My father is Jiajing

Chapter 371 Wudaokou Vocational and Technical College

After Zhang Juzheng finished talking with Hu Zongxian, he talked with Gao Gong again. Then the two of them discussed it and went to Zhu Zaigui to report the matter.

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's words, Zhu Zaigui also laughed: "This Hu Zongxian has been silent for more than a year, and finally he has stood up. Since he doesn't want to be held back by the useless people in the Five Cities Military Department, and doesn't want the patrol censors to interfere with his normal management, let him submit the petition himself, and we won't have to interfere."

When Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng heard what Zhu Zaigui said, they were slightly stunned and looked at each other, but they soon came to their senses.

Gao Gong replied in surprise: "Your Highness, this is a brilliant move."

Zhu Zaigui laughed again and said, "Mr. Gao, why is this move of mine so brilliant?"

Gao Gong said: "Your Majesty asked Hu Zongxian to submit a petition to request Shuntian Prefecture to also form a new patrol police according to the model of the Beijing Special District, and did not allow us to make any further comments on this matter. Isn't this the greatest support for Hu Zongxian?"

"I think Hu Zongxian will definitely take advantage of the power of others and hint in his memorial that this is a change for the future integrated management of the Beijing Special District and Shuntian Prefecture. By then, both the cabinet officials and Your Majesty will think about this matter."

"After all, the various taxes and other miscellaneous taxes that our special zone can give to the court each year have exceeded the one million taels of silver that the salt tax can give to the court each year. Under the temptation of such huge profits, it would be strange if the court and His Majesty were not tempted."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "Mr. Gao's analysis is correct. This problem is indeed very realistic. But you should also remember the saying 'An innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure'! Since our special zone is now thriving, it is inevitable that we will be envied and set up by others in secret."

"So, what I mean is that when you manage the administrative affairs of the Special Zone, you must also maintain a clear strategic focus and not blindly expand too much, which will lead to a series of dangers of being too eager for quick success."

"After all, I have bought fifty years for the Beijing Special District. Fifty years is a long time, maybe even the span of three generations of emperors. Therefore, in order to avoid accidents, the development of the Special District must follow the established plan. We must not rush things, which will lead to frequent problems and give others an advantage."

Moreover, according to my official position in the Ming Dynasty and the lofty ambitions of the two gentlemen, you will not serve in the Beijing Special District for more than five years at most, and you will have to return to the court to serve. Therefore, everything in the Special District must be stable first, and then choose to develop a number of important pillar industries based on the characteristics of the Special District itself. "

"If we rely on the special zone government to sell land for money, it will undoubtedly be like drinking poison to quench thirst. It may seem very glamorous and glamorous at the moment, and it may be a good business with huge returns. But what about in the long run? This will undoubtedly indirectly push up the land prices and living costs of the outer cities of the capital."

"The reason why the Special Administrative Region has the current prosperity and development is that, in addition to the fact that the Special Administrative Region has an administrative model and management system that are different from ordinary places, the biggest confidence is the 600,000 to 700,000 people in the outer city of the capital."

"Therefore, for long-term development, we must wait for the people's mindset to change and their development speed to change while developing. Otherwise, when the time comes, the Beijing Special District will become unattainable for the people who should have benefited from the development of the Special District, which means that we have ruined the Special District."

Zhu Zaigui's words also made Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng feel a chill in their hearts. The two had never thought about the problem in this way. They always thought that they were focusing on the overall situation, so when doing some things, they would unconsciously ignore the development needs of the grassroots.

Now with Zhu Zaigui's reminder, the two of them couldn't help but feel scared.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng quickly stood up and bowed to Zhu Zaigui, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your vigilance!"

Zhu Zaigui chuckled and said, "It can't be considered a wake-up call. With your intelligence, you two gentlemen will find these problems sooner or later. It's just that over the past year or so, powerful merchants from all over the country have been too enthusiastic about buying land near the business district, so you two gentlemen didn't see the subsequent problems for a while. And I don't participate in the actual management, so naturally I can see things more clearly as a bystander." "Today, I have pointed out this problem to you at the right time. So, starting this year, you must consciously allocate certain resources to make new policy plans for the ordinary people in the Beijing Special District."

"For example, in some areas, residential buildings are in disarray and full of hidden dangers. You should consider allocating some money to help them build new streets and alleys."

"At the same time, we must also consider the education and skills training of young people. We cannot end up with our special administrative regions being rich while the people are still ignorant and confused about what the future holds."

"Therefore, some public schools and some important skill training schools should be set up as soon as possible, so that young people with learning ability can participate in the construction of the special zone as soon as possible after learning and training."

Zhu Zaigui's remarks were plain and reliable. There was no irrelevant rhetoric or exaggerated statements. He just thought about these issues based on his own heart.

Although the Ming Dynasty had countless schools, as well as instructors in charge of local education and chief academic officers in charge of the central Imperial College, the educational direction these people were responsible for was all to serve the imperial examinations.

There was no professional technical skills education, so even many great inventors who appeared in the middle and late Ming Dynasty were at most rich kids who had nothing to do and invented technology in their spare time or when they had no hope of passing the imperial examinations.

If we must give them the lofty ideal title of "passionate about scientific inventions", then most of them are the result of wishful thinking by their descendants hundreds of years later in their search for national pride.

After all, this was still an era with strict hierarchy among "scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans", even as strict as the caste system in India.

Of course, the only thing that makes the Indian caste system stronger is that ordinary people can change their fate and become superior people through the imperial examination. However, the caste system can only look at birth and blood, which directly cuts off the opportunity for the lower class to improve.

But even so, the ruling system of "scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans" is not necessarily much more merciful than the caste system.

After all, in the imperial era and the chaotic era before the founding of New China, more than 90 percent of the people were illiterate and would not even recognize a carrying pole when it fell on the ground.

Therefore, expecting that more than 90% of illiterate people would have the opportunity to change their fate by passing the imperial examination is undoubtedly a huge joke.

Moreover, in ancient society, ever since Shang Yang, the "anti-human" representative of the Legalists, invented the baojia system and the system of household registration for all people, the subsequent dynasties have all regarded them as the guiding principles.

Although these "great inventions" maintained the relative stability of the feudal dynasties to a certain extent, they also caused ordinary people in ancient times to completely lose the right to migrate freely, becoming the targets of local wealthy families and officials, and finally living a life even more miserable than slaves with indentures!
Therefore, for the future of the Special Administrative Region and for the future of the people of the Special Administrative Region to prevent them from becoming miserable and numb due to the prevalence of the new bureaucracy in a few years, Zhu Zaigui naturally thought of "skills education" in addition to the imperial examination.

As long as these ordinary people are willing to learn, their future will definitely be very different!
Zhu Zaigui also thought of where to build a new vocational and technical college, which was the desolate area in the northwest corner of today's capital, which was also the location of what was later called "Wudaokou Vocational and Technical College."

That piece of land, in today's terms, is an undeveloped virgin land. Not only is the development cost low, but the development difficulty is also low. At the same time, it also allows students who enroll there to study in peace and concentration, without being disturbed by the prosperous world of the capital.

(End of this chapter)