Li Shimin was rarely depressed and had a bitter face throughout the whole process.
Yang Zhao teased Li Shimin happily.
Li Shimin was so angry that he turned his back and faced the prince with the back of his head.
Yang Zhao was not angry and said that he could help Li Shimin with his studies.
Li Shimin turned around and snorted, "I won't sleep today. I will finish reading the book today. I don't need anyone's help!"
Li Xuanba no longer laughed at his second brother in front of others, but he said in his heart: [Well said! You have ambition! When the teacher draws the ball, don't let me help you cheat. ]
Li Shimin's eyes widened and he looked at his brother in disbelief.
What kind of bad brother are you! Why don't you help me?
Li Xuanba walked to the side of Li Sanniang and used his sister to block his second brother's resentful eyes.
The teacher's assessment of homework is different from going out to show off. Second brother, you can't cheat. Block it!
Li Sanniang raised her sleeves to cover Li Xuanba and deliberately smiled at Li Shimin. Li Shimin's eyes became more resentful.
Yang Zhao laughed so hard that his stomach was shaking.
Li Xuanba stole a glance at the flesh on Yang Zhao's body and thought to himself that it was no wonder that the prince's health was worrying.
From Chai Shao, Li Xuanba learned that both Yang Zhao and the people around him were impressed by Yang Zhao's strength and ability to draw a strong bow, and had no idea about Yang Zhao's obesity.
At that time, obesity was considered a sign of wealth. Although doctors had repeatedly said that obesity was bad, the nobles did not take it seriously.
Li Xuanba glanced at his second brother who still had a resentful look on his face.
The second brother's favorite son, Li Tai, was also a fat man who had difficulty walking. If the second brother had a clear understanding that "obesity" was a disease, he would not have included Li Tai in the list of heirs.
However, in history, Emperor Taizong of Tang had no intention of deposing the crown prince.
When Li Shimin saw his brother looking at him, he thought his brother had changed his mind.
He looked at Li Xuanba with expectant eyes, and Li Xuanba immediately hid his head back beside Li Sanniang.
Li Shimin was angry: [Ah! ! ]
Li Xuanba's eyes drifted to the side. It's no use saying "ah".
Li Sanniang smiled and pressed Li Shimin's head: "Go and study on your own. You deserve to be punished for not completing your homework."
Li Shimin pursed his lips: "Oh."
He pursed his lips, rubbed his face hard, and then his lively smile returned.
Li Shimin smiled and put his hands on his hips, "Anyway, I will have to stay up late to read books in the future, and I will be scolded by the teacher soon. Now I have to have fun! Don't worry about it! Come on, Xuan, let's go and see how the craftsmen print books!"
He rushed to Li Xuanba and ran away before he could react.
Li Xuanba felt like he was being dragged along.
If we were to exaggerate this scene and draw it into a cartoon, then both his feet would be off the ground.
Li Sanniang hurriedly followed: "Erlang, be careful! Don't let Sanlang fall!"
Chai Shao also hurried to chase Li Shimin, who almost disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Yang Zhao ran two steps, took two breaths, and then walked slowly.
Half of the reason why he looks calm and composed is because he is fat. Being fat makes you impatient.
When Li Sanniang caught up with Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, Li Shimin was already tiptoeing on the edge of the table, watching the craftsmen demonstrate how to print Buddhist scriptures.
Li Xuanba put his hands on his knees and gasped.
Li Sanniang patted Li Xuanba on the back and glanced at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin smiled at his third sister and fooled her.
"Sister, isn't this just a large seal?" Li Shimin swayed up and down on tiptoe.
Li Xuanba took a breath and said, "It's a large seal. Try my method."
After the original bookstore owner was sold out by Madam Dugu, the new owner was very honest. Although Li Xuanba was young, he listened to Li Xuanba's instructions and did not express his opinions.
Li Xuanba asked his servant to bring a small box. After opening it, a strange toy the size of a palm was found inside.
This toy is a stand with two boards on top, a pedal underneath and a big wheel next to it.
Li Xuanba set up the toy stand and took down the board on it: "Install the carved plate on this stand. There are also mechanisms for spraying and brushing ink. With this mechanism, we can reduce the workload of the craftsmen and print more books a day."
Li Xuanba asked for a small piece of paper and demonstrated it to everyone.
Yang Zhao asked curiously, "Li Sanlang, where did you see this?"
Li Xuanba lied, "I saw it in a storybook. I tried it and it really works."
He naturally learned it from the place where he worked in his previous life.
In his previous life, his parents took out loan sharks and borrowed a large sum of money from relatives and friends to live a carefree life abroad. His grandparents who raised him were furious to death. He dropped out of school during the winter break of his senior year in high school and started working to pay off the debt.
He was only seventeen years old at that time. Good jobs like "delivery boy" were not popular yet. He was also blocked by people from the debt collection company and was not allowed to travel far, so he could only start with odd jobs.
Going to the county's old printing factory to print test papers for the school was his first job, which he found with the help of his class teacher.
The old factory manager who led him was particularly fond of various old-fashioned printing presses and often made models of them to play with.
He later helped the old factory manager open an online store specializing in selling various printing machine models.
The old factory manager made some money and kindly gave him 50,000 yuan.
At that time, loan sharks were caught in a crackdown. He used 40,000 yuan to pay off part of his debts, gained the trust of his creditors, and was finally able to leave his hometown. With the remaining 10,000 yuan, he set out on the road to a southern coastal city.
So even after traveling through time, he still remembered how to make the old printing press model.
It was just a model, certainly not as sophisticated as a real old-fashioned printing press. But an old-fashioned printing press was a manual machine, and there was no special technical threshold. There were skilled craftsmen in the Tang Guogong Mansion, and Li Xuanba could make a simple version with some thought.
But now he just took out a super-simple printing press that could reduce the physical burden of woodblock printing, and it couldn't even be called a printing press.
He was still a child and could not produce very sophisticated techniques at once. Moreover, because there were too many Chinese characters and the literacy rate of craftsmen was not high, when printing Buddhist scriptures and Confucian classics, which only required a large number of repeated printing plates, woodblock printing was more useful.
Only after his brother became emperor did he dare to show off the old-fashioned printing press with ink and movable lead type.
The old-fashioned printing press really doesn't have much technical content. In the era of manual machinery, the replacement of manual machinery, apart from the materials, was just "not thought about in this direction".
The craftsmen in the workshop were not only responsible for printing, but also for engraving and some woodworking. After Li Xuanba took out the model, the printers in the workshop immediately realized the usefulness of this model.
The tax system at that time was "rent and labor adjustment", which strictly managed handicraftsmen. Most handicraftsmen were managed by the government, and there were not many private handicraftsmen, most of whom were backed by aristocrats.
The handicrafts needed by the aristocratic bureaucrats were either obtained directly from government craftsmen through salaries, or made by craftsmen in their own homes.
Nowadays, slavery is prevalent, and people with good skills are willing to sell themselves to the nobles in exchange for a stable life. The craftsmen in the workshop and the craftsmen that Li Xuanba had consulted in the mansion were all slaves of the Duke of Tang's mansion. So Li Xuanba casually took out the simple woodblock "printing machine" without worrying about it being spread.
Chai Shao and Yang Zhao did not take this "toy" made by the child seriously at first, but when they heard the excited discussions of the craftsmen, they realized that this thing might be more useful than they thought.
Besides attending Chai Shao's wedding, Yang Zhao had another reason for returning to Daxing.
When he was implicitly persuading Gao Jiong to take a step back, he happened to see Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi talking about Li Xuanba's request to print the Confucian classics they had annotated.
Li Xuanba's reason was that woodblock printing could print a lot of books very quickly, but the people only used it to print Buddhist scriptures. Although Buddhist scriptures can lead people to be good, they also lead people to leave the world, and they are foreign scriptures. Scholars like us should still learn more from Confucianism.
Although Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty believed in Buddhism, he also vigorously promoted Confucian classics. Although most scholars practiced Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and may have mixed some unspeakable Legalism, Military Strategists and Diplomats, after experiencing the indulgence of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, sober scholars began to regain the orthodoxy of Confucian classics and tried to integrate traditional Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism into a new Confucian classics.
Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi were among those who attached the most importance to promoting Confucianism in the court. When they saw Li Xuanba's letter, they were naturally moved.
The two men sighed. They had seen poor families spend money to buy printed Buddhist scriptures and worship them devoutly, but they never thought that Confucian scriptures could also be printed on woodblocks.
Yang Zhao was also a person who valued Confucianism. He knew that to govern the country, he had to rely on Confucianism. So he returned to Beijing without hesitation, wanting to observe this matter personally.
Yang Zhao said with emotion: "With this change, the handwriting of printed books will be much clearer. It is also suitable for printing Confucian classics."
Chai Shao was surprised and asked, "Printing Confucian classics? Is this Li Sanlang's idea?"
Li Xuanba nodded.
Chai Shao exaggeratedly said: "So many great scholars in the court didn't expect that Sanlang is really amazing."
Li Shimin was proud: "That's right! My brother is the best!"
Li Sanniang smiled and said, "What about you?"
Li Shimin put his hands on his hips and said, "As good as my brother."
Everyone laughed.
Li Xuanba scratched his cheek with his fingers, feeling a little embarrassed by the compliment. However, he was also puzzled. Woodblock printing had been popular for a long time, but it was during the Later Tang Dynasty of the Five Dynasties that Prime Minister Feng Dao and Li Yu first petitioned to print Confucian classics.
Perhaps the bigwigs in the court really don't pay much attention to the affairs of the people.
Seeing Li Xuanba's "toy", Yang Zhao felt that Li Xuanba's suggestion was very feasible: "Cousin, can you present this trick to His Majesty? Of course, His Majesty will definitely not take your things for nothing."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "Your Majesty, please use it as you wish. But these are just some small things, how can they be called "offerings"? I don't want to be known as a carpenter."
Yang Zhao smiled and said, "So what if it gets out? Zhuge Wuhou is also good at tricks, and his cousin is Zhuge in the world."
Li Xuanba cupped his hands and said, "Although I can never become the living Zhuge Wuhou, since my cousin can praise me like this, I will take it as encouragement and accept it with a thick face."
Li Shimin rolled his eyes and said, "I also want to be Zhuge Wuhou! Ah Xuan, let's do it together!"
Li Xuanba was speechless: "Zhuge Wuhou can still have two more people?"
Li Shimin said: "Why not? The more Zhuge Wu Hou, the better!"
Yang Zhao laughed: "Erlang is right, the more the better. Both of you will become Zhuge Wuhou."
Li Shimin was pleased: "My cousin is right, too, hehe."
Li Xuanba was even more speechless. Hey, you little head.
When my second brother was a child, he wanted to be many people. Sometimes he wanted to be Guanjun Hou, sometimes he wanted to be Wei Qing, and now he wants to be Zhuge Wuhou.
I wonder if my second brother would feel embarrassed when he recalled his childhood dreams after becoming emperor.
There is a high probability that my second brother will be as thick-skinned as he is now when he grows up. He will not be embarrassed at all and will even make a few jokes.
Li Xuanba generously presented the model to the crown prince, and Yang Zhao immediately had someone report the matter to the emperor.
Yang Guang was very happy when he learned about this.
He is a man who loves show and fame, and he likes anything that can create a big sensation.
So he gave an order to the crown prince, summoning craftsmen to study the printing technique, first printing Confucian classics, then the calendar, and then compiling the imperial edicts such as the recruiting orders issued after he ascended the throne into "holy words", which were printed and distributed to various places.
If the printing effect is very good, Yang Guang would like to gather people to compile the rare copies collected in the palace into a collection of books, and then print more copies and store a few copies in Tokyo and Jiangdu respectively.
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Yang Guang himself was an extravagant person, so unlike Emperor Wen of Sui who was stingy, he was very generous in rewarding those he loved.
Yang Guang immediately wrote a letter to Li Xuanba, asking him if he wanted to be a minister.
The title of Shizhong is now just a nominal position, usually given to people close to the emperor. If you are appointed as Shizhong alone, you only receive a salary but do not have to work.
When Li Shimin heard about this, he jumped up and down with joy: "Great! Ah Xuan will be the official first! Brother will follow soon!"
Li Yuan was also very happy.
Although Li Jiancheng felt a little jealous, he still acted like a good brother and congratulated Li Xuanba.
Madam Dou frowned: "Wouldn't it be too ostentatious?"
Li Xuanba thought for a moment and said, "Father, please help me reject His Majesty's kindness and exchange it for some land and money."
Li Yuan was puzzled: "Why?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. My second brother and I accompanied the emperor first, and then my father was recruited to the court. I was also appointed as the Minister of the Court. I was honored and favored too much. As my mother said, I am still young and the blessing is too great. I may not be able to bear it. In ancient times, many people who entered the court as officials at a young age did not have a good life."
At this time, people not only believed in the art of prophecies and divination, but also believed in "fate".
Li Xuanba only said that his family was too favored, but Li Yuan did not take it seriously.
As the emperor's cousin, he deserved to be honored and favored. Moreover, his family's honor and favor were far inferior to those of Yuwen Shu's family, the emperor's favorite minister.
But Li Xuanba said that "the blessing is too heavy to bear", which made Li Yuan take it seriously.
Li Xuanba had been in poor health since birth and seemed to be overly intelligent, which fits the characteristics of those child prodigies who died young in history books.
Seeing that his father was persuaded, Li Xuanba said, "Furthermore, father, I want to take the imperial examination and enter the court."
Li Yuan said without thinking: "No! If you enter the imperial court through imperial examinations, you will be looked down upon. Haven't you seen the situation of those who were appointed by the previous emperor through imperial examinations?"
Of course Li Xuanba knew.
Although later records state that the title of "Mingjing" began with Emperor Wen of Sui and "Jinshi" began with Emperor Yang of Sui, in fact, during the Han Dynasty's system of selecting candidates, the recommended talents would be selected through examinations after entering the court, and the titles of "Mingjing" and "Jinshi" already existed.
On the contrary, later archaeological discoveries revealed that the words "Mingjing" and "Imperial Examination" did not appear in the edicts of Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui regarding the imperial examinations.
This is not to say that Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui did not offer these two subjects. They just followed the ancients' classification of examinations and did not specify them, and did not attach as much importance to the imperial examinations as later generations imagined.
Emperor Wen of Sui really did not attach much importance to the talents recruited through the imperial examination system. He trusted more the talents who were appointed as officials through the protection of nobles and aristocratic families.
During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, most of the talented people who entered the court through the imperial examination, like Wang Zhen, were sent away as a county lieutenant, and many more, like Liu Zhuo and Hou Bai, did not even have the opportunity to hold an official position.
Even though Hou Bai entered the court as an official through the most difficult examination, the Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty treated him as a joke. Yang Su was good friends with Hou Bai, and whenever he recommended Hou Bai, Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty always said that Hou Bai was not qualified to be an official, and only gave him the treatment of a fifth-rank official.
When Li Yuan was young, he accompanied Emperor Wen of Sui and was deeply loved by the emperor. Therefore, he witnessed how Hou Bai was treated like an actor by the emperor.
As soon as Li Xuanba mentioned the imperial examination to become an official, he immediately felt disgusted.
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "Father, the current emperor is different from the previous emperor. When accompanying the emperor, I heard the emperor say that he prefers to employ talents selected by himself. The emperor told me quietly that he will add subjects next year, hold imperial examinations and select talents personally."
Li Yuan looked at Li Shimin and asked, "Is this true?"
I haven't heard of it! Li Shimin answered without hesitation: "Really! Your Majesty has said it!"
Maybe His Majesty said this to Ah Xuan in private. Let's help Ah Xuan convince Ye Ye first!
Li Yuan was somewhat tempted: "Since His Majesty has said this to you…"
Li Jiancheng objected, "Even if Your Majesty would use people who passed the imperial examination, the ministers in the court would still despise them. How could our Tang Guogong Mansion produce someone who passed the imperial examination? It would be a disgrace to the Tang Guogong Mansion."
Li Yuan hesitated again: "It is true, but it is still not good."
Mrs. Dou wanted to interrupt, but after moving her lips a few times, she remained silent, fearing that if she spoke, her husband would habitually object.
Li Xuanba gave his mother a look of "reassurance" and continued, "Our Tang Guogong Mansion is a relative trusted by His Majesty, and it is as prosperous as oil boiling over a raging fire. If the brothers in the family have too much power, it will not be good. If I pass the imperial examination and enter the court as an official, the children of the noble families will disdain to associate with me, which may be better for the Tang Guogong Mansion."
Li Shimin also advised: "Yes, yeah, Ah Xuan's physical strength is not good to begin with, and he cannot be burdened by worldly affairs. Ah Xuan can stay in the capital to study, and no one will bother him, and he will be happy and free. I will go to the frontier to be a general and fight for a title. Isn't it better for us brothers to take different paths to serve as officials?"
Li Yuan was not convinced yet, Li Jiancheng agreed: "Father, Erlang's words seem feasible."
Madam Dou then interrupted, "Erlang and Sanlang both want to earn their own official positions. If they are so ambitious, you should just follow their lead. As for the opinions of other people in the court, as long as Your Majesty likes Sanlang enough, who would dare to look down on him?"
Li Yuan finally stopped wavering and nodded: "Okay. Then Sanlang, you should prepare well. Although my family's status means that we can easily get the title of 'scholar' in the imperial examination, you'd better convince everyone of your talent."
The "Xiucai Class" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was the most difficult subject in the regular examinations, and the number of admissions was extremely low.
From the time when the Sui Dynasty recruited scholars to its demise, there were less than ten "scholars"; in the early Tang Dynasty, because the requirements of the "scholar category" were too high, no one could pass, and the category was soon abandoned. The term "scholar" became a compliment to scholars.
No matter how many subjects the current emperor will open, since the son of the Duke of Tang wants to pass the imperial examination and become an official in the court, he will definitely compete for the title of "scholar".
"Yeah, do I need you to remind me? My and Xuan's teachers are Lord Gao and Lord Yuwen!" Li Shimin said, "How can the disciples of Lord Gao and Lord Yuwen not be scholars? Humph. If I didn't want to join the army, I would also take the exam to become a scholar."
Li Yuan said unhappily, "Yes, yes, you and Sanlang's teachers are Lord Gao and Lord Yuwen. Then Erlang, have you finished your homework?"
Li Shimin's face fell: "Yeah, I hate you!"
Li Yuan laughed out loud.
Li Jiancheng was somewhat envious of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba's teachers at first, but after hearing Li Yuan's ridicule, he couldn't help but smile: "Erlang, someone in the Southern Dynasty said, 'A child who is smart when young may not be a good person when he grows up.' Your intelligence now is nothing, so don't let up."
Li Shimin bowed with a gloomy face: "Yes, brother."
Madam Dou smiled and said, "Erlang is still very hardworking, but he has been a little lax these days."
Li Xuanba nodded repeatedly. That was really too lax.
"A few days ago, my second brother said he wanted to stay up late to read, but he has become lazy these days and always wants to go riding and shooting arrows." Li Xuanba sighed, "Where is my diligent second brother last year? He is so lazy now!"
Li Shimin said angrily: "Ah Xuan!" Bastard brother, I was just speaking for you, and you were laughing at me together with Ye Ye's mother and brother!
Madam Dou smiled and said, "This is also your father's fault. He has nothing to do at home now. When he saw that Your Majesty had given Erlang a pony, he insisted on teaching Erlang to ride a horse, which delayed Erlang's studies."
Li Yuan was helpless: "Okay, okay, it's my fault. Erlang, I confiscated your pony."
Li Shimin opened his mouth so wide that he could stuff a whole boiled egg into it: "No!! Ah Xuan! Help me persuade Ye Ye! Give me back my pony!"
Li Xuanba suppressed his laughter and said, "No, it's your fault for not finishing your homework."
Li Shimin's mouth drooped and he burst into tears in anger.
Madam Dou and Li Yuan laughed even harder.
Li Xuanba stopped laughing, handed his brother a handkerchief to wipe his tears and snot, and comforted him with his heart: [Who told you not to do your homework well? Do you really want to wait for the teacher to check your homework and be disappointed in you? The teacher took a detour to visit a friend and was delayed for a few days. It's time for him to arrive now.]
Li Shimin hugged his brother tightly and wiped his tears and snot on Li Xuanba's shoulders deliberately.
Li Xuanba: "…" So dirty!!!
Madam Dou and Li Yuan were almost out of breath from laughing.
Li Jiancheng showed a look of disdain. Just now he thought his two younger brothers were good, but now he heard his younger brothers' shrill cries and saw their messy appearance with tears and snot all over their faces, and he didn't like them anymore.
Oh, kids are so annoying.
…
Li Yuan finally wrote a letter to politely decline Yang Guang's reward.
Li Yuan shouldn't have known that Yang Guang wanted to add another imperial examination system, so he didn't say much.
Li Xuanba also wrote a letter, saying that he wanted to compete with talented people in the world, so that he could stand beside His Majesty with confidence. Moreover, it was heard that those who performed well in the imperial examinations could be consulted by the emperor himself, so wouldn't that mean they were disciples of the emperor?
Originally, Li Shimin had nothing to do with it, but he still used his hands swollen from being beaten with rulers by his two teachers to hold the pen and add a few words, "I fight for my cousin, and Ah Xuan is his disciple. We are both good at civil and military affairs!"
When Yang Guang saw Li Xuanba's letter, his eyes scanned the four words "the emperor's disciples" for a long time, and then fell on the sentence added by Li Shimin.
He smiled and said to Yuwen Shu, his most trusted and important minister, "Duke Xu, do you think these two boys are very likable?"
Yuwen Shu said: "Your Majesty's vision is never wrong."
Yang Guang laughed.
Seeing that Yang Guang was in a good mood, Yuwen Shu then told him the real business of this meeting: "Your Majesty, Duke Chu is ill, and he seems to have complaints about Your Majesty, saying, 'Why should I live any longer?'"
Yang Guang's smile faded, and he snorted coldly: "It is indeed a complaint, but it is also self-aware."