Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps Qianlong, that old dog, truly didn't care, or perhaps Qianlong, that old dog, had completely despaired. In any case, all the books, blueprints, documents, and other items Zhu Jinsong requested, along with ten million taels of silver, were delivered to Jinan Prefecture, not a single sheet or coin missing.
Qianlong, that old dog, even threw in a copy of the Siku Quanshu and personally wrote Zhu Jinsong a letter, stating, "I have always valued culture. I have refined and compiled your Han Chinese books into the Siku Quanshu for preservation. You are welcome."
Zhu Jinsong, however, coldly collected Qianlong, that old dog's letter.
Good food isn't afraid of being late; accounts can be settled slowly.
If not for the developed internet of later generations, if not for Zhu Jinsong obtaining those books, blueprints, and documents, he might never have known how much good stuff Qianlong, that old dog, and the Qing court had destroyed.
Not to mention the world's earliest encyclopedia, the Yongle Encyclopedia, nor the Tiangong Kaiwu or Junqi Tushuo. Even without looking at the blueprints and documents for the treasure ships, just two obscure books were enough to make one's eyes pop out.
Qiqi Tushuo: The sphere is the Earth, the apex is the center of the Earth, Jia, Yi, Bing, Wu are all heavy objects, each seeking to fall directly to the Earth's center to rest, which is its nature. It is like a magnet attracting iron; the iron's nature follows the stone, regardless of whether the stone is above or below, to the left or to the right, the iron must follow it, for such is its nature.
Doesn't this sound like the theory of gravity?
Xinzhizhuqi Tushuo: The celestial sphere rotates, the earth's faults contract, the sundial moves, the moon disk rotates, the water wheel draws water, the water clock rises, the fire ship departs, the fire thunder booms, the wind wheel turns heavy, the windmill travels far.
What does the phrase "fire ship departs" bring to mind? Could it be a steam engine ship?
Qiqi Tushuo was printed in the seventh year of Tianqi, while Newton, universally recognized as the discoverer of gravity, was born in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen.
Xinzhizhuqi Tushuo was printed no later than the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, while the world's first steam engine, universally recognized, was invented by the European Denis Papin in the eighteenth year of Kangxi.
Is there a contradiction?
Not at all.
In fact, according to historical records of our Tartar Qing Dynasty, as early as the eleventh year of Kangxi, the Belgian missionary Ferdinand Verbiest had already manufactured a set of steam engines for Kangxi, which some referred to as a "steam engine carriage," and it is currently preserved in a museum.
Qiqi Tushuo was included in the Siku Quanshu by our Tartar Qing Dynasty, and the evaluation of Qiqi Tushuo was "absurd and unrestrained, not worthy of investigation."
Even Zeng Cheng, a high-ranking official of the fourth rank who had previously served as the prefect of Tai'an Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty, looked at the two books in his hands with utter confusion.
One was the original Qiqi Tushuo, and the other was the Qiqi Tushuo included in the Siku Quanshu.
"The original should have been two identical books. I never thought so much would be deleted and revised when it was included in the Siku Quanshu."
Thinking of this, Zeng Cheng's expression became even more solemn: "If the Tartars had diligently studied Qiqi Tushuo and Xinzhi Zhuqi Tushuo, wouldn't their artillery technology advance by leaps and bounds?"
"Perhaps the Tartars didn't pay much attention to these books and blueprints before. But now that the leader is requesting so many books and documents, won't the Tartars start to value them?"
Zhu Jinsong, however, smiled and shook his head. While flipping through the Xinzhizhuqi Tushuo in his hand, he casually replied, "You must know that the foundation of Qianlong, that old dog, is the Tartar Eight Banners. If he opens the minds of the Eight Banners, how can Qianlong, that old dog, rule them?"
"So, rather than worrying about Qianlong, that old dog, allowing the iron rice bowl carriers of the Eight Banners to study these things, it's more realistic to worry about a sow climbing a tree."
Zhu Jinsong's words left Zeng Cheng at a loss for how to respond.
Zeng Cheng was also well aware that our Tartar Qing Dynasty harbored extreme suspicion towards any learning that did not involve deluding the populace or serving its rule, especially in fields like artillery, mechanics, and natural philosophy.
Kangxi, that old winter melon, even uttered a famous quote: "Do not learn from the Mongols or Han!"
After some thought, he felt that what the leader said was correct. After all, our Tartar Qing Dynasty was fundamentally flawed from the beginning. By the time of Qianlong, that old dog, the destruction of books, prohibition of books, and literary inquisition were pursued relentlessly. The promotion of education and culture was abandoned whenever possible and guarded against whenever possible.
Of course, if Qianlong's tens of thousands of poems were included, then Qianlong, that old dog, did waste a lot of paper on education and culture.
That was all.
After a silent吐槽, Zeng Cheng looked at Zhu Jinsong again and asked, "Then, in the leader's opinion, how should these books be handled?"
Zhu Jinsong said, "Of course, we should gather craftsmen and print more copies."
"Later, we'll have people build libraries next to the prefectural and county schools, specifically to house these books for the students in the academies to read."
Zeng Cheng looked at Zhu Jinsong with utter bewilderment, a thousand "maternal curses" wanting to escape his lips, yet he dared not speak them. "I asked you how to handle these books, meaning where you plan to collect and preserve them. And you, in turn, are assigning such a massive project?"
Let's not even talk about Henan. Just in Shandong, which boasts ten prefectures and one hundred and eight counties, you want to build a library in every prefecture and county to house these books?
This means that just the Yongle Encyclopedia would require at least one hundred and eight sets? How much paper would that be? How much money? How much manpower?
The entire Menglianggu rebel group's finances would go bankrupt, you scoundrel!
Zhu Jinsong waited for a long time, but Zeng Cheng didn't reply. He couldn't help but look up and saw Zeng Cheng's face filled with a complicated, pained expression. Zhu Jinsong's face immediately became strange. "You don't think we're going to place the Yongle Encyclopedia in every single library, do you?"
Zeng Cheng was startled and asked, "Aren't we?"
Your head!
Damn it, who can understand the Yongle Encyclopedia?
Books like Qiqi Tushuo and Xinzhi Zhuqi Tushuo are fine for students in county schools. But books like Junqi Tushuo and Wu Bei Zhi can't just be placed in libraries next to county schools for anyone to read?
They should at least be at the prefectural school level.
After glaring at Zeng Cheng, Zhu Jinsong said, "You go and discuss it with others. What level of library is allowed to house what kind of books? Not all books can be put into libraries."
"For example, the library in Jinan Prefecture can house a set of the Yongle Encyclopedia, and the prefectural school in Henan Prefecture can also house a set. You don't think the county library in Ningyang County should also house a set, do you?"
Zeng Cheng then bowed and accepted.
Zhu Jinsong then continued to ask, "By the way, how are those community schools, county schools, and prefectural schools doing?"
When it came to community schools, county schools, and prefectural schools, Zeng Cheng, the pillar of the civil official system, became worried again. "Reporting to the leader, in our Shandong region, nine out of ten villages have already built community schools. The only shortage now is sufficient teachers."
"As for Henan, the progress of community schools is less than half, and the shortage of teachers is even more severe."
"In comparison, the progress of county schools and prefectural schools is very gratifying. In both Shandong and Henan, almost every county's county school and prefectural school has already begun teaching students."
"However, this also brings a new problem. By the year Chongzhen 160 at the latest, many students will graduate from the prefectural schools in Shandong and Henan. Should we hold a civil service examination at that time?"
"Furthermore, the education system under the Menglianggu regime is different from that of the Tartar Qing or any other dynasty in history. With so many different subject classifications, the civil service examination will also be a problem."
Zhu Jinsong, however, said, "What's the trouble? Just abolish the civil service examination and establish universities instead. First, build one in Shandong, then one in Henan. The outstanding students from the prefectural schools of both provinces will be admitted to the universities."
"The government's shortage of personnel will be prioritized by promoting from among the current officials. If there are still not enough, we will recruit people from the universities for training."
Zeng Cheng's expression changed, and he advised, "Should the leader reconsider? I have only heard that Emperor Huizong of Song abolished the civil service examination and established the Imperial Academy, but isn't this a bit inauspicious?"
Zhu Jinsong, however, shook his head and said, "Times change, and circumstances change. That was one era, and this is another."
"During the Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong abolished the civil service examination and established the Imperial Academy. However, it was merely a change in the form of the examination; its essence remained the same as the examination system."
"In fact, whether it is the Tartar Qing or any dynasty throughout history, the only officially recognized learning is Confucianism, and the scope of the civil service examination is also limited to the Four Books and Five Classics."
"In reality, any scholar who reaches the county school level has basically finished their studies. The subsequent prefectural schools and civil service examinations are merely prolonged scholarly pursuits."
"However, here in Menglianggu, county schools and prefectural schools have numerous subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. These subjects are no longer suitable for the civil service examination system."
"As more knowledge is discovered and organized in the future, students will need more time to study. It is possible that a person's lifetime might not be enough to learn an entire category of knowledge, and they can only study a part of it."
"If we continue to use the civil service examination system, won't we return to the old path? Will these students still be able to focus their minds on studying?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong gave an example: "Does Magistrate Zeng remember Niu Erben from the Yizhou Prefectural School last month, who improved the steam engine?"
Zeng Cheng certainly remembered Niu Erben.
This child was as his name suggested, a bit clumsy and quite stubborn. But it was precisely because of this stubbornness that he, by chance, improved the steam engine. Now, several of the Menglianggu army's armories are using the improved steam engine, and tasks like rifling gun barrels are several times more efficient than before.
Of course, if it were just this, it would be no big deal, just a large sum of money and rewards for this child and his family.
The problem is that many things are interconnected.
With the improvement of the steam engine, much of the existing content in the textbooks prepared by the Menglianggu rebel group for county and prefectural schools had to be deleted, modified, and a large amount of new knowledge added.
This also meant that the studies of students in county and prefectural schools became even more extensive.
If someone could further advance upon this, these textbooks would have to be revised again, and with more and more new knowledge added, the students' workload would increase.
What might have originally taken two years to complete the entire curriculum of a county or prefectural school might now take two and a half, or even three years or more.
Also, in subjects like history in prefectural schools, with the Ming Dynasty documents being transported to Jinan, it is conceivable that much of the content in the history textbooks for county and prefectural schools would need to be deleted and added.
Therefore, as the amount of knowledge to be added in the future increases, if we continue to use the traditional civil service examination model, requiring people to learn and master all this miscellaneous knowledge before considering them for the examination, it is likely that a person might not live long enough to complete their studies.
Thinking of this situation, Zeng Cheng felt a chill—his own foolish son was also studying in the prefectural school!
However, when he thought of the prefectural school, especially the history subject, Zeng Cheng felt a sense of profound frustration.
It's one thing to teach history, but to bring out why rebels in all dynasties failed and what role the common people played in them—isn't this teaching people how to rebel hand-in-hand?
Alright, even if that were the case, what is the biggest problem facing the Menglianggu rebel group now? How to solve the shortage of teachers?
Don't forget that the leader, in a fit of passion, exterminated the Northern Confucians and did not venerate the Southern Confucians, only stating that he would continue to publicly sacrifice to Confucius. And the leader's public sacrifice was somewhat different from those of previous dynasties.
The leader not only publicly sacrificed to Confucius but also to Laozi, Guanzi, Mozi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, and many other "Masters," offending a large portion of scholars in the world, making it difficult for many scholars to come and join the Menglianggu rebel group.
This has resulted in a severe shortage of teachers in the Menglianggu rebel group, slowing down the promotion of community schools.
Of course, this model of cultivating everything, including officials, clerks, soldiers, and teachers, from scratch also has its advantages. At the very least, the territory governed by the entire Menglianggu rebel group, from Shandong to Henan, from the government to the local level, operates with a unified purpose, unlike the Qing government and local administrations which were prone to internal strife.
If nothing else, Zeng Cheng, as a former prefect of Tai'an, had the most say in this.
When he first heard that rebels had appeared in Ningyang County, under Yanzhou Prefecture, Zeng Cheng's first reaction was to figure out how to help Zhu Jinsong, the rebel, escalate the situation. The bigger the incident, the more it would prove the incompetence of Wu Yaozu, the prefect of Yanzhou Prefecture.
Was he going to help Wu Yaozu for the sake of the party and the country?
No way. Our Tartar Qing Dynasty also had performance evaluations for officials. There were only so many positions rated as "superior" each year. One more Wu Yaozu meant one less hope for his own promotion and enrichment.
Moreover, with the first batch or so of talents cultivated, the Menglianggu rebel group could use the same model to train more people. Although there was a shortage of personnel, the problem of occupying new territories without reliable personnel had been solved.
However, despite understanding this principle, when Zeng Cheng thought about himself, as the pillar of the Menglianggu rebel group's civil official system, having to not only deal with the messy affairs of Menglianggu itself but also occasionally lecture at the night school and official training school that the leader stirred up, he couldn't help but worry about the hair on his head.
Feeling blue, feeling mushroom.
Unconsciously touching the hair on the back of his head, Zeng Cheng smiled and said to Zhu Jinsong, "Then, according to the leader's wishes, I will organize personnel upon my return to sort these books by category and have people build libraries."
Sometimes, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but feel grateful.
With these books, blueprints, and documents obtained from Qianlong, that old dog, the research of the entire Menglianggu rebel group was not behind that of other countries in the world; in fact, it was even somewhat ahead.
Because during the Great Qing Dynasty, the amount of knowledge in various disciplines was not as complex as in later generations. A child who started their education at four years old could basically complete the basic knowledge by the time they were in their twenties.
From their twenties to before their forties, this was almost the golden age for a researcher.
In other words, with these books, blueprints, and documents, as long as the Menglianggu rebel group didn't falter like Qianlong, that old dog, the Zhongyuan Hall, the King-tier guild, could maintain its King-tier status.
After a moment of secret gratitude, Zhu Jinsong said seriously, "This matter must be expedited. Also, those books on firearms, machinery, and the like are not to be read or studied by those who are not of our kind. Anyone who dares to lend these books to outsiders without authorization will be prosecuted for espionage, and severe cases will implicate nine generations of relatives for three generations."
Zeng Cheng nodded and shook the Junqi Tushuo in his hand, saying, "Leader, rest assured, I understand the gravity of the situation. This book contains a warning: what the barbarians and aliens fear most in China is firearms."
"In my opinion, it would be best not to allow students to take books out of the library, but only to read them within the library."
Zhu Jinsong hummed, then waved his hand and said, "These matters, Magistrate Zeng can handle them as you see fit. I trust you."
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, Zeng Cheng knew something bad was about to happen.
Given the leader's temperament, if there wasn't something particularly important, he would never have remained indifferent to matters like printing books, compiling textbooks, and building libraries.
Therefore, there must be other matters that were more important, allowing the leader to completely let go of these responsibilities.
Besides personally leading troops to smash someone's territory, Zeng Cheng could not think of anything more important.
The problem is that it is already the twelfth month of the 158th year of Chongzhen of the Great Ming, the 50th year of Qianlong of the Tartar Qing, and the New Year is not far away. Whose territory is the leader planning to smash now?
If it were to smash the territories of Zhu Zhongzhi or Zhu Zhongji, those imposters, it would be manageable. But if he were to smash Qianlong, that old dog's territory...
Hiss!