"If the exemption cannot be reduced, then lend to the students!" Li Jie thought for a while and replied again.

"Lending? This is absolutely not possible. How can our academy do the same thing as those unscrupulous monks?" When Xie Jin heard the word "lending", he immediately opposed it more fiercely, as if lending was more difficult to accept than the previous reductions.

In fact, Xie Jin's reaction was normal, because in this era, there was only one situation of lending, that is, usury. The so-called "nine outs and thirteen returns" was by no means a false statement, but a real situation.

At first, the lending was mainly done by monks in some temples, and the interest rate was extremely high, and it even doubled after a few days of release. Later, after the money shop appeared, they also started lending. However, no matter who lends, the interest rate was ridiculously high, so Xie Jin had such a big reaction when he heard that Li Jie wanted to lend to students.

"Brother Xie misunderstood. I am not the group of monks and money houses who eat people and don't spit bones. We can lend students without interest. They will not ask them to pay back the money during their school days. As long as they have income after graduation, they can pay back the borrowed money within a certain period of time. After all, they can graduate from the college. Even if they have no future, the monthly salary of being a accountant is enough to pay back the money." Li Jie explained hurriedly with a smile.

The literacy rate in this era was extremely low. Although most of the people Li Jie contacted were literate, most of the people in the middle and lower classes were illiterate. Therefore, as long as a person can read and write, it means that he can surpass ordinary people and will be more likely to get the opportunity to make a name for himself in the future.

"Don't lend money with interest?" Xie Jin also showed a look of surprise when he heard this. He really didn't expect this.

"But is this really possible?" Xie Jin then said with some concern. After all, there is no such thing as before, and the academy lends money to students, which always makes him feel a little strange.

"Brother Jie, the goal set by the Academy of Truth-Quozhen is to seek the truth of the world. To achieve this goal, more people must be involved. After all, relying on personal abilities alone is limited. Only by participating in it and using the wisdom of the public, more answers can we find in the world. Those students from poor families also have a heart for knowledge. We cannot block them from the door of truth just because of just money!" Li Jie said again with a serious expression at this time.

Xie Jin was finally moved and nodded immediately and said, "Okay, just do what Brother Li said, but didn't you say there were two ways just now, what is the second one?"

"The second one is even simpler!" Li Jie smiled again, "Brother Jie, you are from Jie Yuan and must be very proficient in imperial examination articles. In addition, some officials in the academy are also from Jinshi. If you want, you can open a new subject and teach students some skills to deal with imperial examinations!"

"Treat the imperial examination? Then... isn't this no different from those ordinary academies?" Xie Jin asked again in confusion when he heard this.

There was more than one academy in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, in addition to the public Imperial College, there were many private academies, both large and small, which were mainly to study Confucian classics and make the future imperial examinations. Moreover, they were more professional. The Academy of Truth Hunting was not a college for the imperial examinations. Even if they taught the imperial examinations, they would probably not be able to rob others.

"It's different. We don't teach Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, but only teach some skills during the imperial examinations, such as turning points in articles, skills in using allusions and making sentences, etc. You should know more about these things than me!" Li Jie explained again.

In the third year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu issued an imperial examination law, which stipulated that the examination-oriented text imitated the "Classic Meanings" of the Song Dynasty. In fact, the original eight-legged specifications have been formed. The length of sentences, the complexity and simplicity of characters, the tone of words, etc. must be relatively written, and the number of words is also limited, which greatly restricts the free performance of candidates, so that they can only display their talents within the prescribed range.

Of course, Lao Zhu’s imperial examination at this time could not be called the eight-legged essay. The real eight-legged essay will not be completely established until the Chenghua period. The eight-legged essay at that time was called terrifying.

But whether it is called the Bazi essay or not, it is an indisputable fact that the articles on the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty are stricter. Under strict regulations, more skills are derived from the examination. As long as you understand these skills, although you cannot say that you can definitely pass the examination, you can still take a big advantage in the examination.

Xie Jin was originally a Jinshi and passed Jie Yuan in high school, so he naturally understood what Li Jie meant immediately, which made him lit up: "This method is indeed good. Even if the candidates graduated from other academies, it is difficult for them to ask a Jinshi to help them explain the skills of the imperial examination. If we start talking about the imperial examination, it will definitely attract many candidates to come and study."

"Brother Jie, although this method can attract students, it also has one disadvantage!" Li Jie suddenly spoke again. He put this method second before, which was to use it as a backup plan.

"What are the shortcomings?" Xie Jin asked in surprise. Although he was smart, he was mainly engaged in academic research and was very slow in some things, such as his interpersonal relationships.

"Brother Jie, think that this method can only attract those who come for the imperial examination, and it is not consistent with the goals of our academy. Therefore, no matter how many students come, it is not very useful for the development of the academy." Li Jie explained patiently.

"Yes! Why did I forget this?" Xie Jin slapped his mind when he heard this. If it was just to teach the imperial examination, they might as well start an ordinary academy. This is completely contrary to their true intention of running a Xuzhen Academy.

"So this method can only be used as a backup. If the first method still cannot recruit enough students, then use the second method to attract some students. At least support the academy's shelf first. After the reputation of the academy is established in the future, you don't have to worry about enrollment." Li Jie also patted Xie Jin on the shoulder at the end.

If possible, Li Jie actually wanted to take charge of the affairs of the academy himself. After all, education is a century-old plan, and it is no exaggeration to say that the things he did before were not as powerful as the future influence of the academy.

But Li Jie really couldn't get rid of himself and had no time or energy at all, so he could only hand over the academy to Yuan Jianzheng and Xie Jin. At most, he would come up with ideas on the side. Although Xie Jin had some shortcomings, he was also growing up, hoping that he could support the operation of the entire academy in the future.

"I understand, thank you Brother Li for your advice!" Xie Jin also felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavy, so he thanked Li Jie again.

After talking about the main business, Li Jie also called Li Fang and Li Mao brothers, and then introduced them to Xie Jin. When he learned that these two were Li Shanchang's grandsons, Xie Jin also looked surprised and then warmly welcomed them to school.

It is worth mentioning that Xie Jin actually respected Li Shanchang very much. Last year, the kingdom used a letter to complain for Li Shanchang. The memorial was originally written by Xie Jin. If Lao Zhu blamed him at that time, Xie Jin would probably be implicated, but he still wrote it himself in order to speak up for Li Shanchang, but he did not expect that Lao Zhu did not blame him.

Xie Jin has a lot of affairs now, especially Li Jie's suggestion just now, so he must continue to give instructions as soon as possible, so Xie Jin quickly said goodbye and left. Li Jie took Li Fang and his brothers to get familiar with the academy again, and finally took them home. Of course, their brothers also had to live in Li Jie during this period.

However, just as Li Jie and the other three brothers entered the gate, they saw one of them rushing out of the living room excitedly and shouting to Li Jie excitedly: "Li Banju, a great thing, my Three Kingdoms have finally been printed!"

"Really! Are there any sample books?" Li Jie was overjoyed when he heard this. The person who rushed out was Luo Guanzhong. Since he was appointed by Lao Zhu, he has gone to the printing press office to take up his post. He goes out early and returns late every day, and it is difficult for Li Jie to see him.

"Yes, Li Bandu, come and see!" Luo Guanzhong's excited beard shook, and he also took out a few books from his arms and handed them to Li Jie when he spoke.

Li Jie immediately took it and found that there were six books in total. Because the Three Kingdoms have a large number of words and printed one too thick and difficult to bind, it was divided into six volumes, and the pages also emitted the unique smell of ink.

Now Li Jie opened the first book with excitement. The beginning is the portraits of several major characters in the Three Kingdoms. This is what Li Jie suggested. Of course, he also learned it from later generations. This has the advantage, that is, directly convey the image of the characters to the readers' minds through the image of the portrait, so that the characters can be more full of images.

Among these portraits, Liu, Guan and Zhang are of course essential, as well as portraits of Cao Cao, Sun Quan and others. However, when he saw Zhuge Liang, Li Jie was stunned for a moment, and then looked up at Luo Guanzhong. As a result, Luo Guanzhong was a little embarrassed because Zhuge Liang's appearance was actually painted by the painter in his appearance.

Li Jie also laughed in his heart about this, but he didn't care much. After all, Luo Guanzhong is the author, and this little thought is nothing at all.

After turning the portrait, the opening of the Three Kingdoms also changed a little, because Li Jie also wrote Yang Shen's poem "Linjiangxian·The Rolling Yangtze River Flowing East" in advance, because this poem is too in line with the story of the Three Kingdoms. Without this poem, it always makes people feel that the Three Kingdoms lacks a little charm.

Next, Li Jie looked at the four samples and found that in addition to the characters at the beginning, some classic plots were also drawn, such as the Three Heroes Fighting Lu Bu, the Burning of Red Cliffs, etc., which made Li Jie feel very friendly.

At the same time, Li Jie also thought that if the sample book is not a problem, it can be printed on a large scale immediately and will be directly on the market. I wonder how much sensation it will cause then?
Chapter completed!