Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 263 Yu Shaobao joins the army
"Yu Qian, are you ready? The ceremony is about to begin."

In the dormitory of the Ming Royal Army Academy, a young man who had changed into a new military uniform put on his Fan Yang hat, stood in front of the mirror, adjusted himself, nodded with satisfaction, and shouted towards the toilet.

"Here it comes, damn it, I don't know what happened, I suddenly have diarrhea."

A young man in his twenties, wearing the same military uniform and buckling his belt, walked out.

"I heard that His Highness prepared gifts for us all, but I don't know what they are."

The two of them packed up their things and walked out of the double dormitory together.

Walking along the stairwell, I nodded and greeted the classmates coming out of other dormitories while going downstairs.

The young man who greeted them was guessing at the gossip he had received.

"Could it be a saber? Once we join the army, we will be officers. The higher-ups will probably give us sabers to show their recognition of our status."

Yu Qian, who also greeted people he knew from time to time, expressed his own guess.

"Saber."

The friend smacked his lips and said, "Compared to a saber, I actually want a revolver more. It will look so majestic and domineering hanging on my waist."

Thinking of the revolver that he had only seen on the instructor's waist and its rapid firepower, Yu Qian also felt a little yearning.

Today is the 21st day of the 12th lunar month in the 13th year of the Yongle reign. While ordinary people are purchasing New Year's goods, the Ming Imperial Army Academy, which was established five years ago, finally welcomes the graduation of its first batch of students.

This group of students joins and is promoted every year, totaling 3200 people.

Half of them were young soldiers who had made great contributions in the Northern Expedition, Southern Expedition, or the conquest of Japan.

Their average age is around 20 years old, which is the prime time when they are strong and healthy.

Those who graduate from this military academy will be awarded the rank of Left Army Colonel and will be assigned to serve as officers in the four major camps in the capital.

The four major camps in the capital, namely the Five Army Camp, the Three Thousand Camp, the Shenji Camp and the Shenwei Camp, are the most elite troops of the Ming Dynasty.

Military ranks were just introduced last year and are divided into three levels: colonel, Sima, and general.

Each level of military rank is divided into three levels: left, middle and right, with left being the lower and right being the upper.

These students receive rigorous military training every day, learn various military skills in the afternoon, and receive ideological education in the evening.

Not to mention that every one of them is loyal to the Ming Dynasty, the vast majority of them will sacrifice their lives without hesitation when faced with national justice.

Yu Qian joined the military academy two years ago.

At that time, he failed the local examination and wanted to go home to prepare for a few years before taking the examination again. However, on the way back home, he met a group of soldiers who were preparing to enroll in the military academy.

I don’t know which DNA was touched, but Yu Qian actually gave up the imperial examination, wrote a letter to his family, and followed the soldiers to the military academy to register.

Originally, the military academy did not want him, but later Yu Qian pestered the officers who signed up and told them his views on military affairs.

Seeing that it was correct, the officer reported Yu Qian's information to Xu Da.

Xu Da had come into contact with Zhu Qizhen and others. When he saw that Yu Qian actually came to join the army, he thought about the other party's military capabilities and agreed immediately.

Xu Da accepted Yu Qian without telling Zhu Zhanjun.

In his opinion, it is not certain whether a little Yu Qian, who gave up writing to join the army, will still be so famous in the future.

More importantly, the Ming Dynasty no longer had its capital city invaded by the north. If Yu Qian wanted to become famous in history, he would have to find another way out.

It is also for this reason that Zhu Zhanjun still does not know that Yu Qian, whom he expected to be with Hai Rui, has already gone to the military academy and plans to make a living in the army in the future.

Although people who knew Yu Qian felt it was a pity that he gave up the imperial examination to join the army, they had no other thoughts.

The status of military households during the Hongwu and Yongle years had not dropped so drastically. In recent years, under the deliberate control of Zhu Zhanjun and the efforts of the Veterans Chamber of Commerce, the status of military households has been rapidly improving.

Even many officials who came from military families entered many important departments with the special promotion of the Veterans Chamber of Commerce and the Eastern Palace.

In order to encourage scholars to join the military, Zhu Zhanjun submitted a memorial last year, proposing a policy that would allow scholars to join the military while keeping their household registration unchanged.

A series of measures greatly improved the status of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty. Combined with the propaganda efforts of the Jiaofangsi in various places, many scholars who had no future in the imperial examinations chose to join the army.

The two walked together and soon arrived at the dormitory building and joined their class queue.

"All of you, stand at attention!"

After a while, accompanied by a loud shout, Yu Qian and others subconsciously stood at attention.

An officer with a scar on his face, a missing arm, and the title of Central Army Sima on his chest strode over.

The Sima officer in the central army in front of him was the captain of their squad.

"Students, you are graduating from today and will step out of the military academy where you learn knowledge and enter the army where you will fight blood and fire."

The captain's voice was a little hoarse. He looked at every student in front of him and said solemnly: "The battlefield is cruel. No general can guarantee that no one will die in the war."

"I hope you can use the knowledge you have learned to lead your soldiers to achieve great feats while also protecting your own lives."

"I don't want to miss seeing some of you naughty guys at the school celebration one year, or receive a notice of your death in action."

After saying this, he raised his only hand which was missing three fingers and saluted everyone present.

"All of you, salute!"

The duty officer shouted, and everyone raised their hands to salute the captain who had taught them for several years. Looking at the young faces in front of him, the captain felt very reluctant to leave.

Even though he usually scolds these guys with a cold face and calls them idiots, after a few years of getting along with them, he has already treated these students, who are the same age as his son, as his own children.

Now that these children are about to leave the military academy and enter the real army, he really can't bear to let them go.

"Everyone, go change your equipment. His Majesty and His Royal Highness will be here to inspect you soon. When the time comes, I want everyone present to be in their best condition. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

Yu Qian and others shouted, and then, led by the squad leader, trotted in neat steps to the armory to get their equipment in preparation for the graduation review.

The school playground was already crowded with people, and the viewing stand was full of people.

In addition to the civil and military officials who followed the old man, there were also families of the military academy students.

"Why didn't I see Xiaobao? Has he not appeared yet?"

On a family stand, a woman, supported by a middle-aged man, looked at the soldiers maintaining order below, searching for her son.

"Sister, they are graduates who will be reviewed later. The ones on duty below are students from the next class, or they are soldiers sent by the court. How can they be here?"

Although the middle-aged man said this, he was also looking down.

After receiving the letter from his nephew, he originally wanted to tell his sister and come over by himself, but his sister insisted to come along no matter what.

He had no choice but to take it with him.

Fortunately, as the family members of the students, the school gave them very good treatment. Not only did they arrange food and accommodation, but they also very considerately sent a school member to take care of these dozens of parents.

After breakfast in the morning, they were brought to the viewing platform and told that the graduating students would walk past below.

"You said this kid did well in the imperial examination, but he insisted on joining the army. I don't know what he was thinking."

After hearing what her brother said, the woman sat back in her chair, muttering softly.

Seeing his sister muttering again, the middle-aged man laughed and said, "Sister, this is actually a wise choice."

"According to the information I received, the imperial court plans to require personnel who join the Ministry of War to have military experience starting next year."

"But how many people born in military families can read, let alone read military books?"

"Xiaobao has loved these books since he was a child. Now that he has joined the military academy, he will have great opportunities in the future. Who knows, he might even become the Minister of War."

"If he takes the imperial examination, he may have a future, but our family doesn't have much background. If he doesn't pass the exam and become the top scholar, he can only be a prefect in his lifetime, which is incomparable to a minister."

Although she understood that what her brother said made sense, the woman still felt that the imperial examination was a better way out.

"Hey, someone seems to be coming."

The middle-aged man who was accompanying his sister suddenly noticed a team coming from a distance and looked over curiously.

At the entrance of the playground, flags were waving and various ceremonial guards were deployed.

"It seems to be the ceremonial procession of His Majesty and the Crown Prince."

The middle-aged man with some experience quickly made a judgment.

Just as he guessed, the ones who came were the old man and Zhu Zhanjun, leading civil and military officials.

The emperor's father attached great importance to the army, and he naturally paid special attention to the first batch of students graduating from the military academy.

Moreover, the military academy bears the name of the royal family, which means that they are the disciples of the emperor.

The students are about to graduate, so as a teacher, how can he not come?

"Your Majesty, may you be well!"

As soon as the old man and Zhu Zhanjun stepped onto the central viewing platform, the onlookers and students' families bowed to the central platform in greeting.

The smiling old man raised his hand and was about to respond when he was pulled aside by Zhu Zhanjun.

Zhu Zhanjun pointed at the microphone in front of him and signaled to the old man.

The old man walked to the microphone and answered, "No need to be polite!"

My goodness, he scared himself when he opened his mouth.

When did his voice become so powerful and loud?

The people were also startled, and they all sighed that the emperor was worthy of his voice and that it was indeed powerful.

Looking at the old man who was standing there in a daze, not knowing what to say, Zhu Zhanjun curled up the corners of his mouth into a smile.

This is the loudspeaker of later generations. He conducted research based on the stories of a talent named Zhou Boqi whom he recruited in the Second World.

In addition to this big speaker, there is also the phonograph, which was very popular during the Republic of China period, the kind that uses a spring to heat black film.

After many successful experiments, Xu Shou observed it and then copied it in the Ming Dynasty.

The phonograph is still being copied, and it is estimated that it will be completed before the Spring Festival. Zhu Zhanjun will give it as a New Year's gift to the women in the harem who have nothing to do and play mahjong every day.

(End of this chapter)