The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 977: Enduring
Chapter 977: Enduring Prosperity
In every dynasty, when an emperor ascends the throne, he will start selecting a site for the imperial mausoleum and building it. This is a given. Bai Qingyan is the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. According to the regulations… this is the top priority of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
“The imperial mausoleum is related to the future destiny of the country, so it is naturally a top priority.” Wei Bugong said solemnly.
“If the imperial mausoleum can really make the country prosperous in the future, why did Jin State eventually decline?” Bai Qingyan rolled up the bamboo slips handed to him by Wei Bugong and put them aside. “What can really make a country prosperous is not the imperial mausoleum… but the people, the talented young men who are about to grow up.”
Bai Qingyan had seen this before in the books and writings left by Empress Ji that Xiao Rongyan had sent over…
Queen Ji wrote that if the youth are strong, the country will be strong. If the youth are to be strong, more young people need to be enlightened, study hard, broaden their horizons and thoughts, take the essence and discard the dross from the essence left by the hundreds of schools of thought, understand what they think is the way to make the country strong, and then pool wisdom and explore the method of making the country strong through continuous practice. This cycle will continue… generation after generation of ambitious talents will be nurtured, and a country… will change in line with the changes in the times and the world, and will continue forever.
Bai Qingyan deeply agreed with this, so she thought… establishing schools, allowing young people to study, enlightening them, and broadening their horizons and thoughts is the top priority of the Great Zhou.
It was the first time that Wei Bugong heard an emperor say such words. He could not help but look up at the Empress of Great Zhou who was sitting in front of the desk with a smile on her face.
“When the Great Zhou was first established… it was eager to seek talents. Why? Because talents are scarce! Talents, great talents, didn’t Lord Wei say that they are not important? If they were not important, why did the other countries promise high positions to students from other countries to retain talents? The purpose of opening schools is to enlighten the people and let more young people in the Great Zhou learn the character of the ancient sages, so that they can set their minds and ambitions, study the books and articles left by the sages, and master the means of governing the country and the people!” Bai Qingyan held up the bamboo slips that Wei Bugong had given him about the expenses of setting up the school, “This is to cultivate talents for the future of the Great Zhou. It is to cultivate the future for the Great Zhou. This is the destiny of the country, not… the imperial tomb!”
Bai Qingyan’s words made Wei Bugong stunned, but for some reason, a huge wave seemed to surge in his heart, as if he had suddenly been enlightened, as if a new concept of the pattern had been opened up.
Yes, if you want to build a strong country, you need talents. Instead of recruiting talents, it is better to prescribe the right remedy… to cultivate talents for your own country.
She put down the bamboo slips in her hand and said, “Just imagine, if everyone in our Great Zhou could read, and everyone was a talent, a great talent, how strong would the Great Zhou be? The foundation of a country is the people! If the people are strong… then the country is strong! If every citizen of the Great Zhou has the understanding of establishing a heart for the world, establishing a destiny for the people, inheriting the lost knowledge of the past sages, and creating peace for all generations, why should we worry about not being able to unify the world? So Lord Wei, tell me, between running a school and repairing the imperial mausoleum… which one is the top priority?”
This was the first time that Bai Jinse heard her eldest sister talk about the significance of running a school. She was so excited that she seemed to have seen the future of a strong and powerful Great Zhou.
If everyone can read, everyone will be a talent…
Reading the books of sages, inheriting their spirit and character, setting goals and determination, the people will no longer care about trivial matters, no longer just care about their own three acres of land, and will work together to make the country strong. The Great Zhou will be a different world and a different look.
Wei Bugong pursed his lips tightly and bowed to Bai Qingyan sincerely. For some reason, his eyes were red. He said solemnly: “Your Majesty has a long-term vision that I cannot match. Hearing your words today is like an epiphany. I will definitely complete the establishment of the school and strive to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“In that case, thank you very much for your trouble, Lord Wei…” Bai Qingyan handed the bamboo slips to Wei Zhong and asked Wei Zhong to deliver them to Wei Bugong.
“But Your Majesty, the construction of the imperial mausoleum should follow the old rules…”
“I’m still alive and well. The money used to build the imperial mausoleum should be used to open more schools. If I’m really gone one day, I’ll be buried in the Bai family’s ancestral tomb.” Bai Qing spoke slowly, “I’m not pretending to be noble, nor am I noble. We are all ordinary people in the world… Whoever sits in this position, in his heart… it is impossible that he doesn’t care about building the imperial mausoleum. It’s just that compared to the luxurious imperial mausoleum, I want to be with my relatives more.”
“But Your Majesty…” Wei Bugong looked up and wanted to persuade her again, but remembering the empress’s stubborn temper, he finally bowed his head, took the bamboo slips handed to him by Wei Zhong, and retreated respectfully.
Coming out of the hall, Wei Bugong’s eyes were red and wet. He really didn’t expect… that he would meet a female emperor in this life. This female emperor was not just good at fighting wars as he imagined. The thoughts and vision of this female emperor were far more far-sighted and advanced than he had imagined.
Bai Jinse knelt beside Bai Qingyan and poured a cup of tea for Bai Qingyan: “It seems that my elder sister has found a way to govern the Great Zhou.”
Bai Qingyan shook his head and raised his hand to rub the top of Bai Jinse’s head: “It’s not that easy!”
“My eldest sister aims to enlighten the people, establish their hearts and minds, and cultivate talents… isn’t that enough?” Bai Jinse asked.
“We have read so many scrolls on state governance handed down by various schools of thought. Some say…weakening the people to strengthen the country, and some say…ruling the country with benevolence and virtue, but we haven’t found what we want. We don’t even know which of these inherited ideas and concepts are the most suitable for the Great Zhou.” Bai Qingyan looked at Bai Jinse, his voice full of fatigue, far less confident than before, “In fact, my elder sister still doesn’t know that governing the Great Zhou…requires us and the talented ministers in the court to slowly explore as time goes by.”
“But… only by opening a school to train future talents, my elder sister is sure that it is right! The Great Zhou has enough talents. There will always be talents and great talents who can keenly perceive when history is moving forward or changing, and quickly adjust the national policy of the Great Zhou. They know how the national policy of the Great Zhou should change, and only in this way can the Great Zhou prosper forever!”
The world is changing all the time, and the only thing that remains unchanged is change. Therefore, Bai Qingyan is always vigilant and self-reflective, and dares not slack off in the slightest.
Grandfather and father once taught all the descendants of the Bai family that they were to protect the people at the frontier… They could not retreat an inch, not only because they had to protect the mountains and rivers, but also because there were tens of thousands of people behind them. If they retreated, tens of thousands of people would be left unprotected.
And now, Bai Qingyan has the people of the entire Great Zhou behind her, so she dare not neglect them.
Because she was not as confident as she appeared to be, she was afraid that she would disappoint her grandfather… her father, her brothers and sisters.
First update, continue to ask for monthly tickets la la la la la…