Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 498 Arm wrestling with the emperor!

The emperor's survey of land and population census would at most only cause these aristocratic families some serious damage, and they just had to endure it.

But the appearance of the Imperial College made everyone feel uneasy.

The control over the selection and promotion of officials is the reason why aristocratic families can stand firm in the court.

But now the emperor has opened up a new way to select talents, so that the recommendation system is no longer the only way to promotion, which directly touches their foundation.

To put it in an analogy, if the various official positions in the imperial court were a big pie, then they were the gourmets surrounding this big pie.

There is only one knife to divide the pie, and that is the path to promotion.

In the past, the knife was in their hands, so they could distribute the pie at will. It was just a matter of who ate more and who ate less. Everyone could eat their fill.

But the emergence of the Imperial College represented the appearance of the second knife for dividing the cake. From then on, the emperor would be responsible for distributing the cake to those who wanted it.

The worst thing is that more and more people are eating the bread, because the bread is only so big, and if more people eat the bread, some people will go hungry, or even starve to death.

This is something they cannot tolerate.

After Cui Yan finished speaking, Dong Zhong continued, "In addition to the Imperial College, there is another thing that is also incredible."

"I heard that the Metallurgical Bureau has recently mastered a new papermaking technology. The paper produced is not only of high quality, but also has a very low manufacturing cost."

"The Metallurgical Bureau also uses a method called printing to print a large number of books. The price of a book is only one hundred coins!"

In today's era, the price of books is very high, and there is even a saying that "a book is worth a hundred gold coins".

One gold is equal to ten thousand coins, and one hundred gold is equal to one million coins.

Even relatively cheap bamboo slips were unaffordable for ordinary people, and the specific price of a book varied depending on factors such as how the book was made and the material it was made of.

Taking bamboo slips as an example, the production of bamboo slips requires many complicated processes such as material selection, slicing, and killing, which consumes materials and is time-consuming.

For bamboo slips books with better craftsmanship and more words, a medium-length book may cost several thousand to tens of thousands of coins.

If it is a long work or one with important content and beautiful production, the price may be tens of thousands of dollars or even higher.

Although Cai Lun later improved the papermaking technique, the output of paper was low, the production process was not mature enough, and scholars generally did not have a high degree of recognition for paper, so the price of paper books was higher than that of bamboo slips books.

A high-quality, beautifully bound paper book may cost around 100 gold, or about 1 million coins.

In addition, the remuneration for professional copyists is not low, and any one of them may cost several hundred or even a thousand dollars. If you ask a knowledgeable and reputable person to copy, the fee will be even higher.

The cost of transcribing a book of ordinary length may be three to four thousand coins. If you ask a famous teacher to transcribe it or there are special requirements for the content of the book, the price will increase significantly.

Therefore, in this era, studying is the exclusive right of the children of wealthy families. If children from poor families want to study, they can only go to some well-known academies, or borrow books from teachers, friends, and relatives.

As for ordinary people who are not even from poor families and want to study, it is basically impossible.

"Look."

As Dong Zhong spoke, he took out a book from his arms, with the words "The Book of Songs" printed in large letters on the cover.

"I bought this book in the bookstore of the Metallurgical Bureau. I only spent a hundred coins on it. If you bargain, you can get a lower price!"

"One hundred coins! Such a beautifully bound and copied book only costs one hundred coins!"

"This, this is really a waste of resources!"

Dong Zhongwu said with great sorrow that a book of this quality would have cost at least hundreds of gold in the past!

What is the concept of a hundred gold?
Even if a common person saves money for a lifetime, he still can’t buy half a book!

But that day he saw many ordinary people reading and buying books in the bookstore. How could those peasants be qualified to read such a sage book!
"Only a hundred coins?"

The heads of other major families present were also shocked when they heard this. They had heard about printing and papermaking, but they did not expect the prices of books to be reduced so low!
A beautifully bound copy of the Book of Songs only costs a hundred coins!

One hundred coins are not even enough for a cup of tea for them. Even ordinary people can buy a book by saving money for a month or two!
Xun Hong couldn't believe it and said, "Mr. Dong, are you kidding? How can it be so cheap?"

"This isn't even enough to pay for someone to copy it!"

Dong Zhong said unhappily, "Why would I lie to you? The bookstore run by the imperial court is on North Street. You can go and have a look for yourself tomorrow. The books there are all very cheap."

"And as I said, the Metallurgical Bureau uses a technology called printing, not manual copying."

"This technique involves carving the words on a template, brushing ink on the template, stamping it on paper like a seal, and then binding it."

"This way, we can save the time of copying and print hundreds or even thousands of books in a day. How can the price not be cheap?"

The principle of printing is very simple, just like stamping with a seal, but no one has ever thought of using this method to print books in batches before.

Of course, the biggest reason is that paper is expensive.

However, the Metallurgical Bureau has improved the papermaking technology and reduced the cost of papermaking. Combined with printing technology, the price of books has naturally become cheaper.

“It’s incredible…”

Xun Hong murmured to himself that he had never thought that one day the price of books would be so cheap, and that reading would no longer be the privilege of the children of the gentry.

Wouldn't it be possible for everyone in the world to afford education in the future?
Thinking of this, he also realized the seriousness of the problem. If everyone in the world could afford to read and enter the Imperial Academy to study, then the system of recommendation would be completely in name only!

The emperor selects talents based on other subjects and does not look at traditional scriptures. So what is the point of them having the power to interpret the scriptures?

"So, this is the matter we need to solve first."

"We can't allow the Imperial College to continue to develop like this."

"Either ask His Majesty to stop running the school, or find a way to infiltrate the Imperial Academy and take control of this new path to advancement."

Cui Yan made a summary, looking serious.

He had two attitudes towards the Imperial College.

Either stop it or get involved and control the Imperial College in a similar way to controlling the right to interpret scriptures.

Otherwise, if the promotion path of the Imperial College is stabilized, the recommendation system will be abolished, and they will completely lose their foothold!
"That's easy for you to say."

Dou Fu snorted coldly and said, "Your Majesty has asked Guo Fengxiao to run the Imperial College, which shows how much he values ​​it. How could His Majesty stop running the school?"

"As for control...ha, do you think the new subjects in the Imperial College are the same as Confucianism? They are not the same thing at all!" The reason why they were able to control the promotion system of recommendation was because Confucianism was the only school of thought in the Han Dynasty and Confucianism could be interpreted at will.

But among the subjects in the Imperial College, including mathematics, engineering, criminal law, and politics, except for the last one, politics, which other subjects can be interpreted at will?
Even in politics, what we learn is how to control the people and how to govern a region, rather than those trivial things.

Therefore, it is simply impossible to control the Imperial College in the same way as controlling the recommendation system.

It is even more impossible to forcibly stop the emperor from running a school, unless they use force... but that is no different from seeking death.

The world had just been unified, and the imperial court's military was at its strongest. What could they use to compete with the emperor?

The rebellion started in the morning, and Lu Bu arrived with his troops in the afternoon. That same evening, the heads of their entire clan would be placed before the emperor. It was that simple.

“Then nothing will be done.”

Cui Yan smiled faintly and said casually: "It's not bad to let the Imperial College continue to develop. After all, the new subjects of the Imperial College will cultivate talents that are useful to the Han Dynasty and the court."

"In the future, let the children of our clan enter the Imperial Academy, compete with those children from poor families and peasants, and become officials based on their abilities."

"Does Patriarch Dou think what I said makes sense?"

Cui Yan seemed to be asking Dou Fu, but in fact his words were full of sarcasm, and the meaning was self-evident.

Abandoning privileges and competing with the group below is tantamount to abandoning the family's stable and prosperous future.

Because if they really compete fairly, they may not be able to win over those children from poor families, or even the common people who come from mud-legged families.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu are good examples.

Aren’t they from poor families?
But now they are still the Grand Marshal and the Grand Tutor, the most trusted confidants of the emperor. Who among them can compete with these two?
At that time, the emperor was held hostage by Yuan Shao and was alone. If the emperor had tried to win over Cui Yan, Chen Lin, or Xun Chen, would they dare to surrender to him?

They didn't dare, but Guo Jia dared.

The reason is simple. For people from humble backgrounds, as long as they can grasp a glimmer of hope, they will do their best to fight for it! To grab it!

This kind of ruthlessness is something that these people of noble birth do not have, because their favorable backgrounds make them afraid to gamble. This is the difference!
Cui Yan knew this very well!
Dou Fu's face was uncertain. He did not respond to Cui Yan's words and just remained silent. The others also remained silent.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work."

At this time, Chen Lin suddenly spoke slowly.

Everyone turned their eyes to him.

Dong Zhong couldn't wait to ask: "What good ideas does Kong Zhang have? Why don't you just tell me, I'm all ears."

No matter what, it's better than staying like this.

Chen Lin said: "Emperor Xiaowu abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone. Our Han Dynasty has always been governed by filial piety and Confucianism."

"Now that Your Majesty has opened the Imperial College, you have not included Confucian classics in it, but instead select talents based on minor subjects such as mathematics and metallurgy. Isn't this contrary to the established laws of our ancestors?"

"We just need to stick to this point, have many students sign a petition, and invite great scholars to debate, so as to force His Majesty to stop running the Imperial College."

"At the very least, we can ask Your Majesty to include Confucian classics in the Imperial Academy's curriculum, with Confucianism as the main subject and other subjects as supplementary subjects."

"In this way, the path to promotion can still be controlled by us."

As soon as Chen Lin put forward this idea, the eyes of the others all lit up, and Cui Yan couldn't help but applaud.

"Wonderful! It's really wonderful!"

Cui Yan looked at Chen Lin with surprise and said, "Brother Kong Zhang is really a talented person. This is a great plan!"

The biggest difficulty at present is that the emperor no longer selects people based on Confucianism, but selects talents based on other subjects.

This point may not be impossible to use in reverse. As long as it is handled properly, even if the Imperial College cannot be closed down, Confucianism can once again become the main subject of study in the Imperial College!

At this time, Shen Rong said with some concern: "But... asking students to write a petition together is a bit taboo."

"Given your Majesty's character, you may not compromise."

The emperor's tough character is well known to everyone. What was the result when Yuan Shao was so tough and went against the emperor?
Even though it was against the will of the world, the emperor still executed the Yuan clan, and even Xun Chen, a meritorious official, was killed at will.

It would be a lie to say that you are not afraid of such a cruel emperor, because no one knows what the emperor will do.

"Don't worry, although your majesty has tough means, he will not use force in this matter, otherwise it will chill the hearts of students all over the world."

Cui Yan smiled slightly, his eyes sparkling, "And I will ask my teacher to come out and admonish Your Majesty."

Ju Zong was stunned for a moment and asked, "Who is your master?"

Cui Yan smiled and said, "My teacher is Zheng Huixuan, a great scholar of Confucian classics. He annotated all the classics and had brilliant insights into the Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals."

"His learning covers ancient and modern times, his principles are profound, his students are all over the world, and he can be called the master of Confucianism, even Kong Beihai is far inferior to him."

"Your Majesty once asked me to ask my teacher to leave the seclusion and join the government, but he refused. Now your Majesty despises Confucianism and values ​​minor virtues. If my teacher knew about this, he would definitely not sit idly by."

Cui Yan's teacher was the famous Zheng Xuan.

This master of Confucianism is undoubtedly the greatest Confucian scholar of his time. Even if we look at the entire Han Dynasty, perhaps only the famous Confucian masters such as Ma Rong, Lu Zhi, and Dong Zhongshu can be compared with him.

"Mr. Zheng? Great! We are saved!"

Upon hearing the name of Zheng Xuan, Ju Zong was greatly delighted. If this leader of the contemporary Confucian world came forward, the emperor would not refuse him face!
Dong Zhong also smiled and said, "Then it's settled. Let's go down and prepare."

"Everyone, this matter concerns whether we can continue to gain a foothold in the court in the future. We must not deal with it perfunctorily."

"You all should know the pros and cons of this."

This is their only chance to challenge the emperor. If they miss this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to regain the initiative in the future.

Everyone nodded solemnly, even Dou Fu, who was at odds with Cui Yan, was no exception.

The grudge between the two families is ultimately their own business, and he can tell which is more important.

After a brief discussion, everyone left the dark room one after another and left through the back door of Cui's mansion in a carriage.

But in the deep night, there were several pairs of eyes watching them, and then quietly following them, like birds flying by.

(End of this chapter)