"I plan to build an elementary school in every town and at least one middle school in every county!" Jin Feng replied.
"So many?" Chen Ji stared.
Transportation and communications are very backward. In order to facilitate management, the jurisdictions of counties and towns are smaller than those in Jin Feng's previous life.
Even the emperor Chen Ji didn't know how many towns there were in Dakang.
But he knew it would have to be at least more than five figures.
According to what Jin Feng said, if every town and town established an elementary school, wouldn't it mean that at least over 10,000 schools would be established?
"Your Majesty, is one primary school in one town too many?"
Jin Feng said: "Even in remote small towns, the total number of children in the town must be several hundred. Building one school is the minimum. In some wealthy towns, it may be necessary to build two or three schools."
In fact, Jin Feng's goal is to build a primary school in every village and at least one middle school in every town, just like when he was a child in his previous life.
Only in this way can his ideal of universal education be realized.
However, considering the actual situation in Dakang, Jin Feng could only take a step back and build a primary school in each town first, and then proceed gradually.
This is a long-term plan, and Jin Feng is prepared to spend ten or even twenty years to achieve this goal.
"Let all children in Dakang be able to study. The national teacher's mind is admired by Zuo!"
Zuo Zhiyuan cupped his hands in front of Jin Feng, and then sighed: "But the Imperial Preceptor may not understand the people. Even if the Imperial Preceptor sets up a school with no threshold in every county, the common people may not send their children to study.
They can’t afford the money, and their children have to help the family work!”
In the feudal era, why did many families still try to give birth to so many children even though they couldn't feed them enough?
Jin Feng had always thought it was caused by a lack of entertainment and contraceptive measures, but after living in Dakang for more than a year, he gradually understood that this was not the case.
First of all, in Dakang at this time, fists are greater than laws. As long as no lives are lost, rural conflicts are basically resolved in the village itself.
If you have many sons in your family, you can speak rationally and others will not dare to bully you.
Secondly, due to the backward production and medical conditions in the feudal era, premature death of children was a common phenomenon.
Chen Ji was a romantic by nature and started giving birth to children in his teens. Now he has given birth to a lot of princes and princesses, but about one-third of them have not lived to their first year of life.
This is true even for the royal family who enjoy the best living supplies and medical conditions, let alone ordinary people.
Many couples give birth to more than a dozen children, and they would be thankful if half of them survive until their birth year.
Therefore, in the feudal era, animal year was a hurdle.
Many children cannot overcome this threshold, so we need to have more.
Moreover, raising children in the feudal era was different from that in Jin Feng’s previous life.
In previous lives, raising a child cost parents a lot of money and energy, but in the feudal era, children over the age of ten had to work in the fields with adults. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, they could get married and be treated as adults.
Children around the age of ten have to cook and do housework for their parents at home. Children who are younger, seven or eight years old, have to collect firewood, and those who are five or six years old have to take care of their one or two year old brothers and sisters.
The cost of raising children in the feudal era was much lower than in Jin Feng's previous life.
In addition, there were corvee and military service.
When the imperial court wanted to build water conservancy projects or build bridges and roads, it would recruit people to do free labor. It would be a violation of the law not to do so.
If there is only one laborer in the family, and this person is dragged to build bridges and build roads, farming will definitely be delayed.
It would be even worse if he was drafted into the army.
Why does Hua Mulan want to join the army for her father? Isn't it because there is no other male in her family except her father?
If her father goes to join the army, the family will be ruined.
If there is a son in the family who is twelve or thirteen years old, this child can participate in corvee and military service on behalf of his father.
Therefore, people in the feudal era would risk their lives to have more children even if they knew they could not feed them.
In the current situation in Dakang, it is already the limit for people not to let their children starve to death. Who will spend money to send their children to study?
So after Zuo Zhiyuan listened to Jin Feng's words, although he admired him, he felt that he was a bit whimsical.
"If the schools run by His Majesty charge no money, or only charge a small amount of money, will the people be willing to send their children to study?" Jin Feng asked rhetorically.
Although the people are ignorant, there is a way out only by studying. This is a truth that almost all people understand.
Scholars in Dakang are expensive and go to the school to study with a teacher. The tuition is also very expensive, and many people cannot afford it.
For example, the host's father, the old blacksmith, could obviously make a living by relying on his craftsmanship, but in order to support Jin Feng's studies, the old blacksmith could only eat one meal of coarse grains a day.
"The school doesn't charge money, so how can it be done?"
Not to mention Zuo Zhiyuan, Chen Ji was also shocked by Jin Feng's words: "National Master, do you know what you are talking about?"
"Your Majesty, I know this is difficult, but just because it is difficult, if Your Majesty can accomplish it, it will prove His Majesty's greatness, right?"
Jin Feng began to fool Chen Ji again: "Your Majesty, think about it, which king has been able to do this since ancient times? Think about it again, if all the people in Dakang were literate, a world would be created.
What kind of prosperity?"
Jin Feng had already given Chen Ji too much of the Eternal Emperor's chicken soup, but even so, Chen Ji's heartbeat was still racing with excitement and his scalp was numb.
Zuo Zhiyuan imagined the prosperous age described by Jin Feng, with deep longing in his eyes.
Allowing children all over the world to be able to read is something they never dreamed of before.
"Your Majesty, I know that this matter cannot be achieved in a day or two, or in a year or two, but if we have a goal and we work hard towards it, we will achieve it one day!"
Jin Feng increased his tone and continued.
"Yes, it will come true one day!"
Chen Ji was also infected by Jin Feng's emotion. He raised his palm and said: "National Master, as long as you can travel hundreds of miles a day on a two-wheeled vehicle, I will listen to you on this matter. I will try my best to let all the children in the world be able to do so."
I can afford to read!”
"Then it's a deal!"
Jin Feng reached out and high-fived Chen Ji as an oath.
Now he doesn't have the ability to make bearings, so he had no plans to make bicycles before. The last time he mentioned this to Zuo Zhiyuan, it was just in a hurry.
Even though he later made a bet with Zuo Zhiyuan, Jin Feng didn't take it seriously.
But now, in order to enable countless children in Dakang to go to school, Jin Feng decided to take it seriously.
After returning to the capital, Jin Feng first went to see the Ninth Princess and told her about Zuo Zhiyuan.
The Ninth Princess had been killed too harshly in the capital before, and many officials in the capital were implicated. She really had no one in her hands, and Zuo Zhiyuan was a rare and honest official, so she chose him to serve as the temporary minister of the Ministry of Works.
Recently, she transferred many officials from various places, barely closing the talent gap. Zuo Zhiyuan took the initiative to resign. Everyone was happy, and the Ninth Princess immediately approved it.
After settling the official duties, Jin Feng took Zuo Zhiyuan and headed into the laboratory of the Ministry of Industry that day.
The two struggled inside for three days, and Dakang's first bicycle was successfully born!
"National Master, is this the bicycle you are talking about? It has only two wheels and cannot stand upright even if it is placed on the ground. How can it be possible to ride it without falling over?"
Zuo Zhiyuan looked at the two-wheeled vehicle in front of him, still full of doubts.