After issuing an edict affirming Xiongba's actions, Zhao Lin summoned Zhuge Liang, Yang Meng, and Hubu Shangshu into the palace.

"Your Majesty. ”

Zhuge Liang, Yang Meng and Hubu Shangshu bowed.

Zhao Lin waved his hand: "Three Aiqing, get up." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty. ”

Only then did the three of them stand up respectfully.

Zhao Lin glanced at the three of them, and without beating around the bush, he said straight to the point: "I summoned the three of you Aiqing here today to discuss with the three of you, an idea in my heart. ”

"Your Majesty, please. ”

Zhuge Liang and the three of them were slightly shocked in their hearts, and said with their hands.

After going through so many things in the past, they knew very well in their hearts that His Majesty's idea must not be an ordinary and simple idea, and it is very likely that it is an epoch-making and earth-shattering idea.

"I'll ask you three a question first. ”

Zhao Lin was not in a hurry to say it directly, but first asked in a leading manner: "What do you think is the most important factor why you can stand here today and become an important minister of the imperial court?"

Zhuge Liang and Yang Meng were still pondering.

Hubu Shangshu said without thinking: "Of course, Your Majesty is wise and wise, and he has a discerning eye for golden ......."

Zhao Lin smiled and shook his head slightly.

This made Tobe Shangshu's mind sink slightly.

Could it be that he is in the wrong place?

"It's because of the imperial examination. ”

Yang Meng's eyes flashed with a gleam, "The imperial examination has changed the fate of the minister, if it weren't for the imperial examination, the minister would probably still be just a crazy student now, and he would not be qualified to enter the court at all." ”

"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Zhao Lin's gaze fell on Zhuge Liang's body.

"The minister thinks that it is talent. ”

Zhuge Liang only groaned slightly, and then replied: "If the minister has no talent, His Majesty will never appoint Liang as the prime minister and entrust the government to his subordinates." ”

"Talent, imperial examination, you are only half right. ”

Zhao Lin shook his head.

"Your Majesty, please. ”

Zhuge Liang and the three of them all lowered their heads, and a trace of expectation appeared in their eyes, wanting to hear His Majesty's explanation.

"There are only two words I want to say, education. ”

Zhao Lin stretched out two fingers, and then continued: "Yang Meng, you are a child of a poor family, why can you pass the imperial examination? If you hadn't gone to school and been educated, do you think you have a chance to get ahead?"

After that, Zhao Lin looked at Zhuge Liang again, "Prime Minister, if you can't read a single big word, do you think you still have a chance to have the current talent of the heavens and the earth, the unpredictable opportunity of ghosts and gods?"

Hearing this, Zhuge Liang and Yang Meng's eyes lit up, "What Your Majesty said is extremely true." ”

They can get to where they are now, and education is the most fundamental step.

If they had come from a peasant family and could not even afford to read, they would not have reached this point at all, and they would probably still be working in the fields.

"Now my great Song Dynasty is peaceful and peaceful, but if we want to make the country go further, we must not only let the people have food and clothing, but also let the people in the world afford to study. ”

As soon as Zhao Lin's words fell, the three people in the hall were taken aback.

Can everyone afford to read?

Your Majesty's heart is too big!

You must know that in today's era, those who can afford to study are basically people with a bit of family background.

Needless to say, the children of the eunuchs.

Further down, they are basically the descendants of merchants and landlords.

Ordinary people, it's good to have enough to eat, how can they have the spare energy for future generations to study?

It's not easy to solve this problem!

"I plan to open a school in the world, according to the difficulty, divided into primary school, middle school, and university, within a year, the school will be opened in every county of the Great Song Dynasty, and local students will be recruited to study. ”

Hearing Zhao Lin's words, Zhuge Liang and the three of them fell into a deep groan.

Throughout the Great Song Dynasty, schools were opened in every county?

What a huge undertaking this is?

You must know that in the entire Great Song Dynasty, there were more than 2,000 counties.

Doesn't that mean that more than 2,000 schools will be built?

The government institutions of the Great Song Dynasty could only reach the county level at the minimum.

The villages and towns below are not considered government offices, and are mainly managed by the local gentry.

In that kind of place, if people want to go to school, they can only go to a private school run by the local government.

However, most people don't have the money to go to private schools, and even if they smash pots and sell iron, they can't make up the tuition fees.

As a result, most people are denied the opportunity to go to school.

In fact, in the entire Great Song Dynasty, the proportion of literate people was very low.

There may not be one in a hundred people who can read.

Not necessarily one out of a thousand people has ever studied.

A large number of ordinary people, illiterate, in the words of Zhao Lin's memory, are illiterate!

And now, Zhao Lin is trying to solve this problem!

In his view, in any dynastic empire, the cultivation of talents is the top priority.

The Daxing School is for the purpose of cultivating talents.

Moreover, the school that Zhao Lin wants to set up is not a traditional school that only teaches the Four Books and Five Classics, benevolence, righteousness and morality, but a new school that imparts practical knowledge.

Long before, Zhao Lin had reformed the imperial examination.

The content of the imperial examination is no longer simply the Four Books and Five Classics, poems and songs, but also practical knowledge such as astronomy and geography, law, crafts and financial management.

Now, the education of this school naturally has to add these things.

"Your Majesty, it is very difficult to open the school in all the states and counties of the Great Song Dynasty, first of all, I am afraid that it will require as much as 10 million taels of silver. ”

Tobe Shangshu said cautiously.

What he said was only the silver taels needed to build the school, not including the later expenses for purchasing books and hiring teachers.

Lin Lin finally came down, and he couldn't resist two or thirty million taels of silver.

"I know. ”

Zhao Lin nodded.

Not to mention twenty or thirty million taels of silver, even if it is consumed, this school will have to be built.

Moreover, tuition fees must be strictly controlled and cannot exceed the scope of ordinary people's affordability.

Only in this way can compulsory education be universalized!

Besides, since the Great Song Dynasty opened its ports and opened its customs, the treasury is now very sufficient.

It is precisely because of this confidence that Zhao Lin proposed to run a large school and popularize education.

"The matter of silver taels, you will handle the matter of the household department, calculate how many silver taels are needed in total,"

Zhao Lin's gaze was very solemn, "The silver taels of running the school cannot be missing." ”

"Yes. ”

Tobe Shangshu gave up his hand with a bitter face.

He finally understood why His Majesty had called him over today.

It turned out that he was going to pay for it.

Twenty or thirty million taels of silver, this is a huge amount of money, neither the Ministry of Industry nor the Ministry of War has ever asked for so much silver at one time.

This time, it was really bleeding.

You must know that the annual tax revenue of the Great Song Dynasty, if you don't count the customs revenue, is only 100 million taels.

After instructing the household department, Zhao Lin's eyes fell on Zhuge Liang's body, and said: "The matter of opening a school will be handed over to you as the prime minister, but the part of the martial arts will be divided into Yang Shilang to be responsible." ”

The imperial examinations of the Great Song Dynasty not only included literary examinations, but also martial examinations.

The school corresponding to Wuju must be distinguished from Wenju.

There will also be a big difference in the content taught by the two.