"Since that's the case, let me ask you…what is the foundation of a country?”
Li Xuan slowly took out a cigarette and lit it. He took a deep breath as faint smoke circled the sky.
In an instant, all the officials in the court were dumbfounded.
What did the Emperor draw? What was ignited just now? A lighter? It was actually so magical.
After a while, no one answered. Everyone acted as if they hadn't heard anything as they stared blankly at the cigarette in Li Xuan's hand. His intoxicated look couldn't help but make people curious.
"Didn't you hear what I said just now?”
Li Xuan's loud voice sounded again, pulling them back to their senses. Following that, Wei Zheng appeared again."Your Majesty, in ancient times, there were four people. This example had been followed since the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, Qin, Han, and Wei. I think that the four people of scholars, agriculture, industry and commerce should be the foundation of the country.”
"I believe that the law of the country is the foundation of the country…"
"Your Majesty, what the ministers said just now is nothing more than a strategy for governing the country.。”
Amidst the noisy discussion, Li Jing, who had almost never spoken, stood up and cupped his fists."I believe that the foundation of a country is only the army. The army can protect the country, attack and kill, which is the foundation of the country.”
Gradually, the discussions in the court grew louder and louder.
Li Xuan slowly finished smoking a cigarette and extinguished it in the ashtray beside him before saying,""All of you are right, but you are wrong. Do you know why?”
His words instantly silenced the quarrels below the stage, and everyone raised their heads.
"Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen are all for the people. The law is a tool used to make laws. The army that Minister Li spoke of was the soul of a strong country.”
Li Xuan smiled with his hands behind his back as though he was looking down at all living beings. He said indifferently,""All of you here today hold great authority and privilege in the Great Tang, and you are all the hearts of the Great Tang. Have you ever thought that every voice from this place will affect the gains and losses of the Great Tang and the survival of every citizen?”
Upon hearing that, the crowd's eyes gradually turned suspicious. They didn't know what Li Xuan was going to say as they were puzzled.
"The strategy of governing a country, the foundation of a country, the road to a strong country, and the soul of a country. This is what you should be working hard for. To establish your heart for heaven and earth, to establish the lives of the people, to inherit the teachings of the past saints, and to create peace for all generations. This is the policy of governing the country.”
Li Xuan's bright voice pierced through the hall and struck everyone's hearts. He continued,""Law, education, morality, the people, and the army should be the foundation of a country. Laws are national laws, civil laws, military laws. Nurturing is education, ten years to nurture a tree, a hundred years to nurture a person. If you want the Han men to remain strong after ten thousand years, you should pay attention to education, spread education, and nurture the sons and daughters of the people of the Great Tang, regardless of wealth or poverty. How can the Great Tang not be established?”
"A country cannot prosper without virtue, and a person cannot stand without virtue. If you let your people respect virtue, do you have good virtue yourself?”
Li Xuan slowly walked down the steps and strolled past Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and company. He said again,"" Now, Chang 'an has a night curfew. When the morning bell rings, the people of Chang' an can trade with each other. There are only a few hours a day. How can it promote the strength of the country? For thousands of years, dynasties had respected scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen. Officials held high positions and could govern the country and the world with just their knowledge, but they ignored the specialization of the field. May I ask all the ministers present, in today's world, is there anything that you wear, your official residences, or your food, clothing, and accommodation made by officials?”
“……”
His sonorous and forceful words were like a heavy hammer, smashing the entire court into silence.
They were all stunned.
The path of promotion through the imperial examinations had been from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, or even before that, since the Qin and Han Dynasties. The sense of superiority brought by the aristocratic families made them not consider these things at all.
In their eyes, other than officials, everyone else was a commoner.
Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, attacked Goguryeo three times. Why were they all defeated?
After the Sui Dynasty was unified, in just a few decades, the country was destroyed.
All of this was caused by the Guanlong Family.
This was because the imperial examinations held by Yang Jian and the canal opened by Emperor Yang affected the interests of the Guanlong aristocratic families. Their originally solidified social class was attacked by the lower class people. In order to protect themselves, they could only harm the emperor and the people.
A faint smile hung on Li Xuan's lips as he returned to the dragon throne. He turned around and swept his sharp eyes across everyone's faces."Do you have any objections to what I said just now?”
It was unknown if they were afraid or thinking, but everyone was as silent as cicadas in winter!
"Since that's the case, I'll issue an edict today to order the capital governor to open the curfew, connect the commercial market, and promote agricultural technology. All the people of the Great Tang, regardless of whether they were talented in poetry or not, worked in agriculture, reduced taxes for workers, and encouraged commerce.”
Li Xuan knew that he had to implement an open-door policy for the Great Tang to survive. Otherwise, everything would be nonsense.
"Your Majesty! You can't…"
As soon as he finished speaking, at least half of the imperial censors below the stage knelt on the ground with a thud.
Pay attention, kneel down!
In this dynasty that had not yet developed the kneeling ceremony, this group of people was shocked.
"Your Majesty! The foundation of the Tang Empire is not stable yet. Once the curfew is lifted, I'm afraid that foreign thieves will break into Chang 'an. I'm afraid that it will be a calamity for the people of Chang' an! Moreover…since Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, those who are the Son of Heaven have been governing the country and should follow the calendar. If Your Majesty places so much importance on agriculture and commerce, the people will be blinded by greed. I'm afraid that by then…it will be difficult for our Great Tang to manage…"
Apart from the generals, more than half of the civil officials and strategists had also voiced out their opinions, looking as if they would rather die than submit.
Obviously, they didn't agree!
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