I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 969 Extra

After knocking the pipe clean, he stuffed it into a cloth bag and put it in his pocket, Zhao Shizhen continued.

"Most of today's college students were born after the Wanli reign, whether in their hometown or in the New World of Genxun. They had a good life. From birth to growth, and then to college, they experienced the most prosperous period in Chinese history and the most rapid development of human civilization.

The Industrial Revolution, steam engines, electric motors, internal combustion engines, mathematical physics, and medical biology all erupted during the 20th year of the Wanli reign, like a dozen huge volcanoes erupting at the same time, bringing earth-shaking impacts to human history.

Many of you, in the most prosperous and vibrant era in Chinese history, had no worries about food and clothing, and enjoyed a rich life that your parents never dreamed of. So you took it for granted that all this was natural, and that the whole world should be like this as well. "

At this point, Zhao Shizhen's tone became heavier.

"His Majesty once told us that nothing in this world is taken for granted. The glory of the Wanli New Deal did not fall from the sky, but was the result of countless corpses.

Among them were the conservative forces of our ancestors, the stubbornly resisting indigenous forces in the South China Sea, and countless corpses from countries such as India, Arabia, and Spain.

Take the New World, for example. There were hundreds of thousands of Spanish people here before. Where are they now? Have they all crossed the Atlantic and swam back home?

The meeting hall was silent.

Zhao Shizhen continued.

“Why was my Theory of Natural Species Evolution criticized and denounced by countless people when it was first published? Because the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest completely tore apart the illusion of an orderly society that they had been weaving, maintaining, and indulging in.

Be gentle, humble and respectful.

Survival of the fittest!"

"In fact, the first person to discover this truth was His Majesty the Emperor. When I was compiling the detailed information of my global survey, I had many insights and also many doubts.

Later, His Majesty the Emperor saw the report I submitted to the Imperial Observatory and summoned me to the Western Garden to have an in-depth and candid exchange with me.

Natural selection, survival of the fittest.

The weak eat the strong, and the fittest survive.

These two sentences were put forward by the Emperor. They are the core of the theory of evolution. There are many other core ideas that were also pointed out by His Majesty the Emperor during that conversation.

When the manuscript of "On the Evolution of Natural Species" was completed, I asked His Majesty the Emperor to review it, and at the same time strongly requested that His Majesty the Emperor be listed as the author.

His Majesty the Emperor helped me review the manuscript, revised many details, added many insightful comments, and then told me in person.

I don't need that little bit of fame. If you list me as the author, the world and future generations will think that you are flattering me in order to curry my favor, which will only damage my reputation. I resolutely refuse to list me.

You can look through the "Treasure Records of the Holy Emperor Wanli" and you can clearly see the emperor's thoughts on evolution in the conversations he had with me in the third, seventh, and eleventh years of the Wanli reign.

Zhao Shizhen let out a long sigh and continued speaking loudly.

"I will talk about this wherever I give a lecture on evolution. I am not flattering the emperor, but this is the truth. I am worried that when future generations compile the Wanli Baolu, they will find that the emperor made similar remarks several years ago and accuse me of stealing the world and deceiving the name.

I won’t bear this charge!”

There were chuckles in the meeting hall, especially from Hu Yinglin and others, who were well aware of Emperor Wanli's erudition and temper.

Zhao Shizhen paused for a few seconds and continued.

"I'm getting back to the point.

The emperor taught us that nothing can be taken for granted. He had a deep understanding of the law of the jungle.

Therefore, Your Majesty has spared no effort to promote the industrial revolution in the Ming Dynasty and improve productivity, while also implementing the Wanli New Deal and perfecting appropriate production relations.

With hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians under your majesty's command, the Ming Dynasty will become a strong country with a prosperous people, standing proudly at the top of the world."

“His Majesty the Emperor often says that the world is just a makeshift platform and a cruel prairie where the strong prey on the weak!

So I want to encourage everyone here to go out more, see the essence of this world clearly, and don’t indulge in your own biases and fantasies.

Only by seeing the cruel nature of the world clearly, will we continue to work hard to make ourselves and the Ming Dynasty stronger, and will we be more willing to take care of our injured companions.

Unity and solidarity are the important foundations for the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization to continue to this day and stand proudly at the top of the world! "

There was thunderous applause, and the huge sound waves almost blew off the roof of the venue.

So well said!
Wei Liushun clapped his hands so hard that his palms became numb, and tears flowed quietly down his face.

He listened to his father talk about the hardships he had experienced in his childhood and the tragic fate of his grandfather. Wei Liushun had some understanding of the cruelty of the world.

He is now extremely grateful that the Ming Dynasty came to Xunzhou and rescued countless survivors of the Former Xia Dynasty who are also part of the Chinese nation.

I am also glad that I studied hard, left the mountains, and came to Taiping City. If I had stayed in Qingyuan County like my brothers, I would probably not have been able to see the wider world and hear such a wonderful speech.

Therefore, Wei Liushun secretly vowed in his heart that after graduating from the Mechanical Department of the Polytechnic Institute, he would first work as an engine technician on an ocean-going ship and travel across the four oceans with the ship. As Hou Hu Gong said, travel thousands of miles to see the essence of this world clearly.
Wei Liushun officially became a freshman majoring in mechanical manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Xiazhou University, and felt like a fish in water in this best university in the new world of Genxun.

He actively participated in club activities and joined the mountaineering team and shooting team at once.

Wei Liushun is a mountain kid. He would go to the mountains near the mine to climb when he had nothing to do. Those mountains belong to the Andes Mountains, and some are covered with snow all year round.
Shooting team?
Yes, the mine is located in a remote area and there are often wild beasts. There is a guard team in the mine, and Wei Liushun's father is one of them. He is a master of the Longqing Type 2 smoothbore rifle.

The school for children of the mine implemented the Ministry of Rites' "Decree on strengthening physical fitness and cooperating with national defense construction in primary and secondary schools of the Ming Dynasty" and started military training in junior high school.

Shooting in formation, with real guns and live ammunition.

Wei Liushun learned a lot from his father and had good marksmanship, so he easily joined the shooting team.

Due to the special situation of the Genxun New World, every household in factories, mines, farming and animal husbandry has guns, and the young and strong are all reserve forces.

The Xiazhou University shooting team has 1,200 male and female members, all of whom are equipped with Longqing Type II and Wanli Type Yuan percussion cap-fired smoothbore rifles, and are also equipped with 16 95mm smoothbore cannons.

If a war really breaks out, the European musketeers may not be able to defeat them.

In Genzhou, the terrain is flatter than in Xunzhou, so people usually go out on horseback.

Every household here, whether immigrants or survivors, has a horse.

Wei Liushun saw his classmates from various counties in Genzhou in the shooting team, who looked so cool shooting on horseback, so he signed up for an equestrian club. Then, he and Liao Xuexian rented a horse together and learned riding skills.

On this day, after class, Wei Liushun came to the shooting team to participate in club activities. While preparing guns and bullets, more than a dozen classmates started discussing.

"I heard that the emperor wants to implement a feudal system for Genxunzhou?"

"I have heard from Principal Hu that Genxunzhou is too far away from the ancestral home, and the governor and county system are unable to cope with it, so they adopted the feudal system."

"Isn't the feudal system a historical regression?"

"It is not a historical regression, but an expedient measure tailored to the time and place."

"What's the expedient solution?"

"I heard that the emperor wants to enfeoff several princes in the Genxun Continent, divide them into countries, and then distribute administrative offices and counties in each country. The princes are just representatives sent by the emperor to supervise the three local governments in exercising administrative and judicial powers.

National defense and diplomacy are all under the command of our ancestors.

In addition, we will fully implement the House of Representatives Council to enhance the autonomy of local governments.

More than a dozen people talked for a while, but no one could come to a conclusion. At this time, a senior student rushed in and shouted loudly.

"Good news! Good news!"

"What good news?" The classmates gathered around.

"The Xiazhou Military Preparations Department just received a wireless message that three days ago, the Emperor personally led an army of 110,000 cavalry and infantry to defeat the 350,000-strong Western Barbarians coalition in the eastern part of Duizhou and the southern part of Moscow.

61,000 people were killed and 275,000 were captured.

King John III of Sweden, King Sigismund III of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Prince Musk of Denmark and Norway, Duke Frederick of Prussia, and other nobles, 2,610 of whom were killed and 4,920 captured.

"it is good!"

Cheers rang out across the campus. In the distance, one could hear the popping of gunfire and the roar of cannons. The entire Taiping City was in an uproar.

Two days later, the Xiazhou Military Preparations Department organized an expedition, crossed the Rongshui River (Mississippi River) to the east, and wiped out the remaining Western barbarians there.

The Ming army and navy marines attacked the east coast of Genzhou, where they built sixteen fortresses and opened six ports. Tens of thousands of Spanish, English and other Western soldiers and civilians fled westward, some of them occupied land and became bandits.

Some joined forces with the indigenous tribes who were ignorant of the weather and continued to resist stubbornly.

The Army and Marine Corps conducted in-depth cleanup operations in regiments.

The Xiazhou Military Preparations Department drew reserve forces from various factories, mines, farms and schools to form a militia group, which crossed the Rongshui River to the east to cooperate with the operation.

This time, 26,000 reservists were mobilized to form ten militia regiments, all of which were cavalry and vehicle mobile regiments.

One hundred and sixty members were selected from the Xiazhou University shooting team, and today Wei Liushun and other team members saw them off.

Seeing them riding on horses, fully armed, with weapons and luggage placed on the other two spare horses, Wei Liushun and others were extremely envious.

Not only will they have the opportunity to participate in the war, but after this operation, the resumes of these 160 students will be recorded, and they will be "focused on training" when they take the civil service exam or enter various factories, mines, farming and animal husbandry units in the future.
But you can't join the militia just because you want to. You must undergo a certain period of military training and be good enough to join.

Watching the figures of the seniors and their teammates disappearing at the school gate, Wei Liushun and Liao Xuexian looked at each other and felt even warmer in their hearts.

July of the 20th year of Wanli’s reign, one month after the Battle of Yile.

Moscow city.

Ire was defeated and the Principality of Moscow was severely damaged.

Grand Duke Fyodor I of Moscow was wounded and fled back, but died soon after. The nobles were almost all killed or wounded, and the troops suffered heavy losses.

The Principality of Moscow no longer had the power to resist.

In the following days, the remaining lords and nobles across the Principality of Moscow either fled or surrendered.

The city of Moscow soon fell into the hands of the Ming Army.

In the back hall of the Grand Duke's Palace in Moscow, Zhu Yijun pointed to the map and said.

"Nizi, which piece of land do you want? I will give it to you."

"Father, these are the territories of the Ming Dynasty. Giving them to me is against the law."

"The territory of the Ming Dynasty is temporarily set to the area east of the line of the Niehe (Dnieper) River and the Wahe (Vistula) River. The area to the west will still be theirs."

"Father, don't you want all the fertile land in the west?"

"You can never completely seize all the land. What's most important is whether we can occupy it forever and make it an inseparable part of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Xuanni nodded, "That's right. Tens of millions of Western barbarians must have a place to live. It's impossible to become a citizen of the Ming Dynasty and enjoy a good life from now on.

It is better for you to stay in the west and serve the Ming Dynasty like a slave."

Zhu Yijun laughed and continued to ask: "However, the Ming Dynasty will establish several buffer states between it and the Western Barbarians, and then you brothers and sisters will be enfeoffed here.

You are the boss, you choose first."

Zhu Xuanni thought for a moment, "During the last Yilei War, I saw the Teutonic Knights wearing black crosses. They were pretty good and brave. I chose them."

"The Teutonic Knights? These are Christian fanatics who fought for territory on the western coast of the Baltic Sea and have now established the Duchy of Prussia with Königsberg (Kaliningrad) as its capital.

The location is easy, just move it west of the Wa River.

But these Teutonic Knights are die-hard fans of Christianity, so they are difficult to discipline?"

Zhu Xuanni chuckled, with a sneer on her lips: "I have the support of the Ming Dynasty, a revolver in one hand and silver in the other. No matter how stubborn they are, I will tame them into the Sun Moon Sect!"

Zhu Yijun laughed loudly, "I will confer upon you the title of Princess of Yan, and your husband the title of Duke of Yan.

First come, first served. My rich Elbe River region will be allocated to the State of Yan.

Together with the people of the Duchy of Prussia, they will be given to the Kingdom of Yan, and they will march westward together. The Teutonic Knights will also be given to you, so that you can convert them to the Sun and Moon Sect as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Father."

A year later, Zhu Xuanni led the Teutonic Knights, who were dressed in white robes with the Sun in front and the Moon in the back and were indoctrinated into the Sun and Moon Cult, 1,600 knights, and 16,000 musket troops commanded by the Prussian Officer Corps composed of 350 Ming Army officer volunteers, as well as 6,000 westward-migrated Oirat cavalry, and defeated the coalition forces of Lower Saxony and the Duchy of Saxony.

A month later, with the cooperation of the Third Task Force of the Ming Navy's Atlantic Fleet, the Free Hanseatic city of Hamburg in the lower reaches of the Elbe River was occupied.

Three months later, Zhu Xuanni and his wife announced the establishment of the Ming Dynasty's vassal state, Yan State, in Hamburg.

A year later, they occupied the Danish Peninsula and established Danyin County of Yan State.

Then the third son of the emperor, Zhu Changhan, was granted the title of Duke of Yong, and his fiefdom was the Oder River basin.

Five years later, Zhu Xuanni and Zhu Changhan led the Yan-Yong coalition forces to attack Prague.

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia and Archduke of Austria, committed suicide.

Then the two brothers and sisters summoned the leaders of more than 370 duchies, principalities, religious noble territories, free states, free cities, knight territories, etc. in the Holy Roman Empire to Prague and announced the demise of the Holy Roman Empire. There would be no emperor in Europe anymore.

There can only be one emperor in the world.

However, in order to appease them, Zhu Xuanni announced that after asking for permission from His Majesty the Emperor, Duizhou would be renamed Europazhou, or Europe for short.
Zhu Xuanni then began to map out the more than 370 forces, dividing them into 67 marquis and earl territories, and then subcontracting them layer by layer.
From then on, Germany became a general term for a region rather than a synonym for a nation.

The eldest son Zhu Changhao became the son-in-law of the Persian Shah Kodaban, and after Kodaban's death, he ascended the throne as the Persian Shah.

Less than two years after becoming the Shah, Zhu Changhao announced the restoration of Zoroastrianism and made it the state religion of Persia. This move caused an uproar and triggered the Ten Years' War with Persia.

During the Fifteen Years' War, Zhu Changhao, relying on the support of the Ming Dynasty, fostered a group of Persian upstarts who studied in the Ming Dynasty, and gradually forced the people in various places to convert to Zoroastrianism.

At the same time, a large number of Kazakhs, Bukharans, Ili people, and Chuhe people who believed in Buddhism and Shamanism continued to pour into Persia from the Kipchak steppe and Mengchi area and became Zhu Changhao's arms.

In the 39th year of Wanli, the civil war in Persia was basically over. Zoroastrians accounted for 40% of the population in Persia, Buddhists and shamans accounted for 20%, and their numbers were constantly increasing.

In the 25th year of Wanli's reign, the princes were enfeoffed one by one.

The second son of the emperor, Zhu Changhan, was named Duke of Qi and established a country on the east coast of Genzhou, with Ledu (Virginia Beach) as its capital.

The fifth prince Zhu Changxuan was granted the title of Duke of Tan and established a kingdom in Lurong (Atlanta) in Zhuwu County.

The sixth prince Zhu Changxun was granted the title of Duke of Weiguo and established a kingdom in Yongye (Denver) in Diaoyin County.

The seventh prince Zhu Changxun was granted the title of Duke of Song and established his kingdom in Nan'an City (Houston) in Honghua County.

The ninth son of the emperor, Zhu Changhong, was granted the title of Duke of Xu and established a kingdom in Zhaoming (Rio de Janeiro), Daifang County, Xunzhou.

The tenth prince Zhu Changrong was granted the title of Duke of Cai and established a kingdom in Huaide (Montevideo) in Yongxi County of Xunzhou (Uruguay, Argentina).

The eleventh son of the emperor, Zhu Changning, was granted the title of Duke of Chen and established a kingdom in Haiming (Salvador), Lelang County, Xunzhou (central and southern Brazil).

Over the next six years, Genxunzhou was divided into twelve countries by nine princes and three grandsons, seven in Genzhou and five in Xunzhou.

In addition, there are seven provincial governors: Xiazhou (California), Ningzhou (Seattle and Vancouver area), Shangzhou (Central America), Huzhou (Five Lakes region), Yingzhou (Boston to Baltimore area), Qizhou (Peru, Chile and part of Bolivia), and Raozhou (Colombia and Venezuela), as well as the direct jurisdictions of the Beigen and Nanxun Shaofujian (most of Canada, Alaska, and Chile and southern Argentina respectively).

The twelve countries in Genxunzhou are called domestic vassal states, which are different from the overseas vassal states established by Zhu Xuanni and Zhu Changhan.

The real power of the vassal states within the country was in the hands of three ministries, namely the Ministry of State Affairs, the Ministry of State Sima and the Ministry of Censorship, which were respectively led by the Minister of State Affairs and the Minister of Censorship.

They directly govern the counties under them.

The chief officials of the three prefectures were nominated by the Cabinet, the Military Government and the Censorate, discussed by the Advisory Bureau, and reported to the emperor for approval. They were one level higher than the seven prefectures and three offices directly under Genxunzhou.

During the process of full autonomy of Genxunzhou, the Ming central government maintained a certain degree of control.

In the 45th year of the Wanli reign (1836th year of the Tongli reign), Zhu Yijun announced his abdication to the crown prince Zhu Changyan and changed the reign title to Tianqi.

Zhu Yijun was inspecting various places. In the fifth year of the Tianqi reign (1841), he took the five living people, including Empress Xue Baoqin, Concubine Song, Concubine Zeng, Concubine Kang Dong, and Concubine Xian Yu Qiaolian, and boarded the 16,000-ton steamship Pegasus. Under the escort of the first ironclad battleship of the Ming Dynasty, they set out from Dagu and began his round-the-world trip that he had planned for twenty years.

It's really over! If I write more, it will never end.
***
The new book "Tianqi Ming Dynasty" is about another good grandson of the Ming Dynasty, the grandson of Emperor Wanli, Emperor Tianqi.

Everyone is welcome to taste it.

(End of this chapter)