Qinzheng Hall, Yuanmingyuan, Imperial Conference Room.
This meeting is really special.
Because the matter to be discussed is not internal affairs, diplomacy, or military matters.
Rather
publicity!
Yes.
In the eyes of later generations, it was a "reactionary meeting" filled with "theory of racial superiority" and "militarism".
"Now the Ming Dynasty has unified the world, but the current era is not the time for our Chinese family to live in peace behind closed doors. The disputes among the heroes in the world are the magnified chaos of the Warring States Period. Sailboats, steamships, railways, etc. The entire world has been connected into one body like never before. Now we are sailing against the current. If we don’t advance, we will retreat. The scalps of tens of millions of indigenous people in the Americas are staring at us!”
Emperor Zhu said loudly.
"Although our Ming Dynasty is powerful in military force now, it is only because I, the founding emperor, are here. I can guarantee that a hundred years from now, the Ming Dynasty will inevitably tend to be conservative, worship literature and suppress martial arts, and lose its pioneering spirit!"
"In the past, this would have been okay, but it is no longer possible. Now this is a time of great strife, and the whole country must be united. Ming Dynasty must maintain strong force to defend the Chinese civilization!"
"I often think that the country will be destroyed by weakness, and the Han Dynasty will be destroyed by strength. Why?"
"Because the Qin and Han Dynasties were a military state, and the status of soldiers was very high. No one was afraid of war, and everyone was happy when they heard about it!"
"Isn't this the case in Western countries today? The Western powers all sanctify their armies and heroize their soldiers. Their social status is higher than that of civilian officials. Even the kings, princes, princes and other nobles of European countries are proud of their military uniforms. The princes of their countries are required to receive military education and serve in the army, and noble men in Europe all choose to attend military academies as their first choice!"
"Looking back at our Ming Dynasty, the world has just been at peace. How many people have been recruited from the society for this year's army and navy officers' schools? Most of them can only select young talents from the army to enter! And the talents in the society are all in order to be scholars and take exams. Fame means glory, and there is a proverb in civil society that "a good man does not fight alone, and a good iron does not fight." If this situation is left unchecked, in a few decades, I am afraid that we will have another big but not strong Ottoman Turkey. "
On the throne.
Emperor Zhu talked eloquently.
The conversation focused mainly on military status.
Although the current Ming Dynasty has strong martial arts.
But how can the influence of hundreds of years of folk tradition be changed overnight.
For the young talents of the Ming Dynasty.
Enlisting as a soldier is actually a prospect that is not very popular.
This June.
The Ming Dynasty held the first "University Admissions Examination".
Mainly recruiting university students from among scholars and graduates from middle schools in various places.
But here at Daohua University, the School of Engineering, School of Political Science, School of Medicine, etc. are all very competitive.
After all, Daohua University bears the name of Emperor Zhu.
A disciple of the emperor!
So there are a lot of people applying.
Even if you can't get into Daohua University.
There are also many people who choose to enroll in new universities organized by local governments and private organizations in Zhongdu and Nandu.
In fact, it is very simple to make these new universities so attractive.
Because the content of the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty was increasingly in line with the learning content of the new universities.
That is to say.
I want to be an official of the Ming Dynasty.
It is useless to just memorize the Four Books and Five Classics and write the eight-legged essay.
It is best to go to this new type of university to study before you can be sure.
But similarly, the Ming Army and Navy University recruits students from scholars and middle school graduates from all over the country.
Neither the Naval Academy nor the Army Academy has filled their private recruitment quotas.
There were very few candidates.
Everything is of inferior quality, but reading is of high quality.
How can you become a martial artist if you study and become an official?
This kind of thinking was still the mainstream among the scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty.
There is no other way. The Army and Navy Officers Academy can only recruit young soldiers who have made meritorious service and are proficient in writing from the military to enroll.
And countries like Prussia will be able to implement compulsory military service in the future.
In fact, after the Ming Dynasty replaced the management of local clans in most areas, "scholars became officials and officials went to the countryside".
Theoretically, the first prerequisite for the implementation of compulsory military service has been met.
But this compulsory military service system requires the cooperation of the people, and it is best to take the initiative to join the army.
If you don't take the initiative.
It is also possible to use ropes to trap people - so this requires the government to go to the countryside.
Unlike some twentieth-century regimes.
He couldn't even catch a young man.
What a fucking waste.
Moreover, the soldiers who were tied up were definitely not very motivated to fight.
There will definitely be a large number of deserters on the battlefield.
And this requires publicity and education, preferably to the extent that the people can actively accept the compulsory military service system.
Isn’t that what happened in Europe later on?
The government uses propaganda and other means to brainwash the soldiers and elevate the social status of soldiers to an unparalleled level, making every boy dream of joining the army to serve the country and fight on the battlefield.
This allows for the recruitment of large numbers of troops with high morale at a relatively low cost.
This "low-cost" army.
It is the foundation for the emergence of any continental army power in later generations!
And Emperor Zhu’s Ming Army.
Although the morale is also quite high.
But the cost of this high morale is too high - dozens of acres of military land!
So this is an unsustainable system.
The land border of the Ming Dynasty was so long.
If you want to use high salary to support a standing mercenary army.
Then the Ming court might not be able to bear this cost.
So the best way is to introduce compulsory military service.
To protect the subjects of the emperor of tomorrow.
Become a military citizen who can take the initiative to carry a gun and fight for the Ming Dynasty!
And such a change.
Naturally it cannot be done overnight.
It cannot be accomplished by Emperor Zhu issuing an edict.
This requires a complete education system.
Militarists should be arrested from childhood.
But now the education system of the Ming Dynasty is actually in the hands of Confucian scholars and officials.
Do you expect these hypocritical Confucians and cynics who have been castrated from their Confucian spirit for more than a thousand years to educate groups of militarists?
It is better to hope for a breakthrough in controllable nuclear fusion technology within fifty years.
Of course.
Emperor Zhu is now unable to take away all educational rights from the hands of Confucian scholars and officials at once - as long as scholars in the Ming Dynasty basically read Confucian classics.
So this matter cannot be rushed.
Take it step by step.
The first step, of course, is to create a social atmosphere where everyone speaks out.
It started with large-scale publicity of the Ming-Russia War.
"Therefore, we, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, must not be insulted or discriminated against. We, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, should also have heroes!"
"Before the Ming-Russian War is over, the Ming court will control news and public opinion. In addition, the Ministry of Education will be changed to the Ministry of Education and Propaganda! All newspapers and periodicals in the Ming Dynasty will be censored and any news that is not conducive to the war, slander the Ming court and Ming soldiers will be prohibited. Articles appeared! In terms of publicity, let newspapers vigorously promote a few fighting heroes."
"The press and publishing industry must be fully managed, and newspapers and public opinion must fully serve the war!"
"The Battle of Ming and Russia was a just battle for the survival of China. All the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who died in this battle must be enshrined in the Ming Dynasty Martyrs' Shrine and enjoy the incense of thousands of families!"
"In addition, operas and literary works from various places should also vigorously praise the contributions of soldiers!"
(End of chapter)
