Whether it is the Eight Banners of Manchuria or the elite of the Ming army, few of them attach importance to the cultural education of soldiers. At this time, most of the education was associated with the imperial examination, and it was really meaningless to expect this group of people who did not know a few words from childhood to adulthood to gnaw on the Four Books and Five Classics with tens of thousands of words.

However, Zhu Youlang did not take the Four Books and the Five Classics seriously at all in his heart, and the reason why he attached importance to cultural education was, first, that he planned to use these soldiers to serve as his own grassroots bureaucrats after being discharged from the army, and second, that he believed that the thinking troops were more combative. Scholars and doctors may occasionally talk about the "soul of the army", but where does the "soul" of a group of soldiers who have a poor cultural life come from?

The magistrates of the Qin Dynasty often acted as officers in wartime, and Zhu Youlang did the opposite. Unable to get rid of historical limitations and class positions, Zhu Youlang could only count on these people who had passed the test of the bows and arrows of the Manchurian soldiers.

According to the spies of the Jinyi Guard, the soldiers in the forbidden army did a good job in night school.

At first, there were some rotten people mixed in with the instructors, and they began to teach from there, and the soldiers who listened were drowsy. Soon, those candidates who were preparing for the exam replaced these rotten people. Nearly half of the candidates for the examination are veterans, so they naturally understand the thoughts of their colleagues. First of all, I started to learn words such as knives, guns, and arrows, and hung corresponding vulgar characters everywhere in the barracks, but in a few months, some smart people could know two or three hundred words.

The treatment is even more sky-breaking. Although no one under Li Dingguo's rule dared to "drift" the military salary, even if it was paid, it would be less than two taels of silver, and the salary of this forbidden army, even for auxiliary soldiers, reached two taels per month, and the soldiers were three taels. In Burma, where the price of grain only costs more than half a tael of silver, this military salary can make a family live a well-off life, and the soldiers can open meat three or four times a month, and their faces are also a lot of oil. After many years of wandering, he finally settled down for a while, and some soldiers even wanted to find a Burmese wife to marry in the local area.

In this regard, Zhu Youlang is happy to see it come to fruition: Isn't this the so-called national integration?

"Report to Your Majesty that the first company of the cavalry of the second regiment of the forbidden army should be two hundred and five people, but it is actually two hundred and five. Please instruct! ”

He looked at the officer who had turned over and dismounted, and saw that he was at least forty years old. In Zhu Youlang's cognition, forty years old is no longer suitable for fighting on the front line. "How old are you?"

"Thirty-four."

"Is the face so old at the age of thirty-four?"

"Report to Your Majesty, even if Weichen has to be white, as long as Your Majesty has an order, he will never give up!"

According to the aging level of the person in front of him, his beard and hair are all white, that is, he is in his fifties. Zhu Youlang couldn't help but feel a little distressed about him, and subconsciously touched his sleeve, but found that he didn't have anything to reward on his body. Fortunately, the officials around him were knowledgeable and interesting, and took out two silver ingots of ten taels to relieve Zhu Youlang's embarrassment of "shyness in his pocket".

Twenty-two feet of silver-colored striped silver is equivalent to a company commander or a total of about three months' military salary, and this kind of silver ingot also has the word "imperial gift" on it, maybe it can be spent with one as three.

"Wechen is willing to die for His Majesty!" The company commander was still wrapped in a armor skirt on his legs, but he knelt down without caring at all.

Zhu Youlang stretched out his hand to gently help him up, patted the dust on his body for him, and inspected the entire team with the man who was almost crying.

From beginning to end, and from tail to end. Zhu Youlang stopped in the middle.

"Soldiers!"

Zhu Youlang, who is middle-aged, tried to adjust his breath and make his voice louder.

"I know that we have spent dozens of days completely different from before. Since the reconquest of Ava at the end of June, each company has had an additional instructor. Some of them are veterans I once taught, and some are talented children who have no fame, but are willing to follow me all the way. The reason why I want to give everyone such an official is because I don't want everyone to work for me for the rest of their lives. ”

"I looked at everyone carefully, and they should all be in their twenties by now, which is the time for their bodies to be strong. However, when you are forty or fifty, can you still go into battle? ”

"The beard and hair are all white, and I am willing to die!"

Zhu Youlang smiled and waved his hand, knowing that this kind of talk was trained in advance. However, he did not doubt the sincerity of the soldiers. "I know that you are loyal to the Ming Dynasty and to me, but at that time, if you still have to go to the battlefield, doesn't it mean that I have no one in the Ming Dynasty?"

The soldiers thought about it, too, that their generation would have children when they were old. The strict military discipline made them dare not respond to the emperor's laughter, but their eyes could not hide it.

"Naturally, as long as Daming is not driven into the sea by the Tartars, everyone will definitely be able to leave the military camp to spend their old age in peace, I heard that most of the people here have not married a mother-in-law yet."

The soldiers burst into laughter.

"I have seen all my life facing the loess with their backs to the sky, many of them have been suffering from pain all over their bodies due to heavy work in their thirties, although everyone is not engaged in farming, but before five days of exercise, three days of exercise, now one day of exercise, I think it is not easier than farmers. Therefore, learning culture is good for everyone. ”

Although they have been learning vulgar characters for more than a month, some people have gradually realized the benefits of no longer being blind. However, just as ancient Chinese science and technology were mainly practical, many people still uphold the attitude of getting by for skills that cannot be seen to be useful for a while.

Many people in later generations talked about the importance that Chinese children attached to education, but in fact, this attention was more concentrated among the families who were likely to participate in the imperial examination.

"What's the benefit?"

Zhu Youlang asked himself: "There are about two million people in Myanmar. There are probably hundreds of counties among these two million people, and a county needs at least thirty or forty officials, which is tens of thousands of officials. ”

"Before, the officials of this dynasty were to open a branch and take scholars, and most of the officials were passed down from generation to generation, but this Myanmar is different, how many officials can there be in Myanmar? How many are available? Moreover, it is precisely because some officials and masters don't know anything but can only compare blindly, I might as well let you learn culture and become this little official. ”

"Moreover, most of the previous officials were tested by the landlords, so letting them be officials naturally oppress the people, but we are different..."

The King of Jin, who came with Zhu Youlang, saw that there was something wrong with these words, and secretly poked the emperor with his hand.

"The minister is from Xiying, and he knows the harm of the landlord, but His Majesty still has to rely on the gentry at this time?"

In the face of Li Dingguo's kind reminder, Zhu Youlang laughed and replied to him, those gentry are already under our feet, what do you rely on them for?

"What does that mean under your feet?"

"King Jin just deserted, didn't watch this artillery execution with me?"

Li Dingguo suddenly realized that he couldn't be persuaded at this time.

"We are all from poor backgrounds, so naturally we will not be the same as those landlords and cubs who have been blinded by lard!" The instructor in the team took the lead in shouting.