Chapter 84: Reform
Since Kong Yanjin had already "obediently accepted the order", Emperor Zhu Yuhuan would certainly not be stingy. He immediately waved his hand and asked Kong Yanjin to pack up his things and head south to Fengyang, and it would be best if he could produce results as soon as possible.
As for the Kong family, Zhu Yuhuan also tried to appease them, saying that ever since the censor's report, the emperor felt that the country could not do without Neo-Confucianism, so he asked Duke Yansheng to start with Yi Shuren, and it would be best if a Neo-Confucian classic work that was more suitable for the current situation of the Ming Dynasty could be compiled as soon as possible.
This matter "benefits the present and future generations, and the foundation of cultural heritage is all in the hands of Yanshenggong."
The hats were worn higher and higher, and as to whether Kong Yanjin could do it, that was not something Zhu Yuhuan had to consider.
Because he could never do it.
Compared to these, Zhu Yuhuan now has a lot of things to consider.
The inspection of the military settlements has basically been completed. Zhu Yuhuan verified many reports and dealt with a group of people who seized soldiers' land. He also issued an edict to distribute the seeds of wheat, millet, sorghum and other crops that had been cultivated in Jizhen and had significantly increased their yields to military settlements across the border.
Zhu Yuhuan sent some of the censors who had ended the cangue punishment to debate sutras, added supervisory posts, and rotated them regularly to avoid collusion, allowing the currently "clean" military farming system to last longer.
Soldiers farmed in addition to their daily training and garrisoning. It was unlikely that they could be self-sufficient, but at least they would not be too dependent on local supplies.
Of course, the transfer of grain from the south to the north had to continue, but Zhu Yuhuan took advantage of the Nanyang Academy and asked officials and sailors who were attending classes at the Nanyang Academy to transport resources by sea.
This has been a precedent since the Yongle period. The canal was often blocked, but the imperial court could not always clear it in time. Therefore, transporting grain by sea was still very necessary. It also gave the remaining officials of the Nanyang Academy an "internship opportunity" to practice at home so that they would not have no experience in going to sea in the future.
In the summer of the third year of the Yuanguang reign, Zhu Yuhuan officially issued an imperial decree to recruit clerks. Anyone who passed the imperial examination could become a clerk, receiving a salary higher than that of an ordinary clerk, but slightly lower than that of an official. If they achieved certain results in their work, they would receive a bonus. Furthermore, these special clerks could change their original household registration type. For more information, please refer to the case of the craftsmen who changed their household registration type after accompanying Zhu Yuhuan to Yunnan.
However, these officials are different from those others. Instead, they are recruited according to the emperor's standards and are proficient in various skills. Even people who are good at farming can participate in the assessment and be selected, and there are positions carefully prepared by the emperor.
There are seven subjects in total, namely astronomy, geography, water conservancy, instruments, provincial examinations, agriculture, arithmetic, and animal husbandry. Twenty to thirty people are selected in each subject. Nominations can be made from all over the country, regardless of gender. After that, the people will be sent to the capital for unified examination and merged with the original Wunong Temple to form a government office called the "Academy of Science and Technology."
Although the subjects mentioned above include astronomy, geography, and arithmetic, which are prohibited by the government, they have not been completely eliminated over the years and cannot be considered as unorthodox. It’s just that the subjects of farming and animal husbandry are really unexpected, especially causing an uproar among the people.
No one would have thought that farming and herding could be considered a skill.
The agricultural work that Zhu Yuhuan mentioned is certainly not simply farming, but requires a certain understanding of crop habits, farmland diseases, and disaster response.
The Ming Dynasty was an agricultural country with many farmers, so Zhu Yuhuan's request was certainly not too simple.
With the previous example of imperial censors being caned in court, Zhu Yuhuan faced much less pressure this time. The practice of selecting officials by subject was ancient, but after the Song Dynasty, it was gradually simplified to the Jinshi (Jinshi) category. Zhu Yuhuan had already spent a lot of effort to resume his voyages, so he couldn't rush into reintroducing the separate subjects, as it would be like boiling a frog in warm water.
For officials, these recruited people were clerks rather than officials. They did not occupy the vacancies left by those taking the imperial examinations, but could even create job opportunities for officials waiting for vacancies to stay in the capital and manage clerks.
Zhu Yuhuan certainly understood this, but in her conception, the structure should include not only civil officials but also female officials. After all, the performance of this group of civil officials in the past three years made it impossible for Zhu Yuhuan to trust them.
Zhu Yuhuan had been in the palace for so many years that he had a certain understanding of the female officials. Combined with the female official training report submitted by Hu Shanwei, Zhu Yuhuan knew very well that these female officials often just watched quietly from the side, but learned things very quickly.
In this case, it would be most appropriate to let them take this opportunity to adapt to the officialdom as quickly as possible.
After all, the Academy of Sciences is mainly composed of special clerks, and officials are only responsible for management. Such a workplace environment is more gentle and conducive to the rapid transformation of these female officials' mental state and identity.
It would take time for various places to recommend officials. The autumn of the third year of Yuanguang had quietly arrived. Zhu Yuhuan specially took his family and a group of ministers to Nanhaizi for hunting. Students from the Imperial College also accompanied them. It was also a tour of the Academy of Sciences that was under construction.
In Nanhaizi, Zhu Yuhuan was riding a horse, accompanied by Zhu Qiyu and the guards of the Imperial Stables. Several prey were already hanging on the saddle.
Zhu Yuhuan rested his hand on the reins, his mood unusually relaxed and cheerful. "This time, Jingyuan Bo specifically called in students from the Imperial College's civil and military academies to play polo against each other. We'll have something exciting to watch."
Zhu Qiyu responded with a smile, "The Earl of Jingyuan is indeed thoughtful. In this way, Your Majesty can also use this opportunity to test the results of the reform of the Imperial College's martial arts and whether it can cultivate talents for the martial arts examination."
Seeing that he was unusually relaxed, Zhu Yuhuan half-jokingly said, "Yuan Zhenze'er and his mother are safe and sound. You are so proud of yourself right now."
In late spring of the third year of Yuanguang, Lin Yuanzhen gave birth to Zhu Qiyu's first son. Zhu Qiyu immediately wrote to the emperor and asked Zhu Yuhuan to confer a title and give him a name. Zhu Yuhuan readily agreed and named the newborn baby "Jianze" and conferred the title of Crown Prince on him.
The actions of the brother and sister were undoubtedly telling others that Zhu Jianze was going to inherit the title of King of Qin from his biological father Zhu Qiyu. In this way, it could prevent some people from taking advantage of the opportunity to secretly do something considering that Zhu Qiyu's children were the emperor's nephews by blood just like Zhu Jianshen.
Not to mention that Zhu Qiyu himself had lived in the vortex for twenty-two years and did not want his children to be involved.
Zhu Yuhuan understood Zhu Qiyu's concerns and had no intention of stopping him.
Zhu Qiyu's expression became more restrained, and he simply said, "Your Majesty, you are joking..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "It's a pity that the child is still young, and Yuanzhen is worried about him. Otherwise, she would have brought them both here this time. I wonder if they would have had a chance to play with Ze'er before Yuan'er and Shen'er go off to school. Perhaps by then, Ze'er would have already found his own playmates in the fiefdom."
Wu Miaosu and Zhu Qiyu have already paid a lot, intentionally or unintentionally, and Zhu Yuhuan does not want to continue plundering anything from them.
"My brother heard that His Majesty is selecting study companions of similar age for the two princes from the imperial estates and the homes of nobles. Unfortunately, Ze'er is too young. I'm afraid that when the princes go out to study, he won't even be able to run smoothly..."
After Zhu Qiyu finished speaking, he was slightly stunned and subconsciously squeezed the horse's belly, and fell behind Zhu Yuhuan.
He thought about it for a long time before he understood what Zhu Yuhuan meant.
Zhu Yuhuan planned to send Zhu Qiyu to a fiefdom.
Zhu Qiyu was happy at first, but he couldn't help feeling a little worried.
He knew his sister would not mistreat her mother, but he could not bear to leave his mother alone in the capital...
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