We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Chapter 965 Tyrant? Wise Ruler?

After traveling for two more days, the group entered the prefecture, which was now completely under the control of the Qing army.

A newly built courtyard suddenly appeared beside the official road, with white walls and black tiles, and a plaque that read "Official Library" hanging at the entrance.

Although it was early morning, many simply dressed young people were already queuing outside the door with books in their hands.

"A library? What's that for?" Luo Yueniang couldn't help but ask.

“A library is, of course, a place for students to view books,” Li Lin explained. “It contains all kinds of books uniformly printed by the imperial court, including classics, histories, philosophical works, and books on agriculture, industry, and mathematics.”

"Anyone from a respectable family with a clean background may enter to read and copy, free of charge."

"This policy has just been implemented by the court and has not yet been extended to the whole country, but His Majesty has specially ordered that it be implemented in Shu first."

Luo Yueniang's pupils contracted slightly as she looked at Li Lin: "I've heard that the imperial court is currently holding the imperial examinations to select scholars from humble backgrounds to serve as officials?"

Li Lin nodded: "Yes, considering the time, the imperial examination should have ended by now. We might even see the new top scholar when we return to the capital."

Luo Yueniang asked again, "Are you really not afraid?"

Although she was a general, she was not illiterate; her father had taught her to read many classics and historical texts.

She was naturally intelligent and understood the importance of knowledge, as well as how much aristocratic families cared about monopolizing it.

That is why Wei's father was willing to teach this girl from humble beginnings to read, and she was deeply moved by his kindness.

"What are you afraid of?" Li Lin asked her instinctively, then realized, "Afraid that knowledge will become too widespread, that the poor will rise up, and that the foundations of the aristocratic families will be shaken?"

"What His Majesty desires is for the rise of those from humble backgrounds. As for aristocratic families, if they cannot even withstand this little bit of trouble, then so be it."

Li Lin made no attempt to hide anything, and did not treat her perfunctorily because of the Wei family.

Luo Yueniang remained silent for a long time, and for the first time, she did not utter a word of rebuttal.

Her status was awkward; she was a commoner, a social class even lower than those from humble backgrounds.

Her husband's family was indeed a distinguished family, although they had declined somewhat due to the loss of members, they could hardly be called a poor family.

Therefore, she did not have a clear preference between those from humble backgrounds and those from prestigious families.

But for some reason, Luo Yueniang had a feeling.

If my husband were still alive, seeing this scene, he would surely support His Majesty, even though he also comes from a noble family.

Enabling ordinary people to read books was one of Wei Xun's wishes, and he also established academies when he governed Chengdu.

Unfortunately, most of those admitted were from aristocratic families. Wei Xun had wanted to reserve more places for students from poor families, but there were too many obstacles to overcome.

Upon arriving outside the city gate, Luo Yueniang saw several Qing army soldiers discussing something around a mound in the open space outside the gate, with some new-style plows piled up next to them.

"What is that?" she asked again.

Jie Ming, who was accompanying them, volunteered to answer: "That's the Ministry of Works making cement for road construction. Those next to it are new-style curved plows and seed drills, which can save a lot of animal and human labor. They are preparing to promote them throughout the country."

Luo Yueniang asked in surprise, "Your Majesty is planning to build roads in Shu?"

Li Lin added, "It's for the sake of building roads for the whole country, but the roads in Sichuan are extremely difficult, ranking among the worst in Daqing, so we need to start planning ahead of time."

Luo Yueniang was astonished; the Shu people had lived here for thousands of years.

Everyone knows the roads here are difficult to travel, but how many people in power have thought about repairing them?

It's not that we're unwilling to repair it, but it's just too difficult. The difficulty of road construction is completely disproportionate to the benefits gained.

The Sichuan Basin is surrounded by high mountains such as the Qinling Mountains, Daba Mountains, and Hengduan Mountains. The high mountains and deep valleys, along with the undulating terrain, make road construction and traffic extremely difficult.

In ancient times, transportation in the Shu region mainly relied on ancient Shu roads such as the Jinniu Road and the Micang Road. These roads were mostly distributed along rivers such as the Dadu River and the Jialing River, and required crossing towering mountains and steep ridges.

People unfamiliar with the road conditions would feel dizzy and unable to look at it, let alone walk on it.

Li Che started his career in the north and had no prior connection with Shu. He could have easily let go and allowed Shu to continue down its current path.

The only cost was the difficulty in facilitating the circulation of goods in Sichuan, and the deaths of some laborers and merchants who transported goods each year.

But he insisted on building roads, doing something that no ruler in history had ever done before.

Li Lin said, "His Majesty often says that the foundation of a strong military and a prosperous country lies in science and technology and the people's livelihood."

"Swords alone cannot build a lasting empire."

"Sichuan is the land of abundance, with fertile soil and plentiful produce, and it will be the main place for the future development of the imperial court."

After saying that, he gave Luo Yueniang a deep look: "General Luo, now you know why His Majesty sent us into Shu, don't you?"

"It's not that we're impatient to make Shu submit, but rather that we need to develop Shu as soon as possible. Your Majesty can afford to delay, but Shu cannot."

Li Lin did not lie to her; Shu was indeed a key area for Li Che's development.

"Yizhou is a strategically important and fertile land, a land of abundance. Emperor Gaozu relied on it to establish his imperial career." This is a famous line from Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Plan".

A famous micro-management master also said, "Victory is inseparable from the river, defeat is inseparable from the bay."

Now that we have conquered the land, it would be a terrible waste not to develop the Shu region.

As Luo Yueniang looked at the instruments she had never seen before, and recalled what she had seen along the way, her image of the Northern Court began to crumble and be reconstructed little by little.

I thought that the Northern court led by Li Che was only good at fighting, but I never expected that it would also value people's livelihood so much.

At night, the team set up camp in the wild.

By the campfire, Luo Yueniang sat alone, gazing absently at the leaping flames.

Li Lin walked over with a water bag and handed it to her: "Want some?"

Luo Yueniang took it and drank a sip.

It tastes spicy, but the alcohol content shouldn't be high. I don't know if it's alcohol mixed with water or water mixed with alcohol.

"What are you thinking about?" Li Lin sat down next to her.

Luo Yueniang was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I just feel... that I was like a frog in a well when I was in Shu."

She paused, then said in an even softer voice, "Perhaps... my husband is the right one."

Li Lin did not press her for details about what her husband, Wei Xun, had said, but simply stated, "The world, after a long period of division, will inevitably unite."

"His Majesty is merely going with the flow and trying to minimize the bloodshed in this 'union' process, so that life after the 'union' will be easier."

Upon hearing this, a hint of curiosity flashed in Luo Yueniang's eyes, and she finally couldn't help but ask the question she had been wanting to ask for the past few days: "What kind of person is His Majesty?"

In the past, the noble families described the former Prince Feng as an absolute tyrant, a despicable ruler even worse than Jie and Zhou.

However, after visiting the common people these past few days, Luo Yueniang has developed a different perspective.

This emperor seemed to be omnipotent, winning every battle on the battlefield, eliminating dissidents in the court, and was also known as a sage ruler among the people.

Tyrant? Maybe.

But a tyrant can also be a wise ruler, and a benevolent ruler can also be a foolish one.

Li Lin smiled and looked at her: "It's hard to say. We can only make a judgment after you see it for yourself."