Overlord's Road to Ancient Emperors

Lei Ming relaxed his body, sat down and enjoyed a cup of tea. This tea was picked a few days ago, and it was simply fried and then soaked in water. People are afraid that they will not buy this kind of bitter and astringent tea to drink. If the prince picks tea and makes tea with great fanfare, he will lose [-]% of the tea in the end.

But because of his relationship with the prince, he will definitely not be reminded, let him know how much he has, otherwise he really thinks that money is so easy to earn.

Lei Ming put down his teacup, looked at Li Xu and said, "This matter of food tax has to be approved by General Kou, my lord, look..."

"Don't worry, the reform is not a matter of a day or two. It's just that I happened to see these two articles before I asked Mr. Lei to talk about it. By the way, I will let you take a look at this group of students. You must approve it."

Lei Ming re-read the two articles. Leaving aside the differences in viewpoints, the two articles were well written, well-organized, and well-written. It can be seen that they are people with literary talents. If such a person is usually seen by him, he must be willing to hire them. Yes, but thinking that this is someone recruited by King Shun, he felt a little bit unhappy.

"Does the prince want to reuse the two of them?"

Li Xu nodded, "Both of these two have studied since childhood, and they have also traveled to South Vietnam to study. Is it the location? One is Jianzhou County and the other is Jianyang County, right?"

Lei Ming's heart tightened, and he nodded firmly, "Exactly."

After Li Xu came back, the information collected by Kou Xiao was also obtained. Overall evaluation, most of the officials in the Lei family are muddleheaded officials. Come to think of it, Jianzhou County and Jianyang County are both in the northwest, and they are even more impoverished. Those who will be assigned there must not be valued by the clan.

"Then replace the two of them."

"My lord!" Lei Ming wanted to fight for the children of the family again, but he couldn't say anything to Li Xu's deep eyes that could see everything.

Li Xu got up, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Old Lei, don't worry about the gains and losses at this moment. The Lei family has a wider world, so why tie all the descendants to the officialdom, let alone such a poor place. When a county What's so good about Ling? With this king leading the way, the Lei family's business can be done all over the world, even in the Western Regions and Southeast Asia. I believe they will do better when they have accumulated experience before making them officials."

"Is this really possible?" Lei Ming asked excitedly when he heard the last sentence.

Li Xu gave him a reassurance, "Don't worry, if after five years, some of them still want to become officials, as long as they can pass this king's assessment, they will definitely use them."

"Thank you, my lord." Lei Ming was so moved that he burst into tears. With these words, he would be able to explain to the family, and the elders in the family would definitely not object. But in this way, their Lei family will completely cling to King Shun. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse.

People handed in the papers one after another. Except for the students who could read and break characters, the answers of the others were all written by the civil servants, and then handed over to Li Xu for review.

Most of these people are craftsmen, and the answers of these people are not written with pens, but made with tools.

The first person to hand in the finished product was a craftsman of bamboo products. He made a bamboo curtain, which is very useful to surround the barrel when the rice is harvested and threshed. It can prevent the grains from splashing.

Li Xu has seen the agricultural tools of this era before, and knows that rice threshing is done by manual beating, and the grains fall down after being stressed, and fall into the wooden bucket, and they are grains, which are then dried and sieved to remove the empty Hull, the rest is full of millet.

From plowing to harvesting, this series is entirely dependent on manpower. If modern machines are used, the speed will be countless times faster, but this is obviously impossible.

What Li Xu has to do is to stimulate the creativity of these ancient craftsmen and try to create more convenient and labor-saving tools. All he can do is some references.

"Very good, it is practical, but it can only be rated as medium. Would you like to be a steward of the tea garden? The tea garden needs a lot of bamboo sieves and bamboo baskets."

The craftsman was overjoyed. He thought he was going to lose the election. After all, this thing is too simple and has no technical content. He didn't expect to be able to earn a steward. "Thank you, my lord, the villain is willing."

Li Xu never underestimated the wisdom of the ancients. These craftsmen have learned crafts since childhood, and some have specialized in a craft for decades, and they are already considered experts. What they lack is mutual advice and broadening their horizons. The limitations of their thinking limit their develop.

But on the second day, Li Xu saw an unexpected finished product. A young man named Shuo made a waterwheel. Although it was only a small waterwheel, it was too dazzling to be ignored.

Li Xu was still thinking that when he recruited enough craftsmen, he would also make the waterwheel, and he had prepared the blueprints. In this way, the terraced fields reclaimed on the slopes would not have to worry about irrigation and could increase How many good fields.

"Your name is Shuo? Do you have a surname?" Li Xu looked at the young man. He was only in his twenties.

The young man knelt on the ground and replied cautiously: "I have no surname. I used to be a domestic slave of a family surnamed Zhang. I learned crafts from a carpenter since I was a child. Later, the master's family fell into poverty and couldn't support us, so he sent the slaves to us." dismissed."

"Did you come up with this waterwheel?"

"Yes, the villain worked as a sharecropper for two years after he regained his freedom. He farmed and planted fruit trees for the employer's family. The fruit trees grew on the hillside and there was no water for irrigation. The villain wanted to make something to send water to the slope."

Li Xu expressed deep emotion that this society is constantly improving, and you never know that what you want is quietly being produced somewhere in the world.

"Then did you succeed?"

Shuo raised his head and said embarrassingly, "I only made small molds in my spare time, but I haven't tried it before."

Li Xu got up, went to him and pulled him up, and asked him to take the waterwheel he made to test the results.

The principle of the waterwheel is very simple. The big waterwheel has great uses, while the small waterwheel has small uses. The waterwheel Shuo made is only as tall as a person and has limited irrigation capacity, but it has already shown the results to onlookers.

Zhong Shuiqing and other officials applauded loudly, with joy on their faces, "With this sharp weapon, irrigation will be much cheaper in the future."

Li Xu gave Shuo an excellent grade and asked him, "Do you have a household registration?"

Shuo blushed and said, "Not at all." It is difficult for people like them without household registration to walk outside, and it is even difficult to find a job.

"Later, you will take this king's name card to settle down, and you can choose a surname for yourself."

Shuo kowtowed excitedly to thank him, and then asked expectantly, "Can a villain be surnamed Zhang?"

"nature."

The next thing that surprised Li Xu was a blueprint, a water conservancy project drawing, which was made by a gray-haired old man. His family has three generations. He used to be an official in the last court, and the dynasty collapsed. Afterwards, their family moved south to South Vietnam, where they have been living.

It was only at this time that Li Xu realized that there were officials in charge of canal management, which was similar to the modern water conservancy bureau, but with more detailed and single responsibilities.

Li Xu can understand blueprints. The highlight of this water conservancy project drawing is that he will set up gates at many places along the Minjiang River, and build a canal extending in all directions at each exit to irrigate paddy fields. When it comes, it can also divert the river water through the canal to reduce the disaster.

South Vietnam suffers from floods every year. The Minjiang River is the largest river in South Vietnam, running from east to west. The two banks of the river are also the hardest-hit areas. If the diversion can be successful, the disaster will undoubtedly be alleviated.

But since ancient times, many people have thought of this method, but none of them have really succeeded. It is nothing more than such a large project, and it cannot be completed overnight.

Just think about Zheng Guoqu in the Qin Dynasty, and you will know how much national power was spent on this project alone.

But this project must be done, no matter from which point of view, it is beneficial to the country and the people, and Li Xu still has the cement formula in his hand, which is definitely a great weapon to subvert the construction industry of this era.

"This drawing was drawn from the old grandfather's generation. The old father spent his whole life revising it. And the old man has traveled all over South Vietnam in the past few decades. It is absolutely feasible to correct it according to the terrain of various places."

Li Xu asked Wu Jin to move a chair for him to sit on, and talked with him for an hour. Knowing that he is only 45 years old this year, his weathered face and gray hair are the result of decades of travel, he admires such a talent even more.

"Why is Mr. Cen willing to dedicate such an important drawing to the king?"

Cen Jin stretched out his hands and handed them to Li Xu, "Look, my lord, this old man's hands are almost useless, and he can no longer draw detailed drawings. He married a wife when he was old, and had a child at the age of 20. Died in a flood, the old man adopted an orphan when he was 40 years old, and wanted to pass on this skill to his adopted son, but he didn't have much talent, and the blueprint would become a piece of waste paper in his hands.

This is the lifelong painstaking effort of the three generations of the Cen family. If the old man cannot find a suitable heir before his death, this hard work will only go to waste. Originally, the old man came to Minzhou to dedicate this picture to General Kou, even if he couldn’t do it. Can be passed down from generation to generation.After arriving in Fujian Province, the story of the prince is spread in the market every day, and this old man knows that when the opportunity comes, this blueprint will definitely become a reality in your hands. "The old man said with tears in his eyes, it was an emotion that Li Xu couldn't understand but was infected.

Li Xu carefully folded the blueprint and put it in the wooden tube, "I can't guarantee it, but this project will benefit the country and the people, and I will try my best to complete it."

Cen Jin kowtowed, thank you. "I'm afraid I won't be able to see it with my own eyes. Please trouble the lord. When the day comes, send someone to burn a stick of incense on the grave of the old man to tell the good news."

Li Xu didn't dare to accept his kneeling, so he asked Wu Jin to help him up, "Mr. Cen is only 45, take good care of your body, you may not be able to see it with your own eyes, this king still needs the great talent of Mr. Cen."

Knowing that Cen Jin doesn't even have a permanent residence, and that there are many people like Zhang Shuo, Li Xu plans to build a dormitory next to the old palace for these homeless employees.

Workers don't need to find another person. Most of the people who come to interview are craftsmen, and it's no problem to build a house.

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During the three days of the interview, Li Xu saw many weird things, most of which were made by craftsmen. These craftsmen's imaginations are really rich. If someone guides them, their skills will definitely make a qualitative leap.

The answer sent by a stonemason was a stone tablet with capital letters engraved on it, saying that it was used to divide the land area and could be used as a boundary marker. The lion, the little lion came alive, and was recognized by Li Xu at a glance.

He thought that in the future the stone lions at the gate of the palace would be gone. If they could be handed down, the modern stone lions cut by machines would have to kneel down and call their ancestors.

There is also a carpenter who is more interesting. He carefully carved a whole manor, with houses and houses, fields and land, flowers and trees, lifelike, and amazing craftsmanship. Ask him what it has to do with farming. He said it was for Better plan this villa. The villa they are in now belongs to the Kou family, and it is just an ordinary villa. If it can be remodeled according to his design, a few more paddy fields and a few acres of vegetable fields can be created. It is both beautiful and practical.

Li Xu believed in his evil, took over the manor, and built one like this in the future. As for this talented person, he can engage in urban planning in the future. This messy Minzhou city will be rebuilt one day.

In addition, the most people make farm tools, some are too unique to use, and some are really useful, but the current technology does not support it, and someone drew a blueprint of a valley fan, but failed to make it. .

Li Xu changed the drawings for Gu Fan according to the appearance of the Gu Fan he had seen when he was a child, and asked more than a dozen carpenters to cooperate with him in making it. In two days, he got a Gu Fan. This kind of equipment was available in every farmer's family when he was a child. The sun-dried millet must be passed through a grain blower to remove empty shells and weeds.The principle is very simple. Turn the handle to drive the wind blades to rotate, and the wind will blow out the light shells in the grains that fall at a constant speed, and the ones that fall are good.

Good things are easy to see at a glance. Zhong Shuiqing was watching and taking notes, his hands shaking with excitement. If these agricultural tools can be promoted, it will be of great benefit to the common people.

Three days later, the interviews were completely over. Li Xu hired a total of 550 people, half less than expected, but already a very large number.

In addition to the [-] students who were given official positions of different grades, Li Xu also selected [-] craftsmen with outstanding craftsmanship to form a new department, and the boss of this department was Cen Jin, Zhang Shuo and another A man named Chen Ming was promoted as deputy.

The official positions in South Vietnam are not divided into six departments. The ancient imperial court that Li Xu is familiar with divides functions into six departments. He doesn't know if this system is good, but it is more reasonable to think that it can be used by the feudal dynasty for thousands of years. As far as the guard understands, the unclear separation of duties and powers is the biggest problem at present.

But to change the political structure of a county is tantamount to fighting against the imperial court. Although Nanyue is relatively independent and is its own small imperial court, everything has to be reported to the police. It is not something he can reform if he wants to.

Li Xu wanted to set up a new Ministry of Industry and appoint craftsmen as officials. This matter was unanimously opposed by the county guard.

Today, the entire Dayan Dynasty is still in a state where the aristocratic nobles control the government. They are an entire interest group that monopolizes most of the country's resources, such as land, official positions, money, rights, etc. Li Xu not only wants to set up new departments, but also Promoting craftsmen to serve as officials is seriously inconsistent with the concept of the aristocratic family.

It's not that no emperor thought about reforming the employment system, but he couldn't break through the line of defense of the aristocratic clan, and all plans were stifled in the cradle.

The craftsmen were from humble origins, and many of the people Li Xu hired were servants sent by the aristocratic family. They changed their names and surnames, changed their backgrounds to take the exam, because they were just a pawn to be placed in the Shun Palace.

But one day, the chess pieces in their hands were reused by King Shun, and they stepped into the officialdom, and their ranks were even higher than those of the children in the family. How could they agree to this.

Moreover, in the eyes of scholars, craftsmen who are skilled in craftsmanship are not considered top-notch, and only by studying can one become a master.

Li Xu scoffed at this. It's not that he doesn't like scholars, but if a person only knows how to study hard, well, you can go to the education department or take care of documents, and let him take care of bridges and roads, and agricultural production. Isn't it funny?

There are specialties in the art industry, and the same is true for officials.

"Or was it rejected?" Li Xu looked at Wu Jin who was in a hurry and asked. Today was the third time he handed over the documents for the establishment of the Ministry of Industry and the appointment of officials to the Sheriff's Office, but they were rejected all three times. The other party's reasons were very clear: Since ancient times, craftsmen are lowly and cannot be officials.

That is to say, you, King Shun, can set up a Ministry of Industry if you want to, but if you want to use craftsmen as officials, there is no way.

In the list proposed by Li Xu, Cen Jin is not considered a craftsman, but he has been homeless all his life, and his reputation is not good, and he is not recognized by the public.

Wu Jin nodded and suggested: "His Royal Highness, why don't you choose someone from among the students to be the Minister of Industry. On the surface, he is in charge of the Ministry of Industry, but in fact, Mr. Cen is in charge. As for Zhang Shuo and the others, you will have enough confidence in the future." , just promote them again.”

Li Xu turned the pen in his hand, "You said, if General Kou was here, would he support my king's decision?"

"This..." Wu Jin was stumped, he didn't meet Kou Xiao many times, and the Kou family was also a noble family, so it was more likely that he would side with the people in the county guard's mansion.

Li Xu suddenly wanted to know Kou Xiao's thoughts urgently. In this era, he was fighting alone, and he especially wanted to find a like-minded person.

He wrote a letter with a pen and asked Wu Jin to find someone to send it to Kou Xiao, and repeatedly said: "Let the sender wait for General Kou to reply and bring it back together."

"promise."

After Wu Jin left, Li Xu thought about his proposal carefully. This solution is not impossible, but it means he has to compromise.

Li Xu has been in a high position for many years, and he seldom needs to compromise. This is suddenly a loss of face. His first consideration is not to compromise, but how to make the other side surrender.

But he didn't have a good idea for a while. When the original owner was the prince, he also mentioned that he wanted to select talents from poor families, but he still failed. Not only that, but also made him lose the support of many aristocratic families.

Li Xu is a foreigner, it is even more difficult to open this situation, he has not been able to respond to everyone, it is normal to be refuted, but understanding is one thing, depression is another.

The matter of the Ministry of Industry was put on hold like this. Anyway, the craftsmen were all involved in the project of building the dormitory building, and they were fascinated by the cement formula that Li Xu came up with. No one could see the undercurrent between King Shun and the government.

The blueprint of the dormitory building was still designed by Li Xu. That style was too simple, so that it was unanimously resisted by a group of craftsmen whose aesthetics were beyond the level. Everyone thought, how could there be no carvings on the gate?How can there be no carvings on the beams?How can the walls be bare? At least let the masons carve auspicious clouds on each brick.

Li Xu woke up a group of people with a stick: "The dormitory building is only temporarily lent to you to sleep in, and it is really your own home? Besides, the king is still waiting for you to build roads. How can there be so much time for technology?" Creation." Carved and painted, can it be eaten as food?Can you sell it for money?

As soon as Li Xu finished showing off his power here, he took over the official positions of fifteen members of the Lei family, including Lei Zhan, Lei Ming's elder brother.

Everyone had been mentally prepared for this matter, and Lei's family had also reached an agreement in private. When the notification came down, everyone was relieved.The Kou family army at the gate finally withdrew, and they finally didn't have to face a group of ferocious soldiers anymore.

These vacated positions range from high to low, the high ones will be promoted from among the original officials, and the low ones will be filled by the fifteen students. As for the position that attracts the most attention, the position of the county magistrate, Li Xu resists all opinions. , recommended Ji Hanyu to the position.

As the adjutant of the county guard, the county magistrate is in charge of the affairs of Nanyue, and he can intervene in everything, with great authority.

"My lord, it's not that the lower officials deliberately made things difficult, but that the position of the county magistrate is important. This Mr. Ji is too young to be competent."

Li Xu brought Ji Hanyu here today, "The size of ability is never judged by age. This king is not very old, and he thinks he still has some ability. General Kou is even younger. Who dares to question his ability?"

"Your Highness is of noble status. He was taught by a famous teacher since he was a child. General Kou is exceptionally talented and came from a family of generals. Both of you are not mortals. How can we compare with you?"

Li Xu pointed to Ji Hanyu, and said with a smile: "Mr. Ji is not bad, he is Lu Shanzhang's closed disciple, oh, Lu Shanzhang, do you know?"

All the people present here are the most famous people in Nanyue. Of course, they know who Lu Shanzhang is. When they heard that Ji Hanyu was Lu Shanzhang's closed disciple, their eyes suddenly changed.

Because Nanyue was not valued by the imperial court, there were few scholars, and there were not many famous Confucianists. The admiration for scholars is engraved in the bones.

Li Xu said without exaggerating: "Master Lu Shan is the father's mentor, Master Ji is still my uncle in terms of seniority, he is talented, but lacks experience. If you don't believe me, you can test him."

"My lord, since Mr. Ji is so talented, why don't you start as a county magistrate first, wait for a year or two and then get promoted. If he has made outstanding achievements, he must be the next county magistrate." Lei Ming suggested.

Li Xu originally thought about letting Ji Hanyu start from a small official and gradually accumulate experience, but the incidents of the Ministry of Industry reminded him that he didn't have time to wait slowly, he needed someone who was in a high position and could support him without hesitation his decision.