The publication of "History of the Song Dynasty" did not cause any waves for Shengdou Xiaomin.
However, the local wealthy families were very active and went to the Yamen one after another to request copies for collection. As long as they can get a copy, their descendants will be more informed and knowledgeable about history.
The imperial court only printed 500 sets, so it was difficult for the public to buy them directly!
And there are too many words, a total of 4.57 million words. Few booksellers are willing to print this thing. Even if movable type printing technology has been improved, typesetting and proofreading are still a big project - the printing cost is too high, and the sales volume is not as good as imperial examination and popular books.
In every state government office, there are copywriters every day.
You copy this volume and I copy that volume without disturbing each other.
If a copy is copied and bound, the newly released manuscript will soon be borrowed for copying.
Guangzhou.
Yang Zaixing took a group of officers to Hunan to observe Bai Qi's military training.
After almost mastering the improved Yuanyang Formation, he also seconded an officer from Bai Qi and went to Guangzhou to receive new soldiers from the southern provinces.
These new soldiers are recruited by the provincial command departments, and they also require the cooperation of local civilian officials.
At the end of autumn, people began to arrive one after another.
There are a total of 6,000 recruits, 2,381 of whom are orphans, all raised by official charities.
The remaining recruits were all children of miners and farmers, mainly from Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong. These three provinces were mountainous and sparse in population, and the food and salary benefits of the field army were enough to induce them to leave their homes.
After a brief training in Guangzhou, and after doctors, clerical and other support staff had arrived, Yang Zaixing led the new army to the border of Guangxi.
Winter and spring are relatively cool, leaving plenty of time for the new army to adapt to the soil and water climate of Guangxi.
When Yang Zaixing set off, many sea ships also left the port in batches.
One of the fleets sailed to Annan and was enthusiastically sought after after arriving in Hong Kong. In addition to traditional silk and other commodities, there were also new products such as clocks, bamboo paper, velvet, insect wax, and glass mirrors.
Clocks have been miniaturized to half a person's height and are gradually being mastered by craftsmen from all over the world. In the past two years, they have even begun to be sold overseas.
Bamboo paper has been continuously improved, and different techniques have been developed in different provinces according to local conditions. This thing has a lower production cost and is also loved by surrounding countries.
The secrets of cultivating white waxworms were mastered and promoted by agricultural officials, causing the price of candles to fall year by year.
The export of Zhangrong is prohibited, but it is inevitable that some people will smuggle it. Once it is shipped abroad, the price will skyrocket. If you smuggle just one or two pieces, you will make a lot of money.
The glass mirror court also issued many edicts to remind them that this thing was poisonous, but the rich still couldn't put it down.
An inland ship transported the newly purchased goods directly to the Annan Palace.
"Your Majesty, I have bought Zhangrong!" Uncle Du Yingwu said as if he was offering a treasure.
"Bring it to me quickly!"
Annan Emperor Li Yanghuan said excitedly.
Li Yanghuan is the nephew of the previous king. He succeeded to the throne at the age of thirteen and just turned eighteen this year.
With the support of the auxiliary civil servants, he canonized his biological father as the Supreme Emperor. After his biological father passed away, he revised the rituals of worshiping the former king and his biological father.
Puyi in the Song Dynasty and Daliyi in the Ming Dynasty actually belong to the same style of play.
Through the Vietnamese version of the Grand Ceremony, Li Yanghuan successfully took control of the court and gathered power from military generals and nobles.
Several auxiliary ministers were also very helpful, allowing many landless peasants to get their land back, and also disbanded some troops to return to their hometowns to farm, which brought some relief to the aggressive Dai Viet court.
Of course, these measures also provoked rebellions, but fortunately they were all successfully quelled.
Last autumn, Champa and Chenla, who were fighting each other's wits, suddenly joined forces to take advantage of the civil strife in Annan and sent troops together. Li Yanghuan sent Yang Ying'er to lead an army to resist, and Annan finally won the self-defense war.
The eighteen-year-old young emperor Li Yanghuan completed the suppression of domestic rebels and won the victory in foreign wars.
It also developed agriculture through disarmament and actively developed foreign trade, improving the country's financial situation.
It even improved the treatment of slaves, banned tattooing on slaves, etc.
With monopoly power, the country is at peace.
So, is it time for the emperor to enjoy it?
The answer is yes.
Li Yanghuan likes women, auspiciousness, and Buddhism.
In order to celebrate last year's victory in the foreign war, Li Yanghuan immediately granted amnesty to the whole country. Then he began to select concubines, conferred titles on those who offered auspicious gifts, sent people to find immortals to collect medicine and make elixirs, and also carried out large-scale construction projects to build Buddhist temples.
"Your Majesty, please take a look." Du Yingwu bent down and pointed at the Zhangrong carried by the two eunuchs.
Li Yanghuan watched and stroked it for a while and praised: "This is truly a gift from heaven. My uncle is really reliable in his work."
Du Yingwu said: "The Ming Dynasty did not allow Zhangrong to go to sea, so I spent a lot of money to allow the Ming Dynasty maritime merchants to risk taking it out."
"Reward!"
Li Yanghuan continued to caress the Zhangrong and said to the eunuch beside him: "Use these two pieces of Zhangrong to sew a dragon robe for me."
Du Yingwu pointed to the clock that was half a man's height and said: "Your Majesty, this is a pendulum clock. Legend has it that the immortal gave it to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty passed on the skills to the craftsmen."
Li Yanghuan asked: "How to confirm the time?"
Du Yingwu personally started the operation and introduced the hour hand and scale in detail.
Nowadays, Kaifeng and Luoyang four-sided clocks already have minute hands. However, due to their exquisite design, more than 80% of clocks sold in the private sector only have hour hands.
The one in front of me only has the hour hand.
Li Yanghuan sat there blankly, staring at it for more than half an hour, then nodded and praised: "The hour hand is indeed moving, this thing is so ingenious."
While the nephew and uncle were playing, the eunuch came and reported: "Your Majesty, the grand master wants to see you."
Li Yanghuan frowned: "Why is he here again? Let him wait!"
Li Yanghuan still respects the Chief Assistant Minister. However, he has become impatient in the past two years. He always feels that the other party is relying on his old age and will be discouraged from doing anything he does.
Just say that you raise auspicious animals and search for elixirs. Isn't this normal?
Grand Master Zhang actually took Zhao Ji, the foolish king of the Song Dynasty, as an example, saying that those who did these things were the kings who subjugated their country.
You are obviously cursing yourself!
Li Yanghuan summoned several favored ministers, let the maids perform songs and dances, and took his uncle to feast and have fun together.
Until evening, the eunuch came again and reported: "Your Majesty, the grand master has been waiting for a long time."
Li Yanghuan said in surprise: "He hasn't left yet?"
"Keep waiting," the eunuch replied.
Li Yanghuan was helpless and said: "Let him come over."
The chief assistant minister's name was Li Boyu. In order to draw a clear line between him and the Li Dynasty, he changed his name to Zhang Boyu five years ago.
Zhang Boyu knelt down tremblingly: "Old minister, I pay homage to Your Majesty!"
Although Li Yanghuan has already embarked on the road of being a coward, he is very smart and capable. He smiled and said: "Master, there is no need to be polite. Please give the master a seat as soon as possible!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Boyu was helped by the eunuch to sit down.
Li Yanghuan asked: "I wonder if the Grand Master has anything important to do?"
Zhang Boyu said: "The Ming Kingdom has long replaced the Song Kingdom as the orthodox state in the Central Plains. Recently, news has come that the Jin Kingdom in the north has been destroyed, and the Ming Dynasty has lost all the territory of the old Liao Dynasty. Your Majesty, it is time for Vietnam to surrender to the Ming Kingdom.
"
But Li Yanghuan said: "We, Vietnam, dominate the southern part of the world. Now that we are at peace both internally and externally, are we still afraid that the Ming Dynasty will fail?"
"Both Champa and Chenla have become vassals of the Ming Dynasty," Zhang Boyu said. "Last year, the two countries joined forces to attack. Although our Vietnamese heavenly soldiers were powerful, it took a lot of effort to defeat them. What if?
The Kingdom of Tianming also took action, taking Champa with them, and Zhenla was attacked from three sides, but how can we resist it when the time comes?"
Of course Li Yanghuan was not stupid. He immediately felt that the matter was a bit difficult and nodded subconsciously: "What the Grand Master said makes sense."
Zhang Boyu continued: "After surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, we will take the opportunity to wipe out the barbarian chiefs in the north!"
In the northern mountains of Vietnam, there were many semi-independent tribes at this time.
The Vietnamese Li Dynasty married princesses to tribal chiefs through marriage alliances. While appeasing and integrating the tribes, they also made those tribes the pioneers of the Song Dynasty, constantly raiding the Chinese border from time to time.
But now, the Vietnamese monarchs and ministers want to get rid of those tribes!
This is because Vietnam's system and ideas are changing rapidly.
In recent decades, Vietnam has been expanding crazily, and has invaded neighboring countries from time to time. Whether it is invading Champa, Chenla, or sending 100,000 troops to attack the Northern Song Dynasty, it was all driven by its domestic political ecology.
The founder of the Le Dynasty in Vietnam was a merchant son. He became the commander-in-chief of the Le Dynasty by paying bribes and married a princess.
Taking advantage of the civil strife in the Li Dynasty, the prince was young and wore a yellow robe!
The Li Dynasty in Vietnam was not in the right position, and rebellions occurred one after another. While restructuring and taking back power, it was also necessary to win over civil and military officials, and to divert internal conflicts through external wars.
Compulsory military service has been implemented across the country, and the army has reached the size of one soldier for every three people!
They also promoted the feudal manor system and granted civil servants and military officers crazy titles and land grants.
In order to pay heavy military expenses, and civil and military officials wanted to obtain more serfs, the Vietnamese court chose to actively invade foreign countries. They often conquered territory but did not use it, and only robbed property and people to return home.
Vietnam sent 100,000 troops to attack the Song Dynasty. Although they looted countless people at first, they soon suffered retaliation from the Northern Song Dynasty.
As a result, the influence of Vietnam's military conglomerate has dropped sharply.
Civil servants took the opportunity to ascend to power and began to adopt the imperial examination system. In recent years, they even relied on disarmament to improve finances.
Civilian politics has become relatively mature, and foreign aggression and expansion cannot be sustained. Next, it is time to resolve the domestic separatist forces. The chiefs in northern Vietnam who have married princesses for generations not only often go north to harass China, but also often go south to plunder Vietnamese people. They
It is the primary target of eradication by the civilian government!
Zhang Boyu said: "Only by surrendering to the Ming Dynasty can we get rid of the danger of being attacked on three sides. Moreover, eradicating the barbarian tribes in the mountains to the north is also a gesture of goodwill to the Ming Emperor. As long as we stabilize the Ming Dynasty, we can attack the city in the future. The Ming court will
Then we can both help each other.”
"That makes sense!"
Li Yanghuan was convinced: "Immediately select envoys and tributes and go to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute and request for canonization."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Zhang Boyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the young monarch would act on his own initiative.
Although Vietnam, controlled by civilian officials, is no longer so aggressive, it is absolutely impossible to let it go.
Because the feudal manor system has not changed, the feudal lords are eager for war. They dare not provoke the northern powers anymore. From now on, they can only attack Champa and Chenla, and continue to send troops to plunder goods and people.
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This chapter has been completed!