Duke of Zhenguan

Chapter 114 Becoming Li Chengqian's Teacher?

Lin Chuan welcomed Li Shimin to the main hall in the front courtyard, where the eunuch who had come with Li Shimin had already prepared tea and brought it up.

"Being an emperor is so great!"

Seeing that Li Shimin was even more at ease than himself, Lin Chuan thought to himself, then personally poured tea for Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, please have some tea!"

Li Shimin took a sip of tea and asked with a smile, "Li Cang didn't frighten your sister, did he?"

Lin Chuan paused for a moment, then shook his head, bowed, and said, "I wasn't frightened. At that time, the people around the Marquis of Leping County were about to attack me, and my men had no choice but to fight back to protect me—"

Li Shimin glanced at Lin Chuan and said with a smile, "I don't mean to blame you. I was surprised that you didn't kill Li Cang on the spot. Are you thinking about how to kill Li Cang now?"

"Don't hesitate. If you encounter someone like that again, just kill them. I won't blame you!"

Emperors are unpredictable creatures, and these were spoken in private, so Lin Chuan couldn't guess Li Shimin's intentions. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed and replied, "Uh, Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness!"

"Li Cang has a past relationship with the Emperor Emeritus, and the Emperor Emeritus is a sentimental person. I can't just kill him directly, but I will strip him of his title and send him back to Longxi!"

"Let's leave it at that!" Li Shimin said.

"Yes!" Lin Chuan quickly bowed and replied.

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject, asking, "The bamboo paper at the papermaking workshop has been produced. How is the movable type printing research at the Institute of Natural Sciences progressing?"

"We still can't find the right ratio for the ink, we're still researching it!" Lin Chuan replied.

"I intend to reopen the imperial examination system. What are your thoughts, young man?" Li Shimin asked.

"Your knowledge is limited, and I dare not discuss matters of the imperial examinations—" Lin Chuan shook his head.

Li Shimin looked at Lin Chuan and said with a half-smile, "Speak, if you can satisfy me, I will bestow an imperial title upon the girl from the Yan family!"

Lin Chuan stared at Li Shimin in shock, opening his mouth as if to ask if Li Shimin was bluffing him.

"Stop thinking about it. I was familiar with Yan Shigu and Yan Xiangshi when I was still the Prince of Qin. If they knew about movable type printing, they would have told me long ago. Why wait until now?"

You're quite the charmer, managing to win over Prime Minister Yan so he'd betroth his granddaughter to you as a concubine!

He was worried that his granddaughter would be mistreated at your house, so he mentioned it to me.

This old scholar has followed me for so many years and has never asked me for anything. I'd like to grant his request.

"But seeing how lazy you are, I don't want to let you have your way—" Li Shimin glanced at Lin Chuan and said calmly.

After Cheng Yaojin reminded him, he had indeed been considering asking Yan Liu Niangzi for an imperial title.

Now that Li Shimin had spoken, it was no time for him to be polite. He organized his thoughts and respectfully said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, may I be so bold as to speak?"

"Speak!" Li Shimin said irritably.

"Your Majesty, I believe that while it is necessary to hold the imperial examinations now, what is truly urgent is to cultivate scholars. Otherwise, the imperial examinations are merely a temporary solution. I believe that the government establishing schools is the fundamental solution!" Lin Chuan said.

"Education is of paramount importance, but Chang'an already has the Imperial Academy, the Imperial College, the Four Gates Academy, as well as the Law Academy, the Calligraphy Academy, and the Mathematics Academy. Local areas also have state schools and county schools. Is that not enough?" Li Shimin asked.

"Your Majesty, if we follow my opinion, even if we expand this scale tenfold, it still won't be enough!"

How many people can these schools train each year? How many people does the imperial court need each year? If there are enough people, they can simply select the most suitable ones to serve as officials.

"Those who are not suitable for officialdom can learn farming, steelmaking, water conservancy, or construction," Lin Chuan said.

Li Shimin remained silent for a long time, then suddenly asked Lin Chuan, "So that's why you want to establish the Gewu Academy?"

"Yes!" Lin Chuan nodded.

"That's a good idea, but even if your Gewu Academy can be established, it will still take time. Although the imperial examination is only a temporary solution, it still needs to be continued. What are your thoughts on this?" Li Shimin asked.

"Your Majesty, the imperial examination system consists of these things. However, I believe that the recommendation system can be completely abolished. As long as candidates register and meet the requirements, they can participate in the imperial examination. The court should establish laws and regulations and send officials to various prefectures and counties to inspect and organize the examinations!"

Alternatively, a system of anonymizing exam papers can be implemented, with the exam and grading conducted in a completely closed environment!

"We can also add a palace examination—" Lin Chuan directly quoted the mature imperial examination system from later generations.

The imperial examination system, which had been in place for over a thousand years, naturally had its reasons. Li Shimin suddenly understood, and his gaze towards Lin Chuan was filled with admiration. He reached out and patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder: "Quickly write a detailed memorial for me!"

Half an hour later, Li Shimin led his men away, while Zhang Anan carried two huge food boxes in his hands.

Once Li Shimin's carriage had gone far away, the imperial guards who had been stationed near the Lin family residence withdrew in an orderly fashion. Only then did Li Shi feel relieved and softly asked Lin Chuan, "Eldest son, why has His Majesty come?"

"How would I know what His Majesty is thinking? Perhaps he's here to appease us because of what happened yesterday!" Lin Chuan said softly.

"Ah? I heard from Xu Laosan that Zhao Fu and Zhao Gui also killed two of the other side's men. Your Majesty won't blame them?" Li asked.

"I'm not blaming him. I even said that if Li Cang dares to do this again, I'll just kill him!" Lin Chuan said.

The emperor had come to her home, showing how much he valued her son. After a moment of silence, Lady Li softly said to her son, "His Majesty treats you so well; you must do your job diligently!"

"Mother, I understand!" Lin Chuan said.

The next day, Lin Chuan got up early to attend the grand court assembly on New Year's Day.

Compared to the daily court assembly, the grand court assembly on New Year's Day had a complicated process and required constant attention. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonies held the most power at this time, keeping their eyes fixed on the crowd, ready to pull out any troublemakers at any moment.

Naturally, the process of bestowing titles was indispensable. For example, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui all received a symbolic increase in their fiefdoms and were also rewarded with some rare treasures.

Only a handful of people were granted noble titles, and Yan Xiangshi was one of them.

There was also an offer of promotion. Lin Chuan thought it wouldn't involve him, but to his surprise, his name was on the list: "Lin Chuan is appointed as the Crown Prince's Assistant!"

Crown Prince's Assistant?

Although Lin Chuan had never heard of this official position, since it was titled "Crown Prince," it must be related to the Crown Prince.

That won't do; Lin Chuan doesn't want to get close to Li Chengqian.

Looking at Li Chengqian's short life, he was problematic in both his heart and mind. What good could come from associating with him?

As for helping Li Chengqian? Lin Chuan knew he didn't have that ability.

His father seized the throne, and he himself was the eldest son of the legitimate wife and was made crown prince at a young age. Li Chengqian held a winning hand, but he played it terribly.

He could have easily secured the throne simply by doing nothing.

But what about him?

As for Li Shimin supporting Li Tai, if Li Chengqian had been even a little smarter, would Li Tai have had any chance at all?