However, when news of this reached other countries, it was met with much mockery and ridicule.
“Such magnificent imperial grace!”
“Reforming education to make it more affordable is a good starting point for Great Xia, but it completely ignores the practicalities!”
“Why don’t other countries do such a good thing? Because it’s too expensive!”
“Just opening a school in every city, the construction and operational costs are already a huge expenditure!”
“Then there’s the salary for each teacher, which is another massive expense!”
“Moreover, it takes at least 10 years to educate a scholar! During these 10 years, you basically see no return on investment! With that money, why not do something else?”
“Why not just conscript soldiers? Or use the money to recruit experts? Wouldn’t that quickly enhance national power?”
“If you’re short of people, you can simply hold imperial examinations. There’s no need to go through the trouble of nurturing them yourself!”
Despite the skepticism from the outside world, everyone still kept an eye on Great Xia’s actions.
Great Xia’s subsequent performance stunned everyone.
Firstly, the issue of schools, which seemed very problematic to others, was quite simple for Great Xia.
After consulting with Li Linfu and Heshen, Heshen quickly assembled a team and started constructing schools on vacant land in various cities.
What’s the difference between building a concrete house and a school?
In Heshen’s eyes, there was no difference, except that schools had to be built a bit bigger and brighter.
Thus, in less than half a month, schools sprang up in cities across the nation.
Moreover, hardly any money had to be spent.
Because the cement for building the school belonged to Lin Beifan, it was directly used for construction.
As for the workers’ wages, they had already been paid.
“Goodness! Schools can be built immediately and without spending much money!”
“One can only say that the system of Great Xia is far superior! Normally, their workers are kept on retainer, ready to start work when needed, without wasting a moment! I really want others to learn from them!”
“How can it be so easy to learn? Look at the Great Luo Dynasty, they collapsed on their own!”
“Indeed, such a system is hard to replicate!”
With the school issue resolved, next came the teachers.
To promote the enthusiasm of teachers in their teaching, Lin Beifan set a standard, grading them into five levels:
Teacher, Grade C Teacher, Grade B Teacher, Grade A Teacher, and Imperial Master Teacher.
Each level came with different benefits and honors.
Naturally, an ordinary Teacher received ordinary benefits.
But reaching the ‘Grade’ level meant a sudden increase in treatment and status, on par with court officials.
A Grade C Teacher was equivalent to a seventh-grade official in the court.
A Grade B Teacher was equivalent to a sixth-grade official.
A Grade A Teacher was equivalent to a fifth-grade official.
If one becomes an Imperial Master Teacher, that would be truly awesome!
Granted honors personally by Lin Beifan, equivalent to a third-grade official in the court, with the opportunity to enter the court and offer counsel to the nation.
Although they held no real power, their status and treatment were absolutely top-notch!
This also provided scholars with an alternative path, so they didn’t have to solely rely on the imperial examination.
In their teaching positions, they could still showcase their knowledge.
After this announcement, the scholars remaining in Great Xia were thrilled.
“To be a teacher and still have the chance to become an official?”
“You’ve misunderstood! You can’t become an official, but if you become a Graded Teacher, your treatment and status will be on par with court officials!”
“That’s even better, I don’t like the officialdom either!”
“Real, I’m not good at being an official, but I excel at teaching. This is my opportunity!”
“Imperial grace is boundless, thank you, Your Majesty!”
For many scholars, this was simply explosive news.
Taking the imperial examination to become an official was difficult for many scholars, as they had to compete with so many others.
But becoming a teacher was much simpler!
As long as one was an Apprentice Scholar, they could do it, and even had the chance to rise in rank and wealth!
Consequently, even more scholars came to Xia.
However, Li Linfu started to worry: “Your Majesty, although your initiative is commendable, the expenses are too great, and our national treasury might not be able to bear it!”
“Indeed, please reconsider, Your Majesty!” Heshen exclaimed loudly.
Lin Beifan calmly said, “The expenses are indeed significant, but I already have a solution!”
“Please enlighten us, Your Majesty. We are all ears!” Li Linfu and Heshen said in unison.
“We are vigorously promoting education, which will inevitably usher in a spring for the education industry! Items like books and stationery such as brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones are bound to sell extremely well! We should keep these things in our own hands!”
“Firstly, this can stabilize prices and prevent speculators from profiting and disrupting our education market! Secondly, the income from the education industry can be used to make up for the shortfall in educational funding!”
“His Majesty is wise!” the two ministers exclaimed in admiration.
How had they not thought of this?
Once the education industry is consolidated into the hands of the state, it becomes a money-making tool!
Just from the sales of paper and books, a substantial amount of money can be earned to offset the investment in education!
Lin Beifan continued, “Moreover, our court should also take charge of compiling textbooks, incorporating more thoughts of loyalty to the sovereign and patriotism! Only in this way can we cultivate more patriots and loyal subjects!”
Lin Beifan thoroughly convinced the two ministers!
His Majesty plans to instill the ideas of loyalty and patriotism in children from a young age!
After growing up reading such books, how could they not serve the court?
The two ministers bowed deeply: “His Majesty is far-sighted!”
Lin Beifan waved his hand: “Go forth, Ministers, let us create an educational golden age that will be celebrated for generations!”
Following Lin Beifan’s orders, the two ministers set to work with great enthusiasm.
The first step was to establish paper mills to produce large quantities of paper.
Right now, the profit margins for the paper are very high and usually controlled by noble families.
If anyone tried to enter this industry, they would inevitably face attacks and retaliation from these noble families.
But in Great Xia, this was not an issue at all.
The noble families had been cleared out, so who would dare to oppose him?
Thus, the paper industry was firmly in the hands of the court.
However, Lin Beifan also improved the paper-making process to earn more funds for education.
He expanded the sources of raw materials for paper-making, allowing commonly available materials such as tree bark, wood ash, hemp ends, and bamboo fibers to be used for paper production, significantly reducing production costs.
Additionally, he introduced many advanced bleaching techniques.
As a result, the paper produced by Great Xia was not only thinner and whiter but also much cheaper to make, costing less than a third of the normal paper price.
Even after cutting the selling price by half, they still made a huge profit.
Heshen and Li Linfu were once again thoroughly impressed by Lin Beifan.
In this era, the demand for paper was very high, and it was not cheap.
The great noble families made a fortune just from this revenue.
Now, they were able to produce even better quality paper at a much cheaper price. Wouldn’t they make a killing?
The educational funding was completely covered with the income from paper sales alone!
“His Majesty is truly wise!”
***
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