Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 212 Zhu Houcong's Schooling and New-Style Education (two in one, words)

Zhu Houcong bid farewell to his parents and officially set out on the journey to Beijing.

However, Zhu Houcong at this time did not know that in history he was another Ming emperor after Zhengde Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houcong is only seven years old now, and for many people, he is still a naughty child.

However, Zhu Houcong had already shown extraordinary intelligence. He was well-versed in Confucian classics such as "The Book of Filial Piety" and "The Great Learning". At his father's request, he had begun to participate in and preside over ceremonies and sacrificial activities in the royal palace.

In general, Zhu Houcong's father Zhu Youlang paid great attention to Zhu Houcong's education, so that the young Zhu Houcong had a basic foundation of Confucian culture and knew how to abide by Confucian etiquette, and was quite famous in Huguang.

This is also the reason why in history, after Emperor Zhengde was murdered, the civil officials chose him as emperor.

When officials from the capital came with Zhu Houzhao's decree to allow him to go to Beijing to study, Zhu Houcong bid farewell to his parents in tears but did not cry like other children of the same age. It seemed that at such a young age he had already understood that the emperor's orders could not be disobeyed.

However, Zhu Houcong at this time was not familiar with the current emperor Zhu Houzhao. He only knew that he was Zhu Houzhao's cousin, but he had also heard many cruel rumors about his cousin.

Therefore, when Zhu Houcong first met Zhu Houzhao, he was still a little scared and nervous.

However, Zhu Houcong was fortunate that there were many royal family members accompanying him to Beijing. He believed that as long as he abided by the rules, his cousin the emperor would not notice him.

But in fact, when Zhu Houzhao met these royal children, the first thing he asked was not whether the descendants of Prince Ning had come, but Zhu Houcong.

"Where is the Crown Prince of Xing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong had no choice but to stand up and say, "Your Majesty, I am honored to see you!"

Only then did Zhu Houzhao recognize what the young Jiajing Zhu Houcong looked like. Seeing that he seemed much more stable than the other royal children, he couldn't help but think to himself that it was no wonder that this man was chosen by Yang Tinghe to be the emperor, and no wonder that this man could defeat the civil servants in the grand ceremony. Now looking at his demeanor, he was different from others.

But Zhu Houzhao knew that his cousin had high intelligence and strategy, otherwise he would not have been able to fool the civil officials without relying on eunuchs. Although he was later defeated by the civil servant Xu Jie, he controlled the government power in his own hands most of the time during his reign, and a series of talented people emerged.

Literary figures such as Hai Rui, Zhang Cong, Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Tan Lun, Yang Bo, Wang Chonggu, Hu Zongxian, Tang Shunzhi, and military figures such as Yu Dayou, Qi Jiguang, and Chen Lin all appeared in the Jiajing period.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao naturally would not look down on Zhu Houcong, who was only seven years old. He just nodded and smiled:
"I have heard that you are intelligent and studious. Let me test you. Tell me what mathematical thinking is revealed in the method of dividing a circle, and what is the value of pi after Zu Chong."

Zhu Houzhao's test was not difficult. These mathematical common sense were mathematical achievements that had already appeared in ancient China. The method of dividing a circle was the achievement of Liu Wei, a mathematician in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, while Zu Chongzhi calculated the value of pi to the seventh decimal place. If Zhu Houzhao had really read a lot of books, he would not have been unaware of them.

But Zhu Houcong blushed at this time. If he was asked to recite Confucian classics such as the Four Books and the Five Classics, or even write an eight-part essay on the spot, he could do it. He could even talk about Taoism which was popular in his hometown of Huguang. But now, if he was asked to talk about what the method of dividing a circle was and what pi was, he had indeed never heard of them.

"Zhu Zailei, tell your uncle what the method of dividing a circle and what pi is." Zhu Houzhao called out his own son Zhu Zailei, and Zhu Zailei recited it without thinking:
"The method of dividing a circle is to calculate the area of ​​a circle, using the idea of ​​limit... and the value of pi... has been known as pi since Zu Chong..."

Zhu Houzhao nodded after hearing this and patted Zhu Houcong on the shoulder: "You still need to study more. You are a child of the royal family and you are not going to take the imperial examination. Why do you only read Confucian articles?"

Zhu Houzhao said this and asked Zhu Houcong and others to retreat.

Today's meeting with the royal relatives who came to Beijing was nothing to Zhu Houzhao, but this incident brought great shock to Zhu Houcong's heart.

Zhu Houcong has always been a proud man, but he could sense that the Emperor was not optimistic about his talents, and it seemed that he knew less than the little princes around him.

"Did Prince Ning send his own son to the capital?"

At this time, Zhu Houzhao suddenly asked Wang Hua, the chief minister of the cabinet, that although the main purpose of summoning the sons of the princes to Beijing to study in the palace school was to educate the children of the Zhu family according to his own will, it also meant to test the minds of these princes.

After all, his reforms now infringed upon the interests of many people, especially the interests of many gentry officials. It was inevitable that many literati and gentry would instigate the princes to rebel. Zhu Houzhao hoped that by summoning the princes' descendants to the palace to study, he would let these princes know that the court had become alert and that they should not go too far.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao knew that he could not stop Prince Ning by doing so.

After all, Prince Ning has been preparing for so many years, and many officials have been bribed and colluded with by him, so it is naturally impossible for him to stop.

"Yes! The fat guy on the right who was paying his respects to His Majesty just now is the second son of Prince Ning," replied Wang Hua, the chief minister of the cabinet.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but smile slightly, thinking that Prince Ning could really be as patient as Prince Yan Zhu Di, but he forgot that he was not the emperor Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Houcong, Zhu Zaile and other royal family members started to go to school on August 16, after the Mid-Autumn Festival in the ninth year of Zhengde. Although they were royal family members and the palace school they attended was much more luxurious in architecture than the folk schools, the procedures and content of the school were basically the same as those of the folk schools.

Zhu Houcong was also no stranger to this. He had seen some children in Huguang carrying cloth bags to school every day. He was very envious and wanted to go to school and go home with a few playmates like the common people's children. However, he did not expect that one day he would go to school with other royal children like the common people's children in Huguang.

But what made Zhu Houcong feel inferior was that his Xingwang Mansion did not give him much silver, so he could not show off in front of other royal children, nor could he buy the new canvas bags on the market. He was not liked by many people in the palace, and the eunuchs in the inner court were not very friendly to him.

On the contrary, Zhu Houcong found that the second son of the Ning Wangfu was very popular among the eunuchs because he was rich and generous, which made Zhu Houcong feel even more inferior. Of course, he was even more upset that his proud knowledge did not attract the attention of the emperor, and even the four-year-old eldest son of the emperor knew more than him.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong studied very hard in the palace school. It was from this time on that he began to receive education in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, etc. in addition to Confucianism, as well as education about the country.

Zhu Houzhao also took time out to visit the palace school. Just like when he inspected the community schools in Shuntian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty, he would give an ideological lesson to these students who were still in the basic education stage, talk about the history of the Ming Dynasty and instill some concepts of country and nation.

Zhu Houzhao would personally shake hands with each member of the Ming Young Pioneers from each school, and together with other accompanying officials, personally tie red scarves on them.

Because of his cultural foundation and diligence, Zhu Houcong's academic performance in the palace school was excellent, and he directly became a member of the first Young Pioneers Team of the palace school.

When Zhu Houcong saw Zhu Houzhao tie a red scarf on him personally, he felt extremely proud. He knew the meaning of the red scarf, which meant a corner of the flag stained with the blood of countless heroes of the Ming Dynasty. Wearing the red scarf and becoming a member of the Young Pioneers meant that he would become a young hero in the future.

When Zhu Houzhao saw Zhu Houcong's excited and excited look, he was also very happy. He knew that if he put some things from later generations into the basic education of the Ming Dynasty, it would indeed have the same motivational effect. He believed that this would make more young and innocent children want to improve their grades and get praise from their teachers.

It has been three years since basic education was fully popularized. Next year will be the first four-year graduation period for students receiving compulsory education. What Zhu Houzhao needs to consider now is how to make use of this group of students who have received four years of education and have been trained at great expense by the court.

"Your Majesty, according to the data reported by the Ministry of Education from various provinces, there will be about 1.7 million students graduating next year. According to the previous regulations, these students will be admitted to the county school in the form of a 100-point system. According to the previous examination system, students who enter the county school must be students. Now, they can enter the county school after only four years of study. I am afraid that this will make students all over the world dissatisfied.
In addition, the number of students admitted to the county school has always been small. There are no less than a thousand students who complete the four-year study in the county, and most of them cannot enter the county school. Therefore, I think that new schools should be built. Each county should set up a new school to accept students from all over the country and teach them again, and teach them with more in-depth knowledge, so that when they grow up, they will have talents and be employed by the court!

As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a person. Four years is not enough to cultivate the best talents in the world. We need to persevere. Only after a long time, can we have all the best talents in the world come from the Ming Dynasty! "

Minister of Education Kang Hai reported the truth to Zhu Houzhao.

"Of course, we cannot let these one million students go home to farm, at least most of them cannot be allowed to go home to farm, and the county school cannot be changed for the time being, and if the county magistrate is allowed to set the questions, it is estimated that he will only come up with some eight-part essays;
I approve your proposal and establish a new school. I will order the county officials to set up new high schools. I will ask the Ministry of Personnel to immediately appoint a group of candidates who are studying at the Imperial University to serve as county teachers and principals of the high schools, to be responsible for the establishment of the high schools. "

Zhu Houzhao knew that this would increase the court's education spending, but in order to make the people of the Ming Dynasty stronger and no longer numb and ignorant, it was necessary to promote education, so the money had to be spent. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty had already begun colonial expansion and would be able to earn a lot of property from Malacca and other regions in the future, and in the short term, these properties could only be spent on education.

However, the establishment of Gaodi Primary School was not something that Zhu Houzhao could accomplish by just talking and then having the cabinet draft an edict to be promulgated throughout the country according to Zhu Houzhao's wishes. Personnel and financial arrangements had to be made afterwards.

"Your Majesty, there are so many counties in the world, and each county must appoint a teacher to manage the higher elementary schools, and the original teachers must be transferred to other places to be promoted to county magistrates. This is not an easy task! The number of candidates currently studying at the Imperial University is only a hundred, and there are not enough to serve as teachers in the whole country!
Therefore, I suggest that a group of candidates who studied at the Imperial University of Peking be appointed as teachers in the northern and southern Zhili regions to set up high-level elementary schools. In other areas, the county magistrates and teachers should still set up schools in accordance with the court's requirements and have the education officials supervise them. This way, candidates all over the country can understand that studying at the Imperial University of Peking can lead to being directly employed as teachers in good places like the northern and southern Zhili regions, thus encouraging more candidates to study at the Imperial University of Peking.

The Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai reported truthfully on the Ming Dynasty's academic affairs presided over by the cabinet under the order of Zhu Houzhao, the difficulties faced by his Ministry of Personnel in implementing the establishment of new-style schools. Although he was not a diehard adherent of Neo-Confucianism, he did not object to the emperor's intention to establish new schools and promote the policy of promoting a hundred schools of thought. However, as a pragmatic official, he needed to make the emperor understand that many things are easier said than done.

"What Mr. Zhang said makes sense. What do you think about the cabinet and the Ministry of Education?"

Zhu Houzhao also knew that implementing universal education in the Ming Dynasty and establishing an education and training system from childhood to adulthood was not a matter of overnight. It required not only more financial support, but also more human support. The Ming Dynasty had no shortage of scholars, but what it lacked was teaching talents. The Imperial University of Peking was originally a comprehensive university to promote natural sciences and social sciences, but now it has mainly become a training base for new-style education teachers.

Even though the Imperial University of Peking had lowered its admission threshold to the level of Juren, it still could not meet the empire's huge demand for teacher trainees. Moreover, due to the existence of the imperial examination system, there were still a large number of Juren candidates who were unwilling to enroll in the Imperial University of Peking and instead enjoyed the official treatment and privileges granted by the empire and continued to participate in the joint examinations and palace examinations.

Although after the three palace examinations in the third, sixth and ninth years of Zhengde, many Jinshi were willing to sign up for further studies at the Imperial University of Peking because they saw that Zhang Cong and Xia Yan were obviously favored by the emperor.

However, the first batch of graduates of this group of Jinshi, namely those in the second and sixth years of Zhengde, numbered only about a hundred people in total, and they had to be appointed to important positions in the six ministries and local governments. After all, the empire was now lacking talents with new-style education in administration and military affairs. After experiencing the abilities of the Jinshi graduates from the Imperial University, some officials in the six ministries and local officials were unwilling to let these talents go, and even hoped that the court would appoint more such officials to themselves.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao also understood the difficulties faced by the Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai.

At this time, the cabinet chief Wang Hua and others also expressed their agreement. Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao nodded again and said: "In this case, as the Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai said, the Ministry of Personnel will first appoint the candidates who have studied at the Imperial University to teach in the southern and northern Zhili to establish new-style schools. However, since it is a high-level elementary school, more subjects should be studied. The general knowledge subject should be divided into social and natural science subjects. The specific course outline will be formulated by the Ministry of Education;

How can the graduates of the community schools in each county and town enter the higher primary schools? It will still be in the form of examinations. What should be the admission ratio? The Ministry of Revenue will calculate how many community school graduates should be guaranteed to enter higher primary schools after the implementation of higher education in the whole country based on the maximum budget for education from the national treasury and local tax revenues! "

"I obey your order!" Minister of Education Kang Hai and Minister of Revenue Wang Qiong stood up and responded in unison.

"Your Majesty, I have a concern," at this time, the Cabinet Deputy Minister Liu Yu stood up and said.

Zhu Houzhao hurriedly ordered him to explain.

Liu Yu said, "Last year, I was ordered by Your Majesty to inspect Huguang, Sichuan and other places. I found that many community schools still only taught eight-part essays. When I asked them the reason, they all said that it was the will of the local elders and gentry who served as teachers in the community schools. They said that since the world regards the imperial examination as the right path, if we don't teach children the Four Books and Five Classics and take the right path of the imperial examination, wouldn't it be misleading for the children?
In fact, if they listened to the imperial court's order to teach them arithmetic, they would be complained by their neighbors. Some people even said that if the government did not force their children to go to school, they would not send their children to school, because this would result in no one to feed the pigs and sheep at home, and no one to eat staple food!
However, the scholars and common people did not know that the imperial court reformed the community schools in order to cultivate various types of talents, which was actually a policy to benefit the people!

Therefore, I am worried that even if Your Majesty intends to establish new-style schools, the people of the world will not actively respond. Today, the scholars and the people still know that the imperial examination is the right way to select officials. Therefore, I am worried that even if new schools are established, the rich will only let their children take the imperial examination, while the poor will only let their children go home to farm or go to the market town to be apprentices, and few people will actually take the examinations for new-style schools. "

"As the Deputy Minister worried, I was ordered to inspect Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi in March. When investigating population loss, I found that since the compulsory community education, the number of children who died prematurely and disappeared in various places has increased a lot. These are because the government forced them to go to school during the day and forced them to work at night, and they were bitten to death by wild beasts and poisonous snakes or other reasons. Most of the missing people were because they had no news after going to school or disappeared after school.
Although Your Majesty intends to show favor to the common people and does not hesitate to spend a lot of money to educate them, few people are lucky enough to receive your favor, either because their parents are cruel or because their parents are helpless, so that their children cannot enjoy the joy of childhood;

In addition, there were corruption among government clerks and rampant human traffickers, so that many children of common people were forcibly conscripted as children by the government in the name of going to school, and some talented children were sold by human traffickers. The people dared not speak out, and some even moved their families to the mountains to avoid compulsory education.
What was originally a good government turned into a bad one;

I think that if the new-style schools are established again, if Your Majesty forces the sons of common people to take the exams, I am afraid that it will make the common people even more disgusted and even provoke civil unrest. If you do not force it, even if the new-style schools are established, no one will take the exams, which will only waste money and increase the number of redundant staff in the court. "

Yuan Zongru, the director of the Ministry of Revenue, replied.

Thanks to my book friend Zhou Tian Jing Luo for the 1000 starting coins reward. Thank you to my book friend 20170325152534678 for the 100 starting coins reward. Thank you to my book friend Zheng Weiqi for the 399 book coins reward.
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(End of this chapter)