Extra 8
Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu rarely come back, so all the topics at the dinner table naturally revolve around the two of them.
Mother Jiang recalled what she had just mentioned and couldn't help but ask, "Zhiyu, are you and Shu'er planning to transfer back to the capital? I mean, the north is cold and harsh after all. Perhaps Shu'er should stay in the capital for a while longer?"
As Jiang's father and Lu Shang expected, Jiang Zhiyu rejected Jiang's mother's proposal without even thinking about it.
After he refused, he realized that he was perhaps too stiff, and tried to make amends, "Don't worry, mother. We have our own house in the north. When military duties are free, we usually go back to our own house to rest."
"Besides, Xiaobai grew up in the North. It would be better for her to stay in a place she is familiar with."
"Of course we will consider what you said, but we really don't plan to come back in the next few years. Let's wait a little longer. Maybe in seven or eight years, we will come back."
Jiang Zhiyu didn't say anything too final. As he spoke, he poured Bai Shu half a cup of rice wine.
Although Jiang's mother was listening to him, she was also paying attention to Bai Shu's movements. When she saw that she had added more liquor in front of her, she was about to remind her, but before she could open her mouth, Bai Shu had already picked up the wine cup and drank it all in a moment.
After she finished drinking the liquor, there was nothing unusual on her face.
If the rice wine had not been brought by Jiang's mother herself, she would have even suspected that it was filled with water.
A look of surprise flashed across her eyes, and she recalled what Jiang Zhiyu had just said.
He said that Bai Shu grew up in the north and was accustomed to the vastness of the north. The north might be cold, but to Bai Shu, it was also her hometown. The position of the north in her heart was completely incomparable to that of the capital.
Jiang Mu had also lived in the north and knew that the women there were completely different from the noble ladies in the capital.
It's not that it's bad, it's just that the girls over there are all those who enjoy riding horses and drawing bows and arrows, just as good as men, and they have a chivalrous demeanor.
She couldn't help but think along the lines of Jiang Zhiyu's words -
Is it really good for Bai Shu to ask her to live in the capital?
Mother Jiang was lost in thought. From then on, when she ate, she would always pay more attention to Bai Shu. As expected, she found that her behavior was mostly brisk, without the ordinary dignified and graceful demeanor of a lady from a noble family.
But after watching for a long time, Jiang's mother not only did not feel unhappy, but became more and more satisfied.
Until the end of the meal, she never mentioned again the matter of inviting Jiang Zhiyu and his wife to return to Beijing.
Because Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu had been running around for many days, no one kept them for long. They urged them to rest right after dinner. At most, Jiang's mother mentioned that if they wanted to renovate the yard, she could help pay for it and find someone to do it.
Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu both thanked him, but judging by their expressions, they had no such intention.
After the two of them left, the others also returned to their rooms.
Lu Nian'an had so much fun with Lu Shang today that he was already so sleepy that he couldn't even open his eyes. It was rare for him to remember to sleep with his mother.
Who would have thought that Lu Shang had tasted the sweetness of a world of two. As soon as An An brought it up, he was horrified and quickly covered her mouth. He came close to her and threatened and seduced her: "An An is already a big child. The first thing a big child should do is not to always cling to his mother. Don't you want to be a big child anymore?"
"An An, be good. If you behave well tonight, I'll take you out to play tomorrow. Remember the big horses in Songxi County? There are some in the suburbs of Beijing now. How about I take you to ride a big horse?"
"Then, then An An has to be a big kid... Daddy really wants to take me to ride a big horse?"
"Of course not. When has Dad ever lied to you?"
An An was so coaxed that she was stunned. When she came to her senses again, Lu Shang had already sent her back to her own room. When she was distracted again, even Lu Shang had left the room. Only the nanny came over with a lamp and said in a gentle voice, "Miss, it's time to rest."
Lu Nian'an always felt that something was wrong, but at her age, she couldn't figure out what the problem was.
On the other side, Lu Shang got what he wanted. As soon as he entered the room, he hugged Jiang Wanning's waist and rubbed her back affectionately.
Jiang Wanning guessed what he had just done without even asking, feeling both amused and helpless: "Just keep lying to An An. When she comes to her senses, be careful that she won't ignore you anymore."
Lu Shang hummed softly: "Then wait until she comes to her senses... Aning, I haven't hugged you for a long time..."
This hug was obviously not the same as that one. Jiang Wanning's face flushed, she laughed angrily, and slapped away the hand that was around her waist.
"Aning--" Seeing that she was about to leave, Lu Shang hurriedly chased after her, not even a step behind her, almost sticking to her.
Jiang Wanning was unmoved. She first closed the window, took off the hairpin on her head, and took off her outer robe before going to wash.
Although she didn't say anything, this series of actions made Lu Shang's eyes light up. He diligently made hot water for her, handed her a handkerchief and combed her hair. As soon as Jiang Wanning walked to the bed, he hurriedly turned off the lights.
After a night of lovemaking, Jiang Wanning fell into a deep sleep.
Although Lu Shang was still reluctant to leave, he couldn't bear to wake her up, so he had to press his lips against the back of her neck, planting delicate kisses on it until his heart was filled with warmth, and then he lay down next to her.
Early the next morning, everyone in the Jiang family got up early.
Jiang Wanning remembered that today was New Year's Eve, so even though she was exhausted, she still opened her eyes early.
She thought she woke up early enough, but when she opened her eyes, Lu Shang had already helped the family put up the Spring Festival couplets and got some freshly fried meatballs from the kitchen. Without waiting for her to get up, he came over and fed her some.
Jiang Wanning then realized that everyone in the family was awake. Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu had already finished a set of boxing in the yard, and Lu Nian'an, accompanied by Grandma Lu, had gone out to set off fireworks for a long time.
Even Jiang's father and mother walked around the door several times and showed off to the wives of their colleagues nearby for a long time, saying that they had all their children and a little granddaughter, and it was a rare opportunity to have a family reunion in the new year.
If you count carefully, she is the only one who hasn't gotten up yet.
Jiang Wanning looked embarrassed: "Then, then did my parents ask me?"
Lu Shang said, "I said you stayed up very late organizing books last night, so you woke up a little late. It's okay, your parents don't care about it. You can lie down for a while and it won't be too late to get up at noon."
That being said, Jiang Wanning felt embarrassed to have been absent for so long.
She ate a little, got up quickly, and asked Lu Shang to get new clothes, while she dressed up at the table.
Coincidentally, when the two of them left, the others also arrived at the front hall.
Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu were playing with An An. Several elders looked at them with kindness. When they saw Jiang Wanning and the others coming, they asked them to come in quickly. They also ordered the servants to add a heater and sat around it.
The scene was so heartwarming that no one could remember how long it had been since they had such a complete moment, and no one wanted to break it.
So the family had a reunion dinner together, and Jiang Zhiyu went to pay New Year's greetings to several familiar families on behalf of his father Jiang. But for some reason, Bai Shu did not follow them. Even when there were guests visiting, she would avoid them if possible.
Jiang's mother and Jiang Wanning didn't care about her behavior, but others were tacitly aware of it.
In the blink of an eye, the New Year had passed, and Jiang's father and Lu Shang were about to return to the court. However, Jiang Zhiyu came back only to report on his work, and asked for grace from the emperor, so he did not need to go to court.
Jiang Wanning accidentally heard in the school that the commander of the Northwest Camp had also returned to the capital, and was highly commended for his meritorious service in defending the border and received many rewards.
Jiang Wanning had an idea and mentioned it to her family when she returned.
"I was thinking, brother was promoted by the Northwest General and only then was he able to gain a firm foothold in the army. He had never met that general before. Now that he's in Beijing, shouldn't we pay him a visit?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw complicated expressions on the faces of the people opposite him.
"What, what happened?" Jiang Wanning was puzzled.
Lu Shang opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say, so he had to leave the answer to Jiang Zhiyu.
After a while, Jiang Zhiyu smiled and said, "Okay, thank you Wanwan for remembering it. I will go to visit the general in the next two days." As he said that, he squeezed Bai Shu's hand, looked up and smiled at her.
Jiang Wanning just gave a reminder and didn't care about what happened next.
However, her brother and sister-in-law were quite interested in her new school. They called Jiang's father and Lu Shang to stay there for seven or eight days. Jiang's father and Lu Shang were both experienced in imperial examinations, and their lectures were particularly popular among students. Even the two teachers benefited a lot from them.
Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu were good at martial arts and had a lot of knowledge about military books. They just thought that they were going to broaden the students' horizons, but after they talked for a few days, they actually aroused everyone's interest in martial arts.
Especially when many people saw a woman performing boxing and kicking movements with such vigor and power, they were unwilling to fall behind.
There were also a few female students who surrounded Bai Shu all day long, wanting to be as majestic as her. They kept asking, "If we practice martial arts well, can we become generals in the future? I don't mean a great general, just someone who manages a hundred or so people."
Bai Shu lowered her eyes and looked at them. After a long while, she said, "Even if you want to be a general, that's fine."
These words really encouraged them. There were many more military books on the desk at the back, and they became more serious in class.
In the blink of an eye, another two months passed, and it was time for Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu to leave.
Half a month before they left, Jiang's mother started packing their luggage, regardless of whether they would be useful or not. Everything she thought was good was packed onto the carriage, not to mention a whole box of banknotes.
Jiang Wanning accompanied her mother to pack up, and found that most of the Jiang family's savings had been put into the packing for her brother.
After two months of getting along, Jiang Wanning and Jiang's mother both knew that Bai Shu didn't like to wear jewelry. At most, she would just use a plain hairpin, and she didn't have any jewelry on her body. She focused on simplicity.
But Jiang's mother still gave her several boxes of jewelry, mostly gold items, thinking that if she was short of money, she could sell these jewelry to get some temporary cash flow.
Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu were unable to refuse Jiang's mother's kindness, and finally had to accept it.
It took them half a month to pack up. When they came, they only had one horse, but when they returned, they brought three carriages. This was because Jiang Zhiyu had tried to stop them. Otherwise, according to Jiang's mother's wishes, they would have even packed some bedding.
At the beginning of March, the two of them set out to leave Beijing. The Jiang family members accompanied them all the way out of the city before stopping.
Looking at the carriages and horses gradually moving away, Jiang Wanning felt empty in her heart. Turning around, she saw that Jiang's mother was indeed in tears, with red eyes, and she was trying hard not to cry out loud.
Even Lu Nian'an, who had spent more time with his uncle and aunt in the past two months, would whisper "Don't go". Now, he would snuggle pitifully in Lu Shang's arms, looking up and asking, "When will my uncle and aunt come back..."
Lu Shang touched her head but couldn't give an accurate answer.
The departure of Jiang Zhiyu and Bai Shu made everyone in the Jiang family feel depressed for a while.
It was not until the end of March that Xiang Min and Zhang Jiaqi arrived in Beijing. Jiang Wanning finally cheered up and took them home. She asked about Xiang Min's recent situation and made arrangements for Zhang Jiaqi's affairs.
Xiang Min's embroidery workshop was doing very well. Even though she was always recruiting embroiderers and accountants, she couldn't leave for a long time. This time, she only stayed in the capital for half a month and had to rush back to take care of the business.
After discussing with Jiang Wanning, Zhang Jiaqi decided to work as a female teacher in the new school.
Although there was accommodation for the teachers in the school, Jiang Wanning was always worried about her staying there alone. The Jiang family had several empty guest rooms, so they simply asked her to move in with them.
She and Zhang Jiaqi teach in the same school, so she has a companion sooner or later.
In May of the same year, officials from other places came to Beijing to report on their work.
Pang Liang and Feng He's terms of office abroad had expired, and because of their outstanding achievements, they were summoned personally by Emperor Zhaohe.
Although the two went to the wealthy Jing'an County, when they really arrived at their place of residence, they found that the counties they managed were all well-known poor counties in the local area, even Tang Town was not as good as them.
Feng He discovered the yellowwood in their area. Coincidentally, his family had recently been involved in the timber business. Adhering to the principle of keeping things within the family, he decided to make the source of his family's goods the place he managed.
Since he was the local official, he could not exploit the people for his own selfish reasons. As a result, the price the Feng family paid when purchasing goods from there was higher than the market price. In return, the local people provided the Feng family with the best wood.
Feng He contacted Lin Zhongwang again and opened up a trade route from Songxi County to his side. He also invited Lu Logistics to escort the goods. After a few years, the county town he managed became the richest one among the more than a dozen counties and towns in Jing'an County.
Merchants passing by also heard of the reputation of the yellowwood trees there. As the number of merchants increased, the local economic development was boosted.
During the few years that Feng He was in office, all the local people were lifted out of poverty. The average living standard in the county town was only close to that of the Jing'an County capital, and there were still poor beggars in the capital. But when he was in office, the people on the streets were no longer poor.
Even the elderly widows and widowers who had lost their children were properly placed in nursing homes, and all expenses were covered by the county government.
Although Pang Liang, who lived not far away from him, could not do things as conveniently as him, he had not wasted his time over the past few years.
Pang Liang has been with Jiang Wanning for the longest time and has dabbled in all kinds of things.
There was nothing special about the Guanshan Town he managed, so he started developing it from the most basic agriculture. He went to the fields himself, lived in the village for a whole year, and studied with the farmers, and finally found a planting method suitable for saline-alkali land.
After solving the problem of crop planting, he followed Lu Shang's mountain farm and vigorously developed the animal husbandry industry. Because of the careful feeding, the taste of various animals was better than that of other places.
At Pang Liang's suggestion, the prices of cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks in Guanshan Town are the same as those in other places. It sounds like there is no advantage, but at the same price, the meat with better quality is obviously more popular.
Similarly, he also uses Lu Logistics' freight services to ensure that every business order can be delivered on time with guaranteed quality and quantity.
After a few years, although the tax revenue of Guanshan Town is still not as high as that of other places, at least it no longer needs support from the imperial court. In a few years, it may become rich enough to pay taxes back to the imperial court.
After observing the performance of the two men during their terms of office, Emperor Showa directly used them as typical cases and selected Guanshan Town as the topic of current affairs for the autumn examination that year.
Naturally, such political achievements that attracted the emperor's attention were enough to keep them in the capital.
Pang Liang was assigned to the Ministry of Works, while Feng He went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the past few years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a small and neglected department, but since the rise of maritime trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has become a place that everyone wants to go. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is controlled by Emperor Showa, and the officials there are his confidants. Outsiders who want to arrange staff have no way to do so and can only watch and wonder when they will have someone from their own family to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After the two were appointed as new officials, Lu Shang did not hide his relationship with them and directly invited them to the Jiang family.
The court officials then realized that these two Lords Feng and Pang Da were from the same place as Lord Lu, and were even classmates, having studied in the same private school!
It was no secret that Jiang Wanning was attending an unknown private school in Songxi County; anyone interested could find out.
As Lu Shang and his two companions made great strides in the capital, the nameless private school in Songxi County also came into the sight of the officials in the capital. After further investigation, everyone found out that many students who were granted official positions and sent out to other places in recent years also graduated from the nameless private school.
In the past two years, several officials from other places who were transferred back to Beijing were all classmates of Lu Shang.
This time, everyone was shocked. Finally, even Emperor Showa heard about it. After leaving the court, he went to Lu Shang to ask him about it.
Unsurprisingly, Jiang Wanning, as the teacher and founder of an unknown private school, became the most discussed figure in the capital.
Back then, Grand Secretary Jiang had many students all over the world, but what was unexpected was that his daughter was even better than him. Although she lived in an inconspicuous place outside the capital, she had trained no less students than those in the Imperial College in the capital.
Emperor Showa, in recognition of his knowledge and achievements, only conferred him a first-rank imperial edict.
Nowadays, the wives of all families had to rely on their husband's family to grant them titles. Jiang Wanning was the first one to earn the title on her own since the founding of Dazhao, but it made her famous for a while.
After waiting for a long time for the recent turmoil to pass, the new school welcomed a new wave of students.
When many nobles heard that the school only accepted children of commoners, they followed the example of Mrs. Xie's nephews and asked their children to pretend to be from ordinary families.
Jiang Wanning didn't care about this matter at first because this situation was uncommon. But as it is now, the number of children of nobles far exceeds that of common people, which goes against her original intention.
Especially after a few days, the first voice came from nowhere, expressing dissatisfaction with the arrangement of male and female students studying in the same class. The rumors became more and more intense, and even many bad remarks about these female students appeared.
Jiang Wanning was completely enraged.
She did not try to trace the source, because she knew that even if she did find the source, she would not be able to control what everyone said.
Instead of expecting others to be decent in their hearts, it is better to solve the problem directly from the source.
The person who first spread the rumor was simply dissatisfied with his son going to school with a group of girls. He was also afraid that his son would fall in love too early and his studies would be delayed by those girls, so he wanted to use public opinion to force those female students out.
It would be best if there were no more women in the school from now on!
Unexpectedly, in the end, his son was expelled from school.
Not only his son, but all the men in the school were persuaded to leave by Jiang Wanning.
Jiang Wanning ordered people to take down the plaque outside the mansion and replace it with a new wooden sign with two large characters on it:
Girls' school.
She wrote the notice herself and posted it outside the school so that passers-by could see it.
Looking at the notice, it turned out that she would no longer recruit scholars, and from then on she would only run a girls' school and only recruit female students.
She even dismissed the two male teachers in the school and compensated them with a sum of money so that they could part ways amicably.
This move caused a sensation in most of the capital.
You know, Master Jiang was able to train so many scholars before, so he will naturally be able to do so in the future.
And she will only recruit women in the future, and women cannot take the imperial examinations, let alone serve as officials in the court. Isn't this a waste of good resources?
Many noble families came to her and asked her to change her decision.
But Jiang Wanning had made up her mind. Not to mention those who came to her and left disappointed, even those who came to Lu Shang and Jiang's father for help did not get what they wanted.
Lu Shang even scoffed, "So what if we only recruit female students? Don't you think it's inappropriate for men and women to sit together? Now we won't do that anymore. Everyone can rest assured!"
Seeing that the issue of girls' school was becoming increasingly chaotic, and since it was a private matter of the minister's wife, Emperor Showa could not inquire about it in person, so he asked the empress to disguise herself and leave the palace.
However, after the empress had been sitting in the school for half a day, the first thing she did when she returned to the palace was to issue an imperial decree, stating that girls' education was a good policy for the country and that it should not only not be discouraged but should be strongly supported.
In order to set an example, the queen directly sent her niece from her mother's family over to shock everyone.
With the queen's support, the noble families dared not say anything no matter how dissatisfied they were. They could only watch more and more women become Jiang Wanning's disciples, while the men they had high hopes for continued to sink at home.
The person who had evil intentions in the beginning failed to gain anything and was discovered by others before he could regret it.
Everyone was unable to do anything about Jiang Wanning and the female student, so they took out their anger on his family.
Within two days, this family was reported by their colleagues, and they were dismissed from office for accepting bribes and expelled from the capital. Their family was not allowed to take the imperial examinations or hold official positions for three generations.
Jiang Wanning no longer cared about other people's reactions. She just put all her thoughts into the girls' school.
The number of students in the girls' school increased, but there were only her and Zhang Jiaqi in the teacher's room. Even though she asked Lu Shang and Jiang's father for help from time to time, this was not a long-term solution.
She really had no choice but to send a letter to Songxi County, following Lu Shang's method, to see if there were any girls from Songxi County who wanted to develop in the capital, like those female students who had been in the nameless private school before, who could come and be her teachers.
She also sent a message to her close friends who she had played with many years ago, inviting them to the girls' school for a chat.
After half a day of discussion, four ladies finally agreed to come and give lectures, at least twenty times a month.
As for the remaining many who did not want to show up here, Jiang Wanning did not force them to do so. She just said that if they changed their minds, they could come at any time and the girls' school would always welcome them.
Since it is a girls' school, students do not have the pressure of imperial examinations, so what is taught in class is not limited to the Four Books and Five Classics.
After discussing with Lu Shang, Jiang Wanning collected the courses that the female teachers were good at. Except for a few required courses, the rest were left for the students to choose.
For those who come from a merchant family and want to run a shop in the future, they can learn arithmetic from Zhang Jiaqi.
For those who like poetry and songs, they can choose the young lady of the Marquis of Changping's mansion and the young lady of the Dali Temple Minister's family, that is, Master Ji and Master Ning today, and study poetry and music theory with them.
There are also many other courses, which are so diverse that it is dizzying to choose from.
Two months later, seven or eight more female teachers were added to the girls' school. All of them came from Songxi County, some were single, and some had families. Jiang Wanning kept her promise and solved their housing and living problems.
In September of the same year, Lu Nian'an also entered the girls' school and formally learned to read and write with her mother.
Half a year passed, and the people outside saw that the girls' school was getting better and better, and they knew that this was a foregone conclusion, so they had to disperse dejectedly. On the one hand, they felt sorry that their sons had lost a good place to study, and on the other hand, they sent their daughters there.
In the past, the school only admitted children from common people, but now that it has been changed to a girls' school, there are not so many restrictions.
Or perhaps the only restriction is gender.
This made the men who always put themselves first feel excluded and shut out for the first time.
Another spring came, and the Breaking Waves set sail again. In addition to Zhan Shunan, Feng He was also on board, and they sailed to the West again, carrying the expectations of all the civil and military officials in the court.
This time, the merchant ships went out to sea without a set return date, whether it was one or two years, or three or five years. No one could tell when they would come back, or whether they could return safely.
But the merchant ship going out to sea did not give Lu Shang much free time.
It was because his knowledge of steam engines far exceeded that of people of his time, and he also knew things that Zhan Shunan and others did not know. In this way, he could guide officials from the Ministry of Industry to conduct in-depth research, starting from the simplest textile machines and delving into them step by step.
After a year, when the first textile machine came out, the entire court was shocked.
This was the first time they had seen a loom that could operate independently without human intervention. In terms of workmanship and speed, it was far superior to that of an embroiderer, and there was no trace of a machine at all.
Emperor Showa was delighted and promoted all officials involved in the manufacture of textile machines by two ranks, and rewarded the craftsmen with a thousand gold coins.
Among them was Lu Shang's reward. Emperor Showa originally wanted to promote him directly to be the Prime Minister, but Lu Shang rejected it before the imperial edict was issued.
Lu Shang's reason was legitimate and sufficient: "I am still young and inexperienced. I am afraid I cannot serve as the Prime Minister. Moreover, I still need to discuss the secrets of the steam engine with the craftsmen. I am afraid I cannot devote my full attention to the affairs of the court."
"I thank Your Majesty for your high regard, but I dare not accept the responsibility."
Emperor Showa had no choice but to temporarily suppress the idea of appointing him as the Prime Minister.
But in terms of court affairs, Lu Shang has already become the number one person in the dynasty, the only thing missing is a title.
A year later, the Ministry of Industry figured out how to manufacture steam engines. At the end of the same year, it produced the first steam engine produced in Dazhao. It was installed on a spinning wheel, which was no different from the textile machine of a year ago.
Emperor Showa was generous with his rewards, and all kinds of gold and silver items flowed into the homes of officials and craftsmen like water.
Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning had already moved to the new house. They would only go to Jiang's house for dinner when they were busy, and it was also common for them to stay overnight at Jiang's house. Emperor Zhaohe even prepared two rewards for Lu Shang, one to be sent to Jiang's house and the other to Lu's house.
No matter where Lu Shang is, he can always be seen first.
In the third year since the Breakers sailed west, the two giant ships finally returned.
The wharf outside Beijing has been renovated and divided into two parts: the royal part and the civilian part. The civilian part means that all Dazhao ships can dock there, and some overseas merchants' ships can also dock there after reporting and review.
The Royal Dock was built specifically for the Wavebreaker. High walls were built around the dock. On the one hand, it was to prevent criminals from breaking in and stealing. On the other hand, it was also to prevent merchant ships from bringing back important items that could not be announced directly to the public.
The two merchant ships returned fully loaded. In addition to bringing back various Western specialties, they also brought back four Westerners.
According to Zhan Shunan and Feng He, there were two missionaries among the four people, and the other two were Western doctors, that is, the doctors of Dazhao. They were proficient in anesthesia and surgery, which were exactly what Dazhao did not have.
Lu Shang was delighted again when he heard this, and quickly asked Emperor Zhaohe to call the imperial physician.
He then explained to everyone, "Anesthetics should have the same uses as Ma Fei San. Surgery is about cutting into the human body to achieve certain therapeutic effects. Anyway, I don't know much, so I still need the imperial doctors to study more!"
The Western doctor was treated with courtesy, but the other two missionaries were not treated so well.
According to Lu Shang, Dazhao had its own moral belief system and did not need to learn foreign religious beliefs.
Just find a place to settle these two missionaries and find a few people to watch over them to prevent them from running around.
As for their usefulness?
Lu Shang thought for a moment and said, "If Your Majesty is curious about the West, you might as well find them and tell them stories for fun."
Emperor Showa now has great trust in Lu Shang and has complete faith in his advice.
So when missionaries came into the palace to preach later, Emperor Showa just treated it as entertainment and moved on without any intention of delving into the matter further.
It is worth mentioning that the Western languages spoken by these Westerners are exactly the same as the foreign languages that Lu Shang is familiar with.
He was able to avenge his previous shame, and he kept showing off to Jiang Wanning. The roles of the two were reversed, and he was finally the teacher. He even used his power for personal gain: "Aning, hurry up and say La Wuyou!"
"La, Lawu?" Jiang Wanning was confused.
Lu Shang kissed her happily: "I want Wu Aning too!"
Jiang Wanning still didn't understand what this meant, but seeing Lu Shang happy, she also smiled foolishly.
In addition to various seeds, the things brought back by the Breaking Waves also include the most advanced Western technology, which is enough for Dazhao to study for ten to eight years.
Emperor Showa knew when to stop while he was ahead, and was also afraid of putting too much pressure on the court officials. When the Breaking Waves went out to sea again, it would sail nearby and only engage in commercial trade.
This time, the Breaking Waves did not bring advanced technology to Dazhao, but instead made a lot of money.
In just three years, the national treasury was filled to the brim with wealth, and even Lu Shang, who had initially invested a small amount of money, made a fortune.
Just in the middle of last year, the Ministry of Industry developed the first steam locomotive. Although it could only travel from the gates of the capital to the suburbs of Beijing, it undoubtedly ushered in the steam age.
As the leader, Lu Shang quickly became the prime minister of the dynasty.
As the wife of the Prime Minister, Jiang Wanning founded a girls' school that became a must-attend school for noble ladies in Beijing.
In recent years, students who graduated from women's schools have also entered various industries, and the phenomenon of women taking charge of various affairs in the capital has gradually emerged.
There are also many ambitious people who, despite their family's opposition, go to other places and open girls' schools there, hoping to pass on what they have learned and provide a new way out for women from other places.
In the same year, another major event happened in Dazhao.
It turned out that someone in the Northwest Camp reported that they accidentally discovered that the general in the camp was a woman disguised as a man.
The entire court was shocked, and Emperor Showa even issued an order to summon General Bai of the Northwest Camp back to Beijing.
Jiang Wanning didn't think much of it at first, until she heard that her brother was coming back with her, she realized belatedly that—
"Husband, have you heard...that the general in the Northwest Camp also has the last name Bai?"
Lu Shang held his forehead with his hand, smiled bitterly, and waved his hand. It was really difficult to answer.
Jiang Wanning was immediately shocked: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, she wouldn't be——"
A woman being a general is much more exciting than opening a girls' school.
Somehow, Jiang Wanning suddenly remembered that when her brother and sister-in-law came back a few years ago, they told the female students in the school that if they were willing, women could also join the army and become generals.
No wonder, no wonder my sister-in-law could say such things.
All the strange things in the past were explained, but after the shock, Jiang Wanning felt a sense of relief that "it was as expected".
She smiled and said, "So, it was my sister-in-law who saved my brother. No wonder my brother listened to her so much. It turns out that she was not only my wife, but also my boss."
Seeing that she was adapting well, Lu Shang also chuckled.
Jiang Wanning originally thought that her sister-in-law disguising herself as a man was all that was needed, but she didn't expect that something went wrong again during the palace examination this spring before Bai Shu came back.
Similar to the incident with the female general of the Northwest Camp, this time the new top scholar is also a woman.
Asked about the name of the female scholar-official—
"Zhang Jiaqi?" Jiang Wanning was completely stunned. "No, it can't be the person I think of, right?"
Outsiders could not provide an answer, but Lu Shang understood it thoroughly.
What he didn't say was that Zhang Jiaqi was able to avoid the numerous inspections before the scientific examination with his help.
After receiving his affirmative answer, Jiang Wanning had to believe that this female scholar who shocked the court and the public was Zhang Jiaqi, who had been a teacher in the girls' school for several years. She was from Songxi County and was a student she had taught for several years.
A female general and a female scholar, coincidentally, both have inseparable ties with the Jiang family.
Jiang Wanning was quite shocked and didn't know what to say.
The court was also shocked one after another, and everyone entered the court in a daze.
Emperor Showa felt that it was a difficult situation. If the female scholar could be dealt with at will, it would be difficult to deal with General Bai in the Northwest Camp.
It is said that Bai Shu has been guarding the border for more than 20 years. Under her leadership, the northwest has never been lost. General Bai has made great military achievements and is truly a first-rank general of the current dynasty.
Just when everyone didn't know what to do, Lu Shang stood up.
He only asked one question: "Your Majesty, whether it is General Bai or Zhang Tanhua, whether they are male or female, will it affect their ability to lead troops in battle or take the imperial examinations?"
"I wonder if you all look down on her skills and knowledge, or if you're unwilling to admit that you're not as good as a woman?"
Perhaps it was because they had seen too many new things over the years that the court officials' hearts had become very strong.
In addition, there are many people in the court who have been taught by Jiang Wanning or admire Lu Shangzhi as a person. At this time, they naturally will not sing against him.
For a moment, no one in the court objected.
After a long while, Emperor Showa waved his hand and said dejectedly, "Please allow me to think about it for a while."
When the emperor thought of this, he immediately thought of Bai Shu's return.
Jiang Zhiyu entered the palace at the same time as her, and took the blame for concealing the truth, saying bluntly that if the emperor wanted to punish them, he would punish them both.
Emperor Showa had an unclear expression and said nothing in the end.
But on the next day, the emperor issued an edict, ordering General Bai to return to the northwest to continue guarding the border, and Zhang Jiaqi was also granted a Hanlin official position, allowing her to enter the court as a woman.
A month later, the emperor issued another decree, allowing women to take the imperial examinations and enter the court, and also to join the army as generals based on their abilities.
When this decree was issued, the whole world was in an uproar.
Girls' schools everywhere were overcrowded. Many women went to school, either out of their own desire or because they were forced by their families.
Jiang Wanning had no intention of taking the imperial examination. She just happily expanded the girls' school in the capital, added special subjects for the imperial examination, and invited Zhang Jiaqi and others to help teach.
Three years later, another palace examination took place.
However, this year, there were four or five more women in silk skirts in the palace examination hall. They all had bright eyes and determined expressions. They looked at the last question on the test paper and wrote down their new views on the second reform of the imperial examination system.
However, the same name appeared on everyone's test paper——
Jiang Wanning, Master Jiang.
His girls' school created a great path for women all over the world to achieve success.
—End of full text—
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