"Did the villagers send their daughters to the academy later?" Scholar Jiang asked Li Yun.
"Only a few households in Qingshan Village have not been sent there, the rest have been sent there. I have to collect students from nearby areas for training and examinations, so I can only send boys here. After the refugees from Anqiu County settle down in Qingshan Village, their boys and girls can be sent there for free. In addition, the children I bought can also go to school for free." Li Yun said to Academician Jiang and Doctor Zheng.
"Our Yun'er is a woman who is as good as any man. She is much better than those dandy young men." Doctor Zheng and Scholar Jiang said excitedly.
"I'm not that good. I'm just lucky and the villagers all want their children to succeed, so they cooperated like that." Li Yun felt embarrassed by the praise.
“I also agree with what Master Jiang and Doctor Zheng said. Madam Li is worthy of the title. Even the daughters of the capital city cannot compare to her.
By the way, do the teachers you recruit at your academy have good academic qualifications? If you need more teachers, I can recommend one or two. "The chief wine master didn't expect Li Yun to be so magnanimous. If her academy needed people, she could give one or two of her own students.
"Of course, that's good. Qingshan Village doesn't need one. I want to open a girls' academy in the capital." Li Yun thought of Dabao studying at the Imperial Academy, and herself being a princess. She also had business in the capital, so she would definitely live there often. Dabao and Erbao could go to the academy, but Sanbao and Xiaohua couldn't. They would definitely be bored in the capital, so why not open a girls' school in the capital, divided into two academies: one for the common people's daughters to study for free, and the other for the aristocratic daughters. Both of these schools would need teachers. The academy could recruit some ordinary teachers, while the aristocratic academy would recruit some maids to teach them etiquette.
"What? You want to open a girls' academy in the capital?" Doctor Zheng, Grand Secretary Jiang and the chief academic officer asked Li Yun in shock.
"Yes, I have this plan. Dabao will enter the Imperial College, and in two years, Erbao will also enter the Imperial College. Only Sanbao and Xiaohua will be left. They have no playmates in the capital and will be very bored. I want to open a girls' academy so that they can also go in to study and learn to read." Li Yun expressed his plan.
"You want to open an academy in the capital for Sanbao and Xiaohua. Do you know how difficult it will be?" The chief priest couldn't understand why Li Yun had such an idea. The capital was different from Qingshan Village. People here believed that a woman's virtue lay in her lack of talent, and they would never agree to send a girl to study.
"It was because of the Three Treasures that I built a girls' academy in Qingshan Village. Is there any problem with that? Besides, I paid for the construction of the academy and I don't charge for its renovation. If the people are willing to send their daughters here, they can send them here. If they are not willing to send them here, they don't have to. What's the difficulty?" Li Yun said puzzledly. She did not force the people to send their daughters to school.
"First, the land price in the capital is very expensive, and second, food is also expensive. Can you really afford to provide free education for women?" said the chief priest.
"So that's the reason. Don't worry, this money is not a problem for me." The thing Li Yun has the most is money.
"This is not the point. The point is that those high-ranking officials will not agree to you opening an academy. Other academies will also oppose it. They think that women's virtue lies in their lack of talent. If women also start to study, their status will be shaken, so they will not agree to you opening an academy." The chief priest talked about the difficulties of opening a women's academy.
"What do you mean by a woman's virtue is her lack of talent? What kind of virtue is it? Is it that she can't do anything and just stays at home waiting for her husband to come back? Or is it that she can't teach the children and they become jealous and mess up the house? Do you know what it means when they say men are the breadwinners and women are the homemakers? It means that the man is the head of the family, his main responsibility is to earn money outside to support the family and ensure that his wife and children live a happy life; the woman is the good wife and helper, her responsibility is to respect her parents at home, take good care of the children, and help them with their homework. If a woman can't even read a single word, how can she help the children?
Therefore, a woman with talent is virtuous. The first virtue is that she knows how to be filial to her elders, care for the younger ones, and get along well with her neighbors, thus becoming a good daughter-in-law, a good wife, and a good mother. The second virtue is that she can tutor her children in their homework so that they can consolidate their knowledge and become pillars of the court. The third virtue is that a woman's reading can make her knowledgeable and educated, so that her husband can work hard with peace of mind.
They say a good woman brings prosperity to three generations, meaning an educated woman knows how to read and behave, can distinguish right from wrong, and can bring harmony to the family. This is virtue." Li Yun expressed his views.
"Do you know that what you said is heresy in the eyes of others?" The chief priest and Jiang Daxueshi were shocked by Li Yun's point of view. She actually said that a woman's virtue lies in her talent, which is heresy.
"Heretical? I want to ask you, which scripture are you betraying? Which doctrine are you betraying? Does it mean that women who study are heretics? I don't think so. Look at me. I am an exception. Not only can I make a curved plow and come up with laws that benefit the people, but I can also come up with many business ideas that others can't think of. All of this is because I have studied.
Do you know what makes a nation strong? It's knowledge. If everyone possesses knowledge, they can create wealth. This wealth isn't just gold and silver; it also creates one miracle after another, such as the curved plow, the harrow, and ice making.
If I hadn't been educated, I wouldn't have been able to learn how to make ice or build a curved plow from books. Do you still think a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent? " Li Yun spoke out all the great principles she had learned in her previous life.
"Yun'er, your uncle supports you. If someone comes out to oppose you and it is disadvantageous to you, the entire Jiang family will be your backing. Even if you use the Jiang family to pressure others, your uncle will help you. Because you are so right. Knowledge is wealth. It is a powerful wealth of the Jin Dynasty. When the academy is built, all the girls of the Jiang family will be sent to the academy to study, and your uncle will pay their tuition." Academician Jiang was shocked by Li Yun's theory. He felt that he could not compare with Li Yun's knowledge. At least he did not know that knowledge is wealth.
"Yun'er, your uncle also supports you in building a academy. The girls of the Zheng family will also be sent to the academy, and your uncle will also pay tuition. Yun'er cannot be asked to pay. The Zheng family is also Yun'er's backer. If someone objects, your uncle's Censorate will not stand up to it either." Doctor Zheng was also shocked by Li Yun's ideas.
"Madam Li, I will help you too. You are right. A woman's virtue lies in her talent." The one who was most shocked was Jijiu. He had read so many books, and they always said that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Women should learn needlework and take care of their husbands and children at home. But suddenly a woman told him that only when women read books can they help their children with their homework, be filial to their parents, care for the younger generations, and live in harmony with their neighbors.
"I would like to thank you all, but I can handle it without your help. I opened an academy for girls to study for free. It is voluntary. If someone does not agree with their daughters going to school, they don't have to send them. And not all girls can go in to study. They have to pass a character test before they can get in." Li Yun told them that they had to pass an exam to go in to study.
"Yun'er, can the legitimate and illegitimate daughters of those ministers go in to study?" Doctor Zheng asked Li Yun.
"Yes, but if they want to enter the aristocratic college, they must pass an exam. And they have to pay tuition, which is 10,000 taels a year." Li Yun said.
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