After finding the little rhinoceros, Li Er went mad.

Chapter 9: Open Source and Cost Reduction! The Immortal Master's First Economic Lesson!

Holding the warm, smooth jade disc in his hand, Jiang He felt the weight of a thousand years and the earnest expectation of Li Shimin in his question, "Do you have any teachings for me?" He knew that he could no longer remain a mere spectator.

What should we teach him?

politics?

Tell him that Li Chengqian will rebel, that Li Zhi will be the future emperor, and that Wu Zetian will usurp the Li Tang dynasty.

No, the risk is too great.

If such a spoiler were to be leaked, it would inevitably cause a bloodbath within the Tang Dynasty, which was not what he wanted to see.

military?

Gunpowder, steelmaking?

The technological chain for these things is too long, and as a liberal arts student, he only knows the general idea. If he makes a mistake, it might backfire.

After much thought, the safest and most beneficial approach for all people is to focus on the economy and people's livelihood.

In the early years of the Zhenguan era, the empire had just been pacified, and everything needed to be rebuilt, with the national treasury empty. Li Shimin's biggest headaches were undoubtedly "money" and "grain".

If we could provide him with some guidance in this regard, so that the people under his rule could live better lives, it would undoubtedly be a great act of merit.

But how should I put it?

You can't just post comments like "Open up commerce and industry, reduce taxes, and establish special economic zones," can you?

They definitely wouldn't understand.

A sudden inspiration struck Jiang He.

He thought of a word, a word that contained ancient wisdom and could be reinterpreted by him with modern thinking.

He focused his mind and, through the [Historical Comments] function, sent his first lesson to the sky.

Taiji Hall Square, Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin and his officials held their breath, awaiting the immortal's reply.

Every breath felt incredibly long.

Just then, golden light rose again in the sky!

Everyone's hearts mentioned their throats!

In the center of the sky, four large golden characters, more composed and imbued with Daoist charm than before, slowly emerged.

[Open source and cost reduction]

As soon as those four words were uttered, a murmur arose in the square.

"Increase revenue and reduce expenditure...this is a saying often mentioned by ancient sages."

"That's right, Han Feizi and Xunzi both discussed this, it's nothing more than broadening the sources of revenue and reducing expenses."

"Why would the immortal utter such words...which we all already know?"

Even Li Shimin frowned slightly.

He certainly knew the meaning of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, but he didn't believe that the immortal's response would be so simple.

There must be a deeper meaning behind this!

Just as everyone was wondering, the golden characters on the sky changed again.

Below those four large characters, a line of slightly smaller golden text appeared, as if explaining those four characters.

Those who advocate open source don't aim to exhaust the resources of others. To extract more benefits, they should cultivate more sheep, rather than exploiting just one.

This incredibly simple, even somewhat crude, metaphor, appearing above the sacred heavens, creates a strange contrast.

The entire Taiji Hall square fell into a deathly silence in an instant.

Everyone stared blankly at the sentence, pondering its seemingly simple yet profoundly meaningful truth.

Fang Xuanling, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, a first-rank official in charge of national policies and people's livelihood, was struck dumb the moment he saw this sentence!

He froze, his eyes wide open, his lips trembling slightly, and an unprecedented brilliance burst forth from his cloudy eyes!

"Sheep... wool... to breed more sheep..."

He muttered to himself, and then, as if his meridians had been opened, he slapped his thigh and burst into tears of excitement!

"I understand! I finally understand!"

He knelt down with a thud, facing the sky, and wailed, "The sage said, the great way is simple! A single word from the immortal is worth more than ten years of study! I... I am foolish! I am so foolish!"

Li Shimin was startled by his sudden action and quickly asked, "Xuanling, what have you figured out?"

Fang Xuanling raised his head, his face filled with overwhelming joy and sudden enlightenment. He pointed to the sky, his voice trembling with excitement: "Your Majesty! Sheep are the people of my Great Tang! Wool is the tax revenue of my Great Tang!"

"The immortal is teaching us!"

If we want the national treasury to be full, we can't just think about how to increase taxes on the people. That would be like trying to catch a whole sheep by pulling it up, or a foolish act of draining the pond to catch all the fish!

What we should do is raise more sheep!

It is to allow the people to rest and recuperate, to encourage them to cultivate wasteland, and to enable them to live and work in peace and contentment, and for their population to prosper!

"When the people are rich and the population grows, there are more sheep, and naturally the national treasury will have an inexhaustible supply of wool!"

Upon hearing this interpretation, the entire court was jolted awake as if from a dream!

Everyone's face showed an expression of sudden realization.

That's it!

The true meaning of open source is actually to distribute wealth among the people!

Li Shimin was deeply shaken. He pondered the words repeatedly, feeling that every word contained profound wisdom for governing the country and ensuring its stability. This was far more profound and to the core than any lengthy treatise in classical texts!

Before they could even recover from the shock of open source, an explanation of cost-cutting appeared on the screen.

Those who practice thrift do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. If a jar leaks, one should first patch the leak, rather than wasting manpower and resources trying to get more water.

If the previous sentence enlightened Fang Xuanling, then...

Then this sentence was like a thunderbolt, striking Wei Zheng precisely on the head!

This remonstrating official, known for his integrity and outspokenness, stared intently at the words. For the first time, his usually serious face revealed a mixture of excitement and shame.

"The vat... the vat is the treasury of our Great Tang! Water... is the wealth and provisions of our Great Tang!"

Wei Zheng stepped forward abruptly, bowed deeply to Li Shimin, and said in a booming voice, "Your Majesty! The immortal is warning us! The reason the national treasury is empty is certainly due to insufficient revenue, but the bigger problem is that it's like a leaky jar!"

What is a leak?

The imperial court is overstaffed and its bureaucracy is bloated!

It is officials who are corrupt and embezzle state funds!

The project involved massive construction and excessive spending!

These are the huge loopholes in the national treasury!

"The immortal's intention is that we should first mend his ways!"

It is my duty to instruct the Censorate to boldly investigate, to correct, and to root out these corrupt officials one by one!

We must plug these loopholes one by one! This is the right way to cut costs!

After listening to the interpretations of Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, these two great figures of the Tang Dynasty, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.

Li Shimin felt as if the top of his head was buzzing.

Open source!

Cut costs!

Raise more sheep!

First, fill in the gaps!

These two simple sentences pointed out a clear path to national prosperity and military strength for him and for the entire Tang Dynasty!

What is an oracle?

This is the true divine decree!

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" Li Shimin exclaimed three times, his face beaming with joy and his spirits soaring. "I have only just grasped the teachings of the Immortal Master!"

He surveyed his ministers, his voice filled with unquestionable authority.

"Issue my decree!"

"Instruct Fang Xuanling to take the lead, with the Secretariat and the Chancellery working together, to immediately discuss a strategy for raising sheep!"

Any method that can make the people of our Great Tang prosperous and increase the population may be submitted to the emperor!

"I hereby appoint Wei Zheng to head the Censorate, and I also grant you the power to conduct inspections!"

Find out all the loopholes in the entire Tang Dynasty for me!

No matter who is involved, we will investigate to the end!

"I will stand up for you!"

"As you command!"

Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng received this supreme instruction from the immortal, and were so excited that their blood boiled. They accepted the order in unison.

Inside the rental house.

Jiang He looked at the Tang Dynasty emperor and his ministers in the sky, who were excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood because of his two simple metaphors, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. It seems my communication skills are alright; they all understood."

He took a leisurely sip of his cola, completely unaware that his two simple sentences had been interpreted by the elites of the Tang Dynasty as a compendium of governance capable of changing the fate of the nation.

The first economics lesson from the immortal master seemed to have an exceptionally good effect.