That night, Yu Qian could not sleep for a long time.
What he saw and heard today made him deeply touched. Some of the concepts that the emperor had spoken about before seemed vague and even strange. When he saw them today, he suddenly realized them.
It turns out that this is the New Deal!
Before that, he had imagined more than once, what would the world be like if the New Deal mentioned by the Emperor were implemented?
The best result is that more people can have enough to eat and clothing and no longer go hungry.
Since ancient times, the food and clothing of the people has been the biggest problem in the world.
It is said that in ancient times, under the rule of Yao and Shun, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, which was a peaceful and prosperous age.
However, after all, it had been so long that no one knew what the rule of Yao and Shun was like.
Today in Yu County, I saw a completely new look, with workshops everywhere and the busy people, where are there any signs of worrying about food and clothing?
What they are thinking about now is where they can make more money by working.
With the money earned, you can build a new house, buy furniture, and buy a few new clothes. In short, it has already exceeded the scope of food and clothing.
I really didn’t expect that Yu County has changed drastically in just one year.
If it can be promoted across the country, wouldn't it be great for the world?
Thinking of this, Yu Qian was suddenly excited.
He suddenly realized that he was witnessing an era in which a new Ming Dynasty was rising.
No, not just witness, but pioneer.
In other words, he is one of the founders.
Now, the emperor has put this burden on his shoulders.
This is a kind of unconditional trust, although for some unknown reason, after the emperor came back from Tumubao, his attitude towards himself suddenly changed drastically. No matter what he did, he trusted unconditionally.
This kind of trust once made me very uncomfortable.
Because the emperor's character was not like this in the past. Due to the early death of the late emperor, the emperor succeeded to the throne at the age of eight. Since he was a child, the queen mother and San Yang have been in charge of the government. As time goes by, it is inevitable that he will develop a rebellious character.
When I was bewitched by Wang Zhen and insisted on conquering the country myself, it was a sign of rebellion.
It was at that time that at the court meeting, I contradicted and even broke into each other in front of the ministers. At that time, I almost pointed at the emperor's nose and cursed him.
I thought that the emperor must have a grudge, but I didn't expect that after that incident, the emperor seemed to... grow up and mature all of a sudden.
Perhaps it was because of experiencing that battle personally that the emperor finally understood his good intentions and treated himself this way...
No matter what, the emperor has now placed the burden of the New Deal on himself. Whether it is out of trust or responsibility for the people of the world, he must go all out.
Thinking of this, he couldn't sleep even more.
Because he still thinks about one thing in his heart, which is education.
As a scholar, he even taught the importance of education.
When he was in Nanjing, Shang Ren once said that there were more than 3,600 children enrolled in school this year, and 952 people signed up to take the county examination.
These numbers are really unbelievable. What he wants to do today is to verify this matter.
Therefore, he walked out of the room before dawn.
"Master Yu, so early?"
Fan Zhong was a little surprised when he saw the dark circles on Yu Qian's face.
This guy didn't sleep all night, did he?
Yu Qian asked eagerly: "Is the emperor up?"
Fan Zhong looked at the door and saw no movement at all, so he said, "Not yet."
Yu Qian said bluntly: "Can you call the emperor? I want to go to the county school and have a look."
In his opinion, it's time to get up at this time, even if it's morning service.
Fan Zhong said with a troubled expression: "Master Yu, we have been traveling very hard these days. Please let the emperor sleep more!"
As the commander of the imperial guards, Fan Zhong is most familiar with Zhu Qizhen's daily habits. Even if he is not in a hurry, he would not be able to get up at this time.
At least until after Chen time, or even later.
Yu Qian was really impatient, so he said: "Well, let me go out and take a look first. When the emperor wakes up, please let me know."
"Well... okay, let Yuan Bin accompany you."
"No need to bother, I'll just go by myself."
Yu Qian bowed, then left the inn and left in a hurry.
At this time, the sky was starting to get dark and there were already pedestrians on the street.
The breakfast vendors on the street started shouting, and it became lively early in the morning.
Yu Qian was deeply touched. Even in the capital, it was not so lively.
Because the people here have already started to work, they work in workshops, and in order to save time, they eat outside.
In this way, it will drive the catering industry.
The prosperity of the catering industry will stimulate the rise in food prices. When food prices are high, people's enthusiasm for farming will be greatly increased.
This is a virtuous cycle. Under this system, all industries are booming, and there will be no situation where the workshop industry will delay people from farming.
Yu Qian felt that his understanding of the New Deal was a little better. Now, he was eager to see what the county school here was like.
"Sir, would you like some steamed buns? They are freshly baked and still hot!"
Yu Qian touched his shriveled belly and said, "Two of them!"
"Okay!"
The stall owner quickly wrapped two steaming big buns in straw paper and handed them over.
"Chenghui, two cents!"
Yu Qian took out two pennies from his body and handed them over. He thought to himself, the price is really higher than other places. In ordinary counties, you can buy two for one pennie, but you can only buy one here.
Although the price is expensive, business is booming. It seems that the people here are really not short of money.
He took a bite and found that it tasted pretty good and the meat was quite generous. The two cents were well spent.
"Let me ask you something, where is the county school?"
The stall owner asked: "Which county school are you talking about?"
Which?
Yu Qian was a little puzzled and asked: "How many county schools are there in our county?"
"Sir, are you from out of town?"
"Yes, from the capital."
"After this road was built, some big men often came from the capital... Three buns, wait a minute!"
The stall owner said while bringing people steamed buns: "The county school was originally located next to the county government office, and it had long been dilapidated. Later, when the new county magistrate took office, the original county school was abandoned and several new schools were built.
, should there be... ten or nine by now?"
Yu Qian was greatly shocked. There were actually ten schools in one county?
It can't be... the kind of three or five people, hire a teacher, let's call it a school...
"Excuse me, where is the largest school?"
"Oh, I see, you are also the new teacher in the school, right?"
The stall owner suddenly realized something, and then he took out two cents of money, stuffed it into Yu Qian's hand, and said, "Let me tell you, in Yu County, we welcome a gentleman like this the most. You can take the money back, and I'll pay for the buns!"
Yu Qian looked confused, not knowing what to do.
Do I look like a teacher?
"You walk along this street, turn left when you reach the end, cross two streets, and you will see it."
Yu Qian handed over the money, but the stall owner pushed it back and said, "To tell you the truth, my son is studying in that school. You came all the way from the capital to teach the children. What are you saying to be polite to two buns? Ten million
You're welcome, take more if you don't have enough!"
"No, no!"
Yu Qian was a little confused, so he had to take the money back and then walked in the direction pointed by the stall owner.
Along the way, he had been thinking about what the school would look like if even the children of bun vendors could enter the school?
He thought that the so-called school was probably a courtyard with one teacher and a dozen or at most dozens of people. However, when he came in front of it, he was shocked again.
What kind of school is this? It is clearly a huge academy.
The reason why I use the word "huge" to describe it is because this academy actually covers an area of dozens of acres. Although it is not grand, it is very large.
Outside the academy, there is a stone tablet with academic rules set on it.
After that, there is a plaque, which reads "Yuxian Jiazi Meng School" in seven large characters.
According to this meaning, there are also Yuxian Yizi Meng School, Bing Meng School, and Ding Meng School...
The door was open, and there were sounds of children reading from inside.
"It's not easy to learn and practice it; it's not a joy to have friends from far away..."
Yu Qian couldn't wait to walk in and saw a man wearing a Confucian shirt.
This man, who was about thirty years old, first stood in front of Yu Qian, looked him up and down, and then asked: "Brother, are you here to apply for a teaching position?"
Yu Qian was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "Yes, I made a special trip from the capital!"
"What kind of fame do you have from the capital?"
The man was not surprised, he seemed to be used to this kind of thing.
Yu Qian thought for a while and asked: "What kind of reputation is needed to apply for a teaching position?"
"In fact, it is not necessary, as long as you are competent, but if you are a scholar, you can be exempted from the exam."
Yu Qian said: "Can you show me around?"
The man smiled and said: "I just don't have class in the morning, so I will introduce you to our first-class Meng Academy. By the way, what is your name, brother?"
Yu Qian thought for a moment and said: "My surname is Yuan and my name is Bin!"
"It turns out to be Brother Yuan. I'm in Dang Xingyong. Nice to meet you!"
Yu Qian thought about it and asked, "When did Brother Dang come to the school?"
"I am a native of Yu County. I have been here since the beginning of the school's establishment, and I am also one of the first batch of teachers in the school."
Yu Qian asked again: "What did Brother Dang do for a living before the school was established?"
Dang Xingyong sighed and said: "If it weren't for the magistrate and this school, I would have probably starved to death."
Yu Qian was a little confused, but it was difficult to ask further.
Dang Xingyong smiled faintly, and then began to introduce: "This school covers an area of 20 acres and has 23 teaching staff, including 16 teachers, 7 cooks and handymen, and it can accommodate 500 children.
Many. This is the largest school in the county. The others are smaller in size, with three to four hundred students. The two in the suburbs have roughly more than two hundred people."
Yu Qian listened and asked: "It must be a lot of money to build these schools. Can the county's tax money afford it?"
"The cost is indeed staggering, but it was all planned and built by the merchants, and it did not take up the county's tax money."
"Businessmen are also interested in education?"
Yu Qian was even more puzzled. In his mind, merchants were just a group of common people pursuing the smell of gold. How could they come to build schools?
"Of course the merchants are interested, because children have to pay tuition fees when they enter school."
"The tuition fee...is a lot?"
Dang Xingyong said: "Just say that the tuition fees charged by our Grade A school are as high as 5,000 taels a year. In addition, the county will also provide some subsidies, which are around a thousand taels. In this way, it is six thousand taels."
Thousand taels. After excluding expenses, there will be a net profit of three thousand taels of silver in one year. Why do you think the merchants are interested?"
Yu Qian was shocked again. Can you still make money by studying?
What kind of world is this? Are you crazy?
He looked around and saw that the layout of the academy was very compact. The bookstores were lined up one after another without much scenery. The bookstores were divided into different grades, and children of different grades studied in different places.
Some of the teachers wearing silk turbans and silk scarves are teaching children to read in the bookstore, while others are still preparing lessons or taking a rest.
Along the way, he couldn't figure out how something as noble as reading could be mixed with the smell of copper?
"It's really incredible that teaching and educating people can be related to merchants and money."
Dang Xingyong laughed and said: "What Xiongtai said is not unreasonable. At first, many people...including myself, thought so too, but later I figured it out."
Yu Qian immediately cast a questioning look, and Dang Xingyong continued: "You can not only study and educate people, but also make money. The children have read and learned knowledge. We who work as teachers can earn some money to support our families, and merchants
We can also make a profit, achieve multiple things with one stone, and benefit each other, so why not?"
Yu Qian still didn't understand and said: "The truth is correct, but it doesn't feel right to put education, education and money together."
Dang Xingyong asked: "Brother, what you said is wrong. In fact, you don't care about money when you study."
Yu Qian asked: "How do you say this?"
Dang Xingyong said: "The so-called hustle and bustle in the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit. There is no reason to not settle accounts when studying. Among the scholars in the Ming Dynasty, none of us have a lot of money at home and spend money to build a family and a school.
, the people recruited are the children of the clan, so all the expenses are done in secret."
Yu Qian nodded secretly. These words are quite good. If your family has no money, what should you study...?
Dang Xingyong seemed to be quite touched and said: "Brother, think about it, if the school cannot maintain its expenses, then wouldn't all the teaching gentlemen starve to death? Most of these people are unsatisfactory scholars.
, although he has fame and fame, it is difficult to achieve anything. He is not involved in production, and his family is in poverty, so life is not easy. I still remember that when I was a child in Mongolia School, the old man had a very difficult life, even if someone gave him two eggs.
, he is so precious that he only takes it out to eat during the holidays."
Yu Qian asked again: "May I ask Brother Dang how much you will be treated here?"
Dang Xingyong did not hesitate and said: "The next month's salary is five taels, and the school includes room and board, so life will be reversed."
Yu Qian secretly sighed, five taels a month, isn’t it sixty taels a year?
From this point of view, there are more than some highly skilled craftsmen.
Food and accommodation are also included, and there are no burdens. It’s a decent enough life.