Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 1566 It's a matter of course

   "Duke Qi..." Emperor Hongzhi laughed, with a bit of interest in his eyes, and said, "What's wrong with Duke Qi?"

The old woman was hospitable to her guests, and immediately laughed: "This Duke of Qi is the great master of Xishan Academy. No one in the world knows, no one knows... The students he brings out are all selected from a thousand miles, and they are all really capable. Mr. Xianggong, if any family in our Nantong Prefecture is lucky enough to be recommended into Xishan Academy, it means that the ancestors have accumulated virtue, and even if they are exchanged for Jinshi, they will not be exchanged."

   Jinshi is not changed...

  This... sounds like an exaggeration.

  Fang Jifan touched his nose, is that an exaggeration? How do you listen, are you trying to harm me?

  Wang Guang on the side couldn't enjoy hearing it.

   What is a Jinshi?

   But he didn't dare to make a sound, and he didn't dare to say anything.

  But Wang Shouren was by the side, but he had a different idea in his heart.

The scholars of Xishan Academy are indeed no worse than the Jinshi named on the gold list. When the Jinshi comes out, he must first become a scholar, or become an observer of politics. After a few years, he finally gets a job, and most of them are small officials. The salary is frighteningly low. Although he has become an official and lord, in reality, he is just at the bottom of the ranks.

On the other hand, once the scholars of Xishan Academy are released, they are also respected. If they have a thesis or other achievements and get a degree, they will be even more popular. When it comes to ordinary officials, if you offend them, you will be offended. What can you do, behind him are countless classmates, his seniors, some are academicians, and some have already entered the court as officials. Fang Jifan?

Emperor Hongzhi smiled. He had also met many scholars from Xishan Academy, and he couldn't help nodding: "Yes, the scholars trained by Xishan Academy know both business operations and astronomy and geography. , it is they who are most lacking.”

The old woman became more interested in talking, and continued with a red face: "Yes, yes, the people in Xishan Academy are the most amazing. Let's say that there is a family next door to us, surnamed Chen, and his son was recommended to Xishan Academy last year. The academy was opened, it was very lively at that time, people all over the street went to congratulate it, as if they won the first prize, and I heard that they are studying medicine now."

   As she spoke, the woman seemed to think of something, her expression changed, and she complained again: "Speaking of which, the old man's son doesn't live up to his expectations, and he knows how to play all day long. Although he is in school, he is very naughty."

  Emperor Hongzhi heard an important point from the woman's words, and couldn't help but wondered: "Why, there are people going to school next door?"

   It's okay for one or two families to enroll, after all, it is accidental.

  But if a large number of people enter the school, the nature is different.

The old woman felt that she was not surprised, and said: "If you don't go to school, what is the use of the child? They are the darlings of the parents. Is it impossible to teach them to do coolies when they grow up? Not to mention the neighborhood in this area, it is the whole Nantong Prefecture Who doesn't know that children should go to school to have a future, if not, they are going to be laughed at behind their backs, and people are alive to fight for it. Just like our child, going to school costs a lot, But gritted your teeth, why don't you send it in, otherwise, you'd be ashamed to be a human being, let alone it's not for the children?"

  Emperor Hongzhi was shocked.

   Even Wang Guang, the prefect of Luzhou, was shocked when he heard it.

  He thought that Nantong Prefecture didn't have a single Jinshi. Compared with his own Luzhou, it was like a sky and an underground. He never thought... this place... it is a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger.

  He is the magistrate and a local official, so he naturally knows that it is unimaginable to send children to school regardless of whether they are rich or poor.

   Could it be that the people in Nantong Prefecture have taken the wrong medicine?

Emperor Hongzhi was speechless for a while, and he was speechless for a long time. His face was full of horror, and then he muttered to himself: "They are all parents too. Do parents in Nantong Prefecture have parental love? And the parents in Luzhou Prefecture, don’t they have parental love?”

   No... of course it's impossible.

   These two places are both in Nanzhili, although they are separated by several states and counties, the change in people's hearts will never be so great.

  But... why are the two places so different, so different?

  But Emperor Hongzhi couldn't figure it out.

  At this time, he could no longer care about the old woman, turned his gaze, and said to Xiao Jing as if ordering: "Go, ask the neighbors one by one, and return immediately, I will wait here."

At this time, Xiao Jing was so hungry that his chest was pressed against his back, and he heard His Majesty asked him to ask one by one, crying loudly in his heart, but how dare he neglect, he could only obediently say yes, and flew away up.

  The old woman finally realized that something was wrong, and couldn't help saying: "You... you... are not... from the academy, right?"

  Emperor Hongzhi glanced at her, his face became gentle again, and said with a slight smile: "You don't have to be afraid, old man, Jifan, give her a few taels of silver."

  Fang Jifan felt a little aggrieved, why did His Majesty seem to deliberately dismiss Xiao Jing who brought the money to His Majesty, and then hit him in the autumn wind.

Although Fang Jifan complained in his heart, he naturally did not dare to hesitate. He immediately took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve and took out a stack of banknotes. He looked at them carefully and found that they were all hundred yuan banknotes. Fang Jifan raised his head and looked at Emperor Hongzhi. There is a dilemma on his face.

  Emperor Hongzhi watched from the sidelines, and couldn't help rolling his Adam's apple. This guy...is so rich, and he always carries a stack of treasure bills of one hundred taels of silver with him.

  Fang Jifan finally took one and put it on the table, and generously said to the woman: "This is what I reward you from Taishan, you go and order some tea."

When the old woman saw the banknote, her face turned pale with fright. She wanted to reject it, but she couldn't bear it. She hesitated for a while, and was afraid that Fang Jifan would take back the banknote, so she put it in her pocket: "Yes, Yes. My lord... My lord waits for generations."

  Fang Jifan really wanted to complain about her, this 'lord' is the son of heaven, and he is the emperor of all generations, so I don't care for you, the prince of all generations.

After waiting for more than an hour, Xiao Jing came back out of breath, his legs were trembling, his face was tired, and he panted and said: "I have inquired, I have inquired, I have inquired, the neighbors, There are also a few neighbors next door, there are so many students, almost every household has children of the right age, and they all go to school."

Emperor Hongzhi got up suddenly, and walked around with his hands behind his back. He suddenly looked at Wang Shouren and said, "This... is this hope? Hope! Wang Qing's family, do you still remember what you said to me when you were in Ural? Letting these Tatars surrender is to give them hope. I have been thinking about what is hope and what is hope, but now, I seem to see hope here, but I still don't understand what hope is. Can the Qing family tell each other?"

  Wang Shouren has always been taciturn. He just follows His Majesty wherever he goes. Others were silent, maybe they simply had nothing to say, but he was silent, as if he was thinking about something all the time.

At this time, after listening to Emperor Hongzhi's inquiry, Wang Shouren still had a troubled expression on his face, and said calmly: "Hope is nothing more than something that people can reach out and touch. In the past, the enlightenment of the Ming Dynasty only emphasized virtue, not skills, and everyone was learning stereotypes." , this stereotyped essay is useful if it has fame, but it is useless if it does not have fame. Therefore, except for those who pass on poems and books to their families, the rest of the people can't see anything from this stereotyped art. Hope, then why do they want to learn? Besides, learning costs money. It is extremely difficult to support a scholar. No matter how much parents in the world love their children, it is impossible for them to pursue a dream for their children. For his fame and fame, he supported him to study hard. Ordinary people have no hope, so naturally, they have no hope for literacy and reading."

"But in Nantong Prefecture, it is a different scene. The academy here not only studies benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, and I am not saying that benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, and integrity are not important. I teach my disciples and always emphasize 'conscience' to them. Words, this conscience, are inseparable from people's virtues. But teaching these alone is not enough to make people willing to go to school. When you go to school, you should not learn stereotypes, but skills, such as poetry, engineering, agriculture, etc. Medicine, arithmetic, and when Confucius was around, he always emphasized the six arts of a gentleman. He believed that a gentleman should have a skill that can stand in the world before he can stand on the ground. Counting, but now, the world is different, so it is impossible to live with the past."

After a pause, Wang Shouren continued: "The knowledge learned in the school can give people a skill, so that these poor children can be freed from poverty and have a better way out. Rich and noble children, after learning Go, in the future, you can use this to revitalize your family business and shine on the lintel. Then... as Your Majesty said, among the parents in this world, who doesn't love their sons, and who is willing to let their children be as mediocre as myself, stereotyped? It is useless for them to learn, but the really useful knowledge can bring great benefits to their children, how can they not flock to it, even if they sell everything, they must support their children."

"I think this is hope. In the past dynasties, I have never given hope to the poor family, but I hope that I can educate them and let them know the honor and disgrace, but I don't know that the children of the poor family are the best at calculating and know the pros and cons. Let them sell everything and learn that useless thing, even if His Majesty holds a knife around their necks, they will not learn it. But if they learn something useful, they can save their children from their own harm in the future. If they are in trouble, they will lose their own lives. They don't need to be urged by the court repeatedly, and they don't need the encouragement of the local officials. They will naturally enter the school. This kind of education is like water control. It’s a matter of course.”

  (end of this chapter)