Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 43: Dish, just practice more!
Rain dripped down the eaves of the palace, splashing into tiny water droplets on the bluestone slabs.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, all was quiet.

Xu Yingyuan, Gao Shiming, Wang Tiqian, and Tian Ergeng stood quietly with their hands at their sides below the imperial steps, barely breathing.

Behind the imperial desk, Zhu Youjian frowned deeply as he reviewed the examination papers submitted by the squad leaders.

……

Before long, Zhu Youjian finally put down the last exam paper in his hand.

He rubbed his slightly sore eyes, pondered for a moment, and then placed the paper on top of the pile of papers that were noticeably shorter to his left.

After completing this action, he let out a long sigh of relief and leaned back on the dragon throne, feeling utterly exhausted.

My eyesight is failing.

This was Zhu Youjian's most direct feeling.

Even after traveling to the present day, the memorials and petitions he reviewed, though not necessarily written by famous calligraphers, were at least in the neat and elegant style of the official script.

The exam papers in front of him, written by a squad leader of the Yongwei Battalion, gave him his first profound understanding of the true level of folk culture in the Ming Dynasty.

It was... a chaotic mess.

First of all, the handwriting is terrible. It's not calligraphy at all; it's practically dog's scrawl. No, even calling it dog's scrawl is too kind. Some of the characters are crooked and uneven in size, as if they're about to jump off the paper at any moment.

Furthermore, the unrestrained corrections and blobs of ink made the already messy paper look even more chaotic.

Secondly, there is the extensive use of colloquial characters, or simplified characters.

The character “礼” is written as “礼”, the character “个” is written as “个”, and the character “体” is written as “体”...

What’s more important is!
The same character may have several different simplified forms, highlighting the freedom to use any method.

Although the Ming Dynasty standardized the written language, the only difference was the use of traditional characters.

The folk characters that evolved spontaneously are diverse and each has its own merits.

When Zhu Youjian reviewed the documents, he relied entirely on the pictographic nature of Chinese characters and the context to guess what was being written.
It felt like I wasn't grading papers at all, but rather doing cloze tests.

Finally, there was the extensive use of vernacular Chinese.
This made his soul, from the future, feel a sense of familiarity.

But setting aside their "casualness" on the exam paper, what these squad leaders showed in their answers truly surprised and even delighted Zhu Youjian.

The answers to the thought-provoking questions were the most normal; almost everyone righteously declared that if the superior acted recklessly, they would definitely report and expose him.

Of course, there were also some brave fools among them, who wrote, "I will capture this fellow on the spot and take him to His Majesty for judgment," which made Zhu Youjian laugh.

But he only observed and didn't think much of it. If there were no oversight, these officers from the lower ranks would be no different from those from noble families when it came to exploiting soldiers.

The strategic question of Han Xin defeating Long Ju was the one that surprised him the most.

The answers were varied and diverse, truly a showcase of folk wisdom.

The most conventional "save water and attack halfway across" is actually quite ordinary.

Some suggested feigning defeat to lure the enemy and setting up an ambush in the dense forest.

Some suggested ambushing elite troops and then sending women's clothing to provoke Long Ju, forcing him to angrily cross the river.

There was even a wildly imaginative suggestion to emulate Zhuge Liang by setting up an empty city on the opposite bank of the river to scare away Long Ju's army.

The more Zhu Youjian looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, until he almost found it both funny and absurd.

No wonder later generations said that the chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens loved reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

It seems that novels, though fictional, actually teach real things.

Could it be that this low-ranking military officer of the Ming Dynasty and Nurhaci, the chieftain of the slaves, were reading the same military book together?
As for the final logistical and tactical issues, just as he expected, they were a complete mess, with very few solutions available.

Even Sun Yingyuan, whom he valued highly, did not seem to have any extraordinary talent based on this exam alone.

If I had to say there's anything special about it...

Yes, he's the clever guy who suggested sending women's clothing to Long Qi.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but chuckle. After a moment's hesitation, he suppressed his laughter, looked at Xu Yingyuan, and spoke in a calm yet clear voice:
"The Brave Guard Battalion will be divided into three departments starting today, with a total of three captains, all of whom are currently vacant and pending appointment."

"Each department has two divisions, with a total of six captains. Sun Yingyuan will serve as the captain of the first division, while the other five captains will remain vacant."

“Each department is divided into ten teams, totaling sixty teams. The positions of team leaders are filled by these people.”

After saying that, Zhu Youjian raised his finger and pointed to the pile of "selected from the worst" test papers on his left.

Xu Yingyuan bowed and stepped forward, taking the exam paper with both hands, her voice steady: "This servant obeys the decree."

Yes, all positions above the rank of battalion commander were vacant, with only Sun Yingyuan appointed, and this is still the reason why history has recorded this.

The reason is very simple.

Just a martial arts competition on the training ground, a chaotic imperial examination, and suddenly a number of captains and lieutenants emerged.

What if these people are not virtuous enough to hold their positions?
What if they achieve even more success in the future?
What will those officers and elite soldiers who risked their lives fighting on the Nine Borders think when they enter the capital?
It should be noted that even those who passed the military examination, held only once every three years, were merely appointed as garrison commanders.

Rewards and punishments must be measured.

This isn't some kind of imperial strategy; it's just basic, common-sense management knowledge.

Zhu Youjian tapped his fingers lightly on the imperial desk as he continued to ask questions.

"How is the progress on the armor, warhorses, and camp arrangements?"

Xu Yingyuan replied immediately.

"Your Majesty, the camp is taking shape. The Brave Guard Battalion of over three thousand men moved in last night."

"The complete barracks will take another ten days to complete."

"The armor and weapons have all been transferred from the Armory to a newly manufactured batch."

"Only warhorses are in short supply. At present, a total of 1,213 horses will be allocated from the original Four Guards Battalion and Warriors Battalion."

"The remaining shortfall will need to be filled through further allocation or procurement."

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then issued another order.

"Starting tomorrow, all soldiers of the Brave Guard Battalion will undergo rigorous training, with two days of formation drills and three days of martial arts practice every five days."

"All officers of the rank of squad leader and above shall enter the palace to study after daily drills."

He paused slightly, a smile that was hard to define, a smile with a touch of the "mischievousness" of someone who's been there all along.

He recalled the slogan that would later strike fear into the hearts of countless students.

Three years of college entrance exams, five years of mock exams.

Roll them all up!
"Subsequently, there will be monthly exams, covering culture, martial arts, and military strategy."

"Those who fail the exam will be sent back to their position as squad leaders, and then new officers will be selected from among the squad leaders."

Xu Yingyuan was completely unaware of the beginning of this change, and simply nodded in agreement: "This servant obeys the decree."

Zhu Youjian nodded in satisfaction, his gaze passing over Xu Yingyuan and landing on Wang Tiqian and Tian Ergeng.

"How's the confiscation of property going?"

　Vulgar characters, also known as broken characters, are basically caused by common people simplifying strokes or using characters that have been copied from printing errors.

　　It circulated and influenced so widely in society that some people even accidentally wrote in a colloquial style during the imperial examinations.

　　You can think of it as simplified characters. The only difference is that simplified characters were standardized by masters. Even with simplification, there are still some rules to follow. On the other hand, the vernacular characters of the Ming and Qing dynasties were entirely driven by the common people's environment and had no strict standards.

　　So friends, if you ever travel through time, this is a great starting point, haha, remember to seize it when the time comes.

　　-
　　As the chieftain grew older, he learned to read and write, and enjoyed reading *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and *Water Margin*. — Huang Daozhou
　　-
　　In the seventeenth year of the Hongzhi reign (1408), the military drills were established. Every five days, two days were for battle drills, and three days for martial arts practice. (From *The Great Ming Code*, Volume 134)

　　-
　　This is the second update today, and there will be more later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)