Chapter 799 The Benefits of Reading

Compared to the powerful people who were furious about the new compulsory education policy, the common people were more concerned about their children going to school for free.

In fact, many people did not plan to send their children to school even if they knew it was free.

Not only because they felt that their children were not good at studying, but more because once their children went to school, there would be one less labor force in the family.

For the common people of this era, it is more practical to let their children help with housework than to let them go to school.

As such, there has been a lot of discussion among the common people recently about this matter.

"Lao Zhao, what do you think about letting your children go to school?"

In a tea shop by the field outside the city, a group of farmers with dark skin took advantage of the lunch break to order a pot of the cheapest herbal tea and chatted while resting.

This matter has been widely circulated in the city recently. Some people say it is good, and some say it is not good.

They were a group of farmers who had lived for so many years and could not read a single word. Whether this was a good thing or not, they could not figure it out in their hearts, and they were always entangled in their hearts.

Now a group of people gathered together, with nothing to do, this undoubtedly became the best topic of conversation at the moment.

Hearing this, the farmer called Lao Zhao drank the cold tea in the bowl, wiped the corner of his mouth and said nonchalantly.

"Forget about my stinky boy. What's the use of studying for people like us? It's better to stay at home and help with some work. As long as you cultivate the fields well, you won't starve to death."

Lao Zhao's words undoubtedly expressed the voices of many farmers and received support from many people. In their opinion, it is more reliable to farm well than to study.

The atmosphere on the scene made many people who wanted their children to go to school waver.

At this moment, a voice rang out from the next table.

"That's not right."

At the same time as the voice rang out, a figure from the next table stood up and walked over.

Hearing the voice of opposition, the farmers at the table looked over subconsciously. Soon, a figure in a linen robe appeared in their sight. The other party looked about 30 or 40 years old, but he was neatly dressed and had an extraordinary demeanor, so they dared not underestimate him, and even his words were no longer as rough as they were at the beginning.

"What is this gentleman's name?"

The other party smiled slightly.

"My surname is Kong, no offense, I just happened to hear what you are talking about and want to say a few words."

Mr. Kong was not an ordinary person at first glance, and at this time, the farmers really wanted to hear what he said.

"Sir, please speak."

Mr. Kong listened and spoke slowly.

"Your Majesty, you value talents the most. There are not many people who can read and write in our Great Zhou. The purpose of introducing compulsory education is to increase the number of people who can read and write in the country."

"In the past, we ordinary people had no way to study. Even if we had a way, we might not have enough money. Now, Your Majesty has put this way in front of us and waived the fees. It can be said to be a great favor."

After listening to these words, the farmers around nodded subconsciously.

But Mr. Kong could see that although these farmers agreed with him and knew that this was a good thing, many of them still felt that it was more practical to leave their children at home to do farm work.

He was not annoyed by this, but continued to speak slowly.

"In this new policy, His Majesty specifically mentioned children under the age of twelve. Think about it, what can these little kids under the age of twelve do? How much work can they do? At best, they can run errands, lend a hand, or do some odd jobs. Even some of the naughty ones are not good enough if they don't make things worse for us. If they stay at home, we will have to worry about them."

"Sending them to school doesn't cost us money anyway. There are teachers in the school to help them, so we can worry less. By the way, we can also teach them to read and write. Isn't this a good thing?"

Let's put aside the previous words. Mr. Kong's words really touched the hearts of many farmers, making them nod subconsciously.

"Indeed, it's good enough for little kids not to make things worse for us. How much work can we expect them to do?"

"That's right."

"What you said makes sense!"

Seeing the effect gradually take effect, the smile on Mr. Kong's face became more obvious.

"Besides, if those rascals at home can really learn something and learn to read and write, they can find a department and get a clerical job. They can earn as much as you do by taking notes and writing every day. The most important thing is that they can live a more relaxed life than you!"

"Not to mention that if you do this kind of work for a long time and perform well, you can get promoted and your salary can increase. Isn't it better than farming a few fields for a lifetime?"

As early as when he was halfway through his words, many farmers at the scene had already wavered.

Now, when they heard that their children would have an easy job in the future and could get promoted and get a salary increase after reading, many farmers at the scene slapped their thighs and made a decision on the spot.

"I've decided. I want Ergou to go to school!"

"I've also thought about sending Tiedan. I'll take Tiedan to sign up tomorrow morning!"

"..."

At this moment, Mr. Kong's words can be said to have clearly explained the "money" prospects of studying.

The most important thing is that he understood one thing, that is, sending their children to school is not a loss for them.

This made the farmers who were originally entangled in the dispensable labor force make up their minds.

At the same time, in the teahouse, although Mr. Kong was chatting with the farmers at this table, in fact, everyone in the teahouse was listening, and now they secretly wrote down those words.

Mr. Kong saw all these movements and was secretly satisfied in his heart. This was exactly the effect he wanted to achieve.

After that, he did not stay in the teahouse for long. He paid the bill and left.

After walking for a while, a young man ran over quickly and saluted respectfully to Mr. Kong.

"Minister, the staff we arranged have already run a circle of teahouses nearby, and the effect is good."

At this moment, Mr. Kong, who was walking on the road, was Kong Daqian. After that incident, Zhou Xu did not treat him badly and directly appointed him as the Minister of Propaganda.

Mainly responsible for various propaganda work, including the promotion of his various decrees.

By the way, storytellers are also subordinates of the Propaganda Department.

After listening to his subordinates' report, Kong Daqian showed a satisfied smile on his face.

"Well done, let's go, let's move to another place to continue the propaganda. This time, the task assigned by His Majesty must be done beautifully! Only in this way can we live up to His Majesty's expectations of us!"