My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 88: The Imperial Academy

Under Zhu Yuanzhang's order, Sun Yuanliang was imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice. Due to the seriousness of the case, a large number of corrupt officials from various departments were implicated after a joint trial by three judges.

Many officials were thrown into prison and later sentenced to immediate execution, while Sun Yuanliang was skinned and stuffed with straw for public display.

Zhao Mao and Hou Xiangbai were sentenced to exile thousands of miles away, and their family properties were confiscated by the imperial court, ending up in a state of disgrace.

After the Sun Yuanliang case, many new officials were added to various departments, and the court was completely renewed.

Yang Siyi was severely reprimanded by Zhu Yuanzhang for failing to control his subordinates.

But after scolding him, he was rewarded with a pair of glasses. Yang Siyi smiled from ear to ear. Finally, he didn't have to watch Li Min showing off his glasses.

However, the purge in the imperial court did not cause much waves among the people, but the rise of factories brought tremendous changes to the lives of ordinary people.

Working in a factory has become a new trend nowadays. Although it is hard and tiring, the wages are high. As long as you are willing to work, you can earn money.

If a young man gets a job in a factory, his neighbors will be envious of him, and those who are looking for matchmakers will trample on the threshold of his house.

Isn't this the kind of peace and prosperity that the people hope for?

The trend of working in factories even spread to the north, and a new term became popular among northern people: "going south to work."

At first, no one was willing to leave their hometown and their wives and children. However, when they saw a few brave people making money in the south, they began to become interested.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang relaxed some restrictions on household registration, government offices in various places also began to release travel permits. As long as the people had a travel permit issued by the government office, they could go south to work in the factories.

Many people who used to work hard in the fields to make a living are now leaving their homes and heading south to make money.

However, the most popular thing nowadays, and the one that is widely known throughout the Ming Dynasty, is the official school for craftsmen run by the imperial court.

Zhu Yuanzhang specially gave this Ming Dynasty's first technical school a name that was so famous that it even overshadowed the Imperial Academy.

Craftsmen in the capital built academies.

A single stone can cause a thousand ripples, and people signed up in an endless stream. However, the registration requirements stopped many people, as one must be able to read and write.

But this still could not stop the enthusiasm of the people. Many students who had attended private schools for several years but failed to pass the examination to become scholars, signed up for this technical official school.

To be honest, not all scholars are pedantic and insist on pursuing imperial examinations.

People would also think in their hearts that this academy built by craftsmen in the capital is also an official school. The emperor endorses the students, and when they graduate and get a job in the factory, they are also paid by the emperor, which is considered half an official status.

Isn't this much better than fighting against that scholar for your whole life?

As for tuition, of course they have learned a new term now, called tuition, which is completely free, and you only need to provide your own food expenses.
However, after completing the study, one has to take an assessment. If one passes the assessment, one will be immediately assigned to various factories. If one fails, one will have to pay a re-examination fee of two strings of silver coins and start over.

Of course, this idea was proposed by Li Han to Zhu Yuanzhang. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this somewhat damaging plan, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

But if you think about it carefully, this is indeed a good idea.

The school is free, so students from poor families can also afford to go to school.

The two kan of tuition for the make-up exam can motivate everyone to work hard and make progress. Even if there is someone who is hopeless, the two kan of tuition can subsidize the official school finances.

In short, if students graduate, they can go to work in factories and the court can get excellent workers. If they fail to graduate, they can still earn money. In any case, no one loses out.

Li Min and Yang Siyi also praised this method, saying that Your Majesty was wise and intelligent. Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and accepted their flattery. Anyway, what is the difference between the idea given by Old Li and my own idea?

However, there were still too many people who signed up. After dissuading many of them from applying, the Imperial Academy of Craftsmen opened under the watchful eyes of the public.

The first batch of students, about two thousand people, were in the academy at this time, looking at everything curiously.

They have not yet thought about how much influence they will have on the Ming Dynasty in the future. What excites them most now is that they have a new way out and a promising future.

Many people enthusiastically discussed their future, looking forward to being able to produce large ships that do not require oars or sails after entering the factory.

"I never thought that we, the craftsmen, could enter this official school to study like those scholars. It's like a dream."

The student who was speaking was a former craftsman, but was recruited because he could read and write.

Another child from a farming family immediately echoed:
"Brother is right. After entering the factory, as long as you are willing to work hard, you can be promoted to section chief, director or something like that. If you do a good job, you can even be promoted to manager. That's like being a Jinshi, you'll be an official!"

"Do you know whether we should build ships or muskets after we learn this?"

"What kind of fire gun is that? I don't know what it is. I heard from the third grandson of the second uncle in the neighborhood that it is called a needle-fire gun, just like the rain of pear blossom needles in strange stories, with infinite power!"

"You are ignorant. Do you know that in the Department of Industry, there are moving and talking pictures with long-legged women in them? They are so white and beautiful."

When it comes to moving pictures, everyone becomes more excited and uses their poor imagination to guess how magical the pictures are and how beautiful the women in them are.

I couldn't wait to run to the Industry Department to see what it was like.

Finally, all the students agreed to ask the teachers at the college.

They all heard that the teachers in the academy were taught by the beautiful female teachers in pictures.

When Lu Youwei stepped into the classroom, he couldn't quite believe it, as if he was dreaming.

I am just a low-level craftsman, but I never thought that one day I would become a master.

This is all thanks to Your Majesty’s great blessing!
The group of craftsmen who initially joined the Industrial Department with him have now become the backbone of their respective industries.

Some continued to stay in the Industry Department to do technical research, while most were assigned to various factories to become technical instructors.

Others, like him, came to the Capital Craftsmen Academy and became the first teachers.

In Lu Youwei's impression, the word "teacher" seems to only apply to the last disciples of a great scholar, who call the great scholar "teacher".

Ordinary scholars call the person who teaches and imparts knowledge "sir", while craftsmen are more likely to call him "master".

However, after the establishment of the Imperial Academy of Craftsmen, His Majesty unified the title and from now on, everyone should be called teacher.

Lu Youwei prefers the word "teacher" to "sir", as it sounds more classy and puts him on the same level as those great scholars.

When he imagined that he could teach and answer questions for students just like those great scholars, he did not expect that the first question he faced when he walked into the classroom was -

Teacher Lu, are there really moving pictures in the Industrial Department? Are there really beautiful ladies in those pictures who look like angels?

Please vote, please collect, please read


(End of this chapter)