dognovel Chapter 328 Old Deng and Little Deng want to slack off?
Chapter 328 Old Deng and Little Deng want to slack off?
From the fifteenth of August to the first of September, after three consecutive examinations on classics and policy essays, plus five re-examinations on riding, archery, calligraphy, mathematics, and law, the first county examination in Ningyang County finally came to an end.
The exam results were very favorable to Zhu Chongba, that old idiot, but not at all favorable to Yang Shaofeng.
There were a total of 38 students in the Ningyang County Confucian Temple School. Apart from the 12 younger students, the 26 students led by Zhou Jingxin were slightly older and made faster progress in their studies. They all passed the county examination this time.
In other words, as long as these twenty-six students can pass the prefectural examination in February of the fourth year of Hongwu, they will be able to obtain the title of Tongsheng (a student who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) and wait to participate in the prefectural examination in April to see if they can pass the Xiucai (a scholar who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).
What's even more infuriating is that he had promised to send two students to Beijing in a letter he had written to Lao Deng.
After finishing his meal with almost no appetite, Yang Shaofeng finally couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
Jin'er glanced at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "My husband has seemed preoccupied these past few days. Could it be that the students in Ningyang County did poorly on their exams?"
Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly and said, "It's not that they did poorly on the exam, but rather that they did too well. If we say that the classics, policy essays, and writing, mathematics, and law are taught well by Wu Yanhu and Liu Han, then I really can't understand who taught them riding and archery. It can't be that they learned by riding oxen, can it?"
Hearing this, Jin'er couldn't help but smile and said, "Husband, you don't know this, but ever since the news that Father Emperor was going to hold the imperial examinations reached our Ningyang County, Magistrate Wu came to the Prince Consort's mansion to borrow bows and arrows and warhorses, and also invited the Prince Consort's personal guards to teach them how to ride horses and shoot arrows."
Ok?
They borrowed the prince consort's warhorses and bows and arrows, and even the prince consort's personal guards to teach the students.
Damn it, I'm the one who always fleeces Deng, but this time I've been fleeced by that guy surnamed Wu.
No, this is a bit unethical. The thousand-man squad that Lao Deng assigned to the Prince Consort's mansion was made up of veterans selected from the Five Armies Camp. The equipment was so luxurious that each person had two horses. The commanders of the thousand and hundred were from Huaixi and could be considered Lao Deng's direct subordinates.
Then, Wu Yanhu asked to let these people teach a group of children to ride horses and shoot arrows, and Jin'er actually agreed?
Jin'er said with a smile, "At that time, my husband was still in Dengzhou. I thought that the children of our Ningyang County should not be inferior to the children of other counties, so I agreed to Magistrate Wu's request."
"Furthermore, I have also asked the guards of our Prince Consort's Mansion to teach them some martial arts. As long as they are willing to practice diligently, all the children in our Ningyang County will be well-rounded talents, capable of becoming generals and prime ministers."
Seeing Jin'er's pleading look, Yang Shaofeng almost spat out a mouthful of blood, but he had no choice but to smile and praise her: "My wife is right. What children in other prefectures and counties have, children in Ningyang County should also have. What children in other prefectures and counties don't have, children in Ningyang County should also have."
I wonder what it will be like when they become officials—if reasoning fails, I, too, am somewhat skilled in martial arts.
It doesn't seem like there's any problem. After all, the officials of the Ming Dynasty were always very wild, even to the point of killing the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the court. It's only right that they should learn some martial arts to save their lives.
After pondering it over haphazardly, Yang Shaofeng still felt somewhat displeased.
I've painstakingly trained these cattle and horses, and you old dummy want to take them all away?
Besides, how old are Zhou Jingxin and the others?
The oldest one is only fourteen years old. In today's world, they would be a group of junior high school students. How could you, old Deng, bring them to the capital to be your slaves?
Furthermore, I, Yang, don't have many friends in officialdom, but I have many enemies. These kids from Ningyang County all carry my label, so who knows if they might be targeted?
Even without any special methods, if you use wine, women, money, and anger in turn, how many of these children can resist?
As everyone knows, Yang Shaofeng has always been a magnanimous person, a person who has transcended vulgar interests.
In order to ensure that children in Ningyang County and even the entire Ming Dynasty could have a complete childhood, Yang Shaofeng finally decided to reorganize the teaching system of primary school, middle school and university.
Pay attention! In the Ming Dynasty, community schools were roughly equivalent to kindergarten and primary school, but county schools were not equivalent to junior high school. This is because the relationship between prefectural schools, state schools, and county schools was not one of higher or lower academic qualifications, but rather a difference in geographical location, administrative level, and staffing.
To put it simply, students who passed the county and prefectural examinations could go to either the county school or the prefectural school. Students from the county would go to the county school, and students from the prefecture would go to the prefectural school. Alternatively, students could go to the county school or the prefectural school based on their academic performance. It did not mean that after studying at the county school, one had to advance to the prefectural school.
Yang Shaofeng had previously told Zhu Biao about simple methods such as classifying county schools and having students from community schools take exams for county schools, but he did not develop a complete upgrade system after that.
After all, there were too many government departments involved, and a lot of miscellaneous projects. Just writing the memorial would take several days, so Yang Shaofeng hoped that Zhu Biao could figure it out on his own.
Clearly, Zhu Biao either hadn't figured out this method yet, or he had, but that old tyrant Zhu Chongba hadn't planned to implement it.
That won't do!
Old Deng is the Emperor, and Little Deng is the Crown Prince. The entire Ming Dynasty belongs to you two, and now you actually want to slack off? Can't you see I'm busy right now... um... well, anyway, you can't slack off.
After returning to his study, Yang Shaofeng cursed Zhu Chongba and Zhu Biao in his mind while he began to write a memorial.
"Yang, the Imperial Son-in-Law, Prefect of Dengzhou, and Magistrate of Ningyang, respectfully submits a memorial to reform the education system. I have heard that the people are inherently virtuous and have a natural inclination to cultivate themselves, but they cannot do so on their own and must rely on the ruler to educate them. I have also heard that schools are the means to educate talents, and the mandate of Shun was bestowed upon Kui. I humbly believe that Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, and that you are divine in both literature and martial arts... County schools are for the education of Confucian students... I request that the education system be reformed... I respectfully submit this memorial."
To put it simply: You, old Deng, are the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and you have the responsibility to educate the people of the world. Schools are such an important thing that even a wise and virtuous king like Shun had to personally take care of them. You, old Deng, are so smart and wise, how could you not care about the affairs of schools?
But look at the mess you've made. You're starting with a county school, and you have to pass an exam to get in. Don't you ever think about what ordinary people are going to study with?
So stop researching anything else and hurry up and promote community schools so that children in ordinary families can study. At least they should have studied before they can take the imperial examinations, right?
Furthermore, county schools, prefectural schools, and state schools are of different levels, but the content they teach is almost the same, resulting in a serious waste of resources. You should reform this as soon as possible and establish an upgrade path from community schools to county schools, from county schools to prefectural schools, from prefectural schools to state schools, and from state schools to the Imperial Academy. Stop with all those fancy and unnecessary things.