Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 637
On March 1793, 3, Heilongjiang Chengbei Naval Command.

Zhao Xin, Wu Siyu, Jiang Fan, Li Rui and others were standing in front of a sand table to study the troops' offensive route.

In order to fully eliminate the forces of the Manchu and Qing forces north of Ula, Jilin, the Beihai Navy mobilized four regiments and the Heilongjiang City Garrison Battalion as the main attacking force this time, with a total strength of 1000.The frontline commander of this battle is Li Rui, the former deputy chief of staff of the Northern Navy, and his deputy is Jiang Fan Jiang Ziping.The start of the campaign is scheduled for March 3.

The combat plan formulated by the General Staff is that after taking Butha, the troops will be divided into two groups, one will go west to seize the general jurisdiction of Hulunbuyur, and thus open up the connection with the Khalkha Chechen Khan; the other will attack south Qiqihar, passing through Hulan, occupied Alchuka and Beduna.The entire campaign was planned to take four to five months, and before the winter of 1793, the core towns, post roads and waterways of the five deputy capitals were fully controlled.

In addition, the two regiments stationed on the front line of the Lafa River west of Ningguta will also cooperate to launch a diversionary attack on Dasheng Ula and Jilin Ula to prevent the Jilin Qing army from going north to rescue.

In order to ensure the marching speed of the troops and reduce the difficulty of resupply, the ministries participating in the battle this time were only equipped with 82mm mortars.We must know that the Nenjiang Plain in the eighteenth century was flooded in spring, forests and swamps were everywhere, and the post roads became muddy roads when the snow melted in spring;

Relying on the "Bohei Railway" built in more than three years, the speed of mobilizing troops of the Beihai Navy in winter has increased significantly.Since February 1793, 2, personnel from two regiments have arrived in Heilongjiang City, and the staff expects that all troops will be in place no later than March 25.

The completion of the "Bohei Railway" has greatly promoted the exchange of personnel and materials in the lower and middle reaches of Heilongjiang. Therefore, taking the fertile Nenjiang Plain and starting to develop it has become the next goal of the Civil Administration.In addition, in order to realize the control of the upper reaches of Heilongjiang and Eastern Siberia, the railway from Heilongjiang City to Humar also started the preliminary earthwork construction from the end of last summer.

At this time, a staff officer was holding a pointer in his hand and was pointing on the sand table, "The first echelon of our army will advance to Kolor Station, which is 76 miles away from Morgan, and the second echelon will advance to Khalkatu Station..."

Jiang Fan interrupted: "Where is the Special Operations Battalion after the attacking force arrives?"

The staff officer pointed to a place 112 miles south of Morgan City and said, "Here, Kemeni Station."

"Is this going to be interspersed?"

Jiang Fan and Li Rui looked at Zhao Xin, saw the other party nodded, and stopped talking.

The tactical method adopted this time is the result of discussions between Zhao Xin and Wu Siyu. Specifically, small troops are secretly interspersed, and the main attacking troops attack and penetrate at the same time. Flee or enter the Zhelimu League in the Six Leagues of Monan Mongolia.

Both of them rushed back from Chiyan City after the end of the negotiations with the Tsarist Empire last year.At present, the garrison in Siberia is under the command of Sheng Haizhou, with Zhao Jiuzang and Chen Jishan as deputy.

The negotiations between Beihai Town, the Cossack Emirate and the Tsarist Empire broke up after several months of wrangling.The Tsarist Russian Empire has been accumulating strength for the past two years. At present, the Russian army has placed the most elite "Ekaterina Army" on the front line from Tobolsk to St. Peter's Fortress.Although it can't beat the Northern Navy, it's more than enough to deal with the undisciplined Cossack Emirate's army.

Zhao Xin didn't have the heart to let the Bei Haijun bleed for the Cossacks, he would only cherish what he had earned through his own struggle.What's more, there are only two regiments in Chiyan City, which are more than enough to protect themselves, but not enough to attack.Although Tobolsk is very important in the current Siberia, he pays more attention to Tyumen, which is still a small county.

While talking, Yin Bingwei, who was serving as a personal guard, came in and whispered a few words in the ear of Zhao Xin who was watching the sand table. Zhao Xin said "Oh" in surprise, and whispered to Yin Bingwei: "He What happened?"

"No."

"Just say I'm in a meeting and tell him to wait a bit."

"Yes."

After the meeting ended, Wu Siyu came over and asked, "Who's here?"

Zhao Xin said: "Wang Zhong."

"What is he doing all the way here?"

Zhao Xin didn't answer, but looked at Wu Siyu and asked, "What do you think?"

Wu Siyu thought for a while and said, "Imperial examination?"

"Well, he was in a hurry. Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi both wrote letters at the end of the year."

"I've heard of Yuan Mei, the author of "Suiyuan Food List". Who is Zhao Yi?"

"Brother, don't wear glasses to pretend to be knowledgeable. Dare to write so many books, you just remember to eat them?" Zhao Xin teased a few words with a smile, and explained: "Zhao Yi is very famous. In the Military Aircraft Department, he worked as a secretary for Qianlong, wrote edicts, and also worked as an aide for Agui and Li Shiyao. Later, he became disabled after a stroke and went to teach at Anding Academy."

"To be honest, I have never understood why you want to hold the imperial examination. Wouldn't it be nice to abolish it?"

Zhao Xin decided to have a good talk with Wu Siyu about this issue, so that everyone can have a correct understanding of it.He sorted out his thoughts, and said: "Stopping the abolition of the imperial examinations and opening new schools is of course the trend, but it is not the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign enemies are not to be mentioned at all, and social conflicts are not so sharp. I have thought about it for a long time. If I abolish it rashly, I will It will artificially create a social crisis."

"What crisis?"

"The traditional gentry class disintegrated."

"Isn't disintegration just what you want? I remember you said that industrialization under the public ownership system, the gentry is our natural enemy."

"I did say this, but there are two sides to the matter. The imperial examinations are not only for the cultivation of intellectuals, but also for the formation of the gentry class. Have you ever thought about what it means for the gentry class to suddenly disappear before schools spread to the countryside? "

"What? Elimination of the landlord class?"

"It's the complete disintegration of the society of 'scholars, farmers, businessmen', which in turn will lead to the reorganization of the entire social class, and will also lead to a sharp decline in rural society." Zhao Xin took a puff of cigarette, and slowly exhaled: "With our current capabilities, we can There is no way to deal with a situation like this.”

"Didn't we carry out land reform, and the countryside will decline?"

"Yes. Don't underestimate it. Before the rural administrative system is established and perfected, the dissemination of grass-roots laws and public moral education must rely on gentry. Without these people, our laws are useless, and how many people can't read? One can understand. Furthermore, the imperial examinations are stopped, how can traditional culture spread? They are all tested in mathematics, physics and chemistry, who is willing to memorize the "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic"? I admit that there are dross in the Confucian classics, and respect the monarchy and patriarchy Husband's power advocates foolish loyalty, foolish filial piety, and foolish festivals, but that was caused by later generations' annotations in order to flaunt imperial power. It's okay to splash dirty water, but you can't splash the children together, right?"

"Old Wu, I don't believe it anymore. Why are all the western things good and our traditional culture is wrong! Leaving aside the natural sciences, think about our era, less than 100 years have passed. In [-], everyone turned back to look for traditional culture. Chinese studies classes were set up everywhere, from children to adults. What does this mean? It shows that the spirit contained in the Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics is reasonable! But looking back now, they are all fake tricks! Those I have attended the so-called "Senior President Class of Chinese Studies", and the professor's level is not as good as that of Huang Chengji, a scholar. Nowadays, Westerners dare not invade China, and the voice of reform among the people is not so strong. Our struggle with the Manchu Qing is plain The meat is still rotten in the pot. If we cut off the imperial examinations as soon as we come up, the consequences will probably be worse than our time, and by then, you and I will become eternal sinners!"

"It makes sense." Wu Siyu nodded and sighed: "Shock therapy is not necessary. Even if we don't think about ourselves, we have to think about the next generation."

The current Wu Siyu is different from before, he has a son, so naturally he has to think about the future.It can't be that Lao Tzu conquers the world and dies in the second generation.He looked at Zhao Xin, and there was no sense of ridicule in his tone: "The path you chose is not easy to follow! There are so many things we don't even have to learn from."

Zhao Xin extinguished the cigarette butt vigorously and said: "To borrow Qu Yuan's words, I have a good heart, even though he died nine times, he still has no regrets."

More than half an hour later, Zhao Xin saw Wang Zhong.As soon as he came up, he said with a smile: "Mr. Rong Fu, why do you have to travel all the way?"

Wang Zhong arrived in Heilongjiang City by train for more than ten hours, and then sat and waited for Zhao Xin for another two hours.

"Don't dare. Zhao Wang is in charge of the military and government, and everything is entangled. Wang came here without warning. His Highness should not see him."

Ho?Zhao Xinyi was emotional in his obedience. He smiled and made a new cup of tea for Wang Zhong, and brought it to Wang Zhong respectfully.The reason why Zhao Xin did this was that in public, Wang Zhong was the vice principal of Beihai Town Primary School; in private, he had a half-teacher friendship with him, and he knew Wang Zhong's shortcomings in character, so he was still a good person.

Seeing Zhao Xin's attitude, Wang Zhong also knew that what he just said was a bit exaggerated, so he got up to take the tea, and then said: "Wang knows that His Royal Highness is busy with military affairs, but now it is urgent to start the imperial examination. Cangshan Gong and Oubei Gong Waiting for a reply there."

Zhao Xin asked: "Then do you think it is a rural test or a government test?"

Wang Zhongdao: "I'm afraid the government examination is too late, but the rural examination is fine."

The government examination they mentioned is a pass in the examination of talents.The imperial examination qualification examination in the Qing Dynasty was called "Children's Examination". There were three passes, county examination, government examination, and hospital examination.If you only pass the first two tests, you can only be called a student; if you pass all three tests, you can be promoted to a student, that is, a scholar; waiting.

The "Children's Examination" under the Manchu Qing rule was generally held in February every year, and there were five county examinations in a row.After passing, the government examination will be held in April, and there will be three consecutive examinations.When you arrive at the college examination, you will be presided over by a provincial academic administration, and there will be two examinations.The teacher-student relationship between Liu Yong and Jiao Xun was mentioned before, that is, he presided over the college examination during his tenure as a Xuezheng in Jiangsu and admitted the latter.As for the rural examination, although it is held every three years, it is usually held in August, so there is still time.

Zhao Xin thought for a while and said to Wang Zhong: "I don't think it is necessary to be a scholar. You can also come if you want to be a child. Just divide it into two examination rooms. You will make overall arrangements for contacting Jiangnan Shilin. I will let the Intelligence Bureau fully cooperate. If you need anything You can go directly to Wang Changsheng. In Shandong, I will ask Kong Shaoan to notify the military control committees of various places. Those who want to participate will be issued boat tickets. Just come by boat. Let’s estimate the number of people first, and it must be decided by the end of May at the latest, so that the civil affairs department can build a temporary residence."

He paused for a moment and then said: "We don't need to take the exam every three years, we can take the exam every year. Give more opportunities."

"Wang made a special trip to meet His Highness this time, and there is another matter, which is about the Gongyuan. Wang believes that since Beihai Town holds the imperial examination and recruits talents from all over the world, it should build its own Gongyuan."

Wang Zhong then said a lot of blah blah blah, and Zhao Xin finally understood what was going on.What Ganqing Wang Zhong meant was to build an examination place in Beihai Town with a scale and structure comparable to that of the Jiangnan Tribute Academy, to announce to the world the cultural governance of Beihai Town, but Chen Qingsong rejected it.

The Jiangnan Gongyuan in Jiangning was first built in the Southern Song Dynasty. After 700 years of repairs and expansions, it has the current layout.Its scale ranks first among the tribute colleges all over the country. There are more than 2 exam halls alone, which can accept more than 2 candidates for exams at the same time. In addition to hundreds of ancillary buildings, it covers an area of ​​more than 30 square meters.

According to Wang Zhong and Duan Yucai's intentions, although there is no need for 2 rooms for the test room, Beihai Town is sparsely populated, and a land of 30 square meters is nothing at all.Except for the main gate, the second gate and the dragon gate, the Mingyuan Tower had to be built imposingly, otherwise it would not be enough to highlight the momentum of the new dynasty.In addition, there must be archways, Hengjian Hall, Zhigong Hall, Feihong Bridge, main examination rooms, examination rooms, and stele pavilions.

Chen Qingsong's eyes widened when he heard it, and he thought what a guy!How much money would it cost, and how much manpower and material resources would it take up!Moreover, even in August, the nighttime temperature in the outer northeast is very cold. If you really want to build a large bungalow like a tribute courtyard, you will eat, drink, and answer papers in the open-air examination room.

Did not say, do not agree.However, he also proposed a plan, that is, to build two three-story buildings on the north side of the location of Beihai Higher Institute of Technology as the examination room.

Maybe it was because Chen Qingsong was busy with something, maybe it was the wrong time for Wang Zhong and Duan Yucai to look for him, anyway, Fatty Chen left without explaining to Wang Zhong, which made Wang Zhongxin so angry.He was too lazy to talk nonsense with Chen Qingsong, and said in his heart that if you don't agree, I will go to Zhao Wang.He knew that Zhao Xin had gone to Heilongjiang City, so he got on the carriage to Fuerdan City, and then went to Boli through the principal of the local primary school to find a carriage. After that, he took the train and arrived in Heilongjiang City.

Zhao Xin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking that this guy was too temperamental.

"Mr. Rong Fu, may I ask what are Mingyuan Building, Memorial Archway, Hengjian Hall, Zhigong Hall, and Feihong Bridge used for?" Zhao Xin didn't understand the functions of the buildings in the Gongyuan. Since he wanted to mediate, he had to ask clearly first. just work.

"This is to be used in conjunction with the buildings in the four corners of the examination room. The purpose is to invigilate the examination. In addition, it can also issue orders, use semaphore during the day and light up lights at night, and coordinate all parties."

After listening to Wang Zhong's explanation, Zhao Xin smiled knowingly. For him who had taken the college entrance examination in another time and space, this is not a big deal, isn't it just to prevent cheating and send notices!Install a camera in the examination room to monitor, and then install a speaker to issue announcements, and it will be all over.

As for the Feihong Bridge, it is purely used to isolate the examiners from the examination room; Zhigongtang is the office lobby in the Gongyuan, where the examiners hold pre-examination ceremonies; The place where the ranking is determined; the Jieshen Hall is the place where officials from the inner and outer curtains transcribe the text of the list before the list is released.Put all of the above together.

"Mr. Rong Fu, the natural conditions of Beihai Town determine that we can't build according to Jiangning's regulations, and there's no need for it. As for the township examination in three years' time, if there are no accidents, it will definitely be held in the Jiangning Gongyuan."

Wang Zhong didn't know what was decided in the meeting that crossed the crowd years ago. At this time, his eyes lit up when he heard it, and he looked at Zhao Xin and said, "Your Highness, are you serious?"

Seeing Zhao Xin nodding with a smile, Wang Zhong excitedly hit his palm with his fist. After waiting in Beihai Town for all these years, he finally saw the light of day!

Two days later, the military control committees of the four counties in Jiaodong almost simultaneously issued a notice that Beihai Town would hold the imperial examination. As soon as the news came out, it shocked the whole field.

(End of this chapter)