NOVPUBChen Xi couldn’t guarantee that the textbooks he chose were the best, but he dared to promise that his selections were far superior to those of his contemporaries. Sometimes, the breadth of vision and wisdom accumulated over time could overwhelmingly crush the majority of sages.
"I see, I’ll contribute some funds," said Liu Bei, not thinking too much of it, just habitually expressing that he should retain a share in serving the people. Besides, he wasn’t exactly strapped for cash; he had plenty of spare money after recently leasing out some land.
"No problem, it’s more than good if Lord Xuande is willing to contribute. Investments like this, which are foundational and welfare-oriented, inherently have no profit to speak of. Every year, more money has to be poured into them." Chen Xi gave Liu Bei a heads up, implying that he, Chen Xi, didn’t always make money from his ventures. Some things were purely philanthropic, purely for welfare. However, for the nation as a whole, these were of significant importance. Chen Xi was hinting that the money Liu Bei invested here would need to be limitless and profitless.
Liu Bei paused, his right hand which had been stroking Ma Zhong’s fur coming to a stop. After a long while, he turned to Ma Zhong and said, "After all, I am a descendant of the Han Dynasty. Now that I, Liu Xuande, still have money and grain, let’s invest. Give the world a chance, and give myself one as well."
"Lord Xuande is benevolent and virtuous," Chen Xi stated calmly. He was sure Liu Bei was prepared for Chen Xi to spend an astronomical sum, as the investment’s purpose was to enhance the vision and quality of the people across generations, to make their lives a little better, no matter the cost.
"Hahaha, back when I had no money, I lived breezily, and now, even if I didn’t have a single copper coin, I still have the support of my subjects, making my life even happier than before! Money comes and goes quickly. Rather than hoarding it and figuring out how to spend it, it’s better to entrust it to Zichuan to seek welfare for the people!" Liu Bei said with a hearty laugh.
Liu Bei patted Ma Zhong’s hand slowly, clearly feeling the sting of parting with a large sum of yet-to-warm copper coins, yet he didn’t lose his generous spirit. It was apparent that under Chen Xi’s erratic financial fluctuations, now counting too much and now shipping out in large quantities, Liu Bei had grown indifferent to wealth.
"Lord Xuande is wise," Li You and Chen Xi exchanged a glance, very satisfied with Liu Bei’s disregard for riches.
"Wise about what?" Liu Bei waved his hand. "If I were wise, children under my rule would all be fed and clothed warmly. Let’s start working on this education matter right away!"
"Well, my lord, let’s take it step by step. First, gather the homeless children under fifteen years old within your domain, then issue teaching credentials to scholars, grant scholars with credentials access to the Library Pavilion, and register students who enter school, offering free breakfast and lunch to non-homeless children. Afterward, leverage this to expand the coverage of the household registration system, integrating teaching qualifications, borrowing credentials, and other privileges into the system…" Chen Xi briefly explained to Liu Bei, implying that things were not that simple. 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
"Why not just handle the household registration in one go?" Liu Bei asked, puzzled.
"Because it can’t be done. If we simply process the registrations, many people won’t bother. But by issuing teaching credentials to scholars, and only with these can they get a borrowing certificate, they will become accustomed to these credentials. When they are later notified of a third type of certificate, the majority will accept it. With the simplification of the three certificates uniting and the certain benefits provided by the household registration, they will all go through the process." Chen Xi explained helplessly.
Promoting new things is always very troublesome, but fortunately, there is a class of scholars that everyone wishes to enter, and something that this class desires. Otherwise, it would indeed be extremely difficult.
"Provide students with household registration, but not their parents, because children are receptive to new things and once the parents witness the benefits, they will acknowledge them. Afterwards, we can make demands, such as granting household registration to adults aged 18 to 40 who can recognize and write a thousand common characters and enjoy the benefits of junior household registration. You can even pursue further education... In short, the division must be meticulous!" Chen Xi said with considerable pride. He remembered that at one time a certain country did just this, and indeed they eliminated illiteracy...
Upon hearing this, Li Youu spilled his wine. What was Chen Xi trying to do? Was he attempting to defy the natural order? In an era where ninety percent of the population was illiterate, this was truly a revolutionary act!
"You...this..." Li Youu muttered as he looked at Chen Xi, taken aback. To say that previously the aim was to dethrone the noble families, now Chen Xi’s plan was essentially to fulfill the dreams of the ancient sages! The phrase "to enlighten those who seek knowledge" brought tears to many wise men who could only look to the heavens in longing for their entire lives.
"Unfortunately, we don’t have that many scholars to teach," Li Youu quickly realized the biggest flaw in Chen Xi’s goal.
"Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s just a thousand characters, very simple. I will even create teachers if there are none. The so-called ’learning has no sequence, the proficient ones become the teachers.’ Gan Luo became prime minister at twelve, and little kids who recognize a thousand characters teaching a bunch of illiterate adults shouldn’t raise any objections," said Chen Xi casually. He had already prepared the literacy materials. There was the Thousand Character Classic, which he had learned as a child.
Speaking of which, with his previous level of cognition, he could only remember parts of the Thousand Character Classic, and he was only able to memorize the entire text when he was around seven or eight years old. As for any other time, definitely a sentence would slip here and there. Therefore, the spiritual power that enhanced memory and analytical skills was indeed very useful.
"..." Li Youu paused for a moment, then silently recited, "Learning has no sequence, the proficient ones become the teachers. Gan Luo became prime minister at twelve... Zichuan has really blocked any rebuttal this time, very reasonable, and one should discuss reason with a scholar."
"Zichuan is right, ’learning has no sequence, the proficient ones become the teachers.’ Hereafter, let this be the philosophy of our academy. I didn’t expect Zichuan to be so knowledgeable in this area!" Liu Bei said with great admiration.
"..." Chen Xi was speechless. He was once again certain that the wisdom accumulated over a thousand years could, even when inadvertently uttered, crush many ancient people, as many widespread sayings today have been tempered over thousands of years into maxims for governing the world. Casually spoken, any of them could be statements only those who establish schools could utter.
"Let’s move on, move on, this is nothing major. Continue, as for the household registration matter, I don’t think there will be any problems. In this era, literacy is everyone’s dream. As long as we are willing to give them the opportunity to learn, even if they forget what was learned today, they will keep trying hard. There will be no resistance on this front. Therefore, we must categorise; the household registration must display what a person is skilled in, even marking what level a carpenter is!" Chen Xi, who had been thoroughly desensitized by modern hierarchies, intended to introduce a system of classification in the Great Han Dynasty! (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
