The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 1076

Pan Yun's hand-crafted pedal bicycle was incredibly useful. She was skilled in crafting tools, meaning she could do everything herself – fitting, grinding, boring…

To date, she has made two bicycles herself, one as a birthday gift for the emperor this year, and the other as a gift for Yu Qian.

Yu Qian now rides this bicycle to and from court every day.

With the Grand Secretary leading the way, bicycles quickly became popular among officials. Officials of all ranks not only bought them for themselves but also for their children. The Ministry of Works seized this opportunity to make a fortune, not only replenishing its own research and development funds but also contributing funds to the national treasury, thus increasing the already meager national treasury balance.

What's even more ingenious is that once officials and their children acquired bicycles, lower-middle-class officials sold their cattle, horses, and mules, increasing the number of cattle, horses, and mules in the countryside and lowering their prices. This led to an increase in the number of farmers in the capital region buying cattle and mules, greatly improving farming efficiency.

Pan Yu followed Miao Zhen to the outside of the palace and saw many bicycles neatly parked on the open ground on both sides of the palace gate.

Pan Yu paused in his tracks, looking on in astonishment.

In the past, these two places were used to park carriages and horses.

Miaozhen watched with him for a while and then explained, "The carriage and horses have been moved to the back."

Pan Yu asked, puzzled, "Why?"

“Because horse manure smells bad,” Miaozhen said with a serious face, “and besides, who would dare to ask Grand Secretary Yu to move his bicycle to the back?”

This is true.

This is one of the reasons why the ministers were willing to ride bicycles to work with Yu Qian.

Miaozhen took out the token and led Pan Yu into the palace.

She led him directly to the main hall and whispered, "Don't hold back with them. Say whatever you want, and your junior uncle will back you up."

Pan Yu's eyes flickered slightly. Listening to the faint sounds coming from the main hall, he asked in a low voice, "My younger sister never allows the Pan family to act in her name. Why did she suddenly bring me up?"

Miao Zhen looked straight up at him, her eyes holding a look that Pan Yu couldn't understand. After a moment, she lowered her eyes and said, "Junior Uncle said that every dynasty has had the merit of expanding its territory. We, the descendants, do not expect to expand our territory. It is enough to manage the territory of the Ming Dynasty well."

Pan Yu was puzzled. Governing the country was the business of civil officials. What did this have to do with his promotion?
Miaozhen continued, "The Nurgan Regional Military Commission has been wandering abroad for too long since the Yongle era. Also, Japan is ambitious, cunning and unruly. The Nurgan Regional Military Commission has an island called Kuwu, which is adjacent to Ezo. There is only a shallow strait between Ezo and Japan."

Pan Yu: ...That sounds familiar.

If he hadn't known that Li Song couldn't contact his younger sister, he would have almost thought they had already talked to each other.

The eunuch came out and bowed respectfully upon seeing Pan Yu and Miao Zhen, saying, "General Pan, His Majesty summons you to an audience."

After speaking, he bowed to Miaozhen and smiled ingratiatingly.

Miao Zhen nodded slightly to him, giving Pan Yu an encouraging look.

Pan Yu took a deep breath, suppressed his increasingly rapid heartbeat, and walked solemnly into the main hall.

The war in North Korea started suddenly and will end just as quickly.

Compared to the Esen rebellion, which lasted for nearly half a year, this war was much more efficient, ending in just twenty days.

Therefore, many Oirat and Tatar leaders suspected that it was fake, and that the Ming Dynasty was taking advantage of their location in the Central Plains and their delayed access to information, so they used false information to deceive them.

Of course, they wouldn't voice their guesses, but their words implied the same thing.

Pan Yu was speechless and retorted, "Our great Ming Dynasty has never broken its promises. The Korean War involved both Korea and Japan. Even a god cannot erase all traces of it. If you find out, the prestige of our great Ming Dynasty will be gone. Why would we lie like this?"

A tribal chief tried to smooth things over, saying, "General, you misunderstand. We didn't say you were lying. We just said there might be a misunderstanding. Why would Japan, separated from Korea by a strait, attack Korea for no reason?"

“They’re insane and delusional,” Pan Yu said. “Does ambition even need explanation? Then tell me, why would Esen attack the court and rebel against the Ming Dynasty, even though it’s just across the Great Wall?”

Everyone opened their mouths, but couldn't say a word.

Pan Yu snorted coldly and said, "I know why you don't believe me. It's because you've witnessed the transmission of information by telegram and find it unbelievable, isn't it?"

The tribal leaders became even more silent.

Pan Yu snorted, "The ability to transmit sound over a thousand miles has always existed, but it was not used by mortals in the past. Now, thanks to the Grand Preceptor's use of technology, it can be used by the people. This is a matter of benefiting all people under heaven. And the Grand Preceptor treats everyone equally. As long as you are loyal to the monarch, you will also enjoy this divine convenience!"

“That’s right,” Yu Qian said, seizing the opportunity. “Our Great Ming has always regarded all ethnic groups as brothers and treated them equally. As long as all tribes are loyal, all the magical artifacts invented by the Great Ming in the future will have a share among the tribes of the grasslands.”

Yu Qian stated that once the court officials settled in the three prefectures, the Ministry of Works would also build several electric relay stations on the grasslands.

"At that time, you will be able to use the electric relay station to send messages back and forth, which will be much faster than sending messages by horse or eagle."

One tribal chief's eyes flashed, and he immediately said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, please send each of our tribes a telegraph machine and teach our people how to send and receive telegrams. In this way, communication between the tribes and the capital will be much faster."

Hu Cheng refused: "Although I am willing, I am powerless. The Ministry of Works has limited production capacity and cannot supply so many telegraph machines."

The tribal chief frowned: "Can't we supply them? Or does the imperial court distrust us and therefore refuse to give them?"

Hu Cheng: "If you don't believe me, I can show you the Ministry of Works' order list. Several parts of the telegraph machine require extremely high-level pliers skills, which only a few craftsmen can currently do. Not to mention, high-powered telegraph machines also need to be connected to generators. In short, it's very difficult to make. The order list is already booked for ten years ahead."

Hu Cheng said, "If you want it, you can wait in line. When it's your turn, we'll make it for you."

Yu Qian then interjected, "The telegraph machines planned to be installed on the grasslands were saved from other prefectures and the army."

Standing nearby, Chen Huai, the Grand Commander of the Left Army, shouted in a gruff voice, "Grand Secretary Yu, I'll say it again: I oppose giving them the military quotas. Why should we give them to them? Our army doesn't have any yet; we are the ones who have won the battle..."

"Grand Secretary Yu, General Chen's words suggest he doesn't consider us one of his own. We are now under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, so why shouldn't we be given anything?"

The main hall became noisy again.

Of course, it wasn't just about arguing; there were other things too.

For example, the issue of education and moral guidance on the grasslands.

The current imperial court has established tributary prefectures on the grasslands, and the border posts have been moved outwards. Although the inner and outer passes of Datong and Xuanfu and the Great Wall defense line have not been changed, the trade taxes and commodity categories at the passes will be modified, and the changes will be drastic.

This matter was also the main topic of their arguments during this period, and one of the purposes for which various tribes sent envoys to the capital.

Since you claim the grasslands are your territory, and have established prefectures and sent officials to manage them, then goods from the Central Plains that cross the border into the grasslands should no longer be subject to customs duties.
Goods transported from the grasslands to the Central Plains should no longer be subject to tariffs;

Related trade restrictions should also be lifted, and commodities such as iron, salt, copper, and horses should be included in the circulation of goods.

This is of course impossible.

But we can't keep things the same as before, otherwise, what will be the result of establishing tributary states?

They had their usual argument, which escalated to the point where they almost came to blows. To Pan Yu's surprise, the most furious, agitated, and eager to fight were actually a group of civil officials dressed in crimson robes.

The military officers, dressed in the same military uniform as him, calmly cheered him on from the sidelines without even blushing.

After the court session ended, it was nearly late afternoon. The emperor granted all officials a day off in advance, because tomorrow was the birthday of the Imperial Preceptor. All officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital were allowed to enter the palace to attend the birthday banquet. All other officials, except for the Imperial Guards, the Shuntian Prefecture yamen runners, and other officials and soldiers who were responsible for maintaining security and order, were all given leave.

The holiday lasted three days, comparable to the emperor's birthday.

Oh, right, last time the emperor celebrated his birthday, there was a three-day holiday.

Of course, it was nominally a holiday, but in reality, there were quite a few officials on duty. After all, with envoys from various countries here, could they really just leave them unattended in the post station or meeting place?
Pan Yu was about to leave with the officials when the emperor, who had mostly remained silent, spoke up to stop him.

Pan Yu's heart skipped a beat. He held his breath and quietly followed a palace attendant to the back hall.

The emperor secretly met with Pan Yu in the Imperial Study.

The emperor asked Pan Yu again about the Korean battlefield, as well as his thoughts on Korea, Japan, and the Nurgan Regional Military Commission;
To Pan Yu's surprise, he finally focused on asking about his relationship with his younger sister, especially about her childhood.

Pan Yu spoke freely in the former case, while she answered cautiously in the latter.

The emperor noticed this and couldn't help but sigh: "General Pan and the Imperial Preceptor had a good relationship as siblings when they were young. Please take good care of the Imperial Preceptor during this meeting."

Pan Yu, completely bewildered, replied, "Your subject will."

The emperor rubbed his forehead, hesitated, and after a long while, finally reminded him: "The Imperial Preceptor has achieved great success in his cultivation. There are rumors among the people that the Imperial Preceptor will ascend to heaven and leave after taking another step forward. But now is the time when the Ming Dynasty needs the Imperial Preceptor. I hope that the Imperial Preceptor can linger in the mortal world for a while longer."

"Huh?" Pan Yu's mouth dropped open. "This, how is this possible? Little sister, no, I mean the Imperial Advisor, how old is she? How could she have ascended to immortality?"

He frowned and said, "Given the Imperial Preceptor's physique, ascension would be at least seventy or eighty years from now, wouldn't it?"

In Pan Yu's view, so-called ascension is death, the soul leaving the body and departing from the body.

But the emperor, because of the secrets of the royal family, knew more.

He could tell from Pan Yu's appearance that he didn't know much about the world of cultivators. He solemnly said, "No matter which one it is, please, General Pan, make sure that the Imperial Preceptor lingers in the mortal world."

Pan Yu agreed without considering whether he could actually do it.

I've decided to ask my younger sister when I see her later.

Pan Yun was planting vegetables in the backyard of the Imperial Observatory when Zhang Zijin arrived uninvited. He was wearing a white Taoist robe with blue stripes from the Celestial Master's Mansion, but the fabric was of excellent quality. The cuffs were decorated with auspicious cloud patterns, and when the sleeves moved slightly, they occasionally flashed silver light in the sunlight.

The patterns were embroidered with silk from silkworms that had been spun by silkworm spirits for fifty years. These patterns were connected to form an array, meaning that he was wearing a dharma robe.

If this set of clothes were auctioned off to cultivators in the martial arts world, it would be worth more than a three-courtyard mansion in the inner city.

This person is essentially wearing a house on their body, specifically a three-courtyard mansion in the inner city of Beijing.

Pan Yun rolled up her sleeves and started hoeing the ground. If she hadn't become the Imperial Advisor, she wouldn't have been able to afford such clothes.

Even after she became the Imperial Advisor, the royal family could only provide her with two sets of such clothing per year.

However, Pan Yun refused.

Unlike Zhang Zijin, she loved taking baths and didn't like fighting, so she didn't need a religious robe.

She was thrifty and managed her household well, using all her money for charity and good deeds. She was truly a wonderful person.

Therefore, she will definitely achieve cultivation success and ascend to immortality faster than Zhang Zijin.

After hoeing the ground, Pan Yun's patience gradually ran out, and his movements became increasingly irritable.

Zhang Zijin glanced at her coldly, which calmed Pan Yun's anxiety. She slowed down her movements, forced herself to calm down, and carefully gathered the soil to form ridges.

As Pan Yu followed Miao Zhen running in, Zhang Zijin instantly disappeared into the courtyard.

So Pan Yu didn't see Zhang Zijin, but Miaozhen glanced at the spot where Zhang Zijin had just been standing.

Upon seeing his second brother, Pan Yu dropped his hoe and went over to him, opening his arms to hug him: "Second brother, you're finally back."

Pan Yu happily stepped forward and grabbed her hand, refusing her hug, but her face was full of smiles: "Little sister, you've grown up, I can't hug you anymore."

He glanced behind her, rolled up his sleeves, tucked his official robe into his belt, and went over to pick up a hoe: "Little sister, you're so kind. You care about farming even while you're cultivating. What do you want to plant? I'll help you."

Pan Yun scratched his head and said, "Plant...it's July now, what else can we plant besides vegetables?"

Pan Yu thought about it and agreed, but the area she had dug was a bit too big.

He leaned on his hoe, staring blankly at the large open space, vaguely sensing something was wrong: "Little sister, this land must be about two acres, how come there's such a large open space in the palace?"

"Oh, this used to be a garden, but I dug it all up."

Pan Yu: "...Then, what was in the garden before?"

"It has everything: peonies, roses, chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, oh, and two huge artificial mountains."

Where's the artificial hill?

“It was sold to the King of Qin and a wealthy merchant named Hu San,” Pan Jun said cheerfully. “One artificial mountain cost ten thousand taels of silver, and twenty thousand taels of silver were donated to the army in the name of the palace to provide relief to the soldiers. It was a good deal.”

Pan Yu opened his mouth, but couldn't speak: "You, you spent 20,000 taels of silver to destroy the perfectly good imperial garden?"

“How is that possible?” Pan Yun said, “Including those precious flower seeds, the total sales amounted to more than 50,000 taels.”

Pan Yu silently gripped the hoe, feeling somewhat uncertain. Could it be that the emperor wanted him to persuade Pan Yun more because of this?

He was somewhat uncertain and continued to ask, "How much would it have cost to build such a garden back then?"

Pan Yun: "At least 500,000 taels."

Pan Yu: "You're such a spendthrift!"

Pan Yun: "The emperor has agreed to my request. This area will be used as the agricultural base of the Imperial Observatory in the future. When the princes and princesses in the palace grow up, they can also be sent here to do agricultural work. No more gardens will be built, so there will be no more big expenses."

Pan Yun said, "I didn't spend any extra money to dismantle this. It was all done by Miaozhen and me. I even moved the artificial hills out at night. Otherwise, just transporting those two artificial hills would have cost a lot of money."

(End of this chapter)