Bringing the Railway to Daming

"What are your thoughts on the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, Miaoqing?" Zhu Gui asked.

Xu Miaoqing thought for a moment and said, "So-called education, etiquette, propaganda, and even the assimilation of the French are all one thing."

"Education is the foundation of this. Although it may take several years or even more than a decade to see results and requires a large investment, it is something we have to do."

"However, the Dai Kingdom is newly established and has very limited financial and human resources. Therefore, I suggest that schools be established in several important cities such as Daijing and Xiping first."

“We can’t do what the Ming Dynasty did with compulsory education, so we might as well divide schools into two categories.”

"One type is a school for the wealthy, where our civil and military officials send their children. It is advertised as a noble school, and admission is granted as long as a certain tuition fee is paid."

"The other type is charity schools, which are certainly much worse in terms of buildings and teachers, but they need to provide lunch for the students in order to encourage ordinary people to send their children to school."

Zhu Gui nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea—so what should the school teach? What should the school system be like?"

Xu Miaoqing said, "The school should naturally focus on teaching Chinese language and Confucianism, with mathematics as a secondary subject. As for natural sciences, it is not appropriate to teach them now."

"Science and technology are the key tools for national development. Our country is newly established in Europe, and its foothold is not yet firm, nor are the people's hearts yet. If we rashly teach natural science, I'm afraid that the Westerners will learn it and turn against us."

"Moreover, it seems that our Dai Kingdom doesn't have many scientific talents these days, and there aren't even many people with a deep understanding of natural science."

Zhu Gui couldn't help but smile wryly. "If we're talking about understanding natural sciences, I'm probably second only to you, Miaoqing, who's a complete slacker in this department—Miaoqing, you must be pretty good at natural sciences, right?"

Xu Miaoqing smiled slightly, her expression unfathomable.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Gui cherished this empress even more.

Xu Miaoqing then added, "The school system can be simpler. Let's tentatively set it at three years of primary school, three years of middle school, and four years of university, which would add up to ten years."

"Whether it is primary school, secondary school or university, Confucianism must be the main focus. Confucianism can not only help French children deepen their understanding of the Chinese language, but also cultivate their loyalty to the monarch, and even fundamentally make them identify as Chinese."

Zhu Guidao said, "When barbarians enter China, they become Chinese."

Xu Miaoqing laughed and said, "The fact that Your Majesty remembers Han Changli's (Han Yu's) words shows that you're not a complete academic failure."

Zhu Gui laughed and said, "Back when we were studying at Dabentang, when we were discussing the distinction between Chinese and barbarians, my brothers mentioned this phrase many times, so of course I remember it."

Xu Miaoqing added, “Besides running schools for children, we can also promote literacy classes in the military to the general public—I’ve heard that many merchants and slightly wealthy commoners are now looking for ways to learn Chinese.”

"Your Majesty may instruct Chloe's father to establish a school, or educational institution, for adults to learn Chinese."

"In this way, he can have another way to make money, and he can also set an example for other merchants to follow suit and run classes. In this way, more and more adults will naturally learn Chinese."

"After learning Chinese and understanding Chinese culture such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, a considerable number of French people will naturally turn to Chinese culture."

Zhu Gui nodded in agreement, then couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it necessary to introduce any policies to encourage this?"

Xu Miaoqing said, "The fact that our country's high-level officials communicate in Chinese is a great encouragement for people to learn Chinese."

"However, Your Majesty can issue a policy that those who can speak some Chinese will be given priority in being appointed as officials. In that case, the French will surely flock to them."

Zhu Gui nodded, then asked, "What about the etiquette and publicity aspects?"

Xu Miaoqing said, "To assimilate the French, it is certainly not enough to just learn Chinese and Confucianism. Therefore, Han etiquette also needs to be taught—it can be integrated into the education of schools and adult education institutions."

"We can tell the outside world that this is the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty's nobility—French commoners admire everything about the nobility, and they will surely be eager to learn it upon hearing this."

"As for propaganda, I have heard that there are bards in Western Europe, similar to storytellers in our Great Ming Dynasty. We can recruit some bards into the Ministry of Rites and have them compose poems praising Your Majesty's rule over the Dai Kingdom, and have them travel around and sing them."

"In addition, I have heard that France has drama, which is similar to our opera. The Ministry of Rites could recruit a few troupes to specialize in propaganda that is beneficial to the Dai Kingdom."

"Furthermore, once we recruit Taoist priests and monks from the Ming Dynasty, we can utilize Taoism and Buddhism for propaganda purposes that would benefit our Dai Kingdom..."

···
When Zhu Gui and Xu Miaoqing discussed the propaganda of the Dai Kingdom, tens of thousands of miles away in the Ming Dynasty, it was still the last month of the third year of the Wenlong era, with only a few days left until the New Year.

The capital city. The former residence of the Prince of Dai has now become the Dai Prince's office in Beijing.

The head of the council was Wang Mingli, a capable advisor in Zhu Gui's former staff.

Upon learning that Zhu Gui had successfully established a vassal state in Europe and expanded its territory by four or five hundred li, the entire staff of the Dai vassal's office in Beijing was greatly encouraged and filled with enthusiasm, which greatly improved their work efficiency.

For example, this winter, the council used newspapers and storytellers to spread the word that the Prince of Dai had successfully established a vassal state in Western Europe through a series of battles. It also revealed that the Dai Kingdom was now eager to recruit talented people and that as the first vassal state established by the Ming Dynasty in Europe, it had a bright future and that there was much to be gained by serving as an official in the Dai Kingdom.

At the same time, they also publicized that the Dai Kingdom urgently needed a group of Confucian scholars, Taoist priests, and monks.

However, there are very few Confucian scholars in the Ming Dynasty who are willing and able to go to sea. Therefore, in the past few days, most of those who have come to the council office to apply for positions are Taoist priests and monks.

The early Ming Dynasty was different from the middle and late Ming Dynasty in history. At this time, Taoist priests and monks were managed by the court officials, and they had to have ordination certificates, which were recorded by the officials.

If one does not possess these qualifications and insists on claiming to be a Taoist priest or monk, they may be arrested and punished by the authorities.

Therefore, although the Daifan administration office opened its doors wide, there were no swindlers among the Taoist priests and monks who came to apply.

However, although there were no swindlers, Wang Mingli found after the interviews that most of them were dull-witted people who had memorized Buddhist and Taoist classics by rote. Many of them did not even understand the classics of Buddhism and Taoism as well as he, a Confucian scholar.

Although Wang Mingli looked down on some of them, he understood that the Dai Kingdom needed quite a few Taoist priests and monks. Therefore, he lowered his requirements and hired more than twenty people—more than a dozen Taoist priests and more than a dozen monks, of whom only three or four could be considered truly accomplished.

Wang Mingli didn't know if these people could satisfy Zhu Gui.

He could contact Zhu Gui by telegram, but it was difficult to describe the specific circumstances of these Taoists and monks to Zhu Gui by telegram; Zhu Gui would have to interview these people in person to find out.

Therefore, he still hopes to find a true Buddhist or Taoist master for Zhu Gui before leaving the Ming Dynasty.

"Counselor, a middle-aged man dressed as a Confucian scholar has come in, saying he wants to apply to become a Taoist priest in the Dai Kingdom." Wang Mingli was pondering the matter when a minor official came in to report.

A Confucian scholar applying to become a Taoist priest?

After a slight pause, Wang Mingli asked, "Does he not have a Buddhist certificate?"

"Uh, I didn't ask about that."

Wang Mingli thought that if a Taoist priest without a certificate of ordination said such a thing, he must at least be a smart person, so he said, "Go and invite him here."

"Yes."

The minor official left as instructed, and soon returned with a tall, thin, and strangely-looking "middle-aged scholar".

Upon seeing Wang Mingli, the man performed a Taoist kowtow, saying, "This humble Taoist, Xuanxuzi, greets Counselor Wang."

Wang Mingli asked directly, "Xuanxuzi? I'm afraid you're some kind of unorthodox Taoist who isn't registered in the imperial records?"

Xuanxuzi remained calm and smiled, saying, "The Dao resides in the heart; what does it matter whether one is registered in the Daoist tradition? Councilor Wang is being too attached to appearances."

“You don’t seem like a Taoist priest to me; you seem more like a Zen monk skilled in witty banter,” Wang Mingli said, scrutinizing Xuanxuzi.

Xuanxuzi still smiled, "To be honest, I was originally a Confucian scholar, and later became a disciple of Guilongzi, the eldest disciple of Xi Yingzhen. However, I also have some knowledge of Buddhist principles, so I can barely say that I am well-versed in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism."

Wang Mingli seemed to have heard of Xi Yingzhen, but could not recall his deeds clearly. He was probably a Taoist master from the late Yuan Dynasty.

But through this conversation, Wang Mingli was certain that the person in front of him was stronger than the monks and Taoists he had recruited before, and could even serve as a strategist and a minister who could assist the country.

He then asked solemnly, "May I ask your name?"

His common name is Li Chengwen.

"Your Excellency does indeed possess some skill, but why would you consider applying to become a Taoist priest in the Dai Kingdom? Applying without Taoist registration—aren't you afraid I'll report you to the authorities and have you arrested?" Wang Mingli asked, voicing his doubts and further testing Li Chengwen's abilities. (End of Chapter)