Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 488: Running a school and a newspaper, providing both manpower and money
Compared to the bustling noise downstairs, the third floor of Xinglong Tea House was completely silent at this moment.
Just now, the Fourth Prince was just standing beside the Emperor, toasting everyone around him according to the Emperor's instructions. As for the dishes, they were all served to him by the eunuchs. So he only ate a few bites of many dishes. He thought they were delicious, but if you asked him how they tasted, he couldn't tell you. Because he was just secretly poking his father with his fingers, hoping that his father would help Zhang Shou a little.
But at this moment, he was also stunned. Zhang Shou asked Zhu Ying to tell him that today they would talk about rectifying the name of this place and building a school here, but he never expected that the whole thing would be so big!
Seeing that no one said anything, the Fourth Prince suddenly became anxious, but just as he opened his mouth to break the unspeakable silence, he found that Liu Zhiyuan suddenly raised his head and looked at him, and then smiled at him. Just when he felt that his mind was confused, he saw Mr. Liu, who his father had just ordered him to personally support, slowly stand up.
"Your Majesty, there are many private schools in the world. Even in the countryside where families live together, there are often village schools. The court also strongly advocates community schools, and even asks for donations from the big families in the countryside. Therefore, each prefecture often has dozens of community schools, and a province can have hundreds. Shuntian Prefecture has 62 community schools, but all of them are outside the capital. There is only one in the inner city and one in the outer city."
"But if you really count, in every village in the country, three out of ten people can read, and seven are still illiterate. And in the capital, although there are all kinds of private schools everywhere, the number of literate and illiterate people is still 50-50."
"The literacy rate of the people in the capital is not really that high, but because the capital gathers the world's talents. The number of officials is the highest in the world, plus their children, nephews, students, and various servants. If this huge group of people is excluded, the proportion of illiterate people in the capital is similar to that in other parts of the world. If we count by number, there are still hundreds of thousands of people."
"This is really not suitable for the capital city under the feet of the emperor. Moreover, many things taught in the community school, although called education, such as teaching literacy, poetry and etiquette, are always rote memorization. However, if it is suitable for students who are going to take the imperial examination, it is really boring for ordinary children who will never take the imperial examination in their lifetime."
"Can they understand the sages' books? Can they teach them to their descendants? Of course, no. And will their literacy help them to farm or work in workshops when they grow up? Of course, no."
At this point, Liu Zhiyuan bowed and said, "Lu Jijiu just said that he wanted to establish a public school in the outer city. Although I am old, I am willing to do my best to take on this responsibility. I just hope that ordinary children in the world who cannot study and become officials will have a suitable way out. After all, the world has more and more people. For example, near the capital, the land is scarce and the population is large, which is particularly obvious."
"Among the people living in the capital, less than 10% make a living by farming, and the other 90% make a living by other industries. The proportion of idle and unemployed people is also increasing day by day. This is definitely not a strategy for long-term stability!"
The emperor frowned. Although he did intend to re-employ Liu Zhiyuan, it was not the Ministry of War. After the previous battle in the north, some people were finally hurt and scared, so the Ministry of War was not the place that needed a strong official to take over. On the contrary, the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple really needed a strong man.
But now, Liu Zhiyuan actually told him clearly that he intended to become the principal of a public school in the outer city!
He rubbed his brows in confusion. Seeing Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou flirting with each other, he couldn't help but feel angry. He immediately said with a stern face, "Emperor Taizu established the system. There are countless charity schools and academies in the world, but most of them are like the Imperial Academy in the past. The teachers do their job and the students just go through the motions. They just get the title of a student and go through the motions."
"Although this public school is doing well now, it is also because of the huge amount of money spent. If you want to build another one in the outer city, Mr. Lu, Mr. Liu, where will you get the money?"
After hearing these words, Yue Shanzhang, who had just been secretly angry after listening to Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan's words, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the emperor would be partial, so he easily agreed to such a plan, but now that the emperor was obviously hesitant, he had something to say. Therefore, he immediately nodded in agreement.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. The community schools alone have consumed a great deal of the energy of local officials, not to mention the charity schools sponsored by wealthy families and merchants..." Just as he was trying to find a way to say that building a public school cost a huge amount of money and that there was no need to build more, a voice suddenly came from downstairs.
"Your Majesty, money is a trivial matter!" Following this voice, Zhang Chen quickly rushed upstairs and said with a smile on his face: "I will donate one thousand strings of cash on behalf of my father."
If Zhang Shou hadn't repeatedly reminded him not to be so arrogant, Zhang Chen would have wanted to ask for 10,000 strings of cash! Anyway, he said that he was paying "on behalf of my father" and not by himself. With the family background of the Duke of Qin, even if they couldn't take out 10,000 strings of cash, they could just take out a piece of land to support the public school.
After he finished speaking, a louder voice came from behind: "You son doesn't feel bad for selling your father's land. What's so great about you donating on your father's behalf? I will donate 300 strings of cash myself! It's not my father's money, it's my own money!"
Zhu Er followed Zhang Chen upstairs and bowed to all four sides. Then he held his head high and said, "I have saved this for several years, plus I did some work in Cangzhou this time. This is all my family wealth. It is better than Zhang Chen's generosity. Mr. Liu, my eldest brother has always praised you the most, you must accept it!"
Even though he knew that Zhang Chen and Zhu Er were Zhang Shou's "stooges", the total amount of the two of them was 1,300 guan, and Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but take a deep breath. But then, he heard a clear voice: "Big brother is not here, and the second brother took out all his private money. I will also donate 1,000 guan. If it's not enough in the future, I can add more! "
When Zhu Ying saw the emperor looking at her, she suddenly stood up and flew to the table of Weinan Earl Zhang Kang and others like a colorful butterfly. Then she said with a smile: "Uncles, can you donate a little bit as well as a token of your appreciation?"
As she spoke, she used her thumb and index finger to make a very small gesture, and then she said with great joy: "It doesn't matter if you don't donate money. For example, for a guy like Zhang Wuji who is often idle and has nothing to do, it is also a way to help students by registering his name in the public school and giving lectures. After all, compared to doing nothing, this is the real thing to do."
As she spoke, Miss Zhu looked at the others with a playful smile on her face: "Uncles and aunts, just think of it as doing me a small favor, okay? If you don't want money, you can just send people. As long as you do one of them, it will be fine!"
When Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong saw Zhu Ying's sweet smile and her appearance of not being afraid of him at all, he suddenly thought of his own children who were afraid of him like a tiger, and his heart was suddenly disturbed.
When Zhu Ying was a little girl, she was not afraid of strangers at all, and she would remember you clearly once she met you. He had seen her once in the palace and introduced her to her nurse. After that, every time she saw him, she would smile and call Zhang the second uncle and act like a spoiled child, as if she didn't care about the so-called hatred and grudges between the two families.
Over time, he and Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing were no longer even on good terms. He had also done harm to Zhu Ying's elder brother Zhu Tingfang, who was both civil and military, but he could never be hard-hearted towards this little girl. Thinking that he was not a person who was extravagant and did not lack money, he simply said, "Okay, then I'll give you five thousand..."
"Uncle Zhang, that's too much! Your family has many people and the expenses are high. I only need one thousand strings of cash. One thousand strings of cash is enough! Thank you very much. I will always remember your kindness!" Zhu Ying happily shook the hand of Zhang Qiong, the Earl of Xiangyang. Seeing Zhang Qiong shaking his head and laughing, she let go of her hand and looked at other people.
As a result, Weinan Earl Zhang Kang also readily sponsored a thousand strings of cash, and she naturally hurried forward to thank him profusely. The remaining three looked at each other, and when they saw Zhu Ying's eyes flickering as she looked at them, they all smiled helplessly.
One thousand strings of cash is not a small sum, but for them... it is also not a big sum. How can they not spare such a small amount of money? Therefore, when he saw that the emperor was just watching with great interest, Huaiqing Hou said helplessly: "So Miss Zhu, you dragged us here today with bad intentions! Fine, everyone will give one thousand strings of cash, and I will give one thousand strings of cash too!"
"It's just that I'll take out this money. If I don't have money to eat out in the future, I'll go to your house. Just don't look down on me, Duke Zhao! Isn't this just my love of money? As soon as he saw me, he called me rotten meat. I'm too embarrassed to even come to your house!"
When Zhu Ying introduced Huaiqing Hou Zhang Jingzhou to Zhang Shou, she had imitated her father Zhu Jing's tone and called him rotten meat. When Zhang Jingzhou said this, she immediately made a face in embarrassment, and then said with a smile: "Then it's settled, Uncle Jing, you can come and eat for free, I promise not to let you go hungry! You are already rich enough, so don't be so obsessed with money!"
"That won't do. My eldest son and I are tired of being poor, and we have many children. In the future, those who want to marry will marry, and those who want to marry will marry. Our sons will have a share of the family property, and our daughters will have a share of dowry. There must be something in this, right?" Huaiqing Marquis Zhang Jingzhou seemed not to notice that the emperor was still sitting there, and defended his greed with confidence, "I was greedy in some things in the past, but who asked me to be poor? Otherwise..."
He paused, then showed Zhu Ying a sly smile: "Otherwise, Yingying, if you want your ideal husband to do something good, why not bring me along? He can bring out a guy like my Xiao Lu who can only talk, let alone me?"
"Okay, Uncle Jing, you're still thinking about playing the long game!"
Zhu Ying immediately glared at Zhang Jingzhou angrily, then glanced at Zhang Shou. Seeing that Zhang Shou was just smiling and saying nothing, with an expression that he would let you do whatever you want, she raised her chin slightly and said, "Uncle Jing, if you can behave well in the future and stop making those messy rumors, then I can consider it and talk to Ah Shou later... Anyway, you are not allowed to refuse to pay this thousand strings of cash!"
"Okay, I'm sure you won't lose a cent!"
As for Dingtao Earl Zhang Qian and Linfen Earl Zhang Wuxi, the first three had already set a good example. Although they felt a little painful, they finally agreed and donated 1,000 guan each. Of course, they could not do the same as Zhang Jingzhou, who was like a rolling knife, and asked Zhu Ying for a promise.
In just a short moment, they had come up with a sum of 7,300 strings of cash. Although Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan had expected such a situation, this amount was beyond their expectations. At this moment, Lu Sanlang also came up the stairs in two steps.
He bowed to the emperor with a smile, and then said with a smile: "When you heard that a public school was going to be established in the outer city, all of you were willing to donate generously. Cangzhou's eldest son Jiang took the lead in donating 800 strings of cash, and many people responded at once. I just roughly calculated that it has exceeded 10,000 strings of cash at least. Suzhou's fourth master Hua donated 800 strings of cash, Shandong's Lu Huishou donated 800 strings of cash, Yangzhou's Yu Huishou..."
At this moment, Shanzhang Yue suddenly realized something he had just overlooked. Only in the capital, under the feet of the emperor, would there be so many wealthy merchants gathering here for various reasons. And because of a generous donation for a good cause that had obviously reached the emperor's ears, others would not only not refuse, but would flock to it.
It's just a small thing, who would be reluctant? So many guild halls were built in the outer city, originally for the purpose of being able to communicate with the dignitaries and dignitaries in the capital at any time! For most people, an opportunity like today is a rare opportunity.
Moreover, Lu Sanlang is very good at dealing with people. He reads out the names one by one like a machine gun, which makes people's names reach the ears of the emperor!
The emperor chuckled and pointed at Lu Sanlang, then pointed at Zhang Chen and Zhu Er who had just jumped out to act as a backup, but then moved his finger to point at Zhu Ying, and finally pointed at Zhang Shou.
"Okay, let's take one step at a time and look three steps ahead. Zhang Shou, you were the one behind all the things that happened today, right? Not only did you persuade the two old seniors to fight for you, but you also ordered a bunch of young people to run errands for you. Just now, Silang was desperately poking my back with his fingers, hoping that I would agree to these things. Not to mention Yingying, she not only paid for it herself, but also coaxed others to pay!"
"I don't deserve the emperor's words."
Zhang Shou stood up calmly, then smiled and said, "Actually, what Lu Jijiu and Mr. Liu just said is only part of it. In addition to building a school, I also suggested that Lu Jijiu and Mr. Liu open a newspaper room to publish newspapers. For this purpose, the public school has previously set up a lettering and typesetting class. Now, these people have signed a contract with Lu Sanlang's workshop."
"The newspaper office will publish an academic journal and a business journal. The academic journal will include various news bulletins from the literary world and academic circles in the capital, as well as various teaching progress within the Imperial College and the public school, including student submissions, etc. The business journal will publish information that various business people are concerned about, such as the supply and demand of certain grains or southern goods in the market, and the various progress of the imperial chef selection competition..."
He smiled slightly and said word by word: "The first issue of the Ming Journal and the Beijing Commercial News has just been printed. Since the emperor is here today, why not take a look at it with your own eyes?"
