Chapter 480: The Fortune of the Tang Dynasty

"Have you ever seen the sea?" Li Tai swallowed and changed the subject. He couldn't let the little girl laugh at him for being greedy.

"Yes! We took a big ship from Guangzhou Port to Quanzhou Port, and then landed in Jiaozhou.

"The sky is blue, the sea is blue, the sky and the sea are one color, and the boat is so big, so big." Xiao Tao said excitedly.

"How big is the sea?" Li Tai asked.

I looked up ancient books in the Hongwenguan, but I had never seen it. The sea I imagined in my mind was bigger than a lake, calm and beautiful.

"It's huge! It's unfathomable! From a distance the water looks blue, but it's actually pitch black!

When the wind was strong and the waves were high, the ship swayed and bumped in the sea, and the waves hit the deck, and the waves were very high.

The big boat was like a floating leaf, and it almost capsized several times!" Xiao Tao patted her chest, her face full of fear.

Fortunately, their boat was big and did not capsize.

One of the small passenger boats following behind had capsized. It was pitch dark and I couldn't see anything. I could only hear faint and noisy cries for help in the wind and rain.

Even if I wanted to save him, I couldn't do anything. I was too busy to take care of myself and couldn't move at all in the waves.

When the weather cleared up the next day, only scattered objects were seen floating on the sea.

They also rescued two survivors who were holding onto driftwood and took them to Henan Road, where they were given some money to go home.

"The boat is still too small! If the boat is big enough, it won't capsize easily!" Li Tai thought for a while and said.

“Yeah, we saw a huge ship at Guangzhou Harbor. It was so tall. Atang and I looked up and it must have been at least fifty feet high.

My sister said it was called a tower ship. As long as the water leakage problem was solved, it could carry 800 people! Xiao Tao thought of the giant tower ship in Guangzhou Port.

"Fifty feet? Eight hundred men?" Li Tai was stunned and said regretfully, "Alas, what a pity there is no chance to go out to sea!"

They were chatting animatedly in one car, and Su Ying was also chatting animatedly with Li Chengqian in the other car.

"In addition to developing crossbows, cannons, and muskets, the research institute also develops these weapons.

We also need to research and develop gunpowder and ammunition, and get all the Taoists who make elixirs here." Su Ying suggested.

He secretly hinted that those pills were not to be taken.

"Don't worry about that. We can just draw people from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Weapons, and various Taoist temples." For Li Chengqian, it was just a matter of a word.

"Your Highness, if the institute wants to continue its research, craftsmen are crucial. Can the treatment of craftsmen be improved?" Su Ying asked.

In ancient times, many occupations were hereditary, including executioners, coroners, craftsmen, etc. Craftsmen were registered as artisan households and lived near the Jiangzuojian.

Sons inherit their father's business, and generations of craftsmen have passed down their skills by word of mouth.

The labor tools and various construction technology improvements in history all came from this group of inconspicuous craftsmen.

"Once you enter the research institute, you will be treated differently from the craftsmen outside!" Li Chengqian promised.

"Your Highness! I have an idea!" When Su Ying said this, she remembered something.

"Master Su, please speak!" Li Chengqian really enjoyed chatting with Su Ying.

It was a relaxed and pleasant conversation, and we talked about practical construction and development that benefited the people.

Unlike the so-called great scholars in the Hongwenguan, who talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality all the time and give long speeches, but none of them are practical at all.

"Your Highness, agriculture is the foundation of a country. The imperial court has a dedicated Ministry of Agriculture, and the Imperial College has six schools, but there is no dedicated agricultural college.

I have browsed through the classics and found only a few books on farming, which I treasure and keep. These books were collected from farmers working in the fields!

If there is an agricultural college that specializes in training planting technicians, it will also gather planting techniques and experiences from all over the north, south, east and west.

Verify ancient agricultural time books, and compile and revise the latest agricultural time books.

The trained students are assigned to various county offices to promote and disseminate the latest planting techniques and increase grain production.

Scientific examinations select management talents, while agricultural colleges provide another way out, technical talents.

Including craftsmen, a special college can also be opened to teach different majors such as architecture, smelting, bridge building, shipbuilding, and water conservancy.

In this way, the imperial court can obtain a large number of professional talents, rather than the current situation of scholars being separated from craftsmen and farmers." Su Ying spoke eloquently.

"Good! Lord Su is right!" A light flashed in Li Chengqian's eyes, which was more practical and effective than those sour and empty talks.

Ambition welled up in my heart, but since I couldn't match my father's glorious military achievements, I decided to find another way and do practical things that would benefit the country and the people.

Looking at Su Ying eagerly, he said, "Master Su, is there anything else?"

"Uh, Your Highness, eat your meal one bite at a time!

Your Highness, please complete the construction of the Firearms Research Institute, the Agricultural College, and the Engineering College before considering the rest."

These are the foundations of a country. No one will raise any objections or obstruct them. They are good things for both the public and private sectors.

"Listening to your talk is better than reading for ten years!" Li Chengqian sighed.

So many famous scholars are not as practical, insightful and far-sighted as a girl!

"Your Highness, thank you for your kind words. I have returned from Lingnan with deep feelings. There are few educated people. Farmers and craftsmen have skills but cannot read. Many skills can only be passed down orally.

"If we give them the opportunity to study and train them into professionals, then the Tang Dynasty will develop rapidly and become even more powerful." Su Ying said modestly.

"It is a blessing for the Tang Dynasty, my father, and me to have Lord Su!" Li Chengqian valued Su Ying even more.

Many government policies were difficult to implement, as the officials were controlled by powerful families. Being lazy and incompetent was the best thing they could do, and they extorted a lot of money from the people.

It will take some time to move against the aristocratic family.

The Lingnan Teaching Order has given students from poor families another path.

If we open agricultural colleges and engineering colleges to train farmers and craftsmen, or if students from poor families take this path, that would also be a sudden rise.

At least he could be a low-level manager in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Water Resources. If he persevered, he would eventually get ahead.

Starting from the places that the aristocratic families look down upon, and infiltrating little by little, this force will gradually grow stronger and be used by the emperor to compete with the clans.

"Whoa!" The carriage suddenly stopped.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Su Bucheng and several others stopped by the roadside.

"Lord Su, have you finished reading?" Li Chengqian got out of the car, followed by Su Ying.

Later, Li Tai, Xiao Tao, Atang and others also got off the bus.

"Your Highness, I have finished looking at it!" Su Bucheng was surprised that the prince left the city. He knew that he was looking at the barren mountains, but when he saw his eldest daughter, he understood.

"Aye!" Su Ying said behind the prince.

"Aye!" Xiaotao and Atang came running over, jumping and skipping.

"Why are you here too?" Su Bucheng looked at the two little girls who were actually squeezing into the same carriage with the Fourth Prince.

"I brought them out to study together!" Li Tai said seriously.

"Can Lord Su find a suitable place?" Li Chengqian asked.

"We have taken a fancy to a barren mountain. We only want to buy one hilltop, but the village insists on selling several hilltops together! We will go look somewhere else." Su Bucheng replied.

A barren mountain is not small, and it takes a lot of manpower and resources to reclaim and plant crops.

Buying a hill is enough for Su Ying to grow sugarcane, raise bees and pigs, and she doesn't have the energy to take care of any more.

If you buy all of them and don't use them, it would be a pity. But if you want to use them, you have to open up new land and build them, which will not only cost a lot of money, but also take at least several years to invest.

"Oh, so the remaining hilltop is perfect for building a research institute. What do you think, Master Su?"

Li Chengqian thought that the research institute was right next to him, so Su Ying didn't have to run back and forth, and he could just chop some sugarcane and chew on it in his spare time.

"Very good!" Su Ying glanced at the prince and understood what he was thinking.