I clearly wanted to be a tyrant, but how did I become the greatest emperor of all time?

Chen Chi didn't expect that they were so determined.

Tang Yan paced back and forth and said, "If it weren't for this storm, we would have fallen into their trap!"

"But we can't underestimate these English people."

Chen Chi also said: "That's right, sir. Now England has defeated the Sea Coachman, the Dutch, who have the largest number of Western fleets."

"I heard that they have monopolized the route to the West. If we continue to go west, we will run into them sooner or later."

Tang Yan sighed and said, "Of course I knew that this war was inevitable, but I didn't expect it to come so soon!"

Chen Chi said: "But sir, England has colluded with the Caribbean pirates and their momentum is huge, so we still have to deal with it with caution."

Tang Yan nodded: "Of course! Let's rest in the Thai port for the time being, and then we can make plans slowly after the rainy season is over."

The South Indian Ocean is surging, but Yuhang is prosperous.

Since the abolition of the salt permit system and the suppression of the salt merchants' riot, the salt price in Yuhang area has been reduced to one-third of its previous price.

The people of Yuhang applauded and sent Huang Xiao the "Wanmin Umbrella".

Huang Xiao certainly did not dare to take credit for it. He told the people that it was the grace of His Majesty, and the people then dispersed.

Next, Huang Xiao began to ban private schools and open public schools in Yuhang in accordance with the court's policy.

Fortunately, the court allocated money to set up public schools, and Huang Xiao reorganized the public schools in the prefectures and counties of Yuhang and developed them vigorously.

Huang Xiao took out the imperial edict, conducted a simple test, and then admitted the first batch of students based on the test rankings.

When it came to the course part, Huang Xiao was a little confused.

He can't read or write, and doesn't understand Confucianism at all!

If he is asked to supervise a public school, how will he know how to arrange the curriculum?

Huang Xiao was in a dilemma. He was a peasant and the only educated person among his staff was a poor scholar.

This down-and-out scholar was named Fang Hao, a native of Kyoto. After passing the examination for a scholar, he failed to pass the imperial examination again, so he simply became a legal advisor.

Huang Xiao has limited education, so Fang Hao is considered a talented person under him.

"Sir, I think the curriculum of the public school should be determined by the students and teachers together."

"Together?"

Fang Hao said, "Sir, there are not many teachers in Yuhang who are proficient in the study of the mind."

Huang Xiao nodded. The court's sudden change of Xinxue as the official academic discipline was actually very hasty.

Nowadays, the School of Mind is only widely spread in Kyoto. In Yuhang, there are almost no scholars who understand the School of Mind.

Moreover, apart from a few articles published by Lu Weibin in the Xindi Bao, no unified interpretation of the scriptures was published.

In order to complete the foundation of the School of Mind, even the anonymously submitted "On Colonization and Expansion" was included in the teachings of the School of Mind.

Anyway, psychology is just a frame, and anything can be put in it.

How to learn and test the philosophy of mind?

The entire court was bewildered.

Not to mention how to teach psychology.

Fang Hao said, "Sir, if you look for a great scholar of the School of Mind in Yuhang now, you will definitely not find him."

"Otherwise, we can set up several courses and let students choose to study by themselves."

"The Ministry of Rites hasn't compiled the exam guidelines yet, so let's take some practical courses first."

"Anyway, it won't be a disadvantage for students to learn that knowledge."

Huang Xiao nodded: "What courses are practical now?"

Fang Hao immediately said: "Now that Yuhang's trade is booming, the most practical thing is arithmetic."

"Every store needs clerks who can keep accounts. A few days ago, I heard that the account clerk of Huajiang Prefecture resigned and was poached by a business. His salary increased several times!"

Huang Xiao took a deep breath.

Yuhang's finances were abundant and the salaries of officials were not low.

With several times the salary, there is indeed a great demand for accountants.

Fang Hao said: "Why not set up a math course first? After all, learning this knowledge will be useful."

Huang Xiao nodded. All the students in the public school were from poor families.

Now the gentry in Yuhang are still waiting and watching, ashamed to send their children to government schools.

It's free and the food is provided. Many poor families will send their children to public schools for the sake of their children's development.

These kids aren't that ambitious to pass the imperial examination.

Many families feel that it would be a great honor to be able to find a job as an official in the local area.

So learning arithmetic will definitely be popular.

Fang Hao continued, "The School of Mind emphasizes the pursuit of knowledge through investigation of things. I heard that Yuhang is also short of people who can tinker with machines."

"If not, setting up some courses for craftsmen would definitely be very effective!"

Huang Xiao nodded again after hearing this.

The status of craftsmen is also improving now.

Although Zhang Yuchai's rise to prominence was due to his royal relationship, it also illustrates the importance the court placed on craftsmen.

Now many of Zhang Yuchai's disciples have also entered official careers.

Master craftsmen from many places were also granted the status of court officials.

Teaching the principles of mechanics and the laws of their operation can also be considered part of psychology, right?

Huang Xiao didn't understand psychology either, so he had to follow his own understanding.

Fang Hao added: "With mechanics and arithmetic, we also need to teach poetry and songs. Yuhang will definitely be able to recruit these teachers."

Huang Xiao nodded slightly.

Fang Hao continued, "I heard that Yuhang is now prosperous at sea and also needs translators who can communicate with foreign countries."

"Hire a few language teachers and see which language the students want to learn. There is no need to force them to learn it, just let them choose it."

Huang Xiao nodded repeatedly.

"The last one is painting and music. Just like foreign languages, students can just choose to take it."

Huang Xiao raised his mouth in satisfaction: "Mr.'s method is great!"

However, neither Huang Xiao nor Fang Hao noticed that the public school they founded seemed to have no courses teaching Confucianism.

The imperial court attached great importance to the establishment of official schools.

The Ministry of Revenue made a big move and allocated a large sum of money from the salt merchants' accounts confiscated by Huang Xiao, and gave it to Huang Xiao to run an official school.

Huang Xiao directly requisitioned the salt merchants' large estate and converted it into an official school in Yuhang.

Official schools were also established in the early days of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but within a few decades, due to financial constraints in the national treasury, the official schools were short of funds.

In the education industry, when some people exit, others enter.

After the decline of official schools, private schools began to emerge.

In the early days of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the income of official schools was entirely funded by the imperial court.

However, the imperial court had a lot of expenses, and when there were years of famine or disaster, there was often no money to allocate to official schools.

Huang Xiao intends to learn from experience and allow the official school to be self-sufficient.

Huang Xiao had previously listened to Fang Hao's advice and established a new official school in Huajiang Prefecture.

Courses such as arithmetic, engineering machinery, and psychology were offered, as well as elective courses such as music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and foreign languages.

Such a course arrangement was ridiculed by the gentry in Huajiang Prefecture, who said that Huang Xiao was indeed an illiterate peasant who actually offered such low-level courses in the academy.

But unexpectedly, this arrangement was so popular among the people.