Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 820 Shangjing Manzhouli

The morning sun shines on the floor tiles of the room through the window glass, white smoke rises from the copper crane censer, and the room is warm and fragrant. The old sandalwood also has a milky smell, which is warm and delicate, but mixed with a little Spicy and chilly, masculine and warm.

At the age of seventy, the gray-haired Zuo Guang first followed the commander of Jin Yiwei, Ma Jixiang, to face the saint.

In the first month of the lunar year, the northwest was covered with snow, but Dunhuang City was very lively. All forces from the Western Regions gathered together, making this oasis extraordinarily noisy.

"Your Majesty, Zuo Guang is here first."

"Criminal Zuo Guang pays his respects to His Majesty first."

Zhu Yihai raised his head from the memorial, looked at the much older Zuo Guangxian, "Sit!"

"How's life in the border guards in Dunhuang?"

Zuo Guangxian has complicated eyes. As the younger brother of Zuo Guangdou, the leader of Donglin, Zuo Guangxian and his elder brother were called "Donglin Dilemma" because of his outspokenness and daring to advise. He was born in a famous family in Tongcheng, Jiangnan. Shi, inspector, governor, Shaoqing of Taipusi, minister of the Ministry of Rites, etc.

The nine sons of the Zuo family are all famous scholars in the world. They are either Jinshi or Juren. twice.

From the water town in the south of the Yangtze River to Dunhuang in the northwest, from the local famous family to the criminals on the border in Dunhuang, the gap between them is vast.

Hundreds of members of the family moved to the northwest, and more than a dozen members of the old and weak died on the way. Even in order to take care of the women in the family, they had to marry some young women of the family in a hurry in their hometown in Tongcheng, and there was no way to make a good family. Marrying into a famous family, as long as there are people who are not afraid of their decline and being implicated, even ordinary farmers will marry if they are willing to marry.

When they arrived in Dunhuang, the family was scattered in various villages by household, and the adult males had to serve in the military. Zuo Guangxian was too old, and he also fell ill all the way west. Although he survived, he was extremely weak.

In the end, I was arranged to be a teacher in the newly established Dunhuang No. [-] Primary School, teaching Chinese, and was assigned a dormitory. The school also provided board and lodging, and a monthly salary of two yuan. In my spare time, I also participated in some clerical work in the township office. .This treatment can be said to be very good.

He pays for his own food and lodging, and his salary can be given to his family to subsidize his living. He even brought his two young grandsons to school together. They can study and eat in the cafeteria together, as long as they pay a little for food. just fine.

Both the magistrate of Dunhuang County and the head of the Tixue Bureau of Anxi Prefecture, Gansu Province had met him and told him that this was the grace of the saint and the benevolence of the court.

Compared with Chen Zilong who guarded Dangjin Pass, Zuo Guangxian was treated much better.

After almost one year in Dunhuang, Zuo Guangxian's mentality has also changed a lot.

Before, I thought about supporting the banner of Donglin, and wanted to stand up to protect the interests of the entire gentry, but now I have lived in Dunhuang in the northwest for nearly a year, and after I really felt the hardships of the frontier, many ideas have changed.

"Defending the border is very hard!" Zuo Guangxian said bluntly, "Defending Dunhuang for thousands of miles, joining the army of reclamation, watching this oasis in the sand prosper little by little, and there is a rare sense of accomplishment.

Especially now that the Khans of the Western Regions came to Dunhuang to congratulate the Emperor of Han. Although they were strong and strong, they were honest and respectful in Dunhuang and did not dare to commit any crimes. The people in the frontiers also felt proud and safe.

Zhu Yihai nodded.

For this old man, I am not so annoyed now. In fact, the emperor is not very annoying to some individuals whether he is good at Donglin, Fushe, or some eunuchs and traitors. If it is tight, the emperor will take care of it.

"Originally, I planned to call Chen Zilong to come to talk, but I heard that he is exiled in Sugan Lake, and now he is guarding the Dangjin Pass. The mountain has been blocked by heavy snow, and he will be closed for nine months at a time. We won't be able to see him for the time being."

"Is it still a habit to teach in a primary school?"

Zuo Guang nodded first, "Thank you saint and local officials for taking care of me. It's very easy for me to teach in school."

At his age and with his body, if he were to guard a castle or Yandun, or to reclaim wasteland and farmland, he would definitely die in a short time.

Teaching in a primary school is easy, and the board and lodging are not bad. His body has gradually recovered a lot. What's more rare is that he still has the opportunity to continue to organize his poetry collections and other works.

"It's a shame." Zhu Yihai said.

"The imperial court attaches great importance to education now, and is reforming the law of education in an all-round way. In the past, after passing the examination for a scholar, one had to enter a government school and become a student. But this kind of student system is not effective. Now the imperial court abolishes this student system, and instead Establish primary school public schools in counties and townships to strengthen education popularization.

Beginning this year, county middle schools will be established in the county. After six years of primary school, those with excellent grades will be admitted to middle schools. The middle schools will serve as preparatory students for imperial colleges and universities in the future, provide specialized education for higher education, and provide more professional talents. "

The emperor's education reform was also carried out step by step. With the big cake of imperial examinations not moving, some colleges were first established, from normal schools to political and law schools to finance and economics schools, and later to ship schools.

Later, primary schools were set up in counties and townships to implement a new type of divided education, breaking the previous education methods of private schools and academies that were only prepared for imperial examinations.

Colleges at all levels directly train professional officials for the imperial court, and many colleges now directly engage in directional training. The supply is in short supply, and they directly include employment assignments and recruit students from among the young talents.

However, the old education was indeed too backward, and what they learned were all old stereotyped articles for the imperial examination.Zhu Yihai was dissatisfied with that set. Of course, he had to learn Chinese history and classics, but with the advent of the ocean era of global integration, how could he do without learning mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Primary school, middle school and university, the new education system is inevitable.

Now we have started to conduct official examinations, that is, civil service examinations, recruiting scholars, primary school graduates, soldiers, and colleges. In the future, the scope of civil service examinations will definitely be expanded, and the imperial examinations will gradually be replaced. of.

At this stage, the emperor's new education is only in the name of cultivating professionals. In the eyes of the gentry, it is just cultivating craftsmen, such as building ships, cannons, guns, gunpowder, mining and smelting textiles, etc. They don't realize it yet. The real big change is coming.

"Dunhuang Middle School is about to be established. At that time, it will offer courses in Chinese, history, mathematics, geography, physics, politics and law, biology, military training, art and music, and manual labor. It will implement a semi-closed military management boarding system, Monday to Friday. At school, you can go home on Saturday and Sunday.

You go to a middle school to be a teacher of national history, and also the leader of the teaching and research group of national history. The monthly salary is three yuan plus one subsidy, and board and lodging are also included, and a set of clothes and hats are issued every season. "

The salary of this teacher is good, which can be regarded as a manifestation of the emperor's emphasis on education. The official teacher of the primary school is paid two yuan a month, and the middle school is three yuan. Nowadays, the price of Shaotian Dynasty has indeed increased compared with that of Wanli, but it is still relatively stable. The most basic The price of food and rice is maintained at one tael and one stone by the imperial court.

The monthly salary of two yuan is two shimi, plus some other benefits. This is basically the level of a local government clerk, even in the upper middle. Although it is not as good as a military job, the income is already good. up.

Especially in a remote place like the Northwest, Zuo Guangxian is still an exile, and he can still work as a teacher to get a salary. The saint is kind.

Newly established middle schools require entrance examinations. Talents under the age of 20 are exempt from entrance examinations, while the rest are required to take entrance examinations. Temporary public middle schools generally only have one in each county, and counties with large populations will increase accordingly.

The imperial court will change the lin rice originally given to the lin students in the county government school to a middle school scholarship, and the top ten students with the best grades in each grade will receive this scholarship, six dou of rice per month.

In the past, the school for scholars was cancelled, and all scholars no longer need to enter the official school, but they still need to take the examination for scholars.

"Those of your Zuo family who are already famous, I asked Anxi Mansion to recruit them as primary and secondary school teachers, and the rest of the adult males can also work as clerks in Tunzhen and Xiangbao. With a salary to support their families, they will not bury you years of hard work.”

Zuo Guang thank you first.

"Give Qing a sable fur."

Zhu Yihai let him retire, he didn't pardon him, but he was kind to the Zuo family, no matter if he was a teacher or a scribe, it was better than being in Dunhuang's pier, reclaiming wasteland, and guarding.

Zuo Guangxian is already very grateful for the special kindness he has now, being unable to leave the Dunhuang garrison with three generations behind his back, unable to take part in the imperial examination, and unable to be punished by an officer.

After he stepped down, Zhu Yihai also showed kindness to Chen Zilong's family.

For other criminal officials and their families who were exiled to the Western Regions, Zhu Yihai issued a special order to select those with good academic ability from among them to hire teachers, scribes, etc., so as to alleviate the shortage of personnel in the Western Regions.

"Ma Jixiang!"

"The minister is here."

Zhu Yihai looked at the commander of Jinyiwei. He had been in this position for quite a long time, except for Zhang Guojun who held this position for a short time at the beginning of his formation of the army, and Ma Jixiang has been in this position since then, and he has been in this position for six years.

Although it is said that Ma Jixiang is not capable of writing or martial arts, this guy has a bit of unlearned ability. Although he started his career by clinging to eunuchs and powerful people, he has a strong ability to handle affairs, and Zhu Yihai is quite comfortable with it.

In many cases, the emperor does not necessarily have to be upright ministers when he employs people. He must have both white gloves and black gloves.

Ma Jixiang and Jin Yiwei have been performing well in the past few years. Jin Yiwei, who was dismissed from the post of ceremonial guard, now specializes in arresting and reconnaissance, which is a bit like the FBI of Ming Dynasty.

Jin Yiwei is relatively low-key now, and Ma Jixiang, the commander, is also very low-key, but his grade is not low, and he is at the level of an admiral of the imperial camp.

Jinyiwei now has more than 3 people, spread all over the country, and even has many secret agents, spies, and peripheral informants in neighboring countries. Involving espionage, military intelligence and other aspects.

"Let's report the latest information about the Tartars."

The emperor leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Ma Jixiang immediately began to report.

"The latest news is that the regent of the Tartars, Jierharang, has died of illness, and Shunzhi Fulin has taken over the power. He has appointed three brothers and cousins, Shuosai, Wakda, and Balkan, as the three kings who will be in charge of the administration and assist in political affairs. , and then appointed the daughter of Wu Keshan, the uncle of Horqin Zhongyi Zuoqi, as the queen, and promoted Wu Keshan's fourth younger brother, Manzhu Xili, as the prince, and appointed the minister of guards and guards."

Zhu Yihai didn't open his eyes, but just hummed.

"Shunzhi is about to get married, and after marriage, he will formally take charge of the government."

"Fulin is 14 years old this year, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yihai thought for a while, "Wu Keshan has a daughter who is also in my palace, so Lai Fulin has become my brother-in-law?"

Ma Jixiang didn't expect the emperor to say this, and he wanted to say this. If His Majesty still brought Huang Taiji's daughter into the palace, then Shunzhi would have to be called His Majesty's brother-in-law.

"continue."

"Shunzhi has changed the name of Huolezin Prague in the Hulunbeier Grassland to Manzhouli, designated it as the capital of Manchuria, called Shangjingfu, and started building the city."

Zhu Yihai opened his eyes, "Can Gao Qiqian and Wu Liangfu be trusted by Jianlu?"

"Gao Qi's latent Jianlu should not be taken seriously, but Wu Liangfu is now deeply trusted by Fulin. Before he took office, he had already followed Wu Liangfu's suggestion to make the House of Internal Affairs the thirteenth prison office and let Wu Liangfu be in charge."

"Is Wu Liangfu trustworthy?"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that Gao Qiqian and Wu Liangfu were sent by the minister himself, and they are also surrounded by our Jinyiwei people. If they dare to have second thoughts, they can be executed immediately."

"Send them a message, go deep into the enemy's rear, be more careful, and I will not let them down in the future when the Jiancap is wiped out. Tell Wu Liangfu that I will grant him the title of earl for life."

Gao Qiqian used to be the chief eunuch of the Chongzhen Dynasty. He supervised the army many times and killed Lu Xiangsheng. Later, he fled to Nanjing and continued to gain Hongguang's trust in the supervisor.

Wu Liangfu was originally just a not-so-famous eunuch in the palace. After the Qing army occupied Beijing, he was assigned to serve in Shunzhi. .

Now all the regents are dead, Shunzhi is in charge, and Wu Liangfu is also a chicken and a dog. Shunzhi has only been in Beijing for a few years, maybe he has learned a lot about the Ming Dynasty. Now he is 14 years old, and there are not many available people around him.

So they also began to reuse eunuchs, and learned from the old Ming Dynasty, using the inner court to check and balance the outer court.

Zhu Yihai was quite happy to see this kind of thing, and in fact, although Gao Qiqian and Wu Liangfu had surrendered a long time ago, Ma Jixiang's Jin Yiwei had already found them. , also moved other thoughts earlier, and now he has become the top spy directly controlled by Ma Jixiang.

"Have you been in touch with Horqin's ministries recently?"

"We have been in contact all the time, but the attitude of the three kings of Horqin has been unclear. Now that Wu Keshan is going to marry his daughter to Shunzhi as his queen, it seems that they are still determined to go with the Tartars. I request that the princes of Horqin be beheaded and assassinated."

Zhu Yihai just laughed.

"No need, even if Horqin marries his daughter to Fulin to be queen, it doesn't mean they are really determined to follow the Tartars."

After Zhu Yihai asked Ma Jixiang to step down, he called several ministers.

Speaking of Shunzhi and Horqin.

"The promised Dazhe, Dulema, and Batma in my palace are all from the Horqin tribe. Dazhe was originally Duoduo Fujin, the daughter of Horqin Princess and Horqin Sonomu County King. Dulema was originally Haug. Fujin and Dazhe are the same father and sister."

Dazhe and Dulema are sisters of the same father and mother, as well as Empress Xiaoduanwen and Dorgon's concubine Fujin Batma, but the father of the Xiaoduan sisters is the father of the father of the Dazhe sisters.

This sounds strange, but it is all because Concubine Horqin’s first husband was Manggus. After his death, Concubine Horqin married Manggus’ third son, Sonomu, according to Mongolian tradition. For the father and son, the sons and daughters born, so they are both sisters and nephews.

The three sisters in Zhu Yihai Palace were all born to Concubine Horqin, but Dazhe and Dulema were the daughters of Sonomu, and Wu Keshan was the brother of Sonomu.

"There is also Qiqige, who is often the daughter of Wu Keshan."

Zhu Yihai planned to give these Mongolian Changzai promises to be promoted, conferred the title of Zhaoyi, etc., and then sent envoys to Kerqin to confer titles and official titles on Wu Keshan, Suo Nuomu, Manzhu Xili, etc., and set up Kerqin Khan. Tongliao Dufu Mansion, with Wu Keshan as Horqin Khan and Tongliao Duhu, there are six Dudufu below, with Manzhu Xili and Sonomu brothers as Dudu and other positions.

"Conferring officials and titles, granting seals, and opening up mutual markets."

After hearing this, Zhu Dadian praised, "Your Majesty's move is brilliant. Even if Horqin followed Jianlu wholeheartedly, but His Majesty's big fanfare is both canonized and exchanged. What will the little emperor think? He will definitely be suspicious!"

And Yan Wogong also believes that it is a good move for the emperor to trade with Horqin at this time. The Mongolian tribes have fought against the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years. One of the most important reasons is that the Ming Dynasty often blocks them and does not trade with them. The Mongols are not as good as the Ming Dynasty. I can't do handmade products, so sometimes I can start a war for the iron pot.

For Daming, directly blocking Horqin and others at the moment is actually not very effective. After all, it will only force them to rob them, and doing business with them will allow them to plunder them through trade, and even make people suspicious.

There is no need to worry about saying that the mutual market trade will strengthen Mongolia or something. It is time to prepare for war and fight, but it does not affect the mutual market trade. The money that should be earned will continue to be earned.

The Horqin banners have to think carefully about whether they want to follow the unfit Tartars or the Ming Dynasty, and they may divide Horqin. For the Horqin tribe who are pro-Ming, they can also give them some preferential tariffs, etc. For those who are pro-Tartars, Raise tariffs or prices a little bit.

The emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were not in a hurry to send troops to expedition to Manchuria. They were now busy setting up towns in the newly controlled Liangliao and other areas, appeasing the newly attached Mongolian tribes, and even building post stations and fortresses.

The Ming army is constantly expanding northward.

Let Monan and Mobei Mongolia squeeze Horqin, Xilin Gol, and Hulun Buir first.

In fact, Zhu Yihai basically expected that after the Manchus retreated to Hulunbeier, they would not be able to develop there with peace of mind. Back then, the prisoners outside the customs were mainly fishing, hunting and farming. After entering the customs, it took a while to enslave the land In the days of the Han people, they had already become professional military nobles.

It is unrealistic for them to go to Hulunbuir to graze, and they don't have so many livestock. When they settle down, there is only one way to go, and that is to plunder like Nurhachi Huangtaiji, otherwise they will not be able to sustain it.

For Zhu Yihai, sometimes, waiting for work with ease is no worse than expedition to the Northern Expedition.

The Ming army's artillery, guns, and bastions were actually more conducive to defending instead of attacking. Coupled with some mobile troops from the imperial battalion, the Tartars traveled thousands of miles south and penetrated into the Liao and Liao regions. Once they came, it would be difficult to leave.

Times have changed long ago. It is not the era of Nurhachi and Huang Taiji. Daming is not a place where you can come and go whenever you want.

(End of this chapter)