The Prosperous Era of Longwan

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The next day, the officialdom in the capital was shocked by Shen Shixing's memorial.

Last night, many officials gathered together to study and calculate how much money the new tax of the Ministry of Revenue could bring to the court, and what else their offices should do but had not done. Unexpectedly, the Ministry of Rites would issue such a memorial at this time.

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Shen Shixing planned to vigorously promote community schools in all prefectures and counties across the country. If community schools that already had stable donations were unwilling to do so, and if donors were willing to guarantee sufficient funding for community schools, the government would naturally be happy to see it happen, but would keep a close eye on the educational situation of these community schools.

As for more community schools that are unable to continue due to lack of funds, the government will take over directly and allocate part of the "exchange silver" collected locally each year to the community schools so that they can operate stably.

The community school will teach the children of the common people to read and write for free, and teach them the laws and regulations of the dynasty, as well as the etiquette of coming of age, marriage, funerals, and sacrifices, as well as classics, history, calendar, and so on, so that they can understand and follow the educational goals of "filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame."

The remaining silver for exchange will be sent to the Ministry of Revenue to supplement the shortage of national expenditure.

To this end, Shen Shixing proposed in his memorial that the Hanlin Academy should compile the "Doctrine" as a general textbook for community schools and gradually promote it throughout the country.

The printing of the "Doctrine" compiled by the Ministry of Rites was the same as that of the "Da Ming Calendar". It was printed by the Ministry of Rites and distributed free of charge to community schools across the country to prevent the people from wasting their money.

At the same time, the memorial also reiterated that according to the decrees of the Hongwu, Zhengtong and Hongzhi years, all children over eight years old and under fifteen years old across the country should be sent to community schools to study, and suggested to the court that anyone who is determined to learn literature, children from nearby villages, under the age of 20, can go to school and study, and those who enroll can be exempted from labor service.

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The imperial court no longer provided exemption from military service and free education to those who had no hope of passing the imperial examination after the age of 20.

Although Shen Shixing took this matter very seriously, many of the clauses were actually proposed by Wei Guangde after referring to later experience and thinking from the perspective of later generations based on the current situation of the Ming Dynasty at that time.

In the Ming Dynasty, young boys had to work in the fields or in the city with their parents at a very young age in exchange for food and clothing.

Well, in later times, that would be child labor.

Children and teenagers in their teens are still growing, and heavy physical labor at this time is actually not good for their physical development.

According to this memorial, teenagers aged eight to fifteen could attend community schools. Those who did not enroll would be "punished by their fathers and brothers" according to the decree of the Hongzhi period. This was actually what was later called "compulsory education."

The key obstacle to private learning was the expensive cost of textbooks, which the imperial court also borne entirely.

In fact, the "Da Ming Calendar" published in October every year in the Ming Dynasty was compiled by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. After printing by the Ministry of Rites, the emperor ordered it to be distributed throughout the country. Private printing was prohibited.

Every copy of the "Da Ming Calendar" is printed with the official seal of the Imperial Observatory.

Of course, due to the huge number of copies printed, the paper used was not very good and was the cheapest straw paper.

However, the "Da Ming Calendar" is printed every year, or the shelf life is only one year, so the quality of the paper does not really matter.

The same will be true for the "Doctrine". Every year, the Hanlin Academy will review the "Doctrine" and perhaps make some revisions to some of the parts, so there is no requirement to choose high-quality paper like the books used in bookstores. Everything is done for the pursuit of quantity and low cost.

Because the number of copies of "Doctrine" printed is more than that of "Da Ming Calendar".

Even so, it can help people reduce a lot of expenses. You know, books are very expensive these days.

The imperial court directly paid for the tuition and teacher's fees of the people. The only thing it did not take care of was the children's food rations.

Moreover, this compulsory education is only implemented until the age of fifteen. By that time, the teenagers have grown up and can go to school if they are willing to continue studying. If they don’t want to, they can also make a living on their own.

Anyone who has carefully read Shen Shixing's memorial can imagine that from then on, there were probably not many illiterate people in the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Shixing's memorial was not delivered to Wei Guangde. Wei Guangde was confident that the cabinet would approve the memorial, so he did not make any request.

But as expected, around noon, someone came to Zhang Juzheng's office to invite him.

When Wei Guangde went over, he saw Zhang Siwei holding Shen Shixing's memorial and discussing it with Zhang Juzheng.

At least after Zhang Juzheng finished reading it, he didn't think of anything that needed to be added or modified.

"The Ministry of Rites' memorial? Let me take a look."

Wei Guangde pretended to be ignorant, took it, quickly flipped through it, and then pretended to think with his head down before saying, "Rumo has had this plan for a long time, haha

The cabinet just made a draft of the Ministry of Revenue's memorial yesterday, and I heard that many officials were discussing this matter last night.

Unexpectedly, he produced such a memorial the next day, which clearly calculated the money of the Ministry of Revenue."

“Haha, promoting education is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites. I think he was not idle in the Ministry of Rites. It’s just that the court was short of money at that time, so he didn’t take it out until he saw an opportunity.

Well, if it is really implemented, it can be regarded as the Ministry of Rites’s educational work.”

Zhang Juzheng said with a smile, stroking his beard.

"What do you think of this memorial, brother?"

When Wei Guangde heard Zhang Juzheng say this, he asked with a smile.

"Very good.

If I had gotten it two days ago, I would still have trouble deciding, but now

If the Ministry of Revenue can get the imperial seal on the memorial, the Ministry of Revenue will have this money and can do a lot for the community school."

Zhang Juzheng replied, "Ziwei and I were just talking about how Rumo's memorial took every aspect into consideration, which is really rare, and he is worthy of being the top scholar."

“In that case, I have no objection.

Education is the responsibility of the court. Vigorously promoting community education is good for the country and the people. The cabinet should support it. I think the Ministry of Revenue will also consider the overall situation and give full support. "

Wei Guangde continued.

"Ziwei, you received the memorial, so you should be the one to draft it. The cabinet fully supports it."

Zhang Juzheng had already taken the memorial back from Wei Guangde, and immediately handed it to Zhang Siwei, signaling him to draft it.

Zhang Siwei was not polite either. This was a great thing that benefited the country and the people. It would also be good for his reputation if he could draft the memorial and spread it.

Just as Zhang Siwei was taking the memorial to the desk to draft it, Wei Guangde casually said to Zhang Juzheng, "Brother Uncle, I see that Rumo has been in the Ministry of Rites for nearly two years and has gained enough experience. Isn't it time to transfer to the Ministry of Personnel?"

The smile on Zhang Juzheng's face faded slightly and then quickly recovered. He continued to stroke his beautiful beard but did not respond immediately.

The meaning of Wei Guangde's words was very clear. He would transfer Shen Shixing to the Ministry of Personnel to complete the conversion of official positions between the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. This was preparation for the last step.

Zhang Juzheng had long been paying attention to Shen Shixing, not only because of his good reputation, but also because it was Wei Guangde who brought him into the Ministry of Rites.

From that time on, Zhang Juzheng knew that Shen Shixing must have boarded Wei Guangde's ship.

Who would help put people into the cabinet for no reason? At least Shen Shixing expressed his willingness to join Wei Guangde.

It does make sense to allow Shen Shixing to make further progress by taking advantage of the merits of this memorial.

It is true that Zhang Juzheng wanted to suppress private schools and lectures among the people, but official schools were naturally not among them.

The community schools were controlled by local governments. In fact, they were transformed from the former private colleges into lower-level official schools. The content of what was taught had also been stipulated long ago, so he had no objection.

However, this would allow Shen Shixing to be closer to the cabinet, and it was obvious what Wei Guangde was trying to do.

After a long while, Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, but he would not give in easily. He smiled and said, "Shandai, since the court now has two levels of academies, community schools and official schools, there is really no need for academies to exist."

Although Zhang Juzheng had not yet convinced the group of people behind him, and there were still a few people with a tough attitude who opposed his proposal to ban the academy, the main trouble was still the person opposite him.

If he had clearly opposed his memorial, he would have easily been able to gather a group of officials.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng was very embarrassed about Wei Guangde's attitude.

In fact, he had considered removing Wei Guangde a long time ago, but not to mention the difficulty of it. Even if he really did it, and the inner court supported him and abandoned Wei Guangde, the people would really use this as a basis to say that he was monopolizing power and harming the country.

Now that Wei Guangde is in the cabinet, at least the officials will not say so, but some people below will bark behind their backs.

The most important thing is that the inner court will not doubt him because Wei Guangde is supervising him, and they will feel more at ease giving him power.

"I have no objection to anything else, but I will still oppose the banning of the academy."

However, Wei Guangde still spoke and did not change his position.

"What if the Empress and the Emperor in the palace agree?"

Zhang Juzheng continued to ask.

"Shandai's attitude remains the same and we are against banning the academy."

Wei Guangde continued to insist, "In fact, uncle, there is no need to do this. The court only needs to regulate the academies. For example, the presidents and professors of the academies must report to the government every year.

Based on this, the court could exclude some people from the academy."

What Wei Guangde meant was that if you don't like those who talk big and speak without restraint, then exclude them from the academy.

Since they cannot enter colleges to give lectures, they naturally have no place to spread their ideas.

"Shan Dai, you really don't understand. Even if this is the case, those people below, you have a plan, they have ladders, they can find ways to bypass this restriction.

In my opinion, the only way to prevent it is to prohibit it.”

Zhang Juzheng withdrew his hand and shook his head.

"But they are not in the academy, but are looking for mountains and lakes to play?"

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly.

Zhang Juzheng’s thinking was actually correct. To prevent other voices from arising, it is safest to ban them altogether.

However, the banned academy is really bad and has a huge influence on the literati.

Moreover, if he did not express a clear attitude on this matter, it would affect his reputation, so Wei Guangde absolutely could not give in.

"Playing is fake, teaching is real, it still violates the court's laws, so I will punish you accordingly.

Those who have made achievements will be expelled, and those who have no achievements will be imprisoned."

Zhang Juzheng had already considered this possibility, but at that time you can't just explain that you were just out for fun and everyone just happened to meet you.

The word "official" has two mouths, so in the end it is still up to the officials to say whether you are giving a lecture or an encounter during leisure time. It is not the case that whatever you say is the final word.

Moreover, the punishment Zhang Juzheng mentioned, "expulsion", was actually quite harsh.

The talisman of a scholar is fame and honor. Without fame and honor, he is nothing.

"A person with meritorious service will be expelled from the list for the first offense?"

Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

Zhang Juzheng narrowed his eyes after hearing this, and after a moment he said, "One warning, two expulsions, and the next offense will result in imprisonment."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, "This punishment is acceptable."

"What about the academy?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng immediately asked.

"be opposed to."

Wei Guangde continued without thinking.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, these words just now made him feel relieved, that is, even if He Xinyin fell into the hands of the government, he still had two chances to buffer.

He Xinyin had the title of Juren, which meant that he could be protected twice.

Well, as a fellow villager, he has done what he should do.

Zhang Siwei drafted the bill and took the memorial back.

Zhang Juzheng did not reach out to take it, but said calmly: "Let's arrange for someone to send it directly to the Imperial Household Department. I'm afraid the news has spread outside by now."

"good."

Zhang Siwei smiled and nodded.

Indeed, at the beginning, all the government offices were very dissatisfied when they learned that the Ministry of Rites was trying to steal money.

However, after they finished reading the copied memorial, they knew they had no way of objecting.

Yes, although it is robbing money, the Ministry of Rites’ suggestion is to promote the teachings of sages and educate the people. How can we oppose it?

Not only can we not oppose it, it seems that we have to strongly support it.

As long as you dare to oppose it, not to mention how it will be spread among the people, you will also be infamous even among the scholars.

So they were dissatisfied in their hearts, but they praised it loudly. Those who were quick to react were already preparing to submit memorials to support the motion.

As for how much money the Ministry of Revenue can get after all this trouble, forget it.

The administrative divisions of the Ming Dynasty were divided into two capitals and thirteen provinces. The thirteen provincial governments were divided into 59 circuits, and the country was divided into 160 prefectures.

As for the lowest level, how many states and counties are there?

1311.

With so many community schools, the annual expenditure of money is astronomical, at least three or five hundred thousand taels of silver.

What I mean is that not only do I have to pay the salaries of the community school teachers, but I also have to pay for students’ textbooks. I don’t even dare to think about how much money I’m going to spend.

Because until now, even these Ming Dynasty officials do not know how many people there are in the Ming Dynasty.

Few people believe the numbers in the yellow book.

“It’s good politics, but it’s a bottomless pit.”

This is the judgment in the hearts of many officials. The court is still having a difficult time, and it will not get any easier just by adding a tax.

Just kidding, the teachers in the community school will become instructors and instructors appointed by the court in the future. Although they have no official rank and are of the lowest class, they still have to receive salaries from the court, so it is still a noble position.

Just then, a clerk outside came to report that Zeng Xingwu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, had arrived.

"Please ask him to come in."

When Zhang Juzheng heard that it was Zeng Shengwu who came, he immediately spoke.

Soon, Zeng Shengwu entered the duty room and was a little surprised to see that not only Zhang Juzheng was in the room, but also Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei.

However, after several people saluted each other, Zeng Xingwu took out a document from his sleeve and said, "This is the Burmese war report. It has just been sent to the Ministry of War. Lord Tan asked me to deliver it."

After saying this, Zeng Shengwu handed the document to Wei Guangde. (End of this chapter)

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