I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 627 There’s a long way to go

When the Tsarist Russian envoy arrived in Beijing, it was already summer.

The weather in Nanjing is gradually getting hotter.

When diplomatic missions from various countries completed their pilgrimage missions, many did not leave Beijing directly. Instead, they stayed in Nanjing for sightseeing while there was still time.

In particular, envoys from Southeast Asian countries visit several Buddhist temples in Nanjing almost every day to consult and exchange Buddhist teachings in Chinese temples.

The glazed pagoda of Dabaoen Temple has completely convinced these overseas monks from Southeast Asia, and they all regard Nanjing, China as a new holy place for Buddhism.

The envoys do not live for free when they live in the temple vassal hall. Honglu Temple is usually only responsible for free food and lodging for three months.

However, any reason to stay in the feudal residence cannot exceed six months.

After half a year, they will be forcibly deported, and then they will have to figure out their own accommodation and household registration issues for staying in China.

Of course, except friends from the UK and Portugal.

In the early stage, Portugal helped China purchase steam engines and high-quality war horses, and hired a group of shipbuilders from Europe. It also successfully established trade routes with India and Southeast Asia, mainly trading war horses, cotton, and ship wood.

Now, Macau has been officially incorporated into Xiangshan County by the Ming Dynasty, and the native Portuguese there have become a new ethnic group in the Ming Dynasty.

Portugal was beaten by almost ten thousand people in Europe, so Emperor Zhu naturally had to give it some preferential treatment, which could at least drive a nail in Europe.

The UK is even different. It is a strategic ally of the Ming Dynasty. Even Chittagong and Bangladesh will soon be handed over to China. These benefits alone are enough for China to entertain the friends from the British mission.

Envoys from various countries visited Buddhist temples in Nanjing, studied Buddhism, and secretly studied and imitated Chinese architectural styles, preparing to present them to their respective kings after returning home.

The thirteen-year-old prince Zhu Boxi had a rare day off to go out for an outing.

Accompanying the crown prince were his five royal brothers and five royal sisters.

Over the years, although Emperor Zhu didn't have many new concubines, the existing concubines in the harem still gave birth to three princes and four princesses.

Counting the first-born prince Zhu Boxi, the second prince Zhu Boyu (mixed Han and Yao), the third prince Zhu Boxhen, and the eldest princess Zhu Fuyu, Zhu Yijiong now has six princes and five princesses.

The royal family of the new Ming Dynasty gradually prospered. Not only did the ministers feel relieved, but the scholars and people all over the world also felt at ease.

Today's Zhu Boqi is dressed in a smart outfit, not as luxurious as the prince's usual uniform, but at first glance, he looks heroic.

This stems from the good habits developed over several years of practicing martial arts at the Nanjing Military Academy.

The Nanjing Military Academy was officially established by Emperor Zhu three years ago. Its full name is the Nanjing Officers and Generals School. Over the years, it has been internally coordinated. Over the years, the experience and quotations of officers and generals at all levels in the Ming Dynasty are used as the main teaching materials, and "The Art of War" is the core basis.

Many junior officers who were older or were unable to continue serving in the military after being injured and were forced to retire were directly hired as teachers in military academies.

Generally speaking, this military school is still a bit immature, because everything from the teaching materials to the teachers have come from the battlefield.

But it doesn't matter, because those who can study in military academies at this stage are all officers who have been selected during the recruitment period for further training.

After all, Ming China has now entered the age of firearms. The colonists in Europe are also gradually transitioning to the age of firearms. The original model of allowing officers and generals to practice tactical skills on the battlefield is obviously no longer suitable.

Establishing a military academy to directly train generals and officers in a systematic and mass-produced manner will not only be more cost-effective than before, but will also greatly improve the military's combat effectiveness.

Although it is inevitable that these officers' tactics will become rigid, for China, whose military war resources have gradually begun to dominate the world, the so-called tactical strategies are no longer applicable.

On the contrary, a straight-forward fixed model, relying on stronger national power and an organized army to completely crush the opponent, is the correct strategy.

This is why the basic textbook of Nanjing Military Academy is "Sun Tzu's Art of War", because the core of this set is that it must be supported by a strong country and complete logistical strength.

Japan once copied China's "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and used it, thinking that this book was insane.

To them, it must be "crazy". In a place with projectiles as big as the palm of your hand, there are still layers of emptiness. With so many samurai names, there are ghosts who can play around.

Zhu Yijiong threw the prince into the Nanjing Military Academy. On the one hand, he was urging the prince to exercise and strengthen his body, so as not to be "easy to dissolve in water" like the emperors of the previous Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, he was also cultivating the prince's military talents.

The prince does not need to be able to become a general who has fought hundreds of battles, but he must at least be able to understand military maps and military intelligence reports from generals. He does not want to be led by civilian and military generals after he ascends the throne in the future.

Bilong was summoned by the emperor within a few days of staying in the Dabaoen Temple vassal hall. This made him completely unprepared, so Zhu Bo had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow the interpreter of Honglu Temple into the palace to have an audience.

As soon as I arrived outside Zhengyang Gate, I saw the royal family's outing and horses leaving the palace.

At the front were the Imperial Guards who were clearing the way. Prince Zhu Boqi was riding a horse in fine attire and looked very heroic. The second prince Zhu Boyu was also riding a horse, but was obviously more low-key. Behind them was a motorcade carrying younger princes and princesses. From time to time the curtains were lifted to look at the scenery outside the imperial city.

The whole convoy was so tense that it was difficult for people along the street to know what was going on.

"Prince!"

"Princess……"

"Your Highness the Prince..."

The onlookers cheered and joined in the fun. Of course they didn't know which of the horse riders was the prince. However, those who came out of the imperial city were not as grand as the emperor's previous trip, so it could only be the prince, prince, or princess. .

Prince Zhu Boxi was riding on horseback. Hearing the people's shouts, he quickly raised his hands to greet them and responded without any airs.

The second prince Zhu Boyu just smiled and did not raise his hand along with the prince.

The royal family's outing motorcade gradually disappeared from Bilong's sight amid the cheers and cheers of the onlookers.

Bilong couldn't understand Chinese, but just from the welcome and pomp he received, he was filled with envy: "Are these people nobles of the Khitan Kingdom? No, they are probably still members of the royal family of the Khitan Empire."

After all, these "Khitan nobles" who had just left came from the palace of the Khitan emperor.

Although Biron was the lover of Tsar Anna, and after Anna succeeded to the throne, he was canonized as the Grand Duke of Courland by Anna. He nominally owned the territory of a principality and became a European aristocrat with some respect.

But in terms of living standards alone, he is equivalent to an ordinary merchant in Nanjing City. Bilong even believes that even the old Tsarist Russian nobles in Petersburg and Moscow are not as good as these Khitan nobles. .

This is not only Bilong's inner inferiority complex, but also the real situation in Tsarist Russia at the moment.

In the early eighteenth century, Tsarist Russia had an actual population of less than 2000 million, and 80% of them were serfs. Half of these serfs were private serfs belonging to the nobility, and the other half were public serfs belonging to the Tsarist Russian government.

By the way, less than 5% are the royal serfs who belong to the tsar’s private family.

The Tsar had millions of serfs. How could such a country develop? Even Tsarist Russia after the reforms of Peter the Great was only slightly stronger than the Poles and the Ottoman Empire.

At this time, the Poles were in a period of drought. Just the year before last, the Ming Dynasty annexed the three northern territories of North Korea. Augustus II, the King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, died of illness, leaving the Polish throne vacant.

Tsarist Russia and Austria were on one side, and France, Spain, and Sardinia were on the other side. The two factions launched a war around the throne of Poland. The entire Poland was repeatedly occupied by a coalition of multinational armies and local nobles.

This war has not yet ended. It is estimated that it will take a few more months for Tsarist Russia and Austria to win the war.

Then, the new Tsar Anna I would use the power of victory to launch a war against the Ottoman Empire, trying to merge the northern coast of the Black Sea that had been invaded by the Mongols in the early 13th century, gain access to the Black Sea, and Consolidate your power in the Balkans and Caucasus and drive out the Ottomans.

However, the final result of this war was that Tsarist Russia expanded too fast, which aroused the fear of its Austrian allies, so the Austrians unilaterally backstabbed Tsarist Russia on the battlefield. Moreover, Tsarist Russia did not know that the Ottoman Empire had a hidden ally. ——France, the European hegemon.

Bilong had entered the imperial city through the side gate, and looked at the magnificent palaces around him, his eyes filled with greed, but also with deep inferiority and fear.

Although the Forbidden City in Nanjing is not as big as Beijing, it is still much larger than the Tsar's palace.

In front of the Forbidden City, European castles and palaces can almost stand aside.

The further Bilong walked toward the palace, the more he felt short of breath, as if something was pressing on his chest.

This is the Khitan Empire... no, it is the palace of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. It is so majestic. How powerful is Ming China? Their Tsarist Russia dares to provoke such a powerful empire. I am afraid that France, the European hegemon, can only do this.

Bilong just sat in the side hall and waited. After the interpreter brought him, he left directly.

The entire side hall was quiet, and he was the only one sitting and waiting inside. There were imperial guards outside, and he couldn't even stay with his entourage.

After waiting for several hours, he had already finished drinking the tea at the beginning, and had no food at all. He was hurriedly summoned to see him early in the morning, and it was already almost noon.

As the favorite and lover of Tsar Anna, Biron later became the leader of Tsarist Russia's version of the "Jinyiwei". He was even more powerful than the Chinese Jinyiwei. Before Tsarina Anna's death, this guy was appointed as the regent.

His political sense is not bad at all, especially the treatment he is receiving now is completely unlike what a serious envoy should be.

Bilong was frightened in his heart, and he had the intuition that the Chinese Emperor might know everything. The rhetoric he had prepared hastily in advance, in retrospect, was completely full of errors.

The most important thing is that the credentials of His Majesty the Tsar have been burned by him.

Of course, if it doesn't burn, the problem may be more serious.

……

No matter that Bilong was under house arrest in the side hall, he was not even given food or tea.

Jinshen Palace.

Zhu Yijiong was having a small meeting with several cabinet ministers.

Wang Li said: "There are many chieftains in the southwest border town. Although many of them took the initiative to join the court and cooperated with the court to convert their native land to local officials. However, these chieftains who took the initiative to convert their native land to local officials were all appointed as the first native officials. Although they lost their private Soldiers, but began to imitate the tyranny of the Han people and raise thugs. And relying on their former prestige, they continued to exploit the local people in the areas under their jurisdiction. These naturalized chieftains were called native officials, but in fact they were not much different from the original chieftains."

Liang Wenxuan said: "Not only that, the imperial court's new conquest of Myanmar lands, these lands must be immigrated to by Dai natives from nearby border towns in Yunnan, thereby strengthening the land reform and return. However, these native officials of the new dynasty began to secretly Following the imperial decree, they first coerced the civilians who participated in the war in the jurisdiction to hand over the reward money issued by the imperial court. Even those who were unwilling to hand over would be robbed by various means, and would be retaliated and ostracized afterwards. The imperial court gave these naturalized Tufu and Tuxian counties have too much autonomy, and these local officials in the new dynasty seem to be even more powerful than those in the previous dynasty."

Zhu Yijiong nodded slightly, seemingly lifeless: "Continue."

Wang Yuan cupped his hands and continued: "These local officials used the imperial decree to extort bribes from the wealthy households in the area, so that the wealthy households did not have to immigrate to the newly conquered land. They also began to plunder all the property of the helpless poor households, and then used them as immigration messengers. . And the land allocated to these poor households through the imperial court's land reform will be turned into official land by them. They will then sell it to themselves at a low price, continue to annex land, expand their industries, and become powerful."

Zhu Yijiong sneered: "So, this is the whole reason for the riots in the border town of Yunnan?"

Just three months ago, the Kunming Governor's Office and Yunnan civil servants jointly submitted a report reporting riots in border towns in Yunnan due to forced immigration.

Although the scale of the riot was not large, several chieftains of the new dynasty who actively joined the movement and cooperated with the reform were killed.

The impact was so bad that after the Yunnan government and the governor's office temporarily suppressed the riots, they had no choice but to petition Nanjing for a ruling.

After hearing the news, Nanjing immediately dispatched inspection officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate to conduct a strict investigation.

It would have been better not to investigate, but an investigation directly exposed more problems.

Ninety percent of the naturalized chieftains in Yunnan have problems. They are either using their power for personal gain or oppressing the native people.

Many native people dare not speak out, because this time the naturalized chieftains have gone too far, and they have been too concentrated. When they think of immigrating to Myanmar, they all think that they will be forced to die.

Finally, some local people took the lead in the rebellion, and then there was a response, and even militia reserves who had received training joined in.

If the troops conquering Burma had not been completely withdrawn and the Kunming Governor's Office had responded quickly enough, it might have led to a large-scale civil uprising.

Zhu Yijiong sighed softly: "I am indeed too kind. These chieftains in the southwest think that I dare not kill anyone!"

The words seemed very calm, but all the cabinet ministers stopped talking, but lowered their heads.

Zhu Yijiong pondered for a moment and then said: "The local people who participated in the civil uprising this time, regardless of any reason, will be exiled to the Eight Hundred Army Prefecture. The Army Prefecture and the Yunnan government must work as immigrants and must not cause the exiled people to suffer from frostbite. Hungry. As for those local officials who were beaten to death by the people in the civil uprising, their relatives and relatives of the three tribes were also dispersed and exiled to the eight hundred military prefectures."

"The Metropolitan Procuratorate immediately dispatched inspection officials to Guihua Tufu in Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Hunan provinces to investigate whether the naturalized Tufu had harmed the local people in the area. If so, all of them should be beheaded. The leader, the exile who deserves to be exiled. Let the garrisons and local inspections in various places be prepared. Any naturalized chieftain who dares to gather a crowd to incite a civil uprising will be killed without mercy."

As soon as the emperor opened his mouth, the tone of the southwest riot was set.

After all, after inspection by the Nanjing Central Committee, it was found that the people's riots were indeed oppressed by local officials, but a civil commotion was a civil commotion, and it was impossible for the court not to punish them. This happened to satisfy the immigrant population.

Moreover, the imperial court also ensured the food and clothing of these immigrant people, so that they would not be actually exiled.

As for the rioters who were suppressed and killed by the Ming army because of the riots, we cannot say that they deserved their death. We can only count them as unlucky.

After simply handling the emergency situation of the southwest riots, all the cabinet ministers bowed down and resigned.

Zhu Yijiong secretly rubbed the tip of his nose. As the territory of the Ming Dynasty became wider and wider, similar problems, such as officials forcing the people to rebel, oppressing the good, and the powerful and powerful... would only become more and more common.

After all, the Ming Dynasty could not break away from the framework of the feudal dynasty. Even if it forced reforms, it would be impossible to eliminate the problems in the short term.

These are the travails of the times. No matter how wise and powerful Zhu Yijiong is, diligent and caring for the people, he cannot completely eliminate them and can only repair them as much as possible.

There’s a long way to go!

Zhu Yijiong calmed down for a moment, then raised his hand and said: "It's almost time, let the Russian envoy come to see you!"

(End of this chapter)