"Uncle, how did you finally decide?"
Wang Si said: "What else can we do? This is a good idea, and of course we must adopt it. The imperial court can run official schools, and we can also respond to the imperial court's call and build private academies to fully support the plan of literacy for everyone. Can the imperial court still oppose it?"
Wang Jishan was silent. It was impossible for the court to object. Even if the emperor did not want each family to open its doors and cultivate disciples, it was impossible to object openly. That would be shooting oneself in the foot.
"The common people have a lot of criticism towards us aristocratic families. If we open academies widely, will they come to study?"
Wang Si burst out laughing: "Before there were no government-run schools in the imperial court, these common people were struggling to learn a few words. Some came to borrow books from us, some listened in and borrowed books, etc..."
"Now, although the imperial court has opened government schools in various places, the conditions are relatively limited. How many students can one teacher teach? And the three volumes of elementary school are too simple. What happens after everyone is literate? Who will teach?"
"Not just anyone can describe the meaning of those sages' scriptures."
"As long as there are people among the common people who want to take the imperial examination and become officials, they must learn advanced knowledge, then they have no choice. The academy we run is the best place to go."
However, there is only one problem...
What problem?
"It's too expensive! It's meaningless to just open a school in each clan. We can teach up to a hundred students, and they are all the original people of our clan. They are our people."
"So if we want to do it, we have to set up private schools in various places, places where the imperial court can't reach... After a rough calculation, if we just want to run a good school in one state, the cost will take up 10% of our family's annual income. "
so much?
Wang Jishan was stunned.
What is the annual income of each family? Wang Jishan doesn't know the specific accounts, but he still has a general idea. For example, the Wang family in Taiyuan operates almost the entire cloth industry in the country. How much profit does it make from food, clothing, housing and transportation?
Let's put it this way, compared to Wang's annual income, the national treasury is just a drop in the bucket. (Of course, this is also because there is little money in the treasury now.)
The Wang family has a huge income and a lot of expenses. Compared with such a large family, the larger the upper-level system, the more huge financial resources are needed to support it, so it takes 10% of the income to open another door at a time. Who changed it? It's going to be a stretch, so we have to think about it carefully.
"Since it costs a lot to open a school, what do the imperial court and Xiao Rui do? Do they have more money than our families together?" Wang Jishan was puzzled.
Wang Si couldn't answer this question. He had a guess that Xiao Rui's cost of making paper and printing books was extremely low, but there was no concrete evidence.
Yes, this is the technology gap.
When each school opens a private school, it invests not only the house and teachers, but also books, paper and pens, etc. Especially books and paper, which are not cheap to buy at market prices. If you open a school, you need to print out those teaching materials, which is the biggest expense.
But they didn't know that Xiao Rui was spreading three volumes of elementary education everywhere, and the cost was ridiculously low.
People from the Cui family in Qinghe may know, but because of the agreement with Xiao Rui, they dare not reveal it, which deceives other teammates.
There is another gap. The imperial court only opened schools in various counties and counties, but the academies and private schools of the major families would be opened in villages and towns where the population was concentrated. In this way, they were much more than the academies of the imperial court, and the cost was huge.
Soon, news of the actions of the major families reached Chang'an. Li Er was originally a little worried that the other party was trying to steal people from the imperial court, but after discussing with Xiao Rui, he couldn't help laughing. This is a trap!
The major families knew it was a trap, but they had no choice but to step on it.
"You're such a bad boy!"
I?
"Your Majesty, this is not my plan."
"Oh? Someone else? Zhao Deyan?"
Xiao Rui whispered: "That sinister Mr. Zheng."
puff……
Li Er couldn't help laughing and scolding: "It's really interesting. It's their own people who are ruthless."
"We didn't expect that they would also actively participate in running the school. Running a school requires buying paper, printing, etc. Haha, you are in business again."
Xiao Rui also nodded and said: "Yes, this money is earned...even I feel a little evil."
"It doesn't matter. After we make money and send it to the court, we can invest more in government-run schools. In the future, they will definitely compete with government-run schools." Li Er suggested.
Xiao Rui: ...You seem to be worse, right? Make money from others, and then use that money to attack them?
In Chang'an City, Niu Jinda found Chai Shao who was temporarily staying in the capital.
"Grand Governor, please be more careful about the dog."
Niu Jinda once served under Chai Shao, so the two parties have a friendship.
Chai Shao is the husband-in-law of Princess Pingyang of the Tang Dynasty, and is Xiao Rui's uncle according to his seniority. When he was in Youzhou, he took good care of Xiao Rui, so the relationship between the two must be good.
Chai Shao was not stupid. He had already inquired about the current situation clearly, so he evaded: "Jinda, it's not that I don't help, but you have also seen that I am not qualified enough."
"Even Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, was rejected. I am just an uncle of Xiao Rui. In terms of relationship, I am not as good as Li Daozong. How can I be easy to talk to?"
"Even if we strike up a conversation, can Xiao Rui agree? I just refuted Li Daozong's face, and now you are giving me Chai Shao's face? Do you think the champion is so unwise?"
Niu Jinda shook his head, "The general also knows that this matter is too difficult, but when I asked to see His Majesty, His Majesty avoided seeing him. The general has no connections, so I can only come to ask you."
"You also know that Mo will only have an only son. I don't mind whether he becomes a man or not. But, Quanzi was injured when he fell from a horse when he was young and became lame. He..."
A seven-foot tall man shed tears as he spoke, and Chai Shao couldn't help but be moved when he saw it.
"Quanzi is always looked down upon and discriminated against wherever he goes. Mojiang doesn't want him to get ahead, he just wants him to have the real ability to settle down and make a living. When Mojiang grows old, Quanzi can live a good life, that's all..."
Chai Shao sighed with emotion: "The hearts of parents in the world are pitiful, Jinda..."
After thinking for a long time, Chai Shao had an idea, "Did you just say that your nephew has a disability in his feet?"
Niu Jinda nodded: "Yes, when he was ten years old, he fell off a horse while playing and was trampled on his right foot. Now his right foot only has half of the sole, and it is very inconvenient to move."
Chai Shao put his palms together and smiled: "Okay, okay, okay..."
ah? What's going on? My son is disabled, do you want to cheer him up? Niu Jinda looked at Chai Shao with a strange expression.
Chai Shao quickly explained: "Jinda, I'm not laughing at my nephew's legs and feet. I mean, with this special situation, I have something to say to the champion. Don't forget, the champion is a miraculous doctor, not to mention becoming a disciple. Isn’t it too much to ask him to take a look at his illness?”
To see a doctor?
Niu Jinda was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly realized, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for your advice. I'll bring the child over right away."
"Okay, I'll have someone prepare the car right now. You bring the kids over, and we'll go to Xiaojiazhuang together."
