I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 487 Radicals
The emergence of so many "vulgar" novels indicates a huge demand for reading. From this point, we can see that the literacy rate of ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty was very high, otherwise how could they understand novels? It should be noted that from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, this kind of vulgar novels appeared in an endless stream!

Academies were vigorously built in various periods of the Ming Dynasty. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the total number of academies across the country reached about 2000, and the number of private schools was innumerable.

During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a man called Yang Jizong, who was known as the most honest official in the country. In order to popularize education for all people under his rule, he once stipulated that if a child did not go to school at the age of eight, his father or brother would be punished. That is to say, if you did not send your eight-year-old child to school, his father or his brother would be punished.

But things were different in the Qing Dynasty. In order to maintain its rule, the Qing Dynasty frantically implemented a policy of keeping the people ignorant, and the people's literacy rate was the lowest in history.

According to the county annals of Nanshimen County, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were more than 60 private schools in the county. After the wars in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the number of private schools in the county dropped to 17 during the Shunzhi period. However, under the instructions of the Qing court and the guidance of the county inspector, there was only one private school left during the Qianlong period. The court also ordered that anyone who opened a private school without the permission of the government would be executed immediately. Even the courses taught by the family school had to be reviewed by the government. "If the teaching content is not allowed, it will be executed immediately for treason." Rural old people and intellectuals "if they privately spread what they learned and made false comments on the saints, the county government will ban it once it is discovered, and if it is discovered again, it will be directly punished with a serious crime."

During the Daoguang reign, villagers from two villages in the county had a fight, with more than 1000 people involved. In the end, the county government arrested the villagers who led the fight and registered the villagers of the two villages. However, with a population of more than 5000 in the two villages, no one could write their own name. This means that the literacy rate of the people during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty was less than one thousandth.

In 1909, two years before the demise of the Qing Dynasty, a statistics showed that the literate population in the country was less than 300 million, while the Qing Dynasty had a total population of 4 million. In other words, the literacy rate in Qing society was less than 1%.

What does it mean that a society’s literacy rate is less than 1%?
From the time of Emperor Huangdi to the eras of Yao, Shun, Yu, Xia, Shang and Western Zhou, only the nobles and a small number of poor people were literate, and the overall literacy rate of society hovered around 4%.

The literacy rate in the Qing Dynasty was far lower than that in ancient China, and it had directly regressed to the era of barbarians.

"This makes sense. The common people are not well-informed, and only this method can let them know your majesty's achievements!" Fei Xinliang said. In fact, he was just flattering himself. If it weren't for those maps, he wouldn't have a clear idea of ​​how much territory Zhu Houzhao had conquered.

"I wonder what you have been busy with recently?" Fei Xinliang continued.

"Busy? What is there to be busy about in the Hanlin Academy?" Yu Chengxun showed a desolate look on his face.

"What are you talking about, my dear brother? Only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet. Hanlin officials are prime ministers in reserve, and they are extremely noble. Others can't even envy them." Fei Xinliang said hurriedly.

Yu Chengxun took another sip of wine and said, "I understand what you said, but in the capital, I have been listening to the victory reports from the northern grasslands and hearing about your majesty's deeds of swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger. I always feel that the Hanlin Academy is so boring."

Fei Xinliang opened his mouth, wanting to continue to comfort his friend, but he didn't know what to say.
"Look, what are you talking about?" Yu Chengxun perked up and said, "Let's talk about something interesting. Recently, our colleagues in the Hanlin Academy are preparing to submit a joint petition."

"Joint petition?" Fei Xinliang showed an interested look. "What is this joint petition about?"

"We are preparing to submit a petition to ask His Majesty to take back Jiaozhi Provincial Government. When the war in the north subsides, it is just the right time to transfer the elite guards to the south to fight. The Ming homeland cannot continue to fall into the hands of the Annan barbarians!" Yu Chengxun said excitedly, with a fanatical look on his face. "Ah?" Fei Xinliang said in disbelief. He never thought that Yu Chengxun would submit a petition for this matter. This was completely beyond his imagination, and made him feel that his good friend in front of him had become a little strange.

"You don't know how elite the Guards are. I have participated in several military parades." Yu Chengxun showed excitement on his face and was about to talk non-stop.
"I heard about the military parade in Jiangnan, and your majesty becoming the Heavenly Khan is a once-in-a-millennium event. I didn't want to miss it, so I came to the capital." Fei Xinliang couldn't help but interrupt Yu Chengxun.

"Ah?" Yu Chengxun was stunned for a moment, then said: "You came at the right time. There will also be a military parade in this event, and the scale is the largest ever. I will get you an invitation letter when the time comes."

"Thank you very much, brother!" Fei Xinliang said excitedly.

"You're welcome. Once you see the elite Guards, you'll realize that leaving these elite troops unused is the biggest waste." Yu Chengxun brought the subject back.

"In fact, there are rumors that His Majesty wants to recover the Western Regions." Yu Chengxun smiled, "If His Majesty really recovers the Western Regions, I will apply to serve as an official in the Western Regions."

Fei Xinliang looked at Yu Chengxun in shock. He had no idea what Yu Chengxun was thinking. After a while, he said, "Are you crazy? You gave up your job as a reviewer in the Imperial Academy and went to work as an official in a dangerous and remote place in the Western Regions?"

"I'm not crazy, I think very clearly." Yu Chengxun said calmly.

Then he looked at Fei Xinliang and said, "Brother Xinliang, do you still remember who my favorite poet is?"

"Li Taibai?"

"Yes! It's Li Bai, Li Taibai!" Yu Chengxun stood up, walked to the window and looked into the distance.

"Li Bai was born in Suiye City in the Western Regions. No Han people have been to that place for more than 700 years. I want to go there and take a look." Yu Chengxun said softly, with a bright light flashing in his eyes.

Fei Xinliang looked at Yu Chengxun with his mouth wide open, unable to utter a word. He could understand Yu Chengxun, but he could not fully understand him.
In fact, Yu Chengxun is one of the new radicals who have emerged in the court recently, among whom there are many young officials like Yu Chengxun.

What’s even more interesting is that many of these newly emerged radicals were conservatives who hated war. The dramatic change in their thinking came from the stability of the court, the abundance of the treasury (although the Royal Group was not controlled by the civil officials, the civil officials also regarded the Royal Group’s income as part of the treasury), and the great victories that had changed everyone’s spirit.

Traditional civil officials, even if they only knew how to recite poems and sing lyrics, have never thought about expanding territory and assisting the king to achieve civil and military achievements that will be admired by all generations?
(End of this chapter)