Is a thousand students really a lot?
The number of students in primary schools in later generations generally exceeded a thousand, and some were even close to two thousand. There was no reason why the Ming Dynasty couldn't do it. As long as the problem of food and accommodation was solved, everything else was easy.
In the final analysis, the issue of food and accommodation is a matter of money. Thanks to the strong contribution of the old Guo family, the county government is not short of money in a short period of time. It is not difficult to spend 3,000 yuan to build Jurong Junior College and support the operation of the college. .
What's more, the Jurong Weaving Courtyard and Tailoring Courtyard have accumulated management experience of more than a thousand people. Merchants with a keen sense of smell have brought abundant goods. There is no shortage of food. Although the quantity and style of meat and vegetables are smaller, there are not many. There is a shortage of food and there are no hungry children, not to mention that in the coming year Jurong people will increase their breeding and vegetable planting.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Liu Gui and Sun Tong, who had worried faces and objected one after another, and said with a smile: "One thousand students consume 400 dan in food per month. Based on the price of grain in Jurong, it only costs about 200 guan. It’s 2,400 guan per year. Including other expenses, it won’t exceed 3,500 guan per year.”
"Yes, this is a huge sum of money. But the money is not entirely provided by the county government. Large and wealthy households in Jurong will also donate part of it. Children studying in colleges cannot be completely free. At the very least, children's meals are provided. Parents still have to give more than half. In addition, you can also ask for some from Buddhist and Taoist temples..."
Liu Gui looked at the confident Gu Zhengchen and felt that he had already made up his mind to find someone to beg for help.
If parents are willing to contribute to their children's food rations, this can save a huge amount of money. Large households and families have always had the custom of helping local education. It is not a problem to get more than 500 guan by walking around every year.
As for Buddhism and Taoism, it's hard to say, but the county minister has a good relationship with Buddhism. Every year, he asks for some incense money from the Buddha. I guess the Buddha will not be stingy. It's hard to say about Sanqing. The county minister just demolished their temple in the mosque. Golden body...
However, Lin Lin finally figured out that the annual cost of the college was still affordable. The county government would save money by not imposing a large-scale corvee.
After Gu Zhengchen finished speaking, Liu Gui asked: "The county magistrate wants to set up a university and recruit a thousand students, which may be feasible. But there is a problem, who will teach a thousand students? Sun Xundao and I have worked hard, but I am afraid that You can’t teach more than a thousand students.”
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly, took two steps, and said in a deep voice: "There are scholars among the people, please come. If Jurong is not enough, then go to Jinling to recruit. There cannot be a shortage of sir, at least fifty are needed. In addition, the recruitment of sir You should not just stick to Confucian scholars from the Four Books and Five Classics, but you can also invite gentlemen who are proficient in planning, military art, craftsmanship, painting, archery and other knowledge."
"Uh, this..."
Liu Gui was a little uneasy.
Gu Zhengchen laid out the conditions: "Sir, teach, and you will be paid twice a month, and the rations will be calculated separately."
Liu Gui and Sun Tong became excited.
When the county school teaches and teaches, it is difficult to feed the family with only how much food they receive every month. If the students had not occasionally sent some pork and food as "shepherds", I would have died of hunger long ago.
If the county government is willing to give me twice a month, then I can do anything.
"I do know some old friends, but I don't know if I can persuade them. That's all. Let's try writing a few letters."
Liu Gui laughed.
Sun Tong raised his head, thinking about who he should bring over to help.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the county school palace and ordered: "Jurong College should be built in this county school palace and expand outwards to build more houses and classrooms. As for the county school palace, it will be moved to a small courtyard of the Guo family. Let's rebuild it slowly. I'm afraid it will take more than ten years for the imperial court to open the imperial examination again, and it will be useless to keep the county academy for a while."
Liu Gui was a little surprised and asked quickly: "Does the county magistrate mean that the imperial court may reopen the imperial examination in the future?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled and said: "The imperial examination has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The imperial examination has stopped at this time, but it does not mean that it will continue to stop forever. With the promotion of culture and education, the number of scholars has increased, and it is inevitable for the imperial court to restart the imperial examination. At this time, our Jurong College After it is opened for more than ten years, it is impossible to say how many candidates and scholars will be produced, so you have to pay more attention."
Liu Gui and Sun Tong looked at each other and looked forward to the future.
How could the imperial court function without the imperial examination? It would only rely on the examination and examination of talents. Over time, it would surely fall into the same trap. The big families would fawn over the magistrates or ministers and control the examination and examination. From then on, ordinary people's children would no longer have an official career path.
Now that I heard from the county magistrate that the imperial court would reopen the imperial examination in the future, I breathed a sigh of relief.
People like Huo Xun, Ma Shu, Gu Gui, and Zhao Chuan were very honest, especially after watching the beheading ceremony, they were even more diligent.
Strangely enough, a group of rough men on the grassland learned carpentry very quickly. This made Gu Zhengchen wonder whether they were herding sheep or cutting wood on the grassland.
This actually helped the county government with a lot of things. As long as they had the arrangement and leadership of the old craftsmen, they could still do the construction work competently.
There are 400 looms arranged in the weaving compound. The daily production of cotton cloth has increased from the initial fifty pieces. By the end of October, the daily production of cotton cloth has reached one hundred pieces. With the implementation of three shifts, the operating efficiency is expected to further increase.
After accumulating five hundred pieces of cotton cloth, Gu Zhengchen found Gu Cheng, Hu Hengcai, Sun Erkou, Xu Erya and others. These people no longer lived in the county government office, but became a caravan connecting with the two compounds.
Gu Cheng returned to his old business and became a businessman. Hu Hengcai was an experienced shopkeeper. Sun Erkou and Xu Erya were favored by Gu Zhengchen and carried out Gu Zhengchen's orders thoroughly. They were considered capable men.
"Send the first batch of 500 pieces of cotton cloth and 1,000 backpacks to Jinling. The cotton cloth will be sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs to deduct Jurong's autumn tax. The backpacks will be sent to the Ministry of War. If no one pays attention, they will be forwarded to the Governor's Office."
Gu Zhengchen gave clear instructions.
Five hundred pieces of cotton cloth are not much in quantity, but the Ming Dynasty's soldiers are in the north and there are many soldiers. If five hundred pieces of cotton cloth are sent, at least more than a thousand soldiers can be given more clothes.
Gu Zhengchen knew how cold it was in winter in the north. A cotton coat could sometimes be a life-saver.
There is cotton in the north, but there is a shortage of cotton cloth, and the efficiency of cotton spinning is far less than that in the south.
As for whether the Ministry of Household Affairs will be dissatisfied with Shao, that is a matter for the Ministry of Household Affairs. They will have to settle the matter after the county government office is sent.
Gu Zhengchen has made up his mind. There is no need to fold colored cotton in Jurong. The cotton cloth converted from the autumn tax in the entire county will be borne by the weaving compound. As for the people's autumn tax, they still pay grain and send it directly to the county government for settlement. That’s it.
In this way, those people who did not have much cotton at home did not need to buy cotton cloth, nor did they need to spin cotton cloth themselves. They only needed to be provided with enough food as usual.
This kind of measure can avoid disturbing the people to the greatest extent, and at the same time, it can also complete the errands assigned by the court.
Gu Zhengchen wrote three letters to Gu Cheng, urging: "After settling the goods in Jinling, go see your family and tell your mother and sister that everything is fine in Jurong and there is no need to worry. After the winter seal, I will I will go to Jinling to reunite with them. Also, take care of her on the way."
Gu Cheng patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, sir, I will deliver Miss Qian'er home safely."
