Whether we can have a prosperous New Year depends entirely on Li Xian!

Chapter 46: Whether We Have a Prosperous New Year Depends Entirely on Li Xian!

Meals must be eaten one bite at a time, and strides must be taken one step at a time. Elementary school spans six years in total, so constructing a middle school is not an urgent matter. Given the vast area of the Prince of Qi's Estate, there is more than enough room to build even a secondary school inside it.

The task of constructing the Great Tang Royal Elementary School was entrusted to Yan Liben, the Junior Guardian of the Palace Library—the very same master painter who created the Six Steeds of Zhaoling and the Emperor Taizong Greeting the Tibetan Envoy Scroll.

As the saying goes, a painter who cannot build things is simply not a good official.

The curriculum for the elementary school requires relatively few subjects. Since this is the Great Tang, and the ultimate goal is a world with only one Great Tang, foreign languages are entirely unnecessary. Therefore, the only teachers currently needing to be hired from the system are Chinese language and mathematics instructors.

Music, art, and calligraphy teachers can readily be found right here within the Great Tang. Physical education is even simpler: one simply needs to borrow a few generals from the Twelve Guards to moonlight as instructors, which would also help cultivate basic military literacy from an early age.

In ancient times, corvée labor was generally conscripted after the autumn harvest and before the spring sowing. This practice was designed to prevent labor shortages that would leave arable land uncultivated.

The Imperial Censorate had initially expressed mild discontent regarding the sudden conscription of corvée labor, but Wei Zheng single-handedly suppressed all objections.

Are you kidding me? If you want a death wish, don't drag this old man down with you! Thought Wei Zheng fiercely, having already recognized the paramount importance of technology.

His colleagues stared at him as if he were an alien. Wasn't your old self the one who loved contradicting His Majesty the most? Why are you not offering a single opposing opinion today, and on top of that, trying to hold us back?

To this, Wei Zheng remarked: "My actions throughout my life, why should I explain them to others?"

On the day following the imperial court session, the imperial court issued a decree abolishing the original statute that stated "artisans, merchants, and miscellaneous classes shall not be ranked among the gentry and commoners." The social status of artisans was comprehensively elevated, and an eight-tier grading system was established, with annual evaluations held every autumn.

Artisans who passed the state examinations could attain corresponding ranks, which also granted them entry into officialdom. The lowest-tier first-grade artisans enjoyed treatment equivalent to officials of the junior eighth rank, and so forth, up to the highest-tier eighth-grade artisans who enjoyed treatment equivalent to officials of the proper fourth rank.

Furthermore, the imperial court announced the immediate establishment of the Great Tang Royal Academy of Engineering to select and recruit outstanding artisan talents.

The moment the decree was promulgated, the entire realm was shaken.

Artisans everywhere rejoiced, beating their palms in celebration. Craftsmen from all over flocked toward Chang'an with a single goal in mind—the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Tang Dynasty's imperial examination system was still far from as perfected as it would become in the Song and Ming dynasties. In the eyes of most members of the literati circle, this was merely equivalent to adding an extra academic discipline to the examinations, and since artisans followed an entirely separate path of advancement, it did not pose any major conflict of interest with them.

Most importantly, among the aristocratic clans, there was no shortage of artisans with exceptional professional skills. Since they believed this was a windfall from which they could carve out a share, no one felt any need to oppose it.

As for the timelines of Li Zhi and Li Xian, Li Qing temporarily refrained from making any rash moves, primarily because his emotional value points were woefully inadequate.

As the saying goes: no matter how poor the nation, education cannot be compromised; no matter how bitter the hardships, children must not suffer. To lay the foundation for the Great Tang's industrial revolution, Li Qing was truly giving it his all.

The grand mansion plan could wait, but the children could not.

Consequently, one could see him trembling on his bed every day, until suddenly one day his mind had a flash of inspiration and he built a heated brick bed (kang), finally resolving the problem.

Upon seeing the heated brick kang built by Li Qing, the monarchs and ministers of the Great Tang also sparked a fervent craze for building them. For this, Li Shimin was even seized upon by the ritual officials who lambasted him for violating ritual propriety.

"Would you rather my children endure the bitter cold than adhere to your so-called ritual propriety?"

Li Shimin's meaning was simple: whoever causes my daughters to catch a chill, I will ensure you thoroughly chill for eternity.

Upon feeling the bone-chilling murderous intent of His Majesty the Emperor, no one ever dared to murmur again about how building kangs in the inner palace violated ritual propriety.

Ever since his beating last time, that rascal Li Zhi had firmly concluded that his uncle was a good man. He frequently ran over to the Prince of Qin's Estate to freeload meals, always bringing his little tail, Li Ming达 (Li Mingda).

Shangguan Wan'er felt extremely uncomfortable whenever she saw Li Zhi. After all, back when she served Empress Wu in the palace, Li Zhi had once harbored intentions toward her. It was only thanks to Empress Wu's rigorous defenses that Li Zhi never succeeded, though perhaps it was also due to the fact that Li Zhi was constantly plagued by illness.

In short, accustomed as she was to that aged and sickly version of Li Zhi, suddenly seeing a youthful, adolescent squirt who only knew how to eat...

Feeling unaccustomed to it was entirely natural.

Li Chengqian also occasionally came over for free meals, but he was not as affectionate as Li Zhi. He and Li Qing always deliberately maintained a distance, as if being around Li Qing brought him immense pressure.

Li Ke, however, was different. This bastard was even less inclined than Li Zhi to treat himself as an outsider. Not only did he constantly come over, but he also