Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 849, two routes

The study room of the Qianqing Palace in the Imperial Palace of the capital.

Emperor Hongzhi was sitting on his seat, holding a book of Wanmin in his hand, and looking at the pile of memorials next to him, which was taller than a person, he pondered slightly, thinking carefully in his mind.

Zhang Mao, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and others sitting on the stool next to him were also thinking hard, guessing the thoughts and thoughts of Emperor Hongzhi.

Things are getting bigger and bigger. It was just a very small thing, but now it has reached the point where it is difficult to deal with it.

On one side are the scholars of the Guozijian, together with the great Confucianists of the Ming Dynasty, and officials at all levels of the Ming Dynasty, they wrote a letter requesting that Emperor Hongzhi must order the closure of the new school.

It is believed that this new school that does not teach the way of Confucius and Mencius and does not teach the classics of the philosophers is misleading children, and at the same time it is the beginning of disasters for the country and the people and shaking the country.

On the other side are the common people in the Beijing-Tianjin area. They submitted the Wanmin letter to Emperor Hongzhi. They supported the new-style school and believed that the new-style school was very good.

My family still has books to read, can read and write, and can master some basic life knowledge and skills, and understand some principles of life and work.

The quarrel between the two parties has become more and more serious, so that factories, workshops, and commercial firms in the Beijing-Tianjin area have been implicated. The workers went on strike, and a large number of factories, workshops, and commercial firms shut down, causing heavy losses.

Emperor Hongzhi looked left and right. If it was in the past, he would definitely listen to the civil servants. What the civil servants said was what they said. But over the years, after going through a few things, Emperor Hongzhi has also seen clearly the civil servants. From the face, it is very clear what kind of urine these civil servants are.

Therefore, Emperor Hongzhi will use the words of the civil officials as a reference, but he will not listen to them all. Instead, he has his own ideas and opinions. Coupled with the power of the factory guards, Emperor Hongzhi knows more.

There are many things that the civil servants below can no longer hide from him. They see things more comprehensively, and naturally, they do things completely differently from before.

Whether this new-style school is good or not, Emperor Hongzhi went to see it himself, and the factory guards also made a detailed investigation. Emperor Hongzhi was clear about the purpose, teaching content and ideas of the new-style school.

The students cultivated by this new type of school are also different from those cultivated in traditional private schools. They do not take the imperial examination, but work in factories, workshops, commercial firms, etc.

Students in these new-style schools may not know what to say, nor can they recite the Four Books and Five Classics, the true meaning of the philosophers, etc., but the knowledge and skills they have mastered are very good for work, workshops, businesses, etc. .

With a little training, you can get used to it very quickly and do quite well.

As for the fact that some officials attacked Liu Jin, they spent their own money to run the school, and their schemes were far-reaching.

This is obviously an attack on Liu Jin's plot to usurp the throne and subvert the old Zhu's family by running a school.

But Emperor Hongzhi wouldn't believe this at all. He knew Liu Jin's character very well, and since ancient times, someone who had sought to usurp the throne would run a school?
And even if you run a school, you still sing praises to the current emperor every day in the school, asking everyone to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic?
If this is the case, then Liu Jin is probably the most stupid careerist in all dynasties. How can anyone seek to usurp the throne and still sing praises to the current emperor and ask everyone to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic?
Excluding these miscellaneous things, the rest is simple.

Emperor Hongzhi saw it clearly at once. Through the superficial phenomena of this new-style school and traditional private school, what he saw was the fear of the ruling Confucianism in the face of the newly rising ideology and culture.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a hundred schools of thought contended, and all schools of thought were brilliant and dazzling. However, after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone, Confucianism began to prosper. Over the years, it has gradually formed the current situation of dominating the entire ideology, spirit, and education.

The emperors take turns, but no matter who comes to power, they must use their Confucian people to govern the world, and they must use their Confucian ideas to manage the people.

The emergence of new-style schools now is not just a simple failure to teach Confucian classics, but more importantly, the new ideas represented by new-style schools. Once it develops and grows, it will shake the dominance of Confucianism in the future.

This is why Confucianism is so excited this time.

After thinking about this point clearly, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but smile.

Last time I realized the importance of balance. This is not only a balance between civil and military, but also should gradually balance Confucianism with other schools such as Legalism, Mohism, and farming. Confucianism cannot be left alone. dominant.

Otherwise, the changing of the emperor would have no effect on their Confucianism. They are the real emperors and rulers of this land.

"My dear friends, what do you think of this matter?"

Emperor Hongzhi glanced around, looked at the ministers present and asked.

"Your Majesty, I think this matter is actually not difficult to deal with."

Liu Jian thought about it for a while and was the first to stand up. As the chief assistant of the cabinet, he must make a statement.

"Oh, let's hear it~"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, motioning for him to continue talking.

"First of all, we must be sure that running a new-style school is really good. No matter what, its starting point is to enable more people to read and write, and to spread knowledge and skills. It is a good place for teaching and educating people."

"What's more, this new type of school is related to the problem of thousands of families' children studying and going to school, so it must not be closed, and it should be strongly encouraged and supported."

"Because the teaching methods and models of new-style schools are very suitable for large-scale promotion. Hundreds or thousands of children are studying in a school. If it is a traditional private school, it may require a lot of teachers, but in new-style schools, Dozens of teachers are enough."

"This means that adopting the new school model can allow more children to study and acquire knowledge, and at the same time learn to be loyal to the monarch and patriotism, know etiquette, righteousness and shame, and know loyalty and benevolence."

Liu Jian clearly expressed his support for the new school. He saw the benefits of this new school. This model is very good, suitable for large-scale promotion, and suitable for more children to study and learn.

In traditional private schools, there are often only two or three teachers, and some even have only one teacher, regardless of classes or grades. The teaching efficiency is very low, and the level of teachers often determines the level of students.

New-style schools are different, just like an assembly line, a teacher only teaches one class, one grade, studies one class, and naturally becomes more proficient.

Students are divided into grades, and the difficulty of learning is from shallow to deep, and they gradually master more and deeper knowledge and skills. The students cultivated in this way are naturally better and learn faster.

"Hmm~"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded in satisfaction. As expected of his teacher, he was indeed a roundworm in his stomach. He also meant the same thing. Not only should the new school not stop, but it should also be vigorously promoted.

Emperor Hongzhi has already decided that Liu Jin can pay for the school, and he can do it himself. He is the emperor, and he can set an example. Anyway, he is not short of money now. If the money comes out and runs the school, he can also do something good for himself. Fame.

"Secondly, what the prince said is not without some truth. The way of Confucius and Mencius and the true meaning of the philosophers are the most suitable way to govern the country and the country, and it has been the same in all dynasties."

"The courses taught in the new-style school are all about specific content and knowledge, and there is very little content about governing the country, so the students who graduate from this new-style school are not suitable for selection as officials."

"That's why I think that, on the one hand, new schools should be required to strengthen the teaching of Confucius and Mencius, and increase the content of the classics of the philosophers, so that students can learn the wisdom of the sages."

"On the other hand, the imperial court should set a rule. In the future, the imperial court officials will still be recruited through the imperial examination, while the students in the new school are not allowed to take the imperial examination and cannot be selected as imperial officials."

"Finally, the imperial court should allocate more funds to build private schools and academies, so that more children can study in private schools and academies, and continue to promote the way of Confucius and Mencius, the true meaning of Confucianism."

"In this way, things will naturally calm down."

Liu Jian's meaning is actually very simple, that is, to take the middle route.

The reason why Confucianism reacted fiercely was nothing more than worrying about losing its dominant position in the future and losing Confucian monopoly status in the officialdom. In this case, it should be stipulated by the imperial court. If you want to be an official, you must study in a private school and follow the tradition. private school route.

At the same time, the imperial court also allocated funds and money to build more private schools and academies, so that more people could study in private schools and academies, enter Confucianism, and learn the ways of Confucius and Mencius, which can be regarded as carrying forward and flourishing Confucianism.

Secondly, this new type of school must not be closed. There are too many, too many children from ordinary families in the Beijing-Tianjin area studying in it. If it really stops, the impact will be too great.

At that time, if one is not careful, there is a high possibility that something serious will happen.

What's more, there are indeed many things worth promoting and affirming in new schools. Reading and literacy, and acquiring knowledge and skills are good things in themselves, and we must distinguish between right and wrong, good things and bad things.

Of course, as the chief assistant of the cabinet, Liu Jian is also very clear that Emperor Hongzhi's current attitude is that enough is enough for this matter, and it is almost enough.

Of course, it’s not just Emperor Hongzhi, but those bigwigs who have industries also mean the same thing. Everyone’s factories, workshops, commercial firms, sea ships, etc. continue to make money, and every day they stop working will cost them a day.

"Your Majesty, I think what Liu Gong said is true~"

Li Dongyang stood up and stated that this approach is more appropriate.

"The ministers also think what Liu Gong said is true~"

Zhang Mao, Xie Qian and others also stood up to express their views, and did what Liu Jian said.

(End of this chapter)