Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1854 East Exercise ([-])

On March 1682, 3, Huang Hanhua, Zhao Chuyan and others who were originally scheduled to meet in the meeting room of the Taxation Office in the Ministry of Finance building today had to temporarily announce the postponement of the meeting. , so the date of the meeting was moved back by three days, and Zhao Chuyan also agreed.

During the period when the tax office postponed the meeting due to internal reasons, the North Koreans were accompanied by diplomats from the east bank and visited the Dayuhe Executive Training School in the suburbs of the capital.The North Koreans are quite interested in this specialized school that has trained many grassroots cadres, but after visiting a circle and attending a class, Zhao Chuyan lost interest.Because in his opinion, what this kind of course cultivates is only "skills", that is, teaching people how to be officials, little Doyle!It is so absurd that the brilliant avenues such as the Four Books and Five Classics are only used as extracurricular readings for self-cultivation!Not to mention, the cultural level of these students is generally not high, and they can only be said to be fluent in writing and ink, and their handwriting is not good-looking. They—many of them are even lowly military men—can still sit in schools in the capital with dignity. Here, it is simply insulting!

At the end of the auditing course, the North Korean mission gave gifts to about [-] East Coast students in the auditing classroom, mainly some folding fans, pens and inks, Korean hats and so on.Perhaps because it was rare to see such exotic gifts, these students rushed forward immediately after the North Koreans had finished speaking, and divided up these gifts.This scene surprised the North Koreans a little. Zhao Chuyan even lamented "the so-called persuasion every day, but what is taught", thinking that this is the result of the people on the east bank disrespecting famous teachings, not following Confucianism, and not studying classics. Considering that most of these people are veterans or civil servants who have worked at the grassroots level for many years, their cultural level is not high. If the North Koreans encounter the same scene, they may swarm up and grab their things before the East Coast people finish their speeches.Of course, what Zhao Chuyan thinks and sees is his own business, and there is no need for the people on the east coast to change their views, as long as they take them around and see more, I believe that no matter how disdainful the North Koreans, in the face of the different weather, In the rapidly developing East Coast society, as long as they are not stone people, they will always be touched.

Of course, compared to the scene when the east bank trainees were sharing gifts after the course ended, the North Koreans seemed to be more disdainful and even resentful of what they had learned in the course.The direct trigger was that teachers from Dong’an focused on criticizing Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism’s restraint on Confucian cultural circles, and praised Li Zhi and others’ Renaissance thought with humanism in the late Ming Dynasty. Cheng Zhu Neo-Confucianism, who suppressed his thoughts and made people look up to him, expressed regret. This undoubtedly met the opposition of the North Koreans.

Zhao Chuyan didn't want to get angry on the spot, but he also had an ugly face. In private, he shook his head repeatedly with his deputy envoys and entourages, and sighed softly: "The heresy is prevalent, and the way of Confucius, Mencius, Cheng and Zhu has been tarnished. Between heaven and earth, you must never learn from it!"

His deputy envoy is even more stubborn - of course, this is stubborn in the eyes of people on the east coast, but in Hanyang City, he is already quite receptive to new ideas, but this is the first time he encounters such a soul-touching person. The challenge in the depths, the self-reaction is subconscious protection——Based on Zhao Chuyan’s words, he critiqued in a low voice: “Heretics are rampant, beasts are forcing people, saints and morality will be extinct, and the country will be destroyed. How does the Eastern Dynasty compare with the Tartars?” How dare you call yourself Huaxia, ridiculous, ridiculous, extremely ridiculous!"

After finishing this somewhat novel and at the same time annoyed auditor of the cadre training school course, that night, the school also went to a well-known hotel in the city to book a table meal, intending to entertain these guests from North Korea.On the way for everyone to ride in the comfortable and spacious East Coast four-wheeled carriage, Zhao Chuyan also quietly lifted the curtain on the window, and looked at the exquisiteness outside.

At this time, it was already the season when the lights were first lit. The lamplighters in uniform checked the gas lamps on both sides of the street one by one and lit them.The bright lights illuminated the cobblestone streets a little white, the carriages drove fast and steadily, and a line of horse-drawn railcars full of off-duty workers and government employees passed by the side of the road from time to time, all of which made Zhao Chuyan feel rather novel .

His two servants were also sitting next to him, looking at the scenery outside the street, and wanted to whisper excitedly, but seeing that their master's face was not very good, they wisely shut up.In fact, in Zhao Zhengda and Zhao Guangming—I have to mention here that ordinary people in North Korea originally did not have surnames, but under the influence of people from the East Bank these years, some relatively enlightened nobles also began to allow ordinary people to have surnames For example, Zhao Chuyan bestowed the surname Zhao on his two personal servants—from the perspective of people who have never read sage books, this Eastern Kingdom is really good at everything, comfortable living, and delicious food , fast travel, durable clothes, and most importantly, there seems to be no strict class hierarchy here, even ordinary people can do business, join the army, and hold government office, which is really like a dream for them .

At this time, the Kingdom of Korea has basically formed a strict hierarchical system, with clear distinctions between Yangban, middle class, common people, and untouchables. People of what class can do what kind of work, what level they can achieve, and what kind of society they can have. Status and wealth basically have established rules.Speaking of it, this is also an alternative caste system, but it is better than Indians. Gein civilians and untouchables can also raise their class after making great achievements, but it is difficult for India.But no matter what, in the conservative feudal society of the Korean Kingdom, people who were born as servants like Zhao Zhengda and Zhao Guangming have no personality and dignity at all. They are the ones who are precarious, unlike the society on the east bank There is no discrimination on the surface of any blood or identity.

Two days ago, they also rented a carriage with the master, walked a little further, and visited the rural areas in the suburbs.What they saw surprised them very much. The farmers on the east bank lived in good brick houses, and the houses were quite spacious and bright.If such a brick house was placed in North Korea, it would have to be a rich peasant or middle class among the common people to own it, and ordinary people dare not imagine it.But in this Eastern Kingdom, even ordinary people at the lowest level can have a house, and not only a house, but also a livestock shed. The calves in the shed grow very strong, which makes people stunned.

Zhao Zhengda was ordered by his master to count them, and it turned out that almost every household in the village had large livestock, most of which were cattle, and occasionally there were quite a few horses, donkeys, and mules. The total number seemed to be 8-10.This level is also rare in North Korea. It can only be seen in some relatively wealthy farmers or middle-class people with official jobs or skills, but not everyone has it, so this is the reason. It was terrible.It is not a lie that the Eastern Dynasty is the richest country in the country!Realizing this, Zhao Chuyan's face was a little unnatural at that time.

However, the wealth of the ordinary peasants on the east bank only made Zhao's master and servant feel uneasy, but the introduction of the village head of the east bank who heard the news-in the eyes of the narrow-minded Koreans, it was simply bragging-under the After learning that the people on the east coast don’t even need to close the door to sleep at night, Zhao Chuyan’s face turned pale with anger, and he had already criticized the village head’s words in his heart as lies: he didn’t study classics, read poetry, and The sage taught me that everyone is good at pursuing profit and likes to smell money. How can we not pick up things on the road and never close the door at night?Zhao Chuyan is absolutely unwilling to admit this, because once he admits this, it means that the "education" of the people on the east coast has worked, and the consciousness of ordinary people has also improved. Is what Korean people learn and pursue correct, but is the Confucian classics that Korean people insist on wrong?How can this be!How could this be!Therefore, Zhao Chuyan believed that the village chief was bragging, although he didn't realize that there was such a trace of doubt in his heart.

The carriage quickly drove through the brightly lit street, and then turned into a relatively lively courtyard. The east bank diplomats who had come here earlier to order food had been waiting for a long time.When we arrived at this place, Zhao Chuyan couldn't say anything to make everyone unhappy, but he greeted a few diplomats from the east coast who had been with him for many days and had acquaintance with him for many days, and expressed in a rare and grand manner that tonight's meal was by chance. He offered the money, which of course was declined by the people on the east coast.

The banquet in the evening had too much impact on Zhao Chuyan and several Zuoer officials. After all, they were also nobles in the Korean Kingdom, and they ate a lot of delicacies from mountains and seas, and they didn't care about some dishes made by people from the east coast.At best, they think that they are really rich, and they put more expensive spices, sugar and other condiments in the dishes, but this is indeed within their understanding.

The only thing that gave them a sense of shock at the banquet was still the bright gas lamps.The lighting system developed by the East Coast Gas Company has now reached the third generation. Not only has the odor that was prone to occur before been eliminated, it is almost impossible to detect, the noise is much smaller, and the stability is better than before. Therefore, Even though North Koreans have met several times (North Koreans are stingy, and the cheapest hotel room they book does not have gas lamps), they are attracted every time they see them.Zhao Chuyan even wondered if he would also ask the people from the East Coast to order a few sets to bring back to Hanyang City before leaving for the country in the future.

Someone at the table asked about the current population and economic development of North Korea.Although Zhao Chuyan didn't like these questions very much (he still prefers to debate righteousness and interests with scholars on the East Coast), he still answered truthfully, saying that North Korea has a population of 600 million, and countries such as grain and sericulture have developed rapidly in recent years. The country presents an appearance of peace and prosperity.Although these situations are relatively general, and there are many euphemisms in them, they are generally accurate.And speaking of this, Zhao Chuyan's heart was also moved: it seems that from the time when it became a vassal country on the east coast, the good days of North Korea came. Extorting a sum of money made North Korea's monarchs very troubled, but to be honest, a large amount of silver and copper coins have flowed into North Korea for decades, and the money shortage that used to be so frequent has now disappeared for many years.And not only that, the types of goods on the market are also much richer. There are merchants attached to me in the middle school. I have heard them several times that it is now a good time to do business. The lives of the millions of people who have stepped out have improved, which is indeed the work of the Dongguo people.

Thinking about it this way, Zhao Chuyan became a little tangled up again.From a practical point of view, he really does not want to admit that the Dongguo people are good, but their strong arrival has indeed increased North Korea's economy-the word economy is also the word Zhao has heard the most since he arrived on the East Bank. It’s just a single word—this kind of cognition made him very frustrated: Could it be that the good stories of self-cultivation, family harmony and world peace in ancient times are all fake?Is it true that a sage can't help the country if he is out of school?On the contrary, the people of the Eastern Kingdom, who pretended to be Huaxia, did not pass on famous teachings, and did not understand etiquette, were able to govern the country to a prosperous state.Zhao Chuyan instinctively wanted to deny the ability of the Dong'an people, but the iron-like facts were placed in front of him again, making him powerless to refute, so he could only sigh deeply.

However, even though he admitted that the people of Dongguo have some small skills in prospering the economy and governing the country, he quickly found a new "spray point", because the people in such a country are always chasing profit, competing, good at making money, and have bad habits everywhere. In the whole country, the great gift of human relations no longer exists, so that the educated people feel that they are gentle.I heard that they claim to be Miao descendants of the former Song Dynasty. I don't know how they will face their ancestors when they meet their ancestors under the Nine Springs after they return to the west on a crane in the future.This is probably the so-called embarrassment of the ancestors, Zhao Chuyan thought, and this idea finally made his slightly painful heart feel a lot better. He felt that his past life was finally not completely negated, and it was still meaningful.

After the banquet, Zhao Chuyan and his colleagues bid farewell to the officials of the East Bank one by one, and then returned to the Dongfang Hotel in a carriage again.After washing his face in the room, Zhao Chuyan finally had the time to calm down, think about the gains and losses during this period of time, and at the same time be alert to his heart.He always felt that after coming to the land of the Eastern Kingdom, although he had been vigilant again and again, there were still some bad changes.According to the words of the Dongguo people, the ideological field has been impacted and eroded. Although the ideological defense line will not be lost, if we don't take care of ourselves, it is difficult to guarantee that we will become that kind of rude, righteous and shameless people in the future, and it will be completely destroyed. up.He, Zhao Chuyan, came to the East Bank to see the mystery of their prosperity, not to deny his past life. Dongguo people use what is useful, and discard what is not useful, but you must remember that Dongxue cannot As fundamental!

(End of this chapter)