Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 261: Changing the name and customs, establishing Tiangongyuan! [Please subscribe]

Fujino Sakurako followed Yang Huaizhong into the village and found that both the soldiers guarding the gate and the people she met on the road took the initiative to greet Yang Huaizhong.

"It seems the master's status here is even higher than Sakurako expected."

Fujino Sakurako thought happily.

On the night of the mass wedding at the Acropolis, she slept with Yang Huaizhong. Even though she still missed her family, she also recognized Yang Huaizhong's identity as her husband and, in accordance with Japanese customs, changed her address to "master."

The village of a hundred households was not big, and Yang Huaizhong soon arrived at his door.

He let go of Fujino Sakurako's hand and said with a smile: "Sakurako, this is my home, and it will be your home from now on."

Fujino Sakurako could probably guess what this meant, so she looked carefully at the house in front of her.

The house was very simple, with only a main house and two side rooms on the left and right. There was not even a courtyard wall. The house was also a civil structure, and the wood used to build the side rooms was even untreated logs.

To be honest, this house is not as good as Fujino Sakurako's house, but seeing that other houses around it only have one wing and the main house is relatively small, she thinks it is pretty good.

So he smiled and nodded at Yang Huaizhong.

The two entered the house, and Yang Huaizhong gave a brief introduction. He then asked Fujino Sakurako to stay at home while he went to meet the centurion.

Although he is now the second-in-command of the Hundred Households Office, he still has to be respectful and polite to his superiors. It is necessary for him to visit and report to them when he returns from a long journey.

Yang Huaizhong's house is not far from the Baihuguan Mansion, and the Baihuguan Mansion is integrated with the Mansion, but it is much more magnificent than his house. It is one of the only three buildings with courtyard walls in the village. The other two buildings with courtyard walls are the armory and the granary.

The centurion was a relative of Yang Huaizhong, named Yang Deming, who was in his forties and not very good-looking.

"I pay my respects to the centurion!"

"Huaizhong is back?" Yang Deming spoke to Yang Huaizhong without any of his superior authority, speaking in a friendly tone. "Is the woman you chose this time to your liking?"

Yang Huaizhong thought of Fujino Sakurako's appearance and smiled, "I'll be the first to choose, and I'll naturally choose someone who suits my taste."

"As long as you like it—since you've married a young Japanese woman, there's something you must do immediately. According to the instructions above, any Japanese woman who marries a Ming soldier will become a Chinese citizen and must change her Chinese name and follow Chinese customs."

"It takes time to get people to follow our customs, but names can be changed now. What's your wife's name? Have you decided what to change it to?"

Yang Huaizhong pondered and said, "My wife's Japanese name is Fujino Sakurako, Sakura means cherry, so I'll give her the single character Sakura, but I haven't decided on a surname yet."

Yang Deming suggested, "Don't we have a Teng County in Shandong? There are many people with the surname Teng. Why not let your wife change her surname to Teng?"

"Teng... Teng Ying? That's a good name. I'll stick with it."

"Then tomorrow you take your wife to see General Shao and get her naturalized."

"Yes."

Judging from what they said, it was obvious that they were both literate.

Yang Huaizhong was considered the second generation of the Wei Suo. Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to education, and the Wei Suo also had a school, so Yang Huaizhong learned some characters when he was young.

As for Yang Deming, since he was able to become a centurion, he had to read official documents and naturally knew some words.

Most importantly, over the past three or four years, influenced by the information from later generations brought by Liu Kuan, Zhu Yuanzhang has placed greater emphasis on the "education" of his officers and soldiers. Therefore, each hundred households now has a general officer in charge of education, requiring all officers and soldiers to learn literacy and arithmetic.

As a result, people like Yang Deming and Yang Huaizhong, who already had a certain level of literacy, can now not only read simple official documents, but can even write letters and official documents by themselves.

After discussing Yang Huaizhong's family affairs, Yang Deming continued, "There's another military matter – the plan is to make the Emishi tribes on the island submit to the imperial court after the spring plowing. If there are any who refuse to obey, we will be responsible for suppressing them."

"Therefore, for the next period of time, I need you to lead a small team of spies to further investigate the situation of the Ezo tribe within fifty miles of our Hundred Households Office, in preparation for matters concerning the imperial court."

Although Yang Huaizhong hoped to spend some time with his wife, he also knew that military orders were as heavy as mountains, so he immediately clasped his fists and said, "I obey your orders!"

Yang Deming patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "We should have a banquet to welcome you, but you have a lovely wife waiting for you at home, so let's do it another day."

Yang Huaizhong smiled and clasped his fists again: "Then I will go back."

"go Go."

Yang Huaizhong returned home and found smoke coming out of the kitchen chimney. When he went in, he found Fujino Sakurako cooking.

He went in and watched happily, and only told Fujino Sakurako where the oil, salt and other things were when she needed them.

Fujino Sakurako cooked a pot of porridge and steamed a plate of bacon. Seeing this, Yang Huaizhong pulled a plate of pickled vegetables from a jar. When the two returned to the house, it was already warm thanks to the kang and flue design.

It was still cold on Ezo Island in February, and even frozen, so the two of them ate on the kang.

After the meal, Fujino Sakurako cleared the dishes, boiled a pot of hot water, and scooped a wooden basin of water for Yang Huaizhong to wash his feet.

It was the first time for Yang Huaizhong to have such an enjoyment. He couldn't help but close his eyes in comfort and felt that he had made the right decision to marry this Japanese girl.

After he recovered, he said, "My dear, if you marry me, you will be a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, you must change your name to a Chinese one."

After saying that, seeing Fujino Sakurako looking up with confusion in her eyes, he began to gesture.

"Fujino Sakurako, no more." He shook his head, then pointed at Sakurako and said, "From now on, your name is Teng Ying, Teng Ying. Remember?"

Yingzi barely understood and pointed at herself and asked tentatively, "Teng Ying?"

"Yes, Teng Ying, and her maiden name is Yingzi." Yang Huaizhong grinned, revealing a row of big white teeth.

···
···
Capital of the Ming Dynasty.

That afternoon, Liu Kuan was reading a book and drinking tea in the Science and Technology Department's office, but was called to Fengxian Hall by Old Zhu to discuss matters.

And Zhu Biao is also there.

After Liu Kuan saluted, Zhu Yuanzhang got straight to the point and said, "Liu Kuan, ever since I saw the videos you played on the second day of the New Year, I've felt that we need to pay more attention to science, technology, and craftsmen."

"We have decided to establish the Tiangong Academy in the Central Core, recruiting people with expertise in engineering and rare skills from all over the world to specialize in the research and development of important things, such as the internal combustion engine you mentioned."

"But we only have a rough idea about this matter, and we don't know if it's appropriate. What suggestions do you have for this matter?"

Tiangongyuan?
Lao Zhu actually chose such a fancy name. It seems that he was quite excited by the videos of robot wolf packs and drone swarms shown on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

Liu Kuan muttered to himself, then said, "Your Majesty, if a Tiangong Academy is established, what level will it be?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Let's tentatively assign it the same rank as the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Medical Bureau, with its chief officer being a fifth-rank official."

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and continued, "Your Majesty, the many bureaus, institutes, and project teams under the Department of Science and Technology are already primarily responsible for various R&D tasks. If the court were to establish the Tiangong Academy, how would their respective responsibilities be defined?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer this time, but frowned and fell into deep thought.

At this time, Zhu Biao spoke up, "Father, the Department of Science and Technology now has many subordinate departments under its jurisdiction, and it is already a bit bloated. Moreover, the work it does is of great importance to the Ming Dynasty. If it remains a department under the Ministry of Works, it will inevitably be a bit unworthy of its name."

"Therefore, I suggest that we make the Science and Technology Department independent from the Ministry of Industry and rename it the Tiangong Institute!"

Liu Kuan was still thinking about Zhu Biao's suggestion, but Zhu had already slapped his thigh.

"Great! Biao'er, your suggestion is truly excellent. This will not only avoid duplication of functions between the Department of Science and Technology and the Institute of Heavenly Craftsmanship, but will also demonstrate that the court places greater emphasis on science, technology, and craftsmen."

"Liu Kuan, if the Science and Technology Department is changed to the Tiangong Academy, you will still be the director, and your rank can be raised to the fourth rank. What do you think?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, in fact, it is similar to the Tiangong Academy in all countries in later generations."

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted. "Doesn't this prove that establishing the Tiangong Academy was a wise move? What will this Tiangong Academy be called in the future Xinchao era?"

"Your Majesty, there are actually two similar departments in the Xin Dynasty. One is called the Academy of Sciences, and the other is called the Academy of Engineering."

"The Academy of Sciences is primarily responsible for studying various natural science principles and their applications; the Academy of Engineering is primarily responsible for studying various engineering technologies and the implementation methods of various projects."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered and said, "Do you want us to split the Tiangong Academy into two, and change it into the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering?"

Liu Kuan said, "That's not necessary at the moment. The Ming Dynasty has only been paying attention to natural science for three or four years, and the foundation is still weak. There aren't many people who can study natural science. Even if an academy of sciences is established, it's just in name only."

"I simply feel that if the Tiangong Academy is established, it should include the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering of later generations, while also providing some distinction. This will not only prevent the government offices from being vacant, but also lay the foundation for the establishment of separate Academy of Sciences and Academy of Engineering in the Ming Dynasty in the future."

"That's true." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then smiled and said, "If I appoint you as the director of the Tiangong Academy, you will naturally be the one to make suggestions on how to set up the subordinate departments of the Tiangong Academy."

After hearing that Old Zhu had delegated so much power, Liu Kuan became more confident in managing the Tiangong Academy.

Then he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, if the Ming Dynasty wants to accelerate the development of science and technology, there are two other things we need to do."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Which two things?"

　Second update
　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)