Chapter 21 Civilian Educators
Just as Zhang Sheng stepped out of the palace with a heavy heart, a middle-aged young official was already sitting in front of Zheng De, Shi Hu, the official in the imperial examination.
The official of the imperial examination? What official position is this? When Zheng De first heard this name, he looked puzzled. But later he realized that this was just a temporary official position, without a rank. His main responsibility was to organize books for the emperor and review books. In modern and popular terms, he was a librarian. Of course, the four words "royal royal use" must be added before it.
When Zheng De had just ascended the throne a month ago, this guy was also annoyed that Zheng De had reopened the imperial banquet. He was so nagging that he rushed back to the Hanlin Academy in anger, but he regretted it immediately. When he was idle and prepared to find a book in Maoqin Palace to learn about the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, he tragically discovered that there were no bookmarks in ancient times. When he wanted to find a book, he might not find it all day. In the end, he had no choice but to find the ancient librarian again.
And there was another incident that made Zheng De quite regretful. When he was preparing to study classical Chinese and integrate into this world, the first person he thought of was his teacher Yang Tinghe, who didn't notice that there was a good expert in ancient Chinese literature beside him. This incident made him regret it. At least this person dared not be as strong as Yang Tinghe, which made him feel uncomfortable.
"Shi Aiqing came just right. I mentioned some things to Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, just now, but he refused it with the 'ancestral system'. I want to come and listen to Shi Aiqing's opinion." Zheng De's originally depressed mood relieved a lot when he saw Shi Yu's arrival.
"The law of ancestors cannot be changed. I think Lord Zhang is right." Unexpectedly, Shi Yu was tough and did not flatter and comply with the emperor's words.
Zheng De was not angry, but still said with a smile, "Shi Qing hasn't heard what I said yet, how can he know that this matter involves the ancestral system? Is Lord Shi unwilling to give me a chance to finish the matter?"
After saying that, he deliberately blinked at him and pretended to be cute. The stone veins were bulging. If it weren't for the emperor, he really wanted to come forward and beat him up. He forced himself to bow and said, "Please tell me clearly."
Zheng Deke didn't know the mood of the person in front of him. He smiled and said with a serious expression, "I want to promote nine-year compulsory education in the Ming Dynasty, including six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. Anyone who is poor or rich in the Ming Dynasty can enter school as long as he is over six years of age. What do Shi Aiqing think?"
"I think it's OK." Unexpectedly, Shi Yu agreed without thinking.
Zheng De was like Zhuge at this moment, as if he expected that he would agree. He looked like "Everything is in control" on his face, and a smug smile appeared, "Why didn't Shi Qing mention the matter of the ancestor system?"
"Ancestral system?" Shi Yu looked at him confused, "Your Majesty, this matter seems to have nothing to do with the laws of the ancestors, right?"
"It doesn't matter, but the next thing is related to the ancestral system." Zheng De said lightly, wanting to wait for Shi Yu to ask himself. However, this person who already knew that the emperor liked to keep his composure was also the old god waiting for the following text.
Before Shi Yu took the initiative to ask, Zheng De had to continue talking embarrassedly, "In order to promote nine years of compulsory education, I decided to change all prefectures, prefectures, and county schools to primary schools and junior high schools."
Shi Yu nodded when he heard this. Unexpectedly, the emperor said something suddenly. Does the emperor want to keep it in a silence again? He suppressed his anger and was about to ask, but he immediately understood, "Your Majesty has changed all the prefectures, states and county schools to primary schools and junior high schools? In this way, how can a six-year-old child be admitted to school?"
After all, scholars in the Ming Dynasty wanted to enter the prefecture, prefecture, and county schools, the entrance examination for students to obtain student qualifications. This kind of examination is called a child exam, also called a small exam, and a small exam. The child exam includes three stages: a county exam, a government exam and a college exam. Those who pass the selection layer by layer are called students, which are commonly known as scholars. This also leads to the fact that students in prefecture, prefecture, and county schools are generally over 20 years old. It is no wonder that Shi Yu questioned Zheng De's words.
"So I want to cancel the child trial, so that all the people of the Ming Dynasty, whether poor or rich, can let their children enter school at the age of six. What does Shi Aiqing think?" Zheng De looked at him with expectation.
"This..." Shi Yu looked embarrassed. On one side, it was the ancestral system and on the other side it was a dream. It was really hard to make a choice!
Zheng De thought about it and asked, "Can scholars become officials directly?"
"There is no such example when it comes to Your Majesty." Shi Yu didn't know what the emperor said, and looked at him with confusion.
Zheng De smiled softly, "Isn't this over? Since you can't be an official directly, what's the use of such an exam for admission?"
What is this? Shi Yu was in the clouds and was really unable to understand what the emperor said. However, Zheng De obviously didn't want to keep it in hiding anymore and said it directly, "My official school in the Ming Dynasty should serve all the people in the Ming Dynasty, not for a small group of people. Just imagine that most of the scholars who could take the children's examination should have a good family background, so they could go to private schools and have the ability to take the children's examination. How many of those poor families can go to private schools? Most of the children of poor people had to drop out of school early because of their family difficulties and worked hard for life. Do you think this is fair?"
"Is this fair? It must be unfair!" He asked himself, and had to agree with the emperor's words. After all, he came here like this. Although there are subsidies for the diet of the official school, you have to enter the official school as well.
Although scholars are really insignificant in the eyes of modern people, they even sneer at those in books or TV who have only been able to get scholars after taking the exam for a lifetime and are called waste. But in Zheng De, who has learned about the situation, the so-called children's provincial examination is similar in a sense to the college entrance examination. Of course, it is not in the examination content, but because of "thousands of troops cross a single-plank bridge".
"So I want to implement nine-year compulsory education, cancel the so-called child-study examination, lower the admission threshold for the Ming Dynasty's official school, and allow all children over the age of six to receive education. In this way, in ten or twenty years, I will not be full of talents in the Ming Dynasty, and I will no longer have to worry about the lack of talents."
Shi Yu was completely shocked by the emperor's words when he heard this. Unexpectedly, the emperor's idea was even more grand and shocking. Although he admired Confucius' words "there is no difference" most, his biggest idea was to build a college after retiring from his hometown, so that all children can study in it for free, whether poor or wealthy. As for the others, he had never thought about it, nor had he worked hard for it. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shame and was ashamed of his small ideal.
"Your Majesty said so much, I am ashamed." Shi Yu stood up and bowed.
"Sit" Zheng De waved his hand, looked at him and asked, "Then are you supporting my decision?"
"I used this to work hard for dogs and horses." Shi Yu said seriously.
Zheng De nodded and asked with a smile, "This is the law of the ancestors. If you support my decision, you will stand opposite to most ministers!"
"This..." Shi Yu was a little hesitant when he heard this, but he quickly understood. Perhaps abolishing Tong Shengshi would violate the laws of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, but this matter would benefit the country and the country without any harm. It can be said that the contribution is in the present and the future. If he retreats because of some infamy, he will be ashamed to be a minister. Besides, there is the support of His Majesty the Emperor, what should I be afraid of?
"I am willing to work hard for this." Shi Yu said with a firm look on his face and his eyes were quite firm, "What's the point of being a little bit of infamy!"
"Okay!" Zheng De shouted with satisfaction, "It seems that I did not read you wrong."
To be honest, Shi Yu's ability is not very outstanding, and his ability rating is only B. However, the systematic review made Zheng De's eyes lit up. The simple five words "a common educator" are enough to make people unable to ignore his existence. This is also the reason why Zheng De talked about this with Shi Yu after his defeat in front of Zhang Sheng.
"I have just ascended the throne, so I am not in a hurry to do the reform of the school for the time being." Zheng De paused and looked at him and continued, "But there is one thing that must be done before this to avoid being caught off guard. So I want to leave it to you, but I don't know if Shi Aiqing can guarantee it to be completed."
"Your Majesty also asks you to make sure you complete it."
After hearing Shi Yu's promise, a cunning look flashed in Zheng De's eyes, "This is what you said, don't regret it." The latter suddenly had a bad premonition when he heard this, and also felt that he agreed too quickly. However, it was too late to regret it now, I just hope it would not be too embarrassing.
"I will ask you to compile a set of textbooks, including two subjects: Chinese and mathematics. One textbook for Chinese and mathematics in each academic year, with a total of eighteen textbooks to prepare for the next nine years of basic education. Please love my dear."
"Textbook?" Although I had never heard of this term, Shi Yu instantly understood its meaning. He was relieved when he heard this. However, he still asked in confusion, "Is there any Three Character Classic, Four Books and Five Classics, why did Your Majesty re-compile textbooks?"
"Can the Four Books and Five Classics be textbooks?" Zheng De originally wanted to answer him like this, but he thought that it is the Confucian world today, so he definitely doesn't say this. So he changed the reason, "The so-called textbooks, among which Chinese is composed of a collection of hundreds of schools of thought, composed of poems, songs and some fables. This will neither appear too profound nor too boring, and it is suitable for those underage children to read and read. Mathematics makes people learn arithmetic, and whether they are used in the future as an official or other things. It can be said to be a very practical subject."
Shi Yu nodded, but was still worried, "This is really not conducive to the scholars taking the scientific examination."
The eight-legged essays were required for the scientific examination in the Ming Dynasty, and the topics of the eight-legged essays came from the Four Books and Five Classics. No wonder he was so worried.
"In the future, the scientific examination may not be able to take eight-part essays." Zheng De said lightly, but added in a low voice afterwards, "Maybe even the scientific examination may not be able to take place."
Shi Yu heard this vaguely, looking at the emperor in front of him with shock, "Does Your Majesty still want to abolish the scientific examination?"
"Maybe!" Zheng De didn't expect that he could hear his low voice, but since he heard it, he didn't care, but instead said ambiguously.
However, he obviously didn't want to talk more about this matter, and directly changed the topic, "The writing of textbooks for these subjects must be written according to the age of the child, just like the textbooks for children who have just entered school must be easy to understand, and then the difficulty level increases. Do you understand?"
Shi Yu nodded in agreement when he heard this, "I understand."
Chapter completed!