My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 100 The First Newspaper in Ming Dynasty

When Zhu Yuanzhang announced that ten days later, he would attend a conference on academic issues with all the Confucian scholars in the world to debate the principles of heaven and participate in this literary event, all the scholars and students were excited!

They believed that it was their daily petitions that finally made the court listen to their voices.

This is their victory, the victory of scholars, and the victory of all scholars in the world!
The next day, in a beautiful place with green mountains and clear waters on the outskirts of Yingtian Prefecture, Qian Hongming and Hong Wenchang were imitating the literati of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, sitting on the ground and drinking tea and wine.

The power of the students and Confucian scholars is growing stronger day by day, and now they have forced His Majesty the Emperor to surrender.

The emergence of great scholars such as Lan Zhi and Wang Qiaoling greatly inspired students and writers, pushing this trend to an unstoppable point!

All this was naturally the result of the two people's planning behind the scenes.

"Your Majesty, this is a desperate situation. I am desperate and have to try any possible means!" Hong Wenchang drank the wine in the glass and said with satisfaction.

"When the great scholar Lan Zhilan set up the academic conference and set up the arena, Your Majesty had no way to retreat."

Qian Hongming smelled the fragrant tea in the cup and took a small sip. The aftertaste of the tea fragrance lingered in his mouth, making him feel relaxed and happy.

"We have joined the academic conference. All the great scholars and wise men in the world are on our side. Who will Your Majesty use to debate?

Is it Li Min, who now talks about steel production and ore production all the time and has completely become a vulgar person, or Yang Siyi, who smells like money, or Xu Da and his gang of old scoundrels in the army? "

"Hahahaha, what Qian Jijiu said is brilliant. I want to see what kind of ivory can come out of Xu Da's dog's mouth if he really gets on stage!"

Hong Wenchang laughed loudly, his tone full of disdain and contempt.

"If His Majesty does not participate, then he will be a coward and give in. Then how can he face the officials in the court and all the scholars in the world?
This is an open conspiracy. No matter what, Your Majesty must dive in headfirst and close the Craftsman Academy in front of all the scholars in the world!"

"Hahaha, how wonderful, how wonderful!"

Hong Wenchang laughed recklessly, as if he wanted to spit out all the bad feelings he had endured from Zhu Yuanzhang during this period.

"All of this will be revealed at the academic conference. Let us wait and see. Sir Hong, please!"

Qian Hongming put down the teacup, picked up the wine cup and drank it all.

"Master Qian, please!"

Hong Wenchang also picked up the wine cup and drank it comfortably.

……

Time passed quietly. In Yingtian Prefecture, restaurants, bookstores, and even pavilions and courtyards were all filled with scholars, all of whom were discussing the academic conference that would be held in a few days.

The affairs of scholars seem to have nothing to do with ordinary people. They just work when they should and support their families when they should.

However, many people don’t understand why scholars have such great hatred towards craftsmen.

They were worried that the Jiangzao Academy would really be criticized by scholars. In the eyes of many ordinary people, it was the only way to live a good life!
Although they also wanted to say a few words for the Jiangzao Academy, their innate inferiority complex made them unable to say anything in front of the arrogant scholars.

But all this is changing quietly.

At the Yangtze River wharf in Yingtian Prefecture, many laborers came to the tavern nearby after unloading the cargo and ordered a cup of thick wine, a bowl of uncut wide noodles and a bowl of noodle soup.

Sprinkle some free oil residue on the noodles, add some salt, and have a delicious meal with a little wine. It can not only fill your stomach but also relieve fatigue.

The laborers slurped the noodles, and after a few mouthfuls, they drank a few sips of wine. When they were a little tipsy, they started talking. Most of the topics they talked about were related to the Craftsman Academy. Even if they talked about different topics, they were all discussing how to get a job in the factory.

In addition to the laborers at the dock, many workers in the shipyard also drank in the tavern, and often chatted and gossiped with the laborers.

At this time, a worker from the shipyard said, "Have you heard that the court issued something called a newspaper today? I heard that it contains the latest news and a lot of interesting stories!"

"What is a newspaper?" a strong worker asked curiously.

"Here, this is the newspaper." The shipyard worker took out a newspaper from his pocket, "Da Ming Weekly, the first newspaper of our Daming!"

Everyone came over curiously, took a look, and then shook their heads, "We are illiterate and can't understand it. If we could understand it, we would work in a factory like you, and why would we still be working as laborers at the dock?"

"It's okay if you don't understand. I'll tell you. It's written in the newspaper that the government set up the artisan school to let the people master a skill to make a living, and set up the factory to let more artisans have stable jobs and income."

"What the newspaper said is right. Don't ordinary people just want to learn more skills and earn more money?"

Inside the tavern, many laborers and workers nodded their heads. Since they had no hope of continuing their studies, they naturally wanted to learn a skill.

But even if you want to learn a craft, you still have to find a master. Not only does it take a long time, you also have to work for the master for a few years without pay. However, even so, it is still unclear whether you can successfully become a disciple. Some masters don't even want to accept apprentices.

Now that we have artisan academies that can teach everyone skills for free, this is naturally the hope of the people.

"It also says here that the more skilled the workers are, the better the work they do, which in turn can promote the development of industry."

No one could quite understand what this sentence meant, but after the person who was explaining the newspaper explained it, they understood.

This shows that the imperial court valued craftsmen. Otherwise, everyone only knew how to work and make money, and never thought that improving skills could make their employers better.

"Not only that, the article also says that the craftsmanship that we ordinary people learn are actually as profound as the books of sages that scholars read!"

Craftsmanship is a profound knowledge. The other workers and laborers were all stunned. Once upon a time, their craftsmanship was never valued by others.

Scholars, farmers, merchants, and craftsmen are all at the bottom of the class and are ranked at the back.

Unexpectedly, the imperial court now believes that their craftsmanship is as important as the books that scholars read!

Suddenly, everyone felt an inexplicable feeling of being moved. They couldn’t explain it, it was like a daughter-in-law who had been a daughter-in-law for many years finally became a mother-in-law.

It feels so good to be recognized!
"The newspaper said that the reason why scholars want to slander the Craftsman Academy is because scholars look down on the craftsmanship of our craftsmen. They think that the craftsmanship of craftsmen is not worthy of being studied. However, scholars ignore that the houses they live in, the bowls they eat with, and the cars they ride when they go out are all made by craftsmen. Without craftsmen, they can't move an inch!"

"Well said, well said!"

Many people in the tavern applauded and cheered.

"The newspaper also said that anyone with a good idea can write an article in the newspaper!"

"Really?" one person asked excitedly.

"Why are you so excited? Can you read? Can you write?"

"I can't, but my son can! When I get back, I'll ask him to write articles for the court newspapers and speak for the people!"

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(End of this chapter)