholar was also a form of praise. The third-place scholar was named Ma Zhou, a native of Chiping County, Boling Prefecture. He came from a poor family, which was of course Xiao Xia's requirement. Among the top ten, there had to be three from poor families. It was just unexpected that the third-place scholar would be from a poor family. However, it was not surprising that it was Ma Zhou, who was a prime minister in the early Tang Dynasty.

"Excellent, it perfectly meets my requirements."

Xiao Xia immediately approved the document, and the imperial examination finally came to a successful conclusion.

Seeing that Liu Wenjing still had several memorials to submit, Xiao Xia preemptively asked, "I just read the newspaper, and it reported on the situation in Ceylon. Is there any news from there?"

Liu Wenjing nodded and smiled, "Li Jiancheng sent an envoy back to the country, who arrived just half a month ago, also to thank His Majesty for his support."

"What is the situation in Ceylon? The reports only say that India was defeated, but they don't give any details. Tell me!"

"The situation was extremely dangerous!"

Liu Wenjing laughed and said, "Chai Shao led reinforcements to Ceylon in early January, just in time to encounter a joint naval invasion by the Pandya and Chola dynasties. There were hundreds of large ships and nearly 100,000 troops. As a result, our 2,000 naval troops did not land. Instead, they swept the enemy with arrows and torpedoes. Except for two large ships that escaped, all the other hundreds of large ships were sunk, and all 100,000 enemy troops perished at sea. We achieved the glorious feat of annihilating 100,000 with only 2,000 troops. Soon after, the Pandya dynasty sent people to sue for peace and sent the Sinhalese king and his family back to Ceylon."

"Has Li Jiancheng sent any letters?"

"Yes! It's on His Majesty's desk."

Xiao Xia quickly searched and actually found Li Jiancheng's letter. He read the letter and found that in addition to expressing his loyalty and gratitude, Li Jiancheng also earnestly requested that the technology of arrow thunder be taught to Ceylon.

How could such a request be possible? This is the most top-secret military matter of the Sui Dynasty. Let alone going to sea, it's impossible for them to even leave Luoyang. At most, we can give them another two thousand arrows and grenades.

At this moment, Xiao Xia suddenly had a thought: Where is Wang Xuance at this time?
Xiao Xia picked up his brush and wrote down the three characters "Wang Xuance," then asked Liu Wenjing, "Has the Prime Minister heard of this man?"

Liu Wenjing nodded. "There is such a person. He should be around 240. He's from Luoyang."

Liu Wenjing clearly misunderstood; he thought the emperor was asking this person about his performance in the imperial examinations.
Xiao Xia nodded, "Arrange for this person to serve as a secretary in the Secretariat."

"Wei Chen understands."

Liu Wenjing nodded in agreement, and then said, "I would also like to discuss with His Majesty whether the imperial examinations can be changed to be held every two years. Holding them once a year is too rushed, and we don't have that many vacant positions. Changing it to once every two years would allow the court more time to make arrangements."

Xiao Xia didn't object. Changing it to once every two years wouldn't have much of an impact, and having the provincial examination in the middle year would actually help stabilize the provincial examination results.

"You all should discuss this in the Council of State. If everyone agrees, I have no objection either. We can change it to once every two years."

Liu Wenjing was overjoyed and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!"

"Is there anything else?"

Liu Wenjing quickly replied, "I received Li Jing's message yesterday afternoon, but I haven't had a chance to report it to His Majesty yet."

Luo Shixin's expedition to Japan and Li Jing's expedition to Anxi were both matters of great concern to Xiao Xia, but the distance was too great, and it would take one or two months to receive the news.

Xiao Xia was overjoyed and quickly asked, "How's the battle report?"

"Your Majesty, Minister Li has been unstoppable, winning battle after battle. He has established Yiwu County, Gaochang County, and Beiting County, and has also captured the Ili River Valley and Suyab. The Western Turks have been forced to flee far away. Minister Li has also established Rehai County, and he has recommended Jia Wuben to serve as the governor of Rehai County."

Xiao Xia was overjoyed. He had actually captured Suyab and Atami, completing his plan two years ahead of schedule. Li Jing had not disappointed him!
Xiao Xia was suddenly taken aback. Wasn't Jia Wuben Qin Qiong's deputy general? How come he's also in Suyab? Did Qin Qiong go to Suyab too?
======
This book has already reached two million words and is finally coming to an end. If I were to continue writing, it would just be a second book called "Tibet," which wouldn't be very interesting.

I knew from the beginning that this book would flop, but it wasn't abandoned or left unfinished. Lao Gao gritted his teeth and finished it for his old readers, which was truly not easy.

I've already accumulated 60,000 to 70,000 words of manuscript for the new book, and I don't want to accumulate too many. If I accumulate too many manuscripts, it will be difficult to correct any problems that arise.

The new book will also be released this month. I will discuss the timing with the editor and then let everyone know.

The new book, "Tiger Minister," tells the story of a pirate from the Jinfan Pirates to a powerful figure in Jiangdong.

The author writes about Gan Ning, who is Lao Gao's favorite character in Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV. Gan Ning, Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Ma Chao are Lao Gao's favorites.

Please take a look at Lao Gao's writing about Gan Ning.

(End of this chapter)