Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

In the parking lot of the Beijing-Tianjin Highway, Li Yu, Zhou Maolan and others were seeing Huang Zongxi off.

He was going to take up the post in Lufan and put into practice his ideas of reforming rituals and music.

It was unknown how long it would take for him to return. Huang Zongxi felt a little sad when he heard the familiar song "Farewell":
"At the end of the sky, at the corner of the earth, there are only a few close friends."

“This trip to Southeast Asia is like going to the end of the world.”

"I wonder how many of my old friends will still be around when I come back?"

When the people who were seeing him off heard this, they felt even more sad. Zhou Maolan said:
"We are in the capital, so we can still stay safe."

"But Brother Taichong is traveling to the smoky and humid Nanyang, so you must be careful."

"This is the Regulations on Sanitation Management for Pioneer Camps compiled by the Imperial Hospital and the Health Administration under the order of the Emperor. Brother Taichong must read it carefully."

Huang Zongxi was told not to drink raw water when he arrived in Southeast Asia, and to be careful to prevent mosquitoes and malaria. He was also given a bunch of medicines for him to take with him.

Obviously, as a servant of the inner court, he had accepted the emperor's changes to the Imperial Medical Bureau and other government offices, and had great trust in them.

Although Huang Zongxi has his own opinions about the current emperor, it does not mean that he does not admire the current emperor.

After all, no matter what, the emperor rehabilitated his father, conferred a title on him, and allowed him to practice his ideals.

In particular, the theory of demand proposed by the emperor some time ago completely convinced him, making him realize that he was far from being comparable to the current emperor in terms of knowledge.

A few days ago, he was refuted by Ni Yuanlu, Zhang Jingxin and others for questioning the emperor's "Qin Dynasty is not the Celestial Dynasty", which dealt him a heavy blow and made him realize that he was not unique even among the younger generation.

Therefore, he ignored the advice of his teachers and friends and insisted on going south at the end of the year to Lufan as soon as possible to practice his ideas.

Because of his writing of "Qing Zhong Pu", Li Yu was very familiar with the descendants of Donglin gentlemen such as Zhou Maolan and Huang Zongxi, and was accepted by them. At this time, he said:

"Brother Taichong is not afraid of danger and goes south to assist Prince Lu in establishing a vassal state."

"Li has composed a new piece of music to give Taichong courage."

He directed the performers of the Royal Orchestra to play the music he had composed for "Ode to the Empire".

For a moment, majestic music sounded, diluting the atmosphere of farewell.

When Huang Zongxi heard the "Ode to the Empire" composed by Li Yu, he sometimes nodded in approval and sometimes frowned.

Seeing this, Li Yu asked after the music ended:

"How about this piece?"

"Brother Taichong, what suggestions do you have?"

Huang Zongxi frowned and said:

"The music is good, and the lyrics written by Your Majesty are also OK."

“But when I sang along with the music, it always felt a little off.”

"I think it is inappropriate to use this song as the national anthem."

Zhou Maolan, Wei Xueyi and others also expressed their opinions. Some agreed with what Huang Zongxi said, while others thought the song was good.

But overall, it did not conquer everyone, and not everyone agreed to use this song as the national anthem.

Li Yu thought about the emperor's words and sighed:
"Your Majesty also felt that this song was not perfect, so in the etiquette and law, "Ode to the Empire" was not designated as the national anthem, but rather the national anthem was designated as the Great Ming Empire Song."

"It seems that which song will become the imperial anthem of the Ming Dynasty is still debatable."

As soon as these words were spoken, Huang Zongxi and others immediately became interested.

Li Yu's words undoubtedly indicate that the imperial anthem of the Ming Dynasty has not yet been decided and may not necessarily be "Ode to the Empire".

Doesn't this mean that they also have the opportunity to compose music to be used as the national anthem?
For a time, these young scholars who prided themselves on their talent and learning began to get ready to write a national anthem.

After all, the restoration of rituals and music is not only about rituals, but also about music. The national anthem is undoubtedly a manifestation of music and plays an important role in the restoration of rituals and music.

If they could create a song to be used as the national anthem, it would be a matter of history. Even with the generosity of the current emperor, they might be awarded a title of nobility.

Many people are already thinking about how to compose the national anthem.

Li Yu also had this idea in his mind, but this was not the time to explore creation, so he said to Huang Zongxi:
"Your Majesty wrote a lyric for the General's Order as a naval anthem."

"Brother Taichong is going to Southeast Asia by sea, and he should use this song to boost his courage."

He directed the Royal Orchestra to play the adapted version of "General's Order". The song "A Man Should Be Self-reliant" was heard in the suburbs of the Ming Dynasty.

The lyrics of this song are very straightforward. Although Huang Zongxi felt that it was not elegant enough, he couldn't help but shed tears when he heard the words "Go and create the world, and fight for my ideals" -

He went to Southeast Asia to assist Prince Lu in establishing his fiefdom, but it was all for his ideals.

If he didn't want to put his ideas about remaking rituals and music into practice, why would he go to Southeast Asia?

For a moment, he forgot his instinct to find fault with the current emperor, raised his glass to Li Yu and others and said:

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Let the sea and sky gather energy for me. This song is perfect as a naval war song!"

"Gentlemen, don't worry about me. We'll see you another day!"

He drank the wine in one gulp, got on the carriage without looking back, and headed for Tianjin.

He was going to go to Yuegang from there, and then transfer to Nanyang.

This journey will take several years until the parliament of Lu Wang's vassal state is established.

It wasn’t just young people like Li Yu who watched him go.

Liu Zongzhou and Prince Lu were watching from a distance.

Prince Lu was seeing off the officials of Lu Fan. He himself had received special permission from the emperor and did not need to go to the vassal state in the first few years of the vassal state. He would not go there in person until Lu Fan was stable.

Liu Zongzhou valued Huang Zongxi as his disciple very much and hoped that he could achieve great things.

The lottery election method tried out by Yuan Keli's disciple Liu Lishun in Jiangnan, and the Western voting and drawing of lots tried out by Feng Quan and other eunuch remnants in overseas free trade zones, all gave rise to a sense of crisis.

Although he was the person in charge of remaking rituals and music, he was also the initiator of the Congress.

But if the leadership of Congress is taken by others, it will always be a little imperfect for him.

Therefore, he very much hoped that Huang Zongxi could achieve results and establish a more perfect parliament.

With this idea in mind, he provided a lot of support to Huang Zongxi and encouraged other disciples who had no achievements to go over.

Because of this, Prince Lu was very friendly to him. After all, the development of Lu Fan required many scholars to serve as officials.

However, due to the imperial court's rules that prohibited vassal kings from making friends with ministers, Prince Lu did not have a close relationship with Liu Zongzhou. After seeing off the vassal ministers of Lu, he took a carriage back.

On the way back, he also brought Li Yu, one of his friends in the capital, who was also good at music.

Recalling the song "A Man Should Be Self-reliant" he had just heard, Prince Lu praised loudly:
“This song is well written!”

“Although the words are blunt, they touch people’s hearts.”

"It's just what the navy wanted as a war song."

"Your Majesty is truly talented, to be able to write such a poem."

He felt incredible about this and kept flattering Li Yu.

Some of his words were half true and half false. I really was envious because he couldn't write such words.

This is also why it is fake. He does not think that this kind of vernacular words can be put on stage.

If it had not been written by the emperor, it would have been criticized and classified as a folk song.

Li Yu somewhat understood Prince Lu's thoughts, because when he first saw this poem, he also felt it was too straightforward.

But after hearing it many times, he got used to it. He smiled and said to Prince Lu:

“Although this poem is not as elegant as “Farewell,” it is appropriate as a military song.”

"After all, there aren't many soldiers in the army who can read. If you use flowery words, not many people can sing it." "The emperor also wrote a military song for the imperial guards, which is much more profound, you see..."

He took out a charcoal pencil, wrote a few words, and presented it to Prince Lu for review.

Prince Lu watched him writing steadily in the galloping carriage, and he admired him very much.

Then I saw "Wolf smoke rises, and the mountains and rivers are seen to the north. The dragon flag is unfurled, the horse neighs, and the sword energy is like frost..."

He took a deep breath and praised sincerely:
"This song is great, and it's just as good as Victory Song!"

"Are you singing Yue Fei? What's the title of the song?"

Li Yu smiled and said:

"loyalty!"

"Your Majesty hopes that all the soldiers of the Imperial Guard will be loyal to their country and have the ambition to pacify the world."

"Let us be the great China, and let the world come to congratulate us!"

"The Royal Orchestra's mission during this period is to promote "Loyalty to the Country" among the Imperial Guards, Guanning Army and other troops."

The slogan "Serve the country with loyalty and pacify the world" was originally directed at the Liaodong army.

Therefore, although it was used as the military song of the Imperial Army, it was still required to be sung in the Guanning Army.

I hope the soldiers of the Guanning Army will learn from Yue Fei and go straight to Huanglong to pacify the Later Jin.
-
Although this idea is good, the most popular drama in the military today is not "Loyalty to the Country".

Instead, it was "Song of the Generals of the Three Kingdoms" written by Zhu Youjian to promote "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" revised by Chen Zilong.

This song, combined with the ongoing serialization of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the military criticism of the Three Kingdoms in newspapers, became one of the army's favorite songs.

Many people hum songs while arguing about the martial arts skills of the generals of the Three Kingdoms, which always attracts a lot of attention.

When Zhang Jingxin followed the Jinyiwei to the Warrior Camp of the Imperial Camp to select guards, he saw some soldiers beating drums and singing "The Song of the Generals of the Three Kingdoms":
Among the Three Kingdoms warriors, Zhao Zilong was the most courageous. He showed his heroism at Changban Slope...

Some soldiers also played the roles of Zhao Zilong, Zhang Yide, Lu Fengxian and others, fighting to see who was stronger.

Zhang Jingxin was terrified, but Qi Changguo, who was accompanying him to select guards, smiled and said:

"They are just some idle brats, don't pay any attention to them."

"Look who you like and choose a few to be your guards."

This was a special order from the Emperor, asking Zhang Jingxin to select some capable warriors to serve as his personal guards.

After all, he is an envoy of the Ming Dynasty and cannot be easily defeated.

Zhang Jingxin was already very worried about this mission and was very attentive to it.

He watched the fight carefully and saw a warrior dressed as Zhao Zilong knocking down several people in succession.

He immediately cheered loudly and asked:

"What's this person's name?"

"Can I be transferred to the diplomatic mission as a guard?"

Qi Changguo laughed out loud upon hearing this, and said with some difficulty:
"Mr. Zhang chose him, maybe because he thinks he is good at martial arts?"

"Then you are wrong, he is just handsome!"

Zhang Jingxin was confused now and asked:

"Can't a handsome guy be good at martial arts?"

"I saw him knock down Zhang Yide and Lu Fengxian one after another, and he also shot several people with one shot."

"With this man here, thousands of troops can be defeated!"

Qi Changguo laughed even louder this time, and even the soldiers who heard it nearby couldn't help laughing.

Someone else joked:

"Zhang Shan, did you hear that?"

"Some people say that you are so powerful that thousands of soldiers are afraid of you!"

"Why don't you go to the battlefield and show off your skills for everyone to see."

Zhang Shan also laughed loudly, covered his face and said to everyone:
"Stop talking! Stop talking!"

"I can't continue acting if you say that."

"What a joke this Royal Orchestra is. They want us to perform a show of confrontation."

"I have practiced martial arts all my life, but now I can only act..."

Zhang Jingxin was confused by these words, but the soldiers in the Warrior Camp felt sympathetic.

When they participated in the world's number one martial arts tournament, it was not only to compete for the title of the world's number one warrior, but also to get the opportunity to achieve great things.

The emperor also attached great importance to them. Not only did he set up a special camp of warriors, he also sent many people from the martial arts school to serve as instructors.

Many brave warriors who were capable of leading troops stood out and got opportunities to make meritorious service in Korea, the grasslands and other places.

But more people cannot lead troops to fight, they only have courage and strength.

The emperor did not neglect these people and arranged positions such as martial arts instructors for them.

But compared with the generals who lead the troops, the gap is a bit big. Many people still want to rely on their bravery to get a chance to stand out.

However, after Ji Jike, the world's number one warrior, returned from the grassland, such voices became much quieter.

Because even with his bravery, it wouldn't mean much in large-scale combat.

Especially after the Battle of Daning this year, warriors with only courage became even less popular.

No matter how high your martial arts skills are, one shot will do the trick!
At a time when all the brave servants were eliminated, the soldiers left in the Warrior Camp felt lost, as they were a group of people eliminated by the times.

When Zhu Youjian noticed this situation during an inspection of the imperial camp, he thought of several ways to resettle the group of people who stayed behind.

Jiaodi drama is one of them. He imitated the wrestling of later generations and asked the Royal Orchestra to pick out the martial arts scenes in the drama, specially write scripts, and perform relatively realistic martial arts scenes on stage.

Zhang Shan was chosen as one of the actors in Zhao Zilong because of his handsome appearance.

In the script written by the Royal Orchestra according to the emperor's instructions, there are plots in which Zhao Zilong defeats Lu Fengxian and also plots in which he is defeated by Lu Fengxian, allowing the actors playing the roles to perform relatively freely according to the situation on the stage.

What Zhang Shan and others just practiced was one of these sections.

When I first met Zhang Jingxin, I thought Zhang Shan could really sweep away thousands of enemies.

Knowing that he had made a fool of himself, Zhang Jingxin did not feel ashamed, but smiled and said:

"Even I thought it was real, it shows you acted well!"

"This wrestling show will surely be very popular, just like the drama that students like."

The compliments made the soldiers of the Warrior Camp cheer loudly and they also felt a sense of identification with Zhang Jingxin.

After learning that his purpose was to select guards for the diplomatic mission, those who stayed behind recommended themselves, hoping to become a member of the delegation.

Zhang Jingxin successfully selected more than ten brave men to serve as military attachés for the diplomatic mission.

Because of his handsome appearance, Zhang Shan was chosen by him to be by his side as a representative.

These people will receive training from him and learn the etiquette of diplomatic missions.

If someone performs well, he may be retained in the vassal embassy as a military attaché.

This was also a way out that Zhu Youjian found for the Warrior Camp, using these people from the Imperial Camp to strengthen his control over the vassal states.

The officials of the mission and embassy belong to the Lifanyuan and can be appointed by the emperor. Specifically, the military officers belong to the intelligence system and are dispatched and commanded by the Jinyiwei Intelligence Committee. The Jinyiwei’s institutions in the vassal states will be established by these people. (End of this chapter)