Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 99 Loopholes in the Imperial Examination Reform
Shortly after Fang Xiaoru left, Mei Yin came to see him and reported a piece of news.

"To report to His Highness the Crown Prince, I sent people to visit the compulsory schools in Yingtian Mansion and found that there are not many school-age children actually studying in the schools. According to the statistics compiled by the minister and my subordinates, there are only about three school-age children enrolled in school. More than a thousand people.”

At the end of last year, Zhu Di ordered a census of the permanent residents in Yingtianfu. Zhu Gaoxu knew that Yingtianfu has a total population of about 70, and children under 14 years old account for about one-fifth of the total population, which is 20.00%, approximately 14 people.

Among these 14 people, there are about 3 children between the ages of six and twelve.

People in later generations did not want to have children, but people in the early Ming Dynasty had no entertainment activities at night, and of course they mainly focused on making babies.

In fact, if it were not for the limitation of medical standards, which has caused the premature death rate of children in this era, children and infants under the age of 14 account for one-fifth of the total population, which is already quite low.

Zhu Gaoxu clearly remembers that before China implemented some kind of fertility policy in later generations, the number of young children once accounted for 30.00% of the country's total population. This is a relatively normal figure.

"Reporting to Your Highness, I and my servants visited and learned that, in addition to the more than 3000 school-age children who have already enrolled in school, the rest reported to the local government office on the grounds of being deaf-mute, dementia, or disabled, and are not obliged to enter school."

Zhu Gaoxu believes that there will not be too many deaf-mute, dementia, or disabled children at this time.

Due to limited medical standards, children born with problems will either die young or be abandoned in the wilderness. The rest of the problem children who can grow up successfully are all from families with certain financial resources, such as medium and large landowners or local wealthy families. A family of eunuchs.

"Do you know why some people would rather lie, or even poison their children to mute them in order to prevent the court from sending people to check, rather than let their children go to school?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked knowingly.

"His Royal Highness, I am also puzzled by this."

Mei Yin said with confusion on his face.

He knew very well that since the birth of the imperial examination system, reading can change destiny, which is an eternal truth for every ordinary family.

"Could it be that they had some last resort and had to violate the imperial court's compulsory enrollment order?" Mei Yin guessed.

In this era where imperial power is supreme, who dares to violate the laws of the court?

Generally speaking, it is true that no one dares to disobey the court's laws, but since ancient times, there has been a phenomenon of "policies from above and countermeasures from below."

"Yes, as far as I know, those poor peasants who can't survive don't care about these so-called laws. They just want to live, even if they lie to deceive the court, or even flee into the mountains to become refugees in the mountains to avoid court inspections. "

Zhu Gaoxu said something that Mei Yin couldn't believe.

"Excuse me for being stupid, but don't these poor peasants know that compulsory schools are free of textbook fees and tuition fees?" Mei Yin asked increasingly puzzled.

Zhu Gaoxu had long known that after the imperial court implemented compulsory education, middle peasants would be very happy because they could send their children to school for free, taking the first step in changing their destiny. However, lower-class peasants and poor peasants might be in trouble because their children would Forced to enroll.

"Although the compulsory school is free of textbooks and tuition fees, and even provides accommodation, it does not provide food. It is okay to study in a compulsory school in the township, and you can go home to eat."

"But after entering the county middle school, except for the children who live in the county, they can go home to eat, and the other children who live in the school must take care of their own living expenses. This is a critical period for young people to grow up, and the living expenses they need are not A small sum.”

When Mei Yin heard what Zhu Gaoxu said, she looked astonished and said, "As His Highness said, ordinary people are not stupid, but are very good at settling accounts."

"That's right! Just imagine, if you spend a lot of money to feed your children to study, it will be fine if they pass the exam in the future, but if they fail, wouldn't it be a waste of so many years of hard work?"

Zhu Gaoxu said helplessly.He has not forgotten that in an era when compulsory education has become common in later generations, there are still people who are unwilling to let their children study and enter college.

"As far as I know, today's seven or eight-year-old children can indeed help their families share a lot of labor. If schooling is compulsory, some families may have three or four children who all need to attend private schools. This is equivalent to That’s two less adults to work with.”

Mei Yin solemnly analyzed the matter: "Emperor Taizu expelled the Tartars, and the world has been cultivating and recuperating for decades. There should not be too many families in Yingtian Mansion that are so seriously lacking in labor. I really can't think of it." clear."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Because the family is poor, there is a lack of labor!"

Upon hearing this, Mei Yin couldn't help but have infinite admiration for Zhu Gaoxu in her heart.

In his opinion, after Zhu Gaoxu was established as the prince, he has never left Jinling and has not visited the villages and towns within the jurisdiction of Yingtianfu at all. However, he knows the deeds of poor peasant families in the countryside so well that it is amazing.

Mei Yin has visited poor peasant families in towns and villages. He knows that for poor peasant families, both adults and children may have to work to make ends meet.

It is said that children from poor families should take charge of the family early, and children can herd sheep and cattle for the landlord. Adults work hard, not only to obtain daily necessities, but also to repay the money and grain they owe others.

And why do poor farmers owe money and food?
Mei Yin knew that this was caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters!

For example, after a flood or drought, crops fail, and middle- and lower-income families must borrow money to survive, and poor farmers may even have to sell themselves into slavery or work as domestic servants to survive.

In addition, they were robbed by local bullies and occupied farmland, and thus became refugees or slaves.

"How should this be?"

Mei Yin whispered to herself worriedly.

He knew very well that it was not an easy task to solve the poverty problem of poor peasants.

It can be said that this problem has never been solved since ancient times.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "If we want to eliminate poverty in the Ming Dynasty, even after hundreds of generations of hard work, it may be difficult to achieve it. But reducing the number of poor farmers and making more people willing to send their children to school is not difficult, as long as You need to start from two aspects.”

"The first is to improve people's productive labor capacity, and the second is to crack down on unreasonable private lending."

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, only when social productivity improves will people gradually have surplus food in their hands. With surplus food, they can save money and property, and with property, they can persevere in providing for their children to go to school.

This is the principle of perseverance for those who have perseverance.

Of course, in addition to improving productivity, the court can also recruit a large number of laborers to carry out large-scale infrastructure construction.

These workers can get rich from their wages, and even after the imperial court implements infrastructure construction for a long time, they will gradually form a working class that is different from traditional farmers.

As for cracking down on unreasonable private lending, it actually means compulsory management of private lending.

Both of these aspects need to be done by the court.

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(End of this chapter)