Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 238: Gun is the best truth!

Hanlin Academy.

Xia Zhibai packed up his things and got up to leave.

But before leaving, he suddenly stopped and looked at the Fengtian Hall.

He knew he was going to be busy.

but.

He had expected it.

It was just that Zhu Yuanzhang's sudden idea of ​​stopping the war was still somewhat unexpected to him. But no matter what Zhu Yuanzhang thought, these things were indeed the results he was trying to bring about. Since Zhu Yuanzhang had already made up his mind, he naturally had to "convince" others.

The arrogance of the Ming Dynasty's generals is known to the world.

Not to mention Chang Yuchun who lived far away, even military generals like Lan Yu were all unruly and unruly.
These people are naturally warlike. If they hear that the imperial court wants to stop the war, they are likely to rush forward with swords in hand in a fit of impulse. For military generals, fighting is the best way to maintain their current status and position.

The more stable the world is, the more uneasy the generals will be.

And what he's going to do.

It’s just about reasoning with these generals.

Now he holds the greatest truth in the world in his hands.

gun!
He believed that after seeing the improved muskets, Lan Yu and other brave soldiers would understand what "conquering others with virtue" meant, and would also understand why he proposed to temporarily stop the war and continue to develop.

Seeing Xia Zhibai leave, the scholars in the Hanlin Academy couldn't help but raise their heads, with a bit of fear in their eyes.

During this period of time together, they could feel that Xia Zhibai was a very peaceful person, but he had a great mind.

At other times, he was very approachable and rarely came into conflict with others. He would even take the initiative to apologize when he said something wrong. He was not arrogant at all just because he was a university scholar. However, this was also conditional, that is, it did not affect his own opinions.

Especially in terms of teaching materials.

Anyone who tries to argue with Xia Zhibai on the textbook will be met with a strong backlash from Xia Zhibai.

Her words were so sharp and cruel, almost like those of a shrew in the market.

After Xia Zhibai had completely walked away, Liu Sanwu put down the ancient book he was reading and said in a cold voice, "This Xia Zhibai is getting more and more ignorant. He is now a university scholar in the Hanlin Academy, but he is trying to meddle in the salt administration of the imperial court. Is it really possible for a human to get involved in the salt administration?"

"Do you think that after doing business for a while, you can give orders to the salt administration of the whole country?"

Liu Sanwu's face was full of sarcasm.

Before Xia Zhibai came, he was highly respected and admired in the Hanlin Academy.

But after Xia Zhibai came, he was not taken seriously at all. Many of his ideas and opinions were refuted by Xia Zhibai, which made him feel humiliated many times. Even if he was well-mannered and magnanimous, he still felt resentment after such incidents.

Now he couldn't help but sneer.

Huang Zhang also put down what he was doing and said sarcastically, "He became famous at a young age, but he doesn't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. He thinks his words have a lot of weight in the world. The salt administration involves many people. All the people who wanted to change it in the past dynasties, without exception, ended up with the death of the person and the end of the administration. It's a waste of his time studying, but he doesn't even know the principle of keeping a low profile."

"With such vulgar knowledge, are you really worthy of being a university scholar?"

Dong Guan laughed and said, "Let him run wild for a while. Even officials of the first and second ranks in the court dare not easily get involved in the affairs of the salt administration. He is just a fifth-rank official, but he dares to interfere. Does he really think that others will be as humble as we are?"

"Now I want to see how Xia Zhibai will end up?!"

"If he was deposed as Grand Secretary"

Dong Guan's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said sinisterly: "The burden of compiling the textbooks will probably fall entirely on our shoulders. Now that the compilation of textbooks has been given importance by His Majesty, I'm afraid it is impossible to abolish it, but it is better for us to be responsible than for Xia Zhibai."

"At least we know right from wrong and have moral integrity."

The other maesters laughed along.

They haven't been having a good time lately.

Writing textbooks is a tough job.

Thankless effort.

Sometimes they would be refuted by Xia Zhibai in various ways. They had been holding back their anger for a long time, but had no one to vent it on. At today's court meeting, Xia Zhibai followed Tian Jing in challenging the salt administration, which gave them a glimmer of hope. If Xia Zhibai angered all the ministers in the court because of his suggestions, and was impeached by all the officials, Xia Zhibai would probably lose his position as a Grand Secretary.

Without Xia Zhibai's pressure, they no longer had the burden on them.

You can now write teaching materials as you please.

Intellectuals fear restrictions the most.

Fang Xiaoru looked at everyone coldly, shook his head secretly, and said calmly: "Everyone should calm down. Although Xia Zhibai's attitude is a bit disrespectful, it is more or less for the sake of compiling a good textbook. Why is he criticized so much?"

"Besides."

"If the textbooks are compiled, we will also have our names on them."

"Isn't this a great achievement?"

"And become famous all over the world."

"I advise you to stop criticizing and put more thought into compiling textbooks. If you can compile the textbooks as soon as possible, maybe we can get out of this situation sooner and no longer be trapped in the sea of ​​books and unable to extricate ourselves."

"As for the salt policy."

"How can we make a conclusion so easily when the court affairs are still undecided?"

"In my opinion, even if the court doesn't agree, they won't do anything to Xia Zhibai."

"Our Ming Dynasty is not a short-sighted dynasty, nor is it intolerant, nor is it incapable of seeking common ground while reserving differences."

"Xia Zhibai will certainly offend many people, but what they say may serve as a new point of view. I have observed that since the end of the Song Dynasty, Confucian scholars all over the world seem to be thinking about how to make the world go further, but they have not found a way in many classics."

"perhaps."

"Xia Zhibai's idea will become a new path." "We, Confucian students, have been taught since the beginning of our studies to 'take the accomplished as our teachers'. When did it become 'partisanship and suppression of dissidents'? You have been studying for many years, but you are getting worse and worse. Moreover, as Hanlin scholars, we should take the world as our responsibility."

"in my opinion."

"Xia Zhibai's suggestion may be a little biased."

“But it may be a good suggestion for the world.”

"At least it's a good start."

When Liu Sanwu and others heard Fang Xiaoru's words, they looked displeased.

Liu Sanwu said, "Fang Xiaoru, why do you have to speak for Xia Zhibai?"

"You have seen how arrogant he has been these days. When has he ever taken us seriously?"

"We all know that we have only read a few books and cannot boast of knowing much about the world, but what about Xia Zhibai? He has always been giving advice on world affairs, and he doesn't even take our suggestions to heart. I am ashamed to be associated with such a rebellious person."

Dong Guan sneered, "You speak for him like this, I wonder how much benefit you have received from him."

“Nothing in the world is ever easy.”

"If everyone in the world is like Xia Zhibai, relying on passion and hot-headedness to point fingers at the politics of the world, or even directly interfere in the affairs of the world, wouldn't the world be in chaos? The world has its own internal laws, how can we tolerate nonsense?"

"We are just speaking out for justice."

"If you don't like it, just don't listen. Why are you so cold and sarcastic?"

"And I don't think this textbook will really be accepted by the world. Ancient sages all knew about 'doing what one can do' and 'teaching students in accordance with their aptitude'. How many actual talents can such a stereotyped textbook cultivate for the world? Moreover, the confusion of thought and learning is not a disaster for the world."

"As a disciple of Confucianism, why can't I promote Confucianism?"

"At least I know where my roots are."

Fang Xiaoru raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

He doesn't like conflicts and arguments with others.

Fang Xiaoru said in a deep voice: "I don't know what you think, but what I know is that if the textbooks are well compiled, it will be a great benefit to the world. Before Xia Zhibai, has anyone ever proposed to compile a unified teaching textbook for the world? Maybe there was, but who dared to do it?"

"In the whole world, there is only Xia Zhibai."

"This courage to be the first in the world is enough to make the world look up to you."

"I won't say much to you. I just want to advise you not to embarrass your own talents and reputations because of a momentary unhappiness. We have such an important responsibility, so we should work hard to do the work at hand well, so as not to waste so much time."

Done.

Fang Xiaoru stopped talking.

He picked up an ancient book from the table and started writing again.

Liu Sanwu and the others' faces turned blue and red, looking very unnatural. Finally, they snorted coldly, waved their sleeves and sat back in their original seats. However, the dissatisfaction in their eyes became more and more intense, and they did things more and more perfunctorily.

Small incidents in the Hanlin Academy have occurred several times.

Therefore, no one took it seriously.

in the city.

Xia Zhibai returned to the salt shop.

He did not stop in the store and went straight to the study.

A month ago, the King of Zhou sent a lot of craftsmen. In addition to the King of Zhou, the King of Qin, the King of Jin and other vassal kings also sent a lot of craftsmen.

Of course it's not free.

Mainly, he provided a batch of "gun" drawings to the King of Qin, the King of Jin and others, and actually made a few "samples". Although the actual combat capabilities of these "samples" were not very good, they were eye-opening and even made people feel a little uneasy.

In particular, he once described to these vassal kings the magnificent scenes of firearms warfare, which made the King of Qin, the King of Jin and other vassal kings look shocked.

Because just thinking about that scene makes people scared.

Xia Zhibai was also very generous. He suggested that they provide craftsmen and help with the design of guns. If the design was successful, they would be supplied to these princes first.

After Xia Zhibai returned to Yingtian Prefecture, good news came from Peking that several "sample guns" had been successfully made. He did not hide it and sent them directly to the King of Qin and the King of Jin. Not long after, the King of Qin and the King of Jin sent some craftsmen over privately.

The King of Qin and the King of Jin had "sample guns" in their hands, and he also had one.

And better.

It's just that the cost is incredibly high.

Because it is made by real hands.

If we really talk about it, it can be regarded as an 'old-fashioned' Mauser 71 rifle.

But in modern times, it is still very advanced.

At least compared with the existing muskets of the Ming Dynasty, it was far ahead. In order to convince these princes, Xia Zhibai racked his brains and tried every possible means. In the end, with the help of skilled old craftsmen, it took more than a month to assemble it.

The end result is good.

He did make one, although its actual effect was not as good as the real 'Mauser rifle', but at least it was a good start. He later asked these craftsmen to continue to imitate a few more and gave them to the King of Qin and the King of Jin, and then asked the craftsmen at Zunhua Iron Smelting to make some high-quality steel. Now, after more than a year, it is slowly getting on the right track, but it is still a long way to go to truly achieve mass production.

But Xia Zhibai thought it was enough to convince the Ming generals.

Xia Zhibai entered the study, took out a wooden box from a cabinet, and then opened the box.

A long spear appeared before his eyes.

(End of this chapter)