si-mexico Chapter 357: Qi and Liang become enemies, Imperial College opens
Chapter 357: Qi and Liang become enemies, Imperial College opens
If the land is given to Qi and Liang is bullied, Qi will give half of it to Liang.
But if it was given to Liang State, Liang State would be reluctant to give it to Qi State.
Gentlemen are precious in troubled times, but they will not live long.
Shen Changgong spoke to the two men from Liang State with a smile on his face, reiterated the alliance between the two countries, and then let them go back.
After all the envoys left, there was a quarrel in the court. Some people praised Lanling Wang for his clever plan to divide the two countries, while others said that it was a loss of magnanimity for a great country.
Imperial Censor Chen Zhe said,
"Your Majesty, we have bullied Qi and not fulfilled our alliance agreement, only giving them three counties. I'm afraid our country's reputation will plummet.
I'm afraid we'll face many difficulties in diplomacy in the future."
Shen Changgong said loudly,
"National defense is the backing of diplomacy, and the strength of a country and its military is the basis of diplomacy, not credibility.
In the past, we in Dayan also attached great importance to etiquette, but did anyone pay attention to us? Did anyone respect us?
Envoys from Dayan, when on diplomatic missions to other countries, had to go through side doors and stay in inns, and could not even enter the court.
Merchants from Dayan are maliciously subject to additional tariffs, blackmail, and extortion in other countries. They are bullied by everyone. Does anyone respect us?
The people of Dayan cannot even lift their backs because the country is too weak.
A weak country has no diplomacy.
All of you must remember my words.
Dignity lies only on the edge of the sword! Truth lies only within the range of the cannon!
Only when you are strong will others respect you. Your arrogance is the style of a great country!
If you are weak, others will bully you. Your politeness is a sign of weakness!"
Shen Changgong's words were deafening.
When you are strong, your politeness will be praised; when you are weak, your politeness will be a joke.
If this is the case between people, it will be even more naked between countries.
All civil and military officials received the instruction, and the historian wrote down these words in detail in the most serious and earnest manner.
After the court was dismissed, Shen Changgong continued to write his own teaching materials.
Building a strong country is not just empty talk, it requires practical actions to educate and cultivate more talents. Only then can it be achieved.
The envoys from Qi and Liang returned to their respective countries.
They all came together, calling each other brothers and smiling happily.
Everyone had different moods when they left. Liang State was quite satisfied. Although it gained less territory, it further consolidated its relationship with Yan State.
But it was different for the State of Qi. It gained nothing and was very angry. It lost soldiers and generals in vain and wasted a lot of money.
After the envoy of Qi returned, he cursed Yan State for its shamelessness and betrayal in the court, and even sent letters to other countries to complain about Yan State's shamelessness.
The speed of Liang State was extremely fast. After the prime minister returned to Liang State, he reported the matter to the emperor. The emperor was very anxious and asked why you didn’t tell me earlier. You should have sent the army to occupy those three counties as soon as you passed the border.
However, the Emperor of Liang sent a pigeon directly to order the army in Yuanma County to rush to Anyang County and Xingyang County as quickly as possible and occupy these two counties.
The speed of Liang State was beyond Qi State's imagination. By the time they reacted, all three counties were under the control of Liang State, and outside the three counties was Yan State's 600,000-strong army.
The State of Qi had nothing except the Xingyang Pass.
Qi was helpless and once again cursed Liang for being shameless and being the same as Yan.
Then he sent envoys to Yan State again to ask for land. Yan State refused to meet him. Shen Changgong directly said that the land had been given to them, and how the two countries divided it was their business, and asked them to ask Liang State for it.
So Qi sent envoys to Liang to ask for land.
The State of Liang just evaded responsibility and dragged its feet, either refusing to meet or dragging its feet. Anyway, it kept dragging its feet until the State of Liang completely consolidated the three counties. It became an established fact that the three counties became the territory of the State of Liang, and there was no need to talk about it anymore.
But this led to a territorial dispute between Liang and Qi, and the relationship between the two sides deteriorated rapidly.
This is where Shen Changgong's cleverness lies. He took advantage of the territorial dispute and directly transferred the conflict that should have been between Yan and Qi into the conflict between Liang and Qi. He watched the conflicts between the two countries continue, while Yan watched from the other side of the river, digested Kun land, developed national strength, recruited soldiers and built weapons.
During the period when the two countries were arguing, Shengjing of Yan State was also busy.
A huge royal garden was transformed into the Imperial Academy, with houses built, roads paved, and various facilities constructed and moved in.
The canteen, dormitories, bedding, school uniforms, etc. all need to be purchased, and these are all places where money is spent.
Moreover, building a house also requires a lot of manpower. The State of Yan did not impose labor service, but chose to pay for labor. Every worker who went to work not only had food to eat, but also received wages.
For the people, this is much better than corvee labor.
Everyone who went to work was in a good mood and praised the Yan court as a truly upright and honest government.
The construction of an imperial college solved the employment problems of many people and alleviated the urgent need of the people of Shengjing who were impoverished and had a lack of successors after being robbed by the Kun army.
It's not just the people who build houses who can solve the problem. It's an industrial chain that includes people who cook, sell grain, make cloth and bedding, produce building materials, and so on.
Coupled with the low-interest loans from the imperial court, Shengjing's economy became active again and prospered.
The construction began before the Taixue year and lasted for three full months. It was not until mid-March that it was completely completed.
During these three months, the Yan court had been preparing for the spring imperial examinations.
Before the imperial examination, there was another exam, which was the entrance examination to the Imperial College.
The examination was led by Wen Lulai, president of the Imperial Academy, and scholars from both Yan and Kun came to take the exam. The exam covered not only the Four Books and Five Classics, but also law, agriculture, and sericulture. This comprehensive selection process was open to candidates under the age of 35.
Wen Lu once told Shen Changgong about his concerns. He was worried that those students would stay in the academy and not study hard. Since they were provided with food and accommodation, what would they do if they had no motivation?
Shen Changgong said directly that the imperial examination only recruited people under the age of 35, and the same was true for the Imperial Academy. Moreover, after the age of 35, regardless of whether they passed the exam or not, they would be sent out to work, and the Imperial Academy would not be maintained in vain.
The reason is that after people reach the age of 35, all kinds of energy will decline, especially learning ability. Moreover, at the age of 35, people become more stable and can serve the country.
Shen Changgong also considered the poor scholar. After all, under the ancient imperial examination system, it was often necessary to pool the strength of an entire clan or village to support a student and allow him to take the imperial examination. If he failed, he would be punished for the rest of his life.
For example, Fan Jin passed the imperial examination.
What’s the point of just reading books without doing anything productive?