Chapter 97: Education for All

Li Jun kept knocking on his forehead, brows deep, and pondering quietly. Li Jun is a person with extremely quick thinking and rarely has any troubles that stump him. Although this matter cannot trouble him now, it also makes him very troubled. He is worried about education.

Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty is one of the most unsatisfactory dynasties in Chinese history. What is not satisfactory is not only because of repeated defeats in foreign wars, but also because of its own corruption. It is precisely because of the corruption of the Song Dynasty itself that leads to repeated defeats in foreign wars. Otherwise, they are all the same nations, why are they so strong during the Qin and Han Dynasties, but they are so weak during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

For Li Jun, he had a deeper understanding of the accumulated tragedies of the Southern Song Dynasty than anyone else. The military had just improved, the situation was getting better, economic problems were coming, economic problems were being deployed, and the headaches of education came again. If you want to develop the economy, you need to innovate technology. Don’t even think about it without a large number of talents or specialists. This is a problem that modern history has proven.

In ancient times, dynasties implemented the policy of fooling the people, did not promote education, and the people's wisdom was not yet available. Li Jun was determined to develop the education cause of the Southern Song Dynasty and cultivated a large number of talents and specialists. Unfortunately, he did not meet this condition at all. It was not because he had no money, but because he had no teaching staff.

In Li Jun's words, "Even if I don't have money, I'm just hungry, I'm going to ask for help, borrow and beg, and I have to raise money for running the school. But even if I have money and start the school, who will teach it? It's better not to teach those old masters who speak the ways of Confucius and Mencius and keep the words of sages. At least, it won't mislead people."

Confucianism occupies an extremely important position in Chinese history and has made significant contributions to China's development. However, the greatest advantage of Confucianism is that it is empty talk about theory without actual operational methods. Therefore, when it comes to Confucianism, people think of a corresponding word "pedantic".

The lack of science and technology in Confucian theory is obvious to all, and what Li Jun wants is a large number of scientific and technological talents and various specialists, which is not found in Confucian theory. Therefore, Li Jun intends to start a new foundation and abandon the existing education system, that is, the Confucian education that cultivates officials needed by the court, and establish a system.

As a senior educator, Li Jun knows how important teaching staff is to education. Some people call teachers "engineers of human souls". This is not an exaggeration, but it makes sense. What teachers want to change is the human soul. If those pedantic old masters come to teach, wouldn't they teach the people across the country to become pedantic?

"Your Majesty, how do you deal with these prisoners of war?" Li Tingzhi gave Li Jun a favor and got to the point. In the two major wars in Jiangnan, the Southern Song Dynasty won a great victory. The direct consequence was that prisoners of war were full of violence and almost nowhere to be locked up.

Regarding the fact that there are too many prisoners of war in the Southern Song Dynasty, Gundam once joked, saying: "The emperor's ability is really amazing, especially the ability to capture prisoners, is really admired by me. I have caught a lot of people and there is no place to be locked up. Emperor, should I ask me to capture a few of them and lock them up in the horse tent?"

Gundam's joke naturally attracted Li Jun's laughter, pointing at him and laughing: "You old naughty boy, you can think of it. If you want someone to raise horses for you, just say it, and you have to find so many excuses."

Li Jun thought for a while and said, "There are three types of prisoners of war, namely Mongolians, Semu people and Han people. Please treat them differently. The Mongolians and Semu people will be punished to work, whether it is mining or workmanship, they will be sent to them as long as they need it. Anyway, we lack manpower now and cannot support them in vain, so we should let them move."

Li Junzhen was good at speaking. He clearly wanted to "explode" prisoners of war, but he said it to him as an activity. Li Tingzhi laughed in his heart and said, "Your Majesty, let me continue to give you the order."

"Don't lose money on them. Give them enough. If you have the conditions, give them good food." Li Jun's serious attitude towards elders moved Li Tingzhi. He thought that these prisoners of war would really enjoy a happy encounter with a good emperor like Li Jun. However, Li Jun's words later dispelled the touch that had just come up. Li Jun said: "There are too many things and there is no time to deal with it. This matter should be handled long ago. They should go to bed when they are full and have nothing to do. The winner in the court actually wants to spend money to support them in vain. It's not cost-effective. This working time will be handled flexibly and flexibly according to the situation!"

After hearing Li Jun's words, Li Tingzhi almost laughed out loud, pursed her lips tightly and said, "I understand."

Li Jun said that the flexible handling is that he can work and try to let them do it. In the current terms, he wants to squeeze out the last drop of their blood. It’s not that Li Jun is cruel, but Li Jun really has no choice. Li Jun is now lacking in everything except poverty, and it is also good to be able to get some back from prisoners of war. Besides, there are a total of hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war, including the number of Mongolian Youhe Semen people. Each person does half an hour more every day, and the wealth he creates is not a small amount. Why not do such a good thing?

"For Han prisoners, those who are willing to surrender to the court will surrender to the court, and those who are unwilling to surrender will be given away the matter." Li Jun said with a smile. Li Tingzhi found that Li Jun's mouth was not easy to detect. This smile was a kind of malicious smile. As expected, Li Jun continued: "You can't just let it go, you have to let them recite the article before you can."

It was something that had never happened before for prisoners to recite articles. Li Tingzhi couldn't help but be stunned and muttered: "Remember articles? Your Majesty, what articles should I recite?"

Li Jun smiled and said, "You go and tell Lu Shan, and ask him to write an article to accuse the Mongolians of crimes in the north. They will only let them go after they recite it. If they don't carry it, they won't let it go."

Li Tingzhi suddenly realized that Li Jun's move was to force the tiger to the mountain. Wen Tianxiang was the saint of the literary world. He wrote an article accusing the Mongols of atrocities in the north. It would be a great article. All the crimes of the Mongols must be on it. If the Han prisoners were to be cared for before they could be released, once this matter spreads, they would not deal with the Mongols when they returned to the north? Even if they didn't say it, Li Jun had already made up his mind and would definitely send someone to the Mongolian court. By then, will the north still be in a bad mood? Will there be a magnificent uprising?

The number of Han people among the prisoners was the largest, close to 300,000. Once the trouble broke out in the north, it would fuel the court. How many benefits were there? Li Tingzhi, a quick-minded politician, naturally wanted to get it, and said happily: "Your Majesty, I will do it immediately, and I will do it immediately." This kind of big thing is naturally the sooner it is done, the better.

Li Tingzhi has many problems today, no wonder. There are many things to deal with after a big battle. In addition, the reforms promoted by Li Jun involved all aspects, so there were more matters. Li Tingzhi himself made a big deal, and ignored Li Jun's frown and asked: "Emperor, the disabled soldiers need to be resettled. Their life needs to be guaranteed. There is a lot of money needed and there is no place yet. How can the emperor deal with it?"

"I really miss the way the court handled it before. I don't have to worry about it. You have too many problems. Didn't you see me worrying about education?" Li Jun patted his forehead and thought in annoyance. Suddenly, his face stretched out with joy, as if he was happy like a gold mine. He said to Li Tingzhi: "Xiangfu, why didn't you tell me about this? You solved a big problem for me."

"I'm asking for you and solving the problem for you? What's this?" Li Tingzhi couldn't understand what Li Jun said, and she couldn't stop muttering in her heart, asking, "The emperor means..."

Li Jun happily interrupted him and said, "Xiangfu, I tell you that I have been worrying about education. I have been thinking about it all the time, but I didn't think of a good idea. It's not that the court has no money, but because there are not enough people to teach knowledge. Now, there are tens of thousands of people in the court that can come in handy. With the Master, the disciples will naturally have it!"

Li Tingzhi knew that Li Jun was extremely clever and powerful, and he became energetic when he heard this. He hurriedly asked, "Master, where is our master from?" Li Tingzhi likes to support people, teach and educate people, and is extremely enthusiastic about running education, so he naturally couldn't help asking for a clear question.

"Xiangfu, haven't you said it? We have tens of thousands of disabled soldiers who need to be resettled." Li Jun happily explained to Li Tingzhi: "They have all received cultural training and can read the text. With a certain foundation, the court allocated a batch of silver to concentrate them and then attend classes well so that they can receive more extensive learning. After passing the assessment, they will be allowed to return to their hometown to run schools. You said that there are not tens of thousands of teachers at once." The more they talked, the more enthusiastic they were, the more they were in their eyes, and they were several times more enthusiastic. Li Jun is a person who is enthusiastic about education. When they talk about education, they are naturally very enthusiastic and want to do it immediately.

During the winter training period, in order to improve the quality of the army, Li Jun once implemented basic lessons in the army and wrote them in documents, which clearly stipulated that those who failed the cultural courses were not promoted. After his efforts, there are many people in the Southern Song army who knew the words and snipped. Although they knew only a limited number of words, it was much better than those who did not know them.

You should know that a large part of the recruitment of the Song army were refugees and they were illiterate at all. It was already very good to achieve such achievements.

Think about it after the founding of New China, in order to promote education, due to the incomparable shortage of teachers, people who have read books for a few days and have recognized a few words as treasures, paid them wages, and asked them to teach. The situation Li Jun encountered at this time was similar to the situation after the founding of New China, and there was no way.

Li Tingzhi's eyes were also wide open, with beautiful little stars in his eyes, and he slapped: "Master, you are so wise! You are so wise! This is such a good idea!" Li Tingzhi is a person who rarely flatters. Li Jun's idea is so good that he can't stop patting.

"But you can't be too happy too early." Li Jun began to pour cold water on Li Tingzhi, but he opened his mouth and laughed as if he had encountered something big good, and said: "There are many problems here that need to be dealt with. We have to summarize them well. To teach them well, we naturally need a unified textbook, which can be learned from the textbooks used before. The textbooks in the past were rushing to be compiled. Now that we have time, we should review them carefully. If we should add them, we should delete them."

Li Tingzhi nodded in agreement: "What the emperor said is very true. I think a special department should be established to promote this matter. The emperor and the Hanlin Academy can use it."

The Confucian scholars in the Hanlin Academy are all masters of Confucianism. If they were in charge, they would not be finished. Li Jun rejected it without thinking and said, "No, you must not let them compile textbooks. Well, by the way, the Hanlin Academy sent them to study literature. There are so many books in the palace that no one can protect. They have to study them carefully, write their experiences, and make more contributions to the development of academics. They have to submit an experience every ten days, and if they don't pay, their salary will be reduced by half."

Li Jun smiled, but Li Tingzhi felt that his smile looked like the wolf grandmother. Li Jun understood his meaning very well, that is, to send these people to study books and divert their attention so as not to cause trouble.

Li Tingzhi, a pragmatic politician, had no good feelings for these corrupt scholars, and said in great agreement: "Your Majesty, these great scholars may have too little experience in writing one article in ten days. For them, it is no problem to have three articles."

Li Jun laughed inwardly that Li Tingzhi was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and there was no trace of it when he started to slap people. He agreed: "That's it. We can set up a Ministry of Education to promote the development of education. The textbook will be edited by the Ministry of Education. You, Lu Shan, Chen Yizhong, Huang Yongshan, Shen Bi, Zhou Shan, Zhang Chaoxuan, Hu Gou, Li Bihu, Chang Yu and I are all here to participate in the compilation of textbooks." If Li Jun wants to promote new education, focusing on scientific and technological knowledge, he can't do it without going into the battle personally.

These people are those who Li Jun believes that they are flexible in their thinking and do not stick to dogma. Only by writing textbooks can people feel at ease.

"I obey the order." Li Tingzhi was naturally responsible for this matter.

Li Jun thought for a while and said, "This education is divided into two types, one is basic education and the other is professional and technical education. You can understand basic education and write some words and sentences. It is enough to meet the needs of daily life. There is no need to be too demanding. Professional and technical education is designed for specialized technologies. For example, for the manufacturing of artillery, we can set up an artillery academy to specialize in cultivating artillery experts.

"You also know that the Song Dynasty now needed talents from all industries, and we must be careful about this matter. Especially artillery, ships, steel, weapon manufacturing, mechanical design, medicine, and agriculture, we must start first. These industries are closely related to the army. Whether the court can win the war depends on whether we have more advanced technology. Each industry will set up an academy. Huang Yongshan and others are all very good technical experts, so they will form a team for each of them to plan the teaching content and compile the textbooks."

What Li Jun said is indeed a far-sighted measure. For modern people, we all know that China’s slogan is “Science and education to develop the country”. To do this, we need a large number of talents. If there is no talent, what science and education to develop the country is now? The Southern Song Dynasty’s needs for science and technology are more urgent than at any time in history. Li Tingzhi has a deep understanding of this and agrees with Li Jun’s words and said happily: “The emperor is wise! The emperor, I think Huang Yongshan and others are all very experienced experts. If they participate, they will pass on their knowledge and experience to their disciples. In no time, a large number of specialists will appear in the Song Dynasty. By then, we will have cannons, food, and silver. This battle will naturally be easier to fight.”

Li Jun nodded in favor and said, "That's natural. However, we have to be pragmatic and not deviate from reality. We have tens of thousands of faculty at once, but if we want to promote education nationwide, it is still too few. It can be said that it is a drop in the bucket. This basic education cannot be achieved by everyone coming to school and studying. Well, just run a night school. People can work during the day and go to classes at night to add some knowledge."

"Your Majesty, I think you can increase the number of classes during the slack season and also conduct some surprise training." Li Tingzhi continued Li Jun's words and performed his work.

Li Jun agreed and said, "Yes, yes, that's what it means. We must use all the time we can use to promote education, and we must not waste time. We must make it clear to the Masters that whether they teach well or not is directly related to their salary. The court will conduct a unified assessment. Those who fail will be reduced. Those who are excellent can not only get more salary, but also get promoted and give them titles." If Li Jun was in normal times, he would definitely be talking about the teacher. Now he is in a good mood and speaks with his master, and he is very unhappy.

Li Tingzhi fully demonstrated the excellent qualities of a pragmatic politician and said: "Your Majesty, I think it may be difficult for the Master to gather the scattered people together, and local officials must participate. Promoting education is one of their responsibilities. If the education is not good, it cannot be promoted. Also, if the people who do not go to night school and the people who have poor grades will have a heavier tax on them."

"Totally agree!" Li Jun almost sang these four words, saying: "We must also consider special circumstances, such as having a disability, living difficulties, being unable to take care of ourselves, and those who are too old, such as those over fifty-five years old, who can not participate."

Li Jun's thoughts and considerations of the subtleties made Li Tingzhi obey and said, "The emperor is wise!"

"This professional and technical education will draw a group of outstanding people from the current skilled workers and technicians, and then teach them in a unified manner. The students will select a group of people from the workers and the children of Congratulations, first teach them some basic knowledge, and then receive professional training. The outstanding people among them can stay and engage in education while doing research." Li Jun said confidently: "I dare to assert that it won't be long before the Song Dynasty will usher in a new era of people's wisdom!"

Li Jun rarely said the word "I" and now I am happy that I blurted out.

It is good to educate, but it requires a large sum of money. What Li Tingzhi is most afraid of now is the matter related to money. He frowned and said, "Master, where can I find this money?"

"This is simple!" Li Jun said without thinking, "I have already thought about it. Lushan is still digging gold mines, and he can allocate a sum of silver. All officials and officials have to donate 10% of their salary to support education. This is not enough. I went to the queen and told her to take the lead in donating all the gold, silver and jewelry in the palace. This is another large sum of silver. Finally, the life in the palace started from me. Every meal was carried out with three dishes, one soup, one meat, two vegetables and one soup. If anyone violated the situation, he would be expelled from the palace."
Chapter completed!