Chapter 4, Chapter 84: After Ascending the Throne (3)
Zhou She didn't pay much attention to the uproar caused by that sentence on Enke's notice.
Various government decrees were promulgated one by one. For example, when official positions became vacant in places like Chuzhou, new officials were appointed to fill them. Taxes were reduced or exempted for prefectures that suffered from disasters and poor harvests the previous year.
Although the arrival of a new official in the court was an important matter, it would be several months from now.
He is currently busy with three things: first, ensuring a smooth passage through this period and strictly preventing any unrest from occurring in various places; second, reviewing the national military and economic situation; and third, conducting an inspection tour of Beijing.
A new broom sweeps clean, and this new emperor, too, will light two gentle fires—not enough to kill anyone, just to warm things up.
The first month of the lunar calendar passed by in a flurry of activity.
After the first month of the lunar calendar, the reign title "Jinghua" was officially adopted, marking the first year of Jinghua.
As if the timing was predetermined, Liang Jichuan, who had been missing for a long time, suddenly returned to Beijing.
Liang Jichuan wasn't doing it for his book, "Simple Prescriptions for Saving the World".
Starting in the twenty-seventh year of the Hong'an era, Liang Jichuan compiled a number of mature medicinal prescriptions into a book, which was officially published throughout the country. To date, the third volume has been published.
When he returned from gathering herbs in the mountains, he heard that Zhou She had ascended the throne. He immediately understood what had happened and rushed back to the capital.
The journey was long and the journey slow; it took until the first month of the lunar calendar for us to finally return to Beijing.
Liang Jichuan was over seventy years old, not young anymore. He stepped into the Qianqing Palace, saw Zhou She, and chuckled twice: "Your Majesty is in good spirits. It seems I don't need to worry about you."
Zhou She smiled helplessly: "Master Jichuan is still vigorous despite his old age, how could I be weaker than you?"
Zhou She recalled Zhong Shuo's situation and said calmly, "Everything else is fine, except that he is obsessed with Taoist arts. I heard a couple of days ago that he came back from Ziyun Temple with a box of elixirs, saying that he wanted to give them to me and the Empress so that we could all become immortals after taking them."
Liang Jichuan was utterly shocked: "His Majesty allowed him to eat it?"
"Beat him up." Zhou She still gritted his teeth at the thought. He had practically raised the Sixth Prince himself, even though he knew perfectly well that the prince didn't believe in ghosts or gods...
Zhou She paused suddenly as he thought of this.
He wasn't originally from this era; he arrived here by accident. And that unpredictable celestial canopy appearing in the Ning Dynasty—was it the power of gods and Buddhas, or...?
Zhou She's doubts quickly dissipated. The end of metaphysics is science, but unfortunately, current science only seems to work on the dead, most likely resulting in the soul becoming immortal; [the rest of the text is incomplete and likely refers to a separate topic]
And then there's that group from Ziyun Temple. He was noncommittal about cultivating Taoism, but they were trying to lure Zhong Shuo with the intention of swindling him out of his funds.
In response, Zhou She said: "We have the funds. We'll put them all into the artillery battalion and use them to make hand grenades."
Liang Jichuan was very pleased. He immediately remembered the important matter and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this old minister has a request."
Zhou She raised an eyebrow slightly: "Please speak, Mr. Jichuan."
"I have heard that a large ship is being built in the workshops outside the city?"
He only found out about this after he returned to Beijing.
Zhou She remained expressionless and said, "I do indeed intend to send an envoy to the Western Regions. How did you know, Mr. Jichuan?"
Those people in the Ministry of Works really need to be taken out and given a wake-up call.
Liang Jichuan's face flushed, both surprised and delighted. He had already guessed that it wasn't a warship, but he hadn't expected that asking would actually lead to such good news.
He immediately said, "Your subject requests to accompany the mission to the Western Regions!"
Liang Jichuan's goal was quite simple: he had been studying medicine in the East for decades, and although he had made progress in the face of intractable diseases, it was ultimately not very effective.
Perhaps in the unfamiliar West, he can integrate the strengths of both sides and form a new medical system.
The late emperor only cared about appointing him as the imperial physician, even though he trusted his medical skills. But Liang Jichuan had his own ambitions, and he felt that the new emperor would understand him.
However, to everyone's surprise, Zhou She hesitated.
Liang Jichuan grew anxious and exclaimed, "Your Majesty! A doctor is needed for the voyage, and I am traveling west with the ship, so I am perfectly suited to this role!"
Zhou She certainly knew.
He also knew that Liang Jichuan wanted to combine the strengths of both East and West, and that he was going there with the intention of learning from them.
"Actually, I do want to arrange an official position for you."
Liang Jichuan was greatly disappointed: "The imperial physician?"
Zhou She shook his head: "Lin Jingcheng is sufficient. I intend to establish a medical college in Bingzhou, with you as its dean. Several other lecturers have already been selected, and enrollment will begin next year."
Liang Jichuan's disappointment froze on his face.
He said suspiciously, "The Imperial Medical Academy has been using this method of training physicians for many years."
The chaotic management and appalling results successfully drove Liang Jichuan away.
“There will be some changes,” Zhou She said calmly. “You’ve seen the results of the Imperial Medical Academy; they basically only serve the nobility. This time, I will implement the Imperial Medical Academy according to the general outline of the imperial examination.”
Liang Jichuan pondered for a moment: "I still wish to travel west with the mission, and I hope Your Majesty will consider my request. However, before that, I will go to Bingzhou."
Zhou She didn't take it seriously and nodded: "Okay. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised when you go to Bingzhou."
Having achieved his goal, Liang Jichuan, though not particularly interested in the legendary medical school, adopted a "love what you do" attitude and, after resting for half a month, headed towards Bingzhou.
After seeing him off, Zhou She was still thinking about the medical school.
The medical school was modeled after the higher medical institutions he built in later times, but its goal was not only to train advanced medical professionals. In addition to highly skilled physicians, mid-level physicians who served the common people would also be an important component.
Therefore, corresponding hospital facilities will be built in the future.
The Ning Dynasty already had the infrastructure for this, but it was not perfect. Medical care was too expensive for ordinary people, and the difficulty in accessing medical care was still a major problem.
Zhou She pondered, trying to fit the standards of later generations into the system. He recorded what was suitable, intending to discuss it at the court meeting, and deleted what was unsuitable.
The medical school was a pilot project, and as the most important link, it was the first to be established. Many other institutions will follow suit.
As Zhou She wrote the draft, he mentally calculated the costs, item by item, each item requiring money!
Hopefully, the journey to the Western Regions will bring new crops and technologies.
*
Ziyun Temple eagerly awaited the emperor's funding, only to receive news of being offered amnesty.
Zhong Shuo looked completely innocent: "His Majesty told me that this elixir is truly amazing and would like to request that you all refine more of it."
Abbot of Ziyun Temple: "..." Do you think I believe you or not?
He exchanged glances with his fellow disciples, and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "We are all monks..."
"His Majesty doesn't care."
Abbot: "..." We care!
What's this all about? I thought sending the elixir would inspire some faith in the emperor, but it seems I've made a mistake. I should have known better than to send the elixir through this young prince.
It was too late for regrets, and all they could do was try to ignite the furnace in the Taoist temple. The emperor also sent a group of people to surround the alchemy formula. The leaders were holding small notebooks and writing and drawing on them. No one knew what they were writing, but whenever the emperor asked, they would smile mysteriously and turn away.
Zhong Shuo regularly reassured everyone at Ziyun Temple, and casually mentioned, "I've heard that His Majesty will send an envoy westward to obtain Buddhist scriptures..."
The abbot hesitated and asked, "The pilgrimage?"
"That's what I heard. This is a matter of national importance. You and I should keep it to ourselves and not reveal it."
The abbot of Ziyun Temple nodded solemnly, his face filled with resentment.
Journey to the West? Is that even a question? When did those Buddhist monks get involved with the emperor?
It's clear that people don't believe in ghosts and gods these days!
That night, he summoned everyone in the temple and said through gritted teeth, "Fellow disciples, we absolutely cannot lose to those bald monks!"
They must seize His Majesty's faith!
Zhou She was unaware of what was happening here, so the speed at which the new ancient-style hand grenade was successfully developed far exceeded his expectations.
In response to the emperor's casual question, Zhong Shuo smiled sincerely: "Perhaps when they thought of Your Majesty's power and virtue, they couldn't help but exert all their strength, and a flash of inspiration occurred to them, which is why they were so fast."
Zhou She: "..." Do you think I believe you or not?
Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter, as long as the result is good.
He went to the suburbs on time to review the results. The moment the grenade was successfully detonated, there was a loud bang, and the resulting mud and sand covered the sky.
Zhou She was protected by several servants behind him. The explosion was far away, and although it sounded frightening, everyone was unharmed.
After several grenades exploded one after another, he looked closely and saw that the crater was deep and the hard rocks were shattered and scattered all over the ground.
If it were thrown down from the city wall, the effect would be predictable.
Zhou She was very satisfied. After rewarding them, he praised the audience at Ziyun Stream, which made them very excited and eager to help Zhou She improve his gunpowder skills.
Zhou She then instructed them to continue researching ammunition to arm his land and naval forces.
Although the Northern Di retreated, Zhou She was a very vengeful person. He always remembered how the Northern Di had harassed the borders of Ning Dynasty, threatening the lives and livelihoods of countless people.
How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed?
From any perspective, the Northern Barbarians were a thorn in his side, and he would eliminate their regime sooner or later.
Of course, he's not in a hurry right now.
As the saying goes, one must take things one step at a time. While Ning Dynasty's current national strength can sustain a prolonged war, it will inevitably impact the domestic ecosystem.
He believes that the right time is when everything is in place.
*
Gu Xunhui's letter was sent to the palace once again. In the letter, she wrote: The free school has been initially established, the enrollment work has begun to show results, and everything is going smoothly.
This is a letter to let you know I'm safe.
Zhou She knew that she had only written about the smooth parts; she must have kept the many obstacles to herself.
He wrote a reply and sent it to the northern frontier, thinking to himself: The three prefectures of the northern frontier are located on the border, and the imperial army has been stationed there for a long time. Therefore, the people of the northern frontier have a relatively high level of recognition of the Ning Dynasty.
But in the south... to put it bluntly, in places like Baiyue and Jiaozhi, ethnic conflicts and factional clashes have always meant that these areas have simply been incorporated into administrative regions, and have never really felt a sense of belonging.
Otherwise, Tianmu wouldn't have spoken of Chushan with such emotion and respect, saying that he guarded Jiaozhi and promoted ethnic integration.
Ultimately, their establishment of free schools served two purposes: first, to discover the talents and virtues of ordinary people, especially women who had long been suppressed; and second, to leverage the educational power of these schools.
Once Enke is over, free schools should be built in the three southern prefectures to educate the local people, and then a professional team should be sent to investigate the local situation.
The three southern states are not in good economic condition. To win them over completely is actually quite simple. As long as the local area becomes prosperous and their lives get better and better, they will naturally keep Ning Dynasty in their hearts.
The needs of ordinary people are inherently simple, but when it comes to actually doing them, they seem complicated.
Zhou She kept this matter in mind. Just then, a voice came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, Minister of Works Gao Zhengyang requests an audience."
Zhou She looked up: "Let him in."
Gao Zhengyang strode into the hall with great joy, and after paying his respects to Zhou She, he looked up and said, "Your Majesty, the new ship has been built!"
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