jdhmnovel Chapter 262 I am indeed very clever
Chapter 262 I am indeed very clever
After another moment of silence, Magistrate Yang let out a long sigh and looked at Zhu Biao, saying, "Your Highness, do you know why I started to tinker with the Confucian school after the autumn harvest in the first year of Hongwu, and why I insisted that the people of each community reserve space for the community school when building their houses?"
Zhu Biao nodded slightly, "My brother-in-law wants to cultivate more scholars, scholars who are devoted to the Ming Dynasty."
Magistrate Yang laughed and said, "That's only one reason. Another reason is that reading can enlighten people, make them understand things, and give them the ability to think independently. They won't just follow the crowd and won't believe whatever officials, gentry, or scholars say, like before."
"Most importantly, with enough literate people, the government and even the imperial court will not lack manpower. At that time, Your Highness can replace all the officials in more than a thousand prefectures and counties without any problem."
"As for now..."
Magistrate Yang shook his head and sighed, "Does Your Highness really think that scholars like Wu Yanhu and Chen Mo, who were forced into officialdom, can truly care about the people from the bottom of their hearts?"
Think about it?!
As the founding crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao was influenced by Zhu Chongba from a young age. He had seen all kinds of officials and scholars, such as Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, who were initially full of the idea of "cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world," Yang Xian, who changed so much before and after entering the Secretariat that he was like two different people, and Wang Qiong, who was full of scholarly spirit, passionate, but also a little reckless.
Scholars like Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and Hu Weiyong were somewhat better; at least they could consider the people's interests before their own. Scholars like Wang Qiong, whose minds were filled with the idea of making the emperor as virtuous as Yao and Shun, were constrained by their own moral values and generally did not engage in cruelty or harm to the people.
However, it was a different story for scholars like Wu Yanhu and Chen Mo who were forced into official positions.
Don't be fooled by the fact that these scholars, forced into official positions, receive salaries from the Ming Dynasty. In their hearts, the emperor is the Iron Pot that has fled far away to the northern deserts. The people they recognize are the first and second class during the Yuan Dynasty, not the millions of peasants of the Ming Dynasty.
Thinking of this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but sigh and said, "But brother-in-law, have you ever thought about this? In the end, those scholars who came later were taught by the scholars who are teaching us now. How can a rotten tree bear good fruit?"
Magistrate Yang shook his head with a smile and said, "Your Highness has misunderstood. While some scholars are indeed rotten to the core, there are always some who are not rotten or not completely rotten yet."
"A child's moral values and outlook on life, apart from a small part coming from the teachings of his teachers, are mostly influenced by his parents and relatives. These people have all lived through the Yuan Dynasty, so they know what kind of life is good and what kind of life is bad."
"These people now can influence at least two or even three generations. By the time three generations have passed, the original rotten tree will have basically rotted to death."
After a slight pause, Magistrate Yang added, "Of course, to prevent rotten trees from causing rotten fruit, we can't rely solely on the spontaneous influence of the people; the focus should still be on the teaching materials."
Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback and asked, "Textbooks? Is there something wrong with the textbooks my father prepared?"
Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "The teaching materials are fine, but they're not very useful, especially in terms of how to instill a sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty in the people."
Zhu Biao sensed the sarcasm in Magistrate Yang's laughter.
Can primers like the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, and the Thousand Character Classic foster a sense of identification with the Ming Dynasty in students?
Can textbooks like the Four Books and Five Classics help students develop a sense of identification with the Ming Dynasty?
Even a fool would know that it's impossible.
After a long silence, Zhu Biao finally asked, "In your opinion, brother-in-law, what should we do? And how should these teaching materials be improved?"
Magistrate Yang sighed slightly and said, "These teaching materials don't actually need improvement. Instead, we should add more teaching materials. For example, we should add some simple articles to the county school, specifically about the persecution of the people of the Central Plains by Hu Yuan, how His Majesty joined the righteous army and how he defeated Hu Yuan. Stories of people like Prime Minister Li, Mr. Qingtian, Prime Minister Xu, and Chang Pingzhang can also be written."
At this point, a mischievous thought suddenly popped into Magistrate Yang's mind.
The biggest problem in adding these short stories to the textbook is that Li Xiang and Mr. Qingtian are still alive, and many things are not suitable to appear in the book before they are definitively concluded.
Little Zhu probably doesn't understand the intricacies of this situation yet, but old Zhu Chongba certainly does.
We'll see what he chooses then: whether to let Li Shanchang and the others live and be included in the imperial examinations, or to ask them to die a heroic death first.
Shaking his head slightly, Magistrate Yang continued, "Besides these short stories, we should also have someone compile a history book suitable for students of the county, prefecture, and Imperial Academy to study, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the present day. We should still teach according to grade level and have exams every year, so that many students can learn from history."
"This part of the content may not mean much to the scholars in Jiangnan, but it is very important to the people in the northern regions, especially the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, for them to know about the history of their ancestors."
"In addition, the flag of the Ming Dynasty should be displayed in the school, and the instructors and teachers should lead the students to watch the flag-raising ceremony every ten days, so as to subtly make them feel a sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty."
"..."
The more Magistrate Yang spoke, the brighter Zhu Biao's eyes became.
Yes, we should have people write stories about how the Ming Dynasty defeated the Yuan Dynasty and how it distributed land to the people. We should also compile historical records to cultivate students' sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty from the stage of community schools and county schools.
"Brother-in-law is indeed amazing; he can come up with so many ingenious ideas."
After a moment's thought, Zhu Biao said excitedly, "Not only schools, but also county government offices should have the flags of the Ming Dynasty, especially the county and state government offices in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, where the flags of the Ming Dynasty are indispensable."
“The same applies to the announcement pavilions in each township and community. Even if no flags are displayed, they should at least be set up when the officials come to give their proclamations.”
"These are great ideas. I'll have to think about them carefully when I get back."
And so it was decided. The matter of the short story textbooks and history textbooks would be left to Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites, while the issue of the flags could be left to my own father to worry about.
I am indeed very clever.
……
On the third day of the tenth month of the second year of Hongwu (1378), it was auspicious to travel.
Zhu Biao left quietly, just as quietly as he came, waving his clothes and taking away several roast chickens, dried chickens, smoked pig's trotters, smoked ribs, and a whole bunch of other things.
The euphemism was to take the money back to the capital on behalf of Magistrate Yang to present to Zhu Chongba and Empress Ma.
However, Magistrate Yang still failed to return to his "laid-back" mode.
Just after Zhu Biao left with Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San, Chen Zhong, that dead eunuch, along with the Director of the Ceremonial Affairs Department of the Ministry of Rites and the Director of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, once again arrived in Ningyang County.
According to that dead eunuch Chen Zhong, it was almost the end of the year, and the wedding date of Magistrate Yang was getting closer and closer. Therefore, Magistrate Yang had to spend another half a month reviewing the etiquette he had learned before, and then another half a month practicing the entire wedding process. After that, he would set off for the capital to prepare for the wedding.
As for the wild geese that Magistrate Yang had requested earlier, as well as the acacia, auspicious grains, donkey-hide gelatin, nine-son calamus, red reeds, double stones, cotton wadding, longevity threads, dry lacquer, and other items needed for the subsequent betrothal ceremony, they had all been prepared long ago. As soon as Magistrate Yang arrived in the capital, he could begin the betrothal, name inquiry, auspicious date selection, betrothal payment, and date setting process.
As for the formal wedding ceremony, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will have to wait until the first month of spring in the third year of the Hongwu reign.
Of course, the ceremony must strictly follow the Zhou rites, as only by adhering to the Zhou rites can the imperial family express their regard for Magistrate Yang and this marriage.