As Li Dan's envoy, Li He's life in Daming was pretty good. Especially after he made contact with the He family, Li He was praised by his uncle, Li Dan, and his status became more and more stable.
Of course, there were also troublesome things, such as the invitation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Although he didn't know why the Ministry of Internal Affairs invited him, Li He knew that he couldn't refuse.
When the Ministry of Internal Affairs was first born, not many people cared about it. The development of this yamen, which appeared on the stage during the Yangzhou salt policy reform, could be said to have shocked everyone over the years.
From wool textiles in the northwest to salt and steel, to all kinds of precious items, whether it was in Jiangnan or the north, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was already a behemoth.
It was a bit exaggerated to say that all the businessmen in the world had to rely on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but it was basically the same.
In Daming, no one could ignore the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The shipping companies all over the Yangtze River and Yellow River covered 80% of the shipping business in Daming.
Without the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was impossible to sell goods everywhere.
Coupled with the money that the Ministry of Internal Affairs could mobilize, the Ministry of Internal Affairs definitely became the dominant business in Daming.
Under these circumstances, even Li Dan didn't dare to ignore the existence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Now that the Ministry of Internal Affairs invited him, Li He didn't dare to delay at all. He sent someone to send a letter to his uncle while preparing to see Li Shenxing.
Li Shenxing's status in the Daming business world was unparalleled.
The meeting place was set in Nanjing. Although Li He didn't dare to go, he had to pinch his nose and go.
After arriving in Nanjing, Li He couldn't help but sigh. Nanjing in Daming was even more prosperous.
Since the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to mobilize the business of the whole country, Nanjing had become a transit station between the north and the south.
The prosperity of the business naturally led to the development of the city. Li He went to Nanjing again, but he was still shocked.
As night fell, Li He took a carriage to the Nanjing Ministry of Internal Affairs yamen.
This was a humble yamen. The entrance was not high and looked a little shabby, but no one dared to look down on this place.
Under the guidance of the bailiff, Li He entered the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In the living room, a thin middle-aged man was looking at him with a smile. Li Dan knew that this should be Li Shenxing.
He hurriedly bowed and said, "I am Li He. Greetings, Lord Li!"
Li Shenxing nodded and said with a smile, "Let's sit down and talk!"
After Li He sat down, Li Shenxing slowly said, "I've long heard about you. I heard that you're Li Dan's nephew?"
Li He's heart skipped a beat, but he said with a smile on his face, "Lord Li, it is indeed my uncle!"
Li Shenxing nodded and put down the teacup in his hand. "That's good. I have something to tell you. I'm sure you've heard about the imperial court's plan to open a port in the north?"
"Lord Li, this lowly one has heard of it!" Li He quickly replied.
Li Shenxing continued, "The imperial court wants to build a port in the north and lacks a partner for sea trade. I recommended Li Dan to the imperial court, so I would like to invite Li Dan to join the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
After hearing Li Shenxing's words, Li He was stunned. Inviting his uncle to join the Ministry of Internal Affairs?
"The manager of overseas trade in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His official position is the same as mine," Li Shenxing added.
To put it bluntly, there was no such thing as a manager of sea trade in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. What Zhu Yijun wanted to do was to establish Daming's Ocean Trading Company.
The situation was basically similar to the East India Company, using a shareholding system.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Li Dan were the major shareholders, and the other Honours of the imperial court were the minor shareholders.
As for what this overseas trading company did, it was basically similar to the East India Company.
Colonial trade was the mainstream. Zhu Yijun felt that he didn't need to teach them how to do it.
As long as he gave them strong support, these people would definitely do what Zhu Yijun wanted.
This was also the reason why Zhu Yijun wanted to recruit Li Dan. He had experience and a fleet of ships, which could greatly reduce the time Zhu Yijun needed to explore in this area.
As for whether Li Dan would be obedient, Zhu Yijun wasn't worried at all.
Once he defeated the Japanese Empire and stationed troops in the Japanese Empire, Li Dan would become a tree without roots. He wouldn't be able to disobey even if he wanted to.
Li He was a little confused by Li Shenxing's words. The Ministry of Internal Affairs actually wanted to recruit his uncle. Although it was an invitation, the meaning was the same. Li He had to consider this.
The key was that the imperial court didn't have a good reputation in this area.
In the past, Wang Zhi was known as the owner of the Five Peaks Ship. His status was almost the same as his uncle's. After being recruited by the imperial court, he was still killed without knowing why.
"This is a big matter. I don't dare to make a decision. I need to send a letter to my uncle," Li He said quickly.
Li Shenxing nodded. "Alright, then go back and write the letter!
Tell Li Dan that I will wait here for him to meet me. "After that, Li Shenxing picked up his teacup, as if he was going to send the guest off.
Li He also knew that Li Shenxing asked him to come here to deliver the letter. He definitely wouldn't say much to him.
He stood up and bowed to Li Shenxing, then said, "Then I'll take my leave!"
Li Shenxing smiled and nodded. He didn't have any intention of getting up to send him off.
With Li Shenxing's current status, there weren't many people who could make him get up to send him off.
After Li He left, Li Shenxing stood up and stretched. He was ready to go out for a stroll.
Li Shenxing hadn't been to Nanjing for a long time. During this time, he had been in the northwest. Now that he was in Nanjing, he needed to go out for a stroll.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Yijun flipped through the memorials in his hand. After reading a few, he threw them on the table in annoyance.
Ever since Shun Tian Prefecture had made education universal, memorials from all over the country had been submitted.
The Daming civil officials were very active in education because it was a good opportunity to improve their reputation.
All the officials from all over the country were invited to build public schools. There were a lot of them.
There were also many officials in the imperial court who supported the establishment of public schools. Some even thought that they should recruit students from all over the country to serve as public school teachers.
If civil servants could do it, there was no reason why other officials couldn't!
Public school teachers had ranks. Although they were at the ninth rank, they could be promoted.
This was very attractive to many scholars at the bottom. Compared to civil servants, the reputation of teaching and educating people was much better and more dignified. The key was that they could also be promoted. Naturally, it attracted countless people.
Zhu Yijun knew very well that in his previous life, when teachers could change careers, they were very popular.
In his previous life, there was a popular TV series called "In the Name of the People". This gang was a corrupt political organization that colluded with teachers and students.
This kind of thing was more common in Daming and more reasonable.
In this era, teachers were respected, and at the same time, they were respected as teachers and benevolent teachers. Classmates of the same age were also very important political resources and allies.
This point was made public in Daming, and everyone felt that it was reasonable.
After thinking about it, Zhu Yijun felt that it was time for him to set up a normal school.
With a public school, it would be very normal to train teachers.
He could suppress the idea of setting up public schools in various places. It wouldn't be possible to suppress it by force, so the reason here was relatively better.
At the same time, he could also absorb a group of idle scholars in society.
In the Great Ming Dynasty, the idle scholars in society were definitely an unstable factor.
Compared to idle scholars in society, the local ruffians and hooligans couldn't even be seen in public.
The number of idle scholars in society had decreased, and the unstable factors had also decreased.
"Zhang Jing!"
Zhu Yijun called out to Zhang Jing and then said, "Send an edict to the cabinet. All the memorials from the officials say that we should promote public schools. I believe that teachers should impart knowledge and dispel doubts. We should look for good teachers for public schools."
"I plan to set up a normal school in the capital that will specialize in training public school teachers. Get the cabinet to come up with a plan."
In fact, Zhu Yijun didn't want everything to be related to official positions, but there was no other way.
Zhu Yijun also knew the drawback of this, and that was redundant officials.
Redundant officials would greatly increase the burden of the imperial court, but Zhu Yijun couldn't think of a good solution.
In this era, people were only interested in being an official and weren't very interested in other things.
Not to mention the current Daming, even in the later generations of the Celestial Empire, there was always a sea of people for the civil service examination.
Even if there was a job to sweep the streets, there would be a lot of people, not to mention the Daming of this era.
No matter what position it was, once it was linked to an official position, it would definitely attract people like ducks.
Zhu Yijun could imagine that once the normal school started to enroll students, it would definitely set off a craze that would be even bigger than the civil service examination.
At that time, there might even be a chain of contempt. Those who applied for the normal school would look down on those who applied for the civil service examination.
If he opened a technical school in the future, those who applied for the normal school would look down on those who applied for the civil service examination, and those who applied for the civil service examination would look down on those who applied for the technical school.
However, Zhu Yijun couldn't do anything about this. Apart from raising the benefits as much as possible, there was no way to eliminate this.
Not to mention in this era, there was also a lot of this chain of contempt in the future.
"Yes, Imperial Majesty!"
Of course, Zhang Jing didn't know what Zhu Yijun was thinking. He only knew that the Imperial Majesty wanted to meet the normal school. This matter didn't have much to do with him, so Zhang Jing didn't care much about it.
After Zhu Yijun instructed Zhang Jing, he turned around and walked to the back. It was late at night, and he should rest.
Following Zhu Yijun's imperial edict, the news spread quickly.
As Zhu Yijun expected, after the news spread, it was instantly praised by the officials and students.
In the following days, Zhu Yijun mainly focused on the matters of the normal school and the reform of the craftsmen.
Last year, Zhu Yijun handed this matter to the Minister of Works, Liang Menglong.
Liang Menglong suggested to start the reform of the military and give the military craftsmen a higher status.
Zhu Yijun also agreed with Liang Menglong's idea. Ever since that, Liang Menglong had been busy with this matter.
Today, Liang Menglong finally came up with a perfect plan. This time, he came to report to Zhu Yijun.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun looked at Liang Menglong, who walked in, and smiled. He waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to be polite and said with a smile, "You have worked hard!
Someone, give you a seat! "
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Liang Menglong hurriedly bowed.
After Liang Menglong sat down, Zhu Yijun said, "Did you come to the palace today to talk to me about the reform of the military craftsmen?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Liang Menglong nodded and said, "After this period of understanding and implementation, I have some immature ideas in my heart. I hope Your Majesty can give me some advice."
Zhu Yijun glanced at Liang Menglong and sighed. These officials were getting better and better at talking.
Was he an emperor who liked to be flattered?
Why were all the officials under him developing in this direction?
However, he couldn't say anything about Liang Menglong's words.
Nodding, Zhu Yijun said, "You can speak your mind. We will discuss it."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Liang Menglong nodded and said, "After hearing that the military craftsmen in the army are open to craftsmen, most of them are unwilling to continue working in the army, even if they are paid."
Hearing Liang Menglong's words, Zhu Yijun's expression immediately became serious.
It was really too hard in the army, and military craftsmen really didn't have any status in the army.
As for paying, military craftsmen might not earn less than what the imperial court gave them. Just like in the future, people with skills could earn money wherever they went.
The craftsmen in the army were skilled, and many of them had ancestral secret recipes.
Once these people were lost, it would be difficult to train them again. How could Zhu Yijun let them go?
Zhu Yijun looked at Liang Menglong and said, "Then what do you think we should do?"
"In reply to Your Majesty, it is imperative that the military craftsmen open to craftsmen."
"Your Majesty is wise and farsighted. You changed the military household system to a recruitment system and abolished the military household system. The military households are all grateful.
Since the military household system has been abolished, the craftsmen should be open to craftsmen.
"It's just that the craftsmen have been in the army for a long time and are homesick. In addition, the army was too oppressed in the past, so the military craftsmen also want to find some light work.
In addition, the military households that are open to the public can earn a lot of money, so the craftsmen want to leave the army to earn a lot of money. "
Zhu Yijun didn't feel annoyed by Liang Menglong's words at all. Instead, he felt that Liang Menglong could be very useful.
Everything had a cause and effect. Liang Menglong's detailed investigation of the cause was worthy of praise.
Although it took some time, he could get twice the result with half the effort if he was well-prepared.
"Then what do you think?" Zhu Yijun looked at Liang Menglong and asked.
"In reply to Your Majesty, I think that since we can't keep them with money, we might as well start from other places," Liang Menglong said slowly. "I think we should start from two directions.
"First, it's the military craftsmen themselves. Raising their status in the army should be our top priority.
"Since the craftsmen's register has been removed, we should give the military craftsmen an identity. They should either be like soldiers or hired craftsmen. However, I don't think either option is a good idea."
Zhu Yijun looked at Liang Menglong. This time, Zhu Yijun didn't say anything and waited for Liang Menglong to speak.
"I think that the military craftsmen's status will still not be high like soldiers. After all, the army worships bravery. As for hiring craftsmen, it's even more unreliable. That will cause discord in the army. If people's morale is gone, things will be difficult to handle."