Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 76: Future Landscape, Compulsory Education [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Soon it was time for the first serious plot, taking a plane.

Because they were unfamiliar with modern shipping rules, Zhu Yuanzhang and his companions were also confused at first. They naturally didn't understand the homophonic puns like "2b".

When he saw Baoqiang drinking milk, Lao Zhu couldn't help it.

"What the hell is this plane? Why are you not allowed to bring this and that?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, do you remember what I said about the internal combustion engine, which is more advanced than the steam engine? In the future, trains and cars similar to horse-drawn carriages may also use internal combustion engines."

"Then someone took the internal combustion engine and applied it to something like a wooden bird, and that led to the airplane."

After hearing this, many people immediately shifted their attention away from the movie.

Old Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Are you saying that people in the future can fly into the sky on wooden birds?"

Liu Kuan said: "Wooden airplanes were only the first generation. Later airplanes were basically made of steel and alloys because they were strong enough."

Zhu Yuanzhang tried to imagine the scene of a huge iron bird carrying people soaring in the sky, and he couldn't help but look fascinated.

So does the rest.

Liu Kuan said, "As for why some things are not allowed, it's for safety reasons. The plane is soaring in the blue sky. If something unexpected happens during flight, it will most likely crash, destroying the plane and killing everyone on board."

"This applies not only to airplanes but also to trains. When the Daming Railway opens in the future, similar security checks will also be carried out."

"Ordinary people are absolutely forbidden from bringing flammable and explosive items like gunpowder and fuel on trains. Even swords, bows and crossbows are best prohibited."

"Because a train carriage can carry dozens or even hundreds of people, and a train can often carry thousands of people, if someone with ill intentions brings dangerous items on board, they can easily threaten the lives of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. "I didn't expect there were so many things to pay attention to when taking a train or plane."

As they were talking, a scene of a plane taking off appeared on the movie.

Liu Kuan paused again and pointed at the tablet, saying, "Your Majesty, please look, this is the plane from six hundred years into the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, "It's too small, I can't see clearly, is there a bigger one?"

Liu Kuan showed a helpless look, "Your Majesty, this is the only scene in this play that has an airplane."

Zhu Yuanzhang said no more.

The movie continues.

The plane returned and was grounded due to weather reasons, and the unlucky duo had to take the train. Then everyone saw the Spring Festival travel rush about 10 years later, and they were suddenly amazed again.

“Oh my god, so many people are taking the train?”

"My third brother-in-law said that a train can carry thousands of people, and it seems to be true."

"With so many people gathered here, what if a riot breaks out?"

"There should be soldiers or police to maintain order, right?"

"···"

During the discussion, the audience finally understood the funny part, which was the scene where Baoqiang and Xu were fighting for seats and Xu gave up his seat.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Are there counterfeit train tickets?"

Liu Kuan said, "In this world, as long as there is profit to be made, people will naturally do it. Of course, in later generations, all kinds of counterfeiting are illegal, and the government will punish severely if caught."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, thinking that the fact that the imperial court in later generations could manage railway transportation and airplane flights was already remarkable.

Then, everyone saw the scene of a train speeding along the railway.

Because I have seen airplanes, it was not that shocking.

When they got on the train, the concubines and princesses were no longer surprised by the scene where three young beauties took the initiative to chat up the handsome guy. They were just sure that the customs of people in later generations were indeed much more open than they were at that time.

When the train stopped halfway due to an accident, the unfortunate duo took a car. Zhu Yuanzhang and others saw the scene of various cars of later generations running on the road, and they were amazed again.

After seeing the scene of a car hitting people in the village, Zhu Yuanzhang began to pay attention to the houses and people in the village. Although he knew it was a play, he still wanted to take a look at the future.

"This village seems quite prosperous, but I wonder if it's the same outside the play. Is it just one place, or is it the same everywhere?"

Then, in the plot where Baoqiang encounters a "female con man", high-rise buildings in the city appear frequently in the movie.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a few glances and speculated, "Are these extremely tall buildings made of cement and steel?"

"Exactly."

"I see a building that seems to be dozens of stories high. Is that too high? If people lived in it, wouldn't it be like living on a mountain, having to go up and down the mountain every day?"

Zhu Biao, Zhu Su and other older princes also looked over when they heard this, and were obviously equally confused.

Liu Kuan almost couldn't help laughing.

He said, "Your Majesty, these tall buildings all have elevators, making it very convenient to go up and down."

"elevator?"

"It's like using a hanging basket to pull people from a low place to a high place. Of course, an elevator is a metal room, and it's definitely more spacious, stable, and safer than a hanging basket." "Also, there are two elevators in the south bridgehead of the cross-river bridge. Unfortunately, the power is out, and the elevator room is sealed and unusable. Otherwise, Your Majesty would like to go and experience it."

Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted when he heard this. "So, we in the Ming Dynasty now have elevators? Great, great! Liu Kuan, if possible, you must find a way to make electricity available in the Ming Dynasty!"

"That elevator didn't belong to the Ming Dynasty, but to a later dynasty. The Ming Dynasty just got lucky and found it."

Liu Kuan muttered to himself, then replied, "It will probably take decades for the Ming Dynasty to use electricity, and even longer to use it in elevators. I can only say that I will do my best."

Although Liu Kuan's words were a bit of a letdown, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't mind and continued watching the movie.

At this time, the concubines and the young princes and princesses were already discussing the matter of the "female liar".

"Is this woman a liar?"

"It doesn't look like that. She even returned the banknotes she found to that person before."

"I think the merchant's guess is correct. That woman is most likely a liar..."

Before the argument comes to a conclusion, the plot of the movie goes to the place where Baoqiang is waiting for the "female liar".

Those who previously thought the woman was a liar suddenly became proud.

"See, I told you that woman is a liar, right?"

"That fellow named Niu Geng doesn't look very smart, so it's normal for him to get cheated."

During the discussion, the movie came to the scene where the two were staying in a hotel. This part did not cause any comprehension problems and instead caused everyone to burst into laughter.

When the duo met the "female liar" again and learned the truth about the "female liar", those who had previously supported the "female liar" did not feel proud, but just sighed.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "This future generation seems far more prosperous than our Ming Dynasty, yet there are orphans?"

Liu Kuan said: "There will always be orphans. In the future, with a population of over one billion, there will naturally be poor people, orphans, and even beggars."

"But the country has institutions such as orphanages and welfare homes, which can basically ensure that orphans grow up and receive nine years of compulsory education."

"What is compulsory education?" Zhu Yuanzhang keenly grasped the most crucial word in Liu Kuan's words.

Liu Kuan said, "Just as Your Majesty promotes official education, future generations should also promote school education. Elementary school is six years, junior high school is three years, high school is three years, and university is three to five years."

"Primary and junior high schools provide basic education. To ensure that all children receive this, the state has implemented compulsory education."

"That is to say, all children of the age specified by the state, regardless of gender, must attend primary and junior high school."

"In the beginning, when the national budget was insufficient, parents were required to provide their children with nine years of compulsory education. Later, when the national budget allowed, the state became responsible for covering the majority of education expenses."

Nine years of compulsory education?

Burdened by the state finances?
Do all boys and girls have to go to school?

Liu Kuan's words made Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and other older and more sensible people look shocked and unbelievable.

After finally coming to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask, "According to what you said, wouldn't everyone in the future be able to read and punctuate? Even decades later, everyone will have gone to school for at least nine years?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "In later generations, everyone can indeed be said to be literate—well, there are some older people who were born before the founding of the People's Republic of China, or who didn't catch up with the national literacy campaign and are illiterate, but they are very few now."

"As for the scenario where people go to school for at least nine years, that's not the case. A small number of people, for various reasons, drop out of middle school or even elementary school."

"Your Majesty should understand that sometimes, national laws and regulations cannot guarantee everything, and there will always be people who violate them."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. "That's true. However, even if a few people fail to complete nine years of compulsory education, it is still an extremely rare feat."

Zhu Yuanzhang's words were full of emotion.

Because he felt deeply about the difficulty of promoting education.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the government began to promote official education in the second year of the Hongwu reign. Although the Ming Dynasty did not implement compulsory education, it still spent a lot on education every year.

Not only were the salaries of teachers and officials in official schools at all levels allocated by the imperial court and local governments, but outstanding students were also exempted from tuition fees and even given financial subsidies.

So far, education expenditure has been among the top five in the Ming Dynasty’s total fiscal expenditure every year, and even ranks third.

The top two items of fiscal expenditure are military spending and officials' salaries.

It was precisely because of this knowledge that Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more impressed by the later imperial court's feat of implementing nine years of compulsory education.

You know, according to Liu Kuan, the population of later generations will be over one billion. The money and grain spent on implementing compulsory education must also be in the billions!

The movie continues, but the remaining plot does not allow Zhu Yuanzhang to glimpse more of future events.

However, the concubines and princesses were quite interested in the boss's family affairs starring Xu, and they talked about it in low voices for a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang was always thinking about the play about the collapse of the sky and the catastrophe.

After Lost on Journey finished, he urged, "Can we start The Wandering Earth now? We need to see what that fictional apocalypse is all about."

Liu Kuan smiled and clicked on "The Wandering Earth".

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(End of this chapter)