Chapter 116 Wei Shengxue: It’s time to promote universal education
"I heard there was some commotion in the palace?" Senior Brother asked Mo Ge in a low voice.
Mo Ge's eyebrows twitched, and he pressed them down, warning: "This is not something we can control. Just focus on your own business."
Then I asked him, "You never pay attention to these things, why are you suddenly interested today?"
The senior brother curled his lips and said, "It's not that I'm concerned. This matter has become so serious that even I, who have been working in the factory for a long time, have heard about it." Finally, he sighed, "This news has been drilling into my ears all the time."
"I think they're crazy. They actually think they can go head-to-head with His Majesty and the immortals. Hey, what's wrong with their brains? I saw that they were all sober before, so why did they make such a fool of themselves this time?"
Mo Ge lowered his head and picked out the offending ginger strands one by one, a mocking smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "What else can I expect? With the punctuation changes this time, coupled with the nationwide promotion of the Great Qin Newspaper, all it takes is a small price to get the cheapest books and learning methods. Those nobles and powerful families are definitely going crazy. It's a good thing we're in Great Qin, so they gave up after a little fuss. If it were the six kingdoms before, they would have definitely fought back."
The senior brother shoveled a few mouthfuls of food into his mouth dejectedly, picked up the last remaining rice grains with his chopsticks and ate them before putting down his chopsticks.
"I think this is a great thing. I encountered many obstacles when I was studying. If I hadn't met a great scholar, I would have been a poor farmer working in the fields all my life."
Mo Ge looked up at his impoverished senior brother and said, "You think it's a good idea, and we in the Mohist School strongly support it. So, it's normal for those nobles to oppose it."
The Mohists were close to the common people, and in terms of their ideological and political propositions, they were the school closest to the common people except the agricultural school. Their strong support showed that this matter was beneficial to the common people, and naturally it would be detrimental to the hereditary nobles.
It was also thanks to the fact that the forces within Qin had been cleansed several times since Shang Yang's reforms, and that His Majesty the Emperor was so powerful that no one could hide his influence. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to promote it so smoothly.
But even so, it caused quite a stir. Look, even his senior brother, who was indifferent to what was happening outside, heard about it.
"The matter has been resolved. Brother, please don't mention it to anyone again to avoid trouble." Finally, Mo Ge gave another warning in a low voice.
Although his senior brother was not very sensitive to the ways of the world, the most important thing was that he was obedient and he would keep his advice and instructions in mind.
Only after seeing him nod in agreement did Mo Ge feel at ease and put away the plates.
…
In the back hall of Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng threw another memorial back onto the desk with a sneer.
"This is the first time I know that my beloved ministers are so united."
It was the first time that Weishengxue saw such a big reaction in Daqin. It took him several days to dig out the history teacher's words from the corner of his memory. It seemed that this was the case.
She pulled her hair and frowned. "Novels are ruining me!" Those people in the books smoothly promoted punctuation and pinyin without mentioning the troubles they would encounter during the process.
She sighed, "People come and go for their own interests. When their interests are touched, it's inevitable that they will react a little too strongly."
She glanced at Ying Zheng, who was still angry, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately, he is in the front, otherwise so many people would definitely come to find me.
When Wei Shengxue thought of that scene, he moved his ten fingers and felt numb.
"If they are like this now, won't there be chaos when universal education is promoted in the future?"
Ying Zheng suddenly turned around, a hint of surprise between his eyebrows, "Daoyou want to promote universal education in Daqin?"
As the name suggests, universal education does not require much thought to understand the meaning of this term.
Ying Zheng hoped that the Qin Dynasty would have as many talented people as possible, but he was not happy to see the people's wisdom being enlightened.
The five methods of governing the people summarized in "The Book of Lord Shang" are: making the people stupid, weakening the people, tiring the people, humiliating the people, and impoverishing the people.
Each one emphasizes how to minimize the cost of governance and squeeze out the value of civilians.
Enlightening the people was not in line with the Qin Dynasty's consistent stance and was contrary to its own interests.
Ying Zheng turned to look at the immortal. She didn't know whether she noticed his rejection or not, as she continued to talk about her plan to build the Qin Dynasty.
"Food, clothing, housing, and transportation—these basic needs have already been addressed. The rest just requires time to accumulate wealth and increase production capacity. It might be a little early to start this year, but we can start preparing in advance. To promote basic education, the number of teachers is crucial. But we can start by building a library in every city to reduce the cost of learning for some people... Hey, fellow Daoist, what do you think?"
The gaze that looked over was clear and bright, without any taint of interests or selfishness.
Ying Zheng avoided her gaze and returned his gaze to the memorial. "Why did you come up with the idea of promoting universal education?"
It can’t be for cultivating immortality, right?
Does the matter of immortality require so many people?
Wei Shengxue was completely confused by his question, "Huh?"
"After solving the basic problem of food and clothing, isn't it time to get an education?"
This is the information she has received since she was a child. Isn't this as it should be?
Listening to her tone, which sounded as if it was a matter of course, such as "bring an umbrella when it rains" and "eat when you're hungry", Ying Zheng once again deeply realized that the immortals lived in a completely different world from him and the Qin Dynasty.
The difference in thinking brought about by that kind of growing environment was so obvious that he couldn't even imagine what that world was like.
No wonder it’s the fairyland!
Wei Shengxue knocked on the corner of the table, trying to remind him, "You're not thinking of giving up, are you? No, although promoting universal education is costly and slow to take effect, it's the only way for a country to develop. If you want to develop your country, you'll have to face this sooner or later. If you don't prepare now, do you expect to catch up when the final push for prosperity arrives?"
People are not machines that can directly import knowledge. It takes a long time of learning for it to be effective.
Ying Zheng quickly grasped the key point from her words, "Is it necessary for Changsheng to promote universal education?"
Wei Shengxue opened her mouth. This didn't seem right, but it wasn't wrong. It was just that there were a few omissions. "...I guess you can say that."
Ying Zheng smiled after getting the answer.
Do it! It must be done! No one can stop him from achieving immortality!
That afternoon, Ying Zheng summoned civil and military officials to discuss matters. No one knew what they talked about, but the nobles who had been making a fuss in the morning changed their tone when they came out of the Xianyang Palace and began to advocate how wise and beneficial it was to publish newspapers and promote punctuation.
The Mohist leader who heard the news said: ...What conspiracy are they planning?
After thinking about it, he still felt that this matter was of great benefit, so he put it aside for the time being and continued to concentrate on studying the mechanical equipment required by the immortal.
For the sake of this equipment, he endured the disgust and cooperated with Gongshujia's group of defeated generals. He absolutely could not fail!
…
The rulers and ministers of the Great Qin Dynasty reached a new consensus, and the printing speed, which was already fast, became even faster. Soon the first issue of the Great Qin Newspaper was printed.
It was sent to various counties via the upgraded and improved teleportation array on the outskirts of Xianyang City.
"Here is the Qingsong County Magistrate, Guan Zhao. He comes from a prominent family, but his ancestors... cheated in the imperial examinations and plotted treason... and their entire clan was executed."
Lu Jia held up a newly arrived newspaper and read it word for word in Qingsong County Magistrate's ear, grinning through his white teeth. "Ah, congratulations! Your name is on the front page of Daqin's first newspaper."
Seeing that he had his eyes tightly shut, hoping to avoid seeing anything, he kindly reminded him, "As the first newspaper of the Qin Dynasty, it will definitely be recorded in history books. This newspaper will also be carefully preserved and passed down to future generations as a symbol of the progress of our Qin Dynasty society."
The Qingsong County Magistrate opened his eyes suddenly, making a sharp sound.
As a person who loves fame extremely, he knows best what will be the most lethal to such people.
Lu Jia pinched a corner of the newspaper and let it fall in front of Qingsong County Magistrate. The clear ink occupied the most conspicuous position on the newspaper. Anyone who saw the newspaper would be able to see his name on it.
"Ah! You, you guys...Puff!"
The Qingsong County Magistrate threw his head back, spat out a mouthful of hot blood, and fell to the ground.
"Tsk." Lu Jia gave him a look of disdain, slowly put away the newspaper, and ordered, "Watch it carefully, don't let him die prematurely."
As for the candidates who participated in the cheating...
There were a few white flowers hanging on the poles erected at the city gate. Every time people passed by, they would take a look and then cover their eyes, looking disgusted. But every time they passed by, they would take a look and then cover their eyes, and the cycle would repeat.
"That's them, right?"
"That's right, together with that beastly county magistrate, he secretly laid the foundation for our immortal seed!"
"They deserve to die!" An old man with gray hair grabbed a stone and threw it hard.
Seeing this, passersby quickly grabbed him and advised, "Hey, brother, no, don't be impulsive. You can't fight here! Just curse a few times. Don't get yourself involved. It's not worth it!"
Someone else who knew him shared some scientific knowledge with everyone, "His young son and maid froze to death in the winter. I heard that the gods of Qin brought a magical product called honeycomb coal. Just two small pieces can keep you warm for a whole night. All these good things were swallowed up by those damn people!" He touched his left hand, which was not as nimble as before after being frozen all winter, and spat in hatred.
"Wait a minute, the officials from Qin said they'll be publicly executing them in a few days. I'll definitely go and see for myself what happens to them!"
"What Qin lord? This is our lord! We are all Qin people!"
"Yes, yes, we are all Qin people! We have all the treatment that Qin people have, but unfortunately it was all stolen by those bastards!" He said this with gritted teeth. If the person was right in front of him, there was no doubt that he would pounce on him and bite off a piece of meat.
Time passed little by little, spring went and summer came, and the examination papers for the re-examination were also marked.
All matters have been postponed, and now the whole country is paying attention to this major event.
——The results of the college entrance examination are about to come out.
If it were a later dynasty, a mere college examination would not cause much sensation except for the candidates and their families. The emperor and his ministers would be more concerned about the spring examination of the following year, namely the metropolitan examination and the palace examination.
But everything is always special the first time. As the first trial of the imperial examination system in Daqin, everyone was watching.
Finally, after much anticipation, the test results came out.
Unlike the fixed quotas in later generations, the imperial examinations of the Qin Dynasty selected candidates based on their academic performance. If they met the requirements, all of them would be admitted. If they did not meet the requirements, it was possible that all of them would be eliminated.
The grasp of this basically depends on the local examination team.
This is a very inefficient way of reviewing and is very easy to be mixed with personal feelings, but given the current situation of Daqin, it is the best way.
With the previous negative example that caused shame across the country, the number of people on the list this time is generally acceptable. Not all of them are outstanding, but they all have real talent. At least they can save face and there will be no situation where fools pretend to be elites.
Ying Zheng closed the list and was in a good mood. "Although there are no great talents, there are still many talents."
His ministers stood at the foot of the imperial steps, respectfully awaiting his next order. They knew that what His Majesty needed in this matter was not praise, but the selection of enough talents as quickly as possible.
"The provincial examination will be held after the autumn harvest, on the fifth day of August."
"After the provincial examination, even if you don't pass the metropolitan examination, you can still become a low-level official. This time, you will be the ones to formulate the questions."
The already busy work was further burdened with work, but the workers of Daqin continued to diligently take it on, expressing their gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust. We will do our utmost to relieve your worries."
Wei Shengxue looked at their serious faces and thought to herself: You'd better not go all out.
According to her experience of failing an exam, if the teacher who sets the exam paper is too serious, the candidate's performance will be unpredictable.
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