GBP Chapter 708 You, Yang the Madman, are also an official!
Chapter 708 You, Yang the Madman, are also an official!
A 65-year-old man could recognize more than a hundred characters and could even write his own name.
This kind of thing would be quite normal in some aristocratic families.
But if you put it on an old farmer in the countryside, it just doesn't seem quite normal.
The problem is that the elderly farmers in the countryside of Ningyang County can recognize more than a hundred characters and can even write their own names.
The scholar surnamed Chen couldn't help but exclaim, "The literary atmosphere in Ningyang County is truly extraordinary."
As the scholar surnamed Chen finished speaking, the scholar surnamed Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The literary tradition is flourishing in Ningyang County?
Ningyang County has absolutely no literary style!
Whether they know a hundred or a thousand characters, they still refer to their maternal grandmother and paternal mother when they speak.
Besides, do you really think those people are willing to understand words?
But pull it down.
Back then, they were all eyeing the pork that the master had promised as a reward, and they were so afraid that they would miss out on that meat that they worked so hard to learn to read.
That is to say, Ningyang County was extremely poor back then.
If this were Ningyang County today, and someone said they'd reward someone with a pound of pork for knowing 500 characters, the unreasonable old men of Ningyang County would probably spit a mouthful of phlegm at them.
Who do you look down on?
Who the hell is short of a pound or two of pork?
Only a fool would learn 500 characters just for a pound of pork!
The scholar surnamed Li had no doubt that the people of Ningyang were capable of such a thing. After all, his grandfather had said more than once, "People in the past were simple-minded and had never eaten anything good. They would risk their lives for a pound of meat. Unlike you people now, who have to be picky about what you eat."
Recalling the way his grandfather had said those words, the scholar surnamed Li said with a smile, "The literary style of Ningyang County is also thanks to the rules set by the magistrate back then."
Turning his head to look at the group of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) behind him, the Jinshi surnamed Li smiled and said, "Back then, the magistrate saw that Ningyang County didn't even have a single scholar. He said that no matter how hard life was, the children couldn't suffer, and no matter how poor we were, education couldn't be neglected. So he tried every means to set up a county school so that the children of Ningyang County could study quickly."
"Later, the master asked His Highness the Crown Prince for some scholars to come and teach, and he also built many community schools in various communities. He also took money from the county treasury to subsidize students who went to school."
"Otherwise, Ningyang County wouldn't even have a proper literary style, let alone many people who can read a few words."
"And another thing, back then the magistrate said that those who couldn't read were like blind men, and insisted that all the people of Ningyang County should be literate, saying that he wanted to eradicate illiteracy."
"Later, they even set a rule that whichever community's people could recognize 500 characters first would receive a pig."
"Later on, whoever could recognize 500 characters would be given a pound of pork."
At this point, the scholar surnamed Li couldn't help but show a hint of envy and jealousy on his face.
"Actually, the fact that Ningyang County produced sixteen Jinshi this time is far less than the twenty-six Jinshi produced in the past."
“At that time, the magistrate had not yet become the prefect of Dengzhou, so he had time to go to the county school to teach us.”
“Those twenty-six were older, and the master spent more time lecturing to them than to us. He also usually entrusted them with official duties.”
"By the time it was our turn, the master had become the emperor's son-in-law and the prefect of Dengzhou, so he would come to the county school much less often, and we would have fewer opportunities to run errands for him."
"..."
The scholar surnamed Li started talking non-stop, as if he had opened a floodgate, while the scholar surnamed Chen, along with the other scholars who had passed the special imperial examinations not far from the two of them, were completely dumbfounded.
I had long heard that Yang the Madman acted madly, but I never imagined he could be this mad, actually using meat to lure people into learning to read.
After pondering this for a while, the scholar surnamed Chen tentatively asked, "Brother Li, what is the deeper meaning behind the Prince Consort's instruction that all the common people should know five hundred characters?"
The scholar surnamed Li smiled.
The question "What is the point of teaching literacy to peasants who make a living by farming?" is essentially asking what the use is of teaching literacy to peasants who make a living by farming.
They could neither participate in the imperial examinations nor bring any benefit to the county magistrate as a result.
On the contrary, the county magistrate was required to take money from the county treasury as a result.
Isn't this a completely unprofitable business?
If you really look at it from the perspective of an ordinary official, then this way of thinking is not wrong.
But could my master be just an ordinary official?
Which ordinary official, a seventh-rank county magistrate, could become a prince consort, rise to the rank of fourth-rank prefect, and concurrently serve as governor of eight provinces in just a few years?
My husband can do it!
The scholar surnamed Li shook his head slightly and chuckled, saying, "The master said that even if you farm the land your whole life, you may never need to use poetry and songs. But people should at least know how to write their own names and be able to read imperial edicts and court notices. Only in this way will those officials and yamen runners not dare to act recklessly."
"Moreover, the master also said that everything is inseparable from arithmetic."
"The so-called seven necessities of life are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Every single one of them involves buying and selling. If you can count and do math, you won't be easily cheated."
"Even when paying taxes to the imperial court, one can read the scale and calculate the weight clearly, so as not to be cheated or manipulated by corrupt officials."
At this point, the scholar surnamed Li shook his head with a smile once again, while the scholars surnamed Chen and the others were completely bewildered.
Yang the Madman actually kept saying that he wouldn't be cheated or manipulated by corrupt officials.
Is this right?
This is not right!
You, Yang the Madman, are also an official!
You're an official, and at that time you were just a county magistrate, not yet the emperor's son-in-law. You're standing from the perspective of those peasants, without considering that you'll be a member of the gentry after you retire.
Turning his head to look at these scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, and seeing that their expressions were somewhat confused and strange, the scholar surnamed Li smiled again.
Of these three hundred Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examinations), apart from about twenty from Dengzhou Prefecture, more than two hundred of the remaining candidates were children of gentry families from the south of the Yangtze River, and the remaining sixty-odd were children of gentry families from the north.
Without a doubt, these 260-plus Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were definitely aiming to become officials.
Even the twenty or so Jinshi graduates from Dengzhou Prefecture might have come with the intention of becoming officials.
Since they're here to become officials, don't expect them to be like the men in your own household.
Thinking of this, the scholar surnamed Li suddenly became serious and said to the scholar surnamed Chen, "Brother Chen, before I see the magistrate, I have a few words to say."
The scholar surnamed Chen was slightly taken aback, then nodded and said, "Brother Li, please speak."
The scholar surnamed Li nodded and said, "The magistrate has a bad temper and looks down on officials who don't care about the common people."