My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 233 "Memorial on Military Education"

A real school?

Su Ze looked at Gao Gong. Was he planning to set up a vocational college?
In the modern educational sense, there are actually two schools of thought regarding universities.

One type is practical vocational colleges. Some of these schools are government-run, and some are privately run, but their goal is to cultivate specialized talents.

Another type is universities established with the sponsorship of the royal family or the church. These schools, similar to the Imperial College, are grammar schools that specifically train bureaucrats.

These two types of schools, in the process of development, absorbed more colleges and eventually became comprehensive universities.

Gao Gong immediately grasped the crux of the problem: to promote practical learning, we must start with schools.

In a sense, the Civil Service Training Program and the Dengzhou-Laizhou Maritime Training Institute were both vocational schools; the former trained junior officials, while the latter trained specialized maritime personnel.

Gao Gong seemed to be deep in thought, but he didn't ask Su Ze any further questions. Instead, he gestured for Su Ze to go back and draft a memorial.

"Memorial on the Education of Military Supervisors"

Su Ze wrote in his memorial:
"Your Majesty's virtue is boundless, and you have established the Military Academy to cultivate military talents. Previously, the Ministry of War held a meeting and proposed that the Military Academy should prioritize moral education, instilling loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, followed by military strategy and tactics. After careful consideration, I believe that although this proposal is well-intentioned for the country, it is quite incompatible with the teaching methods of the Military Academy. Therefore, I dare to present my humble opinion and humbly request Your Majesty's decision."

Su Ze first brought out his practical knowledge:

"The study of military academy should focus on practical learning, and intellectual education should be given top priority."

"The military academy's curriculum is limited to two years. If moral education precedes intellectual education, students will have no time to delve into military affairs. Military strategy and tactics are essential for practical learning. For example, the ability to predict the enemy's moves, plan battles, and deploy troops are all crucial to victory or defeat on the battlefield. Such knowledge cannot be effectively acquired without thorough study."

"The Earl of Dingyuan, Qi Jiguang, presented the 'New Book of Military Efficiency,' which is sufficient as a teaching material. In my humble opinion, the purpose of the Military Supervisor is to quickly cultivate capable individuals, not to engage in empty talk. If one indulges in debates about benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety, it will damage the foundation of practical learning."

Following that, Su Ze proposed the idea of ​​a preparatory course.

"When it comes to the importance of moral education, it should be a separate preparatory course and should not be mixed up with other subjects."

"I do not disregard moral education. Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety are indeed the foundation of one's character. However, for those whose minds are already mature, moral education can be temporarily conducted through other means. I propose that those under the age of fourteen be placed in the preparatory course at the Imperial Academy, where they will be exclusively taught the morality of the four classes of people and the great principles of loyalty between ruler and subject, for a period of one year. Only after they turn fourteen can they enter the Military Academy for further study. In this way, the young will first cultivate their minds, and the older will later learn practical skills, so that both can benefit from it."

Su Ze put forward his own educational philosophy:
"As I observe the capital today, merchants gather in droves, all industries are thriving, and people's hearts have changed beyond recognition. This is truly a great transformation unprecedented in history, and the way of education should also adapt to the times."

"If we adhere rigidly to the old rules and only emphasize moral education, I fear that officials and scholars will follow suit and promote this approach to various places for lectures. In that case, the new system of practical learning will perish as empty talk. Therefore, the importance of intellectual education is not just a matter of the Military Academy, but is actually related to the rise and fall of the nation."

After Su Ze finished writing the memorial, he put it into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Court".

——[Simulation Start]——

Your memorial on the education of military academies was sent to the cabinet that day. You advocated the implementation of a "priority of intellectual education" policy in military academies, which was agreed upon by Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji of the cabinet.

The emperor approved your memorial, which promoted the priority of intellectual education in the Military Academy, and compiled the teaching curriculum of the Military Academy based on Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Military Efficiency".

The officers trained by the Ming Dynasty's Military Academy became a group of officers in the modern sense in history.

The Ming Dynasty Military Academy became the first institution that various countries considered during their reforms, and it served as a model for military academy systems for the next few centuries.

The progressive officer corps trained by the Military Academy had a profound impact on the political situation of the Ming Dynasty.

The dynasty's fate remains unchanged.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige Points: 230]

[This simulation does not consume any attempts; 2/2 remaining]

The emperor immediately agreed to the memorial.

But it seems that this progressive legion will become a force that will influence the fate of the Ming Dynasty a century from now.

Su Ze shut down the system, saying, "There is no perfect solution in this world." He proposed establishing a military supervisory commission today for the sake of enriching the country and strengthening the military, but he cannot worry about what will happen a hundred years from now.

What happens a hundred years from now can only be addressed by the wisdom of future generations.

In any case, in the near future, this group will have to rely on the Ming Dynasty system and will be unable to make its own voice heard for a long time.

Su Ze, carrying the memorial, visited Zhao Zhenji that evening and found Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi of Gongdi Mountain the next day.

Xu Wenbi quickly read through the memorial, signed his name with a flourish, and then urged Su Ze to send the memorial to the Office of Transmission as soon as possible.
-
After submitting the memorial, the Imperial Household Department was still on holiday and would not reopen until the end of February.

Su Ze returned to the newspaper office and began slacking off again.

But his days of slacking off didn't last long. On February 22nd, the day after his mid-month break, Shen Yiguan rushed into the newspaper office.

Luo Wanhua walked into the newspaper office with a troubled expression. Upon seeing Su Ze, he said:
"Brother Zilin, what do you think we should do about these two articles?"

As he spoke, Luo Wanhua handed two articles to Su Ze:
"This is an article by Grand Secretary Gao, signed 'Seeking Truth.' Grand Secretary Gao advocated for the establishment of practical schools throughout the country to cultivate specialists."

Su Ze looked at Gao Gong's article. Gao Gong had also learned to follow the mass line, first publishing articles in newspapers to test the waters, and then promoting the construction of the school.

This is quite different from Gao Gong's impetuous personality in history. Could it be that he was influenced by himself?
Luo Wanhua said:
"This article is by Grand Secretary Zhang, signed 'Si Su.' It criticizes the chaos in the academies of Southern Zhili, arguing that these academies gather scholars but do not teach the imperial examinations. Instead, they form cliques and discuss politics, engaging in empty talk that harms the country. He advocates banning and destroying the academies."

After Luo Wanhua and Su Ze finished reading the two articles, they looked at Su Ze helplessly and said:

"Brother Zilin, how do we publish these two articles?"

The four cabinet members would publish articles in the Yuefu Xinbao every now and then.

Newspapers are naturally the best channel for promoting one's political platform and spreading one's political ideas.

Even the Grand Secretaries didn't have magic powers; some policies required testing public reaction through written documents before making targeted modifications.

However, for newspaper readers, if a senior official does not publish articles for a long time, readers will suspect that he has lost power.

When Li Chunfang took sick leave last time and didn't publish any articles for a month, rumors spread like wildfire in the capital. Some even said that Grand Secretary Li had been dismissed from office. This angered Li Chunfang, who was usually very composed, so he sent his son to the newspaper office to publish a political essay summarizing the politics of the early Han Dynasty to assert his presence.

If two senior officials submit articles together, how should the layout be arranged?

Moreover, since the two articles are contradictory, publishing them might lead to rumors that Gao and Zhang are at odds.

Although Su Ze knew that the two still had differences in their political ideologies, they eventually became political enemies in the original timeline.

However, now that there is finally a period of stability in the cabinet, Su Ze naturally does not want Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng to fall out.

"The next newspaper issue is in two days, right?"

Luo Wanhua nodded repeatedly.

After careful research, Zhang Bi, the printing shop owner, finally improved the printing press.

After using clay movable type, Zhang Bi discovered that the clay movable type was too weak and was prone to breaking during printing.

So Zhang Bi began to experiment with movable metal type.

The final formula was 80% lead, 10% copper, and 10% tin.

Copper, as a hardener, could enhance the hardness of lead type. Zhang Bi also invented ink, using tung oil and turpentine as base materials, mixed with ink to create an ink with stronger adhesion than water-based ink.

After the newspaper was edited, Zhang Bi would type it on a rotary type printing press. Using continuous paper, a large number of newspapers could be printed at once.

These newspapers are then cut open with a guillotine to create separate pages.

Nowadays, the printing workshop mainly focuses its manpower on pushing the printing rollers.

Roller printing requires a uniformly rotating cylinder. Zhang Bi also tried animal power or water power, but neither was as stable as human power.

Zhang Bi also requested a competition.

Zhang Bi led his machine team to compete against a group of experienced woodblock printing craftsmen. One side used lead movable type roller ink printing, while the other side used traditional woodblock ink printing.

In the end, the machine team naturally won a great victory, far surpassing the manual team in both printing quality and printing speed.

With the new printing technology, the printing efficiency of "Yuefu Xinbao" increased several times. This was because only Zhang Bi could do the movable type typesetting work, and there was only one roller lead movable type ink printing machine.

If more craftsmen skilled in typesetting could be trained and more new printing presses manufactured, the printing volume of the printing workshop could double.

Su Ze thought about it and decided that no matter what the two elders thought, he still felt that it was not appropriate to publish two articles at the same time.

Even if Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng themselves did not have differing political views, they would still fall out under the influence of public opinion.

Su Ze thought for a moment, then said to Luo Wanhua:
"Brother Yifu, how about we print an additional edition this time?"

Luo Wanhua said with a bitter face:
"So what if we reprint it? These two articles?"

Su Ze said:

"I asked Chief Minister Li and Fourth Minister Zhao to also publish articles on the topic of moral and intellectual education. With the four cabinet ministers expressing their own opinions, the articles by Grand Secretaries Gao and Zhang did not seem so sharp."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wanhua clapped his hands and said, "Brother Zilin, this is a great idea! However, there are only two days left before printing. Can the two Grand Secretaries write it?"

Su Ze sighed and said:

"I can only give it a try."

Luo Wanhua immediately looked at Su Ze with expectant eyes. Among all the ministers in the court, only Su Ze had such influence in the cabinet.

Su Ze also sighed. He had really gone to great lengths to maintain the unity of the cabinet.
-
On February 24th, at the crack of dawn, the newsboys gathered in front of the printing press.

When the newspaper office shouted:

"The newspaper is out!"

Several sturdy newsboys entered the newspaper office and carried out the newly printed newspapers in an orderly fashion.

Newspaper boys had to go in and out of the streets and alleys of the capital, dealing with all sorts of people; it was not a safe profession.

Therefore, the newsboys in the capital spontaneously organized themselves into several large and small organizations.

They divided their territory according to the neighborhoods where newspapers were sold, and exchanged goods and services.

Which neighborhoods are more chaotic and prone to danger? Which areas have more pickpockets and you need to be careful not to get robbed?

These messages were circulating among the newsboys in the capital.

Sun Mazi received his newspaper, and a group of newsboys surrounded him.

Sun Mazi had no given name. He fled to the capital with his parents, but they soon starved to death. He only remembered his surname.

Because he contracted smallpox when he was six or seven years old, leaving his face covered in pockmarks, he was called Sun the Pockmarked.

Sun Mazi was the best newspaper boy at the almshouse night school. He could string together the contents of the newspaper into rhymes to attract more business.

Some newsboys would also learn his rhymes to sell newspapers, and over time a small group formed around him.

A newsboy carried a whale oil lamp to help Sun Mazi light the newspaper, and Sun Mazi quickly began to read it.

There are two more pages in today's newspaper?
Sure enough, this time the front page featured articles by the four cabinet ministers.

So that's how it is. Since all four cabinet ministers issued articles, it was naturally inappropriate to publish them separately, so the Yuefu Xinbao printed two additional pages.

"Brother Sun, have you finished watching?"

One of the inconsiderate newsboys urged him on, but he was immediately scolded by the other newsboys and told to read the newspaper quietly.

Grand Secretary's articles are quite profound, and Sun Mazi reads them very slowly.

It seems like they're discussing education?

Gao Gong, the Grand Secretary, wrote the easiest article to understand: it was about establishing practical schools to cultivate specialized skills.

Zhang Juzheng's article is not difficult to understand; it simply prohibits academies in Jiangnan and cracks down on the trend of scholars engaging in empty political debates.

Zhao Zhenji, the Grand Secretary, proposed to establish schools to educate the people. Isn't that similar to the night schools in the almshouses?

The article by Grand Secretary Li Chunfang was the most difficult to understand. This Grand Secretary Li did not discuss school matters, but rather focused on moral education throughout society.

The meaning of Li Gelao's article seems to be that education is not just a matter for schools, but rather about teaching people to read and cultivate virtue, and using history, culture, and customs to persuade people. What the court should do is to prohibit bad customs among the people and encourage new and good customs.

After reading it, Sun Mazi said:

"The old minister said that we should be busy building schools and teaching practical skills to be strong;

Grand Secretary Zhang criticized the chaos in academies, saying that only by banning empty talk could things be stable!

Grand Secretary Zhao planned extensively for the establishment of schools, aiming to promote universal education and eradicate illiteracy.
Prime Minister Li advocated moral education to cultivate virtue and character, thereby transforming customs and fostering loyal and virtuous individuals!

Sun Mazi repeated it twice, and the newsboys quickly wrote it down. They stuffed the newspapers into the newspaper baskets and headed towards the streets and alleys of the capital in the morning light.

A newly hired newsboy pulled another newsboy aside and asked:
“Brother Wu, why does Brother Sun’s rhyme only have the first two versions? What if the guests ask about the content of the later versions?”

The newsboy named Angkor said:

"You're new to this business. Those who like to buy the 'Yuefu Xinbao' are all officials. They only like to read the first few pages. No matter how nice the later pages are, they're just extras. When you see those well-dressed people wearing official boots, just go up and hawk your wares."

"And what about the New Gentleman's Gazette?"

"The New Gentleman's Gazette is the favorite of pedantic scholars who want to become officials but haven't succeeded yet. You'll see people in teahouses and taverns talking loudly, but they only drink a bowl of coarse tea and cheap wine."

"The New Yuefu Gazette is similar to the Yuefu New Gazette, but it is more popular with lower-ranking officials. You can see those with calluses on their hands; they are the clerks in the government offices."

"The Business Daily is something businessmen love to read; you can smell the stench of money from a mile away!"

The newly recruited newsboys noted these things down. The morning sun in the capital was awakened by the newsboys' cries. The late winter sun gradually warmed up, and the vast city of the capital began to wake up.

(End of this chapter)