Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 203 Power is a kind of mind, the prince's education system

After laughing, Li Cunming looked at Huang Zongxi and said meaningfully: "Huang Aiqing, I heard that Liu Zongzhou once burned his own works, is there such a thing?"

Mentioning Liu Zongzhou, Huang Zongxi said sadly: "It's true. It was on the first day when the scholars stopped taking exams. In order to persuade Gu Yanwu and I not to get involved, Mr. Liu Zongzhou burned the masterpiece "Holy Studies" that condensed his life's efforts. "Zong Yao"..."

"Liu Zongzhou is so well-intentioned, have you ever experienced it?"

"Your Majesty, after I went to Kaifeng with Lord Liu, I went to the front line in person, opened my eyes and gained insight, and I learned something by asking myself. I deeply understand that talking about the truth cannot save the country, and only doing things pragmatically can make a difference. Scholars should not be trapped in their study for the rest of their lives."

Li Cunming nodded and said, "It's not in vain for Liu Zongzhou to have such an experience. It's just that in my opinion, you still haven't fully reached the realm of unity of knowledge and action."

After saying that, he stood up, glanced at the courtiers present, and said solemnly: "I was the one who listened to your sutra lectures today, but before the sutra feast begins, I will teach you a lesson."

"Where do we start? Yes, let's start with the math problems that Zhu Cizhao posed. Mathematics, we call it arithmetic in China, has been extremely brilliant. Many great mathematicians have emerged in history, such as Zu Chongzhi, Qin Jiushao, Guo Shoujing, etc. , and Xu Guangqi from our dynasty. There are also many works that are ahead of the world, such as "Zhou Bi Suan Jing", "Nine Chapters of Mathematical Sciences", "Che Yuan Hai Jing" and so on."

"You may want to ask, what is the use of arithmetic? Isn't it enough for scholars to understand the Four Books and Five Classics? How wrong!"

"The formulation of a calendar requires arithmetic knowledge. If there is no accurate calendar as a guide, farming will be disordered; craftsmen build houses and make various utensils, but also use arithmetic knowledge; officials in the household department of the court must be proficient in this way, otherwise There is no way to talk about taxation work, court budget, and account verification."

"Arithmetic affects every aspect of life, how can we not pay attention to it? But in today's culture, scholars only know how to recite the Four Books and Five Classics, and they have become idiots who are not diligent in their limbs and cannot distinguish between grain and grain. What use is it to the country and the family?"

Huang Zongxi said: "Your Majesty said that we should pay attention to arithmetic, and I understand it, and I support it very much. The atmosphere of Shilin's non-sense and high-mindedness really needs to be changed. Scholars must care about the things around them and be down-to-earth. But as Your Majesty said, since I am Huaxia Arithmetic is so advanced and sophisticated, why ask foreigners for advice?"

Li Cunming said: "Huang Aiqing, you have fallen into a misunderstanding again, which is called standing still! Can a country, a nation, a momentary glory represent eternal glory? Can a momentary strength represent eternal strength? Just like a person, no It may be forever young, but there will always be times when it becomes weak and old."

"As for my Chinese civilization, after thousands of years of development, it seems that a man in his prime is slowly getting old. If we don't inject fresh blood, we will become old irreversibly!"

"Don't talk about anything else, let's talk about firearms. Whether it's our court or the Manchus, the most powerful artillery is the Hongyi cannon. Where did the Hongyi cannon come from? It's from the Fans entrenched in Macau. Was it introduced into the country by the barbarians?"

"Have you ever thought about where the Red Mao Yi's motherland is? Why can they cross the ocean and come to our country? Are their navigation technology much more advanced than ours? Are their artillery making skills very good? ? By the way, are you not interested in why Tang Ruowang came to our country?"

"Even if you are not interested in the motherland of Hongmaoyi, and you don't care about where Tang Ruowang came from, have you ever thought about what is hidden behind these foreigners leaving their homes and crossing the ocean?"

"I'm here to tell you, it's an enterprising spirit!"

"My scholars in the Ming Dynasty closed their eyes and stood still, drowsy and dreaming of decay, while foreigners are actively making progress. Don't you feel a little bit of chill and fear? It's terrible. People are making progress, but we are stagnant. Countless Will the Chinese nation still have a foothold in this world after a hundred years?"

Some impassioned remarks, deafening.The Wenhua Palace was quiet, and the ministers were deep in thought.

Li Cunming walked to the gate of the hall, looked at the lofty sky, and said: "The Chinese civilization has a long history and is bright and brilliant, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty is the most dazzling pearl! How could the Tang Dynasty be able to conquer all nations and dominate the world? That’s because of the openness and tolerance of the Tang Dynasty, which embraces all rivers and rivers, and the atmosphere is majestic!”

"I also admire the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and I also dream that one day my Ming Dynasty can reproduce the glory of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. This requires us to learn from the people of the Tang Dynasty. Whether it is a barbarian or a barbarian, we must learn to be tolerant. They are worthy Where you study, you must learn humbly, and Chinese people must always have an enterprising spirit."

“Being strong is not only a rich country and a strong people, not just a strong army and strong horses, it is also a broad and tolerant mind, and it is a kind of self-confidence that can lead to hundreds of rivers!”

The courtiers were deeply moved by the emperor's words, and they knelt down and said, "I am willing to follow Your Majesty and reproduce the scene of the prosperous Tang Dynasty!"

"Ding, a total of 30000 positive emotions have been obtained from the courtiers."

Li Cunming turned around and said: "Get up! Letting you learn Western knowledge does not mean that you are giving up our own culture. The two are not in conflict. A great talent who has learned both Chinese and Western cultures will create a new and more splendid situation for our Chinese civilization."

"My ministers, please follow His Majesty's teachings!"

The courtiers kowtowed and stood up.It seemed that they were persuaded and no longer rejected Tang Ruowang.

Huang Zongxi cupped his hands towards Tang Ruowang and said, "Mr. Tang, I was so rude and disrespectful just now, please forgive me!"

Tang Ruowang said: "I've heard about Mr. Huang's name. Many people say that you and Gu Yanwu are the seeds of study in the world. Please give me more advice in the future!"

"Okay, this is the scene I want to see." Li Cunming laughed, talking dryly, and drank a cup of tea.

Putting down the tea cup, he added: "Anyway, it has been delayed for such a long time. The banquet will continue to be postponed. I will simply say a few more words and talk about the problems that exist in our court regarding the education of the prince."

Speaking of the education of the princes of the Ming Dynasty, it was extremely bad and heartbreaking.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang, the prince's education has always had problems.In the early days of the founding of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang also paid great attention to the education of the princes, but he looked down on Confucian scholars from the bottom of his heart, and was very protective of the calf, so he never formed a specific system.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang, the subsequent emperors have not made any great achievements in the education of their descendants. Although Ming Yingzong formulated the "East Palace Lecture Ritual", it is only a loose etiquette system.

Starting from Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youtang of the Ming Dynasty, the originally loose prince education system has completely collapsed.Ming Xiaozong was a wise king, but because he spoiled his children, he taught Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao to be a devil in the world.

The following emperors were more exotic than the last, successively came the veteran Taoist Emperor Jiajing, the young strike expert Wanli Emperor, and the semi-literate carpenter Tianqi Emperor.

Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian wanted to be a wise emperor and to do something, but he had never received an emperor's education. He often relied on his personal intuition to govern state affairs, so he was easily fooled by the Donglin Party. Run back to the ground.

It can be seen that although the failure of the education of the princes of the Ming Dynasty was due to the personal reasons of the successive emperors, the lack of system was the root cause of the precipitous decline in the quality of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

In the social system of feudal autocratic monarchy in ancient my country, the order and chaos of the country largely depended on the virtuousness of the monarch.If you are lucky enough to meet a wise ruler, the people can live and work in peace and contentment; but if you meet a foolish ruler, the people may live in dire straits.

From the long-term perspective of the entire dynasty, the degree of wiseness of the emperor also has a barrel effect.What determines the fate of a dynasty is not how good the most virtuous monarch is, but how bad the most stupid monarch is.

It is not difficult to see in history that no matter how rich the country is, it cannot withstand the squandering of the prodigal emperor.Therefore, whether an emperor of a dynasty has sufficient basic qualities determines whether his country will last.

Even the most virtuous monarchs are not born with talent, their ability comes from education.However, although the living conditions of the royal family's children are very good, some royal families do not pay attention to the education of the prince, or only pay attention to the education of the prince alone, resulting in uneven education levels among the princes. leading to the overthrow of the dynasty.

In view of the above reasons, and also because of the impact of Zhu Cihong's incident, Li Cunming was determined to improve the education system for the princes of the Ming Dynasty.

If you don't hurry up and do this, even if you get rid of the tartars, what's the use if you don't have a qualified prince?
Li Cunming said: "The reason why I brought King Yong and Princess Zhaoren to the Sutra Banquet today is to show my subjects all over the world that I attach great importance to the prince's education. There have been too many painful lessons in previous dynasties, even bloody lessons. I have to absorb it!"

"After many days of thinking, I have four ideas for the time being, and you can help me as a staff member."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and the eunuch beside him took it and held it in front of all the courtiers.

The courtiers gathered together and looked down together, only to see four rules written on the paper:

"One is that when the prince is six years old, he has to go to school; the other is that the princes have to go to the study room at the beginning of Yinshi every day, and study until the end of the day. There are only three major festivals: New Year's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival every year, plus the emperor's longevity. And the prince can have a holiday on his birthday, and the rest of the time he reads every day without interruption; the third is that in addition to Confucian classics, he also needs to learn riding and archery, arithmetic, agriculture, medicine, calligraphy and painting, and Western knowledge; the fourth is to ask the masters The supervision is strict, and the emperor may make a surprise inspection of the prince's study at any time."

"What do you think? Is there anything that needs improvement?" Li Cunming asked after everyone had finished reading.

Huang Zongxi said: "The four regulations proposed by His Majesty include everything from the age of enrollment, study time, study content to the supervision and inspection of the study situation. They are very complete and detailed. It's just that the princes are young, and such high-intensity studies require only I’m afraid I’m going to suffer a lot!”

Li Cunming smiled and said: "Everyone in the world is suffering, and the princes are no exception."

Huang Zongxi said again: "Since the emperor has made up his mind, I will obey. I still have two questions, one is how to choose the masters, and the other is what will happen if the crown prince Zhu Cijiong does not come to class?"

Li Cunming smiled and said: "This kid Zhu Cijiong is indeed a headache, but I have a way to make him come to the study room to listen to the class. Just let Bi Dengfu and Tang Ruowang be the teachers of the princes, and explain the knowledge of firearms and many inventions. After class, there will be no more Professor Zhu Cijiong will definitely not miss it."

"This is a wonderful plan. There is no better way to know a son than a father!" The ministers laughed.

"As for the choice of masters, there are three requirements. One is noble character, the other is profound knowledge, and the third is strict teaching. When the princes are mischievous, they dare to discipline them. Even if they reprimand the princes occasionally, beat them with a ruler Once or twice, I will not blame it!"

"In addition, in order to show my attitude of respecting teachers and respecting morality, in addition to the regular distribution of salaries and maintenance silver, the princes and masters will give each person 8000 taels of silver to settle down every year. During the holidays, I will also give other rewards .”

"Okay, Your Majesty Shengming!" The officials said in unison.

"If you have no other opinions, I will issue an imperial decree to the Ministry of Rites and implement it according to the rules from tomorrow. If there are any problems in the future, we will make adjustments."

After Li Cunming finished speaking, he sat back on his chair, smiled and said to Zhu Cizhao and Princess Zhaoren: "From tomorrow onwards, you will have to get up early and go to study in the study room. There are three hardships in the world. Study hard to grind tofu. Do you suffer from it?" ?”

Zhu Cizhen said: "My son is not afraid of suffering, I like to read books. Father, it's just that you have time, and you still take me to the Qin Tianjian to watch the stars, okay?"

"Good!" Li Cunming laughed.

Princess Zhaoren tilted her head and thought for a long time, then said, "Am I not able to sleep in late anymore?"

Before Li Cunming could speak, she said again: "It's okay if you don't sleep late, father, can I eat a lot of fruits? Can I bring food to class?"

"You little glutton!" Li Cunming scratched Princess Zhaoren's nose and said with a smile, "I allow you to bring food to class, but you must hand it over to the teacher for safekeeping. After you have learned the homework of the day, the teacher will reward you." .”

"That's fine!" Princess Zhaoren smiled, revealing two cute little canine teeth.

Li Cunming got up and cupped his hands towards Tang Ruowang, then sat upright and said, "The Jing feast begins, please Mr. Tang to speak!"

Tang Ruowang cleared his throat and said, "According to His Majesty's order, today I will tell you about the world we live in. In fact, we live on a planet, which we Westerners call the Earth. What does the Earth look like? An orange with a wrinkled surface..."

Listening to Tang Ruowang's explanation, the courtiers in the Wenhua Palace were both astonished and curious, as if a door opened before them, and they saw a new world that they had never seen before.

(End of this chapter)