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Chapter 876 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
In Bianjing, at the Earl of Yongchang's residence, the Liang family's eldest wife kept straightening Liu Lang's clothes, then kept on giving him instructions, "Liu Lang! I put a lot of effort into getting you into the Sheng family's private school. You must make me proud!"

"Mother, I am not cut out for studying. Besides, our family is a distinguished earl's mansion. Why should I study hard and take the imperial examinations?" Liang Liulang, who was obediently arranged by his mother, was very depressed. He didn't think that studying hard had any meaning for their family.

"Hmph! What do you know! Did I ask you to study?" The eldest lady of the Liang family suddenly grabbed her son's ear gently, and then asked Liang Liulang a question with a sneer.

"Ah? What do you mean, mother?" Liang Liulang couldn't help but look at his mother with surprise and asked.

"Sixth son! You are not a child anymore. In a few years, you can discuss marriage. The Sheng family is the family of the Ning Wang's concubine. If you can marry a girl from the Sheng family, then we will become relatives of the Ning Wang." Looking at the silly son in front of her, the eldest lady of the Liang family explained earnestly.

"Ah? Mother, you want to..." Liang Liulang realized it belatedly and showed a surprised expression.

"Humph! Silly boy, do you understand what I mean now?"

"I understand! But what if the daughter of the Sheng family is not good-looking?" Soon Liang Liulang couldn't help but worry again.

"I tell you that you are stupid, but you still don't believe it! You should marry a virtuous wife, not a concubine. Why does she need to be so beautiful?" The eldest lady of the Liang family smiled nonchalantly. When choosing a wife for her son, of course she would choose one with a good family background.

"Huh? Mother, I understand."

"Well, when you go to the Sheng family, try to behave yourself and make a good impression on the people in the Sheng family. You should know that the Sheng family is not a small family as it seems." Knowing that her son was of absurd nature, the eldest lady of the Liang family could not help but give him another warning.

"I know, mother."

The same thing happened in many noble families in Bianjing City. The three remaining daughters of the Sheng family had become popular in the eyes of others. In addition, the fame of Zhuang Xuejiu also gave them a good excuse to curry favor with the powerful. Naturally, they scrambled desperately for the places to study in the Sheng family's private school. For a while, the learning atmosphere in the noble families in Bianjing City became much better.

"Mr. Zhuang, I never thought you were so famous. Many students from noble families in Bianjing City want to come here to study. Suddenly, there are more than ten new places." Sheng Hong looked at Mr. Zhuang in front of him with surprise, realizing that Suning brought immeasurable honor to their Sheng family.

"Haha, Your Excellency, I don't have such great charm. I think these noble families are still attracted by Your Excellency, Your Excellency's son-in-law." At this time, Zhuang Xuejiu was very sober, stroking his white beard and smiling.

"Huh? Master Zhuang has a point." Sheng Hong knew all these tricks clearly, otherwise no one would care about a small family like their Sheng family.

"Sir, the number of students now arriving far exceeds our initial expectations. It's difficult for me to keep up the pace with just one person teaching!"

"Mr. Zhuang, how about you recommend an old gentleman to teach the female members of the Sheng family?" Sheng Hong had also thought about this issue a long time ago, and intended to teach men and women separately.

"That's good! There are too many children of nobles studying now, and we should indeed open a separate class for the women of the Sheng family." At this time, Master Zhuang nodded in agreement. It would be much easier to teach boys and girls separately.

The Sheng family's private school caused a sensation in Bianjing City. The old emperor, who had just returned from an inspection tour in Jiangning Prefecture, naturally learned about it. Of course, he was very clear about the mentality of this group of noble families, but the old emperor and Empress Cao did not take any action to stop it. Instead, they were more willing to let Prince Ning have closer contact with the nobles in Bianjing, so as to reduce the chances of Prince Ning and the Ningyuan Army rebelling against the court again.

"Your Majesty, these nobles in Bianliang are quite smart." Queen Cao said with a smile looking at the old emperor beside her.

"Hmph! This is good! Let our Prince Ning get involved with the nobles a few more times, so that Prince Ning and his Ningyuan Army won't have any wild thoughts." The old emperor was thinking about controlling the Ningyuan Army all the time, just wanting to put a tight ring on Suning's head.

"Your Majesty, I feel that there are still too few beautiful women serving Prince Ning. Besides, Princess Huirou is pregnant now. Why don't we pick two beautiful maids from the palace to give to Prince Ning?" Queen Cao knew very well what the old emperor was obsessed with at the moment, and she immediately offered her own suggestion.

"Okay! Also, select a palace music troupe to give to Prince Ning. Young people should have more fun and enjoy more." The old emperor quickly understood what Queen Cao meant. She simply wanted to encourage Suning to become excessively licentious, which would also make Suning quickly lose his sharpness and edge.

"Yes! Official."

At the Marquis of Xiangyang's mansion, the old marquis naturally sensed the outside world's commotion, but he noticed that his stepson, Gu Tingwei, hadn't reacted at all. He looked at Gu Tingwei, who was studying diligently, in surprise and asked, "Tingwei, other people's children all want to study with Master Zhuang, why don't you have any reaction at all?"

"Father, I feel that the family school in our Marquis' Mansion is very good. There is no need to be ambitious and run to the Sheng family's private school." At this time, Gu Tingwei expressed his thoughts with a smile. He still felt that down-to-earth hard study was the most meaningful.

"Oh? Tingwei, it's not because of Prince Ning, right?" The old Marquis of Xiangyang guessed the real reason and asked directly without any concealment.

"Father, of course Prince Ning is also partly to blame. Since the two families have completely severed their relationship, there is no need to keep entangled with them." After experiencing so many things, the ridiculous Gu Tingwei slowly matured.

At this time, Gu Tingwei believed that the title of Marquis of Xiangyang was given by the old marquis. Whether it was given or not was the freedom and right of the old marquis. Therefore, Gu Tingwei, whose family was broken up, felt very insecure. His biggest obsession was to gain social status through the imperial examination, so that he could truly have his own rights.

"Well, Tingwei, I'm very pleased that you think this way. It means that you have finally grown up and matured." The old marquis naturally knew clearly about Gu Tingwei's complicated mentality, but this was exactly the common problem of all adopted sons, so the old marquis did not feel that there was anything wrong at this time.

"Father, I want to admit a mistake to you." Gu Tingwei then looked at the old marquis with an apologetic face and apologized.

"Oh?"

"Father, I have secretly given the farmland and shops you gave me some time ago to my eldest brother Gu Tingyu, because they are having such a hard time now." At this time, Gu Tingwei took the initiative to bring up the matter of those farmlands and shops.

"Tingwei, your parents and elder brother live in Tianshui Lane now?" The old marquis looked at Gu Tingwei indifferently and asked back.

"Yes! Father."

"Tingwei, these farms and shops were originally given to you. How to distribute them is up to you, but this is only for this time, and it won't happen again."

"Yes! Father."

…………Campus construction has been secretly carried out in the south of the Yangtze River for more than a year. With Suning's unremitting and substantial investment, schools have been built in the county towns at the prefecture and state levels. Naturally, this immediately aroused the curiosity and sensation of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. The main reason is that this huge complex of buildings is too beautiful. Many of them will never be able to live in such a beautiful house in their entire lives.

"Your Highness, the 'military camp' in the county where the prefecture-level government is located has been built, and the 'military camps' in other county towns are also being built in an orderly manner. It will take at most a year to complete." Sheng Changbai, who had experienced a period of time, seemed much more mature and capable.

"Well, Changbai, actually, I built these houses not to build so-called military camps, but to implement a new type of compulsory education in Jiangnan." Seeing that most of the work had been completed, Su Ning no longer had to hide it.

"What? Compulsory education?" Sheng Changbai immediately opened his mouth in shock, feeling that this novel word was too shocking.

"That's right! Children as young as six south of the Yangtze River are required to attend school for twelve years. Tuition and miscellaneous fees are all free, and entrance exams replace imperial examinations. All graduates are assigned to work at the grassroots level in various industries." Looking at Sheng Changbai, whose face was filled with shock and astonishment, Suning smiled and talked about his own education reform.

"Ah? What about the private schools outside?" Sheng Changbai realized something from these educational reforms. He felt that the King Ning in front of him was digging up the ancestral grave of Confucian education.

"Absolutely prohibited."

"Oh my God! No wonder Your Highness is so secretive. If this were to be made public, it would surely cause public outrage."

"That's right! Although I'm not afraid of these scholars, I don't want them to know the information too early, so I've been hiding this matter for some time."

"Your Highness, are you sure you want to do this?" Shocked Sheng Changbai couldn't help but ask again for confirmation.

"Haha, of course! I intend to hand this matter over to you, but I don't know if you have the courage." Then Suning said that the follow-up matters would be handed over to Sheng Changbai. Among the natives, Sheng Changbai was the one who deserved his vigorous training the most.

"Your Highness, if we fail, there will be no recovery!" Sheng Changbai did not have such ambitions at this time. Instead, he hesitated and refused.

"Changbai, do you think we still have room to retreat?" Su Ning was not surprised at Sheng Changbai's refusal. Instead, he looked at Sheng Changbai in front of him and asked back.

"..."

"Sheng Changbai, I will give you three days to consider this. I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer. Our Ningyuan Army will only continue to attack. These decadent and backward Confucian teachings are destined to be eliminated."

"Your Highness, I am willing to accept this mission and follow your will until death." Sheng Changbai, who received Confucian education, naturally could not understand Su Ning, but he also realized that he had no way out.

"Okay! I was right about you. The teaching materials have been arranged. I will provide you with teachers to teach courses such as mathematics, science of physics, history and geography. As for the previous traditional Confucian education, they will all be classified as national studies." Su Ning stood up in surprise and patted Sheng Changbai on the shoulder, then told him all the arrangements for the future.

"Yes! Your Majesty, I will never let you down."

"Okay! Su Er Su Jijiu will be the one to liaise with you next. If you have any questions, just ask him directly." The most suitable person in charge of new-style education is still his own AI robot, and he will not waver even if Sheng Changbai does not agree to take over.

"Yes! Your Majesty."

The announcement of Prince Ning's Mansion was soon officially posted and announced, which naturally caused a sensation in the entire Jiangnan area. The literati who were unaware of the situation naturally celebrated at first, but some of them felt that Prince Ning's Mansion's one-size-fits-all ban on private schools was too overbearing. The literati who thought they were very influential in the Jiangnan literary world asked to see Su Ning, trying to directly persuade this overbearing lord of Jiangnan. Unfortunately, Su Ning was too busy to deal with them.

In fact, the Chinese classics courses in the new-style education did not change much, and it still used the unique educational methods of this era. However, pinyin annotations were still mandatory, because this would better achieve the effect of quickly popularizing knowledge. It was just that when new subjects such as mathematics and the study of things were opened, there was an immediate sensation, only because the scholars realized Suning's purpose of controlling their scholars, and Suning's bias was also very obvious and strong. The opening of so many new courses naturally reduced the proportion of classics in education.

"Teacher Kong, what Prince Ning is doing is digging up the ancestral graves of us scholars!" A scholar looked at the teacher of Jiangning Prefecture with great sorrow and emphasized.

"Ah! I know all this very well. I just hope that the censors in the court can impeach Prince Ning as soon as possible." At this time, Teacher Kong knew all this, but now they could only pin their hopes on the censors in the court.

"Impeachment? Can the officials and ministers in the court control Prince Ning?" The principal of a private academy retorted disapprovingly.

"Huh?" Teacher Kong widened his eyes in surprise.

"Everyone, since we can't rely on the officials in the court, we scholars in Jiangnan can't just sit there and wait for death!" Then the headmaster looked at everyone present with deep sorrow and said.

"Does Mr. Song have any good suggestions?" At this time, Teacher Kong did not care about the rudeness of Dean Song, and asked as soon as he had an idea.

"Teacher Kong, why don't we connect the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River who went to Jiangbei to study, and use practical actions to counter the evil deeds of King Ning." Then Song Xuejiu put forward his proposal, which was to make Suning have no scholars available.

"Ah? Study abroad?" Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Isn't this cutting off the source of King Ning's order?

"Yes! Only by doing this can we show our loyalty to the court. The exorbitant taxes in Jiangnan are simply too much. Such tyranny is unheard of. Now Prince Ning is so cruel to us scholars. We might as well just cut off Prince Ning's financial support."

"Yes! My family only has a hundred acres of fertile land, and my father is a juren, but he still cannot escape the fate of being forced to pay taxes. Our family has decided to move to Jiangbei." Then a scholar in the corner explained angrily, believing that Suning's series of measures were persecuting them, scholars and gentry.

"Okay! Then we will act separately, connect with our classmates in Jiangnan as soon as possible, and then go to Jiangbei to study together. We will never condone King Ning's evil deeds." Seeing that everyone's will was so firm and decisive, Teacher Kong made the final decision at this time.

"Yes! Teacher Kong."

……

(End of this chapter)