"Xuan Chang'an Maritime Academy offered wine to Ma Zhou to see him."
As the eunuch announced in a high-pitched voice, Ma Zhou quickly adjusted his robe again, his body even more nervous and trembling.
The emperor suddenly ordered him to enter the palace, which was a disaster.
When the emperor visited Prince Wu's Mansion a few years ago, he accompanied King Wu to meet the emperor. Later, the emperor visited the Maritime Academy and officially received him.
As for entering the palace to meet him... To put it bluntly, he is not even qualified to flatter him, let alone enter the palace.
…………
Following the eunuch who was leading him, Ma Zhou entered the Tai Chi Hall. Everything here was so solemn and solemn that Ma Zhou couldn't breathe.
Everything in his sight seemed a little distorted, and Ma Zhou felt a little dizzy. Later, everyone knew that this was a hypoxic reaction caused by stress.
A man came towards him, and the eunuch in front immediately stepped aside, saluted respectfully, and called him "Wu Shilang".
Ma Zhou looked up dumbly, and he actually recognized the person who came. Samurai Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs, was one of the most wealthy men in Chang'an City. He was now a high-ranking official with a legendary experience.
The Maritime Academy had a lot of dealings with the Ministry of Finance, and Ma Zhou had met the samurai Yun several times.
Ma Zhou quickly saluted.
There were traces of fatigue on the warrior's face, but he seemed to be in a good mood. He nodded with a smile and said, "It turned out to be horse sacrificial wine." Then he motioned to the eunuch, "Hurry up, your majesty is waiting to see someone.
Don't let His Majesty rush you."
Now Samurai Yu has a firm foothold in the household department and has a lot of things to do.
He had to give advice from time to time on matters related to trade between the Tang Dynasty and other countries. This year, the imperial court was considering adjusting commercial taxes, and the matter fell on his head.
Since the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, he has been busy with this matter for several months.
In addition, although Zhang Gongjin was in charge of the construction of various projects, Yu, a samurai who had done the projects, could not get rid of it. He would often be called by Su Dan to consult.
Moreover, when he returned to Beijing from Jiangling, he gave some opinions in order to make a difference in the Ministry of Household Affairs, so some of the imperial properties fell into his hands.
Su Tan has always been personally involved in communicating with the Shaofu. Money and food matters are the main business of the Ministry of Revenue, and Su Tan will not rely on others.
But speaking of the Shaofu issuing coins, the warrior Yu once transported money to Jiangling and did a lot of practical things there. He was very experienced, so Su Dan often talked with him about money and food.
Those who are capable work hard and are overwhelmed by many things. Over the past few years, Samurai Yu has become an indispensable second person in the household department.
Warrior Xun was in pain and happiness. Of course, he knew why Su Yuanzai trusted him so much and why he came. Everyone was spreading the news that the emperor recognized his second mother as his adopted daughter.
There is no way to refute what he said about having a nose and eyes. In fact, only one of the claims is true, that is, the emperor did change his second mother's maiden name. He also hugged her several times and seemed to like her very much. The rest are mostly rumors.
That’s all.
These rumors were very beneficial to his career. The reason why Su Dan looked at him differently was mostly from this.
Every time he thought about how he, his father, had taken advantage of his four-year-old daughter, he felt dumbfounded.
I came to Taiji Hall this time because the price of salt has stabilized. Hailing's sea salt production will be more next year. The DPRK and China have decided to add sea salt to the trade with the Turks.
Sea salt sold for export is subject to heavy taxes and must be traded in Central Plains coins. On these matters, the Ministry of Revenue will also discuss with Honglu Temple.
In the words of later generations, it was to examine the Turkic market and not raise the price so high that the Turks could not afford it. In that case, there would be no point in selling sea salt to the Turks.
Depending on the situation, we can expand the market in the future and sell sea salt to the Western Regions, Shannan, and Southeast Asia.
Taking this as an example, people in the Ministry of Revenue also felt that tea could be treated in the same way, but compared with salt, the habit of drinking tea among the nobles of foreign races must first be cultivated.
Therefore, people in this generation were not stupid, and their business skills were no worse than those of later generations, but they just did not develop to that level.
How to develop a tea market? It's very simple. When foreigners came to the Central Plains to pay homage, the customs and living habits that affected them became. Those who went to court saw the nobles of the Tang Dynasty sitting there gracefully, wearing gorgeous clothes and comfortable
And drank the tea intoxicatedly.
Are you saying they can’t learn from it? In terms of cultural export, the Tang Dynasty did not start, and it will not end in the Tang Dynasty. What later people called the Chinese cultural circle was actually accumulated over time.
As long as it is formed, it cannot be eliminated by abolishing a word or distorting history. This also requires years of hard work, and it also requires you to have a certain foundation to replace it.
This applies to the powerful civilizations of the East and West, and later events have proven that it is not unique to China.
…………
The side hall was very quiet, and there were not many people. Except for the eunuchs waiting on the side, they were the ministers who were on duty today.
Chu Suiliang, the regular servant of Sanqi, happened to be on duty. He had a seat in the palace. He saw Ma Zhou coming in. He took two steps and his legs softened. He staggered a little and almost made a fool of himself. The corner of his mouth curled up and he almost stopped laughing.
Come.
King Ma Bin of Mazhou is now very famous, almost everyone in the government and the public knows that Chang'an Academy was founded because of this man's Shangshu. Chu Suiliang didn't know what this guy wrote in Shangshu, but it actually aroused the emperor's anger.
, immediately issued an edict to investigate.
Although Chu Suiliang has some reputation in the literary world, his curiosity about this matter is different from others. He just wants to ask Ma Zhou for advice on the key points of Shang Shu and learn a little bit about it. This is a very useful thing.
What about skills.
Li Po was on top, looked at Ma Zhou who was paying a courtesy visit below, waved his hand and asked someone to give him a seat.
Ma Zhou was very young, which made Li Po feel a little emotional. This man seemed to have been in front of him many times just after his thirties. It was like the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead.
When he led his army into Chang'an, few of the people he saw were younger than him. Now, over the years, young talents have emerged one after another.
…………
After Ma Zhou's resignation, Li Po had always wanted to see him, but there were many complicated things, and the situation at Chang'an Academy was still unclear, so the matter was delayed.
Now it's just right, Ma Zhou's luck is also good. Although the emperor's troubles with Chang'an Academy have made him heartbroken for a long time, the final result is undoubtedly a good thing in the long run.
If Ma Zhou had been summoned to the palace some time ago, he would not have spoken so calmly. Seeing how timid and timid he was, swaying about and about to faint at any time, the result might not be good.
But now you don’t have to worry about this…
So Li Poxian said warmly: "When King Wu asked for the establishment of a maritime academy, I was still a little hesitant. After all, he was not a scholar, but now it seems that I have underestimated him.
He recommended you to manage the Maritime Academy. You have hired the right person. You have managed the academy very well. I am very pleased.
Things in the world are like this. Almost everything can be classified as personnel matters. If you use the wrong people, good governance will be changed beyond recognition. On the contrary, if you use the right people, no matter how difficult it is, you can accomplish it."
This sentence almost made Ma Zhou shed tears. With the emperor's personal judgment, his efforts day and night over the years would not be in vain.
It seemed as if a vitality suddenly filled his whole body. Ma Zhou stood up and bowed to the ground, "I am only a humble person and cannot deserve your majesty's praise."
Li Po laughed and motioned for him to sit down without ceremony, "You deserve it. Your Majesty, I have been reading it from time to time in recent days. I can tell from a glance that you have put great effort into your studies.
When did it start? I see that in your memorial, every word is exquisite and every sentence is logical. It should have taken a long time, right?"
Ma Zhou's heart was burning, and he no longer had any fear. He sat up straight and his face shone brightly. He looked like a different person from before.
As he spoke, his enunciation became clearer, "Your Majesty is wise. In the fourth year of Yuan Zhen, the academy was newly built. Your Majesty did not consider the despicableness of the minister, and allowed him to offer wine to the Maritime Academy. I was in fear day and night. I only knew that I had to recruit talented people first. .
At that time, the Beijing Examination was taking place, and literary talents gathered together, so I tried to recruit some failed scholars, and accidentally met Dr. Kong, the Imperial Academy..."
At this point in the chatting stage, it goes without saying that Li Po grasped the rhythm of the topic. Before he knew it, Ma Zhou was already talking without any restraint.
At this time, he asked with great interest: "Dr. Kong? Is it Kong Chongyuan?"
Seeing that the emperor knew Kong Yingda, Ma Zhou felt that the topic was smoother and smoother, "It is this person. At that time, Dr. Kong was only serving as an assistant professor of the Imperial Academy in the Imperial Academy. He was promoted to Doctor of the Imperial Academy last year and was a candidate bachelor of Guanwen Palace."
Li Po nodded, he knew that Kong Yingda was not because Kong Yingda was famous, but because Kong Yingda was one of the bachelors of the Prince of Qin's Mansion, and he had paid attention to all the subordinates of the Tiance Mansion.
"I remember that he was a Jinshi in the former Sui Dynasty, a scholar of Confucian classics, right? He was from Hebei, a descendant of Confucius? Even if he is a great talent, how can he be a doctor of Guozi now?"
Li Po looked at Chu Suiliang, who promptly explained: "Your Majesty, Kong Chongyuan is indeed a descendant of Confucius. He taught in Hebei during the reign of Emperor Kaihuang, and his reputation was very important.
At the beginning of the great cause, Emperor Yang ordered the great scholars from all over the world to go to Luoyang to debate with secretaries and bachelors. Nayan Yang Da judged the superiors and inferiors, and Kong Chongyuan was ranked first.
Later, some people were jealous of his talent and had him assassinated. He hid in Yang Xuangan's house and survived. He was later awarded a doctorate in Hanoi County. Later, he was also tired of Yang Xuangan and hid in the countryside.
When Hebei was in chaos, he was called to Luoyang and later transferred to Chang'an as an assistant coach..."
Chu Suiliang didn't talk about what happened after that. He, Kong Yingda and others all worked in the palace of Prince Qin, so they knew Kong Yingda's background.
The emperor asked him, obviously he knew about this.
Ma Zhou looked at Chu Suiliang, and naturally he didn't recognize who this person was, but this person knew Kong Yingda's origins very well, and even he didn't know some things. He thought to himself that this person should be Kong Yingda's old friend, right? Or is he his enemy?