0p0 Chapter 174: Opening a Business University
Chapter 174: Opening a Business University
"The climate in the mountains is cold, so rice is relatively cold-resistant and can still grow, but the yield is low! Luojing has a hot climate, so the yield is high, but it's not cold-resistant! If these two types of rice cross-pollinate, will there be unexpected results?"
Having said that, Liu Zhao basically made it clear!
Your Highness, what is pollination?"
Song Xian's eyes widened.
"It's about using rice from different regions and spreading pollen onto other rice plants when they're in bloom! Find professional agricultural experts and spend two years researching. There's always a way!"
Liu Zhao never put it into practice, so maybe that’s it!
"Yes, Your Highness really knows everything!"
Song Xian admired him sincerely.
"Don't flatter me. During the past eighteen years, while I've been in the palace, my soul has indeed been outside and learned a lot. I owe all this to the Buddha! Amitabha!"
Liu Zhao clasped his hands together seriously.
"The Buddha is truly great, but it's a pity we have no chance to meet!"
He Zhi's admiration for the Buddha at this time was like the endless torrent of a river.
"Okay, let's get back to the previous topic. The reason farmers don't want to farm is because the harvest is small and the income is low!"
Overall, what he said was a bit disorganized, but Liu Zhao couldn't care less!
"Yes, Your Highness, if you can support your family, you are already a wealthy farmer!"
Song Xian felt that the prince was still very approachable, so he took the initiative to speak more and more.
He Zhi nodded, and Song Xian finally got it!
"Yes, then we should not only allow businessmen to engage in business, we should also encourage farmers to farm!"
"Your Highness, please explain!"
Song Xian knew that no matter how many ways he tried, the prince had no solution.
"No matter how rich a businessman is, he still needs to eat! So we can raise the price of food! If farmers have a high income, they will naturally be willing to farm!"
"Your Highness, this may be difficult to do!"
"That's simple. Besides the taxes, the government will proactively purchase excess grain from farmers at a high price for storage, which will raise the price!"
"Your Highness, given the state of the treasury, I'm afraid there isn't enough money to purchase grain!"
After all, we come back to the national treasury.
Song Xian felt a little uneasy.
"So, one of the reasons why I opened a business school is to raise money!"
"Raise money? How do we raise money?"
He Zhi asked.
"Don't merchants have money? Then we can make them hand over the money voluntarily!"
"Your Highness, are you imposing heavy taxes on merchants?"
He Zhi was a little excited.
"No, I'm not collecting taxes. I want them to pay on their own initiative. I'm afraid they won't pay if they pay too late!"
"Your Highness, please explain clearly!"
"Taibao, I want you to do two things immediately!"
Liu Zhao had a general idea.
"Your Highness, please issue an order!"
He Zhi said with a bow.
"First, immediately organize the business exam. Everyone, come to Luojing to take the exam. I will set the questions!"
"Your Highness, wouldn't that be too many people?"
Although agriculture is emphasized and commerce is suppressed, there are still many merchants in the country with such a large area.
"Then we can use the registration fee to limit the number of participants!"
"Registration fee?"
He Zhi's thoughts were overturned again.
"Yes, for this business exam, I only want the richest people in the country to take it. Ordinary people are exempt!"
"Then how many people does Your Majesty intend to allow to take the business exam? How much is the registration fee?"
"Initially, one thousand people? The registration fee is three thousand taels of gold!"
"Your Highness, three thousand taels of gold?"
He Zhi almost stood up from the stool.
This amount is simply unheard of.
One thousand people, three thousand taels of gold each.
That is three million taels of gold.
It’s equivalent to 30 million taels of silver!
If that were the case!
Wouldn’t the national treasury be replenished instantly?
"The rewards are also huge. The top ten will serve as my business consultants. The rank is...? Third rank!"
"Your Highness, this might make the recommended scholars dissatisfied!"
He Zhi was a little worried.
"If they don't agree, that's easy to deal with. Just let them gather three thousand taels of gold and take the exam! If one or two people start a disturbance, they will be severely punished to serve as a warning to others!"
Liu Zhao felt that this matter must be implemented with thundering means.
Get the business going as quickly as possible.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Seeing Liu Zhao's expression change, He Zhi didn't say anything else!
"Also, from now on, anyone coming to Beijing for the recommendation, whether studying business or not, must live in a designated location and have unified board and lodging! No outside accommodations are allowed! Anyone caught doing so will be disqualified and sent back to their place of origin!"
"Just think about it. If we take out a million taels of gold from the national treasury every year to buy grain from farmers, wouldn't the price of grain go up?"
“Wouldn’t that increase enthusiasm for farming?”
"Your Highness, this strategy truly impresses me!"
Song Xian couldn't imagine that the prince could come up with such a way to raise money for the national treasury.
He Zhi nodded, but then said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid there isn't a place with such a large room and board!"
"As for the location! Song Xian, go figure it out!"
Liu Zhao instantly thought of a good idea!
"Your Highness, please show me the way!"
Song Xian was too lazy to think about what to do!
The prince must have thought it through!
"I heard Shangguan Mi is very rich. He was given a piece of land in Luojing and asked to build 500 houses. He also asked for a one-stop service for food, drink, toilet and other needs!"
Liu Zhao set his sights on Shangguan Mi again!
Now that you have found your old lover, it's time to contribute!
Besides, looking at Zhao Ji, she should have quite a lot of money!
"Your Highness, I will make him pay!"
Song Xian gritted his teeth.
Although this method is a bit cruel, it is indeed effective.
"Very good! The income from these food, drink, and toilet expenses is not small! All of it should be deposited into the national treasury!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Song Xian secretly complained that the prince was using a chicken to lay eggs!
"Taibao, this is the first thing. The second thing is, when Shangguan Mi finishes building the house, during the non-recommendation and business exams, this house will be turned into a university. Let's call it Luojing University!"
"Your Highness, what should we do about the university?"
He Zhi’s head is huge!
The prince's thoughts jump around so fast that his brain can't keep up.
"It's very simple. Once you find someone with extraordinary abilities and prove they have real talent and knowledge, they'll be assigned to this university. As for the rank, consider it second-rank!"
"Second rank?"
He Zhi's voice was a little loud.
"What? Smaller?" Liu Zhao smiled.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Ok!
He Zhi said nothing more.
"Then find 500 bright kids between the ages of eight and twelve from all over the country and let them teach!"
"Your Highness, what about food and lodging? That's a huge expense!"
He Zhi asked again.
"Try to choose from wealthy families! Of course, they have to pay for food and lodging! But as long as they study well, I promise to make them officials! I can also have high-ranking officials in the court give them lessons occasionally. If I have time, I can also go. It will be very good for their future development!"
Liu Zhao had not yet thought about the specific official positions. After all, those were just children and of course they could not become high-ranking officials.
Think about it later!
It would be best to let them become teachers!
Paint a good pie for them first!
Children at this age are very creative. As long as they are guided properly, they may become future mathematicians, chemists, and scientists!
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Although He Zhi didn't understand why the prince did this, it sounded like it should be useful!
How wonderful it would be if children could study in the capital from a young age and have contact with high-ranking officials of the imperial court!
However, the standard of intelligence is a bit difficult!
Ok!
Go down and think of a solution!