Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 300: Daughter and Native Classmates, Old Zhu on Demand for Emperor Zhengde [Please Subscribe]

Xie Deyou laughed when he heard Qi Tai's words.

"Whether it's Mr. Qi or your wife, they will resign and can handle the household chores after resigning."

"Of course, if your wife is not good at cooking, you can eat in the canteen. Whether it is the official school or the weaving workshop, there is a canteen, which is very convenient."

After hearing this, Qi Tai couldn't help feeling ashamed.

It is said that his family ate in the canteen in Dengzhou. After coming here and getting a proper job, he subconsciously thought that he could live his previous life somewhat again. But now he knows he was wrong.

Even if Xie Deyou valued him, it would be impossible for him to send a servant to serve his family.

"I understand." Qi Tai said and prepared to leave.

Xie Deyou continued, "Sir, please take care. I'll send someone to take you to complete the employment procedures. You'll receive a month's salary first. If your family needs anything, you can use your salary to buy it."

"It's extremely difficult for the Dusi to cultivate this wild land. Many supplies are scarce. Even as the commander-in-chief, I cannot use them at will. Everything must be distributed according to the system or obtained through private transactions. I hope Mr. Qi will understand."

Qi Tai was deeply impressed by this and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for being so polite. We should just follow the rules."

After saying that, he followed one of Xie Deyou's personal soldiers to the Acropolis Official School to complete the recruitment process.

When he started working, Qi Tai met Qu Zhe, the principal of Dongshengwei Official School. Qu Zhe was nearly forty years old, several years older than Qi Tai, but he was very enthusiastic towards Qi Tai, and could even be said to respect him.

Because before going to sea, Qu Zhe participated in the Ming Dynasty imperial examination and barely passed the examination to become a scholar, but failed the provincial examination.

His dream before coming to America was to pass the imperial examination and become a candidate official of the Ming Dynasty.

But he knew that it would be difficult to pass the provincial examination with his own talent, so when the court selected people with meritorious service from the garrisons to come to America to take charge of official school affairs, he signed up and became the principal of the garrison school as a scholar.

Before the 14th year of Hongwu, there were only two official positions in the Ming Dynasty's official schools: professor and instructor.

Generally speaking, there was one professor who was the head of an official school, and one or two instructors who were assistants. As for the other teachers in an official school, they were hired, neither officials nor civil servants.

Moreover, the full name of the professor here is "Confucian professor", which means that the official schools in the Ming Dynasty could also be called Confucianism.

But later, mathematics and natural sciences were added to official schools, and the system naturally changed accordingly - mainly by adding the position of principal, who was ranked above professors.

Dean Wei Xueshan was of the eighth rank, so Qu Zhe's appointment was considered his first step into officialdom.

Qu Zhe took Qi Tai to visit Weixue.

"This medical school was established less than a year ago. Due to the urgent need for use, it is rather rudimentary. I'm sorry to have embarrassed Shangli."

In Qi Tai's opinion, this medical school was indeed very simple - most of the houses in a large courtyard were made of logs, with only four classrooms, a library, and an "official hall" built with processed wood and bricks.

Walking through the four classrooms one by one, Qi Tai discovered that it seemed that three of them were filled with indigenous children.

Although the natives here look similar to the Han people, there are still some differences. Even though the children in the school are all wearing Hanfu and have Han boyish buns, Qi Tai can still tell them apart at a glance.

Qu Zhe explained, "Because most of the soldiers who were transferred here by the imperial court are bachelors, there aren't many surplus soldiers, so there aren't many Han children in the Wei school at the moment."

"On the contrary, in the past year, two indigenous tribes have successively expressed their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty, so most of the children in the current Wei School are indigenous children."

"I see." Qi Tai nodded.

At this moment, the sound of native children reading could be heard from a school.

"Man is born good. Natures are similar, but habits make them different..."

The Three Character Classic was written in the Southern Song Dynasty and had become a classic for early childhood education by the early Ming Dynasty. However, these indigenous children clearly lacked Chinese proficiency. Although they had learned the Hongwu Zhengyun, many of them had trouble pronouncing the text.

Qi Tai, a "student tyrant," could no longer bear to watch. He frowned and said, "Since these children haven't learned the phonology well, we shouldn't rush them into reciting books like the Three Character Classic. If they recite with incorrect phonology for a long time, it will be difficult to correct it later. Isn't that misleading the students?"

Qu Zhe felt embarrassed when he heard this, because this was actually something he did for his "political achievements".

He then defended himself by saying, "There are too few teachers of medical science, and their level is low. The native children don't speak the language and are very naughty, making them difficult to teach. It's already very difficult for us to teach them to this level."

Qi Tai said, "How can we neglect the task of spreading the teachings of the sages because of difficulties? Dean Qu, if possible, I would like to come and teach these children this afternoon."

Qu Zhe was happy. "It's great that Shangli can come earlier, but you just got off the ship yesterday. Do you really not need to rest for two days?"

Qi Tai shook his head, "No need."

"In that case, I will now give you the Confucian textbooks of the Wei School. You can take a look at them first. Alas, these days, not only have mathematics and natural sciences been added to official schools, but even Confucianism must be taught according to the textbooks. It's not easy."

"In our overseas official schools, although Confucianism takes up a larger proportion of class time, the teaching also requires greater care—the Imperial Censors from the Dusi will come to inspect regularly."

Qu Zhe took Qi Tai to get the textbooks and some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, and talked about some things about Wei studies before letting Qi Tai go home.

When he arrived at the temporary camp, he learned that his wife and daughter had been taken to a house arranged for them in the city by Xie Deyou's personal soldiers.

He came to his new home again.

But it turned out to be a very ordinary courtyard - only three small main rooms and two small side rooms. One side room was a kitchen, and the other was a storage room.

His wife, Wang, said, "Xie Duzhi's personal guard Xiaoqi said that this is the best house our family can live in. You must thank Xie Duzhi for his care. I heard that other families exiled here had to stay in the temporary camp for more than a month."

"I know."

As they were talking, Qi Tai saw his daughter helping Wang clean the house very sensibly, and suddenly remembered something.

"I saw a lot of native children at the official school today. I'm afraid the girls' school is the same." "Ah?" Wang didn't react for a moment. After a moment, she realized something and said anxiously, "I heard that most natives are wild and some even eat people. If Zhen'er goes to the girls' school, won't she be bullied by those female natives, or even be in danger?"

Seeing his wife so flustered and even his daughter showing fear, Qi Tai laughed and said, "Not really—the several native tribes that have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty are not cannibals. Moreover, they respect the Ming Dynasty and even seek guidance from Zhen'er in their studies. How could they bully her?"

"Even if there really was bullying, just tell the female teacher. If that doesn't work, won't I, as her father, seek justice for her?"

Hearing this, Wang Shi felt a little relieved, but then she couldn't help but complain, "If you hadn't been so reckless in the capital, how could Zhen'er and I have suffered so much?"

Although Qi Tai did not regret his advice at the Meridian Gate, he could not help feeling guilty in front of his wife and daughter, so he did not refute anything, but started to clean up the new house.

If nothing unexpected happens, his family will live here for many years to come...

···
Capital of the Ming Dynasty.

During the winter solstice, some government offices such as the Tiangongyuan were closed, so Liu Kuan stayed at home to accompany his wives, concubines and children.

His eldest daughter, Liu Ruoxue, was born in December of the sixteenth year of the Hongwu reign, and is now almost three years old. His eldest son, Liu Ping'an, was born in February of the seventeenth year of the Hongwu reign, and is also over two years old.

Both children are quiet, well-behaved and not noisy, but the daughter is relatively more lively.

At this time, two children were riding children's tricycles in the central courtyard. The tricycles were made by skilled craftsmen from the Tiangong Academy by Liu Kuan who "abused his power for personal gain". It is said that they have become popular in the capital and any family with a little more wealth will make one for their children.

Because the patent law was still in the planning stage, other craftsmen and private workshops soon followed suit and imitated it.

Even so, the first few craftsmen who made children's cars for Liu Kuan became famous and made a fortune because of their first-mover advantage.

Every time they saw Liu Kuan, these craftsmen would thank him, and during festivals they would personally visit Liu's house to give him some normal gifts - Liu's house would not accept abnormal gifts, otherwise it would be bad if people accused them of corruption and bribery.

While riding, Liu Ping'an was hit diagonally by Liu Ruoxu's bike and fell down.

Although the car was polished and smooth, and some parts were wrapped in leather and cotton to prevent collisions, Liu Ping'an didn't fall hard, but he still pursed his lips and was about to cry.

Liu Kuan felt sorry for his son, so he quickly went forward and picked him up.

Just at this time Zhu Huilan came out.

Although she felt sorry for her son, she couldn't help but say, "My dear husband, I've told you so many times that if Ping An falls down and nothing serious happens, just let him get up on his own."

"How can he grow up to be a useful person if you always dote on him like this?"

Liu Kuan smiled nonchalantly and said, "As long as you don't become a playboy who bullies men and women, it doesn't matter if you're useless."

"My husband always spoils the child!" Zhu Huilan said, then she stepped forward and took Liu Ping'an away, preparing to send him to school.

Yes, although Liu Ping'an was only two and a half years old, Zhu Huilan had already started teaching him to read.

Only Liu Kuan and Liu Ruoxue were left. Liu Ruoxue blinked her big, watery eyes and asked, "Daddy, can I still play?"

"Go ahead and play! Why not play at such a young age?" Liu Kuan smiled as he walked over and grabbed the handlebars of the stroller, saying, "Daddy will push you, hold on tight!"

This type of children's car does not have a chain, so it is actually quite difficult for children to pedal it, and most of the time they just have to use their legs to slide on the ground.

In this case, having someone pushing the car alongside will naturally bring more fun.

For a moment, the yard was filled with Liu Ruoxu's laughter.

Liu Ping'an, who was forced to study in the flower hall, heard his sister's laughter and looked aggrieved, but he didn't dare to say anything when he saw Zhu Huilan's serious expression.

"Focus!" Zhu Huilan slammed the table and reminded with a frown.

Liu Ping'an had to divert his attention and recite the "Thousand Character Classic" with Zhu Huilan.

However, Liu Kuan was unable to play with Liu Ruoxue for long because someone came from the palace.

However, it was an eunuch who came to convey Zhu Yuanzhang's oral order, asking Liu Kuan to go to the palace to meet the emperor.

"Why does Old Zhu always like to summon me during holidays? He must be a black-hearted capitalist in the future!"

Liu Kuan complained as usual, then handed Liu Ruoxue to maids such as Xia He and went into the palace with the eunuchs.

When he arrived at Fengxian Hall, he saw that Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were also there. He roughly guessed why Zhu Di summoned him.

"Liu Kuan, today is a rare day off, and Old Fourth has returned to Beijing for work, so I'd like to hear more about the Ming Dynasty from you."

"You know it's a day off today, right?"

Liu Kuan couldn't help but mutter something inwardly, but he asked respectfully, "Which part would Your Majesty want to hear?"

Old Zhu seemed to be in a good mood and said with a smile, "We remember that after the Hongzhi Emperor Zhu Youtang, his son, the Zhengde Emperor, came to power, right? Could you please tell us about the Zhengde period?"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di also showed anticipation when they heard this.

They remembered that when Liu Kuan released the video on the second day of the Chinese New Year, there was a saint named Wang Yangming in the Zhengde period, and there was also the rebellion of Prince Ning, which seemed quite exciting.

Of course, Zhu Di was mentally prepared to be implicated by his unfilial descendants again.

Liu Kuan thought to himself: Old Zhu wants to hear about Zhengde's affairs? This really makes me excited.

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)