The changes in the Ming Empire began several years ago.
The people who feel it most obviously are not necessarily officials, but also ordinary people, and even orphans like Wu Yue and Zhao Dabao.
Without the Youth Academy, they don’t know what would happen to them. But in the Youth Academy, they study, play, and have no worries about food and clothing.
Moreover, they knew that Shaoyingyuan was funded by the emperor, and they were extremely lucky to be able to enjoy such treatment.
They also knew that every province now had a Young Talents Academy, jointly funded by the royal family and several major chambers of commerce. It provided shelter to countless orphans, allowing them to learn and grow without hunger and cold.
The funds for the daily operation of Shaoyingyuan came partly from the emperor's treasury, partly from the chamber of commerce, and partly from donations from wealthy people, gentry, merchants, and even ordinary people in society.
But these orphans who were given shelter were unaware of the emperor's earnest expectations of them. Everything they learned was designated by the emperor; when they grew up, they would become the talents that the emperor hoped for.
More importantly, their thinking will take a big step forward.
The orphans adopted by the Shaoyingyuan alone were certainly not enough. The emperor was gradually expanding the program, using tax breaks and increased investment in education to cultivate more talents that met his requirements.
If one generation wasn't enough, then two would do. The emperor believed he could achieve this goal. Since he was still young, and with a generation lasting twenty years, he should be able to hold on until then.
Alas! Never mind. Zhao Dabao has his own ideas, and perhaps they are right. What is even more valuable is Zhao Dabao's persistence.
May sighed maturely. Since the emperor didn't interfere, why should she care so much?
Now that she had resolved her thoughts, May fixed her eyes on the candied fruits on the table again and grinned.
Happiness is so simple. Even though she is much smarter than ordinary people, she is still a child after all.
All the children of the Ming Dynasty will no longer experience the wars and sufferings of history. Although they will have their own confusions and difficulties in the future, these are the inevitable growth experiences in their lives.
……………….
The conquest of Liaodong not only extended the life of the Ming Empire and made the people rejoice, but also lifted a heavy stone from the emperor's heart.
This year was also the one when the emperor felt most relaxed and comfortable.
From then on, he no longer had to worry so much. While eliminating external enemies, he never stopped rectifying his internal affairs. It was precisely because of this internal effort to promote benefits and eliminate disadvantages that he had the confidence and strength to mobilize the entire nation to fight a major battle in Liaodong.
Now, plans for the future can be put into action. As for the rebellion in the southwest, the An family would surrender with just one word from him, but he didn't want it.
Not only did he not accept An's surrender, he also did not intend to let go of the chieftains who participated in the rebellion. He was not stingy with money, food and supplies, but he must eliminate future troubles.
Shuixi will be directly governed by the Ming Dynasty; the same goes for Wusa. And...
The emperor did not want to kill the Shuixi people and make them flow like a river of blood, but he could not tolerate the An family continuing to enjoy the status of chieftain after surrendering.
To put it bluntly, the emperor's target was the An family, not the soldiers and civilians of Shuixi. He wanted to uproot the An family and move the rebellious tribes to Mekong, Dongfan, and Hainan...
But they are still the people of the Ming Dynasty, and will live a freer and more prosperous life. Except for those chieftains and local leaders who gained something without working, they suffered the greatest losses in this rebellion war.
They lost the land left by their ancestors, the people who could be enslaved for generations, and even their lives depended on the emperor's attitude.
This was the true deterrent, the confidence that the pacification of Liao gave the emperor. With the sharpness of their weapons and equipment and the improvement of their combat effectiveness, the Ming army was no longer what it used to be.
Although it was not yet time to implement the policy of converting chieftains into officials on a large scale, the strategy of weakening the chieftains had already begun to be implemented.
To be more precise, it weakened the power of the chieftains at home but strengthened their presence abroad.
For example, after suppressing the rebellion, elite troops and generals entered Yunnan to rectify the Yunnan officialdom while also preparing for war against the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma.
The Ming army was not the only force in the war. Joining forces with the troops of various chieftains to compete for foreign land and resources was a good strategy that killed two birds with one stone.
This is a similar method to establishing chieftains in Mekong Province, allowing domestic chieftains to branch out and invisibly weaken their power.
Strength disperses when divided, but becomes stronger when united. The emperor understood this principle, but others might not. Even if they understood it clearly, how many could resist the temptation to stick to their own small piece of land?
Lead the forces that may rebel outward and disperse them. Once the forceful transformation of the native peoples into common people is carried out, the resistance will be greatly reduced, and they can be defeated one by one and divided and conquered.
The emperor put away the information about Yunnan, suppressed his anxiety, thought for a while, and ordered the palace maid to announce that Prince Sanshan would come to the palace for an audience tomorrow.
The Mu family is based in Kunming, and the governor of Yunnan is in Chuxiong. Since they are not in the same city, there are fewer conflicts.
Although the emperor had to wait until the She'an Rebellion was quelled before sending a large army to Yunnan, he would take over the military and political power of Yunnan and end the history of the Mu family ruling Yunnan.
But the current governor of Yunnan is not satisfactory, and Wang Sanshan should be a more suitable candidate, but he is too old.
In the emperor's mind, the best candidate was Fu Zonglong, who was currently leading the rebellion. However, the rebellion was nearing its end, and he did not want to fail, so he had to settle for the next best option.
The emperor wrote another secret decree and sent it off, ordering Fu Zonglong to select 5,000 elite soldiers to escort Wang Sanshan into Yunnan. These 5,000 elite soldiers served as both an escort and a training team to reorganize the Yunnan army.
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