Chapter 2304: Educational development, three major projects
The value of papermaking technology has been explored to its extreme by Ying Hao.
When papermaking was first invented, even Ying Hao dared to sell a copy of "The Analects of Confucius" for ten gold pieces.
Because of the high popularity of "The Analects of Confucius", all major families basically have it, so naturally it cannot be sold at a high price.
However, books with low popularity rates such as "Lu's Spring and Autumn" and "Wei Liao Zi" are still highly sought after by wealthy families, even if they are worth a hundred gold, and they are still highly sought after.
In this way, Ying Hao earned no less than millions of gold from wealthy families just by buying books and starvation marketing.
Of course, the aristocratic family is not a fool, and it is impossible for them to send money to Ying Hao.
With the large-scale printing and popularization of various types of books, the demand for books by aristocratic families has become less and less, and the value of books has naturally plummeted.
In the past, a ten-gold book had to be snapped up, but then none of the ten gold-denominated books could be sold. The value and sales of books plummeted. It was no longer possible to make a lot of money just by selling books, and Daqin was gradually Lose this great source of wealth.
Although selling books is no longer a hugely profitable industry, it is still profitable. It is precisely because of this that countries are still cracking the papermaking technology, and success is not far away.
Seeing this, Ying Hao decisively sold the papermaking technology to various countries, and also included the printing technology. The total sold was nearly two million gold, and he made a lot of money.
Ying Hao made a lot of money by using papermaking technology, but he did not stop collecting the wool of papermaking technology. Instead, he continued to deeply explore other values of paper.
The role of paper is not only in books, but also in all aspects of life.
From toilet paper to window paper, oil paper umbrellas, lantern paper, wrapping paper, in short, there are all kinds of uses.
A small piece of paper was manipulated by Ying Hao, bringing huge amounts of wealth to Da Qin.
Nowadays, not only all countries have mastered the art of papermaking, but also many families have mastered the art of papermaking, and they print a large number of books and sell them for profit.
However, the biggest dividend of papermaking has been monopolized by Ying Hao, and the price of books on the market has been suppressed to a very low level. These families can only drink soup, and they cannot make a lot of money like Da Qin.
After the price of books became cheaper, major families could not sell books at high prices, so they could only make small profits but quick turnover, and expand the types of books. Various collections of poems and storybooks were also widely circulated in the market.
On the contrary, this made the family, the one with the lowest sense of existence among the hundreds of schools of thought, begin to prosper day by day.
In today's Great Qin, books are very cheap, and even ordinary people can afford them. But being able to afford them does not mean that you can learn them. After all, learning requires teaching by words and deeds.
Basic education has become another major problem faced by Daqin.
In order to solve this major problem, Ying Hao, after many discussions with major officials, decided to invest 1% of Daqin's finances into Daqin's education.
Don't underestimate this mere 1%. If it is divided equally into the national income, it is not a small number. It is enough for Ying Hao to build a hundred academic palaces.
Originally, Ying Hao was prepared to invest 3%, but he was opposed by Prime Minister Wang Meng and many other officials. The reason was that the world was not unified yet, and Da Qin's funds should be spent on areas where it was more needed, and education had not been cultivated for more than ten years. There is no return in sight, so it is not suitable to invest such a huge amount of money now.
After hearing this, Ying Hao felt that it was very reasonable. After all, unifying the world was the top priority for Da Qin. Investing precious and limited funds in education that could not see any return was a bit of a sacrifice.
Although Ying Hao's "Great Education Development Plan" was rejected, it does not mean that he will give up on developing the education industry.
What is the difference between mediocre ministers and capable ministers?
A mediocre minister can only do things if he has money, but a capable minister can do things not only if he has money, but also if he has no money.
Ying Hao now has many capable ministers under his command, so he can naturally get things done even without money.
Ying Hao's task for Xi Zhicai was to use 1% of Da Qin's finances to develop education, but he must develop the effects of 3% of the finances.
This task must be an arduous task, and even Ying Hao himself didn't know how to handle it, but Xi Zhicai assured him that it would be completed, and then the director of the Department of Education suffered.
The director of the Education Department of the Ministry of Rites was Yan Hui, a disciple of Confucius.
Yan Hui had previously served as the governor of Xiangyang, but now he was transferred back to the court to take charge of the Education Department, one of the six departments of the Ministry of Rites.
Among the six departments of the Ministry of Rites, only three have real power: the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Education, and the Department of Ceremonies.
As for the other three departments: the temple priest, the host and guest department, and the fine dining department, the affairs they are in charge of are not very important. They can only be regarded as sinecures, so their authority naturally does not have much power.
The Education Department headed by Yan Hui was responsible for all schools in Daqin and the imperial examinations. Its authority in the Ministry of Rites was second only to the Foreign Affairs Department.
The reason why Yan Hui was able to sit in this position was naturally due to his status as a disciple of Confucius.
Ying Hao promoted Yan Hui, a disciple of Confucianism, to this position in order to win over Confucianists. Otherwise, Yan Hui would not have been able to ascend to this high position.
To develop education, in addition to funding, teachers are also indispensable.
After Yan Hui learned that his boss, Xi Zhicai, had accepted such an almost impossible task, he felt the urge to go crazy.
Not only does the Department of Education not have enough money, it also doesn't have enough people. How can it use 1% of Daqin's finances to achieve 3% of the results?
Regarding Yan Hui's complaints, Xi Zhicai chose to ignore them directly. The Qin Dynasty was just established, and it was not easy for all departments. If everyone complained, wouldn't things be done?
In short, if conditions exist, we must do things; if conditions do not exist, we must create conditions to do things.
This is what Ying Hao said to Xi Zhicai, and now Xi Zhicai sent this sentence to Yan Hui intact.
Yan Hui was about to cry. It didn't matter if he didn't have money, but he didn't even have anyone. He was still asked to make political achievements. It must be too difficult for him to be the director of the Department of Education.
Although the task is a bit difficult, if Yan Hui completes it, it will be a great achievement. In addition, he is the first director of the Education Department of Daqin, so he cannot retreat under any circumstances. He must set a good example for the younger generations who will be in charge of education. Good role model.
Although Yan Hui was determined to break the boat, it was also true that educational resources were insufficient. He could not conjure resources out of thin air, so he had no choice but to turn to his teacher Confucius.
For Yan Hui, the lack of money is okay. If he saves some money, he should be able to survive for a year. But the most fatal thing is that there are too few teachers, especially senior teachers who can serve as principals.
If there are no teachers, even if the school is built, it will still not be able to teach normally. Yan Hui can't just build an empty shell, can he?
Among the hundreds of schools of thought, Confucianism has the most learned people, and they can serve as teachers with simple training.
In addition, those who have served as officials but are now idle and have no intention of pursuing an official career can be invited to serve as principals.
Yan Hui really had no choice, so he thought of borrowing the power of Confucianism to help him complete his achievements. Fortunately, his master Confucius supported him very much.
Not only did Confucius come forward in person to help Yan Hui recruit a large number of teachers, but he also said that after the Yecheng Academy was completed, he would take up the post of principal and personally teach in the Yecheng Academy for three years.
Confucius was the leader of Confucianism. He personally took charge of Yecheng Academy, which was naturally great news for students all over the world.
With the help of his master Kong Qiu, Yan Hui's work finally opened up, and then good news came from Xi Zhicai.
After much effort, the Minister of Rites, Xi Zhicai, finally reached an agreement with many great scholars of Taixue. On the condition of increasing educational funds for Taixue, in exchange for great scholars such as Cai Yong, Xun Shuang, and Qiao Xuan, they would serve as Xiangyang Academy, Xiangyang Academy, and Qiao Xuan respectively. The tenure of the principal of Jinyang Academy, Hedong Academy and many other academic palaces is five years.
Great Confucian scholars such as Cai Yong, Xun Shuang, and Qiao Xuan had students and disciples all over the world. They were in charge of a certain academy. Even if the Education Department did not allocate funds, the local aristocratic families would take the initiative to sponsor them to build a new academy.
Yan Hui was so moved that he almost cried when he learned about it. He thought that the Education Department was a stepmother and was left to fend for itself. Unexpectedly, his boss not only did not give up on him, but actually went to discuss cooperation with Taixue himself.
After all, Xi Zhicai was the Minister of Rites and a veteran of the Jin Dynasty, and his energy was much greater than that of Yan Hui.
If Yan went back to handle the same thing, people would probably ignore it, but if Xi Zhicai took action, the situation would be completely different.
With the cooperation of Xi Zhicai and Yan Hui, Daqin's education career has been initially established.
The Qin Dynasty built nine state-level large-scale schools in Luoyang, Xiangyang, Jinyang, Yecheng and other prefecture-level cities, and ten county-level medium-sized schools in Julu Hongnong, Nanyang and other county-level cities. palace.
These projects are expected to be completed within the next three years.
As for when these academies will be profitable? Xi Zhicai estimated that it would have to wait at least five years, and he wouldn't make much money. Before then, Da Qin would need to invest 1% of its finances every year for support.
After listening to Xi Zhicai's report, Ying Hao smiled and praised: "It is possible to develop education to such an extent in such a short period of time with limited funds and manpower. Thank you for your hard work, Shangshu Xi."
Xi Zhicai said seriously: "Wei Chen just did what he should do."
After a few words of encouragement to Xi Zhicai, Ying Hao's eyes fell on Liu Ye, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and said: "The construction of various university palaces is a big project. If supervision is not effective, corruption will easily breed.
Liu Ye, as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, you need to fully supervise. "
Liu Ye's heart trembled and he immediately said: "I obey the order."
It's not that Ying Hao doesn't trust Liu Ye's abilities, but that the functions of the Ministry of Industry involve huge wealth and various interests, which can easily breed corruption.
Daqin has currently determined three major project plans, namely: the school palace construction plan, the Hebei Chidao construction plan, and the waterway management and reclamation plan of millions of acres of fertile land.
For example, if someone uses his power to corrupt all the building materials used in the construction of the Academy, it will be extremely difficult to be discovered, and once discovered, the project will be ruined.
If officials from the Ministry of Industry want to be corrupt, they have all kinds of ways, so Ying Hao must be cautious.
The six departments of the Ministry of Industry are:
The Engineering Department is responsible for large-scale projects across the country. Among the three major engineering plans today, the Engineering Department is responsible for two of them. The director is Gu Yong.
The Ordnance Department, the predecessor of the Craftsman Factory, is responsible for managing factories and workshops across the country, as well as for the production of all military ordnance. The director is Song Yingxing.
The Farming Department is responsible for farmland affairs across the country. The Farming Department is responsible for the farming part of the one million acres of fertile land reclamation plan, one of the three major project plans, and the director is Zao Zhi.
The Road Construction Department is responsible for the construction and maintenance of Chidao across the country. The Hebei Chidao construction plan, one of the three major engineering plans, is in charge of the Road Construction Department, and the director is Li Daoyuan.
The Department of Water Conservancy is responsible for water conservancy projects and farmland irrigation across the country. The water conservancy project part of the one million acres of fertile land reclamation plan, one of the three major project plans, is handled by the Department of Water Conservancy, and the director is Zheng Guo.
The Mint Department is responsible for the minting of national currency, headed by Qin Ying.
Just looking at the functions of the Sixth Department of the Ministry of Industry, we can see how powerful Liu Ye, the Minister of Industry, is.
Liu Ye was able to hold such a high position in the Qin Dynasty as a clan member of the Han Dynasty. In addition to being Ying Hao's minister, his own alignment was the main reason.
When Ying Hao proclaims himself duke, king, or even emperor, there will always be one person at the forefront, and that is Liu Ye.
Understanding current affairs and understanding gains and losses is the secret to Liu Ye's current situation.
Liu Ye had just become the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and he immediately took over three major projects. If anything went wrong, he, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, would be the one to blame. This clearly shows the pressure on him.
"Your Majesty, not only the academy, but also the three major projects will be personally supervised by the ministers and will never give any room for corruption to corrupt officials," Liu Ye said with determination.
Seeing this, Ying Hao couldn't help but nodded. With this attitude, he thought he could minimize the possibility of corruption.
"About how much money will be spent on the construction of Chidao and the management of Hebei waterways?" Ying Hao looked at Xun Yu and asked.
Xun Yu was the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs and also the deputy prime minister. The Ministry of Household Affairs was in charge of the country's territory, fields, household registration, taxes, salaries and all financial matters, which was the money bag of the entire Qin Dynasty.
Xun Yu immediately stood up and replied: "It accounts for about 24% of the total finance of our Da Qin."
The school palace construction plan only accounts for 1% of the national finance, while Chidao and water conservancy and farming accounted for 13%, which clearly shows how much Da Qin invested in agriculture and commerce.
Of course, the greater the initial investment, the greater the return will be later.
After the construction of Hebei Chidao is completed, Hebei's commercial circulation will be greatly improved, commerce will be greatly developed, and commercial taxes will be doubled.
As for water conservancy and farming, it is a top priority. It is a policy that must be implemented to increase the total grain production in the entire Hebei region.
(End of chapter)
