Jingming

Chapter 460 Wu Chengen and the future
  Starting from this year, Sandingjia has a new definition.

In the past, Sandingjia meant winning three consecutive prizes in the provincial examination, the joint examination, and the palace examination, and winning first place in all.

In the history of imperial examinations, there were extremely few such people.

The strange thing is that not only these top academic masters who have scored three yuan in a row, but even the top students in every subject, their final achievements seem to be average. In history, those who ultimately leave greater fame are often not the top picks.

On the contrary, in the Jiajing Dynasty, the situation seemed to be different.

Fei Hong, the first Prime Minister and Minister of State, was the number one scholar in Chenghua in the [-]rd year.

The second Zhang Fujing was ranked second in the [-]th year of Zhengde.

Zhang Bi skipped it.

And now Yang Shen is also the number one scholar in the sixth year of Zhengde.

As for the future... Sanding Armor has a new meaning, it is number one in three directions.

At the passing ceremony, Tan Lun, Shen Kun, and Wang Chonggu were called into the hall together.

Today, the three of them are also qualified to take the Royal Road and leave from the middle gate of the Meridian Gate.

Among the three, Shen Kun was the oldest. He and the emperor were actually born in the same year.

Zhu Houcong also looked at him with interest: Judging from the answer sheet, there was no systematic and standardized research at all, purely because he was too knowledgeable.

This is a guy who is really interested in all kinds of miscellaneous things.

"Tan Zili." Zhu Houcong spoke to Tan Lun first, "You have no formal exams to take. After returning to your hometown to report the good news, you will be conferred upon your return and start training."

Tan Lun thanked him.

Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer words at the Chuanlu Ceremony, and the emperor just looks at them in person first.

As for Shen Kun and Wang Chonggu, they still need to prepare for the manufacturing subjects. These new scholars, who are qualified to take the manufacturing examinations in the direction of enterprises and the Academy of Sciences, went to the Huangming Assets Bureau and the Polytechnic Institute to prepare for the examinations, and they were treated equally.

For the people in the capital, the subsequent parade of Sandingjia was just a lively event.

But for scholars all over the world, the new academic structure and new examination syllabus that were subsequently published in "Ming Pao" on March [-]th are even more important.

This time, the Ministry of Culture and Education made it clear that there will be no major changes to the examination system and syllabus in the future.

After more than ten years, the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination was renamed as science.

Matching this is the academic system of social studies primary school, middle school and university. Graduating from primary school, middle school, and university will all have degree certificates from scholars, scholars, and bachelors respectively.

This proves, like the parentage text given before, an officially recognized level of learning.

Due to the emergence of the provincial examination and the general examination list, the imperial examination gradually transformed into a channel for the imperial court to select high-level talents. The candidates on the list and the candidates were just the qualifications to take the examination.

The imperial court and local governments usually recruit officials, and there is another kind of public examination. That kind of public examination can be taken regardless of the rankings, as long as you have the corresponding degree certificate.

At the level of the imperial examination, after the name was changed to science, scholars will be selected by subject in the future. Starting from the township examination, the government subjects, business subjects, and science subjects have been established. In the future, there may also be liberal arts, agriculture, engineering, and arts.

In short: literacy is the beginning of becoming a talent in all walks of life in the country, and degree certificates are the basis for judging the level of talent in all walks of life. From intellectuals, distinguished scholars, and bachelors to masters and doctors who were ranked in the official examination, there are many branches in the road of the imperial examination, and they can also be diverted into jobs in advance.

This is also a new standard that Ming Dynasty is building: to make talents more measurable, with widely recognized degree certificates, talents can flow, and it can be called "all the heroes in the world."

Naturally, there will be a lot of discussion among the people.

What will those old scholars and old judges think in the future?
  There are a large number of talented people at the bottom, and their birth status is showing signs of depreciation, which is annoying to them.

The Imperial College in the north and the south will be transformed into specialized study abroad institutions in the future. The yinzi of the rich and powerful have to complete basic education first and then directly compete for places in universities in various provinces. This is not as straightforward as in the past, when they directly favored the Imperial Academy or even directly favored officials.

Folk academies in various places used to have great Confucians and fellow disciples working together to keep warm. They had rich book resources and knowledgeable teachers. It was easier to get twice the result with half the effort by taking the imperial examination. In the future, they will also face a new situation. If you don't graduate from a government-run university, you don't have a bachelor's degree certificate. If you want to take this new type of imperial examination, you might as well go to a government-run university system to learn the knowledge of each subject.

Yang Tinghe and Fei Hong, who had foresight back then, spent their main energy on universities in local provinces after becoming officials. Now more people understand this.

No matter how they discuss and express their dissatisfaction, the matter will still be pushed forward.

Three years.

The joint examination and palace examination in three years' time will be implemented according to the new academic system and new examination syllabus.

Speaking of the syllabus, this time it was also very different.

The difference is that in the past, there was no clearly defined examination syllabus, and the Four Books and Five Classics were just the default. Later, there were more practical studies and dialectics by His Majesty, more writings by Wang Shouren, Yang Tinghe and others, and some basic knowledge of arithmetic that must be tested.

But this time, the Ministry of Culture and Education has published an official syllabus.

In terms of basic skills, you need to know how many words you can read and write, be clear about grammar, memorize classic poems and understand their meanings, and what styles of articles you can write.

The rest of the homework, including what you need to know about arithmetic, what you need to know about astronomy and geography, what you need to know about historical figures, and what you need to know about the knowledge of physics that has been understood, are all clearly listed in the exam syllabus.

What's more important is that a set of textbooks that have been prepared for many years will be published nationwide.

The Four Books and Five Classics are no longer textbooks that must be memorized by heart, but they are still a reading list that everyone should be able to master when it comes to the provincial examination and the general examination.

The impact is huge.

After removing the glory of Duke Yan, the emperor and the court finally began to establish their own cultural and educational orthodoxy.

This new textbook is orthodox.

The printing press that appeared many years ago and has been continuously improved is running at full speed, and there is a lot of traffic outside the engraving factory in Beijing Light Industry Park.

This time, all private bookstores can come to stock the goods.

The right minister of the Ministry of Culture and Education was on the scene, as was the president of Ming Pao Bank.

"The new examination syllabus and new textbooks are not set up to make money! The price of each book has been printed on the book. There are censors from all over the country, and there are ordinary people below, but there are complaints about who is hoarding goods. , sold at a high price, the Publication Department of the Ministry of Etiquette and Communication and the Ministry of Commerce canceled the corresponding licenses!"

The pricing of textbooks affects every family who wants to improve their children's education, and cannot be ignored.

Pirating, counterfeiting, and raising prices are the most important tasks for the right minister in charge of the teaching materials department of the Ministry of Culture and Education in the next three years.

"What you should be thinking about is interpretation and resolving doubts. Different textbooks can be sold in the world by inviting celebrities to compile them and ask them to annotate them in a book. However, whether the annotations are appropriate and there are no errors or omissions will still have to be submitted after the book is completed. It must be submitted to the Publication and Engraving Department for approval and a ISBN issued before it can be printed and marketed.”

New textbooks will bring about a teaching aid market.

This is unlike the previous Four Books and Five Classics, which have countless time-tested opinions over thousands of years.

Nowadays, there are many more subjects, especially science, business, etc., and I don’t know how many young students are simply confused. In this case, if there are some other reference books, it will naturally be of great help.

It’s not that businessmen don’t understand this truth, and they don’t need officials to remind them.

Suddenly, Huangming University, Institute of Polytechnic Studies, and other officials and famous people had an extra source of income: many businessmen hoped that they would take action in their spare time and give their own opinions on the new textbooks. Note.

Don't say it, don't say it, but when you think about the possibility that thousands of students will hold it in their hands and read their opinions in the future, just like other sages whose opinions are regarded as standards, many people get excited.

Businessmen are too lazy to care about what some old scholars denounced as the collapse of rituals and the unrest of sages. What a new market! Now Zhu Houcong is also looking forward to the fact that after another generation, when he is old, the scientific talents of Ming Dynasty will finally have a chance to explode.

But at this time, another person also came into his sight.

It was Wu Chengen that Shen Kun mentioned during the banquet later.

Zhu Houcong did not expect that Shen Kun and Wu Chengen were still good friends.

From his mouth, Zhu Houcong learned about Wu Chengen's previous experience.

According to Shen Kun, Wu Chengen should not be nearly [-] years old and his reputation has not spread far and wide. His wife is the great-granddaughter of Ye Qi, a Huai'an native who was the Minister of Household Affairs during the Hongzhi period. When Ye Qi passed away, it was Li Dongyang who wrote his epitaph. Ye Qi's nephew was also a Jinshi. Although Wu Chengen's family was a businessman, his wife's family was still very influential in Huai'an.

As for Wu Chengen himself, he has always had an eye for memories and was extremely smart since he was a child.

Shen Kun said that the two of them are very similar, and they both like all kinds of miscellaneous books and knowledge. According to Shen Kun, most of what Wu Chengen likes is related to literature and art, such as painting, calligraphy, Go, poetry, gods and ghosts...

Even so, Wu Chengen was highly appreciated by the prefect of Huai'an when he was studying at Longxi Academy.

Shen Kun felt that the emperor valued miscellaneous studies, and maybe Wu Chengen would have his own opportunity, so he mentioned him in front of the emperor.

Taking advantage of the banquet given after the palace examination to recommend friends, what kind of friendship is this? Shen Kun was sweating in his heart. Unexpectedly, the emperor seemed to be more interested in Wu Chengen than him, and asked a lot of questions.

In the minds of Tan Lun and Wang Chonggu at the time, this was the emperor's opportunity to convey to the Jinshi scholars that he valued the direction of the Academy of Sciences - otherwise, how could he "only favor" one?
  Zhu Houcong is thinking about a question these days: when Wu Chengen comes, should he lend him all his "brains" and let him write another "ancient and wonderful novel"?
  After all, he likes fairies, ghosts, lemurs, monsters, and monkeys, right?
  That's right, Zhu Houcong directly issued an order to go to Huai'an to recruit Wu Chengen to Beijing.

Over the years, Zhu Houcong has always had a problem that he didn't know how to use his efforts: how to let the Ming Dynasty monarchs and people remember that there was an achievable ambitious goal ahead after his death.

Building a world-wide unified party and proposing this ideal will only allow the ministers to make great achievements in order to leave a name in history while he is still alive. The momentum may continue for one, two, or three generations.

But if you are too far ahead, I am afraid that inertia will still exist and internal problems will brew.

Maybe the steam engine is used extremely well and industry and commerce are quite developed, but there is no motivation to develop more powerful technologies. In the end, Ming Dynasty turned into a steampunk Ming Dynasty and could not enter the more advanced electronic era.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but talk to Zheng Kui and others about internal combustion engines, motors, and computers before they even understood steam engines...

How is that different from talking about gods and ghosts?
  But Shen Kun mentioned Wu Chengen and inspired Zhu Houcong.

If Wu Chengen is allowed to take action, with his ability to construct a grand novel, can he also incorporate these technologies and scenes that will appear in the future?
  When ordinary people watch the excitement, people who understand science can vaguely feel that the various technologies and tools there seem to have their own reasons.

It's just that when the time comes, let Wu Cheng'en write a character in the book to boast about his treasure and say: My ears are carved with fine gold, so I can figure out the mysteries of heaven and earth. Add to this the clairvoyance of being above nine heavens and traveling around the world without falling to the earth. Whatever the clairvoyance sees, it is sent to this ear of the wind in the form of invisible Tao patterns. It interprets it by itself and tells me the truth. How can you fathom the power of this physical avenue?
  Look, isn’t this smell coming?

It just so happens that Zhu Houcong only knows the general principles of many things, and if he presents them in this way, then he will praise them with the dignity of the emperor, and those who are interested will naturally read them carefully.

Just... will Wu Chengen look at himself like he's looking at gods and ghosts?
  In Huai'an Mansion, the news that Shen Kun ranked among the top three in the imperial examination has spread.

When such a descendant of such a distinguished family was born in a merchant's family, his old father was naturally weeping with joy and hosted a banquet for guests.

As a good friend of Shen Kun, Wu Chengen was also among the guests.

Seeing the joy in the Shen family, he was happy for Shen Kun but also felt a little sad. Seeing Shen Kun's father, he also thought of his late father.

Both families are local businessmen. They are not very big, but they are also well-off and even wealthy families.

The two businessman fathers also have the same wish, hoping that their descendants can obtain fame and become successful.

For this reason, Wu Chengen's father named him Chengen, with the courtesy name Ruzhong, in the hope that he would be able to obtain fame in the future, inherit the emperor's favor, and become a loyal minister who would leave a name in history.

However, until his father's death, Wu Cheng'en still failed to pass the imperial examination, and the imperial examination was naturally even more hopeless.

In the grand Shen family, Wu Chengen was just a frustrated scholar and not an important guest.

Shen Kun's father was there accompanying local officials from Huai'an Prefecture, and there were also many businessman friends sitting at a table not far from Wu Chengen.

Gossips reached Wu Chengen's ears.

"I heard that it was just a lack of intelligence that made me stand out among the dwarfs by choosing this path."

"Yeah, it's not an official subject, and I won't be able to become an official in the future. Such a big deal, it's like winning the real number one."

"If you can't be an official, what's the use?"

Wu Cheng'en was a little angry for his friend, and said to the scholars and friends at the same table: "Bo Zai will try to win the first place, and now he is one of the three tripods, and he can compete for the top spot in the engineering department. I can't say, it will be better." The days are just like the old Tang Dynasty, with good news spreading frequently, and he was awarded the title of earl!"

"I can't say, I really can't say! Since His Majesty became emperor, he has introduced two courses. This time, only two leaders from the business and science subjects will be named earls. Since Bo Zai is the head of the science subjects, this earl has great hope."

"Bo Zai is a late bloomer!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? You're not even forty now. Don't you see, Mr. Zhang is already forty-seven years old. Once Jian was in the emperor's heart, he soared into the sky!"

Shen Kun, who has not been able to get a Jinshi degree for many years, most of the scholars who usually come and go are relatively middle and lower class.

Strong potential stocks are naturally in another circle.

Sitting here now, listening to some of Shen Kun's father's businessman friends being sour and unsightly, they naturally share the same hatred.

And their words are also very reasonable.

Under the eloquent discussion, the table next to him fell silent for a moment. It's just that looking at their thoughtful expressions, they don't seem to be ashamed, but are thinking about something new.

After a while, the housekeeper of the Shen family came over in a hurry. After looking around, he went straight to Wu Chengen's table.

"Wu Xiucai, you are sitting here! Hurry, your government has sent someone to look for you. There is an imperial edict! The father-in-law who came from the post office to deliver the edict is waiting at your house!"

Everyone was startled, and the one with a loud voice couldn't help asking: "Imperial decree?"

The sound attracted the magistrate of Huai'an and others sitting over there to look over.

Wu Chengen was a little confused: "Butler Shen, are you trying to frame me?"

"How dare I! Go back to the house quickly to receive the order!"

Wu Chengen didn't understand why, he was a little dizzy now.

The prefect of Huai'an was also speculating, but remained calm.

Today, Tongyi Bureau controls the delivery of official documents. At the same time, as an enterprise managed by the Huangming Assets Bureau, after the emperor eliminated eunuchs from various places, he also arranged for them to have another use, that is, to be stationed in enterprises in various places as supervisory eunuchs.

At the same time, if the emperor has any imperial edict, it can be delivered first through the Tongyi Bureau, and then the eunuchs in the various enterprises can deliver the edict, which can also improve efficiency.

But why is there a special decree passed to a scholar here?

Things were too unusual, but they shouldn't take any action without knowing the cause.

After handing over many powers to the State Council, another manifestation of the emperor's increased control over the vast empire was the money bag of the Huangming Assets Bureau, as well as the ability to rely on the specialized Tongyi Bureau to directly transmit decrees to various places.

God knows if this scholar has another identity secretly, or if something else happened here in Huai'an.

In any case, they thought that Wu Chengen was indeed related to the emperor's latest long-term plan and the entire country's future for hundreds of years.

(End of this chapter)