Chapter 213: Education Reform Plan

Nanchang.

The spymaster Xu Ying was doing something beneath his station — compiling mathematics and geometry textbooks on Zhao Han's orders.

The mathematics content was what Zhao Han had taught at the Pearl-Containing Academy in Yanshan.

For the geometry content, Xu Ying had already obtained the first six volumes of Xu Guangqi's translation of Euclid's Elements. Xu Guangqi had no time to translate the later volumes, but the first volume already introduced concepts like definitions and axioms.

Thump, thump, thump!

A government runner knocked at the courtyard gate and said, "Is this the home of Huang Zhongcong? The Governor requests your presence."

Xu Ying set down the nearly finished manuscript and was about to leave when the young widow, Madam Liu, hurried after him to add another layer of clothing.

Just two months ago, a lone man and a lone woman — dry tinder and a spark — had already tumbled into bed together.

Brother Xu had guarded his virtue like jade for so long, yet in the end he could not withstand temptation!

The Governor-General's yamen had already been converted into the Governor's residence. By the time Xu Ying arrived as ordered, Wang Tingshi, Zuo Xiaocheng, and others were already present. The juren — Liu Tongsheng, Xiao Puyun, and the rest — had all gone to Beijing for the metropolitan examinations.

With the juren away, Xu Ying's standing had rapidly risen.

Wang Tingshi, for his part, was in an extremely awkward position. All three provincial offices of Jiangxi had recommended him, yet Chongzhen still refused to grant him an official post.

Instead, the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi, Ding Kuichu, had gotten his wish and retired on grounds of illness. The new Left Provincial Administration Commissioner was a man named Zhu Zhichen, who was expected to arrive in Jiangxi only after the New Year.

Xiong Wencan addressed the home-returning examination candidates: "His Majesty has compassion for the common people and cannot bear for the people of Jiangxi to suffer further military calamity. He therefore intends to offer amnesty and enlistment to the rebel Zhao of Luling. You gentlemen have fled from the south and must be quite familiar with this rebel Zhao. Who is willing to go to Ji'an to make contact regarding the amnesty?"

At these words, everyone was greatly alarmed.

The xiucai Lu Yu immediately protested: "This must be the work of treacherous ministers deluding His Majesty. That rebel Zhao has turned the world upside down, brought calamity to the nation and its people, and corrupted public morals. How can he be offered amnesty? If the Luling rebel Zhao is granted amnesty, then any ill-intentioned person in the surrounding prefectures and counties will surely follow his example — since it turns out that as long as you rebel on a large enough scale, you get an official post. If that happens, Jiangxi is doomed!"

"I beg the Governor to memorialize His Majesty and rescind the order to offer amnesty to the rebel Zhao!" Zuo Xiaocheng suddenly dropped to his knees.

"I beg the Governor to memorialize His Majesty and rescind the order to offer amnesty to the rebel Zhao!"

The other scholars all knelt in succession. Xu Ying hurriedly knelt with them.

The reason they had fled to Nanchang in the first place was that they could not bear to part with their land. They had hoped that one day the government troops would wipe out the rebel Zhao so they could reclaim their estates.

What was this talk of amnesty?

Amnesty meant their estates could never be recovered!

Xiong Wencan soothed them: "Gentlemen, please rise. Amnesty is merely a temporary stratagem. You need not take it as truth."

The scholars looked at one another, then rose reluctantly.

To hell with his temporary stratagem. The northern roving bandits clearly could not be wiped out, so the amnesty for the rebel Zhao would inevitably turn from pretense into reality.

Xiong Wencan said, "Who is willing to go to Ji'an Prefecture?"

No one answered.

Wang Tingshi simply named someone: "Zhongcong, come with me on this journey."

Xu Ying put on a troubled expression, hesitated repeatedly, and finally said, "Since it is an imperial command, this unworthy student shall of course obey."

This mission was to make contact with the Luling rebel Zhao. Xiong Wencan had put Wang Tingshi in charge. Concerned that Wang Tingshi was not well acquainted with the rebel Zhao, he had selected a scholar to serve as deputy — and after picking and choosing, the choice fell on Xu Ying.

There was no helping it. The juren had all gone to the capital for the examinations, and among the remaining xiucai, there really were not many capable ones.

The fifteenth day of the twelfth month.

Xu Ying boarded a boat bound for Ji'an. Both he and Wang Tingshi were traveling as "ordinary commoners." In any case, they represented neither the government nor the Emperor, so if the amnesty mission failed, it would naturally have nothing to do with the court.

Standing at the prow, Wang Tingshi asked, "How long has it been since Zhongcong last went back?"

"It feels like another lifetime," Xu Ying replied.

Wang Tingshi admonished him: "I know that Zhongcong bears a deep blood feud against the rebel Zhao, but this journey is undertaken on imperial orders. Zhongcong must by no means provoke the rebel Zhao."

"I certainly will not. The affairs of state take precedence," Xu Ying said, cupping his hands.

Xu Ying knew that Wang Tingshi was an inside agent — and a rather uncooperative one at that.

Wang Tingshi, however, had no idea of Xu Ying's identity. He was still thinking about how, once they reached Ji'an Prefecture, he could slip away from Xu Ying and hold a secret conference with Zhao Han alone.

Several days later, the two men arrived at the Regional Commander's yamen and were warmly received by Zhao Han.

Zhao Han truly could not suppress his laughter, so he simply burst out laughing, cupped his hands, and said, "I have long heard of Mr. Wang's great name. Meeting you today, I see you are indeed extraordinary."

"You flatter me, you flatter me," Wang Tingshi said. "Commander Zhao is heroic and full of vigor — a true gallant of the realm."

Zhao Han shook his head. "My title of Regional Commander is a false one."

Wang Tingshi said, "It can be made real, if only Commander Zhao is willing to accept amnesty."

Zhao Han returned to his seat and sat down with a bold, expansive posture. "Speak. What price is the court offering?"

Wang Tingshi said, "Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief of the Front Army (rank: principal second grade), General of Manifest Bravery (rank: principal third grade), and Regional Commander of Ji'an (no rank grade)."

"And the price?" Zhao Han asked.

Wang Tingshi said, "First, disband the peasant associations. Second, return the landlords' estates. Third, lead your troops north to assist in suppressing the roving bandits."

Zhao Han laughed. "Give me the bottom line. Spare me these empty terms."

Wang Tingshi shot a glance at Xu Ying, fearful of exposing himself, and said with a straight face, "This is the bottom line."

Zhao Han thought it over carefully. "Fine, I agree."

"Hm?" Wang Tingshi was quite taken aback.

Zhao Han explained, "The peasant associations were established by the peasants themselves. They have nothing to do with me. I will tell them to disband, but whether they listen depends on the peasants themselves. As for the landlords' estates, I will also return them. Let those landlords bring their title deeds and come find me — they are most welcome. And as for leading troops north to assist in suppressing the roving bandits, I am of course willing to serve the nation. Unfortunately, I lack military provisions. Please first allocate three hundred thousand dan of grain and fodder, plus one hundred thousand taels of silver, as mobilization expenses."

"This..." Wang Tingshi was instantly speechless.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "Write back and tell Xiong Wencan to come negotiate in person."

Wang Tingshi and Xu Ying were detained, and each was summoned separately for a private talk.

In the secret chamber, Wang Tingshi naturally swore oaths and vowed he was willing to die in service to Mr. Zhao, claiming that the reason he had not acted during the last battle was because his military authority had been stripped away.

In short, he was an old fellow utterly devoid of sincerity, thinking only of benefits and refusing to loose his hawk until he saw the hare.

"Zhongcong, you have worked hard!"

"Zhuochen!"

Zhao Han and Xu Ying met again. There was no polite small talk, and they even ignored distinctions of rank, each addressing the other by courtesy name.

After catching up for a while, Xu Ying said, "Business in Nanchang is still thriving. I hope we can allocate another sum of silver — I plan to open a branch in Huai'an."

"Do you need manpower?" Zhao Han asked.

"No need," Xu Ying said with a smile. "In Nanchang I've recruited a group of poor scholars — all from struggling families but with ambition and aspirations."

"Well done," Zhao Han said approvingly.

Xu Ying then presented the Mathematics and Geometry volumes. Zhao Han immediately read them carefully and felt they could serve as teaching materials.

Furthermore, Zhao Han decided to reform the education system and establish three-year compulsory primary schools.

Primary school students with outstanding grades could advance to secondary school for free, with room and board provided. However, the number of free secondary students would be very small; everyone else wishing to attend secondary school must pay all associated fees.

All former county schools in every county would be converted into secondary schools!

In the common people's understanding, graduating from three years of primary school made one a child student, and graduating from secondary school was equivalent to being a xiucai.

That said, secondary school graduates would receive no tax or corvée exemptions. After graduation, they would first go to various departments for observation and practical training; those who performed well could be assigned posts.

The first batch of students under Zhao Han's rule was about to graduate — they were semi-finished products of compulsory education. The teachers were terrible, the curriculum was haphazard, and most students could only read, do basic arithmetic, and write official documents.

These people made very useful civil clerks, but Zhao Han wanted to keep them for now, assigning them to stay at the schools as teachers of Mathematics, to weed out the previous terrible mathematics teachers.

Anyone who could self-study Geometry could be transferred to a county seat to serve as a secondary school teacher.

In any case, it had to proceed step by step. Education system reform must advance gradually; the teaching corps had to be cultivated from within. The existing scholars could only teach language and literature.

Zhao Han soon finished drafting the curriculum content —

Primary School Year One: Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, Lesser Four Books, Mathematics

Primary School Year Two: Lesser Four Books, Mathematics

Primary School Year Three: Lesser Four Books, Selected Passages from the Great Unity Collection, Mathematics

Secondary School (three years total): The Four Books, Poetry and Prose, Official Document Writing, Mathematics, Geometry, The Great Unity Collection

Bailuzhou Academy would be more akin to a university. Secondary school graduates could choose to pursue advanced studies, with content including: The Five Classics, Historiography, Mathematics, Geometry, and so on.

Zhao Han would not recognize any previous examination degrees or academic qualifications. Scholars could go back and attend primary school anew.

As long as they passed the examinations, graduating primary school in half a year or secondary school in one year was all permitted. Everyone would be treated equally, without any discrimination.

The content of the Four Books would be revised. For instance, the Mencius passages deleted by Zhu Yuanzhang must be restored. Zhu Xi's commentaries need not be strictly adhered to; as long as an interpretation was well-reasoned, other readings would be permitted.

As for Physics, Chemistry, and the like — those would wait until more people proficient in Mathematics and Geometry had been trained.

For the first phase of education reform, Zhao Han set a deadline of ten years!

It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person. Ten years was already very short.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, Xiong Wencan indeed came personally to Ji'an, making no effort to conceal his urgent mood.

Upon receiving Zhao Han's reply, this fellow had immediately understood that Zhao Han was a clever man, and one with an inclination to accept amnesty.

As his boat entered the borders of Fengcheng County, Xiong Wencan clearly sensed a difference.

In the countryside around Nanchang, although the peasant association movement was raging like wildfire, there had been no real land distribution after all, and the lower orders had not truly risen to become their own masters.

Yet the common people of Fengcheng County, with the New Year almost upon them, were still out digging irrigation canals in the snow.

They asked for no wages and brought their own dry rations, working with fiery enthusiasm, even laughing and chatting merrily during their breaks.

Seeing scene after scene of such labor, Xiong Wencan felt fear, yet at the same time grew more confident about offering amnesty to the rebel Zhao.

Because the development model of the Luling rebel Zhao required no storming of cities or seizure of territory at all. He simply developed peasant associations in the countryside. Once development reached a certain point, land was distributed directly to households. Even without occupying cities, he could expand his territory in practical terms.

The rebel Zhao would certainly be willing to accept amnesty, and then throw all his strength into rural expansion!

By the time the court caught on, all of Jiangxi would already belong to the rebel Zhao, and seizing the cities would be like ripe fruit dropping from the vine.

But what did any of that matter to Xiong Wencan? He would have earned merit by bringing the rebel Zhao to surrender. As long as no more cities were lost, he was sure to be promoted for his achievement. The only thing he needed to watch was that before he himself was transferred out of Jiangxi, the rebel Zhao absolutely must not attack any more cities!

As for after Xiong Wencan left — the rebel Zhao could turn traitor however he liked. It could all be blamed on the new Governor for driving him to revolt.

Having thought it through, Xiong Wencan actually found his mood lightening. He was no good at warfare, no good at governance, but he was exceedingly skilled at fooling people.

(A request for guaranteed monthly tickets.)

(End of chapter)