The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

In addition to the Oirat and Tatar tribes, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, and Jiaozhi were also invited.

Its scale was no less than that of the previous emperor's birthday celebration, and the emperor was much more concerned about his own birthday than he was. If it weren't for the imperial advisor giving him a few disapproving looks, he would have almost been unable to resist indulging in extravagance for this birthday banquet.

Fortunately, after Pan Yun brought it up twice, the emperor suppressed his desire to spend money and sighed to his officials, "It is still too unfair to the Grand Preceptor. The Grand Preceptor has sacrificed so much for the country. I wish I could offer him all the treasures in the world."

Yu Qian said irritably, "Your Majesty, being a good emperor, governing the country well, and enabling all people to live in peace and prosperity, is the best gift you could give to the Imperial Preceptor."

The officials wholeheartedly agreed.

After Pan Yun successfully divined the will of Heaven, the officials and civil servants of the court could no longer harbor any opposition to her.

Especially since the Imperial Preceptor is so virtuous.

Despite the great defeat of the Oirat Mongols and the Ming Dynasty's recapture of the Lingbei Province of the former Yuan Dynasty, establishing the Three Jimi Prefectures, the Grand Preceptor, who successfully divined the will of Heaven and propelled the army to continue its northward advance, made a great contribution. She was not proud of herself, nor did she claim credit. Instead, she reminded the emperor to listen to the opinions of the officials. Regarding the emperor's plan to hold a birthday celebration for her, she also requested that it be done frugally.

Even Yu Qian, who is known for his strict self-discipline and strictness towards others, couldn't help but say, "Few people can achieve such success at a young age without becoming arrogant or complacent."

Cao Nai floated past him and said calmly, "She has truly attained enlightenment, it's not fake."

The crowd shuddered at the memory of the lightning strike that nearly brought the world to an apocalypse last year, and their conviction grew even stronger.

"Grand Secretary Yu, since we've brought up the Imperial Advisor, let's discuss the matter of establishing a geology academy," Hu Ying said, reaching out to grab him. "Why does the Cabinet oppose the Ministry of Rites establishing a geology academy? The Imperial Advisor says there are abundant mineral resources in the Three Ji Prefectures. Do you know how big the Three Ji Prefectures are?"

Yu Qian honestly replied, "The boundary has not been fully demarcated, but the three tributary prefectures almost overlap with the former Yuan dynasty's Lingbei Province, stretching from the northern mountains to the Shihe River in Ye'er, a distance of over four thousand li..."

“You know it’s over four thousand li in all directions,” Hu Ying said angrily. “Where is such a large area of ​​mineral deposits? Don’t we need people to find it? Who’s going to look for it? Instead of training geological talent, you go find it yourself!”

Saliva sprayed directly onto his face.

Yu Qian wiped his face and said, "It's not that I forbid it, but I don't recommend holding it in the capital, and I especially don't recommend holding it in the Imperial Academy."

He said, "Several new courses have been added to the Imperial Academy now: telegraph, electricity, and cultivation of immortality. Now, geology has been added as well. What has the Imperial Academy become?"

Hu Ying: "You stubborn fool, you just want the Imperial Academy to remain unchanged, but in today's world, how can the Imperial Academy keep up with the times if it doesn't change? Go out and look around, which prefecture city doesn't have a telegraph station now? And telegraph machines have only been circulating among the people for a year. In the future, there will be even more people who need telegraph experts. Even the Five Military Commissions are training people in the army. If the Imperial Academy doesn't speed up its pace, do you want my future students to starve?"

Hu Ying said indignantly, "The imperial examination is held every three years, but in addition to the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest level of the imperial examination), the Juren (successful candidates in the provincial level of the imperial examination) can also be recommended for official positions. There are also those who are granted official positions through hereditary privilege or by donating money. In the end, the Ministry of Personnel is left with only people from poor families or those with upright personalities. They have studied hard for more than ten years and finally passed the examination, but because they are not qualified, they waste their lives. If the Imperial Academy continues to operate like this, it might as well just be disbanded."

Yu Qian sneered, "Minister Hu, there's no need to provoke me. Of those who can enter the Imperial Academy, how many were rejected when seeking official positions? Most of the Jinshi and Juren who have no vacancies come from local areas."

He said, “We can’t give all the good things to the capital. We also need to give students from other places a chance to make a living. My suggestion is to have one in the north and one in the south. We can open a geology college and other new disciplines in Nanjing, and transfer doctoral students from the Imperial Academy to teach there. After they graduate, they can be directly assigned jobs. Although they will not have official positions, they will still be considered to have entered officialdom. If they can achieve something, they can rise from a courier to a high-ranking official.”

Hu Ying's angry expression softened, and he suddenly became cheerful, as if his face had changed completely: "You should have said so earlier, it's not impossible to hold it in Nanjing."

Yu Qian: ... Hu Ying grabbed him with one hand and pulled Chen Xun, who was about to slip away, with the other: "Come, come, let's talk about the procedures for running a school in detail."

Chen Xun tried to pull his hand away forcefully: "Lord Hu, I'm busy. The army has returned to the capital, and I still need to find a way to raise funds for the Ministry of War to pay pensions. We can talk about this later when we have time."

"I'll be quick and won't delay you any longer. Or you can just give me a note to allocate the money directly, and I'll discuss the rest with Grand Secretary Yu."

Yu Qian thought this method was good, and he also helped Hu Ying hold Chen Xun back. In the end, they each lifted one of his arms and carried him to the Ministry of Rites to discuss the matter.

Chen Xun screamed in despair but to no avail.

The other cabinet members turned their faces away, pretending not to see it.

Pan Jun was also very interested in geology, and he even retrieved a lot of learning materials from the Spirit Realm. He also combined these materials with the existing geological data of the Ming Dynasty to improve many related methods.

Miaozhen helped her research and write a new textbook.

However, they still needed to test whether the method was feasible, so Pan Yun quietly left the capital with Miao Zhen and went directly to the grasslands to look for minerals according to the method he had summarized.

Not all minerals are visible on the surface. Pan Jun searched several mountains based on the mountain range's contours, drilled several exploratory wells, and continuously tested the methods she had devised. Surprisingly, she eliminated several laborious and inefficient methods and improved two of them.

The two spent a month in the grasslands and found two coal mines and one iron mine. Miaozhen came over with a compass and said happily, "Junior Uncle, look, this is the result measured with magic. So, the efficiency of us cultivators in measuring minerals with a compass is still higher than that of ordinary techniques."

Pan Yun glanced at the compass and said, "Write it down. Both sides can learn from it later, so that future generations can study and integrate it."

Miaozhen wrote it down.

Pan Yun took out a map, carefully drew the mountain, marked the iron ore, and then recorded the mineral information she had detected in very small print.

Miaozhen had also memorized the method. After glancing at it in her notebook, she said, "Junior Uncle, it's time for us to go see Miaohe and the others."

Miaohe and Tao Yanbai became medical geniuses in Tieliangguti in one winter. They inoculated themselves with smallpox. When Pan Jun visited them last time, their smallpox had been cured and they were inoculating a tribe with cowpox.

When I visited last time, their smallpox vaccination program had progressed further, and they had vaccinated people in the two neighboring tribes.

Before leaving, Pan Yun contacted the two men and learned that they had returned to Tielianguti City.

Returning to Tielianguti, it had changed drastically. The soldiers guarding the city gate had changed their uniforms, half of them were Han Chinese and the other half were the original soldiers.

With strict military discipline, merchants entering and leaving the country were no longer detained for their goods; they could enter and leave as long as they paid their taxes normally.

Pan Yun and Miao Zhen changed their clothes and carried a black cat in their arms. When they entered the city, they were questioned more by the soldiers because they were not carrying any goods. (End of this chapter)