People of the same level as Barrow, Boyle, and Huygens are now great scientists. Of course, the Ming Dynasty cannot dig them out.
Because it is impossible for Ming Dynasty to grant them a higher academic status. They are already academic leaders in related fields in Cambridge, Oxford and London respectively. It is impossible for Ming Dynasty to invite them here and make them presidents of the newly built Nanjing University.
?
However, existing academic leaders cannot be poached. Those future big names and current potential stocks, with the momentum accumulated by Ming Dynasty’s mission to England to engage in international humanitarian aid (and at the same time make money from business), can be poached.
.
In particular, the "Great Plague of London" finally disappeared at the end of August that year, one month earlier than in history. The pursuit of the poor in this month was of course due to the various disinfectants sold by Ming Dynasty, but it was solid
Gained a lot of fame.
Just like some of Pfizer's special medicines that appeared before the plague was about to end naturally, waving flags and shouting at the tail of the defeated enemy. As a result, Europeans increasingly felt that Ming Dynasty was absolutely leading in the fields of medicine and chemistry.
The fleet was finally stranded in Europe until October, one or two months longer than originally planned, in order to wait for the news that "the plague was ended by the Ming Dynasty" to spread more and more, to further build momentum and increase the attractiveness of talents.
Monetization potential has been wiped out.
Finally, we made a replenishment stop in Lisbon, and then set sail south, along the vast Atlantic Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and began another voyage that lasted at least nine months.
In the end, because the monsoon was not very strong, we had to wait a little. The voyage took more than ten months in total, and we arrived in Nanjing around the Mid-Autumn Festival in August of the seventh year of Xiaokang.
…
The timeline is finally closed.
In the city of Nanjing, the Mid-Autumn Festival marks the seventh year of prosperity.
Zhu Shuren was not only waiting for the emperor, who had been touring the south for a year and a half, to finally return to Beijing, but also for the group of European potential scientists introduced by Newton to join the Ming Dynasty.
He himself had already made a decision in his mind. In the next second seven-year plan, the focus of the Ming Dynasty's internal farming reform would be on the reform of science, education and personnel systems.
Therefore, taking advantage of the opportunity of "scholars from all over the world coming to court", Zhu Shuren directly gave a banquet in the Forbidden City of Nanjing and held a scientific event that would be recorded in the annals of history.
Of course, before giving the banquet, he still respected his son, closed the door, had a heart-to-heart talk with Zhu Ciyu, and told him his plan.
The atmosphere of the family banquet was quite relaxed, with only Zhu Shuren with Zhu Yuchan, Fang Ziling, and Zhu Ciyu with his queen, and no outsiders.
The reason why I brought Fang Ziling with me is because after all, Fang Ziling was in charge of a lot of work at the Ming Academy of Sciences, and she also raised and taught Zhu Ciyu. Zhu Ciyu’s science and engineering education when he was a child came from Fang Ziling. Now we want to discuss the science and education construction of the Ming Dynasty.
Fang Ziling can't get around it.
At the family dinner, Zhu Shuren first brought up some other old accounts to lay the groundwork. He just asked his son if he had enjoyed playing outside in the past year and a half. The battle with the Vietnamese was obviously over, but in the end it took more than half a year on the road.
.
"...How about it? Is the Lushan Waterfall majestic? Is it as spectacular as what Bachelor Qinglian wrote? Lushan Mountain is a place where you can escape the summer heat and enjoy the coolness. It has a lot of wild charm. I have never gone to Lushan Mountain to cool off in my entire life.
I heard that this time Lushan Mountain has built a mountain trail with bluestone steps to escape the summer heat? We should make full use of it. In the next few years, when the summer is free, I, a mountain man, should also go to escape the summer heat. Every year I always go to the museum in Jiangning Town.
Spending time with flowers and plants to escape the heat is very tiring.”
Zhu Ciyu was most afraid that his father would ask him about this. He was an emperor who had become pro-government and went on a tour. After the political inspection was completed, he continued to play for so long just for fun, and his own father had never played. It was indeed a bit unfilial.
When his father took advantage of him, he had no choice but to laugh along and express his filial piety: "My father has worked hard for this world for a long time, and it is right to travel around the world. But the child is not capable enough, so my father has to worry more."
.”
Zhu Shuren didn't really want to beat his son, so he just gave it up: "How can I not worry about it? Now there are rumors in Guangdong and Guangxi that the Spaniards are massacring our Han people in Luzon. Sooner or later next year, Zheng Chenggong will take action to solve Luzon."
Don’t think that our Ming Dynasty has been stabilized in all directions. The remnants of the Northwestern Tatars, the Dzungars, and the northern Rakshasa may all fight against our Ming Dynasty in the future. At least these two old enemies have been defeated, so that the father can let go of all this and sit back and relax.
Go on a trip and have fun.
In addition, we must not resort to military violence, we must allow the people to recuperate and reform internal affairs, and each step should not take more than five or six years."
The more Zhu Ciyu listened, the more ashamed he became. His father was so worried. As the emperor, he should try to speed up the process.
Fortunately, he knew his father quite well, so he figured that he was planning to make a serious move again, so he had to lay the groundwork. So he cooperated straightforwardly:
"My child is stupid. I wonder if my father has any magic method that can speed up this process so that the foreign barbarians can be eliminated faster and not cause trouble for my Ming Dynasty? Whether it is to innovate wealth or work hard to promote the virtuous and eliminate the mediocre, the child must be strict with the law.
.”
Zhu Shuren picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and continued: "The hard bones of the Caifu Reform have been gnawed away for the time being. The abolition of Ding classification has been tried for many years and has been promoted in all southern provinces. In the future, we only need to continue to promote it in the north and slowly fine-tune it.
That’s it.
The imperial tax system cannot be changed overnight. It was just changed a few years ago. The more stable it is, the more authority it will establish. It is best not to change it for twenty years.
The key to reforming the bad government now lies in the employment of people and science and education. The imperial examination method has been used for thousands of years. There is nothing wrong with the imperial examination itself, but the fault is that the subjects tested cannot keep pace with the times.
Theoretically, Eight-part essays can only test whether a person knows or not a person is virtuous. It cannot even test whether he or she knows and does one thing, knowing and practicing virtue. As for talent, haha, what kind of practical talents can Eight-part essays test?
Since the imperial examinations have been added to the military examinations since the pre-Song Dynasty, it will naturally be necessary to keep pace with the times in the future and add other subjects. From then on, they will be divided into categories, and each subject will select its talents. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were clear laws and clear calculations, but it is a pity that later
The Jinshi family was the dominant one, and all subjects except martial arts examinations were gradually abolished.
Now we are facing a major change that has not happened in a thousand years. It is necessary to eliminate the waste and retain the good, reform the old and innovate, eliminate the obsolete and add new learning. It just so happens that this time the Academy of Sciences has recruited many talented people to supplement some subjects.
I plan to first build a new school in Nanjing and spend several years cultivating new academic talents. When these talented people graduate, new subjects will be added to join the Jinshi subjects."
Zhu Ciyu listened patiently. He actually agreed with this statement in his heart, not because of his father's prestige, but because he agreed from the bottom of his heart.
Because Zhu Ciyu himself had received education in science and engineering since childhood, and Fang Ziling taught him a lot of mathematics and physics knowledge, as well as natural history knowledge, Zhu Ciyu's academic vision was actually much broader than that of many corrupt ministers in the court.
So when he heard the words, he immediately echoed excitedly: "This is a good idea. Father, I don't know about this idea... Is it still necessary for you to announce it to the world, or can the child use it as his own idea and push it forward to the cabinet?"
Zhu Shuren paused for a rare moment and smiled with relief: "You are already twenty-two, and you will be twenty-three after the New Year. Before taking office, you had enough respect for the elderly and the virtuous. Now it is time to establish your own authority."
Zhu Ciyu suddenly understood and quickly said that it was him who proposed this matter, and he would just ask his father to express his support in the court later.
After settling on his thoughts, Zhu Ciyu changed his mind and actually asked for advice with political wisdom: "There is actually a time difference of several years between establishing a new school and opening a new subject in the imperial examination.
In this case, in order to proceed step by step and prevent opponents from uniting to violently resist, can the two matters be announced separately?"
Hearing this, Zhu Shuren nodded with rare pleasure: "Yes, that's a good idea. He has already paid attention to dividing the opposition's forces. However, my father has also thought of this. It's a pity that the Shige Department may not have the power to survive in these few years.
lifespan.
After all, he is highly respected, and with his strong support together with Gu, the New Deal can be easily finalized. After all, my father has not been a literary leader in the Ming Dynasty for a few days, so we need a few more academic leaders with long-standing literary reputations to express their support for this matter."
Only then did Zhu Ciyu fully understand his father's good intentions.
Shi Kefa is sixty-seven years old this year. He has not gone to court to deal with government affairs for several years. He only works in name only and spends his days retiring in a nursing home in Jiangning.
I heard that my condition has worsened again this year and I am in very bad health. If we start Nanjing University first, wait for the first batch of science and engineering graduates from Nanjing University in a few years, and then discuss the topic of opening new subject examinations, then Shi Kefa may not be alive until then.
.
Let Shi Kefa exert his last appeal for the Ming Dynasty.
…
A few days later, at another court meeting of the Nanjing court, Gu Yanwu, the Minister of Rites in charge of cultural and educational affairs, formally proposed the establishment of "Nanjing University", hoping that the court would adapt to the current situation, advance with the times, and establish a new school.
In addition to Gu Yanwu, Wu Weiye, who had been promoted to other noble and idle positions, also expressed his support and added some details of the petition.
Wu Weiye was Zhu Shuren's nominal mentor when he was in the Imperial College. Later, after Zhu Shuren came to power, he also made him the Minister of Rites. After he was promoted and transferred, he was replaced by Gu Yanwu.
When Gu Yanwu was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, the focus of his political achievements was on diplomacy, while when Wu Weiye was in charge, the focus of his political achievements was on culture and education. Therefore, this suggestion is more convincing if Gu Yanwu and Wu Weiye are both inside and outside each other.
Because several major figures in the academic world supported the establishment of the new school, the first round of games in the court went relatively smoothly, and no one directly came out to express opposition.
Zhu Ciyu also pretended to express that the matter was serious and he wanted to consult the Ministry of History.
Everyone saw that Shi Kefa, who had not come to court for a long time, was actually carried here today. How could they not know that this was the young emperor's determination to make progress and that he wanted to promote reforms.
Shi Kefa expressed his support in public, and finally Zhu Shuren gave Poseidon a thumbs-up, and the intention to "start preparing for a new study" was finalized first.
Anyway, it is just an intention to run a school. What will be done in the future, how personnel will be arranged, and how remuneration will be, have not yet been said. Since everything is still unclear, even if there are old foxes who want to object, they will not jump out at this time.
Zhu Ciyu then announced that after returning, he would ask the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Industry to discuss the preparations for the new school and come up with a detailed plan. This issue would also be discussed in the next few court meetings.
…
The practice of the Ming Dynasty is generally three days per court, but in fact, if it is not a troubled autumn, it will generally only decrease and not increase. For example, Wanli is a typical person who often does not go to court, but during the Chongzhen period, because the country was about to be subjugated, it increased.
Frequency of work.
Nowadays, the world is still peaceful, and the emperor still goes to court once every three days, or once in a while. Now because the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Work and the Ministry of Industry are busy and need to discuss detailed plans, Zhu Ciyu has reduced the burden on the courtiers, and will go to court every other time in the future.
One court visit and one report every six days.
Because there was plenty of time left for discussion, relevant news inevitably began to spread in Nanjing within just two days of the court meeting.
In fact, the old foxes at the top can still stand still, but some of the grassroots impulsive scholars, candidates and supervisors who are most likely to be used as guns can't sit still. Some people started to talk about government affairs and felt that it was not good to launch a new study rashly.
Others have received news that the imperial court has recently recruited a group of computational physics scholars from the West. They will combine Chinese and Western talents with people from the Academy of Sciences, and they will jointly undertake the teaching and research work of Nanjing University in the future. Maybe the scholars and supervisors will have to be confused by those who do not understand in the future.
Controlled by vulgar scholars who read the Four Books and Five Classics.
Even more exaggerated news spread, it was even said that the imperial court planned to abolish the old-style imperial examination, and even in the future, the entrance examination for new schools would only test arithmetic and other studies of things, and there would be no need to test the Four Books and Five Classics.
As a result, a large group of proctored scholars and other grass-roots meritorious students were used as guns. Some wanted to "submit letters to the public" and some wanted to criticize the current ills. They caused some sporadic conflicts in the city of Nanjing.
The imperial court did not respond directly at the beginning, because it was a fictitious matter and there was nothing to respond to. About eighteen days later, Nanjing University's preliminary ideas for running a school were sorted out, and the imperial court came to the world to sort out this issue.
Rumors of time.
Then, hundreds of scholars and supervisors were arrested inside and outside Nanjing, and dozens of people were involved in the incident in the surrounding Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, and Changzhou. It was Jin Yiwei who obtained conclusive evidence.
At first, the scholars were in an uproar, thinking that it was spy politics that was killing scholars again. But in the end, the court gave very clear instructions: it is not allowed to criticize the gains and losses of the government, but it is not allowed to spread rumors and fabricate decrees that the court had no intention of issuing.
to the imperial court.
And what these people are accused of is precisely spreading rumors.
Because according to the Nanjing University education plan announced by the imperial court, the imperial court has no plans to abolish the old subjects of the imperial examination, and this has not yet happened.
The imperial court also did not say that scholars who would study at Nanjing University in the future could have no honors at all. This is also a rumor.
According to the current new policy, in order to prevent management chaos and a huge gap, the admission threshold for Nanjing University is tentatively set to be higher than that for the Imperial College. Therefore, one must at least have the reputation of being a scholar before taking the entrance exam.
After graduating from Nanjing University, you will be treated as if you were a graduate of the Imperial College, which is equivalent to being a juren, and you can take the subsequent official examinations. Of course, you can also be directly on the waiting list as a juren, and go to the Ministry of Etiquette, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Household Affairs in the future.
There are queues waiting to be filled in each line.
After all, under the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty, in theory, after passing the imperial examination, you can queue up to wait for an official position. However, in the later period, the number of candidates became more and more serious, and you often queued for a lifetime without being able to get an official position, so you had to take the Jinshi examination.
Only then can we basically ensure a high probability of actually being awarded official positions.
The shortage of NTU graduates is theoretically the same.