"I have already said, I have no intention of becoming an official."
Huoyan Mingchuan's expression grew increasingly displeased.
"You..."
"Do not be so hasty to refuse."
Yun Shu calmly cut him off.
"The Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry Imperial Examination is unlike the standard examination. It tests only your knowledge in those specific fields. Once you pass, there will be no bureaucratic affairs for you to handle. A dedicated Ministry of Science and Engineering will be established, and you shall be appointed directly into it.
Once inside, there will be ample access to study materials for mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Unless the court assigns you to a particular research project, your time will be your own. You may quietly continue your studies, or assemble your own research group to pursue independent inquiries."
"Research group?"
Huoyan Mingchuan seemed confused.
"What sort of thing is that?"
"Are you not curious what all this mathematics you are learning is good for?"
Yun Shu opened a crate filled with mathematics books, her voice light and unhurried.
"Surely you do not believe mathematics exists only for solving those tedious and complicated problems with no purpose?"
Huoyan Mingchuan fell silent.
…
To Yun Shu, persuading a fervent mathematics enthusiast who had grown up in an ancient setting and understood little else was hardly a challenge.
Having successfully recruited yet another genius to her cause, Yun Shu felt that her year-end tasks had been more than fulfilled. With just two days remaining until the new year, she finally settled down and refrained from stirring up more trouble—for once.
Of course, matters such as calculating how many lanterns each household needed installed, and how much silver they owed for it, were efficiently delegated to her capable subordinates.
On the eve of the New Year, perhaps having learned from Roland's misfortune, the foreign envoys were notably restrained at the banquet. They said little, ate in silence, and did not linger even a day after the feast. They immediately requested farewell from Emperor Xuanwu and departed the capital.
Thus, Yun Shu enjoyed a peaceful and uneventful Spring Festival.
After the seven-day recess, everything resumed as planned: the newly constructed tribute examination hall, the installation of electric lights, and the commencement of the Spring Imperial Examination all proceeded smoothly.
Even the great steam-powered ship successfully launched in the eighth month of the year, and by the tenth, it returned from the Wa Kingdom region with yet another massive shipment of treasure. Minister Yan's smile stretched so wide it nearly split his face in two.
Now that everything was firmly on track, the seven conquered nations—along with Bei Xiang—were gradually integrating into Tian Sheng. Each day, the number of truly important memorials requiring review grew fewer and fewer.
Yun Shu could no longer restrain the restless urge within her heart.
"Equitable land tax allocation, nationalization of grain levies, and unified taxation across officials and gentry?"
Emperor Xuanwu raised his head, clearly surprised.
"Equitable taxation and nationalizing the grain levies are manageable enough. The court no longer lacks funds.
But having the officials and gentry taxed equally? That issue had already been debated years ago when we sought to resolve land annexation and encouraged the people to reclaim the wilderness.
This policy would harm the interests of the entire scholarly and noble class. Once implemented, it would face immense resistance.
Back then, to mitigate this very problem, you even proposed a new commercial tax."
"But the Tian Sheng of three or four years ago cannot be compared with the Tian Sheng of today."
Yun Shu clearly anticipated this response. She answered without hesitation.
"At the time, the new commercial tax was merely a compromise, nothing more.
Now, with new weapons in hand to serve as deterrents, those officials and gentry are merely losing some wealth, not their lives. They will grumble in private, perhaps even try a few petty tricks, but they dare not cause any real chaos.
And even if they do, I would not mind having a bout with them.
As for the scholars..."
She smiled.
"That matter is easier still. Your Daughter intends to implement three years of compulsory education."
"Three years of compulsory education?"
Yet another unfamiliar term. Emperor Xuanwu raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"What does that mean?"
"All children of appropriate age, whether male or female, may enter school for free and study for three years. The requirements are modest. They must learn to read and write, master basic arithmetic—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—and grasp a few fundamental principles of conduct.
In the future, if one wishes to attend Tian Sheng Academy, completing these three years will become a prerequisite."
Seeing Emperor Xuanwu frown slightly, clearly not understanding how this related to the scholars' opposition to equal taxation, Yun Shu continued, her tone light and cheerful.
"The expenses for this program will be covered entirely by the taxes paid by the officials and gentry.
Besides, did Father Emperor not once worry that if certain welfare benefits were removed, common folk would begin to suspect their children lacked the aptitude for scholarly pursuits?
After all, if a family exhausts its resources sending a child to school, only for him to fail to earn a degree sufficient for office, he will be left with nothing but the title of xiucai, which no longer exempts him from taxes or provides any real benefit.
In that case, they might abandon the idea altogether, and fewer scholars would arise from humble origins.
But with three years of compulsory education in place, would they not gain some idea early on whether the child has any promise?"
"A sound idea."
Emperor Xuanwu nodded slightly.
"But have you considered—if every school-aged child in Tian Sheng is to attend school for three years without charge...
Where will you find enough teachers?
A child's education depends greatly on proper instruction. If one teacher must oversee over a hundred pupils, the quality will surely suffer. How can every child learn to read under such conditions?"
"Reading is not as difficult as it seems!"
Yun Shu remained composed as she drew out a sheet covered in strange symbols.
"Forcing a child who cannot read a single character to memorize dozens of complex glyphs and tones—that is certainly challenging.
But if we use phonetics as an aid, it becomes much simpler."
Emperor Xuanwu frowned in confusion.
"Phonetics?"
"This was inspired by foreign nations.
When I examined their writing systems, I found their characters remarkably easy to write. I made a few adjustments, matched them with our own characters, and thus developed this phonetic script."
She spun the tale with a straight face, not giving Emperor Xuanwu any chance to interrupt.
Immediately, she launched into an elaborate explanation of phonetics.
As expected, Emperor Xuanwu became wholly absorbed by the concept and was thoroughly astonished.
"This system is truly simple to learn. As you say, one might master it within half a day and use it to read with ease."
Yun Shu: "…"
What ordinary child could possibly compare to an emperor educated by the finest minds in the land, whose aptitude was second to none?
Yun Shu paused for a moment, then spoke with careful tact.
"Of course, compulsory education is not something Your Daughter can implement overnight.
As it happens, Tian Sheng Academy only just recruited a new class last autumn. Many of them still do not fully recognize all the characters.
I propose we begin the trial there and observe the results."
===
Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds. It's part of the broader field of linguistics, which is the study of language.
Phonetics looks at:
How sounds are made in the mouth (articulatory phonetics)
What those sounds look like when measured as sound waves (acoustic phonetics)
How those sounds are heard and processed by the ear and brain (auditory phonetics)
It is not specific to one language and often used when analyzing, teaching, or learning pronunciation—especially in a technical, academic, or language-learning context.
In simpler terms:
Phonetics = the science of how we speak and hear sounds.