Chapter 60: Truly both courageous and resourceful!

Whenever the topic of money came up, Tian Yueying felt a headache coming on.

After all, they had just paid a massive indemnity to Greater Kang, even though this recent sweep against corrupt officials had yielded nearly twenty million taels of silver and several hundred thousand taels of gold.

However, keeping those funds in the national treasury was essential for maintaining the financial stability of the royal family. Once they dipped into this reserve, there was no telling when or if they would ever be able to replenish it.

Knowing that the Empress would undoubtedly worry about financial matters, Yang Chuan immediately set her mind at ease.

"Your Majesty, you need not fret over monetary affairs for now. I only require one million taels of silver to establish the Academy of Sciences. As for the tuition-free academy, I will figure out a way on my own."

"Very well. One million taels is a sum I can accept. Since that is the case, Lord Yang, you may handle it as you see fit. As for the other affairs at court, I shall manage them in your stead for the time being."

Having concluded his discussion with the Empress, he spurred his horse and galloped straight toward the Imperial Academy.

Grand Academician Guo An of the Imperial Academy had always maintained a close and amicable relationship with Sun Xin.

At present, he was in urgent need of capable personnel, and he fundamentally distrusted the factions associated with other court officials.

Only the devoted disciples under the command of Protector of the State Sun Xin were trustworthy enough to give him peace of mind.

Upon meeting Guo An, Yang Chuan came straight to the point. "Lord Guo, I am planning to establish an Academy of Sciences within the imperial capital and currently require some learned individuals to form our first group of researchers."

"Oh? Lord Yang, arriving at my Imperial Academy so early in the morning—I almost thought you had come to arrest me as a corrupt official."

It was rare to see Yang Chuan visit the Imperial Academy, prompting Guo An to tease him good-naturedly.

Although they had not met often recently, Guo An had frequently heard tales of Yang Chuan from the Protector of the State.

That single, high-profile anti-corruption campaign had replenished the previously depleted national treasury, compelling Guo An to hold a deep admiration for this Lord Yang.

After all, he was a newcomer who had just been "transferred" from the State of Kang to Greater Qi.

During his first few months in office, not only had he failed to win the approval of high-ranking ministers, but he had even been collectively impeached by them.

Had the Empress not intervened to protect him, he might well have been confined to his estate, reduced to farming.

Yet this very same Lord Yang, despised wherever he went, had managed by his own sheer will to drag so many corrupt officials down from power. He was truly a man of both courage and strategy!

As a factional ally of Sun Xin, Guo An was prepared to assist Yang Chuan with whatever he needed, simply because the Protector of the State favored him.

With Guo An's staunch support, Yang Chuan successfully recruited ten erudite scholars from the Imperial Academy that very day, forming the founding vanguard of the Academy of Sciences.

Over the course of the following month, utilizing the one million taels of silver drawn from the national treasury, he secured a suitable location within the imperial capital and mobilized laborers to construct the Academy of Sciences.

Shortly thereafter, he officially assumed office and designated the academy as his permanent workplace.

The very first blueprint he drew inside the academy was that of the curved-beam plow.

Speaking of this agricultural tool, when it was first invented in his past life, it had originated during the Tang Dynasty.

Yet the era he now inhabited corresponded to the Warring States period.

Due to incessant warfare and the destitution of the populace, officials across all states had virtually no time to innovate or develop technology.

Consequently, peasants in the fields still relied entirely on human labor to plow the earth.

Occasionally, wealthier households could afford to hire or purchase an ox to replace manual labor, but that was considered an extreme luxury.

Whichever method was used, it was no easy task for the impoverished peasants whose very survival depended entirely on farming.

Those who had to rely on sheer physical strength to till the soil were exposed to the blazing sun year after year. Even during fierce storms and heavy rains, they would rush out to the fields without a second thought to tend to their crops.

As a result, the average lifespan of these hardworking peasants was suppressed to a mere forty or fifty years.

To the later generations two millennia into the future, the age of forty or fifty was precisely the time when one finished a lifetime of work and prepared to enjoy a leisurely retirement.

Yet these people toiled away their entire lives for the sake of the country and their families' survival, only to pass away without ever enjoying a single day of true comfort. It was truly a sorrowful state of affairs.

Now, drawing upon the remaining memories of his past life, Yang Chuan resolved to sketch out every piece of technology and material innovation that could be researched and manufactured in the present era, striving to bring tangible benefits to the common people of Greater Qi within just a few short years.

Though the blueprints were drawn, the scholars from the Imperial Academy had spent their lives storing up knowledge solely through studying private texts in order to debate policy in court.

When it came to practical agricultural knowledge, they were utterly incompetent.

Seeing that the scholars he had painstakingly selected from the Imperial Academy were of no help whatsoever, Yang Chuan had no choice but to seek alternative solutions.

...

Early the next morning.

On the busiest street outside the imperial capital, Yang Chuan had several guards set up a "banquet" right in the middle of the marketplace.

He then hung the blueprint from a bamboo pole and placed it in the most conspicuous spot right in front of the dining table.

Following that, he instructed the guards to shout out to the bustling street.

"Free grand feast! Free grand feast! A sincere invitation is extended to all folk artisans to come and take on the challenge!"

"On behalf of Lord Yang, we declare right here: as long as any of you can manufacture the 'curved-beam plow' depicted on this blueprint, not only will you enjoy a free grand feast here today, but you will also be invited by Lord Yang himself to join the Academy of Sciences within the imperial capital!"

"From this day forth, you shall eat the emperor's grain and serve the imperial court—a true ascent to the clouds in a single step!"

For many years, this was the first time commoners had ever witnessed court personnel setting up a lavish banquet out in the open streets.

After stepping closer to take a look, many people immediately found their mouths watering.

Roast chicken, large basins of braised meat, and a variety of sumptuous dishes—this was precisely the same treatment enjoyed by the imperial family!

It was rare indeed to encounter such "generosity" from the imperial court.

Several folk carpenters stepped forward to inspect the feast on the table, and then turned their gazes toward the blueprint.

Realizing that the people he had been waiting for had finally arrived, Yang Chuan hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

"Well met, gentlemen. The item illustrated on this blueprint is the 'curved-beam plow' of my own design. The invention of this device is intended to free the peasants in the fields from grueling labor; with this wooden plow, tilling the land will yield twice the result with half the effort."

After listening to Yang Chuan's introduction, an elderly man with graying hair and a white beard asked in return:

"Esteemed officer, may I ask what position you hold within the palace? What official rank do you bear?"

As ordinary commoners, if they truly wished to enter the imperial palace and partake of the imperial stipend, they had to find a reliable and stable patron.

Yet when he looked closely at Yang Chuan, he saw that the man was still young, carrying the scholarly aura of a scholar, and looked nothing like a powerful high-ranking official who wielded immense influence deep within the palace.

"Well now, my good elder, your question today hits right on target!"

Seeing this, one of the guards eagerly stepped in to take over the conversation.