"Old man, it's time to eat."
"Come back soon."
"The food is getting cold."
"Okay."
"Teacher Zhao, we're going home to eat first. Please sit down first."
"We'll come and chat with you after we finish our meal."
Just after Zhao Jun finished talking about the scientific system needed for industrialization, Zhao Zhen calculated the time and decided to take a break.
He waved to Wang Shouzhong in the distance. Wang Shouzhong understood and arranged for the old maids to shout in the distance.
At that moment, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others made an excuse to go home for dinner.
This is also a way for them to digest the content in meetings after class.
Zhao Jun was completely unaware and greeted them with a smile.
"Okay, okay, take care."
"It's okay, I'll just get some sun first, and then I'll go back to sleep later."
"Okay then, let's talk later."
After seeing off these old men, Zhao Jun lay on the chair and continued to bask in the sun, and asked Fan Zhongyan for a glass of water.
At this moment he was sitting in the courtyard outside the Guanjia Hall, with farmland and fences beside him.
Today in Bianliang, there is a gentle breeze, the afternoon sun shines down warmly, and the air is mixed with the fragrance of earth and grass, which penetrates into the heart.
The air in the mountains is so good!
Zhao Zhen and his companions returned to the Guanjiao Palace. After everyone arrived, Wang Sui said anxiously, "Your Majesty, this fertilizer can actually double the yield per mu!"
"Yes, if the grain production of the Song Dynasty could be doubled, why would we worry about the world not being able to achieve peace and prosperity?"
"From what Zhao Jun said, he seems to know how to make fertilizer?"
"Ask him then."
Zhao Zhen said, "What do you think of this mathematics? From what Zhao Jun said, mathematics is the foundation of science, and science is what led to the Industrial Revolution and greatly enhanced national strength."
"Your Majesty, I believe that mathematics is not only the foundation of science, but also the foundation of the nation."
Sheng Du, who possessed considerable financial acumen, remarked, "Arithmetic was not widely practiced in the Song Dynasty. Many common people could only add and subtract within ten, let alone multiplication and division. Apart from well-read scholars, only merchants might learn it. This led to numerous casualties caused by the lack of arithmetic among the people."
"I remember a case I encountered when I was the magistrate of Jeju. Zhou Xian, a grain merchant from Luqiao, teamed up with several scholars in the town to falsify the accounts when collecting grain. Using extremely complicated accounting methods, they stole a lot of rice and wheat from the people."
Wang Zeng recalled an incident from the past and said, "When good years came, the common people would sell some grain for money to buy other things. They didn't understand arithmetic, so they would often consult scholars. Scholars would then collude with merchants to deliberately subtract or miss calculations, turning a grain value of one guan into 900, or even 800 or 700 wen, severely damaging people's livelihoods."
This is a typical case of intellectuals and capitalists working together to harm ordinary people. Ordinary people may know some addition and subtraction by counting on their fingers, but they cannot handle more complicated multiplication and division. They often ask scholars who know arithmetic for help. If they encounter bad scholars, they will work with capitalists to deceive ordinary people.
Such cases were common in ancient times because mathematics was not included in popular education.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, intellectuals from poor families rose to prominence, but it was only a rise. Compared with the general public, the proportion of scholars was still a small number.
It was not until the literacy campaign in New China that the literacy rate increased.
And this is literacy.
Mathematics was a niche subject in ancient times. The Tang Dynasty at least had a Ming Suan Ke (Sumian Mathematics Examination), which admitted talented mathematicians to official positions. However, by the Song Dynasty, this was no longer a subject in the exams, and the number of people specializing in mathematics decreased significantly.
It’s just that because the Song Dynasty attached more importance to industry and commerce, many people independently studied basic mathematics such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
But generally they were just scholars and businessmen. Ordinary people cultivated their own one-third acre of land and were lucky enough to have enough food to eat, not to mention having the spare time to study and do math.
Therefore, the foundation of mathematics is not only missing an intermediate system, but it has also not been officially promoted among the people.
However, there was still mathematical soil in the Song Dynasty. During the two Song Dynasties, the economy was prosperous and the sprouts of capitalism had appeared. Capitalism cannot do without mathematical calculations. If the Song Dynasty government had promoted it properly, science might have taken root among the people.
"Then, do you think that promoting mathematics will be beneficial rather than harmful?"
Zhao Zhen asked.
Lü Yijian pondered, "Fan Zhongyan's reforms are facing immense resistance. If we're not careful, we could risk widespread opposition from officials. But mathematics doesn't seem to have any downsides. Furthermore, the Tang Dynasty promoted arithmetic and established a Ming Dynasty mathematics exam to recruit officials. The prosperity of commerce in the Song Dynasty also requires the spread of arithmetic among the people. This won't hurt."
"Um."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "According to what Zhao Jun said, we should indeed promote mathematics. But how should we do that?"
Everyone looked at each other and said in unison: "Add it to the imperial examination."
This is the simplest and most brutal method.
Zhao Zhen pondered, "Incorporating mathematics into the imperial examinations would indeed promote widespread adoption, but Zhao Jun said that Song Dynasty mathematics lacked a systematic approach and lacked a thorough derivation process."
Lü Yijian smiled and pointed at Zhao Jun, who was still basking in the sun and chatting with Fan Zhongyan not far away, and said, "Your Majesty, isn't there someone over there who can help us improve the system?"
Everyone smiled knowingly. With Zhao Jun around, are they still afraid of not being able to perfect the scientific system?
After a while, they calculated the time to finish their meal and came out one after another, sitting in the yard and continuing to chat with Zhao Jun.
They first chatted about family matters. After all the pretend people arrived, Fan Zhongyan, who had been taking notes and accompanying Zhao Jun, guided Zhao Jun to continue the previous topic.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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