The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 1647

[1647. Chapter 1566 It’s a matter of course]

“The Duke of Qi…” Emperor Hongzhi laughed, with a bit of interest in his eyes, and said, “What’s wrong with the Duke of Qi?”

The old woman was hospitable to guests and immediately laughed: “This Duke of Qi is the great master of Xishan Academy. Everyone in the world doesn’t know…the students he brings out are all selected from a thousand, and they are all truly capable husbands. Therefore, if any family in Nantong Prefecture is lucky enough to be recommended to Xishan Academy, it will be It’s because our ancestors have accumulated virtue that they won’t change it even if they are offered Jinshi status. “

I won’t even change it for Jinshi status…

This statement… sounds a bit exaggerated.

Fang Jifan touched his nose. Is it that exaggerated? Why does it sound like you want to harm me?

Wang Guang on the side suddenly felt uncomfortable hearing this.

What is a Jinshi? It is a Wenquxing, a gold medal, you wild women, how can you understand?

But he didn’t dare to say anything, and he didn’t dare to say anything.

But Wang Shouren was beside him, but he had different thoughts in his heart.

The scholars of Xishan Academy are indeed no worse than the Jinshi who were named on the gold list. When these Jinshi come out, they must first become Shujishi, or they must first become Guanzhengshi. After a few years, they finally get a job, and most of them are minor officials. The salary is horrifyingly low. Although he has become an official, in reality he is only at the bottom.

On the other hand, the scholars of Xishan Academy will be equally respected once they are released. If they have papers or other achievements and get a degree, they will become even more popular. The salary will be high and no one will dare to bully you when you are away from home. When it comes to an ordinary official, he will be offended if he offends him. What can you do? Behind him are countless classmates and seniors, some of whom are academicians, and some have already entered the court as officials. If it doesn’t work, you still dare to offend him. Fang Jifan?

Emperor Hongzhi smiled. He had also met many scholars from Xishan Academy, and he couldn’t help but nod: “Yes, the scholars trained by Xishan Academy know both business and astronomy and geography. Now, whether they are in the imperial court or in the ordinary market, , they are the ones who are missing the most.”

The old woman became more enthusiastic and continued with a bright face: “Yes, yes, the people in Xishan Academy are the most amazing. There is a family next door, his surname is Chen. My son was recommended to Xishan Academy last year. It was very lively at that time. People all over the street came to congratulate him, as if he had won the first prize. I heard that he was studying medicine now. “

As she said this, the woman seemed to have thought of something. , his expression changed, and he became resentful again: “Speaking of which, my son is not up to par, and he is always playful. Although he is in school, he is very naughty.”

Emperor Hongzhi heard an important point from the woman’s words. , couldn’t help but asked in surprise: “Why, someone is enrolling next door?”

It’s okay for two families to enroll, this is accidental after all.

But if a large number of people enroll, the nature is different.

The old woman was not surprised at all, and said: “What’s the use of children if they don’t go to school? They are the darlings of their parents, so why can’t they be taught to do hard labor when they grow up? Not only the neighbors in this area, but also the entire Nantong Prefecture , who doesn’t know that a child should go to school to be successful, otherwise, people will make fun of him behind his back, and this is the life of a person. Just like our child, it costs a lot to go to school. But he gritted his teeth and decided not to send it in, otherwise he would be shameless as a human being, not to mention that this was not for the sake of his children.”

Emperor Hongzhi was shocked.

Even Wang Guang, the prefect of Luzhou, was shocked when he heard this.

He originally thought that there was not even a single Jinshi in Nantong Prefecture. Compared with his Lu Prefecture, it was like the sky or the earth. Who would have thought that… this place… it has hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

He is a prefect and a local official, so he naturally knows that it is unthinkable for all children, rich or poor, to be sent to school.

Have all the people in Nantong Prefecture taken the wrong medicine?

Emperor Hongzhi was speechless for a moment, and could not speak for a long time. His face was full of horror, and then he murmured to himself: “We are all parents, do the parents in Nantong Prefecture have parental love? And the parents in Luzhou Prefecture don’t have parental love? “

No… of course this is impossible.

These two places are in the same southern Zhili area. Although they are separated by several states and counties, the changes in people’s hearts will never be this big.

But… why are the two places so different?

But Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t understand.

At this time, he no longer cared about the old woman, turned his eyes, and said to Xiao Jing like an order: “Go, ask the neighbors one by one, and report back immediately, I will wait here.”

At this time, Xiao Jing was already He was so hungry that his chest pressed against his back. He heard His Majesty ask him to ask questions one by one, and he cried loudly in his heart. However, he didn’t dare to neglect, so he could only say yes obediently and flew away.

After realizing it, the old woman finally felt something strange, and couldn’t help but said: “You…you…are not…from the academy, right?”

Emperor Hongzhi glanced at her, and his expression became gentle again, with a slight smile. Said: “You don’t have to be afraid, old man, Jifan, give her a few taels of silver.”

Fang Jifan felt a little aggrieved, why did it sound like His Majesty deliberately pushed away Xiao Jing who had brought the money to His Majesty, and then hit him Qiufeng.

Although Fang Jifan was complaining in his heart, he naturally did not dare to hesitate. He immediately took out a wad of banknotes from his sleeves and took a closer look. They were all hundred-yuan banknotes. Fang Jifan raised his head and glanced at Emperor Hongzhi. There was embarrassment on his face.

Emperor Hongzhi looked on and couldn’t help but feel his Adam’s apple rolling. This guy… was so rich that he carried a wad of one hundred taels of silver notes with him.

Fang Jifan finally took one and put it on the table, and said generously to the woman: “I, Mount Tai, reward you with this. You go and get some tea.”

When the old woman saw the banknote, her face turned pale with fright .

He wanted to refuse, but was reluctant to part with it. After a brief hesitation, he was afraid that Fang Jifan would take back the treasure, so he put the treasure into his pocket: “Yes, yes. Master… I will wait for you forever.”

Fang Jifan wanted to complain. She, this ‘Master’ is the Son of Heaven, and I have been the emperor for generations, and I care about you, a prince for generations.

After waiting for more than an hour, Xiao Jing came back panting, his legs were trembling, and he looked tired. He gasped and said: “I have inquired, I have inquired, I have inquired about all these neighbors. There are also a few neighborhoods next door where there are a lot of students enrolling. Almost every household has children of school age who are enrolled in school.”

Emperor Hongzhi suddenly stood up, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and suddenly looked at Wang Shouren and said: “This… this is hope. Hope! Wang Qing’s family, do you still remember what you said to me when you were in Ural? To make these Tatars surrender is to give them hope. I have always been thinking about what hope is. , But now, I seem to see hope here, but I still don’t understand what hope is. Can you tell me? “

Wang Shouren has always been taciturn. Wherever His Majesty goes, he just follows, neither flattering nor flattering. Seems too lazy to deal with people. Others were silent, maybe because they simply had nothing to say, but he was silent, as if his mind had been thinking about something.

After listening to Emperor Hongzhi’s inquiry, Wang Shouren still had a troubled expression on his face, and said calmly: “Hope is just something that people can reach out and touch. In the past, the education of the Ming Dynasty only focused on virtue and not on skills. Everyone was learning eight-part essay. , this eight-part essay is useful if it has a reputation, but if it does not have a reputation, it is useless. Therefore, except for those who inherit poetry and calligraphy, the rest of the people cannot see any benefit from this eight-part craft. Hope, then why do they want to study? What’s more, studying costs money. It is extremely difficult to support a scholar. No matter how much parents love their children, it is impossible for them to pursue a hopeless life for their children. The ordinary people have no hope of being able to read and write and study hard. “

But in Nantong Prefecture, it’s a different story. In the academy, we learn more than just benevolence, justice, etiquette, and trustworthiness. I am not saying that benevolence, justice, etiquette, and trustworthiness are not important. Professor Chen always emphasizes the word “conscience” to his students. This conscience is inseparable from a person’s virtue. Merely teaching these is not enough to make people willing to enroll in school. When enrolling in school, what they learn should not be eight-part essays, but skills, poetry, crafts, agriculture, medicine, and arithmetic. When Confucius was around, he always emphasized the six arts of a gentleman. “I believe that a gentleman must have a skill that is close to his own, so that he can stand in the world. In the past, the six skills of a gentleman were etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. But now, the world is different, so it cannot be ignored.

” After a moment, Wang Shouren continued: “The knowledge learned in the academy can give people a skill, which can save these poor children from poverty and give them a better future. Rich children, learn it , in the future we can use this to revitalize the family business and shine the lintel, then… As His Majesty said, among the parents in this world, who doesn’t love his son, and who is willing to let his children be as mediocre as himself? They have learned useless but really useful knowledge, which can bring great benefits to their children. How can they not flock to it and support their children even if they want to sell it? “

“I think this is it .

Hope. All dynasties have never given hope to poor families, but they still hope that they can educate them and let them know honor and disgrace. However, they do not know that the children of poor families are the most skillful in calculating and know the pros and cons. Let them sell everything and learn that. Even if His Majesty holds a knife to their necks, they will not learn anything useless. But if learning it is useful and can save their children from their own difficulties in the future, they will not learn it. They will naturally enter the school without the urging of the court or the encouragement of local officials. This education is just like controlling water. It is nothing more than making the best use of the situation. If you understand this section, it will be a matter of course.”

(End of this chapter .)

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