The team coming towards us was a large group of cavalry in front of us, and behind us was a long convoy with flags waving in the convoy, one of which had a large character "Qu" written on it. This very rare character is a surname. Moreover, seeing that the other party's clothing was from the Western Regions, Li Xiu also guessed the other party's identity at once.

"Qu Wentai from Gaochang is actually here!" Li Xiu saw the team coming from afar, and couldn't help but touch his chin and said to himself, "The guy from the Western Regions and the surname Qu must be the Gaochang royal family. Last year, the Western Regions and the grassland tribes came to pay their respects to Li Shimin, but there were also a few ignorant guys who didn't come, such as Qu Wentai, the King of Gaochang, was one of them. However, during the Chinese New Year, Li Xiu heard that Qu Wentai might be coming to Chang'an, but he didn't expect to meet the other person here.

Gaochang State is located in the Turpan area of ​​Xinjiang in later generations. It is a famous Buddhist country in the Western Regions. During the Western Han Dynasty, many Han people settled here and lived with local Western Regions. It can be said that a considerable number of people in Gaochang were Han people. However, because they lived with Hu people in the Western Regions, the Han people here became Hu and Hu people also became sinic. For example, Gaochang King Qu Wentai was a Hu people who looked like Han people, but in fact the customs and habits were very different from those of the Han people.

Li Xiu didn't take it seriously, but he always thought about a treasure from Gaochang, that is cotton. Although cotton was planted in the Central Plains in later generations, in the Tang Dynasty, no one grew cotton in the Central Plains. There were cotton cloths on the market, but they were all produced in Gaochang, called Gaochang cloth, also called white stacked cloth, and the price was even more expensive than ordinary silk.

Cotton is the foundation of the textile industry. In the first industrial revolution in Britain in later generations, the textile industry played a great driving force. Although Li Xiu was not interested in any industrial revolution in the Tang Dynasty, he also wanted to introduce cotton to the Tang Dynasty. Not to mention anything else, he could at least wear pure cotton clothes. Although silk is also comfortable to wear, he prefers cotton cloth. In addition, cotton can also be made into cotton jackets. For poor people who cannot afford fur, cotton jackets are simply a magical tool to keep warm.

However, the Tang Dynasty was not the origin of cotton. This thing was native to Central Asia and India. Later, it was spread to Xinjiang through the Western Regions, which is the Gaochang Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that cotton is a specialty of the Gaochang Kingdom, and there was no such thing as the Tang Dynasty. Li Xiu had thought about introducing cotton to the Tang Dynasty, but he never found a chance. Unexpectedly, King Gaochang took the initiative to come to the Tang Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Li Xiu did not go home again. He directly asked the carriage to turn the horse's head, and then went straight to the palace to ask for Li Shimin. When he arrived at Liangyi Hall, he happened to see Li Shimin saying something to Changsun Wuji with a smile. It seemed that he was in a very good mood.

"See Your Majesty!" Li Xiu immediately saluted Li Shimin after coming in.

"You have to be polite. I heard that you set up a school near your home and took in many peasant children to study. Even Sun Simiao was tricked by you to be a teacher in the school?" Li Shimin was in a good mood. When he saw Li Xiu, he immediately said half seriously and half jokingly.

"How can I be called a cheat? It is obvious that Master Sun wants to accept a few disciples, and the students in the school can be selected by him, so he went to the school to be a temporary teacher. Occasionally, he went to the school to teach students some medical classes and teach children some hygiene knowledge." Li Xiu said innocently when he heard this.

"Haha~, you have many ideas, but I'm very interested in your school. Wouldn't you want to train all your tenants into scholars and then take the imperial examination to get a fame?" Li Shimin laughed when he heard Li Xiu's explanation, and then asked again.

"Your Majesty misunderstood. The school I built was just to allow the children of the tenant family to read and write, so that they would have many ways out in the future." Li Xiu replied with a smile.

"The prince-consort is so generous, but your tenants will read and read in the future. Who will help you farm at home?" At this moment, Changsun Wuji suddenly asked with a smile.

"This..." Li Xiu was stunned when he heard Changsun Wuji's words. He had never thought about this problem, but then he smiled calmly and said, "Brother Wuji is too worried. Now that I, the Tang Dynasty, encourages childbirth, the population will only increase in the future, and it is still easy to recruit some tenants."

Li Shimin was very curious about the school. Although the school had already started in the beginning of spring, it was just a trivial matter after all, so Li Shimin did not know it accidentally until today. He also asked Li Xiu about the school, and Li Xiu also answered one by one.

"Mr. Concubine, do you think the school can be promoted nationwide?" Li Shimin pondered for a moment after listening to Li Xiu's story, and then asked Li Xiu with excitement. In fact, the Tang Dynasty also built public schools in various places, which allowed local children to study in public schools. However, the quality of public schools in public schools is extremely poor, and there are not many children willing to go to school, so almost all public schools in various places are in a state of name only.

"This... is probably difficult!" Li Xiu thought about it and said the truth. "The school he built was funded by himself, allowing the children of the tenant farmer family to go to school for free, and also provided a lunch. Even so, most tenants were still unwilling to let their children go to school. On the one hand, they wanted their children to help with their family work, and on the other hand, they were too short-sighted and did not know the importance of studying. So even if the court was really willing to spend a huge amount of money to build schools in various places, I am afraid that at the beginning, there were not many people willing to go to school."

Li Xiu was not an exaggeration. The compulsory education in later generations has been implemented for many years, but even so, many people still do not want their children to go to school for various reasons. It was not until the court's compulsory education began to improve, but there are still many children who have completed compulsory education.

In addition, although the Tang Dynasty is now strong, after a war, the treasury has almost been consumed. If you want to promote free education in schools in various places, you have to provide lunch at noon every day. It will probably not take long to make the Tang Dynasty go bankrupt, so Li Xiu was not optimistic about Li Shimin's idea.

"The prince consort's concern makes sense. Now that the Tang Dynasty's national strength is empty, I am afraid I cannot promote schools nationwide. However, Your Majesty can set up several schools in Chang'an and Luoyang to see the effect. Of course, there is no need to provide lunch like the prince consort's school. After all, the court is short of financial resources now, so it is better to minimize some unnecessary expenses!" Changsun Wuji's mind was quickly turned around, and he came up with a compromise solution again, in fact, he was a master who was mixed with the poor.

"Wuji's method is good. Chang'an and Luoyang are gradually increasing in population. Compared with other places, the people in Chang'an and Luoyang are also richer. I believe that after the school is opened, many people will definitely be willing to send their children to the school to study!" Li Shimin immediately agreed. His temperament is a bit similar to Yang Guang, and they are both a little happy with merit. However, the biggest difference between him and Yang Guang is that he can listen to other people's opinions and his mind is much broader than Yang Guang.

Li Xiu did not object to the construction of several schools in Chang'an and Luoyang for pilot projects, but he came to see Li Shimin today not for the sake of the school. He also interrupted Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, I came here today to discuss with Your Majesty."

"No rush for this. Chang'an and Luoyang need to build schools, which can be completely imitated by your school, so you should also support your son-in-law. For example, if I send someone to study in your school for a while?" Li Shimin was all in the school at this time, and he waved his hand to Li Xiu.

"This... Your Majesty wants to build a school, so I naturally have to cooperate with you. However, what I want to say may be more important than the school, so please listen to me!" Li Xiu couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw Li Shimin holding on to the school.

"Oh? More important than the school? What is that?" Li Shimin couldn't help but say in surprise when he heard Li Xiu's words. At this time, he finally threw the school affairs behind him. Even Changsun Wuji next to him stared at Li Xiu with bright eyes, wanting to hear what he was going to say next?

"Report to Your Majesty, when I was on the official road, I met the team of King Gaochang entering the capital. I guess he was about to enter the palace to see Your Majesty soon?" Li Xiu said with a serious expression at this time.

"Yes, I knew the news that King Gaochang was going to Beijing a few days ago. Today is the day they went to Beijing. I have sent officials from the Honglu Temple to greet them. I guess they will be met in a few days." Li Shimin nodded immediately, but he still couldn't understand why Li Xiu suddenly mentioned King Gaochang.

"Your Majesty, I heard that Gaochang produces white stacked cloths. The white stacked cloths on the market are even more expensive than silk. I wonder if it is true?" Li Xiu asked again at this time.

"Yes, white folded cloth is indeed a specialty of Gaochang. This time, King Gaochang went to Beijing, and there were a lot of white folded cloth among the tributes. Why? Do you like white folded cloth and want to go some from me?" Li Shimin couldn't help but smile when he heard this.

"Your Majesty misunderstood. What I am interested in is not the white stacked cloth, but the raw cotton used to make these white stacked cloth, which is the white stacked cloth grown by the people of Gaochang." Li Xiu explained with a smile at this time.

"Baidiezi? Do you... do you want to introduce white daizi?" Li Shimin was stunned when he heard Li Xiu's words, and then reacted and asked.

"Your Majesty, it's not that I want to introduce Baidiezi, but that I would like to ask Your Majesty to introduce Baidiezi for the people of the Tang Dynasty!" Li Xiu bowed to Li Shimin with a serious expression.
Chapter completed!