I am collecting entries in reincarnation

Chapter 21: Kings, Princes, Generals and Ministers
"Yes, father."

Li Ming bowed and then said in a clear voice: "Everyone, young and old have gathered here today. I understand why. It is simply my intention to establish compulsory education."

"Excuse me, sir, could you please explain what compulsory education is?" Wen Zhixian, who was standing in the crowd, suddenly asked.

"Good question!" Li Ming nodded and said, "Compulsory education is, first of all, an obligation, and secondly, education. The obligation is very simple: you have the obligation to support your parents, and at the same time, your parents have the obligation to raise you. This is everyone's responsibility."

"Compulsory education means the government is responsible for your education. It provides funding and is responsible for the education of every eligible person, imparting knowledge to them."

"I understand." Wen Zhixian nodded and stepped back.

Another man with a dark face and green clothes strode forward and said, "Mr. Zhang, it seems that you are benefiting the people and not charging a penny. However, according to the notice, the compulsory education school is not only free, but also provides food and accommodation. Even the writing materials such as pens, ink, paper and inkstone are funded by the government."

Li Ming nodded and said, "Not bad."

"Is that really the case?"

"Then everyone can sign up."

There was already some discussion among the crowd, and the man in green did not continue to ask questions, but just laughed.

Li Ming knew what he was laughing at, and continued: "Of course, this is also a heavy burden for the government, so there are conditions."

"What conditions?"

Someone impatient in the crowd had already asked.

"First, given current conditions, we can't meet the requirements for universal education. We will recruit students based on merit. Compulsory education will have a minor exam every month, a major exam every three months, and a final exam every year. Those who fail the exam will no longer receive free food, lodging, and school supplies, but will still receive free classes. Those who pass the final exam will be required to work for the government, with their salary reduced by half for three years. After three years, their salary will return to normal to make up for the shortfall."

"Do you have any further questions about this?"

"Let me ask!"

A yellow-faced scholar suddenly jumped out. Judging from his appearance, he was at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

"Didn't ask for advice?"

"Ma Chunhe!"

"Okay, what do you have to say, Brother Ma?"

"You are running a school as an official, so I shouldn't ask too many questions. But you said that regardless of gender, regardless of wealth, everyone can enroll in the school. Then I have something to say," said Ma Chunhe.

"Since ancient times, women have never studied. It's fine for women to do needlework at home, but don't desecrate the place where the saints lived! Zhong Ziyun said: Men are superior to women, it's an innate principle! How can women be with us?"

"Hahaha, since ancient times? That's right, since ancient times!" Li Ming laughed loudly, then clapped his hands, and immediately a soldier came out from the side pushing a small cart.

Li Ming opened the book and pointed to the cover, saying, "This is the 'Xia Ji', compiled by Dongmen Yi of the Ding Dynasty. It is the first history book in the world. Please read it."

Ma Chunhe replied somewhat embarrassedly: "This is all ancient Chinese, how can I understand it?"

"You don't recognize ancient Chinese?" Li Ming said with a smile. "Since you know this is ancient Chinese, then you should know that this is the writing system that has existed since ancient times."

“Take words, for example!”

Li Ming took a branch and wrote and drew on the ground. After a while, he wrote five characters, namely Xia ancient script, large seal script, new script, Jin language, and finally the official script used now.

Li Ming pointed at the five characters and said, "This is the character for 'person', but it has five forms, changing with the times and the world!"

Wen Zhixian stood up again at this moment, looked at the words on the ground and said: "Yes, this is the earliest recorded writing, the ancient Xia script. The later large seal script was created by the first unified dynasty. This is the new text, this is the Jin language."

Wen Zhixian's face showed some surprise, but his tone was affirmative.

Li Ming smiled at Wen Zhixian, then nodded and continued, "Nothing in the world is permanent. If, from today on, we allow women to study, then this rule will be passed down to future generations, and we will have become a traditional authority!"

"That's just specious talk, nonsense!"

Ma Chunhe's face flushed and he shouted angrily.

"Do you think you can change the world? You think you can make history?"

Hearing this, Li Ming paused for a moment, chuckled, and said, "Who am I? It doesn't matter, but maybe I can do it."

"Thousands of years from now, you and I will both be ancients. There's no guarantee that no one will mention what we two ancients said in the future!" "History may be created today, Secretary!"

"exist!"

A clerk holding a brush responded.

Li Ming smiled and said, "I asked you to write down every word spoken by everyone today, and you did."

"My lord, I have written it all down, word for word!" The clerk raised the thick book on the table to indicate.

At this moment, the scene was silent, and many people were shocked by the demeanor of Li Ming when he spoke.

Zhang Tianhuan looked at his high-spirited son and once again felt from the bottom of his heart that he seemed to have never understood his son.

"Do you think what you said is comparable to Zhongzi and Xizi?" Another scholar jumped out from the side.

"Duke Zhu once said in the Three Character Classic that human nature is good at birth, and natures are similar but habits make them different. Is that true?" Li Ming turned around and asked this question after hearing that.

Now I am Zhang Mingyu, and I cannot compare with the two sages of famous religions, but my achievements in my previous life are comparable to those of a sub-sage. It’s just that I didn’t die long enough. Now I am about to raise my own banner!

"Even children can recite Zhu Guogong's Three Character Classic. It's natural."

"Okay, that's the answer I want. Now that we've come to this, let's address it all at once. Not only do I treat men and women equally, I also treat everyone equally, regardless of social status. That's the reason I'm talking about!"

Li Ming stood in the center of the venue and said loudly: "At the beginning of life, we are all the same. Are there any differences between kings, princes, generals and ministers?!"

This is when the real purpose is revealed!

What Li Ming needs to do is to instill this concept into people’s hearts today!

If the words about breaking gender inequality before only made them angry, at this moment, these words made people terrified.

"What did you say?"

The two scholars who jumped out felt as if a bucket of cold water was suddenly poured on their heads in the hottest days of summer, and cold sweats broke out instantly.

Even the clerk didn't know whether he should continue writing for a moment. He held the brush but couldn't put it down, and instead left a big ink spot on the paper.

On the contrary, it was Wen Zhixian who seemed to have light coming out of his eyes.

"Now I say, all men are created equal!"

Wen Zhixian asked with a gleam in his eyes, "According to what you said, sir, are those princes and nobles equal to me?"

Li Ming smiled and said, "Equal, but also unequal?"

"Oh? Sir, may I ask how you can explain this?" An abnormal blush appeared on Wen Zhixian's face, and he was obviously very excited.

PS: The author has a few words. Actually, this part of the plot has been completed for a long time, but I still have some words to add now.

Because there is a lot of controversy here, why do I add this paragraph here? Because my subsequent revisions and targeted explanations are at the end. In order to prevent some people from having no patience to continue reading and directly going to the book review section to criticize, I will make a patch in advance.

After all, there is a difference between silently abandoning a book and directly scolding me.

First, equality for all does not mean true equality for all, it is just a slogan of the protagonist now, just like the blue sky is dead and the yellow sky should be established. The protagonist holds up the banner, but knows that he can't do it, so he just gathers people around him to complete the great cause, and then slowly transforms them. It is not the work of one generation. The equality mentioned here is not equal status, but equality of personality, but it can't be done anyway.

Second, regarding productivity and technology, I clearly wrote in the article that in his previous life, the protagonist "invented" everything possible, given the conditions, and continued to develop it among the people for at least twenty years (promoted in his previous life and grown up in this life). So, his technological foundation is not that poor, and there is a certain level of foundation.

Third, clan power. Whether the protagonist can start over or not, starting compulsory education is to select talents of their own and then send them out to preach. The aristocratic families choose to join in and start the competition again, and successfully occupy a place and appear in the new dynasty with a different look.

The above are the points that are more likely to be criticized, because the explanation is at the end. Some book friends directly abandon the book and criticize it after seeing this, which makes me very uncomfortable, and I have to explain a few things here.

Of course, this is my problem. Anything that requires a separate chapter to explain is actually because I didn't handle it well.

But there's no way. It was my first time writing, and there were a lot of questions at the time. Besides, this is an ordinary reincarnation, so I just wrote it casually and glossed over many things. I think I can explain it, but you may also think that my explanation is far-fetched.

I accept rational criticism. If you point out what I wrote wrong, and we can discuss it, I can modify it as appropriate. However, I cannot stand direct criticism and will delete the post. Please be informed.

(End of this chapter)