My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 310 Gao Gong's Prerequisite Task

Gao Gong adjusted his glasses, placed Su Ze's memorial on the table, and looked at Su Ze, asking:
"Zilin is actually thinking about the Imperial Academy preparatory course? I thought you would focus your energy on the imperial examinations."

Su Ze was shocked. He thought he was already radical enough, but he didn't expect Gao Gong to be even more radical than him, already thinking about changing the imperial examination system.
But upon closer reflection, it's understandable that Gao Gong would think this way.

Su Ze is so young, so of course he can start with elementary preparatory courses, but as for Gao Gong, it's uncertain how many more years he can serve as a Grand Secretary.

In particular, he had experienced being dismissed from his post as prime minister once, and was well aware of the capricious nature of imperial power.

This is why Gao Gong was so keen on promoting practical learning, even more so than Su Ze.

Su Ze said:

"Master, are you trying to emulate Wang Anshi?"

Gao Gong countered by asking:
"Why not? Today I am gathering my disciples and preparing to follow the example of Wang Anshi in compiling a practical classic."

Su Ze was stunned. He hadn't expected that Gao Gong's change from his aggressive attitude in court was actually a big move he had been secretly planning.

"Master, could you please take a look at me?"

Gao Gong blushed, but his face was rather dark, so Su Ze couldn't see it in the candlelight.

Since Su Ze proposed the policy of "doing real business and prohibiting empty talk" to promote practical learning, Gao Gong still wants to achieve a breakthrough in the theory of practical learning.

So, behind Su Ze's back, he gathered his disciples to discuss practical classics.

This was also in imitation of Wang Anshi, who wanted to create a book called "New Interpretation of the Three Classics" as a guide for practical learning.

Then, following Wang Anshi's example, he made practical classics a required reading for the imperial examinations, thus encouraging scholars to learn practical knowledge.

However, after nearly half a year of tinkering, the group still hadn't made any significant progress.

The reason is quite simple: after a thousand years of development of Confucianism, the paths that can be taken have been almost all taken by predecessors.

The philosophy of mind represents the last theoretical breakthrough in Confucianism. In Su Zeyuan's timeline, during the Qing Dynasty, almost no groundbreaking theories emerged in Confucianism.

This is also why Su Ze had not made any breakthroughs in practical theoretical studies before.

It's too troublesome to implement, and there's too much resistance to promoting it.

Since his disciples had asked this question, Gao Gong could only bring out some drafts.

Under the lamplight, Su Ze briefly flipped through the manuscripts. Just as he had expected, Gao Gong and his disciples hadn't come up with anything new.

Su Ze put down the manuscripts and said:

“Prime Minister, Wang Anshi was able to promote Wang Yangming’s philosophy because he was a true prime minister. Can you, like Wang Anshi, promote practical learning despite the scorn of scholars all over the world?”

Gao Gong shook his head in the end.

The prime minister of the Song Dynasty and the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty were completely different concepts. Wang Anshi, as prime minister, was also different from other prime ministers of the Song Dynasty. When he implemented reforms, he held unique power.

At that time, Wang Anshi held unified power over administration, judiciary, education, and military affairs, and issued reform decrees to all sectors of the country.

Even Zhang Juzheng from the original timeline couldn't compare to Wang Anshi.

Su Ze said again:
"Furthermore, Wang Anshi's Wang School is actually just a variation on the Song School, resulting in a hybrid that is neither fish nor fowl. His so-called promotion of Wang School is nothing more than factionalism and exclusion of dissidents. His disciples do not agree with his approach."

Wang Anshi's doctrines are called Wang Studies, but Wang Studies had very little influence among the various academic schools of the Song Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, Wang Yangming's philosophy is still a political school of thought, a doctrine specifically compiled to select "his own people".

Its propagation was only possible with official support, and many of those who studied it were opportunists.

Compared with other schools of Song learning, Wang Anshi's school quickly lost its influence after Wang Anshi was dismissed from his post as prime minister.

Su Ze said again:
“Wang Anshi used his teachings to select officials, but in the end, he only selected opportunists. Don’t you, my teacher, know the lessons of the Song Dynasty?”

Gao Gong finally spoke:
"Zilin is right."

Gao Gong also temporarily put aside his idea of ​​compiling practical classics and began to consider Su Ze's proposal again.

As Su Ze said, the Imperial Academy's preparatory course could become a stronghold for practical learning, cultivating a group of talented individuals first, and then we could think about reforming the imperial examination system later.

The biggest problem with practical learning is the lack of a talent pool.

The School of Mind had academies, while the School of Principle was the official ideology and the syllabus for the imperial examinations.

When Wang Yangming promoted his philosophy of mind, he also established the Yangming Academy to teach, and it took sixty years for the philosophy of mind to reach its current state.

I was too hasty.

However, Gao Gong was still somewhat angry when he saw Su Ze.

The practical learning program was created by this kid, but for the past six months, he hasn't focused on it at all, keeping busy with all sorts of other things.

Although these are all matters of national importance, if Su Ze does not uphold the banner of practical learning, how can he inherit his mantle and his political legacy?

Then Gao Gong said:

"If you want me to support your memorial, there is one condition."

"Please instruct me, Master."

Gao Gong said:

“Since you’re going to run a school, you should at least have a curriculum, right? Since the Imperial Academy’s preparatory course is supposed to focus on practical learning, then you should come up with a curriculum first so that I can argue with those guys in the Ministry of Rites.”

Su Ze never expected that Gao Gong would use this method to urge him to work.

Isn't this Grand Secretary Gao taking revenge on himself?
Considering that he had just rejected Gao Gong's academic achievements of the past six months, it was no wonder that Gao Gong had given him a difficult task.

It really is the cycle of karma; retribution is inevitable.

Faced with Gao Gong's demands, Su Ze had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept them.

Gao Gong didn't intend to create a theoretical masterpiece; it was merely the curriculum outline for the Imperial College's preparatory course, or simply a primary and secondary school textbook outline.
-
The twenty-third day of the first lunar month.

"Brother Zilin, are you reading again?"

Luo Wanhua blocked Shen Yiguan from entering, preventing him from disturbing Su Ze's reading.

Shen Yiguan looked into the room. There was a pile of books on Su Ze's desk. He had been studying hard these days in order to complete Gao Gong's task.

When Shen Yiguan first saw Su Ze like this, he felt a little schadenfreude.

Shen Yiguan asked, "Brother Zilin, have you been like this for several days now?"

"Yes, it's been like this ever since he met Grand Secretary Gao."

"It seems that Elder Gao has given Brother Zilin a difficult problem."

Luo Wanhua nodded in agreement: "That should be the case. Brother Jianwu, is there some big news that you've come today?"

Shen Yiguan shook his head and said:
"The court has been quiet lately, so I came to see if Brother Zilin is up to something. Judging from the looks of it, he's planning something big."

Luo Wanhua was speechless for a moment.

However, with nothing much happening in the court these days, Luo Wanhua was also having a headache trying to fill the pages of the "Yuefu Xinbao" newspaper.

He pulled Shen Yiguan aside and said:
"Brother Jianwu, think again, what other important matters are there in the court?"

Shen Yiguan looked at Luo Wanhua and said:
"Is there not enough news in the newspapers?" Luo Wanhua nodded helplessly.

Shen Yiguan sighed and said:
"Brother Yifu, I'm not trying to criticize you, but how can you possibly do a good job if you handle everything at the newspaper so personally?"

Luo Wanhua also sighed.

Since Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping were appointed to other posts, Luo Wanhua was the only editor left in the newspaper.

He's been busy these days, but the sales growth of the Yuefu Xinbao has slowed down.

According to newsboys, many readers also felt that the front pages of the Yuefu Xinbao were becoming increasingly dull and boring, consisting mainly of reprinting important news from the imperial court.

Shen Yiguan said:
"Brother Yifu, have you heard? The Commercial Daily has hired fifteen editors and even has a special news bureau to write articles specifically for it."

Luo Wanhua said:
"The Yuefu Xinbao also had its own field research envoys."

"Are they able to consistently provide articles every month?"

Luo Wanhua shook his head.

Shen Yiguan said:
"If you ask me, Brother Yifu, your newspaper should be expanded."

After thinking about it, Luo Wanhua finally agreed with Shen Yiguan's statement.

Competition among newspapers is becoming increasingly fierce.

The Yuefu Xinbao had a first-mover advantage and also had a readership accumulated from the serialization of Journey to the West.

Although "Journey to the West" has ended, Su Ze occasionally writes a short story from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio".

In addition, the news in the Yuefu Xinbao was considered official news and had credibility, so sales remained stable.

But it's only stable.

The Commercial Daily was located in Zhigu, taking a different approach, precisely to satisfy the curiosity of Ming Dynasty scholars about overseas countries, and specifically to collect all kinds of overseas news.

Moreover, compared to the serious popular science sections like the "Illustrated History of Maritime Kingdoms" in the Yuefu Xinbao, the Shangbao preferred to publish foreign news and anecdotes.

For example, the Ottoman monarchs' practice of using poisonous insects for succession, or the practice of incestuous relationships among European royal families.

These news reports catered to the "stereotypes" that intellectuals held about foreign barbarians and satisfied their curiosity.

The Commercial Daily even established a special reporting bureau to recruit literate people who could speak foreign languages ​​to interview foreign sailors in Zhigu Port and publish such news.

The Commercial Daily has its own path, and other newspapers also have their own new paths.

Based in its stronghold in the Jiangnan region, the New Gentleman's Daily made full use of the region's flourishing literary culture and established an editorial office in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture.

The New Gentleman's Daily offered generous remuneration to solicit articles from readers in Jiangnan.

With such generous rewards, excellent works naturally emerged.

Ling Dizhi, the head of the Ling family in Wucheng, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the Bingchen year of the Jiajing reign and was initially appointed as a principal officer in the Ministry of Works. Later, he offended powerful officials and was demoted all the way. Because of his upright character, he had many disagreements with his colleagues and eventually resigned and returned home.

The Ling family of Wucheng was a well-known and prominent family in Huzhou. They had a library in their home. Ling Dizhi combined the folk books from the Song Dynasty in the library and eventually compiled and created a series of short and medium-length stories.

The New Gentleman's Daily serialized these works under the title "Amazing Stories," which included ancient legends, stories of monks and Taoists, and many erotic tales. After publication, they became very popular.

Of course, these stories also met with opposition from intellectuals, who said that the "New Gentleman's Gazette" claimed to be a gentleman's publication, yet it published articles that were morally offensive.

The New Gentleman's Daily then made further revisions, removing the details of the erotic scenes, but published "Amazing Stories" as a collection of essays, and it became an instant bestseller in Jiangnan.

Despite encountering resistance from some conservative intellectuals, the New Gentleman's Daily expanded its market among the general public, especially among the literate urban class in Jiangnan, who eagerly subscribed to it.

Although the abridged version is a bit plain, sometimes it's not the detailed descriptions that make people excited!

Finally, there was the "New Yuefu News," a newspaper that originally started by pirating the "Yuefu Xinbao," and which also found inspiration in Su Ze's "Liaozhai."

The *Xin Yuefu Bao* newspaper simply focused on the field of folklore and supernatural tales, publishing horror stories from folk legends, mostly written in vernacular Chinese, which also led to increased sales.

Moreover, these three newspapers shared distribution channels and set up printing houses in major inland cities, beginning to compete with the Yuefu Xinbao for market share.

After Su Ze put down his pen, the two entered the newspaper office.

"When did Brother Jianwu arrive?"

Shen Yiguan said with a smile, "I've been here for a while. I was just talking to Brother Yifu about the newspaper."

Luo Wanhua made up his mind and said to Su Ze:

“Brother Zilin, since you handed the ‘Yuefu Xinbao’ over to me, the newspaper’s development has slowed down.”

"Brother Zilin, please help me figure out how to increase newspaper sales."

Su Ze looked at Luo Wanhua. If it were someone else, Su Ze would probably refuse, since he was still having a headache over the teaching syllabus.

However, Luo Wanhua was a conscientious and honest man, and after he handed over the newspaper to him, the Yuefu Xinbao newspaper did well.

Now that the three major newspapers are making their moves, Luo Wanhua can't be blamed for this.

There's no way around it, the most boring news in the world is political news.

As an official gazette, one of the main tasks of the Yuefu Xinbao was to publicize important news of the imperial court; this was the Yuefu Xinbao's primary responsibility.

As an official gazette, the Yuefu Xinbao had the strictest standards.

Su Ze still had Wang Shizhen's "Jin Ping Mei" in his possession, but it was certainly impossible for it to be published in "Yuefu Xinbao".

Su Ze's pursuit of knowledge through investigation was aimed at dispelling superstition, so naturally, he couldn't publish horror or supernatural tales.

After the serialization of "Journey to the West" ended, there were no other phenomenal works serialized for a while, and "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" was almost completely plagiarized by Su Ze.

What's next?
Copying Dream of the Red Chamber?
This is one approach, but it's not a long-term solution.

Su Ze looked at Luo Wanhua, thought for a moment, and said:
“Brother Yifu, official newspapers can be interesting too. I have a solution.”

Luo Wanhua quickly asked:
"Brother Zilin, please enlighten me."

"Write investigative news."

"Investigative journalism?"

Su Ze explained:

"For example, in this abduction case, the Yuefu Xinbao only published the outcome of the case, right?"

"Why not have the field research team interview the people handling the case and publish the process of the case? Or, for example, interview people who have lost children, so that readers can know the pain of families who have lost children."

"The interviews could go a little deeper, even interviewing accomplices in prison, asking them why they went down this path, who they sold the children to, and what the lives of the trafficked children are like afterward."

“Even official news can be reported in depth, rather than simply forwarding government orders.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Wanhua's eyes lit up.

Su Ze's method was indeed excellent. Such news was much more interesting than the cold, impersonal decrees of the imperial court, and it could also provoke thought in readers.

Luo Wanhua was in a hurry to get to it, but Su Ze pulled him aside and said:
"Brother Yifu, you were the top scorer in your undergraduate program, could you please take a look at this paper for me?"

(End of this chapter)