A long train honked its whistle in a billow of white steam and rumbled slowly into the North Railway Station near Xizhimen, Beijing. It also transported Zhuge Weidao to Beijing, a capital that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.
Zhuge Weidao was not from the imperial capital in his previous life, but he went to university in Beijing. His university alma mater is quite close to Xizhimen... I wonder what the situation is now?
And Zhuge Weidao in this life is an authentic Beijing Zhuge! Although the ancestral home of the Zhuge family is not in Beijing, most members of the Zhuge family have moved to Beijing since the Ming Dynasty returned to Beijing as its capital. On the way to Beijing, Zhuge Weidao's manager He Tianran also told him that he still had his own separate house in Beijing. It's such a big courtyard house, located in the Goulan Hutong of the West Courtyard on the edge of the Imperial City... Goulan Hutong? It sounds pretty lively!
But didn’t he lose his memory?
Therefore, he has no impression of the industrialized Ming Dynasty of Beijing, his home in Xiyuan Goulan Hutong, or his life before his amnesia. When he walked off the platform, he looked like a Ming Dynasty drifter who had just come to Beijing from his hometown, with his mouth open and eyes wide open, looking around at the busy streets, tall and imposing buildings and people coming and going. , all pedestrians looked very energetic.
China in 1826 could be so wealthy, prosperous and advanced!
In fact, when the train entered the factory area of Xuanhua City yesterday evening, Zhuge Weidao was already shocked by the heavy industrial factories he heard and saw... Although those industrial facilities and the 21st century have climbed to the top of the world's factories. The heavy and chemical industry facilities owned by China are incomparable, but after all, it is only 1826!
Even if the technology in 1826 accelerated its development due to the emergence of King Wu Zhong, and it has roughly reached the level of 1896 in another timeline, industrial facilities of that scale may not have been available in 1896 in another timeline. How many can get it?
When the train passed through the Badaling Tunnel and entered the plains south of Yanshan Mountain, Zhuge Weidao saw the prosperity along the railway again. At a glance, you can tell that there are very wealthy small towns one after another. Between these small towns are family farms (pastures) separated by wooden fences. Each farm (pasture) covers an area of about a hundred acres. . Cars and tractors had not yet been invented, so it was common to see horse-drawn carriages loaded with agricultural products on country roads near the railroad. The houses on the farm (ranch) also look very strong and beautiful - Zhuge Weidao knows that Chinese people like to buy and build houses when they have money, so to see how people's livelihood is in a place, you can usually tell by looking at the houses.
Zhuge Weidao didn't see any shabby houses along the way, and the farms separated by wooden fences and bamboo fences all covered similar areas. Obviously, the land equalization system (which also limited land) implemented since the time of King Wu Zhong was still maintained quite well, at least in the area around Beijing.
When the train entered the suburbs of Beijing, the number of gardens belonging to aristocratic families began to increase. However, these gardens are just garden-style residences. Although they are luxurious and some occupy quite large areas, the land around the houses is still occupied by farmers' family farms (pastures)... Obviously, with the Zhuge family, The "cowardice" of the eight aristocratic families headed by them is not only external, but also towards the people below.
Zhuge Weidao knew that the secret book passed down by King Wu Zhong must contain a lot of information about the rebellion of various countries and the killing of the emperor! That’s why those cowards have always adhered to the bottom line of suppressing mergers and protecting private small farms (ranches) - anyone who knows history knows that landless and impoverished farmers are often the main force in rebellion, while rich farmers who own family farms are often Royalists.
At the same time, according to records in Ming junior high school and high school history textbooks, the Ming Empire was also the first country in the world to implement universal pensions, medical care and unemployment insurance. After the French killed Louis XVI, the Ming Dynasty Council passed relevant laws at light speed. The Ming court also approved the resolution immediately!
So while the whole of Europe was busy putting out the French Revolution, the Ming court was looking for money everywhere to provide welfare to the people... At that time, due to the continuous growth of population and the continuous advancement of industrialization, the level of urbanization in the Ming Dynasty was also increasing, so it could not avoid the emergence of urban poverty. Probably in the opinion of the cowardly military advisor who read the "Secret Book of King Wu Zhong", they are potential rebels and must be appeased immediately!
In addition to suppressing mergers and promoting welfare, history textbooks also say that the cowardly military advisers of the Zhuge family have always attached great importance to higher education. Over the past 100 years, they have invested in the establishment of 39 universities across the country. These universities are called It belongs to the Longzhong Department and is recognized as a first-class university. In Beijing, there are eight universities of the Longzhong Department, among which Beijing Institute of Technology is the first...
"Beijing Institute of Technology ranks first...how weird!" Zhuge Weidao, who stood outside the North Railway Station and admired the scenery for a while, suddenly remembered Beijing Institute of Technology, a university in Longzhong Department, and seemed to understand something, so he He turned around and asked his eldest brother, "Brother, is Beijing Institute of Technology in Zhongguantun?"
Zhongguantun is Zhongguancun. That place was originally a eunuch village, so Zhongguan is the eunuch! Later, some people felt that Zhongguantun sounded unpleasant, so they changed it to Zhongguancun.
"What Zhongguancun?" Zhuge Weixue glared at his younger brother, "Zhongguancun! Have you forgotten where our ancestral home in Beijing is?"
Zhuge Weidao really forgot. He quickly turned around and looked at Guo Xiaobao and He Tianran. After Yu Hui got off the train, he took a taxi to Xizhimen and went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resume his duties. Guo Xiaobao and He Tianran were both Zhuge Weidao's subordinates. Moreover, neither of them has a house in Beijing, and they all live in Zhuge Weidao's big house in Goulan Hutong, so they can only continue to follow him now.
Seeing Zhuge Weidao's eyes, the two of them immediately explained his doubts one by one.
"Brother Daozi, this Zhongguancun is the original Zhongguantun. The name of Zhongguancun was changed by King Wuzhong. When the Northern Expedition was successful and the imperial court returned its capital to Beijing, the eight kings were given fields outside Beijing. King Wuzhong asked for it. The area around Zhongguantun was renamed Zhongguancun."
"King Wu Zhong first built Xinlongzhongzhuang in Zhongguancun, and later opened a polytechnic in Xinlongzhongzhuang, which was the predecessor of Beijing Institute of Technology... This was also the first new university in the Ming Dynasty. Here Before, Ming Dynasty only had new-style academies and military academies, but no new-style universities."
It is difficult to encourage the development of education. We can only do it step by step. First, we should establish academies equivalent to junior high schools and high schools and the urgently needed military education, and then build universities in a step-by-step manner. This is the right way.
Zhuge Weidao was a teacher himself, and he was very much in favor of King Wu Zhong's rigorous and serious approach to running a school, so he nodded and said, "You must go to Beijing Institute of Technology and Xinlongzhong Village when you have time."
Zhuge Weixue took over his brother's words and said: "Don't wait for free time... let's go today!"
"Going today?" Zhuge Weidao was stunned, "Aren't you going back home?"
Zhuge inherited the title of Marquis of Wuxiang for his studies and had his own Marquis Mansion in Beijing. Zhuge Weidao's stepmother and younger brothers and sisters now live with Zhuge Weixue. Although Zhuge Weidao had a private residence, he also had rooms in the Marquis Mansion.
"I'm not going back," Zhuge Weixue sighed and said, "The military division has something to ask you tomorrow...so let's stay in the old residence building tonight."
In fact, Zhuge Weidao was under control - the Zheng family's attempt to win over Zhuge Weidao could not be hidden from a group of strategic strategists. Therefore, Zhuge Weixue had received a secret message and asked him to take his younger brother directly to Xinlongzhong.
While the two brothers were talking, the carriage taking them to Xinlongzhongzhuang also arrived. There were two carriages in total, Zhuge Weixue and the few guards he brought with him took one, and Zhuge Weidao took the frowning Guo Xiaobao and He Tianran in one - both of them knew that the military advisors were asking questions politely. The statement that the military divisions want to judge Zhuge as a Taoist is the truth!
Although the military division has no judicial power, it is impossible to judge Zhuge for being a Taoist. But they could deprive Zhuge of his surname "Zhuge" and drive him out. It can also determine Zhuge Weidao's official career, allowing him to be a small official in a place where nothing matters for the rest of his life.
If Zhuge Youde is still there, he can protect his son, but now there is no one in the military division of Wuxianghou Yifang... Although Zhuge Weijiu has a close relationship with Zhuge Youde and will take care of his son, but Zhuge caused a lot of trouble for Taoism!
I'm afraid I can't save it!
When the two of them were worried about their boss, in an office in a building with a five-story main building, a four-story podium building and a Chinese-style roof, several military advisers "dressed as Zhuge Liang" were surrounding them. Sitting together, holding a piece of paper and passing it around. After reading it, the note was handed back to the old man Zhuge Weijiu, and the old man took out a lighter, lit the note, and threw it into an ashtray on the desk... This scene It looks a bit strange!
"Is such a thing possible? It's not the Zheng family who framed the 108th brother, right?" A Zhuge military advisor shook his head repeatedly, as if he didn't quite believe what the note said.
Zhuge Weijiu snorted: "It's not surprising that Zheng Guozhong and Zheng Guoxian have this idea, but how could Zheng Yuhuan be possible? He is the god-sister of the 108th brother... and Zheng Yuhuan did not spread the matter. Come, I’m just temporarily placing the Grand Duchess under house arrest.”
"Second brother," another Zhuge military advisor said, "could someone else do it?"
Zhuge Weiji calculated for a long time and shook his head: "No... Natalie checked it when she left Petersburg. It's not wrong. There was no chance on the way. When she arrived in Yining, she was taken by the black eunuch. Let’s go. The only thing that might go wrong is the two days in Bagua City.”
"Then what should we do? If this matter spreads out, the one hundred and eighty-year-old brother will be in trouble."
Zhuge Weijiu pinched his fingers and calculated again: "It's your own fault...send him to New Manchuria, or let him retire from the army, and then go to Java Island to become a plantation owner."
"That's all it can do!"
"We can't save him..."
"He's gone too far!"
Several Zhuge military advisors nodded repeatedly, and Zhuge Weidao's fate seemed to have been calculated...
