After King Qin's goodwill policy was promulgated, it was immediately welcomed by the local nobles.
Because it affirms their status.
However, all the officials in Prince Qin's palace couldn't agree on what to do.
Although on the surface it seems that the officials are designated as Brahmins and Kshatriyas just for better communication.
But in essence, don’t underestimate the subtle influence of Shivaism.
Prime Minister Liu Guan agreed with King Qin because of previous communication.
As the second prime minister, Mao Fu was a pure Confucian scholar who paid attention to meticulous etiquette.
After returning home, he took off his official robe and sat upright, frowning and pursed his lips, saying nothing.
The wives, concubines, and servants of the whole family were all surprised and hurriedly greeted him without replying.
His youngest son came here specially to take care of him. He is also very elegant even at the age of seventeen or eighteen.
"Father, I heard today that the Kingdom of Qin is about to be established and that the king will not come to court soon. Why are you frowning?"
I asked three times in a row.
After a long time, Mao Fu sighed: "I see that King Qin is too simple in the current affairs. He wanted to take shortcuts, but he went astray."
"If the court knew about it, I'm afraid it would cause big trouble."
After saying this, he spoke about the so-called caste system: "The king ranks hundreds of officials. Although they can be transferred up and down, and marriages are only for external exchanges, it will cause a lot of disasters."
His son Mao Quan squinted his eyes and listened to what he said. He walked a few steps and looked thoughtful: "According to my son's wishes, your Majesty is following the example of the Grand Duke in the hope of governing the country!"
Mao Fu sighed softly: "Who says it's not the case? But I only learned the basics."
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the feudal lords were divided into feudal lords. Jiang Ziya was granted the title of Marquis of Qi, while Zhou Gongdan was granted the title of Lu. However, because he wanted to assist the imperial court, Bo Qin, the eldest son of Zhou Gongdan, went to the country.
The enfeoffment at that time was actually an armed colonization, because these places originally had Fang Kingdom, which was basically Dongyi and pro-business tribes, which can be said to be difficult.
When Jiang Ziya arrived in Qi, he followed the customs, simplified the Zhou rites, promoted the benefits of fishing and salt, promoted trade, and stabilized his rule in one year.
But Boqin spent three years "changing his customs and abolishing his funeral rituals" and strictly abiding by the Zhou rites, which can be said to be a painstaking effort.
These are the two ways of governing the country in the early Zhou Dynasty.
Obviously, in order to establish the Qin State faster and stabilize its rule, King Qin chose Jiang Ziya's method.
In a sense, this is a very effective method and an effective policy for Qin.
But for the imperial court, that is, the Ming Dynasty, the starting point of this policy was wrong.
The purpose of establishing the State of Qin was to create another North Korea, a loyal younger brother, rather than a barbarian foreign country.
Although he had the intention of migrating people, he also wanted to build a country with a smooth "Ming system" like the early Zhou Dynasty.
"From my son's point of view, His Highness the King of Qin built the throne of the Qin State on his butt, so he was thinking about the interests of the State of Qin, so he ignored his Majesty's thoughts and the court's thoughts."
Mao Quan sighed: "It is conceivable that once the caste system is spread out, it can never be taken back. Under the influence of subtle influence, how can there still be the atmosphere of a prosperous country in the South China Sea?"
"Who says it's not?"
Mao Fu nodded, his face serious.
A prosperous country in the South China Sea, this is the vision of the Confucian scholars for the Qin State.
Civilize the barbarians and build a small Ming Dynasty. What a lofty ideal this is.
There are three immortals in life: establishing virtue, meritorious service, and standing up for words.
But now that success is achieved, can flaws be allowed?
"But father, His Highness the King of Qin is right to consider it. If the Han people are not in the caste, the people at the bottom will have no way to rely on, and the nobles will be terrified."
Mao Quan sighed: "This is just like the Meng Yuan Dynasty back then. The small clan was close to the big clan, and they were isolated from each other, just like duckweeds, with no foundation at all."
"Then what can you do?"
Seeing his son's words, Mao Fu fell into thinking and moved his lips. Although he was a little embarrassed, he couldn't help but ask.
Mao Quan raised his head and said passionately: "I forgive my son for being rude. In my opinion, the civil servants in the imperial court are too timid. They have replaced themselves with the Mongolian Yuan and Manchu Qing Dynasties and are worried about the unrest of the country."
"What does King Qin know? He is only 16 years old and has been influenced by you."
"According to my son's opinion, the imperial court can issue an edict, and it can clearly state that castes are abolished, all living beings are equal, and all four classes of people can no longer exist. They can take the imperial examination to become officials, or they can join the army."
"Then the nobles are going to cause chaos and rebel?"
Mao Fu was shocked and couldn't help but stand up.
"Father, there is nothing to fear from rebellion, as long as it is suppressed."
Mao Quan chuckled and said: "I'm afraid you have forgotten that this is not the Ming Dynasty, but the Qin State among the barbarians on the bank of the South China Sea."
"Five thousand capital camps, five thousand native soldiers, the entire Qin State, who dares to be so presumptuous?"
Mao Fu narrowed his eyes and came back to his senses.
What the son said was true. He was trapped in Lushan Mountain. He couldn't see his surroundings and thought he was an official in the Ming Dynasty!
Seeing his father lost in thought, Mao Quan continued his efforts and gave a strong medicine: "Father, you seem to have forgotten that our Qin State is not only Saigon and Champa. Annan in the north will also be under the jurisdiction of the Qin State in the future."
"Annan also has imperial examinations and Chinese characters, but there is no caste system or Shivaism there."
"Does the imperial court want to live in these two mansions forever?"
"You're right."
Mao Fu woke up suddenly, having completely rejected the caste system in his heart. He stood up quickly and was about to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Prince Qin's Mansion."
"Then you have to change your clothes!" Mao Quan said helplessly.
Mao Fu was stunned, looked at the broad robe on his body, and then hurriedly changed into official uniform.
It was not until late at night that Mao Fu returned helplessly, his face full of anger and regret.
"Your Highness rejected it."
Facing his own son, Mao Fu said angrily: "What about face, what about rule..."
"Your Majesty, the King of Qin, also wants to save face when your orders change."
Mao Quan said softly: "I just figured this out. His Highness is only sixteen, and his face is greater than the sky."
"Besides, all the etiquette systems of the Qin State were formulated by the imperial court. Even my father's second prime minister was designated. I am afraid that this is the first time His Highness has made the caste system, so he will not abandon it so easily..."
"So what?" Mao Fu thought about it and gritted his teeth and said, "I will write to the court and let His Majesty make a decision."
"If it doesn't work, my father will annihilate himself from the King of Qin and the country of Qin."
Mao Quan hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Don't worry, there is still someone in Qin! He will definitely not ignore it."
"Are you talking about General Zhu?"
Mao Fu suddenly understood, then put down his pen, with a look of relief on his face.
As the emperor's half-adopted son, Zhu Jing's identity is self-evident. Although he cannot interfere in Qin's internal affairs, as a leading general, he naturally has the responsibility to supervise Qin.
Again, the King of Qin was too young, and the Emperor was worried about being deceived by the powerful officials in the country.
"His Majesty is still thoughtful."
Mao Fu couldn't hide the tiredness on his face. He waved his hand and walked straight to the room.
Here, although Zhu Jing was distracted by the Annan War, he reported news about Qin almost every ten days, and used the secret box to report to the emperor on time.
Zhu Jing dismissed King Qin’s whimsical caste system and followed Shivaism:
"King Qin is still too young."
"In Chinese history, neither Buddhism nor Taoism could affect the rule of the imperial court, let alone the position of Confucianism."
"Shivism has obviously had an impact on Confucianism. If the emperor doesn't care about it, the elders will definitely not like it."
"Although there was a estrangement after the incident, I have to repay it——"
Zhu Jing smiled bitterly.
He will still go to the imperial court in the future. If he offends those literati, his future will still be bright, but there will be many twists and turns.
Moreover, according to his understanding of the emperor, he was also dissatisfied with King Qin's move.
Does he have a choice?
A secret box is sent to Beijing on a sea ship.
By the time they arrived in the capital, time had passed through spring and reached summer. The emperor and his party went to Yuquan Villa.
Repeatedly for more than ten years, the scale of Yuquan Villa has become larger and larger.
Although there are only a dozen large and small palaces, there are many types of gardens.
Such as Jiangnan Garden, Baiyuan Garden, Spring Garden, etc., with different colors and very different scenery, making people forget to leave.
There's even a ski slope that was established last year.
Although there was only a small snow slope, about 800 meters long, it already made the emperor have endless aftertaste.
Therefore, its size is already about one-third of the Forbidden City, and its daily maintenance requires more than 500 people.
What makes the princes happiest is that there are no restrictions in the palace, or there are less restrictions. Who knows they can play and play.
The emperor also liked the taste of doing whatever he wanted.
The Forbidden City was like a government office to him.
Living there every day, next to the yamen of civil and military officials, there was too much surveillance.
No, with nothing to do, he came to Baigong Garden.
This is a place specially arranged by the emperor. There is no scenery inside, and it is basically a place busy with mechanical creation.
Completely different from the Ordnance Department.
For example, the emperor felt that azure porcelain was more beautiful, so the Baigong Garden dedicated people to study this kind of porcelain.
Having said that, it is a task-based craftsman bureau.
Unless they have a mission, most of the craftsmen will live scattered in Beijing and will not come here.
As usual, the emperor came to Baigong Garden to observe the task of transforming steam engines.
Since the modification of the steam engine was specified more than ten years ago and the concept of steam was mentioned, dozens of craftsmen have been working on it day and night.
Today's inspection finally gave Zhu Yixi good news.
"Have you developed a steam engine that can pull a carriage?"
The craftsman was stunned when he heard this, and shook his hair that could be knotted: "Your Majesty, the steam engine you requested is too powerful. We have been working hard for many years, but it is difficult to achieve results."
"But today, we have a steam engine that can pump water."
"Pumping?"
The emperor was stunned.
"It's pumping..."
The man said cautiously: "I heard that in recent years, the court has been experiencing constant disasters, including droughts in Henan and Shandong, and the court has allocated funds to control the Huaihe River. So I thought about using the power of this steam engine to pump out water..."
"This machine can pump water directly from the Yellow River dam that is more than ten feet high, so the people will have water available."
"You did a good job."
The emperor nodded and praised.
He felt that he was a little too ambitious.
This water-pumping steam engine is of great help to agriculture.
The difficulty of pulling people with a steam engine is really high, considering that it was not until the 19th century that the steam engine was invented for more than 150 years before there was a train.
It is really difficult for me to develop steam engines by leaps and bounds in a short period of time.
"Keep working hard. You should still work towards the rail carriage. The pulling force should be stronger and the size should be appropriate. My funding will never stop..."
The emperor continued to boost morale.
Turning his head, Zhu Yixi said to Liu Afu: "Transport this thing to the mine. Didn't they say there is a lot of underground water? Just go and pump it with this."
"Yes -" Liu Afu was stunned. Isn't this used in agriculture? How to send it to the mine?
But he didn't care. It was his own ability to obey the emperor's orders.
"In addition, if someone wants to buy it, let the Ministry of Internal Affairs sell it at a suitable price, and I will also have to recover some of the cost."
Only then did Liu Afu suddenly realize.
Sure enough, the emperor's temper has not changed, he is still reluctant to eat, and wants to make back as much as possible.
Although the improvement was not big, Zhu Yixi was still very happy and really wanted to contact two or three concubines to have a multi-player sport.
At this time, a wooden box was sent from Beijing.
"Master, this is sent from Annan——"
Liu Afu looked at the ink pad and seal on it and said softly.
"I know."
Zhu Yixi nodded and opened it directly.
Regarding the Manchu secret folding system, Zhu Yixi had no intention of carrying it forward, but still adhered to the principle of acting secretly.
Throughout the country, only a hundred people have the right to secretly report.
Secret documents do not need to be processed by the General Affairs Department, nor do they need to go through the cabinet. They arrive directly at the emperor's desk, which is extremely efficient.
As for this secret box from Annan, it is almost a no-brainer to know that it is Zhu Jing's handwriting.
Zhu Yixi opened Zhu Jing's secret box and took a look.
Liu Afu, who was on the side, glanced at the emperor's face with his peripheral vision and saw that his face was visibly red, which showed his anger.
"The King of Qin is confused——"
After a long time, the emperor seemed to have digested his anger, and regained his composure, holding back four words.
Liu Afu on the side did not dare to ask any more questions and could only stare from the side, slowly moving a few steps away from him.
Sure enough, the emperor began to pace and talk to himself.
Liu Afu wanted to plug his ears, but he still couldn't stop the words from falling.
"King Qin is still too young..."
"Absurd decision..."
"I overestimated him. This is not a game..."
Zhu Yixi was not as calm as he appeared, and his mood could not be calm for a long time.
Needless to say, the emperor did not want to interfere in Qin's internal affairs.
Because this will make a bad start, and then continue to spread, causing future generations to learn to interfere in the vassal country, leading to the disunity of the vassal country.
But at this point, he felt he had to do it.
"The King of Qin is only sixteen years old, too young."
Zhu Yixi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "What do I think when I place my hope on such a young man to rule a country?"
(End of chapter)
