Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 698 The Master of the Three Loyal Tomb
The time came to January of the 22nd year of the Tianqi reign (1640). After the Lantern Festival of that year, the central government of the Ming Dynasty underwent major adjustments.
Yuan Keli, the chief minister, Sun Chengzong, the minister of personnel, Xu Guangqi, the minister of science and technology, Xiong Tingbi, the envoy of the Privy Council, Zhang Yicheng, the minister of education, and others all requested to retire due to their advanced age. Zhu Youdong allowed them to retire after a symbolic attempt to retain them. He also gave them generous rewards and allowed them to return to their hometowns to spend their old age.
At this point, the Imperial Teacher Party completed its historical mission and completely withdrew from the stage of history.
The issue of age is irresistible to anyone. In addition to the five imperial tutors in their seventies and eighties, there were also people such as Minister of National Defense Yang Hao, Minister of Justice Wang Zaijun, Director of the General Administration of Military Service Li Shizhong, Minister of Agriculture Wang Shaozheng, and Left Censor-in-Chief Zhao Yan, who retired one after another due to their age.
As the old ones left, the new ones had to come in. After much discussion and compromise, Zhu Youdong finally considered everything and decided to fill the main positions in the new central institutions of the Ming Dynasty with a group of officials who were mainly in their forties or fifties.
Prime Minister: Ma Shiying. Vice Prime Minister: Li Jia, former Minister in Tibet. Minister of Personnel: Huang Daozhou.
These are the three most important positions in the core of the Ming Dynasty. Ma Shiying, a disciple of Wen Tihen, Li Jia, the first senior from Fangshan, and Huang Daozhou, a disciple of Yuan Keli, are from different factions, but they have all experienced the training of local and central governments. They are enough to ensure that Zhu Youdong will not lose power while the country can operate in an orderly manner.
The new Privy Councilor: Yan Siqi. The new Minister of National Defense: Zhao Lujiao. The new Director of the Military Service Bureau is Lieutenant General Zuo Liangyu, who previously served as the Director of National Reserve Military Training. In the past, because of Zhu Youdong's inertial thinking, he was instinctively reluctant to let him lead the troops. However, his son Zuo Menggeng's excellent performance in Khyber made Zhu Youdong willing to give this great general of the late Ming Dynasty in the historical plane a new opportunity.
The new Minister of Science and Technology, Sun Yuanhua, the Minister of Agriculture, Gu Bingqian, the Minister of Justice, Hong Chengchou, and the former Director of the State Administration of Taxation, Wang Huaqin, who was from Fangshan, were transferred to the Director of the Audit Office. The former Director of the Audit Office, Prince Xin Zhu Youjian, was appointed as the Left Censor-in-Chief - this was Zhu Youjian's favorite position. The main work of the audit was to supervise local legislation, government spending and budgets. The Censorate was the place where corrupt officials were investigated and punished.
Yuan Keli's student, mathematical genius Ni Yuanlu, was appointed director of the State Administration of Taxation. Wen Tiren's direct descendant, great scholar, and governor of Xinjiang, Gao Hongtu, who had outstanding political achievements, was appointed minister of education.
The new Minister of Justice Cheng Jiming, the new Minister of Public Security Li Biao - the former Minister of Public Security Jian Wang Zhu You (Mu Xue) was appointed as the President of the Supreme Court...
For Zhu Youdong, the next two or three years may be difficult: Ming Dynasty now calls Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea the North China Sea. The South China Sea is called South China Sea. After the navy was severely damaged, the North and South China Seas are no longer the inner lakes of Ming Dynasty. The vassal system closely linked by the ocean and the increasingly prosperous trade through the ocean will be greatly threatened.
Therefore, it is better to adjust the team as soon as possible to give more time to respond.
…
February 8, 1640. Wucheng, Zhejiang.
"Teacher, this was just delivered to Jinling Daily today. The court has indeed made adjustments to the central government."
"Hmm... Let me take a look. Haha, it's just as I expected."
"Teacher, I heard that Ma Xiang is also your disciple ?"
"Yeah, what's the matter? Wanxun, do you want to rely on your senior brother to get promoted?"
"Teacher, you must be joking. I have long given up the idea of becoming a civil servant."
"Huh? You don't want to join the army, do you?"
"That's right, please help me, teacher."
After returning from the defeat in India, Wen Tiren's career as an official was completely cut off, and he was almost 70 years old at that time. So after returning to his hometown, he became an ordinary landlord. He chatted with villagers in the fields every day and went fishing with friends. It was a leisurely life.
However, he had been a prime minister and a governor of a foreign land, so his connections and knowledge were among the best in the world. Therefore, many young people from Zhejiang came to study here. After all, Old Wen had been an official for his entire life, so how could he be completely idle? So he also accepted many new disciples.
People change. For example, Old Wen used to be very versatile and flexible, and was known for his ability to mediate conflicts between various parties, and was therefore appointed as the Prime Minister by Zhu Youdong. In the past, he liked students who were mature at a young age and had a calm demeanor. However, after experiencing the disastrous defeat in India, Old Wen, as he grew older, began to prefer students who were full of vigor and dared to speak and act when they were young.
Therefore, among the new disciples, his favorites are Wang Yi, Feng Jingdi, and Dong Zhining, three young men from Ningbo: these three guys are only above average in academic performance, but they are very capable in action. Whether it is playing pranks or doing experiments in science, they just do it. And if they fail, they will not be discouraged. After taking a breath, they will continue to devote themselves to the next round of action with full fighting spirit.
"Hey, you three are inseparable. Wanxun, you are going to join the army. Jizhong (Feng Jingdi) and Youan (Dong Zhining), are you two going to join the army as well?"
"That's right, teacher. Speaking of which, the three of us are not young anymore. It's a bit troublesome for us to apply for the Royal Military Academy at this time. So, this time, the three of us will ask the teacher to write a letter of recommendation for each of us."
"Well, if you apply for the military academy at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, even if you graduate successfully, you will be almost thirty years old when you come out. At that time, you will only start as a second lieutenant. If you are not careful, you will be forced to retire before you are promoted to lieutenant colonel at the age of forty-five. Speaking of which, you three are doing well in the county now. Wanxun, you have become the director of the Public Security Bureau, and Jizhong and Youan will soon be the director. With your teacher behind you, even if you cannot enter the central government in the future, you will have no problem becoming a frontier official. Tell me, why are you doing this?"
"Teacher." Wang Yi stepped forward and said, "This is what I think. We have to do something in our lifetime. Nowadays, the overall situation in our Ming Dynasty is stable. In places like Zhejiang, we heard that there were many refugees and lawsuits due to land issues in the early years, and the public security was not good. It was very interesting to be the director of the Public Security Bureau at that time. But now? A large number of factories are in operation, and everyone just feels that there is not enough manpower. Nowadays, the land rent in Zhejiang has dropped to 35%, but not many people are willing to rent it for farming. Wild fruits on the roadside are ripe and rotten on the ground, but no one picks them up. In such an environment, what problems are there with public security? The Cixi Public Security Bureau, where a student is the director, has nothing to do except household registration management and handling minor conflicts among families. I really don't want to waste my time like this."
"But joining the army is different." Wang Yi became excited when he said this: "Now that our navy has been defeated, the court is in great need of naval officers on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is necessary to vigorously expand the navy. Students think that when students graduate in four years, the Ming Dynasty will definitely have several 10,000-ton warships. Whether it is a counterattack or an expedition to the Western bandits' homeland, it will be the time for the navy to show its strength. As long as students can graduate from the Naval Academy, how could they not be promoted to lieutenant colonel at the age of 45? Who knows, by then, students will have been promoted to generals and command a fleet."
"Hmph~" Wen Tiren smiled and nodded at him: "But you may also have died in a naval battle along the way."
"It is indeed possible, but teacher, I am a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and a disciple of you, the former Prime Minister. The country is in trouble now, shouldn't I take the initiative to stand up?"
"Tsk~ Former Prime Minister, you are making fun of me again." Waving his hands, Wen Tiren didn't care about what the student said, but turned to the other two and said, "What about you? Are you also so bored that you want to join the army?"
"Teacher." Feng Jingdi stepped forward and said, "I am now the section chief of Ningbo Industry and Commerce Bureau. I have a lot to do. But I am really impatient with dealing with all kinds of businessmen every day. By comparison, the life of the navy, where you either bombard others or get bombarded by others, is more straightforward."
"What? Aren't you comfortable with being flattered by those businessmen?"
"Hey, teacher, you know that when Prince Xin was the director of the Audit Office, officials from all over the country were terrified. Now that Prince Xin has become the Left Censor-in-Chief, there may be some daring people who dare to embezzle and accept bribes. Anyway, I dare not do it, and of course, I don't bother to do it. What I mean is that now that industry and commerce are booming, I see countless ordinary people in the office every day who are brave enough to start their own businesses, but I am just guarding this little salary day after day, and I really feel unwilling to do so."
"You can also start your own business. After so many years of reforms by the Emperor, the Ming Dynasty no longer discriminates against merchants."
"If students go into business, they should be able to do well." Feng Jingdi smiled, "But now the South China Sea is about to be invaded by Western bandits, so business will definitely be difficult. Rather than going bankrupt, it is better to join the navy and defeat the Western bandits before doing business."
"Okay." Wen Tiren nodded. "What about you? You work in the Education Bureau, such a prestigious government office. Why are you so crazy as to want to join the army?"
"Teacher." Dong Zhining stepped forward: "As the director of the primary school department of the Ningbo Education Bureau, I preach loyalty to the emperor and patriotism in various primary schools all day long. Words like "every man has a share of responsibility for the rise and fall of the country" are on my lips every day. This, we can't just talk about it vigorously at ordinary times, but when the country is in trouble, we can't take action, right?" After saying this, Dong Zhining took another step forward: "Teacher, the three of us have not been taught by you for a long time. However, the teacher taught us to do more practical things and talk less nonsense, and the three of us remember it in our hearts. At this time, the country needs to expand the navy, and the navy is a technical service, and it can't be used by just finding a farmer in the fields for short-term training. At this time, shouldn't any scholar who has this country in his heart and has blood stand up?"
"...I understand." Youyou sighed deeply, and Wen Tiren said, "I am lucky to have you three students in my later years. I will write the recommendation letters to you personally. As for Dean Ma at the Military Academy, I will ask Wen Yan, who is currently in the Ministry of Education, to negotiate with him personally."
"Thank you for your help, teacher."
