"If we conquer Liuhe without a fight, the entire territory of Chuzhou will fall into our hands!" Zhang Ximeng said excitedly, unable to hide his smile.
Li Shanchang is much calmer than him, after all, his age is here.
Moreover, Li Shanchang has too many government affairs at hand. Expanding his territory is a good thing, but his burden is a lot heavier.
"Originally it was just Chuzhou, but now we have to add the three surrounding counties, and we have to complete the land transfer before spring plowing. Asking myself, I am really in a quandary!"
Zhang Ximeng's smile never diminished. He was very aware of Li Shanchang's administrative abilities. Such a small amount of territory and such a small number of people would exhaust the future Xiao He, and he looked down on Lao Li's abilities too much!
But Li Shanchang complained, and he understood what it meant.
"Mr. Li, our reserve of civil servants is indeed not enough. Now that we have obtained the whole territory of Chuzhou, we should set up a school and cultivate a group of talents of our own. We have discussed this matter a long time ago, and now is a good time!
"
Li Shanchang pondered for a moment and frowned slightly, "It is not easy to run a school. After ten years of hard work, no scholar can survive! I don't know how long it will take before they can be used!"
"Hahaha!"
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Li, do you think we are going to train the number one scholar? There is no need to put in so much effort!"
Li Shanchang was puzzled, "Well, even if it is an elementary school, it will take several years!"
Zhang Ximeng was helpless, Lao Li was confused.
"We are training people who can be used, and time is tight... Naturally, we can do it as quickly as possible. The first is literacy, which requires knowing two thousand commonly used words. If you pass, you will be specially trained. If you fail, you will continue to learn.
.It doesn’t take much time to learn to read. Even if you start over, if you can read 2,000 words, it will probably take half a year. If you can write, it may take a little longer.”
Li Shanchang frowned, "What's the use of just being able to read?"
"It's very useful! If you can read, you can read official documents and laws, and you can send them to the countryside to explain and implement the land transfer. If you can recite the laws and regulations, you can go to the countryside to enforce the law, inspect the place, and maintain order. In addition to knowing the alphabet, you can also
If you learn some arithmetic and understand this, you will be considered a high-end talent and can help us collect taxes, count household grains, arrange baggage, and assist the lord in deploying troops."
"ah!"
Li Shanchang couldn't help but exclaimed when he heard this.
After clamoring about running a school for so long, today he finally figured out Zhang Ximeng's plan... This thing is not complicated at all.
Learn literacy and simple arithmetic first.
If you already have a certain foundation, you can pass it quickly, and then you can go to specialized training... The police officers who are responsible for maintaining the safety of a party mainly learn some laws and learn how to arrest prisoners, mediate disputes, and resolve conflicts.
Those responsible for collecting commercial taxes mainly learn arithmetic.
Those in charge of water conservancy learn to dig canals and wells, etc.
After such dismantling, the learning difficulty is greatly reduced, and it is divided into subject teaching.
Li Shanchang made a simple calculation. If he had a certain foundation, he might be able to start working in half a year and help with work... And half a year later, it would be the first harvest after the field was divided, and the first official collection of land tax.
Li Shanchang's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but be overjoyed. He gave Zhang Ximeng a thumbs up, "You are really a great talent!"
Zhang Ximeng smiled implicitly, "Old Li is too polite... Actually, I just have an idea. You will have to work hard to actually implement it. When it comes to the practical part, Old Li will have to teach them lessons."
"Let me take the class?" Li Shanchang asked in surprise: "Is this appropriate?"
Zhang Ximeng threw up his hands helplessly, "Now is not the time to discuss whether it is suitable or not. We are just trying to get the ducks on the shelf and do whatever it takes!"
Li Shanchang was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it for a while, he felt refreshed and unusually refreshed.
Some time ago, he roped in Yang Yuangao and several others, thinking that they could form a group, but Zhang Ximeng intervened, causing those few to become Zhu Yuanzhang's public servants.
He, Lao Li, has no confidants to use. Do you think it is irritating or not?
But if a school is set up and he teaches in person, with masters and apprentices plus superiors and subordinates, it won't take long for a large and dense network to surround him, Li Shanchang.
Under Lao Zhu's rule, he also had the weight to speak.
The days are getting more and more promising.
Li Shan was overjoyed, but he knew very well that if he wanted to achieve his goal, Zhang Ximeng must nod. This young man was full of evil ideas, and he also had a backer, Jia Lu, who was not easy to deal with.
Li Shanchang thought for a while and simply said: "Mr. Zhang, look at how it is now. The superior is fighting outside, and we are governing together inside. With the perfect combination and tacit understanding working together, there is nothing that can't be done! Don't you think so?"
Zhang Ximeng looked into Li Shanchang's eyes and couldn't help but smile.
This smile made Li Shanchang a little confused. Did he say it wrong?
"Mr. Li, I'm just thinking, if the people who should hold power don't hold power, then will the people who shouldn't hold power have to hold power?"
Li Shanda was shocked. He said with a sullen face: "I didn't mean anything else. I just wanted my colleagues to join hands. It's hard for me to understand the words of the secretary!"
He directly addressed Zhang Ximeng's official position, which made him angry.
Zhang Ximeng was not in a hurry, "I said those who should not hold power include the lord, right?"
"What do you mean, you want to evade my lord?" Li Shanchang glared at Zhang Ximeng and almost stood up.
Zhang Ximeng admitted frankly, "This is indeed my plan. Let the lord lead the troops outside, sacrifice to the gods and ancestors, summon subordinates, reward the three armies, pay condolences, or immerse himself in documents, and it is difficult to escape. As long as the lord spends his time
The arrangements are full, and it’s your turn to make the decision for things that my lord can’t take care of, right?”
"you!"
Li Shanchang was stunned and simply dumbfounded.
Can this be said?
However, he did indeed do this when he was in the prefect's yamen. A few of them joined forces and easily held the master of the government in their hands.
Will Zhu Yuanzhang be an exception?
Even if he is really lucky and becomes the emperor, he is only one person, how can he deal with a group of people?
In fact, it doesn't take much, just Zhang Ximeng nods, and the two of them can do it.
But Li Shanchang did not expect that Zhang Ximeng would expose this matter. If Zhu Yuanzhang was offended, the consequences would be disastrous!
"Zhang Ximeng, you said this, but I have no intention of doing so! When the superiors question you, you will have to bear the responsibility!"
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Yes, of course I am responsible... The monarch and his ministers share power. Each is responsible for a part. How to divide it? The power lies with the lord, not below. If the lord can take care of everything, I can rest."
Yes, it’s really a beautiful thing!”
After finishing speaking, Zhang Ximeng stood up and couldn't help humming: "I am originally from Wollongong, a casual person..."
Listening to Zhang Ximeng's heavenly voice, Li Shanchang wiped the cold sweat from his palms on his sleeves and sat blankly on the chair without saying a word.
It was not because he had a brain problem that he wanted to win over Zhang Ximeng. In fact, this kind of decentralization of power has been going on since ancient times. This is not what the struggle between imperial power and prime minister power is about.
If the emperor gets more points, the prime minister will get less points.
Some people may think that the imperial power is so high that life and death can be taken away from them, and the prime minister is worthy of fighting the emperor. Isn't that asking for death?
Thinking this way can only mean that you don’t understand the rules of how power operates.
Although the imperial power is supreme, he can fill up the emperor's space with trivial and useless things. Things that he cannot take into account are naturally within the scope of the prime minister's authority.
This is just like the emperor who likes medals, hunting, and racing. Although as a lord, his power is unlimited, but it does not prevent other bosses from taking control of their own departments and building their own departments into independent kingdoms.
Therefore, when you are in officialdom, you must give full play to your initiative.
Li Shanchang is determined to assist Zhu Yuanzhang and do things for Lao Zhu... If this is the case, it would be nonsense to think that Zhu Yuanzhang is the only one left in his heart.
In a word, the abolition of the Zhongshu Province and the abolition of the prime minister system that has lasted for thousands of years are not a contradiction in a day or two, but the result of decades of accumulation.
Zhang Ximeng exposed this matter, which is equivalent to telling Li Shanchang, as long as I am here, you should not think about doing anything secretly.
Although we can enjoy some rights, these rights must come from the Lord and not be granted privately.
It's just that as the territory becomes larger and larger, and there are more and more things to do, as a humble social instrument, the power it can get becomes more and more.
There may even come a day when His Majesty the Emperor can only be busy with the morning court and the numerous memorials. At that time, the Emperor is only the nominal master of the country.
"Li Shanchang, Li Shanchang, why can't you be content? Can't you wait patiently? One day, when you are unlucky, I will not care about you and let Lao Zhu chop off your head and destroy your whole family!"
Zhang Ximeng thought happily, just waiting for old Zhu Desheng to return home and implement the school affairs.
In running schools and cultivating talents, the Zhu Group became more formal.
"Guo Ying, Wu Zhen, Lu Zhongheng...and the rest of you, please listen to us. Next, you all go to school and learn all the words first. Don't act like you are blind!"
These people looked at each other. The youngest Guo Ying was almost 20 years old, so it was too difficult for them to study.
"Um...it's not difficult to study, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a while, and the long list of books Zhang Ximeng gave him flashed through his mind... Lao Zhu said categorically: "It's not difficult, not difficult at all, you can learn it quickly!"
After giving the instructions, Lao Zhu turned around and returned to the handsome account, reached out and grabbed a collection of Ouyang Xiu's essays, and quickly started reading.
If my husband asks me if I want to study, I can still deal with it. "There are mountains all around Chuzhou. The peaks in its southwest..."
The generals looked at each other. Guo Ying looked at a few people and asked tentatively: "The superior said that studying is not difficult. Do you believe it?"