I want to ruin the country

After the princes and nobles had donated, it was the turn of the ministers.

Du Shoutian was the first to stand up.

"This is the first charitable school established by the Emperor, and the children raised there are all orphans. I feel obligated to donate two hundred taels of silver."

Although Du Shoutian's family was in Binzhou, Shandong, and his family had been officials for generations, he could still afford the two hundred taels of silver.

He took the lead, and Wenqing also stood up.

"Thanks to the Emperor, my family has accumulated some savings over the years. The Emperor is doing charity work, and I can't just sit back and watch. I'll donate five hundred taels of silver!"

Now that's good, one is two hundred taels, one is five hundred taels, even if the others want to cheat, they can't pay less than Du Shoutian's number.

"I'll give you five hundred taels!"

Once the first move started, the rest of the group couldn't stop. One gave one hundred taels, another gave two hundred taels, and even Mu Zhang'a reluctantly paid five hundred taels.

After the ministers donated, it was the turn of the gentry and celebrities. They had to pay whether they wanted to or not, and everyone took out one hundred or two hundred taels of silver.

Finally, Wenqing and Sushun made a lot of noise with their abacus beads and told the emperor,

"The total cash collected was 161,210 taels!"

Yining was happy. With a thousand children and seventy to eighty faculty and staff, they could live well with five or six thousand taels of silver a year. More than 160,000 taels of silver would be enough to last them for ten years.

He stood up and spoke.

"My dear ministers, I thank you for your generosity in supporting these orphans. Your names will be written into the history of the school, and you will surely go down in history!

This is the first Royal School. There will be a second and a third one in the future, and they will be opened all over the country one after another!

I hope that everyone will pay attention to the survival and education of the elderly and orphans in the future.

In the future, the Ministry of Personnel will assess each official's performance in helping the poor and needy, and taking in the elderly and infants. Those who do well will be rewarded with promotions, while those who do poorly will be punished or even dismissed!

To the rest of the gentry and celebrities, I hope you will pay attention to charity and shoulder social responsibilities. Those who are capable can set up private schools, and I will strongly support them.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work, and united people can move mountains. Let's all do our part to help the widows, widowers, orphans and the lonely, so that there won't be a single wanderer in this world. Whoever does well will be greatly commended by me, and you will have unexpected benefits!

I won’t say much today. The auspicious time has arrived. Please invite Zai Yuan, the Minister of Rites, and Du Shoutian, the President of the Hanlin Academy, to unveil the plaque and hang up the sign for the Royal First School!

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of firecrackers rang out, drums and music sounded, and two lion teams danced in front, leading Du Shoutian and Zaiyuan to the gate.

Two lions stood up and took off the red silk, revealing the plaque with gold letters on a black background, "The Imperial First School!"

This was the emperor's work, and everyone cheered and shouted "Long live the emperor!"

Du Shoutian and Zaiyuan used two pairs of scissors to cut off the big red flowers on it.

After the whole ceremony was completed, everyone lined up to enter and visit.

The yard was clean and tidy, and the windows of the house were replaced with glass windows, which were bright and clean.

The children wore uniform and were divided into several classes according to their age.

They sat in the classroom and listened to the lecture quietly. From some rooms, the sound of people reading "Man is born good" could be heard. It was a warm and peaceful scene.

Most people felt that the money they spent today was worth it, and they were secretly moved. The emperor really did a great thing!

What surprised everyone was that there were female students.

More careful officials noticed that, not to mention the female students, why all the male students had short hair and no braids.

If you pay it back, isn't this an insult to your ancestors?

Everyone started talking gradually, and the voices became louder and louder, as if it was spreading like wildfire.

Yining saw that he had no choice but to explain, so he walked to the front and said,

"Are you old and blind? They all have braids!"

As he said this, he walked behind a little boy and picked up a braid from the back of his head that was as thick as a chopstick and less than ten centimeters long and showed it to everyone.

"This isn't a braid. Who's to blame for poor eyesight?"

Zaiquan bowed and said,

"Your Majesty, how can you count such small and short braids?"

Yining glanced at him sideways.

"Did our ancestors stipulate how thick and long braids must be? Some old men live to be eighty or ninety, and their braids may not be thicker or longer than this. Are you going to chop off their heads?"

Zaiquan Road,

"Your Majesty, that's not true. They have no hair on their heads, but children do have hair!"

Yining was so annoyed. What the hell is it to you? Are you free? Are you free? Are you bored?

But he still said,

"What kind of braids did our ancestors wear before they entered the Pass?"

"Uh...this..."

"What this and that? Back then, it was called a rat tail braid. Tell me, how thick is the rat tail?"

Zaiquan was stunned. Isn’t it true? The shiny big braid now is a later improvement. The previous rat-tail braid was so ugly!

He still didn't want to give up, and kept making excuses.

"It looks much better now. Why doesn't the emperor allow them to have braids like this?"

Yining was angry, you are a fucking nitpicker, you are shameless, he said angrily,

"Those who have long braids are children with parents. If they don't have parents, who will braid their hair?

It takes them half an hour every morning just to comb their hair. They also have to do exercises, exercise, and memorize their lessons. How much time is wasted?

Is a braid a big deal? Does having a braid matter?

Seeing that the emperor was anxious, no one dared to speak. Zaiquan wanted to say something, but someone next to him pulled him back, meaning that he should stop making trouble, as the emperor was in a good mood, what were he doing?

Zaiquan was not too stupid, he just wanted to show off his status as a regent.

Come to think of it, that's the case, so I just keep silent!

Continuing the tour, everyone went to the kitchen to take a look. A large pot of pork stewed with vermicelli was bubbling with fragrance.

On the steamer were golden cornmeal steamed bread and snow-white big steamed buns.

Yining explained that due to limited conditions, children were divided into two categories of meals: those under ten years old ate steamed buns, and those over ten years old ate cornbread.

That's it. The children who eat steamed buns are also extremely satisfied. Compared with their previous wandering life, it is a world of difference.

Their current life is the life they dreamed of, and they feel like they have arrived in heaven!

After the visit, the officials were still convinced. Even though the emperor had cheated them out of their money, they felt that it was not a bad thing!

Yining spoke again,

"Everyone donated money, so I should provide everyone with a meal. But I have decided not to. I cannot waste your money. I want to spend every penny on these orphans!

Tomorrow at noon I will hold a grand banquet in the palace to send Prince Gong off on his journey abroad. Everyone should come and join us, and treat it as making up for today's banquet. Do you agree?"