People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 549: Do craftsmen have to learn to read and write?

The fact that a craftsman could go to school was like a fantasy to him.

They had never heard of it, so it seemed that the scholars in Mandala City did not have a very high status.

After all, they could only end up becoming the landlords' staff and giving them some advice.

Some scholars do not do any good things and instead do bad things every day.

And they even put it in a nice way, saying that they were doing things for their boss.

For the sake of their boss, they were able to act recklessly and actually committed many evil things.

But even so, these craftsmen cannot get such an opportunity.

Although those scholars didn't do anything good, they had high incomes.

This is also the reason why the scholars in Mandala City or the entire Sanfuqi are so motivated.

Although the landlords looked down on these scholars, some of them did not have much education, so they still needed some scholars to serve as their aides and help them maintain their reputation.

Those scholars also formed such an industry.

There were even many staff groups who recommended scholars from their hometowns to enter the mansions of major landlords and serve as their staff.

This also formed the unique scholar culture of Sanfuqi or Mandala City.

Because of this, even though these scholars can be considered well-educated and well-mannered, their status is not high in the entire Mandala City.

On the one hand, the landlords used them as a tool for window-dressing.

As for the ordinary people, they despise these scholars because they torture themselves with the ideas they come up with on behalf of the masters.

These people are simply typical accomplices of the tyrant. Of course, this cannot be said to be all like this. It only shows that in Mandala City, although the scholar class is not particularly popular, it is much better than being a craftsman.

As a craftsman, you can only do rough work for others all your life, and rely on others for your food.

Unlike scholars, at least they can sit in a clean room and give advice to the landlords, and at least those people live a decent life.

But it is different for the craftsmen. Even on days like this, they cannot get time to work.

Moreover, those scholars who act as bad guys are a minority after all. In fact, there are still a majority of scholars who just want to make a living.

It is for this reason that the idea that even craftsmen could study in private schools with such scholars and become officials after graduation was simply too far-fetched for the craftsmen.

When everyone heard this, they felt more and more that Wang Dahai and Captain Liu were not really just talking nonsense to deceive them, right?
How could such a good thing happen to me?
With such a good thing like this, why don’t those educated people do it themselves?

Of course Wang Dahai would definitely say that scholars have their own ways to become officials, such as the imperial examination.

The craftsmen, on the other hand, entered the academy to hone their skills.

It's easy to say this, but how can it be realized?
The craftsmen don’t even know how to read, so what is there for them to learn?
Besides, to be honest, the technologies that have been preserved are the result of the gradual accumulation of many generations, and it is impossible for them to transfer these technologies easily.

After all, this is their life-saving skill. Without it, their lives will be more difficult.

So some craftsmen said some cold words.

"Among the two generals above, one is the son of a craftsman. That craftsman general should understand that the biggest dilemma we are in now is that no one respects us and we have too few options.

Now you have finally come here and you tell us that we should study and learn calligraphy before we can become officials. Aren’t you just kidding us?”

When this was said, there were quite a few craftsmen, and their expressions were actually very angry.

Isn't this just asking Zhang Fei to embroider?
Forcing people to do things they are not good at is impossible.

This seems to provide a way out, but this way out is a dead end. What is the use of such a way out?
When they thought about the many craftsmen here, they were all very angry, but they didn't dare to say it out loud.

Because of what?
Because of a very simple reason.

If all of us can learn calligraphy through reading and then compete with those who are well-read, why don't we do this from a young age?
On the contrary, it is only at this age that one has to learn to read and write, regardless of whether one has enough energy, comprehension ability, or time. Isn't this asking too much?

We know that we no longer have this opportunity, and we know that we still have to support our families.

Then let us follow those scholars and go to school to read and practice calligraphy. What is the logic behind this?
So when they thought of this, the craftsmen once again felt as if they were being fooled.

One craftsman directly said, "General Craftsman above, have you ever thought about a question?

If we could really become officials like those scholars by reading and writing, why didn't we do it before?
Instead, why do we wait until we are old, with elderly parents and young children to take care of, to do it?

Are we just bored, or do you think people like us are not very smart and just do stupid things blindly? "

Speaking of this, many craftsmen became even more angry.

These words represent their voice.

What I mean is, if people like us really had the opportunity to read and learn calligraphy, we would have done so long ago.

The reason why we have to wait until now is because we didn't have the opportunity before.

Even if we had such an opportunity, we would not have the time to take the imperial examinations or other tests.

Everyone has a wife, children and elderly parents to support. We even have trouble supporting ourselves, so how can we have the energy to study?

Those who had initially planned to trust the people from the Ming Dynasty now felt that they were being fooled again.

Treating yourself like a monkey and playing around is really disrespectful.

So at this moment, they really didn't want to say anything more, they just felt extremely ashamed.

I don’t even know what to say to express my current emotions. I just know that I’m like a puppet.

I have been manipulated and teased by others time and time again.

"Generals, if you have anything to say, just say it. If you really think we are easy to fool, I don't think you will get a good answer.

Even if we can be fooled by you this time, can we always be fooled by you?

Don’t you even think this is a bit disrespectful?”

"Yes, we are ordinary people, even ordinary people from a country conquered by your Ming Dynasty. We can be said to be slaves of a conquered country, but if we are pushed to the limit, we can also fight you with hoes and shovels." "You can beat us to death one by one, but it will take you a lot of time. If you don't want to waste such time, you should talk calmly together."

"I am very grateful that you have overthrown all the landlords in Mandala City. They once oppressed me, but if you treat us like this, it would be a bit too inhumane."

“That’s right. Although we haven’t read many books and don’t know any great principles, we do understand the basic principle of being a human being, which is to be open-minded.

To be fair, is it okay for you to play tricks on us like this over and over again? "

As soon as this was mentioned, the people below were all filled with indignation, especially when they heard that the craftsman had played tricks on this matter many times. Even ordinary people expressed their dissatisfaction at this time.

Wang Dahai looked at the indignant expressions of the people below and knew that they were really approaching the critical point.

So he knew he couldn't drag it out any longer, so he said to them directly: "It seems that many of you still have a lot of knowledge, and you also know that you must study and practice calligraphy before you can enter the school.

But I didn’t tell you that our Daming Engineering College is for those who are educated to study and learn calligraphy.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone below was stunned.

In their minds, isn't a school a place for people to read and learn calligraphy? What else can it do?
After all, since the school was established, it seems to have only this one use.

Is it possible to learn martial arts in there?
Everybody is a little weird.

Then another person asked: "Then don't waste your words, just tell us directly, what can we get?
What are the requirements for admission to this school?
Of course, if you tell us that we must pay before we can enter, we may be disappointed.

We poor craftsmen don’t have much money. If we have to spend money to go to school, we would rather not go.

We would rather not have this so-called wealth and we would rather be peasants for the rest of our lives."

This statement really made everyone agree with it.

"That's true. If you want to earn even this little money from me and others, then there's no need to say anything more.

Anyway, we don’t believe that craftsmen can learn anything good after entering school.

So you don't have to blame us.

If you want to earn even this little money from us, then I can only say that you, the Ming Dynasty, are crazy because of poverty."

When they thought of this, many people actually laughed.

"That's right. We are poor craftsmen. We can't even support our families. How can we have money to go to school?

If that's the case, then we're just listening to a play here and we don't take it seriously at all."

That's what everyone thinks now.

But Wang Dahai would not let the scene go on like this and said, "You worry too much. If our Ming Dynasty still needed your money, we would not be here to talk about reforms.

The reform of the imperial examination system and the reform of craftsmen can go hand in hand, and we have already prepared various measures.

First of all, the imperial examination reform will naturally bring a large number of scholars from our Central Plains dynasty. They will teach you our Ming Dynasty's writing, language, and our sage books.

You can take the imperial examination, and the difficulty of the imperial examination will be very low in the first five years.

Starting after you complete the first batch of enrollment, we will train batch after batch of you scholars to become grassroots managers.

Of course you will ask why you can't just be allowed to become a high-ranking official.

I think you scholars should understand this especially well.

We just want you to serve as officials at the grassroots level first to gain experience.

Many people should understand that if you want to become a high-ranking official, if you do not have the power at the grassroots level and you do not understand the grassroots level, it will be very easy for others to deceive you in the future.

So I believe that you, the scholars present here, should understand this principle, right?
After these words were spoken, the scholars below began to discuss again.

"That's the truth. If you don't even know the basics, it would be easy for these people to cheat you."

Especially some scholars who had served as staff members laughed even more.

"I did this kind of thing back then, helping my boss to cook the books. It was easy to fool those fools.

If the people below continue to use this method to deceive us, if we don’t understand, we may not be able to see through the deception, so what the general said is also correct. "

After accepting this, Wang Dahai continued: "Then the next step is the craftsmen. The craftsmen may also wonder why we let you enter the school?
There is one thing you must admit, even in a city like Mandala, your skills are inherited by different people, some are passed down from family, and some are learned from apprentices.

So everyone’s skills are different. You can also say that your skills are very high, but what standard do you use to judge?

After all, it is probably the people around you who judge your skills.

What if you take your craft to a larger venue to be judged?

How much do you think you weigh? How much water can be squeezed out?
Ask yourself, has your technology really reached its limit?
Or has your master passed on all of his skills to you without holding back anything? I can tell you straight away that's impossible.

Of course, if you want to refute me, please give your reasons. "

After Wang Dahai said this, everyone below fell silent.

Because of what?
Because it's impossible.

Because it's very simple. If your master really passed on all his skills to you, how would he live?

The saying "teaching a disciple will starve the master" is the same no matter where you are.

So when it comes to this issue, these craftsmen lower their heads and dare not face it directly.

Even if one has become a master, when teaching a young apprentice, most of the time one hopes that the apprentice will serve him for a few years.

Then let him go out and spread his fame or bring more disciples to himself, it is a relationship of interest.

It's not a family tradition, so I don't have to make sure my descendants learn all my skills.

Let them have a skill that they can survive on, otherwise they will not be taught everything they know. Because of this, they will definitely be reserved and there will definitely be many places that cannot be perfected...

(End of this chapter)