The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 283 Talent Absorption
"The Grand Priest..."

Chen Hongmou walked into the office of Wei Yuanyu, the dean in charge of teaching in the Chemical Engineering Branch, with some uneasiness. He bowed respectfully to him, and then stood at the door cautiously.

"Come and sit." Wei Yuanyu gently put the carbon pen in his hand into the pen holder, smiled and asked the international student from Qin to sit close to him.

"Thank you, Grand Priest." Chen Hongmou relaxed a little from his nervousness when he saw Wei Yuanyu's warm smile on his face.

Judging from the teacher's appearance, he should not be held accountable for the street fight he had with Imperial University students a few days ago.

Although he was brought back from the police by the dean of the school and immediately wrote a self-examination and admission of mistake to the Moral Education Department, students who had committed the crime had no choice but to wait until the official decision on punishment was made. Don't be nervous or anxious about it.

After all, he committed a crime and was caught by the police. If the school wanted to deal with it seriously, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to get it right.

"I still have a lot of things to do here, so I won't beat around the bush or talk nonsense with you." Wei Yuanyu looked at this foreign student from Qin who was quite talented in chemistry, and said to him solemnly: "In half a year, you will Graduation. With your grades, it should be no problem. But, I want to ask you, what are your plans after graduation?

"Plan?...What plan?" Chen Hongmou was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what the other party meant.

After successfully graduating, I will naturally have to return to Daqin. In addition to reporting to the Imperial College and waiting for arrangements from the Department of Civil Affairs and Selection, I will not have to reunite with my family after five years of absence.

Look at the 90 years since the founding of the State of Qi, there have been only a handful of years without war. The troops of the Qi people were either fighting against a certain state or kingdom, or they were on their way to the battlefield. There have been big battles every five years and small battles every three years, and they have never stopped.

What's even more outrageous is that sometimes, for the benefit of merchants, the people of Qi will start a war, sail a boat, mount a cannon, and launch a thousand-mile expedition.

This is also one of the internal factors that enabled Qi to rise rapidly in just a few decades.

During the decades of cultural and economic exchanges between Qin and Qi, hundreds of selected Qin students came to Qi every year to study abroad. But in the end, less than half of the students returned to Qin after completing their studies. Those who chose to stay in Qi did so in order to seek better development space and better living conditions.

International students from Qin will generally study in Qi for 4-5 years. During this period, they will not only gradually become familiar with and adapt to Qi’s culture and living habits, but also subtly accept Qi’s values ​​and values. Behavior.

"Well, what I mean is..." Wei Yuanyu pondered for a moment, and then looked at Chen Hongmou intently, "I mean, have you ever thought about staying in Qi State to have a broader development prospect?"

To be honest, he had thought about it more than once in his mind to stay in Qi after graduation to seek better development space and enjoy a better life.

"Stay in Qi?" Chen Hongmou was stunned when he heard this.

However, in the eyes of the traditional literati of the Qin State, the "character" of the Qi people seemed too aggressive, a little less "gentle and elegant" of Confucian civilization, and a little more "aggressive" of barbarian beasts.

Compared with the closed and rigid Qin State, it is freer and more open here. Various trends of thought and opinions are bursting out in Qi State, just like the Spring and Autumn Period, when hundreds of flowers bloomed and hundreds of schools of thought contended.

When facing difficulties and challenges, Qi people often show perseverance and courage and extraordinary perseverance.

Therefore, in addition to possessing the excellent genes of self-reliance and hard work of Chinese civilization, the people of Qi also have a bit more pioneering spirit and innovative spirit.

During the few years of studying and living in Qi State, the scholars studying in Qin State not only became familiar with and accustomed to Qi State's culture and customs, but also gradually accepted Qi State's values. As time went by, they gradually felt alienated from the culture and social environment of the Qin State, resulting in the phenomenon of "cultural autism".

It is true that Qi and Qin share the same culture and race, and there are no differences in language or customs. However, Qi is a country of immigrants after all, and it is thousands of miles away from the mainland. In the process of following and inheriting the ancient traditional civilization of China, it also Gradual development gave birth to a "new Chinese civilization" that was different from the mainland.

There is no doubt that Qi's wealth and power, as well as its advanced science and technology and open and inclusive ideas, are full of endless attraction for any foreigner who is in Qi.

However, after living and studying in Qi for several years, students from Qin were inspired by this powerful core spirit and were involuntarily influenced by it. The existing world outlook and social outlook that had been formed also underwent tremendous changes.

In the eyes of Qin students, it seems that a whole new world has opened up. Here is not only a huge material abundance, but also an endless spiritual ocean where you can fly freely.

The State of Qi rose from the barbaric Hanzhou continent. While developing and building new homes bit by bit, it also faced the invasion of Western European colonial forces and the threats of various feudal kingdoms in the Nanyang region.

Otherwise, where does it come from if it occupies so much territory?
It's not like a certain king just took the initiative to offer his land and surrender.

In Qi, there are not only the latest interpretations and criticisms of traditional Eastern Confucian culture, but also various theories from Western Europe. There are also local scholars and literati in Qi who have comments on the latest current affairs, humanities, economics, society and many other issues. When people hear his comments and comments, they are all deafening and enlightening.

This allowed Qi State to maintain its courage, perseverance and enterprising spirit in the face of endless wilderness, harsh climate, and ferocious foreign enemies at the beginning of its establishment. The history of this period had a profound impact on Qi's culture, politics, and economy, and also shaped Qi's stronger pioneering character.

Even if they return home, it will be difficult for them to adapt to the environment and atmosphere of Qin for a long time, not to mention fighting against each other in the officialdom. This can't help but make them feel an inexplicable helplessness and hesitation.

In addition, the rapid economic development of Qi State and the emergence of various latest technologies have also provided huge development opportunities for many scholars studying in Qin State. This is one of the reasons why some people choose not to return to Qin State. After all, much of the knowledge and technology they learned was largely unavailable in the poor and backward Qin State, or was limited by basic conditions and was not fully applied.

Another important reason is the impact on future uncertainty. Scholars from Qin who studied abroad in Qi State not only gained more cutting-edge and professional knowledge and skills, but also were exposed to various cultures and ideas, which was very beneficial to their future development.

After returning to the Qin State, although they will be awarded corresponding official positions and titles by the court because they have learned "Qi Xue", compared with those orthodox officials who came from the imperial examination, they definitely belong to the entire official system. Those who are different will be suppressed and restricted in various ways, and they can only waste their ambitions in complicated affairs, and eventually become mediocre Zor officials. Looking inside and outside the Qin Dynasty, over the past few decades, there have been only a few scholars from the "Qixue" school who have finally been able to join the imperial ministry. After the death of scholar Yang Shengping five years ago, there has been no such influential leader of "Qixue" in the entire court, making the "Qixue" faction in the country even more powerful.

Therefore, when they returned to Da Qin, they faced various uncertainties, including their future, conflict of ideas, political strife, etc. This uncertainty puts a great burden on their psychology and makes them feel unsafe.

The scholars who can be selected to study in Qi State do not have a deep political background, and they are also a group of "dull-qualified" people who have no hope of taking the imperial examination. If they have better development space in Qi State, they will naturally choose to stay. . After he has gained a little foothold and has a certain economic foundation, he will bring his family to Qi to enjoy the blessings through businessmen traveling to and from Qin.

Therefore, when Wei Yuanyu asked Chen Hongmou if he was willing to stay in Qi for development, he was already 70% sure that this outstanding Qin international student would definitely make a choice that satisfies him.

Returning to Qin, even if he was granted a minor official position by his court, it would be more attractive to stay in Qi.

"I might as well tell you in advance that our Chang'an University is preparing to expand to a certain extent in the next few years. Both the scale of enrollment and the number of professional branches will more than double the current basis. Therefore, the president and branches The dean and dean are planning to select a group of outstanding students to stay at the school to teach in the next year. In view of your excellent performance in chemical engineering, I would like to put your name on the recommendation list. "

"Grand Priest, I...are willing to stay!" Chen Hongmou was surprised and happy after hearing this.

In Qi State, the salary of a university teacher is very generous. Depending on the years of teaching experience and professional level, it ranges from 20 yuan to 100 yuan per month, which is much higher than the average salary in society.

During this period, the "normal" salary of a seventh-grade county magistrate in Da Qin was only sixty Da Qin silver dollars a year, which was equivalent to only twenty yuan in Qi State gold yuan coupons, which was only equivalent to a month's salary of a Qi State University teacher. salary.

If he returns to the Qin Dynasty, if he is lucky, the annual salary of an eighth-grade official of Zor may be less than thirty Qin silver dollars, which is ten gold yuan coupons.

Of course, as an official and assistant in Da Qin, it is impossible to live on a regular salary. If you try your best to make some money and get some benefits, you can get one or two hundred silver dollars in a year and live a prosperous and prosperous life. .

But is this what he wants?
Obviously you can maintain your noble character in Qi, and as long as you use what you have learned, you can obtain the wealth that requires corruption and perversion in Qin. Why should you be willing to degenerate and become filthy?

The Daqin scholars who came to study in Qi State generally chose "liberal arts" majors in universities, such as economics, politics, law, management, society and many other disciplines. Students like Chen Hongmou who studied "science and engineering" rare. Gein, their scientific foundation is so poor that they can't even understand the mathematics knowledge in Qi Middle School, let alone study more esoteric majors such as mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine.

Under normal circumstances, if international students from Qin want to major in "science and engineering", they have to go through one to two years of preparatory knowledge study. After passing the preliminary assessment and proving that they have preliminary professional knowledge, they are allowed to enter a certain university. Study professionally.

Well, similar to the kind of college preparatory classes of later generations, only after intensive intensive tutoring on middle school knowledge in the country can it be effectively connected with university courses.

Chen Hongmou was born into a merchant family. His father opened a cloth printing and dyeing workshop in Suzhou and employed more than a dozen workers. He was from a prosperous family. Maybe he was exposed to dyes from an early age, and he often helped in printing and dyeing workshops when he was young, so he had some "chemical knowledge". Therefore, after entering Chang'an University, he chose chemical engineering, a relatively unknown major.

Although Da Qin's cotton textile industry is not as large as Qi's, nor does it have Qi's various dazzling advanced technologies, but with its low production costs, it has grown in Qin's territory, as well as in Korea, Japan, Annan, the Western Regions, Lingbei and other countries. The region still has strong competitiveness and is the most important pillar industry in Daqin.

The cotton textile industry is huge, and naturally related upstream and downstream industries, including the printing and dyeing industry, are also huge industries. If he can learn advanced printing and dyeing technology and dye production technology from Qi, he will naturally have broad development prospects after returning to Qin.

Well, even if there is no hope of promotion in the officialdom, the knowledge I have learned can be applied to my own printing and dyeing workshop. I don’t dare to hope to make it bigger and stronger, but with relative technical advantages and production organization advantages, I can earn a lot of money. The more profits there are, the greater the certainty will be.

During this period, Qin's printing and dyeing technology system was mainly divided into three categories: vat dyeing using strong alkali, mordant dyeing using green vitriol (iron salt) and alum (aluminum salt) as color development agents, and direct dyeing without adding additives. kind.

With the stimulation of Qi's cotton printing and dyeing, Qin's dye and auxiliary preparation technology also developed rapidly through self-research and external reference. A large number of new colors were developed and formulas were formed. The number of dye formulas has grown from more than ten in the pre-Ming Dynasty to nearly fifty at present, and the quality of key dyes' origins has even been rated.

In addition, dyeing workshops, as a highly specialized type of workshop, sprung up in Suzhou, which was the cotton trade center at that time. At the beginning of this century, there were more than 70 large-scale dyeing houses in Suzhou. Each dyeing house gradually formed a moat in its own dominant color system. At that time, the black dyers were mainly from Zhenjiang, and the cyan dyers were mainly from Weiting and Kuatang in Suzhou. Dyeing is managed by dyers, and red is the territory of Jurong dyers.

But in general, most of the printing and dyeing raw materials in Qin are inorganic pigments (ores) and organic dyes (mainly flowers, stems, barks, roots, fruits, leaves, etc. of plants). The extraction process is extremely complicated, and the output scale is limited. higher cost.

In contrast, Qi's printing and dyeing raw materials, except for a small amount of imported indigo, hematoxylin and other organic dyes, are mostly chemically synthesized (coal chemical industry). The dyes produced not only have a wide range of colors, but also have stable printing and dyeing properties. More importantly, The large scale of production makes the overall cost relatively low.

Therefore, although Qi's cotton textiles failed to enter the Qin market, Qi's printing and dyeing raw materials accounted for more than 40% of the Qin market and were the most critical link in Qin's cotton textile industry chain.

In other words, although Qi cannot use this to get stuck on Qin's neck, if it cuts off the supply of dyes, it will definitely make Qin's cotton textile industry feel very uncomfortable and cause a huge shock to the entire industry.

As for the chemical engineering major that Chen Hongmou studied, he majored in printing and dyeing technology. Although the purpose of his studies was somewhat utilitarian, he really had a very high talent in this profession and was unanimously valued by many teachers.

For outstanding talents, Qi has always kept them in the country at great cost, so as to reserve more talents for the empire's scientific and technological development and progress.

Qi State has an extremely loose immigration policy for all kinds of outstanding talents. As long as they pass the special talent certification, they can directly obtain national status without any other additional restrictions.

The State of Qi not only provides generous policy conditions to special talents themselves, but their family members can also enjoy the same favorable treatment in the State of Qi, automatically obtain national status, and their children have priority in enrolling in high-quality schools.

In other words, as long as they are recognized as specialized talents that meet the needs of Qi State, regardless of nationality, race, religion, or age, they can be introduced with priority and given generous treatment.

After all, Emperor Taizu once said that "science and technology are the primary productive forces". To promote the development and progress of science and technology, it is natural to absorb the Qin State, the Northern Ming Dynasty, the Nanyang Xia, India, Persia, Europe, and even the whole world. The world's outstanding talents are used by our country, Qi.

(End of this chapter)