The magistrate of Dengcheng County, named Pu Shang, came from Yangzhou and invented garden shears using the principle of leverage.
Ju Ming recommended him to Song Huizong, and this old man was left in Genyue to work as a steward among a group of gardeners. He was an official without rank (not a clerk).
If you are not happy with what you are doing, you will quit your job.
After the Zhu family and his son raised an army, Pu Shang hesitated for two or three months. It was not until Zhu Ming led his troops to attack Shuzhong that he went to Zhu Guoxiang to seek an official position.
Pu Shang followed Ju Ming and Wei Tai into the city and introduced as they walked: "Dengcheng County is only in the northwest. There are three reclamation villages, housing about 1,200 refugees. The weather is good this year, and the second season beans are being harvested. I will go to the reclamation village personally.
I have seen the village and found that life is pretty good, and we no longer need to borrow food from the government to satisfy our hunger."
Zhu Ming nodded and said: "I visited the reclamation villages in Dengcheng County before arriving in Xiangyang. You really didn't miss anything."
Pu Shang was very happy to receive the compliment from the generalissimo, and said: "Although Dengcheng belongs to Wang County, its specialty is only high-quality yellow rice. Rice, wheat and mulberry are also grown in the county, and mulberry is especially abundant. I want to make some rice."
A large water-turned spinning wheel that uses the water power of the Han River to spin linen. It can provide the generalissimo's army with a large amount of linen quickly."
Since it was a spinning wheel, it naturally could only spin yarn, and weaving into linen had to be done manually.
Ju Ming praised: "I remember you invented the garden scissors. The mulberry scissors and tea scissors in Yangzhou were adapted from your scissors. Now they have spread throughout the states and counties in Sichuan. If the water-powered spinning wheel can be re-created, it will definitely benefit the world.
Ten Thousand People will have achieved some success in the art of Taoism. When the time comes, they will at least be promoted to one level!"
"The Generalissimo still remembers my scissors," Pu Shang said happily, "They are just small objects, much simpler than turning a big spinning wheel with water."
Ju Ming asked: "I remember that many scholars came to visit Daming Village at that time, and there was one named who invented the dry compass..."
"My name is Yang Changyan," Pu Shang said. "He took his compass and went out to sea on the ship to find immortals under the orders of the Hunjun. Wen Zhengtong, who improved the distiller to make toilet water (perfume), did not return to Hanzhong to serve as an official.
Went to Luoyang to open a floral dew workshop."
Shi Yuangong, who was following behind, immediately stepped forward and whispered: "Wen Zhengtong's Hualufang is the Luoyang liaison station, responsible for linking the detailed activities between Tokyo and Guanzhong."
Ju Ming nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
Shi Yuangong has now corrected his attitude. He understands that he lacks ability and simply engages in espionage seriously and no longer interferes with other things.
Pu Shang continued: "One of the scholars who visited Daming Village together was named Rong Xun. He is now the magistrate of Biyang (Biyang) County, and has received more than 6,000 refugees in his jurisdiction. He is guiding the refugees to reclaim wasteland.
At that time, the magistrate of Rong County changed the tread plow from a straight handle to a crank handle, which received great praise from the Minister of Economic Affairs. He ordered that two kinds of tread plows be built for reclamation in the future, and local officials made their own choices based on the actual situation."
The tread plow is an agricultural tool of the ethnic minorities in Guangxi. It was introduced to the Central Plains in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty and was used in mountainous areas or areas where there were insufficient cattle for farming.
The efficiency is only a fraction of that of a plowing ox, but it is particularly suitable for plowing in mountainous areas and clearing land with a lot of rocks.
"Is a crank plow faster?" Zhu Ming remembered that when Daming Village opened up wasteland, they used a straight-handled plow. Why didn't his father use a crank-handled plow instead?
Pu Shang explained: "Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. A straight-handled plow saves effort when piercing the soil, and it is easy to turn over hard soil. It can not only plow and open up wasteland, but can also be used to dig kudzu, yam and other things. But plowing
When plowing the soil, you have to bend over a lot, which can lead to backache and backache after working for a long time. On the contrary, it is more difficult to plow the soil with a crank plow, and it is not easy to turn over the hard soil. But the bending is smaller, and the cultivator is not so tired. If it is used for a long time,
A large amount of wasteland is cleared, and the speed is actually faster than a straight handle."
Zhu Ming understood that Daming Village was entirely in a mountainous area with a lot of hard soil, and the reclamation area was not very large, so Dean Zhu used a straight-handled plow.
In the Nanxiang Basin, the land is not that hard and a large area needs to be cleared, so the crank plow is more suitable.
Of course, if there are enough oxen, there is no need for any kind of plow. Using oxen is the fastest way to open up wasteland (except in mountainous areas).
Rong Xun, the magistrate of Biyang County, invented the crank-operated plow, which can greatly increase the speed of land reclamation. He has been promoted by Zhu Guoxiang by two levels. However, he is still serving as the magistrate of Biyang County, but his grade has been upgraded. He will be transferred when there is a vacancy for a higher-level official.
Wei Tai said next to him: "For the tread plows in Dengcheng County, Pu County Magistrate has asked the craftsmen to change them to crank handles. I have seen it with my own eyes. It is good for farmers. After working for a long time, they will not get back problems."
Zhu Ming suddenly asked: "Xiangyang Fuxue will be resumed early next year. I wonder if the old gentleman would be willing to go and take charge?"
"Those things I taught you?" Wei Tai did not agree immediately, but asked rhetorically.
Ju Ming smiled and said: "If the old gentleman approves of my knowledge, he can naturally teach it himself. If he doesn't approve, just let other scholars teach me."
"Let me think about it," Wei Tai said.
After all, Wei Tai was from the older generation who interacted with brothers Wang Anshi, Zeng Bu, Mi Fu and others. It was enough for him to go to Xiangyang Prefecture to study and become the principal even if he did nothing.
Ever since the Zhu family and his son launched an army, the official schools within the territory have been abolished.
Since there was no imperial examination and no way to advance to higher education, which student would still want to stay and study? Moreover, the principal and teachers were both officials of the Song Dynasty, and those who could have escaped long ago.
The father and son have too many things to deal with, and running the school is the least urgent thing.
The main thing is that I haven't thought about how to handle official education.
Wang Anshi and Cai Jing's three-partitioning method is very similar to the modern system of further education. However, the financial expenditure is too high. Except for the students who are given up outside the institution, all other students are free of charge, and meals are specially provided.
Even if it were to be done in this way, it could only be done on a small scale, as was the case in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
But if it is done on a small scale, it loses its meaning and becomes a symbol of culture and education.
The result of the discussion between father and son was exactly the same as Cai Jing’s final reform before he resigned as prime minister!
That is to reduce the scale of official schools, retain the promotion system, and official students can participate in the imperial examination. Taixue graduates can be awarded Jinshi status, but the number of annual graduation quotas must be reduced - under normal circumstances, there are ten to fifteen graduates of Taixue every year, and the number must be reduced.
to less than ten people.
At the same time, primary schools and county schools are no longer free of charge, and the tuition fees of self-financed students are used to support government-funded students.
Cai Jing also did this in the later stage of the reform. All students in the outer dormitory had to pay tuition, and the proportion of the students was more than 70%. Once they were promoted to the inner dormitory, the tuition and accommodation fees were immediately free. As for the higher-level students in the upper dormitory, the proportion was about
5%.
This is a deformed admission system. Take primary school as an example. There are five grades in total. The first and second grades need to pay tuition, accounting for 70%; the third, fourth and fifth grades do not pay tuition, accounting for 30%. Not to mention graduation,
It is difficult to move up a grade, and most students are repeaters.
When going from elementary school to a county school, a state school, or a university, each time you advance to a higher school, you will not only be judged by your grades, but also by your family connections.
There are too many loopholes, and the father and son need to fill them.
The first is to strictly upgrade the entrance examination to reduce cheating and nepotism. Cai Jing also did this, but he couldn't do it because his party members took the lead in breaking his rules. The phenomenon of favoritism and malpractice in Taixue even alarmed Song Huizong for a time
, demoted five core members of the Tsai Party in one breath.
The second was to provide a way out for those government students who could not graduate through normal imperial examinations. Cai Jing did the same and was dismissed from the prime minister as soon as the reform began.
The difference between the Zhu family and Cai Jing is that they will also retain official schools in remote states and counties, but the number of students will be smaller. In order to save funds, Cai Jing has a one-size-fits-all approach, ignoring remote states and counties, and directly abolishes those schools
.
So, what is the use of Taixue, which can only graduate a few people each year and obtain Jinshi status, and its supporting primary schools, county schools and prefectural schools?
Of course, it is to control the direction of education and distribute standard textbooks for various subjects.
At the same time, the emperor and state and county officials, through official schools, could control and guide public opinion.
Once a new territory is conquered, teachers can be immediately dispatched to teach those barbarian lands.
The father and son also decided to create a type of Taixue undergraduate students, that is, Taixue students who were unable to graduate could be admitted as upper-class or above students. They could apply to be undergraduate and be sent to local places to work as teachers. While working as teachers, they could continue to take the imperial examinations.
In order not to affect teaching, teachers take the exam in the place where they teach, and the chief official of a province personally supervises the exam. Moreover, each prefecture has only one teacher's quota for each imperial examination.
The imperial examination system will adopt the form of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but the treatment will be the same as that of the Song Dynasty.
That is, there is no special preferential treatment for candidates, but they do not need to take the exam again.
This will inevitably lead to more and more candidates taking the imperial examination, so the father and son revised it. Juren who failed to pass the Jinshi examination for three consecutive years must go back and start from the imperial examination. This is equivalent to forcing the juren to give up the imperial examination.
Years have passed, and considering the time they took the exam before, they are most likely over forty years old.
Similarly, if a scholar fails to pass the Juren examination for three consecutive years, he must go back to the drawing board and take the examination again.
Although there is no preferential treatment for being a scholar or a scholar, this status can already gain social status.
Ju Ming came to the county government office and explained the new rules to the county magistrate and Wei Tai alone.
"Provinces will be established in the future," Ju Ming said. "Those who are elected in a prefecture are scholars, and their scholar status can be retained for nine years. Those who are elected in a province are candidates, and their status as a scholar can also be retained for nine years."
Wei Tai was surprised and said: "Isn't it more difficult for the scholars of the New Dynasty to pass the examination than the candidates of the Song Dynasty?"
"That's not the case." Zhu Ming smiled and nodded.
The candidates of the Song Dynasty were selected from a state or a prefecture.
Regardless of the size of the state capitals in the Song Dynasty, they were smaller than those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At the same time, the number of candidates in the state capitals in the Song Dynasty was smaller than that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Therefore, the examination difficulty for candidates in the Song Dynasty was higher than that of scholars in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but much lower than that of candidates in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
"Why such reforms?" Wei Tai asked.
Ju Ming said: "During the Song Dynasty, tens of thousands of candidates came to Beijing at every turn, wasting money and wasting time, which was not good for the court or the scholars. After the reform, the quota for candidates was greatly reduced, and at most four to five thousand people came to Beijing each time to take the exam."
"That's right," Wei Tai nodded and said, "Juren can retain their status for nine years. Although the quota has been reduced, it also means that those who pass the exam do not have to retake the exam for three consecutive years."
Zhu Ming added: "If the old gentleman is willing to go to Xiangyang Prefecture to study and teach for one year, after he is familiar with the new examination content, he can go to Hanzhong to preside over the meeting hall."
"Meeting Hall?" Wei Tai thought about it.
Zhu Ming said: "It is the Ministry of Rites, which will be responsible for organizing the examination in three years."
This is to directly become the Minister of Rites. No matter how Wei Tai regards his fame as dirt, he is still short of breath due to such a position.
The old man quickly calmed down his emotions, but he was still agitated. He stood up and bowed and said: "Ming Gong appreciates me so much, how dare I disobey you?"
When Zhu Guoxiang asked Ju Ming to invite people, he also left the Ministry of Rites to his son.
(It was not stated clearly in the previous chapter, but has been changed. When the grain is transported to Yanjing, it is handled by the Yanshan prefect, and some will be used to relieve the people. But Pharmacist Guo used strong methods to directly withhold the grain.)
