Can I get to the other side?

The emperor's clearing of land and census of the population would only make the wealthy families like them suffer a lot, and they would be able to endure it for a while.

But the appearance of the Imperial College made everyone feel uneasy.

Controlling the selection and promotion of officials is the reason why aristocratic families can remain immortal in the court.

But now Tianzi has opened up a new way to select talents, so that the inspection system is no longer the only way to be promoted, which directly touches their roots.

For example, if the various official positions in the imperial court are like a piece of pie, then they are the gourmets surrounding this piece of pie.

There is only one knife for dividing the pie, and that is the path to promotion.

The knife was in their hands before, so they could distribute the pie at will. It was just a matter of who ate more and who ate less. Everyone would be full.

But the emergence of the Imperial College represents the emergence of the second knife to divide the cake. In the future, the emperor will divide the cake if he wants to eat it.

The most terrible thing is that more people eat the bread. Because the bread is so big, if more people eat the bread, some people will go hungry or even starve to death.

This is something they cannot tolerate.

After Cui Yan finished speaking, Dong Zhong continued: "In addition to the Imperial College, there is another thing that is also incredible."

"I heard that the Smelting Bureau has recently mastered a new papermaking technology. The paper produced is not only of high quality, but also very low-cost."

"The Smelting Bureau also uses a method called printing to print a large number of books. The price of a book is only one hundred yuan!"

In today's era, the price of books is very high, and there is even a saying that "one book costs a hundred dollars".

One gold is ten thousand coins, and one hundred gold is one million coins.

Even relatively cheap bamboo slips are unaffordable for ordinary people, and the specific price of books varies depending on factors such as the production method and material of the book.

Take bamboo slips and books as an example. Making bamboo slips requires many complicated processes such as material selection, slicing, and finishing, and the consumables are time-consuming.

For bamboo slip books with better craftsmanship and a larger number of words, a medium-length book may cost several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.

If it is a long masterpiece or one with important content and exquisite production, the price may be tens of thousands of dollars or even higher.

Later, although Cai Lun improved the papermaking technology, the paper output was low and the production technology was not mature enough. Moreover, scholars generally did not have high recognition of paper, so the price of paper books was higher than that of bamboo slips.

The price of a high-quality, beautifully bound paper book may be around a hundred gold, that is, around a million dollars.

In addition, the remuneration for professional copyists is not low. It can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If you hire someone with knowledge and reputation to copy, the cost will be even higher.

The cost of transcribing an ordinary-length transcribed book may cost three to four thousand yuan. If a famous teacher is invited to transcribe it or the book content has special requirements, the price will increase significantly.

Therefore, in today's era, studying is the exclusive right of children of wealthy families. Children from poor families can only go to some well-known academies to study, or borrow from teachers, friends, or relatives.

As for ordinary people who are not even from a poor family and want to study, it is basically impossible.

"Look."

As Dong Zhong spoke, he took out a book from his arms, with two large characters "Book of Songs" printed on the cover.

"I bought this "Book of Songs" from the bookstore opened by the Smelting Bureau. I only spent a hundred dollars. If I negotiate the price, it can be lower!"

"One hundred dollars. A book with such exquisite binding and copying only costs one hundred dollars!"

"This, this is really a waste of natural resources!"

Dong Zhong said sadly that a book of this quality would have cost at least hundreds of gold in the past!

What is the concept of Baijin?

A commoner would not be able to buy even half of this book if he had to save money all his life!

But that day he saw many ordinary people reading and buying books in the bookstore. How could those mud-legged people deserve to read such sage books!

"Only a hundred dollars?"

The heads of other major families present were also shocked when they heard this. They had also heard about printing and papermaking, but they did not expect that the price of books would be reduced to such a low price!

A beautifully bound "Book of Songs" only costs a hundred dollars!

For them, one hundred dollars is not even enough for a cup of tea. Even ordinary people can buy a book if they save enough money for a month or two!

Xun Hong couldn't believe it and said, "Dong Gong is joking, how can it be so cheap?"

“This is not even enough to hire someone to copy it!”

Dong Zhong said displeased: "Why did I lie to you? The bookstore opened by the imperial court is on North Street. You can go and see it for yourself tomorrow. The books in it are very cheap."

"And as I said, the Metallurgical Bureau uses a technology called printing, not copying by hand."

"This technique is to engrave the words on the template, brush the template with ink, stamp it on the paper like a seal, and then bind it."

"This directly saves the effort of copying. Hundreds or thousands of books can be printed in one day. How can the price not be cheap?"

The principle of printing is very simple, just like stamping with a seal, but no one has ever thought of using this method to print books in batches before.

Of course, the biggest reason is that paper is expensive.

It's just that the Smelting Bureau has improved the papermaking technology and reduced the cost of papermaking. With the addition of printing technology, the price of books has naturally become cheaper.

"It's really incredible..."

Xun Hong murmured to himself that he had never thought that one day the price of books would be so cheap, and that reading would no longer be a privilege for the children of the gentry.

In the future, won’t everyone in the world be able to afford to read?

Thinking of this, he also realized the seriousness of the problem. If everyone in the world could afford to read and study in the Imperial College, then the imperial examination system would exist in name only!

The emperor selects talents based on other subjects and does not look at the traditional meaning of the scriptures. So what is the use of them having the right to interpret scriptures?

"So, this is what we need to resolve first."

"The Imperial College cannot be allowed to develop like this."

"Either ask His Majesty to stop running the school, or find a way to infiltrate the Imperial College and control this new promotion path."

Cui Yan concluded with a serious expression.

He has two attitudes towards the Imperial College.

Either let it stop, or participate in it and control the Imperial College in a similar way to controlling the exegesis power.

Otherwise, once the promotion path to the Imperial College is stabilized, the inspection system will be banned, and they will completely lose their foothold!

"It's easy for you to say it."

Dou Fu snorted coldly and said: "His Majesty asked Guo Fengxiao to run the Imperial College. It shows how much attention he attaches to it. How can he let His Majesty stop running the school?"

"As for control...heh, do you think the new subjects in the Imperial College are the same as Confucianism? They are not the same thing at all!"

The reason why they were able to control the promotion path of the Chaju system was because the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, and Confucianism could be interpreted at will.

But among the subjects in the Imperial College, including mathematics, engineering, criminal law, and politics, except for the last one, politics, which of the other subjects can be interpreted at will?

Even in politics, what we learn is how to control the people and how to govern a country for officials, not the things that are available or not.

Therefore, it is simply impossible to control the Imperial College as well as the imperial examination system.

It is even less possible to forcibly stop the emperor from running a school, unless they use force... but this is no different from seeking death.

When the world has just been unified and the imperial army is at its strongest, what can they do to compete with the emperor?

They rebelled in the morning, and Lu Bu arrived with his troops in the afternoon. That night the heads of their entire clan would be placed in front of the emperor. It was as simple as that.

"Then nothing will be done."

Cui Yan smiled faintly and said casually: "It would be good to let the Imperial Academy continue to develop. After all, according to the new subjects studied in the Imperial Academy, the talents trained will be useful to the Han Dynasty and the imperial court."

"In the future, we will also allow the children of our clan to enter the Imperial Academy, compete with those children from poor families and the mud-legged people, and serve as officials based on their ability."

"Master Dou, do you think what I said makes sense?"

Cui Yan seemed to be asking Dou Fu, but in fact there was a hidden meaning in his words, and the irony was self-evident.

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Abandoning your privileges to compete with those below is tantamount to abandoning your family's stable and prosperous future.

Because if there is a fair competition, they may not be able to compete with those children from poor families, or even ordinary people with mud-legged backgrounds.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu are good examples.

Don’t they come from poor families?

But now it is still Da Sima and Da Situ who are the emperor's most trusted confidants. Who among them can compete with these two?

When the emperor was held hostage by Yuan Shao, he was alone. If the emperor had attracted Cui Yan, Chen Lin, or Xun Chen at that time, would they dare to surrender?

They didn't dare, but Guo Jia did.

The reason is very simple. For people who come from a humble background, as long as they seize a glimmer of hope, they will fight for it with all their strength! Go grab it!

This kind of ruthlessness is something that people like them from noble backgrounds don't have, because their privileged background prevents them from gambling. This is where the gap lies!

Cui Yan knows this very well!

Dou Fu's face was gloomy and uncertain. He did not answer Cui Yan's words and just remained silent. The others also did not speak.

"I do have a way, but I don't know if it's feasible."

At this time, Chen Lin suddenly spoke slowly.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

Dong Zhong couldn't wait to ask: "Does Kong Zhang have any good ideas? You might as well just say it, I'm all ears."

No matter what, it's better than being frozen like this all the time.

Chen Lin said: "Emperor Xiaowu dismissed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism. I, the Han Dynasty, have always governed the country based on filial piety and Confucianism."

"Now that your Majesty is opening the Imperial College, he does not include Confucianism and classics, but instead selects talents based on math, engineering, and metallurgy. Isn't this a violation of the ancestral law?"

"We just have to bite this point to death, get many students to sign a petition, and then invite great Confucian scholars to debate the scriptures, forcing His Majesty to stop opening the Imperial College."

"At the very least, His Majesty can include Confucian classics and principles in the subjects studied in the Imperial College, with Confucianism as the main subject and other subjects as supplements."

"In this way, the road to promotion can still be controlled by us."

As soon as Chen Lin put forward this idea, everyone else's eyes lit up, and Cui Yan couldn't help but marvel.

"Wonderful! It's really wonderful!"

Cui Yan looked at Chen Lin with surprise and said, "Brother Kong Zhang is really a great talent. This plan is very good!"

The biggest difficulty at present is that the emperor no longer selects talents based on Confucianism, but selects talents based on other subjects.

This may not necessarily be used in reverse. As long as it is done properly, even if the Imperial College cannot be shut down, Confucianism can once again become the main subject of study in the Imperial College!

At this time, Shen Rong said with some worry: "But... it is a bit taboo to ask students to jointly submit a letter asking for orders."

"With His Majesty's character, he may not compromise."

Everyone knows the emperor's tough character. When Yuan Shao was so tough and went against the emperor, what was the result?

Even if he risked the disapproval of the world, the emperor would kill the Yuan clan. Even Xun Chen, a hero, would kill them as soon as he asked.

For such a ruthless emperor, it would be false to say that he is not afraid, because no one knows what the emperor will do.

"Don't worry, although His Majesty is tough, he will not use force in this kind of matter. Otherwise, it will chill the hearts of students all over the world."

Cui Yan smiled slightly and said with piercing eyes, "And I will ask my teacher to come out and admonish Your Majesty."

Ju Zong was stunned and asked: "Who is your respected master?"

Cui Yan smiled and said: "My tutor is Zheng Baixuan. He is a great scholar of Confucian classics. He has written extensively on the classics and has outstanding insights in "Poems", "Books", "Li", "Yi" and "Spring and Autumn"."

"His knowledge covers ancient and modern times, his principles are profound, his teachings are all over the world, and his students are all over the world. He can be called the master of Confucianism, and Kong Beihai is far behind."

"His Majesty once asked me to invite my tutor to become an official, but he refused. Now His Majesty despises Confucianism and values ​​Taoism. If my tutor finds out, he will definitely not sit idly by."

Cui Yan's teacher is the famous Zheng Xuan.

This Confucian master is undoubtedly the greatest Confucian in the world. Even if we look at the entire Han dynasty, only the famous Confucian masters Ma Rong, Lu Zhi, and Dong Zhongshu can compare with him.

"Is it Mr. Zheng? Great! We are saved!"

Juzong was very happy when he heard Zheng Xuan's name. If this leader in the world's Confucian circles came forward, the emperor would not deny him face!

Dong Zhong also showed a smile and said: "Then the matter is settled, let's go down and prepare."

"Everyone, this matter is related to whether we can continue to gain a foothold in the court in the future. We must not deal with it perfunctorily."

"Everyone should know the pros and cons."

This is their only chance to compete with the Emperor. If they miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult to regain the initiative in the future.

Everyone nodded solemnly, even Dou Fu, who had no dealings with Cui Yan, was no exception.

In the end, the feud between the two families was only a matter between them, and he could tell which was more important.

After a brief discussion, everyone left the darkroom one after another and left in a carriage from the back door of Cui Mansion.

Just in the deep night, several pairs of eyes were watching them, and then followed them quietly, like birds passing by.