I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 793 The Hope of Human Civilization

Leon told Shu Youliang about his doubts.

Shu Youliang glanced at him and replied, "What we are going to do now is a commendation meeting to award honors and titles to those who have made contributions."

"Awarding honors and titles? What does that mean?"

"It means awarding medals and titles to honor their merits. Our Ming Dynasty medals are divided into six categories. There are three types awarded by the military government, two types awarded by the cabinet, and only one type awarded by the emperor himself, which is the highest medal, the Order of the Precious Tripod."

"Baoding Medal? Is it precious?"

"precious?"

Shu Youliang's eyes widened.

"Ding! In China, what does Ding mean? It means the land and mountains of our country! Take a closer look at the Treasure Ding Medal! It is a rare thing in the world, and people say it is equal to an official.

No matter whether he is a commoner or an official, or how high his rank is, as long as he is awarded the Order of the Tripod, even the Prime Minister Zhang Xiang and the Chief Military Envoy of the Military Government Tan Xiang will have to treat him with equal courtesy and courtesy.

Marcelo and Leon understood a little.

"Such excellent treatment is indeed rare. Do you have to make great contributions to obtain it?"

"That's a must. To be awarded the tripod, one must have made extraordinary contributions to the country and the people and stabilize the world. Only great contributions can be granted.

This merit can be military merit or other merit. As long as it is of great benefit to the country and the people, it will be awarded. "

Marcelo asked again: "Will he be given a knighthood?"

"Yes. Awarding medals is only part of the recognition. For some merits, medals are not enough to be recognized, and knighthood is also necessary. It seems that several people will be knighted today."

Shu Youliang looked at the people who were waiting to be awarded honors and titles by the Jinshui Bridge across Chang'an Street, and noticed several familiar faces.

Before Leon could ask more, ten third-class sergeants raised their trumpets and blew them. The clear sound was like a gust of wind that cleared away all the noise.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict said:

I am blessed by the high heavens and cherished by the saints. I have built up my roots and branches to achieve a legacy that will last for generations. I have expanded and strengthened my vassal states to maintain peace throughout the world.

The ministers and officials followed the emperor's will to maintain the foundation of the country, some increased the wealth and accompanied the imperial tribute. Some revised the laws and regulations and strengthened the defense. Some made deep plans and won a victory thousands of miles away.

They are all loyal and honest, and follow the path of the Tao. They use it to govern the country and advise Baidu.
Being close to the people will benefit the world for generations to come. Therefore, the great ones will be granted titles and lands, and the lesser ones will be granted access to the boudoir.”

The hymn-singing officer stood on the Jinshui Bridge on the left and chanted loudly.

More than a dozen officials singing praises acted as microphones and loudspeakers, spreading Zhu Yijun's imperial edict and intentions to everywhere.

"Huang Daolin, the Marquis of Jinxian, praised the work of nature and determined the national policy. He used his wisdom to understand all things and brought peace to all sources. He was awarded the Order of the Tripod and was promoted to Marquis of Jinxian.
Li Shizhen, the Earl of Qichun, was a man of great wisdom and wisdom, who saved the world and the people. He was awarded the Baoding Medal and was promoted to the Marquis of Qichun.

Tang Gongliang surveyed Dingzhou and was awarded the Baoding Medal and the title of Puning Earl.

Huang Daolin?
The inventor of the steam engine was said to have been awarded the Order of the Tripod and the title of Marquis of Xianbo for inventing the first steam engine. How did he get another honor and title?

Shu Youliang suddenly remembered the railway opening ceremony at Beijing South Railway Station in a few days.

Steam locomotive!

I guess he was the one who took the lead in developing it.

Li Shizhen was awarded honors and knighthood a long time ago for developing the flower-removing agent and the deer-calling agent. Today he was awarded honors and knighthood again. I believe he has developed a new life-saving miracle drug.

There is no doubt about that, they deserve the wealth and glory!
Tang Gongliang was a naval lieutenant commander and an explorer. According to the imperial decree, he was awarded the title of noble because he led a team to explore the Dingzhou continent and opened up a large new territory for the Ming Dynasty.

The matters mentioned above were confidential, so Shu Youliang gave a very vague introduction to Marcelo and the others.

Marcelo and others also understood that it was nothing more than that damn confidentiality regulation.

Don’t tell anyone and don’t ask around.

The deeds of the people later were reported in the newspapers, so of course they could be talked about in great detail.

Shu Youliang introduced their achievements in great detail.

The last person to be awarded a medal and a knighthood for expedition and survey was Gu Chengjiu, a lieutenant colonel in the army and a senior explorer of the Geographical Society.

He led his team from Pyongyang, along the east coast of Northeast China, through the mouth of the Heilongjiang River and the Brown Bear Peninsula, found the Xiazhi Strait, entered the northern end of Genzhou, and then along the west coast of Genzhou to Songmen Bay.

Gu Chengjiu not only surveyed the land route from Daming to Genzhou, verified how the survivors of the Xia and Shang dynasties migrated to Genxunzhou, but also discovered a large area of ​​new territory.

For example, in the bitterly cold area in the north of Genzhou, people accidentally discovered a large number of gold mines and it was called Jinzhou.

Therefore, in the third year of Wanli, he was awarded the Baoding Medal and was conferred the title of Le'an Earl.

Others who were awarded medals included Lieutenant Liang Ke'an of the Solon Assault Regiment, who was the first to rush into Leh.

This was a merit of being the first to reach the city, which was enough to be passed down through the ages. Moreover, this battle destroyed the Oris Military and Civilian Marshal's Office, marking the return of the entire U-Tsang territory to the Ming Dynasty, which was of great significance.

Liang Ke'an had been awarded a title of nobility long ago, but he had been stationed in the Fergana Basin and was only rotated back at the beginning of the year. So his meritorious service was announced in public, and the emperor personally awarded him a title of nobility as a sign of honor.

There was a captain of the fire department.

In the early winter of the fourth year of Wanli, the weather was dry and windy.

A forest fire broke out outside Luzhou City in Anhui Province. The fire surrounded a village and more than 600 people in the village were in danger.

The Luzhou Fire Brigade fought desperately and finally opened a passage after sacrificing 16 lives, rescuing all 624 people from the fire.

There was an army major, Wu Nanbei.

He was the commander of the Second Infantry Regiment of the Hubei Military Preparations Department, stationed in Huangmei County.

In the early autumn of the fourth year of Wanli, the Yangtze River was flooded and the river dike in Wujiaxue Town was in urgent need of help. Wu Nanbei was ordered to lead a battalion to provide assistance.

A hole more than four meters long suddenly appeared in the river embankment of Wujiaxue Town. Flood water rushed out, tearing the embankment and widening the breach. The embankment was about to collapse completely, and tens of thousands of people were in danger.

Wu Nanbei led the vanguard and jumped into the flood with ropes tied to them, using their bodies to slow down the flood and buy precious time to plug the gap.

The Rong government issued a military order in accordance with the imperial edict, and the first battalion of the second infantry regiment of the Hubei garrison was awarded the first-class collective merit, and the vanguard company that followed Wu Nanbei to jump into the gap was also awarded the first-class collective merit.

Six officers and soldiers who were washed away by the flood and whose bodies were never found were awarded the Baoding Medal.

Zhu Yijun hung the Baoding Medal around Huang Daolin's neck, and the golden medal made his face glow.

"The Ming Dynasty is proud of you!" Huang Daolin said in a trembling voice, "Devote yourself to the service of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yijun hung the medal around Li Shizhen's neck.

"The Ming Dynasty is proud of you."

"Devote my life to the country.

Zhu Yijun hung the medal around Liang Ke'an's neck.

"The Ming Dynasty is proud of you."

"Long live the emperor, and great victory to the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yijun handed sixteen heavy Baoding medals to the fire captain.

"The Ming Dynasty is proud of them, and I feel sad for them."

The fire chief held the sixteen Baoding medals in his hands and burst into tears: "I have fulfilled my duties with all my heart and soul, and I have been loyal to the emperor and the country."

Zhu Yijun handed six Baoding medals to Captain Wu Nanbei.

"The Ming Dynasty will surely remember their deeds, and history will surely remember their names."

Wu Nanbei held six medals, standing like a javelin, tears flowing silently.

"Serve the country with loyalty until death."

Marcelo and Leon were more and more moved as they listened to Shu Youliang's introduction.

Especially the stories of the fire brigade and flood fighting officers and soldiers who risked their lives to save others, the two really couldn't believe it.

We are all human beings and civilized countries. How could your Ming country produce such a "saint"?
Impossible, unreasonable!
After hearing Marcelo and Leon's doubts, Shu Youliang laughed and said, "If it was during the Jiajing and Longqing dynasties, I wouldn't believe a word you said, let alone you.

There are such noble and righteous individuals, but are there such armies? Absolutely impossible!

"Look at the past dynasties, the soldiers were all soldiers, rough warriors, how could they have the righteousness and courage of a saint?"

Marcelo and Leon nodded repeatedly. That’s right, you don’t believe it yourself.

But Shu Youliang changed the subject.

"But I believed it during the Wanli Dynasty. Not only did I believe it, but many people in the government and the country believed it."

Marcelo and Leon couldn't help but choke, and after a while they asked unwillingly: "Why?"

"Because the emperor has spent a lot of effort over the years to build the Ming army and navy into the backbone of the Ming Dynasty. The backbone should look like a backbone."

What you said is so profound. I seem to understand it, but also seem not to understand it.

However, it seems that the Ming people have become accustomed to having such an army.

But judging by these days, they deserve to have such an army.

Leon thought of a loophole, “Master Shu, is the fire brigade also an army?”

"The Daming Fire Department is part of the Guards Army. In our eyes, the Guards Army is no different from the Army and Navy."

In front of hundreds of civil and military officials and tens of thousands of civilians, and accompanied by majestic music from the military band, seventeen people walked onto the stage one by one and received the Baoding Medal from Zhu Yijun. Four of them were promoted to knighthood, and seven were awarded titles ranging from Hujun to Shangzhuguo.

After the review and awarding ceremony, everyone rushed to Nanyuan to participate in subsequent activities.

The dragon boat race was postponed to 11 o'clock, but the football championship cup final in the afternoon went on as scheduled.

More than 100,000 people cheered and rejoiced. Shu Youliang and others were already accustomed to that kind of lively and bustling scene and naturally blended into it.

But Marcelo, Leon and others, like the Persian and Ottoman envoys present, were deeply shocked.

Especially when the bidding competition began, the scene of a hundred thousand people shouting in unison stunned them. The scene was like a volcanic eruption, making them tremble and every hair on their body stood up.

This scene of unity will be forever engraved in their hearts.

The football championship cup final pushed this scene to a climax, with tens of thousands of people singing and dancing on the stage. Especially during the halftime break, tens of thousands of people sang in unison to Zhu Yijun.

“The Great Ming is glorious, the sun and the moon shine forever; the holy emperor is brilliant, the heaven and earth bless you; the Wanli reign is prosperous, the times are peaceful and the people are safe; the earth is thick and carries everything, the Qianyuan is beneficial and steadfast.”

Some of these people had red faces, some were crying, and the enthusiasm and sincerity on their faces moved Marcelo and other onlookers.

At 6 pm, the Imperial Household Department, under the order of the Emperor, held a banquet at Changyi Pavilion to entertain civil and military officials and social elites. Marcelo and Leon and their group, as Portuguese envoys, were invited to attend.

Shu Youliang appeared at the banquet naturally, and people came to greet him from time to time.

Marcelo and others also surrounded him naturally, but they were not familiar with the others.

Shu Youliang greeted them and introduced the participants to them.

The dozen or so people wearing unique costumes are representatives of the chieftains from Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Hubei.

They were people who knew the times, and now they held hereditary military positions, so their social status was not a problem. The court "bought back" their land and people, and the money they received made them wealthy.

There were outstanding ones, including the Ma family of Shizhu, the Zhang and An families of Sinan, the Xiang and Zhang families of Yongshun, and the Tian and Zhang families of Shizhou. The heads of the families were also given the title of constitutional officials and entered the government.

The dozen or so elegant scholars following Zhang Siwei and Wang Daokun included Wang Shizhen, Tu Long, Tang Xianzu and others, all of whom were famous dramatists of the Ming Dynasty.

There were also a dozen or so gentlemen wearing straight-collared clothes and square scarves on their heads. They were all great painters from the Hanlin Academy of Painting and Calligraphy, and were famous all over the world.

There were also a few who seemed very reserved. They were famous opera masters in the two capitals and Jiangnan, commonly known as "jiao'er". This time they were invited by the Shaofu Jian and Taichang Temple to gather in the capital to celebrate the emperor's birthday.

The male characters appeared now, and there were more than a dozen female characters who were even more amazing. They entered the Liyuan Theatre in Xiyuan and were entertained by the Queen Mother at a family banquet.

Standing over there, with dark faces and looking big and strong, there were thirty or forty people surrounding Yang Gonggong, Huang Daolin, and Li Shizhen, the eunuchs of the Ministry of Finance. Some of them were representatives of the factories and mines in Luanzhou, Shanghai, and Taiyuan who were celebrating the birthday. They were model workers of major factories and mines; some were model workers of major farms and pastures who promoted agriculture.
Sophnia couldn't help wiping her eyes as she listened to Shu Youliang's introduction.

Hey, what are you doing, you Western woman?
Marcelo and Leon were also curious.

Sophonia smiled and replied, "All beings are equal and live in harmony. I never thought that I could see the scene I dreamed of in the distant East.

Now I am truly convinced that in Ming Dynasty, we can see the hope of human civilization."

(End of this chapter)