Upon hearing this, Cai Yan nodded and remained silent. Just then, Shi A, who had been keeping his head down and remaining silent, couldn't help but speak up: "Alas, after reading the history books of this world, I feel that all these scholars should be killed. Basically, none of these officials are good people."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile. Most intellectuals are spineless and spineless, easily bought off with money. Can you really rely on such people?
The Song Dynasty relied on scholars and officials to share power, but the result was the dynasty's demise twice—once in the Northern Song and once in the Southern Song.
The Ming Dynasty relied heavily on scholars, and even the emperor himself didn't do much work, leaving everything to the cabinet—a policy of virtually ruling by doing nothing, which was almost perfect. However, the gentlemen of the Donglin Party ultimately brought the Southern Ming Dynasty to its knees.
It can be said that the most unreliable people in the world are the civil officials. They are even less principled than aristocratic families or nobles.
Moreover, he's a master of the unparalleled skill of groveling when he can't win a fight. He's known for his ability to please any master, no matter their status. He'll do anything, as long as you give me an official position.
I remember during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of my past life, there was a country with a very peculiar rule: to become an official, one had to be castrated. But what was the result? Many people still participated in the imperial examinations, and after passing, they became eunuchs!
(This is true; interested readers can check it out.)
Therefore, what does it matter if the ministers call themselves slaves and wear pigtails? What difference does it make if they change their ancestors and become bannermen instead of Han Chinese? As long as there are benefits, there is nothing these scholars would be unwilling to do.
“That’s right. A country ruled solely by scholars is a sign of its downfall. However, in the main world, there are the royal family, nobles (those with fiefdoms), aristocratic families, and commoners. These four groups stand in a tripartite balance, checking and balancing each other. No single group can become dominant. In comparison, the situation is much better,” Lin Yang said with some relief.
Fortunately, I transmigrated to the main world, a very enlightened world. Otherwise, I would have had to worry about many trivial matters every day, and over time, my ambition and dreams would have disappeared.
As the three were discussing the history of this world, a member of the Imperial Guard approached, claiming that Emperor Zhu wanted to speak with them. They then went with the guard to the meeting place.
This was an open-air pavilion. It was quite large, and the area around it was heavily guarded by Imperial Guards. Meanwhile, Zhu Jishi, Zuo Zongtang, Zheng Hong, and Old Pierre were already seated at a small round table, waiting for Lin Yang and his companions.
In the center of the round table was a hot pot, with more than a dozen plates of various side dishes beside it. Outside, there was a chef and several waiters.
As for the dishes, they were all common home-style dishes, and not expensive. In addition, there were several jars of rice wine, one of which had already been opened.
"Tianxuan, Tianlan, Tianqing, you've arrived. Come, come, have some food and drink. By the way, you don't abstain from meat, do you?" Zhu Jishi said with a smile.
If it's banned, then we'll have to switch to a vegetarian option, which would be such a waste. Suddenly, Zhu Jishi realized that this world didn't even have a divided hot pot. He wondered if it was because no transmigrator had invented it yet, or if the chefs hadn't used it.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang smiled and said, "We are true Taoists, not those fake Taoists who spout precepts. Moreover, we are not from the Quanzhen Sect, nor are we fake monks. Naturally, we are not forbidden from eating meat or getting married. Basically, there are no major precepts. As long as we do not betray our masters and ancestors, we can do whatever we want."
These words immediately broadened Zhu Jishi's knowledge. Then, he chuckled and said, "Alright, come on, let's eat hot pot first. This hot pot was made by me personally, including these side dishes. And this rice wine is aged for several decades."
As he spoke, Zhu Jishi personally poured wine for Lin Yang and the others. After some polite exchanges, Lin Yang stopped trying to stop him.
This is one of the few advantages of time travelers: they treat everyone equally. Even after gaining high positions and power, they won't become as twisted as the ancients, treating people like dirt.
Therefore, occasionally cooking a meal in person and communicating well with subordinates is a very simple yet heartwarming thing for a time traveler.
As they ate, Zhu Jishi spoke up, which is a unique characteristic of Chinese culture: discussing matters at the dinner table.
"Now that they have obtained your sect's scriptures, Tianxuan, these generals have basically grasped some aspects of military qi. Although the time has been short, the overall strength of the army has been greatly improved. In addition, with the piglets from Borneo, it can be said that an army can be formed in just half a month," Zhu Jishi said confidently.
"Piglets? What piglets?" Shi A suddenly asked. He genuinely didn't know; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked directly.
Seeing that Zhu Datianzi's face was a little red, Zuo Zongtang put down his chopsticks and said directly, "Ahem, it's like this, these so-called piglets are actually slaves in ancient times. When the Han people in the mainland couldn't survive, they had no choice but to sell themselves as piglets in order to get a full meal."
"Due to the terrain, there is very little arable land in Guangdong and Guangxi, so the piglets were mainly from Guangdong and Guangxi. Later, when Ming Gong came to Borneo, he was compassionate and directly bought the vast majority of the piglets and settled them in Borneo."
Zuo Zongtang didn't say anything more. However, Lin Yang understood. This so-called "coolie trade" was essentially sending troops to Zhu Yuanzhang. These "coolies" must all harbor resentment towards the court.
Heh heh, think about it. Hundreds of thousands of bitter men harboring resentment towards the imperial court were all daring and willing to fight. Emperor Zhu bought them, even giving them land, fields, and wives. In this way, it's not hard to understand why they would sell their lives to Emperor Zhu.
Moreover, by now, those poor men have long since completed their training. The only problem was a lack of qualified officers. But now, two thousand qualified officers have appeared. It just goes to show, my Great Qing is truly doomed!
"Moreover, in another half month, I am confident that I will break through to the third-grade Grandmaster level. By then, the generals will have fully grasped the use of these military auras. As for the rest, we can put them into practice after they go to the battlefield."
"So far, everything is ready. However, I'm worried that the court might directly mobilize the local gentry to form local militias. That would make things difficult," Zhu Jishi said, frowning.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang nodded. Once the imperial court makes up its mind to allow the local gentry to raise their own militias, given Guangzhou's wealth, a force of 100,000 men is certainly achievable.
Even if we defeat and kill these militia members, we will directly offend the local people of Guangzhou. Everyone will hate Zhu Jishi, which will be a complete loss.
"So, I was thinking that you, Master Tianxuan, could..."
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Chapter 44: Rebellion! This is unbearable! (Fifth update)
Waaaaah
dirty dirty dirty
With a series of sounds, a wooden ironclad warship with a wooden interior and iron plating on the outside slowly left Hong Kong and headed towards Guangzhou, propelled by a steam engine.
As for Cai Yan and Shi A, after learning about the operating principle of the steam engine, they couldn't help but marvel at it.
"The mechanical way of this world, which is also known as science, may not be very good in terms of high-end combat power, but it has greatly changed the little things in life. Even I think many things are very convenient." Shi A recalled the huge steam engine he had seen in the cabin earlier, and then said with great feeling.
Even an ordinary person with no cultivation can have a chance to kill a second-tier innate master with firearms.
Even an ordinary person, when operating a cannon, has a chance to kill a third-tier grandmaster. Of course, that chance is even more remote.
Moreover, this ship did not rely on sails or wind direction; it moved directly using a so-called steam engine, which was truly ingenious.
Although it can't compare to the big ships in the main world in terms of speed, comfort, or combat power, it's cheap enough.
Even the cheapest ships in the main world cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. Slightly better ones cost hundreds of thousands of taels. Top-tier warships cost millions of taels of silver each.
Moreover, those warships used spirit stones. Ordinary people simply couldn't afford them. In comparison, Shi A admired these mechanical creations much more.
"This item is indeed very magical, but unfortunately it would probably be useless in the main world. The damage it causes to spiritual energy is far too severe when used. Even if the Heavenly Dao doesn't stop it and doesn't send down divine punishment, those cultivators will definitely stop it," Cai Yan said with some regret.
Looking at the massive plumes of black smoke billowing from the ironclad warship's smokestacks, Cai Yan knew that this vessel was destined for a bleak future in the main world. Harmony between humanity and nature was the dominant theme of the main world.
For the sake of ordinary people's lives, the use of this substance will continuously pollute the environment, destroy spiritual energy, and ultimately lead to the end of the Dharma. It can be said that if there is even the slightest possibility, many powerful beings will directly take action to nip this substance in the bud.