New Shun 1730

"Zhongxian, don't be too modest. How can you be considered an ignorant old woman?"

"Sir, I am not too modest. For such knowledge, what is the difference between me and those children? If you only look at such knowledge, I am an ignorant old woman."

Kang Budai did not think that this analogy was an insult to himself. After following Liu Yu for a long time, he knew that there were so many unheard-of knowledge in the world.

He had never heard of many knowledge, but it did not prevent him from understanding. It was nothing more than a few new words, and he could imagine the origin of the world in his mind.

Kang Budai was close to Laozi and Zhuangzi, and he was very close to such the origin of the world and did not reject it.

After chatting and laughing, Liu Yu closed the door, dismissed the rest of the people, and talked to Kang Budai about his plan.

Every plan has a purpose.

Liu Yu's purpose was very clear.

Spend ten or even twenty years to artificially create a new literacy group.

This group must be separated from the existing scholar-official class.

The economic foundation of this group must also be separated from the existing landowners of the scholar-official class.

Ideological views, values, and world views are completely separated.

They must learn common sense, nature, mathematics, physics, and chemistry, so that what they learn is not used in the imperial examinations and is completely separated from the existing scholar-official class.

There must be an internal promotion system and internal digestion.

Including officers of the four military branches: artillery, fortress engineers, engineers, and navy; accountants, internal scribes, and accountants in the chamber of commerce; captains and heads of trading companies; heads of various workshops, etc.

The way out for these people is to become sailors, some to work in workshops, and the rest to go out to sea as employees of trading companies.

In the future, workshops will also have to employ these people in a limited way. Official positions that the emperor cannot directly control are also given priority to these people.

In addition to speaking the same language, having the same skin color and hair, these people are more different from the old literate class than the difference between the scholar-officials and the Manchu chiefs in the late Ming Dynasty.

Before, Kang Budai thought that Liu Yu took advantage of the disaster to recruit a group of orphans to raise dead soldiers.

At that time, Liu Yu said that he would not raise dead soldiers, and Kang Budai did not know what Liu Yu was going to do.

When Liu Yu told Kang Budai his idea, Kang Budai was immediately convinced.

He thought that his pattern was indeed much worse. He could only think of raising dead soldiers, but he never thought that Liu Yu would make such a big move?

The emperor opened a way to establish practical learning. While the emperor was far away, and the early stage was extremely secretive and no harm could be seen, this was a big thing to do.

Liu Yu was not private. Many things could not be done by one person. Kang Budai was trustworthy, and this matter would be presided over by Kang Budai in the future.

After roughly speaking about his ideas, Liu Yu talked about the three-step plan.

The first step was to recruit some people who knew a little about Western learning, mainly those who could not pass the Wude Palace, but had learned geometry and arithmetic since childhood.

Use real money as a temptation.

Liu Yu started a new business and wrote some books that can be self-taught and understood.

These books are at the level of common sense, such as the earth is round, everything has gravity, everything is composed of atoms and molecules, organisms are divided into animals and plants, wound infection is caused by bacteria, etc., and the pinyin used for phonetic notation, etc.

Liu Yu paid for these people to self-study for a year and then take the exam.

After passing the exam, they were hired as teachers at a high price of three and a half taels of silver per month.

This first batch of people did not know much, but it should be enough to enlighten children.

At least when children learn to read, they can have an instilled understanding of the world. As for whether they really understand it, it is not important, as long as they have a general concept and impression.

The second step is that after the first batch of enlightened children have accepted this common sense knowledge, they will pass the exam and select those with excellent learning.

At this time, the orphans that Liu Yu had recruited before during the disaster also completed their studies in time.

The best of these orphans continued their studies, and the rest could directly serve as teachers to teach the first batch of children who generally received common sense education.

Teach higher basic knowledge such as arithmetic, geometry, physics, chemistry, etc.

The third step is to select talents who pass the exam in the second step to enter the Jinghai Palace Official School.

In addition to the content required by the emperor, such as artillery, navy, and engineering, the Jinghai Palace Official School will also add accounting, normal education, navigation, etc.

The entire three-step process is almost completely starting from scratch.

It takes about eight years to complete a cycle.

But once this cycle is completed, it can be self-replicated continuously in the future.

At that time, as long as there is money and "charity schools" are set up everywhere, there will be tens of thousands of people who have received new-style education.

These people have almost no other way out. Under the premise that the imperial examination remains unchanged, these people are almost abandoned by society.

These abandoned children have culture, but they are excluded. The only place where they can gather together for warmth is where Liu Yu is.

In the future, Liu Yu may not be in Weihai or Liugong Island, but no matter where Liu Yu goes, these abandoned children in society can only follow Liu Yu.

Unless... the emperor announced that he would reform the imperial examination system and recognize that graduates of practical studies have the same status as scholars, juren, and jinshi.

If the emperor dared to do this, there would be no problem; but if the emperor could not do it, then there would be another explanation.

Kang Budai was shocked by Liu Yu's idea and admired him so much that he could not help but think of those words.

Tang Taizong went to Duanmen Gate privately and saw the new scholars coming out. He was happy and said: The heroes of the world are within my grasp.

In the past, the knowledge of Confucius and Mencius was a must-learn subject for heroes of the world. Those who excel in learning can become officials.

Now that practical learning is promoted, heroes of the world may not have to learn from Confucius and Mencius.

But knowledge is knowledge. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people who have learned knowledge, read and write, and are proficient in practical learning, but cannot become officials... This is a terrifying force.

And this force was so weak at the beginning that no one could detect the great power contained in it.

By the time they discovered it, it was too late to stop it.

"Zhongxian also wants to write a simple history book that children can understand. There is no need to write too much content. It is just to let children know where our ancestors came from and how they have continued to this day."

"It starts from the Zhou Dynasty's destruction of the Shang Dynasty, the feudal colonization, to the unification of the Qin Shihuang. Then to the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, until the beginning of this dynasty."

"This should not be a difficult task, right?"

Kang Budai thought about it. If it is just to let children have a rough understanding of history, it is indeed not a difficult task.

But it is not difficult to say that it is not difficult. History always needs to be evaluated. What kind of values ​​are used to evaluate different characters?

Just like Wang Anshi, from a status similar to Qin Hui, to now finally having some positive aspects, what should be said in this set of books?

Just like the uprising of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty who killed the white snake, how should it be evaluated? Is it the alternation of the five virtues? Or is it the destiny of heaven? Or is it just a resistance to the tyranny of Qin?

Kang Budai knew that the set of books that Liu Yu asked him to write must not be that simple.

If such a book is put on the market, no one will spend money to buy it. But if children are forced to learn, it will be different.

Children are born like a blank sheet of paper. They will accept whatever is taught to them. This is especially true for history books. The history of the great Chinese Empire is like a galaxy. There are so many shining figures and so many scums. But what kind of evaluation system should be used to evaluate these people?

"Sir, I can't say anything about this. But since you said so, I will try my best to do it. Or, can you try to write one? I'll use this as a sample so I know how to write it."

Liu Yu thought about it and felt that it seemed to be the right thing to do, so he said, "Okay, then I'll write an article about King Wu's conquest of King Zhou and the enfeoffment of colonies. You are smart and you can tell how to write the rest at a glance."

Kang Budai smiled and said, "Yes, this is like you drawing a frame and writing out every stroke. No matter what characters you write in the future, they will not go beyond this stroke. If it's just to let children understand history, as long as there is a framework, it's not difficult. But now think about it, we have to start from scratch, and there is a lot of work to be done."

Liu Yu did not agree with the eight words "start from scratch" and "there is a lot of work to be done". A lot of foundations have been laid before, and now it's time to reap a wave of rewards.

"Your Majesty, since you asked me to try to establish practical learning and to govern Jinghai, naturally I will focus on the immigrant areas along the coast of Wendeng and Jinghai. I can't stretch my hands too far. Besides, I don't have that much money. The court probably won't give me much money. I have to make up for all this money myself."

"That's what I think. Thanks to the previous disaster, I have a relatively thorough understanding of the population and acreage of Wendeng. The immigrant areas in Vladivostok and other places along the coast of Jinghai are very easy to control, so we have to try it out in these two places first."

"These are all places where it is easy to try out. How can we say that we are starting from scratch?"

I helped Bai Yunhang to improve his political achievements before, made a series of reforms, and obtained accurate population statistics in the Wendeng area.

Wendeng carried out a series of reforms that were bound to end with the death of the people, including the permanent tenancy system, the Qingmiao system, and the pilot program of allocating land tax to the acreage.

These reforms that were bound to end with the death of the people were still useful and laid a good foundation.

After forcibly reducing rent and promoting sweet potato planting, farmers in Wendeng area can basically ensure that they will not starve to death, and they have a little more surplus food.

In addition, the navy stationed in Weihai, the supplies consumed, and the large amount of silver, all make small vendors develop and earn money from these soldiers.

Before, we have fully understood the population and land of Wendeng, so we can follow the "General School Act" that Prussia is about to introduce. All children of school age must go to school and collect a part of the education fee from each household, but the amount does not have to be too large.

Vladivostok and other immigrant areas have a easier foundation. Almost no one who goes there can read, and for the time being, they are all farming systems, so it is not difficult to promote it.

Liu Yu is guarding the huge dividends from trade with Japan, and for the time being, he can only try to carry out a wave of compulsory education in such places, covering hundreds of thousands of people.

This is definitely not possible to promote, because the court cannot afford it, and will definitely not spend money to learn these things that have nothing to do with the words of the saints.

It's just that the emperor asked Liu Yu to try to run a practical school, so he could take advantage of this loophole.

He asked the emperor to approve part of the education funds, paid part of it himself, and collected some from the local people, but it was still a huge expense.

Although it cost a lot, this money must be invested. The Qingzhou army was raised by a stepmother, and Liu Yu really felt bad about spending some money, but he felt comfortable spending it on long-term education.