For now, we can only collect some interest to ease our immediate crisis.
Besides Zhao Jingzhong's force, another force was led by Wei Zhongxian. Lu Xuan didn't kill Wei Zhongxian. At least not yet, even though this fellow had committed countless evil deeds, deserving of death by a thousand cuts. However, he did have one redeeming quality that Lu Xuan noticed: he knew how to make money. In the Ming Dynasty, whether in the original historical record or in Lu Xuan's timeline, he was the one who secured the military pay for Liaodong.
Historically, Wei Zhongxian's existence held two significant meanings. One was to restrain the Donglin Party. This was the most important reason why Emperor Tianqi supported his rise to power. The other was his ability to amass wealth. This guy was an extremely corrupt official; according to both Ming Dynasty law and modern law, he would be the kind of person who deserves to be executed. But after he had his fill of corruption, he still managed to raise enough funds for military expenses, which is quite remarkable.
Moreover, Wei Zhongxian had another advantage. He mostly amassed wealth by seizing it from wealthy merchants and landlords. He showed some compassion for the poor and needy. Historically, a shrine was erected in his hometown to honor him. This, besides indicating the obsequiousness of his followers, also demonstrates his considerable prestige among the common people. In fact, most of those who criticized Wei Zhongxian were scholars.
Therefore, after Lu Xuan entered the capital, he did not kill Wei Zhongxian. Instead, he reinstated him and gave him the position of Governor of Jiangnan, sending him to the Jiangnan region to investigate corruption and land annexation.
Wei Zhongxian was a shrewd man; as soon as the order was given, he immediately understood what his task was. This was his forte, something he was very adept at.
With the 500-strong firearms battalion given to him by Lu Xuan, and the banners of the Eastern Depot, Wei Zhongxian marched in a grand procession to Jiangnan. He was prepared to thoroughly investigate corruption (embezzlement) and land annexation (grain embezzlement). Lu Xuan had another important reason for doing this: Jiangnan was the stronghold of the Donglin Party, and Wei Zhongxian was a sworn enemy of the Donglin Party.
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Chapter 176 The Situation is Initially Settled (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe)
The coup in China also attracted the attention of European countries. After all, under Lu Xuan's overseas trade policies, in this era, every European country capable of long-distance ocean voyages had trade relations with Liaodong.
When the merchants in Liaodong learned that Lu Xuan had become emperor, they were all dumbfounded. That peculiar governor, after only a few days, had become the emperor of this country?
The most troubled were actually the border generals like Li Rubai. When Lu Xuan launched his campaign, they dared not stop him, but they also didn't pledge allegiance. Now that Lu Xuan had truly ascended the throne, their positions had suddenly become extremely awkward.
Some, thick-skinned as ever, have already submitted petitions of submission. Others are still hesitant. The only good news is that the new emperor doesn't seem to intend to make things difficult for them. He merely issued an imperial edict ordering them to hold their ground and defend against foreign enemies. He said nothing more.
Actually, the main reason was that Lu Xuan didn't have time to deal with these people. A nationwide military and political reform plan had already been in place, but it would take some time before it could be formally implemented. At least until all the people in the country had enough to eat, then the military and political reforms could begin. Until then, it was best to keep these people as they were and prevent them from causing trouble.
The European merchants, knowing that Lu Xuan had become emperor, felt compelled to make a gesture. After all, they had long done business with the governor-general. Now that he was king, they had to show their appreciation. Otherwise, losing this cash cow would be a devastating blow.
Over the years, they had become very familiar with Lu Xuan's hobbies. This former governor, now a high-ranking official, disliked money in the traditional sense. He preferred all sorts of new and exciting things.
After some discussion, this group arranged for Lu Xuan to have a new European warship as a coronation gift, thus successfully preserving their commercial share.
In Liaodong, apart from the generals and European merchants, the most troublesome force at present is the Qing Dynasty.
Originally, that guy was just a general, yet he had utterly defeated them. Now, the opponent had become the emperor. How the hell could they possibly compete? After much deliberation, Huang Taiji, the current emperor of the Qing Dynasty, made a crucial decision. He decided to submit a letter of allegiance to the emperor.
There was simply no other way. They were starving. Lu Xuan had deliberately left an army to completely blockade trade between the Qing Dynasty and China. The Qing people, unskilled in farming, couldn't even get enough to eat. Discontent was growing within the country. Huang Taiji attempted several offensives, trying to gain some advantage, but they were all decisively suppressed. From then on, he abandoned any thought of using force.
He had reluctantly acknowledged one thing in his heart: under the influence of that new Chinese emperor, the Ming army in Liaodong was no longer a force that his Qing warriors could contend with. The current situation was very awkward. Back then, the Khan declared himself emperor, issued the Seven Grievances, openly broke with the Ming Dynasty, and declared himself king, intending to conquer the Central Plains.
Within a few years, he himself would have to shamelessly submit to the emperor. He felt he'd be too ashamed to even enter his ancestral graves. But there was no other way. He had to survive first, then worry about everything else. Submission it was.
So they submitted a letter of submission, hoping to receive a reward. This was something that ethnic minorities on the borders of the Central Plains often did. When they ran out of food, they would raid the Central Plains. If they didn't want to raid, they would submit a letter of submission. If the emperor of the Central Plains was pleased, he would bestow large amounts of wealth upon them, and a winter would pass by in no time.
Huang Taiji had the same idea. But this time, he miscalculated.
"What do you mean? They've submitted to me and want my things?" Lu Xuan looked at the newly appointed Minister of Rites with a hostile expression. This fellow was also a reserve official from the previous dynasty. Because various reforms had not yet begun, and foreign affairs systems were still basically following the rules of the Ming Dynasty, a scholar from the previous dynasty was chosen to be the Minister of Rites.
The newly appointed Minister of Rites was kneeling before Lu Xuan, looking terrified. He was a smart man and could tell that Lu Xuan was truly angry.
"Your Majesty, this has always been the case in the previous dynasty..."
"The previous dynasty?"
"...Your subject deserves ten thousand deaths..."
"I won't let you die ten thousand times. Listen to me carefully. You may submit to my Huaxia, but you must show some sincerity. Does my great Huaxia lack a mere mountain tribe? Without making sufficient contributions to Huaxia, do you think a bunch of wild boars deserve to be included in the legitimate line of Huaxia?"
The Minister of Rites instantly understood Lu Xuan's meaning. This new emperor was unlike the previous emperors. He was an emperor who only cared about personal gain and disregarded rules. In other words, the Qing Dynasty wasn't even qualified to be a vassal state.
Having grasped this point, he immediately knew how to deal with the Qing Dynasty's envoy. It was simple: make things difficult for him. Diplomacy! If a nation's power is insufficient, taking power means being challenged. This fellow, having been chosen as Minister of Rites, was naturally adept at this.
In fact, if possible, Lu Xuan would certainly like to send the elites he has trained to these core positions. It's just that there are far too few of them right now. So few that they are completely insufficient.
Lu Xuan could only prioritize based on the urgency of the situation. He assigned those carefully trained young men to various rebellious regions, letting them handle the difficult problems first and accumulate political experience. He never believed that someone without grassroots experience could hold a high-ranking position.
Even though he had personally handed over these positions over more than a decade, they still needed to go through various practical government operations and accumulate sufficient experience before they could enter the central decision-making level. And at that time, it would be time for him to fully implement political and military reforms.
However, while reforms cannot be implemented directly yet, some preliminary preparations have already begun. For example, he has started building entirely new academies, with some young people from among the original students who were unwilling to enter politics and instead focused on studying various subjects serving as the first generation of mentors.
To implement his reforms, he had to start with the children. And how to begin? By introducing them to Lu Xuan's ideology from a young age. The imperial examination system would not be abolished for the time being, but it would be gradually reformed. Ultimately, the two educational systems would merge into a unified whole, forming the new educational system Lu Xuan needed.
Lu Xuan did not completely rule out classical education. In fact, any educational policy that can last for a thousand years has its reasons. Moreover, a one-size-fits-all approach would be too painful and might cause a backlash. Therefore, he decided to start reforming education from the next generation. The two educational systems would gradually converge, and it was estimated that it would take about three generations to complete the complete integration.
This process, coupled with comprehensive reforms of the political, military, economic, and diplomatic systems, will ultimately allow Lu Xuan to see the China he desires in approximately fifty years.
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Chapter 177 In the Name of China (First Update, Please Subscribe)
According to Lu Xuan's prediction, it may take more than twenty years for the Ming Dynasty to truly recover its vitality.
The good news is that, thanks to the generous aid from neighboring countries, Lu Xuan has at least, on the surface, contained the famine and various problems caused by the rioters. After this winter, with the start of a new round of farming next spring, the food problem should be temporarily solved.
At this point, Lu Xuan was finally able to catch his breath and begin some preliminary work for reform.
First and foremost, we must expand trade. In the name of the nation, we should vigorously promote maritime trade and simultaneously begin rebuilding a sufficiently advanced navy. In this age of exploration, the Ming Dynasty has fallen far behind in maritime hegemony. Although it has already acquired some maritime rights around Asia, it is still far from sufficient compared to the vast ocean.
Whether it's the Americas, Oceania, or even the thousands of small islands in South Asia, they all possess inexhaustible resources. Plundering those resources and using them to nourish the Central Plains is the initial accumulation of resources, which is essential before truly implementing reforms. After all, all reforms require the support of vast resources.
Besides the schools currently under construction, the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty is also in the planning stages. He collects various folk remedies, accumulates and organizes them, then innovates and improves these techniques, striving to maximize the effectiveness of the valuable ones.
This process was far from simple. Even as emperor, he faced immense resistance in pushing this forward. In ancient times, various crafts and secret recipes were passed down to the next generation. In most cases, money couldn't buy them. This required a long period of accumulation.
However, it's not entirely impossible. Lu Xuan once issued an order: those technologies that significantly improved social production could be granted official positions. This order was incredibly powerful. You see, after people in ancient times had enough to eat, they generally had two great desires: to continue their family line and to bring honor to their ancestors. How did they bring honor to their ancestors? By becoming officials, of course.