Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 1126 I am lucky

   Yeah, nothing tells a situation like seeing is believing.

  Emperor Hongzhi got up, looked at Zhang Sheng and Ma Wensheng and said, "Go, accompany me, let's take a walk."

  Emperor Hongzhi walked out of the county government office, and the imperial guards surrounded him with three floors inside and three floors outside.

  Not far from the county government office, sure enough, the sound of reading can be heard from afar.

  Emperor Hongzhi's eyes lit up, he looked back and glanced at Liang Min.

  Liang Min followed Ouyang Zhi step by step.

   And Ouyang Zhi is like Fang Jifan's tail.

   It's been a long time since I saw my mentor, but when we met today, although the way of meeting was a little weird, and there were so many people, it was difficult to tell my heart, but Ouyang Zhi's eyes, like ancient wells without waves, were rippling.

  Fang Jifan followed closely in the footsteps of Emperor Hongzhi.

He looked down at his feet, stepping on the shadow of Emperor Hongzhi, and when the shadow took a step forward, he followed suit. They are all so cool.

   In front of you, is a huge academy.

  The reason why it is described as huge is because an academy actually covers an area of ​​tens of acres. Although it is not grand, it is large in scale.

  Outside the academy, there is a stele with school regulations on it.

   After that, there is a plaque with the inscription "Rongcheng Meng School".

Liang Min introduced: "This was built by merchants in the county. It covers an area of ​​67 acres and costs a lot. It hired 132 teachers and accommodated as many as 3,000 scholars. This It is the largest academy in the county, and there is another academy in the south of the city, which is smaller in scale. Besides, there are three more on the outskirts of the city..."

   "Merchants are also interested in enlightenment?" Emperor Hongzhi was surprised.

  Zhang Sheng and Ma Wensheng looked at each other.

  The layout inside is very compact. The bookstores are lined up one by one without too many views. The bookstores are graded, and children of different grades study in different places.

  Teachers wearing Lun scarves and Confucian fir, some are teaching children to read in the library, and some... are still preparing lessons, or resting.

  Hearing that Shengjia had arrived, the dean of the academy hurriedly brought out a group of idle teachers, a total of thirty or forty people bowed down in fear.

  Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows and couldn't help looking at Liang Min: "Liang Qing's family hasn't answered my question yet."

   "Your Majesty... merchants are naturally interested in enlightenment, because... children have to pay tuition fees when they go to school."

   "Oh." Emperor Hongzhi nodded.

Liang Min said again: "This school, after a year, the tuition fee is as high as 20,000 taels. In addition, the county will also issue some subsidies, which are around 20,000 taels a year. So, The yearly income is 50,000 taels, and if expenses are taken into account, the annual profit of this academy alone is 20,000 taels of net profit."

  Emperor Hongzhi looked surprised, reading...you still make money?

  Fang Jifan couldn't help but glance at Liang Min, this scumbag, can you talk? Who taught you?

  Fang Jifan said with a smile: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, money is second, and the most important thing is teaching and educating people."

  Emperor Hongzhi nodded: "Not bad."

  Zhang Sheng looked at it with great interest: "Not necessarily."

   "What?" Emperor Hongzhi and Fang Jifan, two people who were out of vulgar tastes, couldn't help looking at Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng said enthusiastically: "Your Majesty, the so-called prosperity of the world is all for profit. There is no reason for reading. When the old minister was young, because the family had a lot of money, my father built an ethnology, which also cost money. , because the recruits are the children of the clan, so the expenses are all in the dark."

Zhang Sheng then said: "But think about it, Your Majesty, if the school can't maintain the expenses, then those teachers are also suffering haha? Most of these people are unsatisfactory scholars. There is something to do, no production, the family is poor, and life is not easy. I remember that the old gentleman who opened the door for my minister at the beginning had a very difficult life. Even if someone gave him two eggs, he would still be precious. I can't bear to eat it."

"If such a large-scale academy can make a profit, I see these teachers are all pale. If you think about it, your life will go by." Zhang Sheng said, stepped forward, and asked a kneeling teacher: "Dare you?" Ask for Gao's surname."

  The teacher was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "My surname is Zhang."

   "Mr. Zhang." Zhang Sheng smiled: "You and I are still in the same family. I don't know how much you will be treated if you are here?"

  Teacher Zhang seemed a little hesitant: "The student is a Zengguang student member. He has been teaching for half a year, and his annual salary is forty-five taels. Although it is not much, the school includes food and lodging. Life is going the other way."

  Forty-five taels, a little less than some highly skilled craftsmen.

   It is rare to get food and housing.

   And there is no burden, the pressure is light, enough to live a decent life.

Zhang Sheng stroked his beard, was amused, his eyes lit up, and said: "Your Majesty, this is really a good thing for mutual benefit. If it is really profitable, merchants would be eager to build more academies and attract more children to study Scholars can also find a job. Since I took charge of the Ministry of Rites, there are more and more famous scholars nowadays, and there are not a few people who are in poverty and living in poverty. They can not only accommodate scholars, but also educate them widely, and even... Profitable... no..."

  He looked at Liang Min: "Why are there so many children studying here?"

Liang Min hurriedly said: "Returning to Zhang Butang, the parents of these children are mostly craftsmen, some... do some small businesses, and there are even many self-cultivating farmers. Since the new policy in Rongcheng County, many of them have earned some money. After a year, there are many people who earn tens of taels of silver..."

  Zhang Sheng nodded and nodded. Sure enough, the tuition fee of five or six taels a year is quite a lot, but...if the family's life improves, it is not too much.

"Of course, this is not the most important thing." Liang Min said: "Here in Baoding Mansion, everyone attaches great importance to education. In the past, scholars were only for fame and fame. The so-called most useless scholars are because if a scholar cannot be named on the gold list, his You can neither lift your shoulders nor lift your hands, and if the family is struggling, life will be even more difficult."

  Emperor Hongzhi kept nodding. He knew a thing or two about these things.

"But now, the common people know the benefits of studying. The so-called learning is good, but even if they are not good at learning, if they can read and write, they can always find a good way out in Baoding Prefecture in the future. For example, doing this Teachers, for another example, work as an accountant in a workshop, even if a shopkeeper is hired by a business, people still need to be able to read and write. The title of the gold list is comparable to ordinary coolies, not only the income is richer, but also a lot of dignity."

   "So in Rongcheng County, many parents are willing to send their children to study. The school has been expanded again and again, but it is still not enough."

  Emperor Hongzhi suddenly realized.

  A county has seven or eight thousand scholars, so this is how it came about.

After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi laughed: "This is enlightenment. Even if the government doesn't need to worry about it, everyone is willing to learn from it. The so-called reading shows ambition and reading is sensible. If all states and counties in the world follow Rongcheng, why worry about this enlightenment?" Xing?"

Zhang Sheng and Ma Wensheng were also slightly displeased at this time, showing smiles, Zhang Sheng nodded again and again: "Reading is good, you can learn it, if you can use it, use it, you can make more people learn...Old Minister ...nothing to say."

  Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help feeling emotional.

He suddenly said: "In the past, I have been thinking about how to rule the world. I have persuaded farmers, ruled the world with benevolence and filial piety, and promoted enlightenment, and even... advocated frugality. I have always been thinking about the great sages of ancient times. In this world of peace and prosperity, why did I exert countless strengths, but I was still unable to take a step away, instead, I was getting farther and farther away from that goal."

   "Today... I finally understand that the so-called great rule is for the people to be rich. If they are fed and clothed, they will naturally ask for something. There is no need to educate them. Everything will come naturally."

Fang Jifan was also touched in his heart, and said: "Your Majesty, this is the reason, the common people are extremely smart, what the government has to do is to enable them to rely on their own ability to support their families, and other things, it is natural to make the best use of the situation, and it will come naturally. "

  Emperor Hongzhi heard that in the schoolhouse, the children read: "The Master said: "A gentleman can't get enough to eat, and can't live in peace. If he is sensitive to things but cautious in speaking, he will have the way and be righteous, and he will be eager to learn..."

  Emperor Hongzhi seemed to think of the time when he was studying when he was young, and he was beaming: "You have made great achievements in education, you have made great achievements in education, Rongcheng County, you have made great achievements in education, and you should be a role model."

However, Liang Min seemed ashamed: "Your Majesty, I am ashamed to be a minister. The eleven counties of Baoding Prefecture and Rongcheng County of Weichen Prefecture have the fourth-lowest enrollment rate, ranking in the middle and lower. Not only is it far behind Dingxing County, but even other counties , it’s not as good as that, my minister... you shouldn’t be able to teach the four characters of meritorious service.”

  Emperor Hongzhi was taken aback for a moment, and he looked at Ouyang Zhi questioningly: "Baoding Mansion..."

  Ouyang Zhi was silent for a moment: "Your Majesty, the number of scholars enrolled in Baoding Prefecture has reached 90,000 as of last month."

  Emperor Hongzhi exhaled, with a solemn expression on his face: "This is the luck of the country, it is my luck."

  His face was flushed with excitement, and after a few days of visits, he suddenly discovered that there was a golden road in front of him.

   In front of me, there is Fang Jifan, Ouyang Zhi, Liang Min, and even many young and capable people who cannot be named.

  Emperor Hongzhi said: "Fang Jifan has made great achievements, Ouyang Qing's family has made great achievements through hard work, and the rest of the officials in Baoding Prefecture have also made outstanding achievements. I am very relieved that Xincheng can achieve such a small success!"

  He took a deep breath: "Xiao Banban, where are you?"

  Xiao Jing came out sourly, bowed his head and whispered in his ear: "The servant is here."

  Emperor Hongzhi closed his eyes: "Make a decree, Baoding Mansion, set it as a model, Ouyang Zhi, be promoted to governor..."

   "Governor..." Zhang Sheng was stunned: "Your Majesty, this is the land of Gyeonggi, how did you come to be the governor?"

  Emperor Hongzhi said loudly: "If I say yes, there will be!"

  (end of this chapter)