"Brother, thank you for your hard work over the years!"
"My work is nothing. It's all your hard work. Now that Daxia is so vast, the key is to make the people of Daxia live a better life..."
Fu Xiaoguan pulled Qin Bingzhong to sit down in the pavilion.
Qin Bingzhong stroked his long beard and said with great emotion, "I only know about distant places through the Great Xia Weekly, but Xishan is now prosperous again."
"It's been deserted here for a long time since you left. Last year... Xiwen, was it last year? You moved 50,000 people to Xiacun."
Yan Xiwen, who was sitting beside him, nodded and said, "Grandpa Qin, it was last September."
"Yes, yes, yes. Last September, 50,000 people from Xiwen immigrated to Xiacun, and it became lively again."
He patted Fu Xiaoguan's hand, and said with a smile, "Xishan College originally had about a hundred students left, but now there are thousands of students."
"Oh, brother, last year our Xishan College took the preliminary exam. Out of about a hundred students, thirty-nine passed the exam and became scholars! Hahahaha, the youngest of them was only twelve, and the oldest was only fifteen!"
"They are still at Xishan Academy. I've set up a special class for Juren candidates. This autumn, they will take the provincial examination. I estimate that half of them will pass. Then there will be the metropolitan examination, and they will become Jinshi candidates of Daxia!"
"These are all the talents of Daxia, and they are here to help Your Majesty govern this country! I dare not slack off in the slightest. I will train them into talents and hand them over to you... Only then will I feel at ease, brother!"
Fu Xiaoguan suddenly felt his nose sore. He opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and turned his head to the side.
This is Daxia, a Daxia that is still extremely far away from his ideal country!
But now in Daxia there are already many people pursuing their ideals and upholding the beliefs in their hearts.
Everything I have done for Daxia is worth it, because of them, Daxia will definitely become better and better!
Qin Bingzhong said a lot of things, and he seemed to have been holding them back for a long time. Perhaps it was because there had never been anyone in the past who could share his soul.
He was willing to say it in front of Fu Xiaoguan simply because this friendship, regardless of age difference, was worth talking about.
He talked about the wine, the fields, and the flowers blooming in Xishan.
He had never returned to Jinling since he came to Xishan. He also talked about the loneliness he felt here during the New Year holidays, and the joy of the students who came to visit him with pork and celebrated the holidays with him.
There are also the elderly people in Xishan Nursing Home who were once in trouble and were taken in by Fu Xiaoguan.
Several people died of old age, and some were smiling when they died.
They were all buried on the West Mountain, and they regarded this place as their hometown.
"Brother, this time I'm planning to visit many places in Daxia. Do you want to join me and see the beautiful scenery of Daxia?"
Qin Bingzhong was stunned. "Brother... I know my body. I'm too old. I'm afraid I can't stand the fatigue of traveling."
"It's okay, Ruoxue will follow. Oh, she's a famous doctor. Let's walk slowly and take a rest when we feel tired. There's no rush."
"But I read in the newspaper that you said you wanted to attack the Liao Dynasty during the court meeting, didn't you?"
Fu Xiaoguan laughed, "That's not important. The Liao Dynasty must be fought. As for sightseeing... Brother, I'm not wasting my time on pleasure. After all, Daxia is my family's land. As the landlord of Daxia, shouldn't I go and take a look?"
Qin Bingzhong laughed heartily. "Okay, I'll accompany you to see the land of this big landlord!"
Dinner was prepared in the kitchen and Qin Bingzhong had already eaten it. When Fu Xiaoguan and others came out after eating, Qin Ruoxue told him that his grandfather had gone to rest.
"Your Majesty, Grandfather is old and usually goes to bed at 11:00 PM. But tonight, I was so excited that it's already 11:00 PM. Please don't blame me, Your Majesty."
"I also overlooked it. Tomorrow..." Fu Xiaoguan looked at Nangong Piaoxue, "Piaoxue, give the old man a thorough checkup tomorrow. It would be a lie to say I wasn't worried all along the way. But if I can't take him with me to check it out this time, I'm afraid there will be no chance again in the future."
Nangong Piaoxue nodded in agreement, and Fu Xiaoguan said, "You all should go and rest. I want to talk to Xiwen."
…
…
The Xishan Villa became quiet, with the scent of flowers and the croaking of frogs and chirping of insects.
"You need to be prepared," Fu Xiaoguan took the teacup from Yan Xiwen. "Now in Daxia, Zhuo Yixing and Nangong Yiyu are old. They should be enjoying their retirement, but they are still working hard for Daxia. This is not right."
Yan Xiwen was shocked. Is His Majesty going to dismiss them from their posts?
In the past, even if they worked until they were eighty years old, the emperor would not fire them as long as they did not resign, as this would make the emperor seem ungrateful.
Fu Xiaoguan seemed to know what Yan Xiwen was thinking and continued, "It's not about dismissing them, but retiring them... They're all in their sixties, almost seventy. A person's life shouldn't just be about work and dedication, it should also include rest and gain."
"As for retirement, I intend to formally propose it in the next five-year plan. Male officials must retire and enjoy their retirement at the age of fifty-five. Female officials... the upcoming imperial examinations will be open to women, and it will become normal for women to serve in government. Female officials must retire at the age of fifty."
"After retirement, the state will take care of your retirement. This will be formally documented and announced to the entire nation as part of the Daxia system."
Yan Xiwen was extremely shocked. Firstly, retiring at the age of fifty-five was already considered old according to Daxia's average age. But could the ministers accept the idea of retirement?
This is a deeply rooted idea. Many of them have already climbed to high positions at this age. It may be difficult to ask them to give up the power they have worked so hard to gain because there is no precedent.
The second is women serving as officials - although Fu Xiaoguan defied public opinion and allowed Sima Che to be a county magistrate when he was the governor of Wofeng Circuit, Sima Che didn't become Fu Xiaoguan's wife for long, right?
Nowadays, schools do accept many female students because this is required by the Compulsory Education Law.
In the eyes of Yan Xiwen and even the teachers, female students were not valued. After hearing Fu Xiaoguan's words, he finally understood that His Majesty really meant to promote gender equality.
"Two of Daxia's three chancellors will step down. I intend to hand over the Secretariat to you. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Xiwen said, "This... I am not old enough or experienced enough to be qualified for the position of the Secretariat!"
"Age and qualifications are bullshit. I don't care about those, I only care about ability. Anyway, you should be prepared for this matter. If it's not decided, I need to think about it again. By the way, you are not young anymore, where is your wife?"
"Wife...Grandpa wrote a letter to Old Qin a while ago, expressing his interest in Ruoxue. I still don't know what Ruoxue means by that."
"How do you feel about Qin Ruoxue?"
"Great."
"Do you want me to ask for you?"
"Forget about that, hehe, she's on my territory now, I'll take her down myself!"
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