Jiang Li was not wrong in what he was worried about!

If we want all the children in the country to go to school, then there is a major prerequisite: the family has solved the problem of food and clothing and has no pressure to survive.

If even eating is a problem, who would let their children go to school?

After all, for all ordinary people, children aged ten or eight are already part of the labor force, not to mention teenagers.

Lin Che already had the standard answer in his mind. After all, before traveling through time, he had watched how China rose step by step.

"The prerequisite for education, of course, is to first solve the problem of food and clothing for the people of the world. We are not formulating national policies for three or five years, but for a century!"

In the bustling city, the air is filled with the smell of fireworks.

Jiang Li raised his head, looked into Lin Che's eyes, and said solemnly:

"Please teach me, sir!"

Although Jiang Li had been reviewing memorials since she was a child, she was always very cautious about any national policy. She would discuss it again and again with civil and military officials in the Golden Palace, for fear of making mistakes.

But now, when it comes to the future direction of Dagan and the century-long plan, she doesn't want to ask any opinions from the civil and military officials. She has a certainty that what she and Lin Che are discussing on the streets of Longxu is the direction of the entire world and the future of the entire human race.

Lin Che also spoke frankly, "Unifying the world will undoubtedly bring initial pain and opposition. But that's not important. We have the most powerful army, laws, and the support of semi-saints and great scholars. These are the foundation for a stable and secure regime."

"Next, our first step is to conduct a census. Register all citizens, give them identities and protections. Reduce taxes, lighten corvée labor, and distribute wealth among the people. This time, we brought back a lot of grain seeds from the Ten Thousand Demons. As long as we plant them, they will be available throughout the country in less than three to five years..."

Hearing this, Jiang Li frowned again: "Reducing taxes and reducing corvée labor is what I want to do, but once we cut them, our treasury will be empty and we won't be able to do anything. Although you said that some industries will be nationalized, compared to the income from taxes, these industries can't make up for it at all. Especially in the early stages, these industries are even losing money..."

Lin Che praised, "You've been very thoughtful. We're reducing taxes, not eliminating them altogether. Rather, we're focusing our tax collection efforts on the wealthy and powerful. Even the emperor, dukes, generals, and ministers have to pay taxes. For example, based on the income of ordinary people, we'll raise the tax slightly. As long as their annual income doesn't exceed six thousand taels, we won't collect any taxes from them. But if it exceeds six thousand taels, we'll just take half of it."

"Half? In other words, if he earns 10,000 taels a year, and the excess is 4,000 taels, we'll take 2,000 taels!" Jiang Li muttered, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Great. This way, the common people can have enough food and clothing, and at the same time, we can suppress those powerful people. We absolutely cannot let them become local lords again. If these powerful people dare to disobey, I don't mind bearing the eternal infamy and directly confiscating their property!"

Jiang Li now has great ambitions, but he also knows that he doesn't have much time left, so he simply goes all the way and does things in a big way.

Lin Che continued, "As the saying goes, to get rich, you must first build roads! When you recaptured the Cangwu Abyss, you must have seen countless impoverished villages. They will never be able to leave that small mountain village. We need to help them get out, so that countless small villages can converge into a city, and more importantly, allow countless goods to flow."

Jiang Li fell into deep thought again. "Building roads and cities isn't the hardest part. We currently have a large army of fifth, sixth, and seventh-rank soldiers, and your Daoist Academy has also invented many things. We can easily flatten the mountains. The hardest part is getting the people to abandon their homes. They've lived in the mountains for generations. Forcing them to move to the city? I'm afraid it will cause public resentment, and the gains won't outweigh the losses."

"Actually, we don't need to force them to move out." Lin Che touched his nose. Sometimes national policies can be so ruthless, yet so subtle. He's experienced this before.

"We only need to place the most core facilities within the city, and we can gradually eliminate the rural areas. For example, Confucian academies, military training halls, shops selling daily necessities, as well as city security and road construction, all should be prioritized within the city."

"We force children to study and practice, and we provide them with financial support. For example, if a child is enrolled in school, they will be exempted from further taxes. Whether it's a Confucian academy or a military training hall, we have established clear tiers of education. To enter the best institutions, you must have a household registration and a house in the city. At the very least, one of the child's parents must work in the city. Only then will you be eligible..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li suddenly had a strange look on his face. "You, how could you have such a sinister policy for governing a country? Although, according to you, they were indeed forced to leave their hometown, but wouldn't this... be against the harmony of nature? Dividing the academy into different levels, wouldn't that go against our original intention? Isn't what we pursue the goal of no exploitation and oppression?"

"How can we have it all? Without competition, we humans wouldn't be able to truly select talent. For those ordinary people who want to change themselves, we give them a chance. As long as they fight hard just once, they might even change their lives."

Jiang Li is not a pedantic person. She has come across countless national policies. As for the current situation, such as the Cangwu Abyss and the coastal countries, this is indeed the only way.

"According to your national policy, there will be huge changes in twenty or thirty years. By then, the children who come out to study and cultivate will never be able to return to the destitute villages. However, the manpower and material resources are simply unimaginable..."

Lin Che continued in a deep voice, "Now that we've opened an academy, the so-called imperial examination system must change. Talents selected from across the country will gradually advance from the lowest level to the highest level, and ultimately they will all go to the highest academy in Tiandu City for further study. They are the emperor's disciples, destined to serve as officials in the court. To become an official in the court, one must naturally start from the grassroots level and be dispatched to various locations across the country. The number of positions offered will be dozens of times greater than before, and they will control the very lifeblood of the nation..."

Jiang Li listened and took a bite of the fruit in his hand. He suddenly understood:

"Lin Che, your idea is truly earth-shattering and audacious. If that were the case, then within our city, the schools and martial arts halls, the teachers, the officials who manage the people's livelihoods, the yamen runners who maintain order, even the roads, the businesses, the farming, every aspect of life—food, clothing, housing, and transportation—would all need officials to manage. It wouldn't be just one county magistrate managing a vast area, and the so-called gentry, village heads, and clan elders would all be talents dispatched by the imperial court..."

“Lin Che, if you can really do this, then this is truly bringing peace to the world!!”