Xinshun 1730

Chapter 119 Expensive Flattery

The Count of Savoy is a hereditary count, not a technical bureaucrat.For the questions of this exam, he can only listen to the judgment of professionals.

"What is the difficulty of this exam?"

"There are at least three topics, which are at the academician level. The rest are about gunnery, navigation, navigation, trade and other issues."

The Academy of Sciences in Petersburg has only been in existence for four years, but the group of academicians can be described as a gathering of talents. Except for juniors like Euler and Goldbach who have not yet become famous all over the world, the rest have become famous for a long time.

The people sent by the Academy of Sciences made such an evaluation, which surprised the Earl of Savoy.

I asked about various questions carefully, and after comparing and thinking about it, I laughed.

"Can Chinese warships reach Siberia?"

The representative of the Academy of Sciences shook his head, thinking that no matter what kind of warship it was, it would be impossible to sail to Siberia.

"If Russia owned Guangdong, would it choose to develop Siberia?"

The representative of the Academy of Sciences still shook his head, thinking that Peter the Great had fought for the estuary for 20 years. If Russia owned Guangdong, of course he would not have the intention to develop Siberia.

The Earl of Savoy didn't know too much about technical things, but he was very clear about the diplomatic situation.

After asking about the exam questions again, he had already made a rough judgment.

30 years ago, the Russian navy was still small sampans and human oars, but now, the Russian navy already has the three-deck Ingermann Land, and has a force that can try to compete with the Swedish and Turkish navies .

Restricted by ports, talents, and money, it is far from being comparable to Britain, France, and the Netherlands, but it has also emerged as a navy that can control regional waters.

There are many problems to be faced in the reform of Russia, such as the rights of the nobles, the constraints of the Privy Council, the competition for the tsar's throne... all of these do not exist in Dashun.

Sava is very sure that even the Duke is just a courtier in front of the Chinese emperor, without any power to resist.

It is almost impossible for the Privy Council to seize power like Russia today.

He didn't know that every family had scriptures that were difficult to recite.

The resistance to reform in Russia lies in the great aristocracy and the Privy Council.

In fact, Dashun has more serious resistance than Russia's reform.

It's just that Savoy doesn't understand, and it's hard to imagine.

At least in just a few months, he couldn't know that the problems facing Dashun were much more difficult than those in Russia.

What he can see are only the bureaucracy of the imperial examination system for selecting talents, only nobles like dukes bowing their heads in front of the emperor, only wealthy people and overwhelming goods, only thousands of miles of sea estuaries, only the monopoly position of porcelain, tea and silk and the annual income. Tens of millions of wealth...

Therefore, in his opinion, it seemed that if Dashun wanted to change, he only needed to think of someone like Peter the Great.

Push lightly.

For the rest, nothing is missing.

This exam has demonstrated Dashun's attitude towards change.

The questions on these exams, if not the average level of a Dashun officer, are enough to prove that the emperor of China seems to be a man of change.

Rich, talented, caring, no powerful aristocrats, no religious conflicts... Savoie is convinced that Dashun's transformation seems to be much simpler than that of Peter the Great.If Peter can have an annual income of 1000 million when he reforms, I am afraid that now that Russia has come to Berlin, the whole of Europe will tremble.As for the annual income of 1000 million, in Savoy's view, the Chinese seem to be able to get it easily by selling porcelain, silk and tea.

Russian tea, rhubarb, silk, fur, etc. are all official monopoly.It was easy for him to think about how much money Dashun could earn in a year if he made these things an official franchise.

As a layman watching the excitement, it is impossible for Savoy to know the resistance to change within Dashun, and it is even more impossible to know that the annual income of 3000 million yuan is too small compared to the huge empire, and it is even more impossible to know that Dashun has no real powerful nobles However, there is a group of privileged forces that control the entire grassroots, which is almost the same as the real power aristocrats.

So the Earl of Savoy was first afraid, and then he became happy after being afraid.

Judging from these topics, the Chinese are planning to build a navy, otherwise it would be impossible for four of the ten topics to be about naval navigation, surveying and mapping trade.

After more than a year of negotiations and contacts, he gradually understood the "reservation" of Chinese characteristics, and vaguely felt that this was another signal sent to him by the Chinese emperor: China's future strategic direction is the sea, and places like Siberia can be maintained. peaceful.

Perhaps, this is an ally who can keep the peace for now.

Once Dashun goes to sea, it will inevitably face the forces of Britain, France, Holland, Spain, and Portugal.As for Russia, not to mention Southeast Asia, it will take some time to even get out of the Baltic Sea, so naturally there will be no conflicts with Dashun over the Nanyang issue.

Sava is happy to see the dispute between China and Western European countries in Southeast Asia, at least for this time, it is beneficial.

…………

On the second day, the answers to the exam were sent out.

The emperor hosted a banquet in honor of those Raksha people who took part in the examination, and went to the banquet together with the ministers.

At the beginning of the banquet, the Earl of Savoy took the Rakshasa students who had taken the exam and got up to pay homage to the emperor.

This has nothing to do with knowledge, it’s just that the Earl of Savoy thinks that Russia’s foreign policy will have to increase China’s considerations in the future, and the Dashun official “tactfully and implicitly” expressed his diplomatic goodwill towards the sea rather than the bitter Siberia.

After chattering for a while, they all saluted.

Liu Yu translated: "Your Majesty's knowledge and love of science, from Ireland to Japan, no monarch can compare with your Majesty's knowledge. May your Majesty's country last forever."

The words of congratulations, the taste of translation is not so important.

Liu Yu translated loudly, and the ministers in the court heard the words and knelt down to congratulate: "Your Majesty's name spreads far and wide. Long live my emperor, and the country will last forever!"

A group of people knelt there in unison, Liu Yu and Xunwei beside the emperor stood.

Li Gan really benefited from listening to these flattery.

It's enough for a courtier to slap a few sentences, but these Raksha people can actually slap such a sentence, then the feeling is quite different, and there is really a sense of fame spreading far and wide.

For Liu Yu who actually proposed the question, Li Gan also remembered a little more in his heart.Of course, he has seen those questions. He has a certain foundation in geometry and algebra. He can solve a few questions, but he can't do a few questions.

He trusted Liu Yu, so he didn't show the questions to the missionaries before the assessment.But as soon as the exam was over, he found Bai Jin and others. Even Bai Jin could only solve a few of these problems, and he couldn't do the rest.

Hearing a burst of flattering compliments at this time, Li Gan felt refreshed in his heart, but with a firm attitude on his lips, he said indifferently: "You are all heroes of the Rakshasa, and you should study more in the future to solve these problems. The first question I don't know how to solve the problem, it's just a conjecture. You can bring that conjecture back to the West, and if you can solve it, I will reward you heavily."

After finishing speaking, the Rakshasa man said to the courtier who knelt on the ground and shouted long live: "In the past, Emperor Taizong emphasized practical learning, and there were several subjects in the six arts of gentlemen. Qing and others should also study more in the future."

"Be flat."

After hearing this, all the courtiers thought to themselves what His Majesty meant... I am afraid that the teaching must be banned, but this practical Western learning should not be cut off, so that in the future, those good families from the six counties in Wude Palace will definitely benefit...

When the courtiers died, Li Gan rewarded some Rakshasa students who answered two or three questions as encouragement.

Afterwards, the banquet was held, and everyone was drinking, and everyone was smiling. Li Gan thought that Liu Yu could come up with some tricks.

In the beginning, it was just because Liu Yu said all day long that Dashun's military system was backward, but the performance of the military parade exposed himself instead, which was self-defeating.

Li Gan was thinking about how to show his strength in front of outsiders, so Liu Yu offered such a plan.

It's really cool to be praised as "the most knowledgeable monarch from Ireland to Japan" nowadays.

To be an emperor, it's easy to pretend to beep, the key is to have the opportunity to pretend, and you have to pretend to be stylish.There are many flatterers who listen to it every day, and the threshold is getting higher and higher, which often does not refresh the soul.

The siege outfit on the banks of the Ergun River in northern Xinjiang was quite successful that day, and now I feel comfortable again, and I am really happy.

He has learned some geography from those missionaries, and he knows that this Ireland is Hibernia in the previous dynasty's "Kun Yu Wan Guo Quan Tu", but Byzantium has fallen for 300 years, except for the group of missionaries who still use Latin There is no more this or that nia of Roman times.

Liu Yu already had a unified translation name in the brief examination of Western countries, and the names of various countries in the Roman era were replaced with simpler country names.

Although these Raksha people included the King of Japan in their analogy, which is out of style and a fly in the ointment, but considering that this group of people can't distinguish too much, this fly in the ointment is still acceptable.

I also heard from Liu Yu that nowadays, in all countries in Europe, anyone who aspires to become a wise king has an academy of sciences, which seems to have become a standard feature. It is said that even some duchy countries have an academy of sciences, and Li Gan really intends to get one.Westerners must continue to communicate with each other so that their reputation can spread far and wide, otherwise this beep can only be installed at home, which is not enough.

The so-called: The minister's wife private minister, the minister's concubine fears the minister, and the minister's guest wants to ask the minister, all of them are beautiful to Xu Gong.Today Shun dominates the country, and there are two trillion people. There are no court ladies who are selfish to the king, and all court officials are not afraid of the king. Within the four realms, there is no one who asks for the king: From this point of view, the king's compulsion must be installed in the four seas before he can enter. deep in the soul.

After the banquet was over, Li Gan asked Liu Yu with a smile, with the cheerfulness just now.

"Qing's ability can really be regarded as superior to blue than blue. Even Bai Mingyuan doesn't have this kind of arithmetic. In this case, if we really build a science academy in the future, you can preside over it."

This was just a joke, Liu Yu hurriedly said: "I have the ambition to be a Marquis, and I would like to find a way to be a Marquis. I am not modest. This matter of the Academy of Sciences, Your Majesty should ask someone else to be wise."

Li Gan showed a playful smile, stared at Liu Yu for a long time, and said slowly: "What you said is half true and half false. Looking for a Marquis, looking for a Marquis, if you just want to find a Marquis, it is not sincere talk."

He could hear that the emperor was in a good mood, and it seemed that this flattery was in the right place. Even though he said so, Liu Yu was not afraid, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I am naturally happy to see that my dynasty also establishes the Academy of Sciences. However, the Academy of Sciences is as one. If a fruit tree wants to bear fruit, it will take at least 20 or [-] years. Science is science, technology is technology, even those who know how to calculate and geometry best, let them operate guns and sail boats, and they may not be as good as those who do not understand Sailor Gunner."

"I hope that I have the opportunity to show my strengths and let the world know the ingenuity of practical learning, so that more people in the country can learn the knowledge that takes decades to bear fruit. Your majesty has red mouth and white teeth, even if your majesty can Knowing, how can other people see the beauty of it?"

Li Gan just smiled and didn't answer.

Liu Yu performed very well today, which made him look good.The attitude of the Raksha Mission also proved that the Raksha Kingdom intended to form a friendship, and the settlement of the Junggar matter made Li Gan look at Liu Yugao a few times.

He had acted loyal and well-behaved enough before, and that being the case, Li Gan probably knew what Liu Yu wanted, and ordinary rewards might not catch his eye, but if he didn't reward him, it would really chill the hearts of his courtiers.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "You are right, more people need to see the benefits of this science. Since you have this ambition, let me ask you, if you train a battalion of soldiers with seven thousand five thousand, it will be all up to you. How long will it take for the Western military system to be completed?"

Liu Yu's heart skipped a beat for a while, thinking of the famous slogan of "Ping Liao in five years" in the previous dynasty, he said: "It can be achieved in five years."

"Um……"

Five years is just the right year.

It will take about five years for Khalkha Mongolia to take new clothes, build post stations, organize and train cavalry, and prepare food and grass before fighting against the Junggar tribe.

"Your opinion, how much will it cost?"

It was difficult for Liu Yu to answer this question.

A completely European-style army is indeed very expensive.

In order to arouse the sense of honor of the soldiers, the military uniforms in Europe are becoming more and more gorgeous. A few decades later, the cheapest French privates cost about 200 francs for a uniform. According to the exchange rate of 1 grams of gold for 0.3 franc, it is about one tael of gold. , Ten taels of silver.

As for the more splendid hunters, hussars, cuirassiers, etc., the military uniforms alone cost 30 taels of silver per person per year. This money... Dashun definitely couldn't afford it, at least not now.

If the clothes are not gorgeous, such as battalion uniforms such as blue burqas and red tasseled felt hats, this money can be ignored.

The remaining big heads are flintlock guns and bayonets. This Dashun cannot be mass-produced for the time being, and has to be bought from foreign countries.This is especially true when Liu Yu has finished saying the slogan of forming an army in five years.

After roughly calculating, Liu Yu tentatively said: "If your majesty is not suspicious of employing people, you will need 30 taels in the first year. You don't need the armor provided by the military government, and you don't need all kinds of weapons. It should be enough. After that, the military salary will be sufficient. You have a well-controlled army."

The asking price of 30 taels was not only not high, but also quite low, which exceeded Li Gan's expectation.

Not using armor and other weapons is a lot of money in itself, and only 30 taels are needed for armaments and weapons. On second thought, if it doesn't get lost or corrupted, it seems to be enough.

After pondering for a moment, he asked again: "Your day, you talked about immigration and trade with Japan. In five years, you need to train soldiers and immigrate 100 taels to Nuergandusi. A total of [-] million taels in five years, is it enough?"

Liu Yu's heart was burning, and he hurriedly said: "Enough! If His Majesty can promise one more thing, I can not only train a strong army in five years, but also get a part of copper from Japan every year for the imperial court to make money. What's more What's more, after five years, the balance of income and expenditure should be achieved. And there are dry shares, which either belong to His Majesty's internal funds or to the Duzhi government treasury, and the dividends are distributed every year. It can also ensure that along the coast, from North Korea to Heilongjiang, villages will gradually be established on the frontier .”

Li Gan didn't ask what Liu Yu was asking for, but after thinking about it, he said, "Do you want to compete with the people?"

Liu Yu thought in his heart, this is absolutely not for the benefit of the people.

Can someone who can bring war horses and instructors who are proficient in riding and archery to Japan be called a citizen?Without relying on these few things, it is indeed impossible to extract the fixed trade volume from Japan, which is locked up.

"I assure you that this matter will never compete with the people. Five years! If His Majesty can trust you, there will be a battalion of usable soldiers in five years, and [-] people will immigrate to Nuergandusi, and there will be a surplus gradually. And the surplus , the accounts can be checked, even if it is replaced, it will not kill the government, and it can be easily taken over. And at least [-] to [-] catties of copper can be obtained every year, so as to solve the disadvantage of lacking copper and casting money."

He said the most important thing, "replacing people will not kill people and take over easily." Li Gan didn't think about what Liu Yu's request was, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

What Liu Yu said was very clever. He not only made a guarantee, but also said that he could change people at any time to show that he had no deep-rooted heart, so he could give it a try.

The emperor still trusts the loyalty of the noble children, mainly because hundreds of members of his family are hostages in the capital.Duke Yi is also an old tortoise, and he has not interfered in military and political affairs in the past few years, so he can feel at ease when he uses Liu Yu.

Military training and immigration, these two things, if they only cost 100 million in five years, they are worth a try.

It can also be regarded as a reward for these two flattery, and it can also be regarded as a reward for expanding the border by three thousand miles to the north.

Some people love money, some people love fame, and some people love profit. It is the right way for the monarch to reward people because of them.For a while, Liu Yu couldn't see what he wanted, but he kept begging for military training and trade, both of which were beneficial to the national affairs.

Li Gan looked at the smug Liu Yu, laughed and said: "It is necessary to train soldiers, recruit victims of disasters and immigrant slaves, and trade. It must start in Shandong. If it can be done, I have thought of a good name. "

"Qingzhou soldiers, how are you?"

Those three words made Liu Yu's hair stand on end in fright.

(End of this chapter)