Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 399 Speed ​​up! Your Majesty~
After winning the Battle of Jiangbei, in the eyes of the world, the Wu State had the strength to compete with the Qing court.

Speculators of all kinds,

He also began to take the State of Wu seriously, look at the State of Wu, and weigh the pros and cons.

Join or continue to sit on the fence?
……

"Your Majesty is going to hold an imperial examination to recruit scholars."

This breaking news spread quickly throughout the Wu State along with the good news from Jiangbei.

Simultaneously,

Li Yu also did not forget to send out proclamations to the surrounding areas, such as Jiangbei, Jiangxi, and northern Anhui.

The time is ripe, and we should show our kingly demeanor.

Force scholars to choose sides as soon as possible, force ambitious people to invest as soon as possible, and force the hostile factions to restrain themselves slightly.

East of the city,
New palace construction site.

Li Yu came again to inspect the progress.

Under the leadership of Lei Jiawang, a descendant of the "Yangshi Lei" family in Yongxiu, Jiangxi, the project progressed rapidly.

This is not easy in this age without machines.

After more than 20 trial productions, the glass factory has basically determined the process flow and raw material ratio.

Although the light transmittance of the finished glass is not particularly ideal, it is a real piece of glass after all, not window paper.

……

Minister of Industry Du Ren looked at a wall, somewhat puzzled:

"You brick?"

Lei Jiawang was secretly delighted as he finally found an opportunity to show his talent.

He quickly explained:

"This is called iron sand brick. When the brick was made, it contained some iron sand. Compared with normal bricks, it is heavier and harder, and its appearance is slightly darker. A 3-pound cannon can only damage the surface, and a 6-pound cannon will cause holes to appear after multiple hits, but the whole thing will not collapse."

"Have you tried it?"

"Replying to Lord Du, I have asked my colleagues from the Ordnance Department to cooperate with the test."

Li Yu nodded, pointed to the neatly stacked bricks and asked:

“This kind of red brick?”

"Your Majesty, this is clay brick, which costs five times as much as ordinary clay red brick. The surface is evenly smooth and quite beautiful."

……

Li Yu was very satisfied with the materials and craftsmanship.

So he asked about the layout of the palace.

Lei Jiawang was well prepared and immediately had someone bring in a model that looked like a sales office.
Made of sandalwood, quite exquisite.

"Your Majesty, please look. The front is the court, the back is the bedroom, the left is the ancestral temple, and the right is the altar."

"The building in the middle with 18 pillars lined up in a row at the entrance is the Chaoyi Hall of our Wu Kingdom. It faces south and can accommodate 500 people. There are two 3-meter-high copper-clad doors. There are several large glass windows evenly distributed on the upper half of the three walls of the Chaoyi Hall, which provides sufficient light."

"On both sides are the office areas of various ministries and yamen, a total of 12 two-story new-style red brick buildings."

"100 feet behind the court hall is your majesty's bedroom. Following your majesty's instructions, I abandoned the yellow and red color scheme and adopted the three main colors of red, white and gray. It is simple and majestic, and comfortable to live in. It is expected to include 99 rooms."

"The building on the left, facing west and east, is the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Martyrs' Shrine. According to your majesty's instructions, the heroes who fought and donated will be worshipped in the same hall as the royal family."

"On the right are the Hall of Heavenly Sacrifice and the Hall of Science. The two palaces share a wall, with no height difference."

"In the middle is a large concrete plaza, with a covered corridor on each side, which is convenient for going to and from court on rainy days, and one can walk directly into the court hall."

……

Li Yu watched with great interest, bending down to look at the model carefully.

Lei Jiawang was secretly delighted, thinking that his hard work and staying up late for so many days was worth it.

This set of rosewood models, which are scaled down and almost indistinguishable from the real thing, took a lot of effort.

What you see is what you get!
Li Yu pointed to the line in the middle and asked:
“Is this the central axis?”

"Yes, a 15-meter-wide cement road runs through the entire complex."

"What about water and sewer?"

"Your Majesty, please follow me."

……

After walking less than 100 feet,
"Your Majesty, please look at this. This is a real sample."

Li Yu looked carefully and saw a U-shaped drainage ditch paved with cement and covered with a grille cover.

"According to your majesty's instructions, the entire palace complex will consider rapid drainage. Due to the height difference, the incoming rainwater will be concentrated into the two rivers in the west and eventually flow into the Jinji Lake in the west. The sewage will be discharged into the river in the north and eventually flow to another area. They will not intersect each other."

Lei Jiawang pointed at a brass water pipe.

"According to your majesty's drawings, a cement water tower will be built at each of the two corners of the palace. Clean water can be directly pumped from the water tower into the brass water pipe and then enter the main palace."

Only a handful of people can enjoy this kind of tap water treatment.

Two water towers are built as backup and also to guard against thugs.

Anyway,

The defense of the water tower will be very important and will require the Royal Guard to be on duty 24 hours a day.

As for water supply,
It can only be brought in by manpower, and then lifted up by a water truck and poured into the water tower, which is a luxury.
But for the emperor, it really doesn't matter.

According to Li Yu's plan,
Many things will become easier once the steam engine is developed in the future.

……

"The ceramic toilets that Your Majesty described, I have ordered the Suzhou Imperial Kiln and Jingdezhen to be fired simultaneously, and the best ones will be selected to enter the palace."

"Your Majesty's bedroom is planned to have an observation tower, which will be the highest building in the palace. You can overlook the entire view from it. There will also be a large warehouse with walls cast with cement and steel bars, 1 meters thick. In case of emergency, it can be used as a solid fortress, and ordinary artillery fire cannot damage its foundation."

"A four-foot-deep cement foundation was built under the walls surrounding the palace to protect against thieves."

"The wall will extend 4 meters outward, and a landscape river will be dug around it, with 8 stone bridges on it. The white marble main bridge connecting to the central axis road in the south will be as flat as possible and the bridge deck will be widened."

"The landscape river uses stone embankments to stabilize the water and soil."

"There are 26 brick, stone and cement sentry towers outside this circle of the river. They can be used by soldiers to station and guard day and night."

"I suggest setting up a military camp 3 miles away in each of the three directions, east, south and north, and stationing a battalion of imperial guards. Set up several beacon towers 20 miles away. In this way, the royal family will be safe."

Li Yu smiled appreciatively:

"Lei Jiawang, you have done a great job. Effective immediately, you will be promoted to Deputy Director of the Architectural Services Department."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lei Jiawang ignored the dirty water on the ground and knelt down and kowtowed.

Since then,

He officially became an official of the Wu State and ranked middle-level.

……

Li Yu rode his horse slowly around and was basically satisfied.

The new palace looks well-presented except that it is not backed by a mountain.

From the perspective of Feng Shui,
The city of Yanjing is surrounded by mountains on three sides and there is a big river in the south, which is a place where winds and energy gather according to Feng Shui.

Suzhou is located in the Jiangnan impact plain, which is open and safe, and has no backing.

From a military perspective:

To the south, the Wu army had advanced to the Fujian-Zhejiang border, and to the west, it controlled Jiujiang and Poyang Lake. Together with the mountainous areas in southern Anhui, this formed a semi-enclosed and defensible defense circle.

To the north, the Battle of Jiangbei had just come to an end.

Starting with the two cities of Yangzhou (affiliated with Yizheng) and Anqing, the capital was protected with the Yangtze River behind it.

Today,

Wu State finally had a complete barrier, and while carrying out construction, it could also take the time to calmly attack Jiangxi, Guangdong or the two lakes, and then advance to the southwest to control half of the country.

……

Seeing Li Yu silent, Du Ren couldn't help but ask:
"Your Majesty, I heard that there was some friction within the Second Legion?"

"Yes. Miao Youlin wanted to kill the prisoners, but Zheng Hean refused, and the two almost came to blows."

“People in northern Anhui are very attached to their hometown.”

"I think that Miao and Zheng can no longer work together."

"Your Majesty said so."

Zheng Hean had been sent back to Suzhou by Lin Huaisheng and was confined to his home. Li Yu hadn't figured out how to deal with this thorny matter yet, so he simply ignored him for a while.

"Confidential Office."

"I'm here." A guard from the confidential office immediately took out paper and pen.

"Record, inform Lin Huaisheng that after the 2nd Corps completes the collective migration of Jiangbei's wealthy households to the south, all members will board the ship with light weapons to Suzhou's Changshu County to receive awards. The second batch of the Guards Corps will cross the south. The 2st Corps will temporarily stay in Yangzhou. Yangzhou's city defense must be greatly improved, and the Construction Bureau will send personnel to Jiangbei to assist. Cement and artillery will be supplied to Yangzhou first."

……

An unprecedented large-scale court meeting was being held at the former governor's office on Daoqian Street.

Li Yu was dressed in full military uniform, with a sword hanging from his waist, standing straight and solemn.

He accepted the kneeling homage of more than 70 ministers.

"Long live your majesty, long live the Wu Kingdom."

The atmosphere was very warm, and everyone was full of hope and expectation for the future. Beautiful words such as "follow the emperor's merits", "get promoted to a higher position", "benefit the descendants" lingered in their minds.

"Give me a seat!"

At Li Yu's command, the guards who had been prepared long ago brought out six chairs.

The six ministers were terrified and declined one after another.

however,
Seeing that His Majesty had a resolute expression and had no intention of discussing the matter, the five people had no choice but to confess their guilt and sit down, looking quite uneasy.

The other ministers stood in the back row, their hearts filled with turmoil and shock.

……

Since the Tang Dynasty,
The ministers no longer had the right to sit before the king and could only stand.

Gradually, standing became a luxury.

You can only kneel!

According to the course of history, if the Qing Dynasty could last forever, kneeling would be a blessing.

I guess at that time, the ministers had to slap themselves with a brick in public before entering the Forbidden City.

If you are guilty, atone for your sins; if you are innocent, warn yourself.

Then he crawled all the way into the Hall of Supreme Harmony to show his absolute submission.

If the emperor admired a certain minister, he would personally slap him a few times in the court as a special honor.

Walking in the city of Sijiu,
People with swollen cheeks will receive countless envious looks.

This means that this person often appeared before the emperor and was deeply loved by him.

……

I can't guarantee it.
At that time, when an official was promoted to the third rank or above, he would have to add another step - cleansing!
Not forced, but voluntary.

Low-ranking officials are not qualified to cleanse themselves.
You must be of the third rank or above, be rewarded by the emperor, drafted by the Military Affairs Council, exhibited on horseback in the Forbidden City, have a big red list posted outside the Meridian Gate, and then be given a golden sword to purify yourself.
It would be quite an honor to go through this process.

At that time,
The Military Affairs Office, the Six Ministries and the Nine Ministers are all eunuchs with smiling faces and eloquent tongues~
Absurd? Not necessarily.

Things in the world are always changing.

Shame need not always be a shame.

When the environment evolves to that point, perhaps being a father-in-law is not only not a shame, but a supreme honor.

Countless elites cut their heads off to become eunuchs, and ordinary people can only envy, envy and hate!
……

"Starting today, there will be a court meeting every five days. All officials above the rank of director in the prefecture are eligible to participate." Li Yu said simply, "The court meeting will start at noon and end within half an hour. If there is any emergency during the weekdays, you can ask for an audience at any time. I will summon you when I am free."

"Your Majesty is holy."

"My dear ministers, I have encountered a headache - there are too many vacancies and too few talented people. If it weren't for the lack of rain this year, I'm afraid that a lot of official hats would have been moldy in my hands."

Everyone laughed.

Fan Jing was the first to speak:

"Your Majesty, I think what is in short supply right now is civil officials, especially county officials. There is no shortage of military officers."

Tan Muguang nodded:
"After the Jiangbei Campaign, a large number of soldiers will be promoted, so there is indeed no shortage of military officers."

Hu Xueyu directly stated the solution:

"Open the imperial examinations to select talents."

Li Yu nodded:

"I expect that there will be quite a few people who will take the initiative to take the exam this time. We must do a good job in the examination work."

Hu Xueyu was a juren, so he was very sensitive about what the exam content would be.

Couldn't help but ask:

"Your Majesty, this test paper?"

"I wrote this myself."

……

No one asked any more questions, as the test paper prepared by His Majesty was of a high standard and impeccable.

Everyone has forgotten the fact that Your Majesty was a failed candidate and is trying to avoid mentioning the fact for the sake of the respected person.

Agriculture Director Fan Zhongmo,
I remembered my father's last words, so I stepped out and said:

"Your Majesty is wise. When our Wu country holds an imperial examination to recruit scholars, we should abandon Confucianism, especially the teachings of the Northern Confucius. Your Majesty's new learning is the most profound and beneficial knowledge."

Li Yu smiled and motioned for him to continue.

Fan Zhongmo was encouraged and said loudly:

"I suggest that Confucianism be banned in Wu and new learning promoted. The Confucius family in Qufu should be declared traitors. In the future, when we march north to the Central Plains, we must settle their crimes as running dogs of the Qing court."

His remarks were too radical.

So much so that many people changed color slightly, and at the same time secretly glanced at His Majesty's reaction.

Hu Xueyu was somewhat displeased. Although he opposed the Qing court and was dissatisfied with the imperial examination system, he still had some feelings for Confucianism. Due to the occasion, he could not refute.

……

Li Yu recalled the "New Academic Examination" presented by the Fan family a few days ago, which was drafted by the late patriarch Fan and summarized and transcribed by his descendants.

Although the content is not yet complete, the existing part basically meets my thoughts.

Mainly in 3 points:
Encourage industry and commerce (especially overseas trade) and suppress traditional conservative gentry.

Light taxes and love the people.

Attach importance to practical technology and practical knowledge, suppress empty talkers, and establish new subjects to recruit new talents.

Thinking of this,

His heart skipped a beat, thinking that Fan Zhongmo's words were most likely speaking for the deceased old man Fan.

Then he slowly stood up:

"Empty talk will harm the country. What Wu needs are people who can get things done. In addition, those who have expertise in a certain area can also be specially approved to enter the court."

"Announce to the world that anyone with a skill in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, agronomy, metallurgy, architecture, water conservancy, etc., can recommend himself."

Officials from the Military Industry Department, Construction Department, Shipbuilding Department and other departments were secretly delighted, as the spring of the "technical faction" had arrived.

……

After the meeting,

Received a letter from Lin Huaisheng from Jiangbei titled "List of Soldiers Who Gained Merit in the Battle".

After a simple estimate, the Secretariat gave the following reference opinions:
The regular army suffered more than 5000 casualties, and the dispatched army suffered more than 4000 casualties, requiring a total of about 85 taels of silver in compensation.

There are 612 meritorious soldiers, and they need to be rewarded with 31 taels of silver.

Among them, 400 people need to be promoted 1 to 2 levels, and 90 people need to be retired due to serious injuries.

……

Queen Hu Ling'er's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you~"

"No need to be polite. Can you guess why I came to see you?"

Hu Linger smiled:
"Your Majesty wants to count how much money is left in the treasury! I have prepared it a long time ago. This is the account book of the Finance and Taxation Bureau."

Li Yu took it casually and threw it to Hu Zheng who was serving on the side.

"You come and read it."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)