Yangzhou's examination, Sir George's annotations, and printing technology, completely set off a trend in the entire Great Han Dynasty.
"Old Li, where are you going!?" A farmer looked at Old Li from the same village and asked. Right now, it was the busy time of the farming season and most people couldn't get away. However, Old Li put down his hoe and put on the only piece of clothing in his house that only had five or six patches. This was the rhythm of entering the city.
"What else can I do? I'm going to the city!" Old Li said to the farmer over there.
"Why are you going to the city? Visiting relatives? "The farmer asked in confusion. If he was going to visit relatives, he could go a few days later.
"I'm going to the city to buy books for my son!" Old Li said to the farmer from the same village.
When the farmer heard Old Li's words, he suddenly grinned. "Old Li, don't joke around. With your family's situation, you want to buy books? Can you afford it? " This was not ridicule, but a kind of persuasion. The value of a book was as high as several gold coins. Even if Old Li sold his several acres of fertile land, he would not have so much money.
"I'm not lying to you!" Old Man Li was anxious. The countrymen also pay attention to their face. "I'm going to buy two, no, three books for my family's Er Wazi. Let him study and become a big official in the future. At least, he must be like Village Chief Li!" In Old Man Li's mind, Village Chief Li was a very big official.
"Haha, you want to be an official? Old Li, did you drink that little wine today? Aren't you afraid that your wife will give you two slaps?" As the two of them argued, a circle of people slowly gathered around them. Listening to Old Man Li's wishful thinking, they all laughed.
Old Li was speechless after being mocked by his fellow villagers. His face turned red. "I, I, I'm telling the truth! Why don't you believe me? I cheated you for a lot of money! "
"Haha!" The villagers around Old Li already regarded him as a joke.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" In the noisy crowd, a man wearing an official's uniform ran over.
"Village Chief is here, Village Chief is here!" This person was the village head. He didn't have much authority, but he was in charge of hundreds of families. He could be considered an official. Everyone was very respectful to him, because they needed grain seeds, cattle, and farm tools from Village Chief Li's hands. Therefore, it was still very dignified.
"Village Chief, it's this Old Man Li. He may be drunk, but he wants to make Er Wazi an official. He also wants to buy books in the town. Isn't that just wishful thinking ~?" The people on the side told Village Chief Li about Old Man Li as a joke.
"An official?" Village Chief Li shook his head. Being an official was really not easy. He was just a village chief. Compared to being an official, he was a hundred thousand miles away.
"See, I said that Old Li was drunk. He didn't even hear about Village Chief Li! How can he know? "Looking at Village Chief Li's appearance, the villager over there thought that Old Li was just wishful thinking.
"I didn't drink!" Old Li's face was terribly red.
"Okay, okay!" Village Chief Li clapped his hands. "It's not easy to be an official, but what Old Li said is right. There are indeed books for sale in this city. I'm afraid Old Li really went there to buy books!" Village Chief Li said to the crowd.
"Ah ah, Old Man Li, you're rich!" Everyone looked at Old Li's expression and changed. They knew that only rich people could afford to buy books. A book was worth a few gold coins. In this era, an acre of land was only worth 2000 coins.
"Go, go, how did I get rich? My wife sold a dozen eggs from my hen and the hen to get a hundred bucks. She told me to buy books!" Old Li said to the villagers over there. Although the villagers were surprised that Old Li sold the old hen that could lay eggs, they were even more surprised that Old Li only took a hundred coins to buy the book. Isn't this a joke? Everyone couldn't believe it.
However, Village Chief Li nodded his head and said: "100 coins, if you buy it right, you can buy two or three good books."
Village Chief Li also bought a lot of books. Although he can't read them, he still has a collection of books in his house. This shows that he is from a scholarly family. So, Village Chief Li clenched his teeth and bought a cart full of books. He also sold his house in the city to him.
With these books in his house, even if he couldn't understand them, he could still show off. You must know that he was from a rich family with a collection of books.
"No, 100 coins, you can buy two or three books?" The villagers didn't believe it. Although 100 coins was a lot for them, it was not enough to buy two or three books.
"Do you think I, Village Chief Li, will lie to you?" Village Chief Li looked at the villagers who didn't believe his words. He couldn't help but get angry.
"We don't dare, we don't dare!" The villagers still acted like they didn't want to fight with the officials. They were very respectful to Village Chief Li, but their faces still showed that they didn't believe him.
"When Old Li comes back in the evening, you will know! Old Li, it will take a while to go to the town from our village. You can take this brother's ox cart! "Village Chief Li waved his hand and said to Old Li.
"How is this acceptable? What is this acceptable?" Old Li looked a little scared. Normally, no one would dare to sit on the oxcart because there were only two or three oxen in a village. Every villager treated these oxen as treasures. "Yes, yes, yes," said Old Li.
"What's wrong with this? Brother Cheng is going to the town. You can go with him! " Village Chief Li was very generous. Under Old Li's thanks, Brother Cheng's ox cart set off.
"Well, you can all disperse!" Village Chief Li waved his hand and said to the villagers under his hand.
After all, they were busy with farming, so after a while, everyone dispersed. No matter how much they wanted to join in the fun, they still needed to finish their own work.
The sky soon darkened, and the sun was about to set.
The villagers also finished their farming work for the day and were about to go back.
"You said, why Old Li hasn't come back yet?" Some people were still thinking about the things that happened during the day.
"I'm afraid he didn't buy any books, so he didn't dare to come back!" Many people had this idea.
"That's right, he bought books. When I was working for a big family, it was the Wu Family in the town. You know, Master Wu!" A villager said to the others.
"Master Wu? Is that the Master Wu who is in the tea business? "Some people knew this Master Wu.
"Yes, Master Wu is very rich, but when he wanted to buy a book, he had to beg his grandfather and grandmother. It was not easy to buy a book. I heard that he spent dozens of gold!"
"Oh, so much!" Gold was an astronomical figure for these people.
"Yes, that's why Old Li went to buy books this time. Isn't that a joke?"
"Don't say that. Maybe other people made a mistake and gave Old Li a book! Haha! " Everyone burst into laughter. The ancients did not have television to pass the time. These rumors and jokes were their entertainment. The topic of Old Li could be talked about for half a year.
"Old Li is back, Old Li is back!" Just when everyone was laughing, there was a sudden news that Old Li was back. He came back with Brother Cheng, who was driving the ox cart.
"Old Li, did you fail to buy any books?" Someone over there jeered.
"I have nothing to say to you!" Old Li turned his head and left. He did not care about other people's gossip.
"It must be that Old Li did not buy any books!" Everyone thought so, because if Old Man Li had bought the book, he would still be like this. He would have become complacent a long time ago. How could he leave without saying a word?
Therefore, those who originally mocked Old Man Li became even more sarcastic now. "Old Man Li is a toad who wants to eat swan meat, Old Man Li is daydreaming, and so on."
"Ai!" On the other hand, Brother Cheng couldn't hold it in any longer. He couldn't help but laugh coldly. "Each and every one of you is mocking Old Man Li. Brother Cheng sneered. Everyone was gloating, but they didn't know that the person who benefited the most was Old Man Li.
Did Old Li buy any books? He did buy it, not one or two books, but three books. However, Old Man Li did not say anything, and silently made a fortune.
Because after Old Li bought the three books, he got a benefit. He heard that after two months of farming, he could enroll Er Wazi in the school.
This was the enrolment. In this small county under Lujiang, there were a total of three schools. After the farming season, one could enroll in school.
The reason why Old Li did not tell them was that he wanted Er Wazi to enroll in school first. This way, he would be one step ahead of others.
"This Old Li, what a waste that we are from the same village as him!" Someone heard Brother Cheng's words and immediately scolded him. This Old Li was too unkind.
"That's right, that's right. No matter what, I am his brother-in-law. If he did not tell others, he should at least tell me!"
Brother Cheng looked at these villagers with disdain. Just now, he had mocked his brother-in-law a lot.
"Brother Cheng, is this true? This book only costs 30 coins per book? "Someone still did not believe it.
"What's the point of lying to you?" Brother Cheng said with disdain. "You see, I also bought two books!" “
"Brother Cheng, can you even read books?" Someone at the side mocked.
"Even if I can't read, I can still learn!" Brother Cheng said angrily.
"Haha, Brother Cheng, can you still enroll in school at your age?" Brother Cheng angrily chased the cow back to the cowshed.
Although the villagers were a little ignorant, they were not stupid. Sending their children to school would only bring benefits and no harm. After all, it was not the busy season. Everyone went home to get money and things. The next day, they all went to the city to buy books.
They did not understand that reading could make one wise. They only knew that reading could make one an official. Even if they could not become an official, they could go back and say that at least their children were literate.
The next day, the villagers gathered in every city. Book sales were rampant.
On every book, there was a sentence: "Reading makes one wise and broadens one's horizons. What the saints have learned is what the world is interested in — Qiao Xuan."
No matter how Qiao Xuan looked at his father-in-law, Liu Mang was very pleasing to the eye. With that sentence, it could be said that more than half of the scholars in the world would admire Qiao Xuan. There were even people who began to make Qiao Xuan the Saint Ji. He was the next Saint Qiao after Saint Confucius and Saint Meng.
Qiao Xuan's face was flushed red. He had earned enough face this time.
"Lord, these books are sold so cheaply. Isn't it too much of a loss?" In the hall, Mi Zhu, the Minister of Revenue, was crying because there was no profit in buying books. Not to mention the ink, just the paper alone cost fifteen copper coins. Liu Mang was only selling one book for thirty copper coins in Yangzhou. If the cost of labor and transportation were factored in, not only would there be no profit, but there would also be a loss.
"Zifang, education has always been a losing business!" Liu Mang, on the other hand, was very optimistic. As long as he could make the people wise, he would not mind losing money. This book was not focused on earning money but on earning talents. As long as there were thousands of children enrolled in the school, even if there was only one talent, Liu Mang would have profited. After all, even a thousand gold cannot buy a single talent.
"Milord, such a price in Yangzhou is nothing, but why is it also sold at such a price in Xudu of Yan Province?" Mi Zhu was even more confused. You said you were enlightening the people in Yangzhou. It's fine if you sell books at a loss of 30 copper coins, but why are you selling them at the same price in other provinces? That Cao Cao of Yan Province will be your enemy sooner or later. Aren't you helping your enemy?
"Haha, I can't wait for Cao Cao to buy all the books!" Liu Mang smiled. The more books the other provinces sold, the happier Liu Mang would be. Why? Because Liu Mang had his own plans.
Why would the common people be foolish? It was because they had never read a book, so they were easily deceived. But once you read a book, your view of the world would be different, and your way of thinking would be different. Perhaps a child from the mountains who had never read a book only wanted to grow up and have a wife, have children, and herd sheep. But once he read a book, he would be influenced by the success of the scholar-officials and scholars. He would think that if they could do it, then why couldn't he, a scholar, do it too?
There was an examination in Yangzhou that allowed the children of poor families to enter the bureaucracy. But in other provinces, there was no such thing. It wasn't that everyone was stupid and couldn't see the benefits of having an examination.
The examination was a reshuffling of the ranks of the nobles. The nobles would no longer be able to maintain their superiority in education. In the past, those who studied and became officials were the children of the nobles. As long as they weren't fools, they could become officials. Once you have an examination, you will offend the nobles.
Liu Mang wasn't afraid of offending the nobles because most of the nobles in Yangzhou had run away. The nobles in Jiangdong had been killed and suppressed by Liu Mang, so they didn't dare to say anything. The nobles in Xuzhou had also moved to Yan Province. It could be said that the nobles in these three places had no power. Who would dare to offend Liu Mang?
The other feudal lords were different. For example, in Jing Province, no matter how much Liu Biao hated Cai Mao, he wouldn't dare to kill him because the Cai family was too powerful. Killing Cai Mao's family would cause a huge upheaval. He still needed to rely on these nobles.
How could they dare to have an examination? If they had an examination, they would offend the nobles. Wasn't this courting death?
If they didn't have an examination, the commoners and the children of poor families would definitely not agree. They only had two choices. One was to stand out and come to Yangzhou to participate in the examination. This way, all the scholars in the world would gather in Yangzhou. The other choice was to fight with the nobles and make the local feudal lords badly battered. No matter which choice it was, it was beneficial to Liu Mang's Yangzhou.
Therefore, Liu Mang sold the books so cheaply. This was the export of culture and also a cultural war.
From Yangzhou, there was a steady stream of books being printed and sold to the Nine Provinces of the Great Han Dynasty. All of a sudden, books went from a privilege of the nobles to something that ordinary people had.
No matter if they were poor or rich, if they didn't have a few books, they would be embarrassed to go out and see people.
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