pdf-ebookys Chapter 698 You, Li Shanchang, you can do this kind of thing, huh?
Chapter 698 You, Li Shanchang, you can do this kind of thing, huh?
Li Shanchang mentally ranted for a long time, but in the end he could only sigh helplessly.
They could neither grant him the title of Marquis of Champion nor allow Yang the Madman to lead his troops to Japan.
Damn it, should I find something else to distract Yang the Madman?
The key is that it can attract attention for a short time, but how can it attract attention for a lifetime?
Li Shanchang pondered for a long time, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he said, "As far as I know, the Prince Consort has never regarded those short and ugly Japanese as human beings."
Zhu Biao nodded and said, "It's obvious. My brother-in-law's hatred for those short and ugly Japanese is probably even greater than that for those corrupt officials. If a short and ugly person and a corrupt official were placed in front of him at the same time, and he could only choose to kill one of them, he would definitely choose to kill the short and ugly person."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and hummed in agreement, then slowly said while considering his words, "Therefore, as long as the matter of installing water pumps for the chieftains and implementing the policy of replacing chieftains with centrally appointed officials is entrusted to the Imperial Son-in-Law..."
Zhu Biao's eyes immediately brightened.
That's a good idea.
My brother-in-law doesn't treat the short, ugly people of the Dwarf Country as human beings, but he's very kind to the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Asking him to deal with the troublesome matters of installing a water pump for the chieftain and relocating the local officials was indeed able to capture his attention.
What will happen after the relocation of native chieftains to central government?
Stop being funny.
With so many chieftains in the Ming Dynasty, how could the reform of replacing chieftains with centrally appointed officials be completed in just one or two years?
Most importantly, let alone the chieftains in the southwest, there are still a lot of Dongman people in Hunan. Just the fact that they are enough to give my brother-in-law a headache for a while, right?
Just as Zhu Biao was pondering this to himself, Liu Bowen quietly shifted his body, trying to distance himself from Li Shanchang.
Li Shanchang, you old scoundrel, you really aren't afraid of death!
You're trying to shift the blame onto Yang Dianfeng. Once he comes to his senses, he'll probably torment you to death, you old bastard.
Li Shanchang naturally noticed Liu Bowen's subtle actions as well.
However, Li Shanchang did not take it to heart.
"The biggest problem with the Tusi (local chieftains) is that many of their people are unaware of the king's rule."
"It's not that I'm dissatisfied, it's that I don't know."
"The reason why the Tusi people are unaware of the king's rule is not because they do not want to, but because they cannot."
"One reason is that there are not enough schools and teachers to educate them."
"Secondly, even if schools and teachers were available, ordinary chieftains and common people could not afford the cost of sending their children to school."
This is obvious, and there are many messy reasons behind it.
The first problem we had to face was that there weren't enough schools and teachers.
Despite Emperor Zhu's decree to build more community schools and to exempt them from all tuition and miscellaneous fees, with even scholarships available for high-achieving students, it was all to no avail.
There is a very simple and practical problem here: building a school costs money, hiring a teacher costs money, waiving tuition fees costs money, providing students with books, uniforms, pens, ink, paper and inkstones costs money, providing students with free meals every day costs money, and scholarships for good students also cost money.
As the saying goes, fingers are of different lengths, and people's hearts have their own directions.
Given that community schools had not yet been fully established in Han areas, how could Emperor Zhu be willing to spend money to promote community schools for the Tusi (local chieftains)?
The second problem is that ordinary people are reluctant to send their children to school. And it's not just ordinary chieftains who are reluctant to send their children to school; many people in the Central Plains are also unwilling to let their children go to school.
This involves more than just whether or not it costs money to go to school. It means that a seven- or eight-year-old child can already be used as half a laborer. If the child goes to school, what will happen to the farm work?
If half the workforce is working, it means half the harvest will be lost.
Moreover, a portion of the already reduced harvest must be set aside specifically to support one person's education.
How much would that cost?
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and sighed, saying, "I have previously reviewed the data from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, the place with the most seven-year-old children attending school is Ningyang County."
"Therefore, the most important thing in order to make the chieftains submit to the king's rule is to ensure that they are well-fed and clothed and can afford the loss and burden caused by the absence of a able-bodied man."
"In this way, with the 'Hongwu Zhengyun' and 'Hongwu Dictionary' proposed by the Prince Consort, and in conjunction with the policy of building schools in communities, the children of many chieftains and commoners will grow up speaking the official language of the Ming Dynasty and writing Chinese characters."
"Perhaps the changes in one generation are not obvious enough, but after two or three generations, the people of the Tusi will likely identify as citizens of the Ming Dynasty, rather than as Tusi."
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Zhu Biao almost lost control of his expression.
Yes, the reason is very simple.
If people in all other places could have an ox, farm tools, and someone to work in the workshop like the people of Ningyang County, and be able to eat their fill, dress warmly, and even eat meat regularly, then people in other places would naturally be willing to send their children to school, just like the people of Ningyang County.
The problem is money.
Setting up a workshop requires money.
Road repairs cost money.
You have to pay for anything, no matter how small.
I also want people in other places to be as prosperous as the people of Ningyang County.
The problem is, where am I going to get so much money?
Just as Zhu Biao was inwardly complaining, Li Shanchang suddenly smiled and said, "This water pump has given me a glimmer of hope."
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up, and Li Shanchang continued, "Making a water press requires iron, which comes from iron ore, and iron smelting requires coal."
"Whether it's iron ore or coal, a large number of people are needed to mine and smelt it."
"In this way, people will have another way to make money besides farming."
"Once the water presses are deployed, it will make farming easier for the people."
After going around in circles, Li Shanchang finally came to his conclusion: "When it comes to things like coal mines and iron mines, I'm sure no one in the entire court is more skilled than the Imperial Son-in-Law."
"But he happens to be someone who cares about the common people."
“If you let him worry about the installation of water presses and the conversion of local chieftains to central government officials, he will start thinking about getting into coal and iron mines.”
"In this way, he naturally had no time to think about leading troops to Japan."
"..."
The more Li Shanchang talked, the more reliable his plan seemed.
Liu Bowen, who was standing next to him, stared wide-eyed.
You, Li Shanchang, can play like this?
You old scoundrel, you've got some skills!
……
While Zhu Biao, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen were discussing how to mess with Yang Shaofeng, Yang Shaofeng was still figuring out how to annoy Lao Deng.
How can I face the loss of the champion without making things difficult for him?