As Fang Er issued the imperial edicts one by one, the craftsmen stepped forward to receive them, then bowed respectfully before Li Shimin to express their gratitude.
After the selected generals received their imperial edicts, Fang Er still had four left.
Seeing the confused gazes of everyone, Fang Er smiled slightly at them and then took out a loudspeaker from under the table.
"This Duke previously said that above Grand Craftsmen, there are Grand Masters!
Craftsmen, rely on their skills to benefit the common people!
Grand Masters, establish their own schools and spread their teachings across the land!
True Man Miaoying, Sun Simiao, wields medicine to save lives, benefiting countless people!
He is worthy of the name Grand Master, a Grand Master of Medicine, His Majesty is wise, and he is hereby enfeoffed as Marquis of Benefactor of the People!
With that, he picked up one of the imperial edicts and walked to Sun Simiao, holding it high above his head with both hands, and bowed respectfully.
"Marquis of Benefactor of the People, please!"
Sun Simiao was greatly surprised, not expecting that among the pile of imperial edicts, there would be one for him.
Daoism emphasizes desirelessness and detachment; with his cultivation, he would not place much importance on fame or profit.
Of course, Fang Er and Li Shimin were equally aware of this.
Therefore, by bestowing the edict with such a humble attitude, Fang Er had another purpose: to show all trades and professions in the land the Emperor's regard for them!
Sun Simiao also saw his intention. He rose, accepted the edict, and then bowed his head before Li Shimin.
"This humble Daoist accepts the edict, and thanks His Majesty!"
"Hahaha, Marquis of Benefactor of the People, there is no need for such ceremony. Quickly, sit down and talk."
Li Shimin warmly pulled the old Sun to sit beside him.
The craftsmen and the surrounding commoners were all dumbfounded.
The first Grand Master craftsman! He has appeared!
And Fang Er had also kept his promise: Grand Masters were enfeoffed as Marquises!
What immense honor this was!
After a long while, someone finally spoke.
"Congratulations, Marquis of Benefactor of the People!"
The others also recovered and echoed in unison,
"Congratulations, Marquis of Benefactor of the People!"
Sun Simiao, who presided over the Shenyang Hospital, had seen almost every child in every household born there in recent years.
His medical skills and medical ethics were universally acclaimed.
Everyone was truly impressed by his enfeoffment.
After Sun Simiao, Fang Er picked up another imperial edict, opened it, and announced loudly.
"True Man Yuan Tiangang, his attainment in the art of gunpowder is unmatched in the world!
The advantage of gunpowder allows soldiers to achieve the greatest victories with the smallest cost during campaigns.
Therefore, he is worthy of being called a Grand Master of Gunpowder. His Majesty decrees, he is hereby enfeoffed as Marquis of Divine Fire!
With that, as before, he held the imperial edict high above his head with both hands and walked to Yuan Tiangang, who stood to the side.
"Marquis of Divine Fire, please!"
His attitude could not be more respectful, but Yuan Tiangang shook his head in dissatisfaction.
"Not good, not good!"
Fang Er was stunned. While he knew Yuan Tiangang disliked fame and profit, he did not expect such disrespect.
"True Man Yuan, what is not good?"
He asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Grand Master of Gunpowder is not good, I should be called Grand Master of Miracles!
And the title Marquis of Divine Fire is also incorrect. How about changing it to Marquis of Miracles?
Am I not the one who witnesses miracles with you?"
Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard and said very seriously.
Fang Er: "!!!"
"You old rascal, I really want to smash open this old fellow's head and see if someone from the future has transmigrated into him."
However, in this setting, it was really not appropriate to argue with him, so he had to go back, pick up the cinnabar-dipped brush, and paint over the original "Grand Master of Gunpowder" and "Marquis of Divine Fire," changing them to "Grand Master of Miracles" and "Marquis of Miracles."
Only then did Yuan Tiangang contentedly accept the imperial edict and walk to Li Shimin to express his gratitude with a smile.
Li Shimin also knew this fellow's disposition, so he did not object to the change of title.
The third imperial edict.
"Song Yingxing, values grain over precious metals, aiming to fill the bellies of the people of the world!
His insights in the art of agriculture can be considered reaching the pinnacle!
Therefore, he is worthy of the name Grand Master, a Grand Master of Agriculture!
His Majesty decrees, he is hereby enfeoffed as Marquis of Peace!"
In the crowd, Song Yingxing's wife excitedly hugged her own son.
"He's been enfeoffed as a Marquis! He's been enfeoffed as a Marquis! Wuwuwuwu~~~"
Even though Fang Er had hinted at it before coming to the Tang Dynasty, she was still overwhelmed with emotion when the actual enfeoffment as Marquis arrived.
Before Fang Er could approach, Song Yingxing stood up on his own and walked forward to receive the imperial edict, then bowed to Li Shimin.
"Your subject thanks His Majesty for his appreciation. In my lifetime, I will continue to cultivate diligently in the art of agriculture, not to fail Your Majesty's immense grace!"
The last imperial edict was for Fang Yizhi, with the title Grand Master of Physics, and enfeoffed as Marquis of Enlightenment.
After he performed the ceremony of gratitude, Fang Er announced the end of the assessment and simultaneously declared that Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" and Fang Yizhi's "Wuli Xiaoshi" would soon be typeset, printed, and distributed throughout the land.
Since Sun Simiao's enfeoffment, the onlookers had not stopped their discussions.
It was hard not to feel envious of such a meteoric rise.
In a corner of the venue, Ma Zhou calmly put away his mobile phone. He had filmed the day's enfeoffment as instructed by Fang Er, and would then write a news report to be printed as a newspaper and distributed to the world.
That evening, his polished draft was placed before Li Shimin.
"A commoner suddenly enfeoffed as Marquis, what hidden conspiracy lies within!"
Li Shimin had long become accustomed to this style of headline. After reading the entire content, he nodded in satisfaction.
Then he looked at Fang Er and asked, "Who wrote this draft? The writing is so outstanding!"
"This is Ma Zhou's work. How could his writing be poor?"
Fang Er chuckled, "This person is Ma Zhou, the Dean of Students at the academy. He not only has excellent writing but also unique insights into state affairs and the world."
"Counting the days, he has been gaining experience under me for two years. If you value talent, you can select him to join the court."
"I'm not bragging, but with his talent, given time, he will surely become a pillar of the state like Fang and Du!"
After speaking, he casually picked up the manuscript and handed it to Su Feng, the guard at the door.
"Take this to the workshop and have the small printing room typeset and print it. Tomorrow morning, deliver it to the transport team to be sent to various prefectures."
"Chang'an is too far from here. Some purely textual manuscripts can still be sent by telegraph, but those with pictures cannot."
"Fortunately, the workshop has a small printing room used for printing technical materials for internal use. Temporarily requisitioning it is completely fine."
Until Fang Er finished giving instructions, Li Shimin was still in a daze.
The craftsmanship of those artisans during the assessments in the past few days had already shocked him.
And now, a Dean of Students from the academy possessed the potential of Fang and Du?
"Damn, where did this fellow find such talented people?"
Seeing Fang Er turn back, Li Shimin questioned, "Are you sure he has such great ability?"
"When have I ever boasted to you? If you don't trust me, why not have him serve as a personal attendant first, and observe him closely?"
Fang Er smiled and poured Li Shimin a cup of tea.
"Talent is always welcome, but it depends on what kind of talent.
Someone like Ma Zhou, a pillar of the nation, can be kept close for observation, but not indefinitely, otherwise, it would be the greatest waste.
The right person should shine in the right position!"