The heavy snow has begun to melt, and the more than 100,000 Manchu and Qing banners entrenched in the Qihe Basin have also begun to wake up.
Enslaving tens of thousands of Kazakh Khans gave the entire Eight Banners a fat winter.
In these few months, the Manchu and Qing court was not idle, but formed the Eight Banners of Kazakhstan.
That is, there are forty Niulu, and each Niulu has 300 people, which is twelve thousand people.
Including their families, the number is nearly 50,000.
It can be said that the scale of the Eight Banners has further expanded.
The Eight Banners is an alliance of interests and has never been limited to racial profiling.
The three banners of Manchu, Mongolian and Han were integrated into one, collectively known as the Eight Banners of Manchu, while the remaining ones were the Eight Banners of Cossacks with more than a thousand people, and the Eight Banners of Kazakhs today.
The grassland stretches as far as the eye can see, with majestic men standing on huge yurts and bright ocher yellow floating in the sky.
People kept dismounting and stepping into the camp.
After a while, the tent was full, and many people were forced to listen outside the tent.
Nowadays, most of those who can reach the camp are governors.
One ox is recorded as three hundred people, and he is the assistant leader. Five oxen are recorded as Jia La, and their leader is the chief leader. Five Jia La are called Gushan, and they are led by the capital.
After reintegrating Manchu, Mongolian and Han into one, the Eight Banners shrank in size instead of expanding.
Each of the eight banners has thirty niulu, or nine thousand men, for a total strength of seventy-two thousand.
In addition, there are also the Eight Banners of Zasak with 10,000 people.
It can be said that this has the potential to crush the Kazakh Eight Banners with more than 10,000 people.
However, even after incorporating the Kazakhs, Shunzhi was not in a good mood.
You must know that at its peak, there were 600 Manchu Niulu, but now it is only half of its size.
The armor, weapons, and training level are all inferior to those of the time.
All we can do is torture the Kazakhs.
As time went by, especially with the arrival of spring, the Kazakh Khanate began to unite vertically and horizontally, and several large tribes prepared to rob the Seven Rivers Basin.
Ning Wan, I had a ring of miscellaneous hair on my forehead and several braids on the back of my head. The same was true for the Manchu and Han ministers, including Sony and Shuo Tuo.
This is not because they are not particular about it, but it means that there is no point in shaving their hair to change clothes.
As a large number of Mongolians integrated into the Eight Banners, braided hair became mainstream.
The Han people were happy not to have to shave their heads, but the Manchus and Mongolians found it suitable.
The reason why the Manchu dignitaries approved of braiding their hair was to better integrate into these vast Tatar Turkic groups.
After all, the money rat braid is too conspicuous.
"Your Majesty, several Kazakh countries are currently plotting something evil. According to the news spied by businessmen, once summer comes, they will undoubtedly send troops."
Ning Wanwo said seriously: "In addition, the Ming army in Anxi seems to have found our traces and is ready to move."
"Your Majesty, there are 30,000 Ming army frontier troops in Anxi. They are almost elite. Once they are flanked by them, the consequences will be disastrous."
These words woke up the originally comfortable nobles, and their faces instantly turned cautious and even fearful.
After being defeated by the Ming army again and again, the fear of the Ming Dynasty in the army was growing day by day. When encountering the Ming army, their momentum was naturally weakened by three points.
"What does the cabinet think?"
Shunzhi was satisfied when he saw Ning Wanwo's success, so he asked.
"Your Majesty, relying on last year's plan, continue to move westward, go to the so-called lower reaches of the Volga River, and find the Tuhut tribe."
Sony said: "There are many pastures and fertile land. It is the best place for us."
I won’t mention the specific introduction, after all, this suggestion has been made countless times.
But there is no way. Every time we pass a comfortable place, everyone doesn't want to leave and wants to stay and have a rest.
Only these senior officials clearly know where the crisis lies, and they continue to advise, guide, and unify people's hearts.
"Now that it's all decided, let's set off again!"
After saying this, with your order, the eight flags began to move.
With Niulu as the center, a large number of cattle and horses moved, and many herdsmen were forced to drive their sheep towards the west.
Moving and raising livestock at the same time is the norm for nomadic people.
As soon as the Seven Rivers Basin was vacated, it immediately attracted competition among the three major jade rivers, and the Kazakh Khanate became a mess.
The Manchus, on the other hand, took everything with them and began their own migration.
The tribes along the way either fled or were annexed and looted.
After walking for half a month, the large army arrived near the Caspian Sea.
This was the former Nogai Khanate. After the Kazakhs destroyed it, they plundered a large amount of wealth and returned, and this became their territory.
A large number of Nogai tribes began to pay tribute to the Russians, but they only competed with each other for pasture, and the land was in a mess.
The Manchus and Qing Dynasties seemed to be the local special forces who moved westward. They were such a giant that no one dared to provoke them.
It took almost no effort to capture half of the old territory of the Nogai Khanate.
This time, the Russians were immediately shocked.
You know, after the demise of the Golden Horde, Russia has always regarded itself as its successor. These tribes are its mercenaries and tribute cows. How could the Manchus get involved?
As expected, the Russians sent an envoy with pride on his face:
"Your department has only two choices, either surrender to our country and fulfill its obligations of military service and money and food, or prepare to perish!"
These words made the entire Eight Banners nobles very angry.
Some young nobles clamored to teach the Rakshasas a lesson.
Even some veteran generals, such as Nikan, were angry: "What the Rakshasa people rely on is nothing more than muskets. I will kill them without fail."
Ning Wanwo on the side sighed: "What our army lacks most now is muskets and gunpowder. Moreover, the Cossacks are very close to here, and their combat power cannot be underestimated."
The difference between grassland nomads and farmers lies in the different materials.
In the Central Plains, there were blacksmiths who could cast guns and cannons, as well as iron, coal, sulfur, etc.
In this Nogai region, even iron is scarce, making guns is impossible.
Although there are now 70,000 to 80,000 troops, Russia can not only recruit tens of thousands of Cossacks, but also a large number of serfs.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty, which had moved far away, was at its weakest.
"Go to the Ottomans and buy guns."
At this time, Tang Ruowang spoke up: "Occupying the hegemony of the Mediterranean, the Ottomans are greedy at heart. Whether it is muskets or gunpowder, they will sell..."
"Okay, let's deal with the Rakshasa people for now."
Shunzhi coughed: "Send a team to buy muskets and artillery from the Ottomans."
"Then, send people to find the Tuhut people to see if they can form an alliance."
"The cabinet will seize the time to appease the Nogai tribes and form an Eight Banners!"
Forming the Nogai Eight Banners, absorbing those tribes and elites into the Eight Banners team, and using them for my use is the key to the continued prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, interest groups are interest groups.
After absorbing a small number of people, most of the land and property fell into the hands of the Eight Banners nobles and were divided up.
Benefits are eternal.
Taking this opportunity, most of the Nogai herdsmen were turned into serfs and became slaves of the Eight Banners nobles.
For a time, with the unprecedented unity of the Eight Banners, it seemed that the threat of the Rakshasa people was no longer worth mentioning.
…
In the early morning, there was little light, and the Forbidden City was still shrouded in black, but a large number of candlelights were still dancing on the stone platform.
At this time, a group of eunuchs carried lanterns, looked at the stars on the horizon and the rising sun shrouded in clouds, and began a collective fire-fighting operation.
Torches are not safe and lanterns burn easily.
Therefore, on some main roads, stone pillar candlesticks were erected one after another.
The candle is placed on top of it, and then it is covered with a glass, which emits a halo-yellow light.
Although the light is not very big, it is very safe.
The same is true. Due to the need for fire protection, its candle holder even surrounds a small pool to prevent fire.
"Whoops——"
Looking at the sky, the eunuchs quickly put in new spermaceti and lit it to ensure that it was fully illuminated.
At the same time, they will also fill the small pool with water.
Every day, hundreds of eunuchs get up early to perform candle changing.
"These candles cost two or three yuan each in the market!"
Seeing such a luxurious scene, the eunuch couldn't help but mutter.
No less than a thousand candles are burned every day in the Forbidden City. There are three hundred candlesticks on the roads alone, which is extremely wasteful.
After finishing their work, the group began to retreat.
"Third brother, there is no one walking around in the palace at night. Isn't it a waste to light this candle?"
"You know nothing!" the eunuch who was pouring water said casually: "This is the way for princes to go to school."
"This road leads directly from each palace to Qianqing Palace!"
"oh!"
"Let, let!"
Suddenly, a group of eunuchs came over, holding glazed lamps in their hands, emitting light to clear the way ahead.
Then, sitting on the chariot being carried by several eunuchs, was a child, wearing ordinary silk clothes and a hat, and his whole body was bulging.
"Lower your head!"
The older eunuch immediately grabbed him and brought him to his knees.
Soon, the team moved slowly along the route of the lamppost.
"Don't get up!" The young eunuch still remembered, and the third brother held him down again: "This is the way to go to school. Princes go to school one after another. It is better to kneel down when you stand up."
Sure enough, many teams passed by, it could be said that there was an endless stream. One of them knelt for nearly two quarters of an hour before the eunuchs got up.
The young eunuch rubbed his knees: "Third brother, it's not dawn yet, why are you going to school?"
"In class, wouldn't it be necessary to arrive two-quarters of an hour early to review yesterday's homework?"
The third brother whispered: "Princes, don't look at the fine clothes and fine food, but they are suffering. There are classes every day, the cold and heat are constant..."
"Good boy, it's still really hard."
"That's right. In the future, all the princes will have to surrender to the country. Your Majesty will send people to conquer the land for them to manage. Can you learn some real skills?"
In spring, when the nights are long and the days are short, when the sun's rays appear in the sky, it's already Chen hour.
The side hall of Qianqing Palace was already full of children.
In order to pay attention to the education of the princes, the teaching place was placed in the side hall of Qianqing Palace. The emperor could walk more than a hundred steps to it and supervise the princes to study at any time.
It can be said that the pressure is full.
It was a good thing that the emperor liked to stay overnight in the palace of concubines. Otherwise, not only the princes, but also the teachers would be trembling.
Although it was already bright outside, candles were still lit in the side hall, and the faint scent of sandalwood filled the air, which could be described as refreshing.
There are fourteen princes, all of whom are schoolchildren over the age of five. The oldest is sixteen and the youngest is only five.
Although the masters are divided into several divisions, they are initiated from the age of five to eight and are responsible for the basic content.
From the age of eight to fourteen, children are educated in Confucian classics and receive traditional Confucian worldview education.
At the age of fourteen and above, the pure way of kingship, traditional books such as Shang Junshu, Han Feizi, Shiji, Zizhi Tongjian and other books are taught.
Therefore, the enlightenment masters are basically ordinary doctors, and when it comes to the monarchy, it is the prince of the country who offers wine, or the eight ministers.
Sometimes even cabinet ministers are invited to give lectures.
The thirteenth son of the emperor, Qi Wang Zhu Cunnan, stayed in his seat glumly, looking at the blackboard in front of him in a daze.
He is already fifteen years old, but he still wants to study. After ten years of studying, he is so bored!
I don’t know when I can go out to practice, and I will become a vassal when I go out.
When I rule the country, there will be thirty or fifty people riding horses in the harem, taking turns to come every day...
"Get up!"
At this time, the old King Jiuxiang stood up and shouted.
"Good morning, master!"
All the princes stood up and bowed, full of etiquette.
The grey-bearded Imperial College Master stroked his beard and said with a smile, "The one who teaches you today is the Minister of Finance, Jin."
Immediately, the wealthy Jin Bao slowly walked into the classroom and gave lessons to the group of princes who were over fourteen years old.
"The Ministry of Finance, as the name suggests, is to gather wealth for the country."
Jin Bao has been in office for almost two years and is already familiar with the Ministry of Finance. He explained briskly:
"In the Tang Dynasty, it was the Du branch, in the Song Dynasty, it was the Sansi, and in the Mongolian, Yuan and Qian Ming dynasties, it was the Hubu."
"At the beginning of Shaowu Period, His Majesty was wise and observed the closure of the Ministry of Household Affairs, so he separated into the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"Our Ministry of Finance is collecting business tax and land tax..."
Next, he explained the importance of commercial tax and land tax of the Ministry of Finance, especially commercial tax:
"There are countless acres of land in the world, and people are constantly multiplying. The more people there are, the more intensive the exchanges, and naturally there will be more business taxes."
"It can be said that the potential of commercial tax is endless, and it is indispensable to the court, even the most important."
"It is clear that there is insufficient wealth, raising taxes will force the people to rebel, and there will be no wealth to support the army, which will lead to the overthrow of the country..."
Then, he told these princes the importance of restraining local taxation powers.
"Three rings are only one cent or two cents, but those corrupt officials taxed the people arbitrarily and exploited them ten times and a hundred times, thus causing catastrophe."
"So the financial power must be collected from the imperial court..."
This narrative is easy to understand, especially taking Qianming as an example, it is very convincing.
King Qi listened for a long time, then raised his hand and asked, "Why was the wealth sufficient during the Taizu period, but not enough during the Chongzhen period?"
"This question gets to the key point." Jin Bao said with a smile: "There were no border problems during Taizu's reign, and the military household system did not collapse..."
Immediately, Jinbao introduced how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure:
"I would rather increase business tax than land tax."
"If you are really short of money, you can just ransack your home. Whether it is wealthy businessmen or corrupt officials, they are the best help."
"Wang Anshi's reform in the past and the whipping method of the Ming Dynasty were all just for money."
"Today's homework is to discuss the pros and cons of Wang Anshi's reform..."
