Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 185

Wang Yan composed a song in the academy, which resonated with many students in the academy, and they wanted to join the army and serve the country.

Wang Chaopin already knew this would be the result after listening to Wang Yan sing the first verse, so he and Wang Jiezhi looked at each other with a wry smile, perhaps they would soon have nothing to teach.

As the old saying goes, "Learn literary and martial arts, and become the emperor's family." The two hundred students in the academy study hard in cold windows, in order to obtain fame in the future and serve the imperial court.

Now that the Hu captives are invading south, and their family and country are in peril, why should they abandon literature and pursue military affairs?

Wang Yan is the Duke of Chu, and the official residence is the best. It is far easier for students to vote for him than to study in an academy and then take the imperial examination step by step. It is easier to enter the officialdom and realize their ambitions. None spoke to stop them.

The ancients respected teachers and valued teaching, and there was a tablet enshrined in the middle hall of "Heaven, Earth, Monarch, Parents and Teachers". There is a saying in "Mandarin Mandarin", "Father is born, teacher teaches, and king eats. No father will not be born, no food will not grow, no teaching will not know The family of students is also the same story.” Therefore, the teacher-student relationship is one of the most reliable relationships.

Wang Yan occupies a high position and controls one party, but after all, his official career is short, and he lacks confidants around him. Wang Chao hired Wang Jiezhi as the mentor of the two hundred students present. Because of their age, they could not assist Wang Yan. But these two hundred disciples can be a great help to Wang Yan's trust.

When they left Hengyang, there were nearly 180 of the [-] students in the academy accompanying them, which happened to be grouped together with the [-] children of the Wang family.

For Wang Yan, these students were rare talents. In the Ming Dynasty, the status of warriors was not high, and it was rare for them to be able to read and write. But now many things in the army need to be handled by scribes.

Matters such as gun operations, logistics management, and military rewards and punishments all require literati, so now that such a group of literati join in, it can make many jobs easier for Wang Yan.

For this group of scholars, Wang Yan decided to train them well, but Kuang Lu and the Martial Academy stayed in Guangzhou and did not go out with Wang Yan, so he had to organize the two hundred scholars as personal guards and stay with him to teach them personally .

Because of the student matter, Wang Yan stayed in Hengyang for an extra day, and only set off for the north on the 28th.

On the way from Hengyang to Changsha, because of the convenience of the Xiang River, Wang Yan abandoned his horse and boat and went down the river.

At this time, Xie Kuang, who was standing beside him, finally had a chance. After bowing to Wang Yan, he said sincerely: "Duke, I have a merciless request, and I hope the duke will fulfill it."

Wang Yanben stared at the elegant demeanor on both sides of the Xiangshui River, and couldn't help turning his head when he heard the words. He had talked a lot with Xie Kuang in the past few days, so he naturally knew some of his thoughts, "Does Daowu want to join the army?"

Xie Kuang was taken aback for a moment, then he clasped his fists together, "I still hope the Duke will make it happen."

However, Wang Yan pondered for a moment before saying: "Daowu is the grandson of Xie Wenzhenggong. He has been a scholar for generations and has a reputation for raising people. He only needs to accumulate some experience during his time as the governor's staff, and he will be the leader of the frontier in a few years. As an official, joining the army at this time means you have to be ashamed of being a scholar, and you have to go through dangerous battles. You don’t know what the future holds, does Dao Wu think it’s worth it?"

The Ming Dynasty has a long history of emphasizing literature over military affairs, and the status of civil servants is much higher than that of military generals. Although it is now a troubled time, it will take some time for the change of concept. Moreover, Wang Yan has indeed seen Xie Kuang's talent and is going to train him to manage the local area. He is a talented person, so he expressed his thoughts, hoping that he can see his choice clearly and take a safe path.

After Xie Kuang heard the words, he did not waver. Obviously, he had carefully weighed the pros and cons in the past few days before making such a decision, "I accept the kindness of the Duke of the country, but I have decided to abandon literature and follow the military. Serve Daming."

Wang Yan obviously expected his answer, so he was not surprised, but nodded, then looked at him and asked, "Can Daowu tell Ben Du what's on your mind?"

Seeing this, Xie Kuang was overjoyed at first, and then replied: "There are many civil servants who can govern places in the world, but there are very few Confucian generals who can lead troops to fight. When this country is in danger, it is time for military generals to wipe out the world. At that time, the country and the dynasty had always emphasized civility over military affairs, so that the army could not attract talents, and the army was difficult to have combat power. Now, as a man, I join the army. Apart from being able to kill captives with my own hands, I want to show the world. Joining the army is not a cheap job, I hope that more people with lofty ideals will join the army, so as to raise the status of warriors and make the army more powerful."

The Ming Dynasty has always ruled the military with literature. Yuan Chonghuan, who is the second rank, killed Mao Wenlong, who was the best general, so he could not report to the court and directly killed the majestic Jiangdong Marshal. Apart from Yuan Chonghuan's personal reasons, the status of the general was affected by the civil servants. Suppression is also an aspect.

Now that the troubled times are coming, the status of generals must be improved. Wang Yan also thinks about this a lot. He hopes that the status of generals will be improved, but he doesn't want them to become like Zuo Liangyu and Zheng Zhilong in the four towns of Jiangbei, just because they rely on their hands. In order to blackmail the imperial court to improve their personal status.

Such a promotion is meaningless to the Ming Dynasty, and it will even cause the court to be coerced by generals, making it impossible to unify the overall situation and fight against the Qing court.

Wang Yan hopes that the promotion is the recognition of the army by the whole society, so as to gradually change the status of the army and warriors. What he wants is respect, not the people's fear of the officers and soldiers.

At this time, after listening to Xie Kuang's words, he couldn't help thinking for a while, "The words of Dao Wu made the governor suddenly feel enlightened. It is very important to use noble people to do cheap business, and thus slowly change the world's perception of the army. It’s feasible! If there are more Confucian generals who know the righteousness in the army, then there will be fewer people like Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing who defected before the battle.”

Xie Kuang is a scholar-bureaucrat, a high-ranking existence in the eyes of ordinary people, and a nobleman reincarnated from Wenquxing. But now that such noblemen have joined the army, will the common people's views on the army change?Wang Yan knew that the answer was yes.

"A nobleman is doing a lowly job?" Xie Kuang couldn't help nodding slightly when he heard Wang Yan's words, "My lord's words are very reasonable. In fact, the reason why I join the army is because I saw my lord as a scholar-bureaucrat. The following set an example."

Wang Yan said with a smile: "Okay! If that's the case, then let me wait for the scholars to change the world's perception of the army! Now the two hundred students just need a commander. I don't know if Wu Ke is willing to lead it."

Xie Kuang clasped his fists solemnly, "Dare not to obey orders!"

"Haha~" Wang Yan and Xie Kuang couldn't help looking at each other and smiling, but at this moment Dai Zhifan at the bow of the boat suddenly turned around and shouted: "Duke, Changsha is ahead."

(Thanks to Shuzhan Zhiju, Shushan Qinpandeng, Kugang ii, 3281 and other book friends for their support, and thanks to shyion for their support. As for the role, I will play it myself.)
(End of this chapter)