Seeing that this matter could not be postponed, Li Yuechen was thinking about what to do.
To be honest, in her life plan, there was really no option .
I originally thought that as a girl, inventing something to improve Li Zhi's favor and getting Li Zhi to allow me to open a shop and make money would be the limit.
I didn't expect that this ancient emperor was more daring than me, a future mortal, and actually took the initiative to propose allowing women to serve as officials in the court.
Although I am a princess, a princess is also a woman!
Once this loophole is opened, it will not only cause a shock to the imperial court, but also to the whole world!
The ancients did not like to make changes and only wanted to follow the ancestral system. Firstly, it was to avoid trouble, and secondly, it was because they were familiar with the rules and were used to them.
But now that the emperor has taken the lead in violating the ancestral system, no one knows what consequences will follow.
Li Zhi waved his hand, and Zhang Chengxin handed over the health ball with great tact.
"What do you think about this, Honger?"
Seeing the ball kicked to him, Li Hong was slightly startled, raised his hand and touched his newly grown beard: "I think Yuechen has great talent! If he is a man, there will be no problem, but after all..."
Ultimately, this is a troublesome issue.
Li Zhi's advanced ideas do not mean that his sons are also advanced. A system that has lasted for thousands of years cannot be changed so easily.
As I said, this country has always been a patriarchal system. Even when Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, she only defeated men, not patriarchy.
If the emperor wants to allow women to serve as officials, it is not as simple as just saying something. There are many problems that need to be solved.
"You don't need to consider the rest." Li Zhi waved his hand, "Just tell me what you think about this matter."
Li Hong nodded: " Of course I am willing."
He knew his sister well. She was very smart and everything she invented was extremely useful. She was now studying how to increase food production.
If someone with this kind of talent could serve as an official in the imperial court, it would certainly effectively enhance the overall comprehensive strength of the Tang Dynasty.
What he was worried about was not whether his sister could do the job, but the issue of gender.
Li Zhi nodded: "In that case, after the rice in Anfu Palace is harvested, let Chen'er serve as an official in the court, starting with... the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue!"
"Grandpa, I..." Li Yuechen wanted to struggle again.
However, Li Zhi turned his head and said, "Don't think I don't know that you invented a convenient number and taught it to Xuancheng! The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money and grain. With you here, I can rest assured!"
Wu Zetian said with a smile: "Chen'er alone can surpass so many talented people. Should we say that he is worthy of being Li Chunfeng's apprentice..."
I haven't seen him many times, okay? Li Yuechen complained in his heart.
"Then...Grandpa must allow me to ask my sister for help. It will be too troublesome to calculate the accounts."
"You can handle this matter yourself. I believe Chen'er will not let me down..." Li Zhi was holding the health ball, looking confident.
Li Yuechen was a little helpless: "If Grandpa doesn't want me to serve as an official in the court, can you agree to my request?"
"explain."
"When I go to court, I don't stay with the ministers. I listen in the corridor. I don't speak unless there is something important." Li Yuechen said.
This was mainly because ministers of this era all knelt when attending court, and had to stand up and speak when reporting matters.
Li Yuechen doesn't like kneeling very much, as she always feels uncomfortable with the pressure on her shins.
Li Zhi smiled and nodded: "Okay, as you say!"
"The child is fine!" Li Yuechen nodded with a smile.
Just be an official. It’s no different from the previous life anyway. It’s just that there are more tasks like accounting.
And these accounting tasks can help Princess Xuancheng accumulate experience. After all, she still doesn't need to do anything. It's just a figurehead.
As a princess, if I'm late and don't work, no one dares to say anything, right? After all, my father is the emperor, so you dare to teach me a lesson?
Li Hong on the other side raised a question: "But how do you plan to convince the ministers?"
“No problem!”
Li Zhi was relaxed and confident about this question: "Hong'er, when you get there..."
Li Zhi began to talk about his plan, and Li Hong nodded from time to time to show that he understood.
After he finished speaking, Li Hong couldn't help but say, "Grandpa is smart!"
Li Yuechen next to him complained in his heart that Mr. Lu Xun was right. Sometimes, if you want to open a window in a house, you have to advocate tearing down the roof!
…
The family of four chatted in the glazed pavilion for more than an hour before finally finalizing the matter.
Li Yuechen returned to Anfu Hall with a helpless look on his face. He took off his shoes and entered the hall, where he saw Princess Xuancheng doing exercises and Princess Yiyang playing chess with Shangguan Wan'er.
Seeing her coming back, Shangguan Wan'er turned her head and asked, "Your Highness seems unhappy. Was he taught a lesson by the Saint?"
"It would be better if I was taught a lesson." Li Yuechen sat down next to the chessboard, still with a helpless expression on his face, "The truth is even worse than being taught a lesson!"
Princess Yiyang moved over and gave her a hug, gently caressing her face: "What happened?"
Li Yuechen leaned against her chest and acted aggrieved: "There will be fewer peaceful days in the future... Grandpa asked me to serve as an official in the court."
"Enter the court as an official?" Princess Yi Yang looked incredulous.
Even Princess Xuancheng and Zheng, who was cleaning the table, looked up with an expression of disbelief.
After all, this is really incredible, even rarer than the sun rising from the west.
Princess Xuancheng put down her brush and walked over: "Chen'er, what's going on?"
Li Yuechen waved her hands: "It's a long story... I'd better not explain it. Anyway, I have to rely on my sister for help from now on!"
“Although I don’t know what it is, as long as Chen’er has something wrong, I will definitely not stand idly by.” Princess Xuancheng also gave her a hug .
Zheng next to him had just come back to his senses from his surprise, and then he lowered his head to think.
This princess is truly extraordinary. She can actually serve as an official in the court as a woman!
Thinking of this, Zheng looked at her daughter's back as she kneeled in front of the chessboard and couldn't help but smile.
It seems that he doesn't have to worry about his daughter being trapped to death in this deep palace!
…
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of June. On this day, all the ministers received news from the palace that the emperor invited all officials to the palace for a banquet.
All the ministers who received the news were stunned.
Because in this era, whether it is a wedding or various banquets, they are all held at night.
Now in broad daylight the emperor suddenly wanted to host a banquet for his ministers. Although they were confused, the ministers still stood up immediately and entered the palace.
This is how feudal society was. No matter how crazy the emperor was, his ministers had to endure it.
Today's event was indeed announced at the last minute, and all the ministers did not know the reason for holding this banquet.
It is now around 10:30 in the morning. In this era of eating two meals a day, many people have just finished their meals.
But he still had to take the carriage and retched all the way to the palace, feeling like he was about to vomit.
After all the officials arrived, many of them looked unhappy, and some even had red eyes.
Li Zhi smiled and asked someone to serve tea, and asked them to rinse their mouths first to calm down.
Then he laughed out loud and said, "My dear ministers, I am sure you are curious about why I am holding a banquet today."
The ministers below all nodded calmly, indicating that they wanted to hear the reason.
Li Zhi paused and continued, "As you all know, my daughter Taiping often studies some strange and ingenious things... The Princess Plow and the health ball that is now popular in the Tang Dynasty are all her inventions."
"In recent years, droughts have occurred frequently. Last year, Taiping proposed to me that he wanted to study how to increase grain production. I let him experiment in a small garden in the palace. The rice was harvested a few days ago, and today is the time to husk it. My dear ministers, come with me to take a look."
Having said that, he turned around and walked inside, and the ministers followed him in confusion.
At the same time, they were whispering in groups of three or five. Since the emperor had taken them to see it, the result must be very pleasing.
But to be honest, if grain production can be increased at this time, it will be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty.
The ministers followed the emperor to Anfu Hall while discussing in low voices.
…
On the other side, in Anfu Hall, Li Yuechen sat on the fence of Linbo Pavilion, leaning against the pillar and yawning.
Xiao He originally suggested that since many ministers were coming today, they should wear formal attire, but Li Yuechen refused.
Anyway, her dress style is basically known to everyone. Besides, I am a princess, do I need to consider them?
So today, Li Yuechen was still wearing a bright red men's round-necked robe, with a high ponytail tied with a bright red rope on her head, looking very free and easy.
The two sisters wore dresses and looked very serious.
As for Shangguan Wan'er, Li Yuechen told her that after paying her respects to the Emperor and Empress, she could go straight back to the palace, as it would be too restrained to stay here.
After a while, Xiao He, who was watching from outside the door, came running in: "Your Highness, here you are!"
"Um."
Li Yuechen agreed, jumped down from the fence, stretched, and straightened his clothes.
After a while, the emperor, empress, and all the civil and military officials appeared at the gate of Anfu Hall.
During this period, it was said that there were hundreds of civil and military officials, but in fact, the officials Li Zhi summoned were those who needed to attend court on a normal day, and there were not as many as a hundred people.
The court meetings in the Tang Dynasty depended on different situations. Generally speaking, during large-scale sacrificial activities or the grand court meetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the largest number of officials would attend the court, and many local officials would also participate. The number of people attending the court meetings at this time might reach more than a thousand!
There are also the new moon and fifteenth day of the lunar month court meetings, which are medium-sized court meetings that all officials of any rank in the capital must attend, and the number of people can exceed a hundred.
However, most of the minor officials could only listen outside the hall and had no chance to go in at all.
Even many officials in the capital had never seen the emperor in person in their entire lives.
On normal days, only officials in Beijing of the fifth rank and above attended court.
It sounds like there are quite a few people, but during this period, there were only a few officials above the third rank, and the rest were enjoying benefits after retirement.
So in reality, the number of people attending court on normal days was only about forty.
This group of people is also here today.
Li Yuechen wanted to laugh when talking about this. In fact, there was a position called Shang Shu Ling in the Tang Dynasty, which was the second rank and originally had real power.
But no one dares to do it now, because the late Emperor Li Er held this position before he became emperor.
Therefore, people later on were afraid of this auspicious sign, but now, this position has become vacant.
Seeing that the emperor and empress had brought people in, Li Yuechen raised her hand and rubbed her smiling face, then bowed with her two sisters and the servants.
The ministers behind the couple couldn't help but open their eyes wide when they saw the golden ears of rice spread on the ground in front of them.
Then they discussed in low voices, still with disbelief in their tone.
These rice grains were harvested three days ago. After being dried in the sun, we plan to husk them today.
The number does not seem large, but if you look at the size of the land next to it, you will be surprised at the number of rice ears.
No one doubted that this was brought in from outside to make up the numbers. Even the emperor would not joke about such a thing.
Li Zhi smiled and told his daughters and servants to skip the formalities, then walked in with his men.
Li Yuechen quietly waved her hand and asked Shangguan Wan'er and the others to go back first, leaving only Fulai and Xiaohe waiting behind.
Then he stood beside the couple, looking well behaved.
Li Zhi turned his head slightly to look at the ministers who were discussing in groups behind him, and waved: "Let's get started and see what the result is."
“Yes!”
Zhang Chengxin agreed and immediately asked the prepared staff to start shelling.
Seeing the surprised expressions of the ministers, Li Yuechen quietly moved sideways two steps, came to Liu Rengui's side, and asked in a low voice: "Master, how is it?"
"Your Highness is truly unfathomable!" Liu Rengui replied in a low voice, "This is a great merit!"
"Oh, Master, you are too kind." Li Yuechen acted proudly, "I am just lucky!"
Seeing her acting funny, Liu Rengui just smiled and said, "If possible, I, the master, would also like to have such luck!"
Threshing and husking rice is actually a very troublesome job, but with so many people involved, the efficiency is actually quite high.
The ministers behind Li Zhi were discussing with each other how much the yield would be and what methods were used to make the grain grow so well.
Just looking at the appearance, the rice ears are thick and the grains are full, which is better than other crops.
Not to mention the large number, the result is obvious.
Because there were enough staff members, it only took about an hour and two baskets of rice grains were placed in front of them.
Li Yuechen was a little curious. She always felt that the rice of this era was not as white and bright as that of the future. It even seemed a little yellow.
But considering that future rice will be specially cultivated, I didn’t think too much about it. Anyway, the people present seemed to think it was quite normal.
After carefully checking, the staff member in charge of weighing turned around and saluted respectfully: "Your Majesty, the total grain produced on this land is 47 and a half kilograms!"
Princess Xuancheng next to her answered subconsciously: "In this case, if converted to one acre of land, it would be about 285 kilograms!"
"hiss--"
Upon hearing this answer, the ministers in the front rows all subconsciously gasped!