Li An naturally knew that his proposal of universal education would more or less affect the interests of these scholars and some of the nobles. However, this was also for the sake of the Tang Empire's overall situation. He couldn't possibly continue to treat the people like fools! The consequence of the education of the ignorant was that only a few aristocrats could receive education, and the probability of talents appearing was naturally very low. The advantage of universal education was that talents could be selected from all over the world. In this way, the probability of finding talents would be higher, and more talents would be better selected. In short, it was absolutely a good thing for the country and the people. However, these sour scholars didn't think so at all.
The Chancellor's beard was completely white, and he didn't have many days left to live, but his sour temper didn't change at all. Even if he died, he would do his best to protect the interests of his class.
"I heard that Assistant Minister Li submitted a memorial to His Majesty to open a large number of schools all over the world and let all the children enroll. Moreover, money from the national treasury will be allocated, and all the tuition fees of all the children will be paid by the imperial court. Is this true?"
The Imperial Chancellor asked.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Well, you are very well-informed, Chancellor. There is indeed such a thing. This is my idea."
When the Chancellor heard this, he immediately became agitated and argued excitedly, "How can Assistant Minister Li come up with such an idea? How many children are there in the world? With so many children's tuition fees paid by the imperial court, and the money from the national treasury doesn't grow on trees. This burden is too heavy! Moreover, ordinary people can eat as long as they work hard. Studying will only waste time. If everyone studies and obtains scholarly honors, then who will be the farmers and who will be the craftsmen? In this way, won't the world be in chaos? Since ancient times, people with different identities should perform their own duties. Ordinary poor people should do what poor people should do. Only in this way can the country be stable and the people live and work in peace. In this way … "
He was worthy of being called a scholar. This old man spoke with a set of principles from beginning to end, making it impossible for people to refute him.
"You deserve to be the Chancellor of the Nation. Once you open your mouth, you talk non-stop, making it impossible for others to refute you. What you said and worried about are naturally very reasonable. This is also something that I have considered for a long time. However, for the future of the Tang dynasty and for the common people to have a higher level of cultivation, it is imperative to promote universal education. As for the concerns of you and the others, I will explain them one by one."
Ang Lee said.
Hearing this, the Imperial Chancellor pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "This old man would also like to hear Assistant Minister Li's opinion. I believe that the professors, teaching assistants, and students of the Lecture Hall would also like to hear Assistant Minister Li's opinion. Why don't we invite them to come and listen as well?"
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Why not? I also want to exchange ideas with the professors, teaching assistants, and students of the Lecture Hall. This is the most appropriate. "
"That would be the best. Assistant Minister Li, please go to the main hall to have a rest. I will arrange it right away. It will take about half an hour."
As the Imperial Chancellor said this, he turned around and went to arrange the students and teachers.
Ang Lee sat in the main hall to have a rest and looked at the furnishings in the room by the way.
The Imperial College was the highest institution of learning in the Tang dynasty, so the furnishings in it were naturally the best. After all, sometimes there were cultural people from the surrounding small countries who came to visit. If the level of the Imperial College was too low, it would be laughed at.
In the Imperial College, the highest official was the Imperial Chancellor, who was a Secondary Grade Three official. His rank was really not low. Under the Imperial Chancellor, there were two secretaries, whose official ranks were Secondary Grade Four, also high officials. The three of them were mainly in charge of the administration of Confucian education. They were in charge of the seven units of the Imperial College, the Imperial College, the Four Schools, the Study of Law, the Study of Calligraphy, and the Study of Mathematics.
There were only two minor officials. One was the Imperial Chancellor, whose official rank was Secondary Grade Six, and the other was the Registrar, whose official rank was Secondary Grade Seven. Both of them were in charge of such secular affairs.
Compared to the five officials in charge of management, there were more teachers in the Imperial College. Among them, the most advanced Imperial College had five doctorates. They also had official ranks. They were at the upper rank of the fifth rank. They were mainly responsible for teaching the children and grandchildren of high officials and dukes above the third rank, as well as the great-grandchildren of the second rank and above. They would not teach people who did not meet the requirements. Therefore, if they were asked to teach the children and grandchildren of ordinary poor people, they would feel ashamed.
Under the professors, there were five teaching assistants, all of whom were Secondary Grade Six. They were mainly in charge of assisting the professors. Their level and status were not as high as the professors.
There were also four teaching assistants, whose status was lower than the professors and teaching assistants.
In addition, because the students in the Imperial College had to learn the Four Books and Five Classics, each of the Five Classics was accompanied by two professors, who were Secondary Grade Five. There were a total of ten professors.
In this way, there were a total of fifteen professors in the Imperial College. Together with the four teaching assistants and the four teaching assistants, there were a total of twenty-four professors.
The Imperial College's level was lower than the Imperial College. There were six professors and six teaching assistants, but their ranks were one level lower than the professors and teaching assistants of the Imperial College, which was four levels lower. They were mainly in charge of teaching the children and grandchildren of officials above Grade Five and above, as well as the children and grandchildren of Secondary Grade Three and above. The Imperial College also learned the Five Classics, but each student only needed to learn one of them. There were a hundred people in each class. Among them, seventy were students from the capital, fifteen were students from the eastern capital, Luoyang, four were teachers in charge of teaching, and six were teachers.
There were only four professors and two teaching assistants in the Guangwen School. Their status was not high.
There were more students in the four schools. There were six professors in charge of teaching, six teaching assistants, and four teaching assistants. They were mainly in charge of educating the nobles like Marquis Bozi and Barons, as well as the outstanding talents among the common people. There were three hundred students, four teaching assistants, six teaching assistants, and fifty students in the eastern capital.
As for law, calligraphy, and mathematics, they were all taught to those below Grade Eight and the outstanding descendants of the common people. Their status was relatively low.
These schools with different ranks reflected that in the Tang Empire, people with different status would have different educational opportunities. No matter how outstanding a person was, if his status was low, it would be difficult for him to get a better educational opportunity. He might not even have the chance to enter a school. This was very unfair.
Soon, the professors and teaching assistants of the Imperial College, the Imperial College, and some other schools, as well as some students of the Imperial College, were gathered. They were ready to listen to Ang Lee's brilliant ideas. Ang Lee was also ready to have a good debate with them. He wanted to dispel their doubts bit by bit from different angles, let them understand the benefits of universal education, and then support Ang Lee's idea.
"So many people!"
Ang Lee looked up and saw nearly two hundred people. Except for the professors and teaching assistants, the rest were all children of noble officials with high status. Many of them were the children of old acquaintances that Ang Lee had met before.
"Assistant Minister Li, where shall we start?"
The Imperial College Chancellor asked.
Ang Lee nodded, looked at the crowd, and said, "You are all learned scholars of the Tang Empire. You are all talents of the Tang Empire. I am very happy to come here today to discuss the universal education of the Tang Empire with you. If I can get your approval, this trip will be worth it. Hahaha!"
After exchanging some pleasantries, Li An looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, the first thing this official wants to talk about today is why I want to popularize schools so that everyone in the world can have the opportunity to learn. If there is anything that is not good, whether you are a well-educated doctor, teaching assistant, or student, you can correct this official's words. Before I talk about this, this official wants to talk about some things that have happened in the capital recently. Some of you might have heard about these things, but some might not care about such trivial matters. But no matter what, before this official talks about popularizing education, this official must talk about this matter so that everyone can understand this official's good intentions."
Seeing this, everyone listened carefully. They wanted to know what Ang Lee was going to say.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "The first thing happened yesterday. When I was on the road, I saw hundreds of people gathered in the south of the city. It seemed that something had happened. I naturally sent my subordinates to investigate. It turned out that someone was injured by a stone thrown from a high altitude. The injury was quite serious. His head was covered with blood and he lay on the ground, unable to move. The scene was quite tragic. The culprit who caused this tragedy was not the stone, but the person who threw the stone from a high altitude. The yamen runners quickly caught the person who threw the stone. You may be very curious about what kind of person could throw a stone from a high altitude without caring about other people's lives.
"Who is it? How unruly! We must punish him severely."
An assistant teaching assistant said angrily.
Ang Lee said, "This person is a young child. He is only nine years old and has not reached adulthood. After he was caught by the yamen runners, he did not know what he had done wrong. Later, the child's father was found, but the father was a gambling addict. He was not willing to compensate the injured at all, nor did he have the financial resources to do so. He actually told the yamen runners that the child should bear the consequences of his mistakes. He did not want the child anymore. The yamen runners were so angry that they beat him on the spot.
"Hmph, like father, like son."
"This is called a crooked stick will have a crooked shadow!"
A few sour Confucians said with disdain.
"This kind of unruly person should be thrown into prison and taught a good lesson."
There were also scholars with bad tempers.
Of course, there were also some soft-hearted professors who shook their heads and sighed helplessly.
Seeing that the crowd was getting angry, Ang Lee continued, "Why would a nine-year-old child stand on a high place and throw stones down? From his father's rudeness, we can understand a thing or two. This kind of child belongs to the kind who is born but has no one to teach him. He does not care about the lives of others at a young age. When he grows up, he will be more dangerous. Maybe he will do more bad things, even murder and arson will not be a problem."
Hearing this, everyone deeply agreed. It was a truth since ancient times that one who stole needles when he was young would steal gold when he grew up. If a person was extremely indifferent when he was young and did not care about the lives of others, then he would be even more indifferent when he grew up. He would do bad things to harm others in order to achieve his own wishes.
Some of the professors and teaching assistants expressed their anger in public, but more whispered in low voices. It seemed that they did not want too many people to know their attitude.
After the first example, Ang Lee continued, "I can see that you are all very angry. You think that this child will be finished in the future with such a father. If there is no change, sooner or later he will violate the law, and it is very likely that he will be beheaded. Now, I will talk about another incident. This incident also happened in the capital not long ago. A fourteen-year-old boy openly robbed a woman's purse on the street of the East Market. After being caught by the yamen runners, he threw the purse on the ground and insisted that he was innocent. He did not have a penny on him to catch a thief, so how could he be called a robber? As for the purse he just threw, he sophistry denied it and refused to admit his guilt. It is simply unreasonable. "
"A few days ago, a butcher asked a scholar on the street to help him write a couplet. As a result, the scholar was beaten up by the butcher after an hour. You must be very curious about why!"
Ang Lee said.
Seeing that everyone was curious, Ang Lee continued, "It turned out that after the butcher pasted the couplet on the place where he sold meat, a poor scholar who passed by read the couplet. The meaning was that the butcher sold smelly meat and specialized in swindling. The butcher was so angry that he picked up a butcher's knife and went to reason with the scholar. Before the scholar could refute, the butcher beat him up. In the end, yamen runners came to investigate, but none of the five yamen runners were literate. They could not figure out what was written on the couplet and did not dare to casually trust passersby. Don't you think it's funny, haha?"
After saying this, Ang Lee could not help but laugh. This matter was not that funny, but Ang Lee could not help but want to laugh. As he laughed, he shook his head.
The Chancellor lowered his head and did not speak. Through the examples given by Ang Lee, he seemed to have a premonition of what Ang Lee was going to say. He immediately felt that Ang Lee was formidable.
"Assistant Minister Li, I know what is written on the couplet."
A student of the Imperial College said with a smile.
Ang Lee frowned slightly and said with a nod, "Oh, then tell me, what is written on the couplet?"
The student said, "The couplet is clearly written, 'Fresh pork, honest to both young and old.' When I saw that the yamen runners did not dare to casually trust passersby, I took out the seal of the Imperial College and swore in the name of the Imperial College that I would never dare to lie. However, the five yamen runners still did not dare to believe it completely. It was not until their superior came that they dared to confirm the content of the couplet. Then they tied the butcher up and put the poor scholar on the wanted list in the city. They made the butcher stand at the intersection of the streets and look for him."
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Yes, it's you. The Japanese official did not get out of the car. The young man he saw was you, haha!"
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