Chapter 27 Foundation (Part 1) The new Huai warship, which combines the advantages of the Arabian dhow and the Chinese Fuchuan, moves very fast on the sea. It has only been more than ten days since it left Fuzhou. It has already entered the Yangtze River Estuary, and Yangzhou Port is in sight. . Faster than battleships are the flying star ships used to deliver messages and issue orders. Because they use large aspect ratios and composite sails, and are not equipped with any artillery, they can run an average of 250 miles a day and night. As mentioned above, four days in advance, the General Manager's preparations for the Northern Expedition were conveyed to Su Mingzhe, Lu Luzeng and others who were based in Yangzhou. (Note 1) For this day, Su and Lu had been looking forward to this day for a long time. After receiving the order, he immediately summoned the chief and deputy chiefs of the Third Academy and each bureau who were staying in Yangzhou, and conveyed the specific tasks as quickly as possible. In a blink of an eye, all levels of yamen under the Huaiyang General Manager's Office, all major legions in the Huai'an Army, and The major commercial banks under Yangshang, as well as the martial arts hall, university, government school, Baigong Technical School, Yangzhou Business School and other institutions closely related to the General Manager's Office were all operating at high speed. After less than half a year, long queues once again formed at the gates of the military offices of various prefectural cities. Local people who had not caught up last time to sign up for the selection of auxiliary troops, and young and strong refugees who had just escaped from the north of the Yellow River in the second half of the year, each He straightened his chest and back, and bulged out the tendons on his arms. He was afraid that he would be kicked out before he could take the test, and lose the opportunity to be trained as a soldier and then directly obtain fifteen acres of fertile land. Indeed, fifteen acres of land is not a lot, and most of it is located in Xuzhou, Suiyang, or even in newly opened territories south of the Yangtze River. But having fifteen acres of land in hand means that many people have no stable place to live. The coolie in the army suddenly became a good man with a house and land. As long as he was lucky enough not to die on the battlefield, even if he was missing an arm or a leg, he would still have enough food and clothing for the rest of his life after retirement. And the Huai'an army's combat effectiveness is the best in the world. During this expedition to the south of the Yangtze River, most of the soldiers did not even have a hair injured, and they achieved several new levels of merit. Each level of merit means that They added a large area of ??fertile land to the original fifteen acres of land. Not only would they not be hungry in their lifetime, but the next two generations would also be able to live a prosperous life as long as there were no prodigal sons. The common people are the simplest and most cunning at the same time. Their long and difficult life has enabled them to master enough survival wisdom. They know what is best for themselves and their families without much effort. In their eyes, No matter how loud the official slogans are, they can't compare to a few buckets of rice and half an acre of land. No matter how loud the gentry shout, as long as they can't get enough real money, don't expect to be fooled. They go to be cannon fodder. Yes, cannon fodder, this is a new word, but anyone who has seen Huai'an military drills knows the most standard explanation of this word. When one shot is fired, no matter whether it is an illiterate man or a scholar who is chewing words, everyone will be There were no bones left after the bombing, so if you want to rebel against Butcher Zhu, you should take the lead and charge forward. Don't just point at your mouth and fool around. These days, no one is more stupid than the other. As excited as ordinary people are the students in schools at all levels. In addition to the martial arts hall, students from former government schools who want to become officials must either take the imperial examination or be among the best in every test in school in the past two years. , otherwise, you can only start as a small official in the county and slowly work your way up one level. It is more difficult to become an official in business schools and technical schools, which basically cuts off the path to officialdom. You can only go to various workshops and The merchants work as craftsmen and assistants. Now, a good opportunity has come to your door. According to the latest instructions from the Master of Academic Affairs, regardless of whether it is a university, a government school, a technical school or a business school, anyone who meets the following four conditions can apply to the General Manager's Office. Once they are hired , he will become a civilian directly under the Grand Controller's Mansion. After the beginning of the next spring, he will go north with Mr. Robben to take over the newly recovered land from the Huai'an army. The four conditions are very simple. They are posted in black and white at the door of each school. First, you must be above seventeen years old and have studied in the last year of school except university. Second, you must be in good health and have no eyesight or Disabled ears or limbs; third, literacy of more than 2,000, able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide within a hundred, and be able to read and explain all the current laws of Huaiyang; fourth, be determined to revitalize China, and die in spite of hundreds of deaths. Don't turn your heels. As for the student's origin, place of origin, the industry in which his parents were engaged, and whether anyone in the family had ever been an enemy of the General Manager's Office, etc., they were not included in the consideration of the General Manager's Office. Instead, it was solemnly stated at the bottom of the notice that all levels of yamen and The school shall not prevent a student from applying to the General Manager because of his background, otherwise, he will be investigated to the end. This comment may seem superfluous, but it has ignited a raging fire in the hearts of many young people. The tradition of the Chinese nation since the Han Dynasty is to prove whether a person is outstanding through serving as an official. Therefore, except for a few hermits with noble aspirations, In addition, almost no scholars are willing to be a free and easy white body for a long time, and among business schools and private schools, especially the formerAt the beginning, there were many students who had lost all hope of becoming an official in their lives because their elders once stood on the opposite side of the Grand Councilor's Office. Suddenly they discovered that the Grand Councilor's Mansion was "unscrupulous", so of course they had to keep a close eye on them. Seize the opportunity. Under their influence, in some old courtyards in Yangzhou, Huai'an, Gaoyou, Jiqing and other places, in addition to young adults and school-age students, a third wave of excitement has quietly formed. "The Huai'an army is about to go on the Northern Expedition." "The Yuan Dynasty is really exhausted." "The emperor, the queen, and the prince, the husband and wife turned against each other, the father and the son killed each other, and he had to go to a dead end. God, isn't it true? Did it open a back door for Butcher Zhu?" "The true emperor has his own destiny. I think back then, the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was just a ruffian, and the world still had the surname Liu for more than four hundred years." He's here, everyone." The elite scholars who once fought for the orthodoxy of famous religions once wished that the Yuan army would plow down the "red scarf thieves" to sweep away the local tycoons. Some of them were deprived of their capital, but they were lucky enough to stay. The former salt lords who had lost their lives looked at their juniors packing up their books and preparing to apply for the Grand Master's Mansion with great interest. At this moment, the expectation in their eyes actually outweighed the anger and unwillingness. Is it a common thing to change dynasties? Alas, Butcher Zhu has shown his true spirit as the Dragon Emperor. How can everyone continue to fight against him? In that case, it will not only delay himself, but also delay the future of the younger generations. Therefore, instead of persisting For the hatred in the past, it is better to broaden our horizons and look forward. After all, apart from losing some old privileges, everyone's life has been pretty good in the past few years, and the equality policy promoted by Manager Zhu is not as good as everyone's. It was so scary as I thought before. As long as you don't try to use your arms as a chariot, in most cases, Xin Chao will be more reasonable than Meng Yuan. At least they won't break into your home to kill people, and will confiscate your home and exterminate your family at every turn. Note 1: According to the record of Jiajing and Wanli's mission to Ryukyu in the Ming Dynasty document "Envoy to Ryukyu", it takes seven days and nights to travel from Fujian to Shuri (now Naha), and it can be reached in ten days at a slower rate. It can be estimated that the speed of the voyage is about eight miles in one day and night. Between more than ten kilometers to one hundred and twenty kilometers.