"Engraving? Engraving printing? Zhao Chen said.

"Yes! Your Majesty, you may not know the process of printing, but the first step is to make engravings, which is very difficult and requires a lot of manpower and material resources. Wang Shu said.

"Wang Shu, haven't you heard of movable type printing?" Zhao Chen said with some surprise.

"Movable type printing? What is it? Wang Shu said confusedly.

Zhao Chen shook his head, with a helpless expression on his face.

Movable type printing was originally invented in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, and it has a history of 100 years! But until now, Wang Shu has never heard of movable type printing! Historically, movable type printing was indeed invented in China, but movable type printing has not been really practical in China! From the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, although there were books printed with movable type, the number was extremely scarce, and movable type printing has not become the mainstream of Chinese printing! In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, foreigners relied on ships to break the gate of China, and after entering China, because foreigners wanted to print the Bible, they introduced the improved lead type printing from the West to China, and Chinese large-scale use of movable type printing.

"Your Majesty, is this important?" Wang Shu said.

"Chinese people don't value practical learning, only Confucianism! From ancient times to the present, there have been many inventions in China, but none of them have been applied in practice, which is a pity! As for the teaching materials, they are mainly distributed to the teachers of each school, and they can be written with honor at the beginning, without printing! As for movable type printing, you go back and look for relevant information, someone invented this thing a hundred years ago! Zhao Chen said.

The four great inventions of the ancient Chinese are famous all over the world, especially the papermaking and printing technology, which is an important tool for the European Renaissance and the spread of civilization, but unfortunately only papermaking has spread in China, and movable type printing has not been spread! As for the gunpowder of the four major inventions, it was used in a narrow range in China, but it was carried forward in the West!

From ancient times to the present, Chinese scholars only want to be officials, and have never used the knowledge in the book to practice, and they don't care about the important inventions of practice, which makes Zhao Chen sigh.

"It seems that in addition to the reform of education and imperial examinations, it is also necessary to encourage innovation and invention in the whole country, give major rewards to innovators, and form an atmosphere of innovation in the whole society! There's a lot more to be done! Zhao Chen said secretly.

"Wechen will go and check out this movable type printing technique when he goes back." Wang Shu said.

"In addition to Confucianism and practical learning, I think there should be another item in the textbook." Zhao Chen said.

"Your Majesty, please speak." Wang Shu said.

Zhao Chen stood in front of the window, was silent for a long time, and said, "Gather some of my words and let the school learn." ”

He mainly wanted to write out some democratic, innovative, and pioneering spirits in his heart, so as to dilute the mediocre temperament of Confucianism and transform the people.

"Your Majesty, this is what the Propaganda Department should do, Weichen is negligent, and this must be learned in the school." Wang Shu hurriedly said.

"I've given you three months to write a simple set of books and show them to me! In addition, the news is now spread out to inform the people that the imperial court is about to carry out a large-scale educational reform. Zhao Chen said.

"Wechen understands!" Wang Shu nodded, and then said goodbye and left.

Zhao Chen stood in front of the window, looking outside, and it was cloudy outside.

"After the baptism of war, although the Central Plains has suffered a lot, many decadent literati have also been eliminated at the same time! The land of China in front of me is like a blank sheet of paper, and I can draw on it at will! For me, this reform of the education imperial examination is just a matter of talking and talking, but the amount of manpower, the amount of money spent, and the impact of society on the real implementation will be beyond imagination! After the education reform is carried out smoothly, the reform of the imperial examination will naturally be carried out smoothly! Through education, we will change the thinking of the people, so that the people will attach importance to practical learning, attach importance to creation, and be willing to open up, so that even if there are no other reforms, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, China will definitely be much stronger than it is now! The reason why China is strong now is because of foreign invasions, our potential has been forced out, and in the future, we will not be forced by others, and we will be incomparably stronger. Zhao Chen said secretly.

******

It is already the wheat harvest season, the sky is overcast, and the farmers in the Yanyun area are hurrying to harvest their crops.

In the afternoon, officials of all sizes in Yanjing City and soldiers defending the city went out one after another to help the people around Yanjing harvest wheat.

More than ten miles south of Yanjing City, the sky became darker and darker, and gradually a light rain fell, and after another half an hour, all the wheat was harvested.

At this time, lightning and thunder began to roar in the sky, and the rain became heavier and heavier.

An old farmer soaked and broke into the eaves at the entrance of the village, and several middle-aged people greeted him.

"Old Liu, the wheat harvest at your house is finished, right?" A middle-aged humane.

"The harvest is finally over! Thanks to the help of those lads in the army! The old farmer was relieved while wiping the rain off his body.

"Da Song and Da Liao are really completely different!" There was a middle-aged man dressed as a Khitan, and he suddenly spoke at this moment.

"It's nature! If it was under the rule of the Liao State back then, if their officials and armies did not come to oppress us, where would they help us harvest the crops? The old farmer nodded.

"Yes, the current court and emperor are far better than the previous court and emperor!" The people next to him spoke one after another.

"You know what? Just now, an official asked me who had the best farming in our village, and guess what, they actually went to the Qian family in Dongtou and asked the Qian family about the farming method! "In the distance, a young man ran in the rain and then rushed at the men.

"And such a thing? What does this do, they ask? The old farmer said in surprise.

"I heard that the imperial court is going to compile a book of agriculture!" Young man.

"Oh!" The old farmer nodded.

There are very few books on agriculture in ancient China, and even if there are, they are out of the public, and most of them are whimsical and ungrounded.

"The imperial court will soon open education and schools in various states and counties across the country, and at that time, the students in the school will also learn agriculture!" Young man.

"The students in the school study agriculture?" The old farmer froze.

"You're talking nonsense, aren't you? The school is full of sage learning, how can you learn agriculture? ”

"Yes! When can I learn agriculture in the school? I've grown up so old and I've never heard anything like this! ”

The people around him gossiped.

"I don't lie to you! This school is also very different from the previous school! The teachers in these schools are all worshiped by the imperial court, and students from poor families can enroll! However, the official said that the imperial court had limited money, and the number of public schools was not very large at the beginning, but gradually it will increase! In the beginning, only some students from poor families were allowed to enter public schools, and the rest were still in private schools! However, whether it is a public school or a private school, you must study agriculture! It is said that it is His Majesty's will to join the Department of Agriculture! His Majesty said that he would spend decades to make all children in the world enrolled, and in the future, entering the academy is not only to become an official, but also to increase knowledge, which can be used in practice! The young man said.

"This ...... If it's not for the sake of being an official, who will go to school? The old farmer shook his head.

"Old Liu, you can't say that! It's also good that our children can read and write, and they can increase their knowledge through books! Moreover, there is no need to spend money in the public school, as long as you bring food every day. The young man said.

"It doesn't cost money, and there is such a good thing?" The old farmer said in surprise.

"It is said that His Majesty called agriculture practical learning, and in the future, this imperial examination will also be tested for practical learning! Your Majesty said that if you only read the books of the saints, if you are not diligent, you don't distinguish between grains and grains, and you don't know what to do, how can you govern the place? The young man said again.

"Your Majesty is right! I don't understand that some scholars don't know anything, what do they rely on to become officials? Could it be that those who know a few words can also become officials? It's not right to think about it! The old farmer agreed this time.

"Not bad! If officials know how to farm, they will be able to govern the local area better. ”

"In my opinion, this practical study is more useful than Confucianism."

The surrounding peasants were talking a lot, and they were very much in favor of the inclusion of practical learning in the imperial examination.

******

Above the sea, the waves are rolling, and at this moment a large ship is shuttling at sea.

At the bow of the ship stood a dozen people, old and young, all dressed as shopkeepers and bookkeepers.

"I heard that the imperial court is going to compile a book of arithmetic, and we are the best people in Jiangnan arithmetic, so the imperial court will take us to Yanjing." A gray-haired shopkeeper-like man said with a smile on his face.

"I also heard that in the future, arithmetic will be studied in all schools in the world, which is a great thing! Arithmetic is not only used for business, but also at home on weekdays! As an official in the imperial court, all kinds of statistics also need to be arithmetic! "A middle-aged humane.

"Yes! We can participate in the compilation of arithmetic, and in the future, we will also be able to go down in history! I also heard from the people of the court that His Majesty wants to receive us personally! "One of the youngest, looking to be in his early twenties.

"Your Majesty is going to change the law this time! It has been five or six hundred years since the imperial examination was held from the Sui and Tang dynasties! In fact, when Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui first established the imperial examination, there were still subjects such as arithmetic and law, but unfortunately in the Tang Dynasty, arithmetic and law were no longer taken seriously. Your Majesty is going to join arithmetic again this time! A man dressed as a showman shook his head.

"Your Majesty is not a separate subject of arithmetic, I heard that in the future imperial examinations, whether it is Confucianism, arithmetic, agriculture, all kinds of subjects will have to be involved!" The middle-aged humane.

"All of them have to dabble? In this way, the imperial examination is even more difficult! The shopkeeper who spoke first said.

"I don't know about this! However, I heard from the officials who received us that the imperial examination requires extensive knowledge, not profound learning. The imperial examination is not a selection of scholars, even if it is a Confucian scholar, if you don't know how to learn, you may not be able to pass the examination. The treatment after the middle lift may be very different from before, and it may not be able to reach the sky in one step...... "middle-aged humane.

"I heard that in addition to arithmetic, there are some other craftsmen who have also been invited to Yanjing! We were originally said to be proficient in 'strange and obscene skills', and the world despised them, but now Your Majesty attaches great importance to 'strange and obscene skills', which is really a blessing for my generation! ”

"Although my arithmetic is not the science of a saint, it is really too much for the world to call it a miraculous skill!"

While they were talking, the big ship was moving faster and faster, and it was getting closer and closer to Tianjin.