Fang Xuanling adjusted his robes, first giving an unfriendly glance at Lu Guan.
Then he said, "Your Majesty, I have a way to solve the money issue."
After speaking, he looked at Fang Er.
"Marquis of Liaodong, could you lend some money? Not much, just a hundred thousand guan!"
Fang Er was speechless.
Damn it!
Dictionaries don't charge money, and the teachers are from Fang Family Village. Now they even have to borrow money from him to build schools?
Can he refuse?
The line on the dictionary, "Read for the rise of Great Tang," clearly provided the answer.
No! This was his idea, and refusing now would be disrespecting Li Shimin!
At the same time, it would make him seem like he was just shouting slogans.
It was common knowledge that Fang Family Village made a fortune every day.
He could only nod helplessly.
"I'll have someone collect the money from the village tomorrow."
Fang Xuanling did not seem surprised by Fang Er's reaction and bowed to him calmly.
"Marquis of Liaodong, your righteousness is great!"
Then he turned to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, the money issue is resolved."
Li Shimin was stunned by Fang Xuanling's masterful maneuver!
Lu Guan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, turned ashen, a direct slap in the face!
The matter was approved, and the money was secured.
The Ministry of Rites was displeased. Education was the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy!
The Imperial Academy had been completely defeated and did not dare to suggest taking over the task.
This was clearly an opportunity to make money, so how could they not get involved?
Wang De, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, if the Marquis of Liaodong handles this matter, it might be exceeding proper etiquette."
"According to custom, it should be handled jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy."
"I implore Your Majesty to reconsider."
Cheng Yaojin was getting impatient.
"Damn it, such a trivial matter, and so many people are babbling nonsense!"
"Go to hell! Consider your grandmother's leg!"
"You are incompetent, and now my brother is providing both money and resources. Are you trying to snatch the credit?"
He lunged forward, ready to fight.
Li Shimin glared at him.
"Duke Lu! If you utter another word of nonsense in court, you will return home and reflect in seclusion!"
Cheng Yaojin retreated sheepishly, not forgetting to shake his fist, as big as a sandbag, at Fan Jian.
Fan Jian, seeing this, shrank his neck and dared not speak further.
No more civil officials spoke up.
Among the military officials, no one raised any objections; this task had nothing to do with them!
Thus, Li Shimin directly announced his decree.
"By decree! The Ministry of Works shall construct academies in the prefectures of Yong, Shang, Qi, Feng, Long, and Jing!"
"These six prefectures will serve as pilot sites to observe the results!"
"Furthermore! All scholars who participated in compiling the Great Tang Dictionary have achieved outstanding merit, and they shall be promoted to Imperial Academy Scholars and enfeoffed as Attendants to the Emperor!"
Du Yiyang stepped forward to receive the decree.
Fang Er also bowed to Li Shimin.
"Your subject thanks Your Majesty on behalf of the students in the academies for your promotion!"
With the dictionary and academies settled, the discussion moved on to recent state affairs.
Fang Er found a pillar, leaned against it, and discreetly closed his eyes.
At an angle where Li Shimin couldn't see him, he leaned against the pillar and closed his eyes.
This early morning court required him to wake up and rush here at the hour of yin.
What is the hour of yin? Three in the morning!
As Li Shimin was discussing state affairs with his officials, he heard snoring coming from afar.
Instantly, a line of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Lai Zi! Drag this pig out for me!"
Then, the sleeping Fang Er was woken up by Lai Yifa.
"Marquis, why have you fallen asleep during the morning court?"
Then he whispered into Fang Er's ear, "Your Majesty wants you to go back and sleep."
Fang Er's eyes lit up.
"Heh! Old Li is really good to me."
Then he bowed to Li Shimin and exited the Taiji Palace, heading outwards.
He couldn't ride his motorcycle.
He could only stroll to the Drunken Immortal Inn and have Uncle Zhang call a carriage to take him back to the village.
When he returned to the village, the sun was already high in the sky.
The sky was clear!
Passing by the glass greenhouses, he saw a large number of water droplets adhering to the inner side of the glass from afar.
Fang Er walked into the greenhouse and frowned.
As the sun appeared and the temperature rose, a large amount of moisture evaporated from the soil.
The humidity inside was too high! If it wasn't intervened manually, the cotton might still have problems.
So he used the walkie-talkie to ask Huang Sheng to call Old Ma Tou over.
"Old Ma, the water vapor in this greenhouse is too much. Here's what you do: bring some lime, put it in sacks, and hang them from the ceiling to absorb the moisture."
"Then notify Niu Liang to bring people to dismantle some of the glazed tiles on these greenhouses for ventilation."
When Old Ma Tou entered the greenhouse, he also felt a distinct abnormality. He quickly agreed and turned to find people to do the work.
However, quicklime alone was not enough.
Although he didn't plan to dismantle the greenhouses, in the current situation, opening some windows for ventilation would be better.
After dealing with this matter, Fang Er went to the academy to prepare some students in advance.
The students in the academy were of different ages, and some older children could also be sent out for training.
Upon hearing this news, as well as Li Shimin's appointment of them to official positions, Ma Tongyuan and others were extremely excited.
This was a proper court session, which would be recorded by the historians.
Now, they would truly be recorded in history!
Therefore, they all bowed to Fang Er to express their gratitude.
"Students thank the Marquis for the promotion!"