Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 366: Old Zhu Zhu Biao's Three Views Shattered [Happy New Year!]

After a moment of envy, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Since there are so many graduate students and college students in the future, surely some will be left with nothing to do after graduation? How will the imperial court of future generations make arrangements for this?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, in the future, graduate students are better. Although there are more of them, the demand for them is also great, so it is still relatively easy to find a job."

"Of course, this has also led to an increasing proportion of college students taking the postgraduate entrance exam. Many people even believe that completing a postgraduate degree is the only way to complete a university education."

"As for college students, it's relatively difficult to find a suitable job."

"Take the year I came to Ming as an example. I remember that there were nearly 1200 million college graduates that year."

"The employment rate for recent university graduates is only 55%, which means that nearly half of the recent graduates have not found a job or do not want to find one."

Zhu Biao asked: "What is a recent university graduate?"

“They are the college students who graduated that year.”

After hearing this answer, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but look at Zhu Biao again.

1200 million college students graduated in just one year?

This is equivalent to one-sixth of the current population of the Ming Dynasty!

According to Liu Kuan, nearly half of the people there are unemployed, which means nearly 600 million people.

If this situation continues for several years or even ten years, how much pressure will the court in the future be under?
"It would be great if we could pick out some unemployed college students who earn a few hundred thousand yuan to work for us."

A strange thought popped up in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind again.

Then he asked, "How did the imperial court in later generations solve this problem?"

Liu Kuan said, "Later dynasties failed to completely solve this problem. In fact, many developed countries in the world that promoted education at the time also failed to completely solve this problem and could only try their best to alleviate it."

"For example, we can encourage college students to lower their job requirements and not just look for jobs in big cities. We can go to second- and third-tier cities, or return to build our hometowns."

"Another example is encouraging college students to start their own businesses. If they succeed, it will not only solve their own employment problems but also create more jobs."

"Another example is to allow them to have flexible employment - that is, to do some work that may not be considered formal work but may still earn money to support their families and even make them wealthy."

"We also encourage capable people to venture abroad and seek job opportunities abroad, etc."

"Also, the imperial court in later generations has always been trying to create jobs suitable for college graduates. Well, that's about all I know."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, then said to Zhu Biao, "Biao'er, have you remembered all this?"

Zhu Biao said, "I will remember this."

"Just remember this—our Ming Dynasty must not be as short-sighted as the Qing Dynasty, who, for the sake of convenience in ruling, deliberately neglected education and even kept the people ignorant."

"This will only allow us to maintain our rule for a little over two hundred years, but it won't last much longer. Now that our Ming Dynasty has great fortune, we must at least extend our rule for another five hundred years."

"So, our Ming Dynasty must definitely develop education. Perhaps in the future, we will also face a talent surplus like later generations. At that time, the solutions Liu Kuan just mentioned will be very valuable."

After hearing what Old Zhu said, Liu Kuan couldn't help but think to himself: This Old Zhu has indeed made great progress, his horizons and mind have been broadened - if it were the Old Zhu in history, he probably wouldn't have been able to say such words.

After Zhu Yuanzhang had instructed Zhu Biao, he gestured, "Liu Kuan, you continue."

"Yes." Liu Kuan was also in high spirits at this point, and immediately continued what he had said before, "Let me give you an example of the first method of solving the problem of talent surplus in the future." "Before I came to the Ming Dynasty, more than 20 years ago, the precious college students were already spread across all walks of life. Some went to the countryside to become new farmers to cultivate the fields, some raised pigs, slaughtered pigs, and sold pork, and some fell on hard times to screw screws on factory assembly lines..."

"Wait a minute," Zhu Biao couldn't help but say, "Brother-in-law, what does it mean to screw in?"

"Well, it's a type of worker whose job doesn't require much technical skills, but they have to stay at the same position and repeat a simple set of actions for more than ten hours every day, day after day, year after year."

Although Liu Kuan's description was simple, Zhu Biao still shuddered when he imagined that kind of day.

Liu Kuan continued, "Many college graduates choose to become delivery boys directly after graduation; some abandon their dignity and choose to pick up rags and collect waste; and some choose to become cooks or waiters."

"In short, in order to make a living and earn money to support their families, many young people with bachelor's degrees have given up their fantasies, faced reality, and sunk into various walks of life."

Old Zhu and his son Zhu Biao didn't know how many times they had looked at each other today, and how many times they had seen expressions of surprise in each other's eyes.

Then Lao Zhu asked, "What does the courier boy wearing a yellow robe mean?"

Liu Kuan realized he had momentarily mumbled something, so he explained, "It's the postman of later generations. Because one of the largest courier companies required its employees to wear easily recognizable yellow uniforms, the internet jokingly referred to the company's couriers as 'the yellow robed body'."

Old Zhu's eyes twitched when he heard this.

Wearing a yellow robe was once a taboo word, especially in the Song Dynasty.

But after hearing what Liu Kuan said, he suddenly couldn't look at this word directly.

Liu Kuan added, "By the way, I happen to have a movie featuring the company's couriers. Your Majesty and the Crown Prince can watch it when you have the chance."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, thinking back to what Liu Kuan had said before, and couldn't help but say, "You said that university graduates in later generations would choose to farm or even work on assembly lines. I can understand that. After all, farmers have always been valued by all dynasties, and workers seem to be valued by later generations as well."

"But you say there are college students who kill pigs and sell pork, pick up scraps, work as cooks, or even waiters. Is that true? After eighteen years of hard study, they end up being butchers, cooks, waiters, or even scavengers. Can they really accept that?"

Liu Kuan said, "For some people, it is indeed difficult to accept, but didn't I say that everything is for the sake of living?"

"Besides, butchers, cooks, and scrap collectors actually make a lot of money, which is not something that ordinary college students can handle in the future."

After repeatedly confirming this matter, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao felt that their three views were shattered.

Those were people who had studied hard for eighteen years and were regarded as talented people who could save the country in the Ming Dynasty. Yet they were willing to be butchers, cooks and rag collectors!

If those self-righteous scholars in the Ming Dynasty knew about this, wouldn't they be stunned? Would they be heartbroken?

After coming to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang tried not to think about the future "graduate students are everywhere, and college students are worse than dogs". Instead, after a moment of contemplation, he said: "The fact that school education in later generations can cultivate so many talents is indeed unique."

"Liu Kuan, since you are so determined to establish the first university for our Ming Dynasty, why don't you just help us reform the official education system and establish a school system similar to that of later generations? What do you think?"

　Second update.

　　Please update less during the New Year.

　　Fireworks are being set off outside to welcome the Lunar New Year.

　　The author would like to wish all readers good luck in the Year of the Snake in advance, and may all their wishes come true!

　　Let’s cheer together! (*^▽^*)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)