The early morning sunlight shines on the floor tiles in the room through the window glass, and white smoke rises from the copper crane incense burner. The room is warm and fragrant. The old sandalwood also has a milky scent, which is warm and delicate, but mixed with a little bit.
Spicy, giving people a chilly feeling, masculine and warm at the same time.
Over seventy years old, the white-haired Zuo Guang first followed Ma Jixiang, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, to come to see the saint.
In the first month of the first month, the northwest is covered with snow, but Dunhuang City is very lively. All forces from the Western Regions gather together, and all the Khans gather together, making this oasis particularly noisy.
"Your Majesty, Zuo Guang is here first."
"The sinner Zuo Guang first pays homage to His Majesty."
Zhu Yihai raised his head from the memorial and looked at the much older Zuo Guangxian, "Sit down!"
"How is life on the border in Dunhuang?"
Zuo Guangxian's eyes were complicated. As the younger brother of Donglin leader Zuo Guangdou, the iron-faced censor, Zuo Guangxian was also known as the "Donglin Dilemma" together with his brother because of his outspokenness and daring to admonish. He was born in a noble family in Tongcheng, Jiangnan, and served successively as county magistrate and imperial censor.
Historian, inspector, governor, Taipusi Shaoqing, Minister of Rites, etc.
The nine sons of the Zuo family are all famous people in the world. They are either Jinshi or Juren. At the very least, they are selected as tributes. Who would have thought that the Zuo family is famous all over the world because of his fight with his fourth brother, but the family is also in trouble because of the two brothers.
twice.
From the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River to Dunhuang in the northwest, from local famous families to the criminals guarding the border in Dunhuang, the gap is huge.
Hundreds of members of the family moved to the northwest, and more than a dozen of them, old and weak, died on the way. In order to take care of the women in the family, some young women from the family had to be married off hastily and haphazardly in their hometown in Tongcheng, and there was no way they could match each other.
To marry into a famous family, as long as there is someone who is not afraid of their decline or being implicated, they can marry even ordinary peasants.
When they arrived in Dunhuang, the family was scattered in various villages, and all adult men had to serve in the garrison. Zuo Guangxian was too old and contracted diseases while traveling west. Although he survived, he was extremely weak.
Finally, he was assigned to work as a teacher in the newly established Dunhuang No. 3 Primary School, teaching Chinese language classes, and was assigned a dormitory. The school also provided food and accommodation, and a monthly salary of two yuan. In his spare time, he also had to participate in some paperwork in the township office.
.This treatment can be said to be very good.
He paid for his own food and accommodation, and all his salary could be used to support his family's living expenses. He even brought his two young grandsons to the school together. They could not only study but also eat in the cafeteria together, as long as they paid a small fee for food.
Just fine.
The Dunhuang County Magistrate and the Tixue Director of Anxi Prefecture in Gansu Province had met him and told him that this was the grace of a saint and the benevolence of the court.
I think Zuo Guangxian's treatment is much better than that of Chen Zilong who was guarding Jinshankou.
After almost a year in Dunhuang, Zuo Guangxian's mentality also changed a lot.
Before, I thought about holding up the banner of Donglin and standing up to protect the interests of the entire gentry. But now, after living in Dunhuang in the northwest for nearly a year, and truly feeling the hardships on the frontier, many of my ideas have changed.
"Guarding the border is very hard!" Zuo Guangxian said bluntly, "Guarding the border at Dunhuang for thousands of miles, joining the army of reclamation, and watching this oasis in the sand prosper little by little, I feel a rare sense of accomplishment.
Especially now that the Khans from the Western Regions came to Dunhuang to pay their respects to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, although they had strong soldiers and horses, they were honest and respectful in Dunhuang and did not dare to do any lawlessness. The people on the border also felt deeply proud and safe.
Zhu Yihai nodded.
He is not so annoyed with this old man now. In fact, the emperor does not really hate certain individuals whether it is Donglin, Fushe, or some eunuchs and traitors. He just thinks that some people are too cliquey in the Shantou faction.
Only if they stay close will the emperor take action.
"Originally, I planned to summon Chen Zilong to come and have a chat, but I heard that he was exiled in Sugan Lake and is now guarding Dangjin Mountain Pass. The mountain there has been closed by heavy snow for nine months at a time, so we can't see him for the time being."
"Are you still used to teaching in a primary school?"
Zuo Guang nodded first, "Thank you to the saints and local officials for taking care of me and allowing me to teach in the school very easily."
At his age and in this body, if he were to go to a castle, guard Yandun, or go to cultivate wasteland and cultivate fields, he would definitely not be able to survive for long.
Teaching in a primary school is relaxing, and the food and accommodation are good. His body has gradually recovered a lot. What's even more rare is that he still has the opportunity to continue to organize his poetry collections and other works.
"What a waste of talent." Zhu Yihai said.
"The imperial court now attaches great importance to education and is comprehensively reforming the education method. In the past, after passing the examination as a scholar, one had to enter the official school and become a student member. However, this student member system was not effective. Now the imperial court has abolished this student member system and instead
Establish primary school public schools in various counties and townships to strengthen the popularization of education.
Starting this year, county middle schools will be established in the county. After six years of junior high school, those with outstanding performance will be promoted to middle schools. The middle schools will become preparatory students for the imperial college and universities in the future, providing specialized education for higher education and providing more professional talents.
"
The emperor's educational reform was also implemented step by step. While the big cake of the imperial examination was not moved for the time being, some vocational colleges were first established, from normal schools to political and legal schools to finance and economics schools, and later to shipping schools.
Later, primary schools were established in counties and townships, and a new type of subject-specific education was implemented, breaking the past education methods of private schools and academies that were only prepared for imperial examinations.
Vocational colleges at all levels directly train professional officials for the imperial court. Many colleges now directly provide directional training. The supply exceeds demand, and they directly provide employment assignments and recruit students from among the talented students.
However, the old education was indeed too backward. All he learned was the old eight-legged essays for the imperial examination. Zhu Yihai was not satisfied with that. Of course, he had to learn Chinese history and classics, but with the coming of the ocean age of global integration, how could he do it without learning mathematics, physics and chemistry?
.
From elementary school to middle school to university, the new education system is a must.
Now we have begun to hold civil service examinations, that is, civil service examinations, recruiting from talented people, primary school graduates, military personnel, and vocational colleges. In the future, the scope of civil service examinations will definitely be expanded, and the civil service examinations will gradually be replaced.
of.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! At this stage, the emperor’s new education is only in the name of cultivating professional talents. In the eyes of the nobles, it is just to cultivate craftsmen, shipbuilders and shipbuilders.
They are making guns and gunpowder, mining, smelting, and textiles, etc. They have not yet realized that the real big change is coming.
"Dunhuang Middle School will be established soon. It will offer Chinese language, history, mathematics, geography, physics, politics and law, biology, military training, art and music, and manual labor courses. It will implement a semi-closed military boarding system from Monday to Friday.
While in school, you can go home on Saturdays and Sundays.
You can go to a middle school to be a Chinese history teacher and the leader of the Chinese history teaching and research group. You will receive a monthly salary of three yuan plus a yuan subsidy, food and accommodation will be included, and you will be given a set of clothes and hats every quarter."
This teacher's salary is good, which can be regarded as a reflection of the emperor's emphasis on education. Regular teachers in primary schools are paid two yuan a month, and middle schools are three yuan. Nowadays, the price of goods in Shaotian Dynasty has indeed increased compared with Wanli, but it is still relatively stable. The most basic
The price of grain, rice, was maintained by the imperial court at one tael or one stone.
Two yuan monthly salary is two shi meters, plus some other benefits, etc. This is basically the level of a local government clerk, even in the middle or upper level. Although it is much worse than the military position, the income is already good.
.
Especially in a remote place like the northwest, Zuo Guangxian was still an exile and could still earn a salary as a teacher. It was a merciful saint.
Newly established middle schools require entrance examinations. Scholars under the age of 20 are exempted from entrance examinations, while the rest have 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 would convert the rice that was originally given to junior students in the county magistrate's school into middle school scholarships. The top ten students in each grade would be selected to receive this scholarship, which is six dollars per month.
In the past, the program of scholar junior students was cancelled, and all scholars no longer need to enter official schools. However, they still need to take the scholar examination. Those whose scores are continuously poor may be expelled from the scholar status.
"For those of you who are originally from the Zuo family, I have asked the Anxi Prefecture to specially recruit you as primary and secondary school teachers. The other adult men can also work as clerical clerks in the towns and townships. They can earn a salary to support the family, and you will not be buried.
Knowledge acquired through years of hard study.”
Zuo Guang, thank you in advance.
"I will give you a piece of mink fur."
Zhu Yihai asked him to retire, but did not pardon him, but he was just a favor to the Zuo family. Whether he was a teacher or a scribe, it was much better than being in the Dunhuang Dunhuang, reclaiming wasteland, and guarding.
Carrying three generations of people on his back, he could not leave the Dunhuang garrison, could not take part in the imperial examination, and could not be punished as an officer. Zuo Guangxian was already very grateful for being treated with such special kindness.
After he retired, Zhu Yihai also showed such kindness to the Chen Zilong family.
For other criminal officials and their families who were exiled to the Western Regions, Zhu Yihai issued a special edict to select those with good academic ability among them to be hired as teachers, scribes, etc., in order to alleviate the shortage of personnel in the Western Regions.
"Ma Jixiang!"
"I'm here."
Zhu Yihai looked at the commander of the Jinyiwei. He had been in this position for a long time. Except for Zhang Guojun who briefly held this position when he started the army, Ma Jixiang has been in this position since then, and he has been in this position for six years.
Although Ma Jixiang is said to be incompetent in literature and martial arts, this guy is somewhat uneducated in skills. Although he made his fortune by clinging to eunuchs and becoming a powerful person, he is very capable of doing things, and Zhu Yihai can use it quite easily.
Many times, the emperor's ministers did not necessarily have to be upright ministers. They had to 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 laid off from the post of guard of honor, now specializes in arrest and reconnaissance, and looks a bit like the FBI of the Ming Dynasty.
Jin Yiwei is relatively low-key nowadays, and the commander Ma Jixiang is also very low-key, but his rank is not low, he is at the level of the imperial camp admiral.
Jinyiwei now has more than 30,000 people, spread across the country, and even has many agents, spies, and external informants in neighboring countries. It is very efficient and is very strong in investigating all aspects of crime, especially key criminals in major cases, and
Involving espionage, military intelligence, etc.
"Please 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 Tatar regent Jierhalang has passed away, and Shunzhi Fulin has taken over the power. He appointed three brothers and cousins, Shuose, Wakda and Balkan, as the three kings to manage the affairs.
, and then appointed the daughter of Wu Keshan, the uncle of Horqin Zhongyizuo Banner, as the queen, and promoted Wu Keshan's fourth brother Manzhu Xili as the prince, and appointed Luan Yiwei as the minister of health."
Zhu Yihai didn't open his eyes, just hummed.
"Shunzhi is about to get married, and after the marriage he will officially take charge."
"Fu Lin is fourteen years old this year, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhu Yihai thought for a moment, "Wu Keshan has a daughter who is also in my palace, doesn't she? So she has become my brother-in-law when she comes to Fulin?"
Ma Jixiang did not expect that the emperor would say this, but if he wanted to say this, his majesty would bring Huang Taiji's daughter into the palace, so Shunzhi would have to call him his brother-in-law.
"continue."
"Shunzhi has renamed Holezin Prague in Hulunbuir Grassland to Manzhouli, designated it as the capital of Manchuria and the New Kingdom, called it Shangjingfu, and has begun to build the city."
Zhu Yihai opened his eyes and said, "Go high and dive low. Can Wu Liangfu be trusted by Jianlu now?"
"Gao Qi was not taken seriously by Jianlu, but Wu Liangfu is now deeply trusted by Fulin. Before he took over the government, he had already followed Wu Liangfu's suggestion and changed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Thirteenth Supervisory Office, with Wu Liangfu in charge."
"Is Wu Liangfu trustworthy?"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Gao Qiqian and Wu Liangfu were sent there personally by the minister, and they are also surrounded by people from our Jinyi Guards. If they dare to have second thoughts, they will be executed immediately."
"Send a message to them. Go deep behind enemy lines and be more careful. When the rebels are wiped out in the future, I will not let them down. Tell Wu Liangfu that I will grant him a lifelong earldom."
Gao Qiqian was once the chief eunuch of the Chongzhen Dynasty. He was a supervisor of the army many times and even killed Lu Xiangsheng. He later fled to Nanjing and continued to gain Hongguang's trust in the supervisor. However, he surrendered as soon as the Qing army arrived.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Wu Liangfu was originally just a not-so-famous eunuch in the palace. After the Qing army occupied Beijing, he was surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and was assigned to Shunzhi to serve. He was also a figure like Ma Jixiang, who knew how to look at faces very well.
He is very good at flattering people and makes Shunzhi very satisfied with his service.
Now that all the regents are dead, Shunzhi takes charge, and Wu Liangfu ascends to heaven. Shunzhi only stayed in Beijing for a few years. Maybe he learned a lot from the Ming Dynasty. He is now fourteen years old and takes charge, and there are not many available people around him.
.
Therefore, eunuchs also began to be reused, and they learned what the Ming Dynasty did before, using the internal dynasty to check and balance the external dynasty.
Zhu Yihai was very happy to see this kind of thing, and in fact, although Wu Liangfu had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty long ago, Ma Jixiang's Jin Yiwei had also found them long ago. The two of them saw the Tatars sunset in the west, and they were getting worse every day.
, had already started thinking about other things, and now he has become a top spy under Ma Jixiang's direct control.
"Have you had any contact with the Horqin tribes recently?"
"We have been in contact, but the attitude of the three Horqin kings has always been unclear. Now that Wu Keshan wants to marry his daughter to Shunzhi as his queen, it seems that they are still determined to go with the Tatars. I request that the Horqin princes be beheaded and assassinated."
Zhu Yihai just laughed.
"No need, even if Horqin marries his daughter to Fulin to become the queen, it doesn't mean that they are really determined to follow the Tatars."
After Zhu Yihai asked Ma Jixiang to retreat, he called several ministers.
Talking about Shunzhi and Horqin.
"Dazhe, Dulema, and Batema in my palace are all from the Horqin tribe. Dazhe was originally Duduo Fujin, the daughter of Concubine Horqin and King Horqin Sonomu. Dulema was originally a Hauge.
Fujin and Dazhe are sisters from the same father."
Dazhe and Dulema are sisters from the same father and mother, as are Empress Xiaoduanwen and Dorgon's direct descendant Fujin Batema, 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 Mangus. After his death, Concubine Horqin married Mangus’s third son Sonomu according to Mongolian tradition.
The children born to father and son are both sisters and aunts and nephews.
The three sisters in Zhu Yihai's palace were all born to Concubine Horqin, but Dazhe and Dulema were both Sonomu's daughters, and Wu Keshan was Sonomu's brother.
"There is also a Changzai Qiqige who is the daughter of Wu Keshan."
Zhu Yihai planned to promise promotions to these Mongolian Chang Zai and confer them with the title of Zhaoyi, etc., and then use this as an excuse to send envoys to Korqin to ennoble Wu Keshan, Sonomu, Manzhu Xili and others with titles and official positions, and establish Horqin Khan.
Tongliao Duhufu, with Wu Keshan as Horqin Khan and Tongliao Dufu, has six governor's offices below, with Manzhu practicing rituals, and the Sonomu brothers serving as governors and other positions.
"Awarding officials, titles and seals, and opening up mutual markets."
Zhu Dadian praised him immediately after hearing this, "Your Majesty's move is brilliant. Even if Horqin originally followed Jianlu, your Majesty canonizes and trades with each other in such a big way. What will the little emperor of the Manchu Tatars think? He will definitely be suspicious!"
And Yan Wogong also believed that it was a clever move for the emperor to trade with Horqin at this time. The Mongolian tribes had been fighting with the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years. One of the most critical reasons was that the Ming Dynasty often blocked them and refused to trade with them. The Mongols did not have the Ming Dynasty.
The handmade goods are not good, so sometimes wars are waged over iron pots.
For the Ming Dynasty, it would not be of much use to directly block Horqin and others. After all, it would only force them to rob. By doing business with them, they could plunder them through trade, and even make Man Meng suspicious.
There is no need to worry that mutual trade will strengthen Mongolia or anything like that. We should prepare for war and fight when we should, but it will not affect mutual trade, and we will continue to make the money we should make.
The Horqin banners must carefully consider whether they should follow the incompetent Tatars or the Ming Dynasty. Horqin may also be divided. For the Horqin tribe that is pro-Ming, some tariff concessions can be given to them. For those who are pro-Tatars,
Slightly increase tariffs or prices.
The monarchs and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were not in a hurry to send large troops to conquer Manchuria. They were now busy setting up troops and towns in the newly controlled Liang Liao and other places to appease the newly surrendered Mongolian tribes, and even set up post stations and fortresses.
The Ming army is constantly expanding northward.
Let Monan and Mobei Mongolia squeeze Horqin, Xilin Gol and Hulunbuir first.
In fact, Zhu Yihai had basically predicted that the Manchu Tatars would not be able to develop peacefully there after they retreated to Hulunbuir. At that time, the Tatars outside the customs were mainly engaged in fishing and hunting as well as farming.
In the days of the Han people, they had already become professional military aristocrats.
It is unrealistic to let them go to Hulunbuir to graze, and they don't have that many livestock. When they settle down a little, there is only one way to go, and that is to invade and plunder like Nurhachi and Huang Taiji, otherwise they will not be able to survive.
For Zhu Yihai, sometimes waiting for work in leisure is no worse than going on an expedition to the north.
The Ming army's artillery and muskets and fortresses were actually more conducive to defense instead of attack. Coupled with some imperial camp mobile troops, the Tartars traveled thousands of miles south and penetrated deep into the Liang Liao area, so it would not be easy to leave after they arrived.
Times have changed long ago. It is not the era of Nurhachi and Huang Taiji. Ming Dynasty is no longer a place where people can come and leave as they please.
