Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 866: Chapter 22: Concave and Convex Lenses (Part 3)

"The court isn’t short on money now, right?" Bai Bai shouldn’t let Zhao Zheng benefit in vain.

"Forget it, I don’t lack this money either." Zhao Yao picked up the glasses next to him and handed them to He Lianfang, "Second Uncle, try these glasses, see if they work." After speaking, he directly put the glasses on He Lianfang.

He Lianfang felt a wave of dizziness before his eyes, and Zhao Yao told him that this was a normal reaction, advising him to wear them for a while to get used to it. Indeed, after a while, He Lianfang no longer felt dizzy.

Zhao Yao opened a book for He Lianfang to see.

He Lianfang found that wearing glasses made reading much clearer than before, without the strain he used to feel.

Zhao Yao let He Lianfang keep wearing the glasses, and then tested his vision again. It turned out that the degree of the glasses wasn’t high, about three hundred or so. He told He Lianfang to manage with these glasses for now, and he would give him new ones once Lian Daci and the others made higher-degree glasses.

He Lianfang thought there was no need to change them.

Zhao Yao remembered that Mr. Xiao’s eyes didn’t seem very good either, and he went to find them with the glasses and vision chart.

After putting on the glasses, Mr. Xiao exclaimed that it was a great tool, very useful for them.

Zhao Yao went ahead and posted the vision chart in Mr. Xiao’s office, having them test first before matching them one by one with glasses.

In Mr. Xiao’s office, Zhao Yao drank tea while listening to Mr. Xiao’s report.

Ever since Mr. Xiao took over as Minister of Rites, he was as busy as a spinning top every day. Besides being busy with next year’s imperial examination, they also had to prepare for next year’s trade conference and sort out the codes of etiquette.

Lingnan had always been a place of exile, not only barren but also extremely discourteous and crude. To call it discourteous and crude was still flattering; it was accurately described as barbaric, with no sense of etiquette and rules.

Mr. Xiao and his group of seasoned individuals couldn’t stand the lack of etiquette and rules here, so they proposed to Zhao Yao to rectify the etiquette rules.

"Your Highness, when will the free school start being built?" Mr. Xiao and his group couldn’t wait and wished they could teach at the free school after the New Year.

"After the trade conference ends." Zhao Yao also understood Mr. Xiao and his colleagues’ eagerness, "The first half of next year will focus on the trade conference, with other matters scheduled later. We’ll start building free schools in the second half of the year. If things move fast, the schools can be built in a little over a month."

Mr. Xiao understood the importance of next year’s trade conference, "Your Highness, there’s an Imperial College in the capital; should we establish one in Swamp Prefecture?"

"The Imperial College?" Zhao Yao thought Mr. Xiao’s proposal was good, but not suitable for the current Lingnan, "Sir, establishing an Imperial College is not urgent, especially since hardly anyone is reading now. We can wait to build the Imperial College when there’s a larger reading population."

Mr. Xiao hadn’t considered this, "Your Highness, your foresight is comprehensive."

"Sir, I must remind you once more that even if I establish the free school in the second half of next year, I estimate not many will come to study." For the people in Swamp Prefecture right now, filling their stomachs and wearing warm clothes are most important. Reading isn’t considered an essential activity by them.

"Your Highness, you’ve mentioned this before; we’ve already prepared ourselves mentally for it." Mr. Xiao said with a smile, "Like you said before, to make the people of Lingnan willing to study will be a gradual process."

"Once the people of Swamp Prefecture no longer worry about daily meals, they’ll be willing to read." Zhao Yao said, "If next year’s trade conference goes smoothly, the people of Swamp Prefecture will have better lives."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xiao showed a trace of hesitation on his face.

"Your Highness, there’s something I’m unsure whether I should say."

"Sir, speak freely."

Mr. Xiao did not hesitate any longer, "Your Highness, regarding the class ranks of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, is it inappropriate to overly prioritize commerce?"

"Sir, are you questioning my decision to hold the trade conference?"

"No, I understand the purpose behind Your Highness’s trade conference; it’s just that I feel an excessive emphasis on commerce might lead people to focus solely on business and making money, neglecting proper agriculture." For Mr. Xiao and his group of Confucian scholars, agriculture is the nation’s foundation, not to be shaken.

"Sir, in my mind, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants are equally important, with no ranking of priority." Zhao Yao never quite liked Confucianism’s hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, "Each has its necessary role; to develop Swamp Prefecture, and even all of Lingnan well, we must conduct commerce effectively because commerce can attract foreigners to do business with us, bringing their good products and even real silver and gold to us."

"Your Highness, won’t people abandon farming if they see merchants making big money?" Mr. Xiao worried that people might neglect farming after making money from business because, in comparison, farming doesn’t offer much profit.

"Rest assured, sir, I won’t let that happen." Great Zhou’s excessive focus on agriculture and suppression of commerce resulted in an underdeveloped national commerce. The trade conference is designed to show the court officials that commerce can bring astonishing wealth to Great Zhou.