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After the bustling scene of all nations coming to pay tribute subsided, the capital gradually returned to peace.

The dukes from Europe, the emirs from the Abbasid Caliphate, and the kings from Southeast Asia, filled with awe and with carts full of gifts, embarked on their long journeys home.

However, the railway of the Great Zhou Dynasty had already reached Baghdad, and steamships had turned the sea into a smooth road, making travel to various places much more convenient.

The inns around the capital were empty, and the colorful foreign faces on the streets had decreased, but the lives of the people in the capital continued as usual.

Su Ning summoned several important officials from the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites to his study.

A thick stack of memorials was piled on the emperor's desk, all sent from various overseas prefectures and counties.

Some were reporting that they were safe, some were asking for help due to the disaster, some were seeking instructions, and some were complaining.

Su Ning flipped through the documents one by one, and when he reached the last one, he looked up and asked, "How are the schools in those newly established prefectures and counties in the overseas territories doing?"

The Minister of Rites immediately stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the schools in all prefectures and counties have been completed, and the first batch of teachers have been dispatched. According to Your Majesty's decree, the schools will only teach two things—Chinese characters and Confucian classics."

Su Ning nodded. "What do the Confucian classics teach?"

The Minister of Rites said, “The Analects, Mencius, the Classic of Filial Piety, and some concise historical books from the Central Plains, such as excerpts from the Records of the Grand Historian and the Zizhi Tongjian. We will not teach anything too profound or too biased. The main thing is to teach them loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness, the relationship between ruler and subject, father and son, and the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty.”

Su Ning smiled, "That's good. Teaching them rules, manners, and a sense of shame is more important than anything else. That's the best way to educate the people."

He paused, then asked, "How are the locals doing in their studies?"

The Minister of Rites smiled and said, “Your Majesty, they are studying very diligently. Those children are reciting the Analects with great enthusiasm, even more so than the children of our Great Zhou. Some of the bright ones can already write simple articles. In Constantinople, there is a local nobleman’s child who, at only twelve years old, can recite all twenty chapters of the Analects without a single mistake.”

Suning nodded and said nothing more.

Grand Secretary Lee Fang stood to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Su Ning glanced at him. "Li Fang, what are you trying to say?"

Li Fang hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Your Majesty, there is something I do not understand."

"explain."

"In those overseas places, only Confucian classics are taught, not science. But here in the Great Zhou, scientific education is emphasized, while Confucian classics are taught less, with most learning relying on interest and self-study. In the Royal Academy, there are thousands of students in the mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, and medicine departments. At the Imperial Academy, although the Four Books and Five Classics are still taught, the emphasis is becoming increasingly on practical learning. May I ask why this is?"

Su Ning looked at him. "What do you think?"

Li Fang thought for a moment and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I dare to guess that you want those people overseas to only know the rules, but not their abilities?"

Su Ning laughed, "Li Fang, you really are smart."

Then Suning suddenly stood up and walked to the window.

Looking out from the windows of high-rise buildings, the streets of Beijing are bustling with traffic.

Horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, and a few modern cars shuttled back and forth on the street.

White smoke billowed from the factory chimneys in the distance, and trains roared past on the railway, their whistles faintly audible.

The workers, dressed in shorts, walked into the factory gate in twos and threes.

The children, carrying their schoolbags, skipped and hopped their way to school.

"Li Fang, do you know what the greatest benefit of Confucianism is?"

"I do not know," Li Fang shook his head.

“It’s about making people obedient,” Su Ning said. “The hierarchy of ruler and subject, father and son. There’s a proper order of rank, and everyone knows their place. This system is particularly effective in governing the common people. It teaches them from a young age that if the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject must die; if the father commands the son to die, the son must die. When they grow up, they’ll only have two words in their minds—obedience.”

He turned around and looked at Li Fang, "But do you know what the biggest drawback of Confucianism is?"

"..." Li Fang shook his head blankly.

“The downside is that it stifles ambition,” Su Ning said. “When the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. The laws of our ancestors cannot be altered arbitrarily. These rules have confined people’s minds. For thousands of years, they have confined people to the point that they dare not think of anything new. When faced with a problem, the first thing to do is to consult books and see what the sages have to say. If the sages haven’t said anything, then there’s nothing that can be done. Can this way of thinking lead to the creation of trains? Can it lead to the creation of telegraphs? Can it lead to the creation of steamships? These innovative scientific and technological advancements are described by Confucianists as mere tricks! It’s as if Confucian classics can solve all the problems in the world.”

"Isn't that how it is?" Li Fang was stunned.

"Of course not! The fire ancestor Suirenshi in mythology did not discover fire through Confucianism; Yu the Great did not control the floods through Confucianism; the evolution of tools from stone to bronze and then to iron has nothing to do with Confucianism."

"Your Majesty, Confucianism isn't entirely without merit, is it?"

"Yes! The best function of Confucianism is to make people knowledgeable and courteous, but to make others knowledgeable and courteous, we cannot rely solely on the Four Books and Five Classics; we also need strong science and technology and military power."

"..." At this moment, Li Fang and the others were completely dumbfounded.

“The Great Zhou’s homeland absolutely cannot continue to focus solely on Confucianism,” Su Ning said. “The people of the homeland must also be capable, able to come up with new ideas, able to build trains, telegraphs, and steamships, able to produce goods using more advanced equipment, and able to master powerful weapons. Therefore, the schools in the homeland should teach more mathematics, more physics, and more science and technology.”

“But those places overseas don’t need it.”

"All they need to do is obey, follow the rules, know that the Great Zhou is a celestial empire, know that they are subjects, and know that the Central Plains of the Great Zhou is their sacred land. They don't need to know how to build trains, don't need to understand physics, and don't need to think of anything new. All they need to do is obediently pay taxes, obediently follow orders, and obediently be good citizens of the Great Zhou."

Li Fang fell silent. He had never imagined that education could be divided in this way. "Your Majesty means... to use Confucianism to keep those people overseas in check? To ensure they can never rise again?"

“Not forever,” Su Ning said. “It will take several hundred years, or even a thousand years, which is to repeat the process from the Western Han Dynasty’s exclusive promotion of Confucianism to the present day. Several hundred years later, even if they rebel against the Central Plains, it will be to become part of the Central Plains. Because their minds have been filled with Confucianism. They simply don’t know what else they can do besides obey, because they have become part of the Central Plains culture.”

Then he walked back to his desk, sat down, and said, “Let them read the Analects of Confucius, memorize the Classic of Filial Piety, and study Mencius from a young age. When they grow up, all they will have in their minds is two words—obedience. By then, even if they want to rebel, they won’t be able to. Because they simply don’t know what rebellion requires—organization, weapons, strategy, and popular support. These things are not taught in books.”

Li Fang remained silent for a long time before saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

"Therefore, I am really worried about the situation where the ruler dies and the regime ends. I need my successors to continue the work. Without the spirit of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains, it would be impossible to accomplish this great feat."

"So that's why His Majesty hasn't designated a crown prince yet?"

"Yes! They are my sons, but not me. Only they know what they are thinking."

……

The education system in the Great Zhou Dynasty was indeed different from that of the Tang Dynasty.

The Royal Academy in the capital is the highest institution of learning in the entire empire.

It covers an area of ​​over 1,000 acres, with dozens of buildings, hundreds of classrooms, and thousands of students.

A plaque hangs at the entrance, bearing four large characters: "Investigate things to acquire knowledge."

It is divided into several departments—mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, and medicine.

Each department has its own teaching building, laboratory, library, and workshop.

Mathematics students deal with numbers all day long.

Learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; geometry, algebra, and calculus.

In the classroom, the blackboard was covered with formulas.

The students were engrossed in solving problems, the abacus beads clicking and clattering.

After completing their studies, they went to the Ministry of Revenue to do accounting, to the Academy of Sciences to conduct research, and to the Ministry of Industry to do design work.

Students in the Department of Physics deal with machines all day long.

We learned how the steam engine turned, how the train ran, and how the telegraph was transmitted.

The laboratory was filled with various machine models.

The students disassembled and reassembled the parts, studying the principles behind each component.

After completing their studies, they went to work as engineers in factories, technicians in railways, or locomotive mechanics in telegraph offices.

Chemistry students spend all day dealing with bottles and jars.

Learn how to smelt steel, how to make glass, and how to prepare gunpowder.

The laboratory was filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, containing colorful liquids.

The students conducted the experiments with great care, recording every piece of data.

After finishing their studies, they went to mines, factories, and academies of sciences.

Engineering students spend all their time dealing with blueprints.

We learned how to repair roads, how to build bridges, and how to construct buildings.

The classroom walls were covered with blueprints.

The students were hunched over their desks drawing, each stroke precise to the millimeter.

After finishing their studies, they went to the Ministry of Industry, the Railway Bureau, and the Construction Company.

Medical students deal with patients all day long.

I will learn some internal medicine, surgery, acupuncture, and herbal medicine.

The classroom is filled with various human figures.

The students gathered around the model, listening to the teacher explain the structure of the human body.

After completing their studies, they could become doctors in local clinics, imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy, or military doctors in the army.

After graduation, these students went on to work all over the country.

Some went to factories, some to railways, some to mines, and some to government offices. They brought not only technology, but also a completely new way of thinking…

When you encounter a problem, find a way to solve it.

Instead of flipping through books to find out what the sages said.

In addition, there are specialized military academies and economics colleges.

The military academy is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, covering an area of ​​3,000 mu, and has a drill ground, shooting range, tactics room, and sand table room.

The students get up early every day to run, attend classes in the morning to learn military strategy, practice drills in the afternoon to learn tactics, and study battle cases in the evening.

After graduation, some became officers in the National Defense Army, others became generals in border defense, and still others guarded the western regions.

The economics college was located in the eastern part of the capital, next to the Ministry of Revenue's large warehouse.

Students learn accounting, bookkeeping, financial management, and business.

After graduation, I worked as an accountant in the Ministry of Revenue, a manager in a commercial firm, and a manager in a bank.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was no longer the feudal dynasty it once was.

To be more accurate, it should be described as a semi-feudal, semi-capitalist country.

This way of thinking is quietly changing the Great Zhou Dynasty.

……

But in those places overseas, it's a completely different story.

In a school in Constantinople, dozens of children sat on small stools, reciting the Analects with their teacher.

The school was newly built, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and bright, clean windows and tables.

A plaque hangs at the entrance, bearing three large characters: Minglun Hall.

Dozens of low tables were set up in the hall, with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on them.

The children sat cross-legged on cushions, holding books in their hands, reciting with swaying heads: "Confucius said: 'To learn and at due times practice what one has learned, is that not also a pleasure?'"

The children recited it very well.

Those blond-haired, blue-eyed children spoke in broken Chinese, their tongues tied in knots, but none of them dared to slack off.

After reading it aloud, the teacher began to explain.

The teacher was an elderly Confucian scholar in his fifties, from the Great Zhou Dynasty. He wore a long robe and had a long beard. "This sentence means that you should review what you have learned often in order to truly master it. You must remember this, study hard, memorize the classics, and you will become useful people in the future."

The children nodded.

A child raised his hand and asked, "Sir, what does it mean to be a useful person?"

The gentleman stroked his beard. “A useful person is one who can be filial to his parents, loyal to His Majesty, follow the rules, and be obedient.”

The child nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

They didn't know what a steam engine was, what a train was, or what a telegraph was.

All they knew was that they had to study hard, memorize the scriptures, listen to their teacher, and obey the Zhou dynasty.

……

The same scene unfolded in the schools of Baghdad.

The school was built on the banks of the Tigris River, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and bright and clean windows.

A group of children dressed in white robes sat on prayer cushions, reciting the Classic of Filial Piety with their teacher: "Our bodies, hair, and skin are received from our parents; we dare not damage them. This is the beginning of filial piety..."

After reading the text, the teacher began to talk about filial piety: "It wasn't easy for your parents to raise you. You must be filial to them and listen to their words. When you grow up, you must also be filial to the court and listen to its words. The court is like your parents, do you understand?"

The children nodded.

A child raised his hand and asked, "Sir, what is the imperial court?"

The teacher thought for a moment, then said, “The imperial court is our Great Zhou. The emperor of Great Zhou is your sovereign and father. You must be as filial to him as you are to your own parents, understand?”

"..." The children nodded.

They were unaware of the glorious history of their ancestors, and of the immense power of the Abbasid Caliphate.

All they knew was that the Great Zhou Dynasty was now a celestial empire.

They must be obedient, filial, and study hard so that they can pass the imperial examinations, become officials, and rise above others.

……

The same situation exists in the schools in Cairo.

The school was built on the banks of the Nile, and the children recited from Mencius: "Mencius met with King Hui of Liang. The king said, 'Old man, you have come from afar; do you have something to bring to benefit my country?'"

The school in Jerusalem is built at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where children recite the Analects of Confucius: "The Master said, 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can teach me. I will choose their good points and follow them, and correct their bad points.'"

The schools in Damascus were built in oases outside the city, and the children recited the Classic of Filial Piety: "Filial piety is the constant principle of Heaven, the righteousness of Earth, and the conduct of the people."

Those blond-haired, blue-eyed European children, those dark-skinned Southeast Asian children, those Arabic children wearing white headscarves, and those Japanese children with pigtails were all reading the same books... The Analects, Mencius, and the Classic of Filial Piety.

The local people initially had their objections, but they believed that teaching children to be filial to their parents and abide by the law was the right thing to do.

Later, adults and local religious groups discovered that Confucian education did not interfere with their doctrines and lives, and thus gradually accepted it with pleasure.

However, they did not know that in the far east, there was a group of children their age who were learning something completely different.

Those children study mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, and medicine.

Those children will one day build faster trains, bigger ships, and telegraphs that can travel farther.

Those children will become the true masters of this empire in the future.

And those children from overseas schools will only become the most obedient subjects of the empire in the future.

……

In the twenty-ninth year of the prosperous era, at the graduation ceremony of the Royal Academy, Su Ning personally presented graduation certificates to the young graduates.

The ceremony was held in the Royal Academy's Great Hall.

The auditorium was packed with people...

There were graduates, their parents, the college professors, and the court officials.

A long table was placed on the stage, and on the table were stacks of graduation certificates.

Suning, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, walked onto the stage.

Looking at those young faces, he suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

Forty years ago, at the age of fourteen, he crawled out of a well, skin and bones, covered in mud, and filled with bewilderment and helplessness in this chaotic world.

Forty years later, he sat on the dragon throne, watching these young people about to set off to various places to build this vast empire.

Those young people included those wearing long robes and those wearing short jackets; some were tall, some were short, some were fat, and some were thin.

But their eyes were all equally bright.

That's the radiant confidence that comes from learning new skills.

“You are my hope,” Su Ning said, his voice not loud, but clear enough to reach everyone’s ears, “You are the hope of the Great Zhou.”

"I hope that once you arrive in your posts, you will work hard. Use your brains and think of solutions. If you encounter problems, don't be afraid; find ways to solve them. If you can't solve them, write back and I will help you."

"Remember, what you learn is useful. It can improve the lives of the people and make the Great Zhou Dynasty stronger and stronger."

"Go forth, my children! You are all true disciples of the Son of Heaven."

The young people all knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Then he stood up, turned around, and walked out of the auditorium.

Outside the door lies their future.

Those children in overseas schools will never know how deep the chasm is between them and these young people.

But Su Ning knew that he had dug it himself.

Standing on the stage, watching those departing figures, I remained silent for a long time.

Li Fang walked over and said softly, "Your Majesty, they've left."

Su Ning nodded. "Let's go. To where we need to go. To sow the seeds of civilization and science for me."

...(End of this chapter)