"Your Highness is thoughtful." Chen Shangchuan shook his head lightly and said, "It's just that when people are being hired now, there is a shortage of generals at sea. Although the school hour system is good, I can't get out for the time being. By the way, you're graduating from the first class, right? ”

Duan Zhiying immediately puffed up his chest and said, "Although there was a martial arts lecture in the past, it was renamed the martial arts hall, but it was the first official graduation. There are three captains, five midship-entry ensigns, three ensigns, eleven midship-in-commandants, and eight sergeants. ”

"Twenty-seven in total, not much!" Chen Shangchuan couldn't help but look at Duan Zhiying with admiration, and asked in detail: "How many students are there in the first phase?" What is the definition of apprenticeship and formality? ”

"The first batch of students totaled 210 people. Those who serve in the army, or have outstanding performance, or have more than 100 literates, can be recruited for admission; Those who have meritorious fame, are literate over 300, and are in good health, regardless of the length of service, can enter directly from the people. Duan Zhiying explained: "When the school is completed, those who pass the examination will be awarded the official military rank, and the latter will be a probationary, and they must be killed in battle formations and have combat experience before they can become regular." ”

"I see." Chen Shangchuan pondered for a while, and then he understood what it was.

Although there were many generals in the Ming army, few were literate, and even fewer were able to obtain official military ranks; With the victory of the war and the change of the situation, the number of civil literate recruits increased, so there were more people who obtained the rank of probationary. To put it simply, although there are many people with combat experience, there are few literate people, and the rate of literacy among the recruits has increased, but there is a lack of combat experience.

"At present, the rate of newcomers is high, but in the future, it will be even higher for veterans." Duan Zhiying made a judgment based on his own analysis, "The military propaganda officials are carrying out literacy education, as long as they are willing to work hard and learn hundreds of words, it won't take much time." ”

The newcomers and the old people have all taken care of it, and His Royal Highness Min is really painstaking. And whether this establishes a set of fair, just, and incentive selection and promotion systems? The more Chen Shangchuan thought about it, the more he felt that there was a lot of mystery in it, and it was not simple.

Fairness, impartiality, and incentives are just one aspect of this. Cultivate new forces and use military ranks to compete with the current officials. And to brand these new forces with the brand of the martial arts, this is Zhu Yongxing's whole purpose.

Starting from a military academy and using new officers to establish his own lineage, Zhu Yongxing is no stranger to this method, and the successful examples of later generations have given him confidence and inspiration.

Resisting the Qing Dynasty will be a relatively long-term process, and according to Zhu Yongxing's judgment and estimate, it will be a very satisfactory result for him to be able to form a real confrontation with the Qing Dynasty in terms of strength and strength in five years. Of course, as long as the grain base is well built. In addition, the improvement of financial and industrial capacity can also achieve the expected goals, and the process will be greatly accelerated in the future.

In addition to the lecture hall, Zhu Yongxing also established the government school to train civilian officials so that he could effectively implement the policies and regulations he formulated in governing the local government. In other words, he was trying to quietly change the traditional method of selecting officials through the imperial examinations, and to make the bureaucracy as streamlined as possible.

Time did not make Zhu Yongxing feel abundant, in addition to facing the pressure of the Qing army at all times. There are also Yongli and the small imperial court in Burma. Relatively speaking, there is nothing to say about dealing with the Qing army. Just one word "hit". And for Yongli and the small court, Zhu Yongxing is indeed quite embarrassed.

From the perspective of the entire anti-Qing situation in the country, Yongli still needs to exist, and Zhu Yongxing still has to act in the name of the imperial court; From the perspective of future development, the existence of Yongli and the small imperial court is a hidden danger and constraint. One could even say resistance.

Therefore, Zhu Yongxing is now blocking the news in Burma, and at the same time trying to expand the situation so that people can get used to and adapt to the policies and models he is promoting. Authoritarian, of course, is established. Cultivating descendants, winning the hearts of the people, and grasping the power of money and food are also the means of coping with the implementation.

Although he feels the urgency of time, as well as the pressures and obstacles ahead, Zhu Yongxing is not very pessimistic. Yongli doesn't have Zhao Gou's strategy and skills, and he is not Yue Fei.

After sending off the sailors who went on the expedition, Zhu Yongxing did not leave Xialong immediately, but listened to the report of the merchant group that came from Haiphong and Yuxian.

Haiphong is under construction, and the trade of Yunnan Province still needs to be carried out in Luxian for the time being. Under the pressure of the Ming army, the royal family of Annam and the Zheng family did not dare to extort any more, and returned the money they had overcharged from the Chinese merchants. This made many Chinese businessmen feel that they had a backing guarantee, so they decided to stay in the commercial hall in Yuxian for the time being, which can be regarded as a distribution point.

The export of tea, Hui porcelain, Bai lacquerware, Miao embroidery, Dai batik and other products from the occupied areas of Yunnan Province has increased markedly. Burma, Siam, Chenla and other countries believe in Buddhism, and most of the temples are wooden buildings, and in a humid environment, insect and moth prevention is a good problem to solve.

Commerce brings in income and is growing; The increase in commercial taxes indicates that the liquidity of products in the occupied areas of Yunnan Province is increasing. While Zhu Yongxing increased his own wealth, he also injected vitality into the commercial activities of the occupied areas. There are fewer checkpoints and extortion along the way, which also stimulates the enthusiasm of businessmen.

"The recruitment of weavers and embroiderers from Suzhou and Hangzhou, as well as weavers from Songjiang, has been handed over to several Chinese merchants, and it is estimated that there will be good news soon. In addition, the number of craftsmen to be recruited has not yet been determined, so please ask Your Highness to indicate this. ”

The people who came to report were Zheng Yanbei and his son Zheng Zhaoda, as well as two officials from the Ministry of Commerce, who didn't quite understand what Zhu Yongxing thought about recruiting so many people of all colors. However, with his belief in Zhu Yongxing, he still carried out his orders very actively.

"Quantity?" Zhu Yongxing only pondered for a while, and then he settled down, and surprised several people, "The more the better, and the amount is uncertain." ”

Of course, you don't know the way, the Qing court's coastal relocation order, the huge China, foreign trade was almost completely cut off, coupled with political corruption, expropriation, many traditional crafts were lost. For example, Lu silk, in the Ming Dynasty, Lu'an Mansion organically woven more than 13,000 sheets, and the Ming Dynasty sent 3,000 horses. After the war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were only 300 looms left in the Qing Dynasty, and 3,000 horses were still sent, resulting in "the machine owner paid the price and lost the family", and many people fled. However, the Manchu court did not give up the pie until the machine owner completely escaped and the silk disappeared in history.

Rescuing traditional crafts is still secondary. Taking advantage of the relocation of the Manchu coastal borders and the burning of boats to ban the sea, Zhu Yongxing wanted to use all kinds of craftsmen to produce products that had been cut off, do a lot of maritime trade, and make profits, which was his real intention.

Although puzzled. However, Zheng Yanbei and others did not ask any more questions, and continued to report to Zhu Yongxing on the construction of coastal defense. At present, the labor force is not only transferred from Annam, but also from Annam laborers recruited from outside, and the pace of construction has been greatly accelerated. Money is easy to make, and that's a big reason. This made Zhu Yongxing strongly scoff at the national consciousness of the Vietnamese people boasted in the Vietnamese history books. More than 100 years later, the Vietnamese are still willing to run into the occupied areas occupied by the French colonists, let alone now.

"Build it as soon as possible, and then take all our goods to Haiphong to sell." Zhu Yongxing realized that Yu Xian would become a competitor in business competition, which would affect the income of commercial tax. His face couldn't help but become solemn, he sneered twice, and said: "It's either me or the other, thinking about the benefits of both ends, it's really insatiable." Okay, the scar forgot the pain, isn't it time to be blackmailed by the Annan Zheng family, crying and shouting to beg me to administer justice for them? When the coastal defense is built, the wind will be released. The Chinese businessmen in Yuxian will no longer be protected by our Ming army, and they will bear their own blessings and misfortunes. ”

"Your Highness is very true. This is true of the ungrateful. A Commerce official immediately agreed.

Letting out the wind? It's just a rumor, right? Zheng Yanbei was a treacherous man, and when he heard Zhu Yongxing's voice, he couldn't help but smile.

"In addition, I have thought of some regulations, which may contribute to the development of Haiphong Commercial Port." Zhu Yongxing took out a few pieces of paper. Give it to Zheng Yanbei and others, and let them read it first and then discuss it.

This is a charter similar to that of the later commodity exchanges, which is very sketchy, but the main points are included. For example, the exchange membership system, the delivery and refund of the performance deposit. price indications, etc.

Of course, Zhu Yongxing did not write about futures at all, but just hoped to provide an orderly trading venue, provide open trading prices and unified trading rules, and achieve smooth information, fair prices, and fair trading through this centralization. As a result, the speed of goods circulation is accelerated, and more taxes are collected.

Zheng Yanbei was the first to see the trick, and couldn't help but sneak a glance at Zhu Yongxing, who didn't know what to write in front of the table, and secretly admired.

For merchants, the delivery of goods is the most important. If you can't find a buyer for a while, you have to stay in the merchant house all the time, and it costs money for storage in the warehouse, and money for food, drink, and housing, not to mention delaying time. If you sell goods to the Haiphong Exchange, you don't have to go through the trouble of asking around, and you will come to the exchange every day to mark the variety and price of your goods, and the buyers will naturally come to you for a detailed discussion.

In time, this commodity exchange will be crowded. I don't know how many people want to sell and buy all kinds of goods. As long as the goods are delivered here, they can go directly to the exchange, and the deal can be negotiated quickly. Even the goods sometimes don't even have to be put into storage, just wait on the dock.

"Your Highness is very wise, and this statute is excellent." Zheng Yanbei arched his hand, and when Zhu Yongxing looked up, he said respectfully: "I think it can be improved slightly, such as getting news from merchants from the south to the north, you can know the approximate price of commercial goods in other places, as a reference mark, or it can be convenient for merchants and increase the popularity of the exchange." ”

Zhu Yongxing immediately remembered the kind of signage of the commodity exchanges of later generations, London, New York, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur...... There was a feeling of time being out of order, and I was stunned for a while.

Zheng Yanbei saw that Zhu Yongxing didn't say a word, thinking that his suggestion was not to his liking, so he hurriedly distinguished: "I have seen the rudeness of the subordinates, please don't take it seriously." ”

The ancients were smart, at least in this business wisdom, not worse than themselves, but only the limitations of vision and thinking. And once there is a breakthrough under his own prompting, he has the ability to draw inferences.

Zhu Yongxing showed an appreciative smile on his face, stretched out his thumb at Zheng Yanbei, and praised: "Zheng Jue can think about what I haven't thought, pick up what is missing, and draw inferences from one another, which is very good, and I am very relieved." ”

"Your Highness has won the prize." Zheng Yanbei hurriedly bowed down and gave his hand, not wanting Zhu Yongxing to respect him so much.

If you don't respect yourself and let others see it, what will you think, and how can you be taken seriously? Zhu Yongxing naturally knows that "if you are good at the top, you must do it at the bottom", set an example, and the ultimate benefit is yourself.

Next, Zhu Yongxing handed over the work of improving the rules and system of the exchange to Zheng Yanbei and others, after all, his energy could not always be focused on these trivial matters, and he also began to believe in the wisdom of the ancients. In the next report, Zhu Yongxing heard another good news.

This is the task assigned by Zhu Yongxing to Zheng Yanbei and others since he opened up the sea outlet. Through Western merchants, glass craftsmen and opticians were hired in Yuxian. Or buy clear glass.

The heyday of glass production was between the 15th and 16th centuries, and Venetian products dominated the European market almost exclusively. After the 16th century, glass craftsmen began to disperse throughout Europe, and the technology of glass making gradually spread and developed rapidly. For example, the world's first telescope was built in 1608 by the Dutch optician Hans Anderburg. Leepol invented and manufactured.

But glass is glass. A mirror is a mirror. Today, the Venetians are still keeping their mirror-making methods strictly secret, and European countries are digging for secrets. Zhu Yongxing wanted to empty the gloves of the white wolf, play a time difference, and make a big deal before the French got the secret of the mirror and produced it on a large scale.

Well, the transparent glass puppet has not yet been manufactured, although Zhu Yongxing has tried his best to give the craftsmen an idea. For example, I changed the sand to quartz, added some lead or something, but it still couldn't make it transparent. Therefore, he has to borrow chickens to lay eggs, more precisely, to buy chickens to lay eggs, in order to increase the added value to obtain huge profits.

Glass craftsmen have not been recruited for the time being, but transparent glass, which is the raw material for the production of mirrors, has been bought. Although the blocks are relatively small, the largest is no more than a foot square. The smallest one is only the size of a palm, but it does not hinder Zhu Yongxing's plan to make a fortune.

Perhaps the French Gallic chickens that brought these "broken" glasses and sold them to the Zheng family were laughing at and despised. But how did he know Zhu Yongxing's methods of turning stones into gold, and how did he know that the secrets that the French government spared no expense to dig up were worthless here in Zhu Yongxing. There are still some conditions for the silver mirror reaction, but the tin foil and mercury can still be processed immediately.

Hydraulic stamping machine, metal wire drawing machine. Or the foreign craftsmen who can make this machinery have not yet been recruited, which makes Zhu Yongxing a little regretful. He is a practitioner of the doctrine of take-or-leave-it, and everything is subject to seizing the time and achieving results as soon as possible. Besides, now is not the time to work hard and be self-reliant. Take, learn, imitate, and improve, this is also a road of industrial development.

"This time it's nearby, so I can discuss it face-to-face, and in the future, it's still mainly by letter." Zhu Yongxing felt that he could not do everything himself, so he had to let go of cultivating talents, and he only needed to draw out a big box and play a role in guiding and auditing, "Let go and do it, Haiphong will be used as a pilot, and in Saigon in the future - hehe, I have given a name to other places." In short, similar commercial ports and exchanges will be built again in the future, and the experience and routines will be explored first, and then they will be done later, which will also get twice the result with half the effort. ”

"Your Highness trusts, we dare not do our best."

Zheng Zhaoda glanced at Zhu Yongxing and whispered: "Your Highness is dark, thin, and tired, so take care of your precious body." ”

Hehe, Zhu Yongxing nodded at this young man who was becoming more and more mature, if it wasn't for the collusion between officials and businessmen, Zheng Zhaoda could be trained as a business official. It's just that the Zheng family is too involved in business, which is a pity.

However, Zheng Zhaoda's seemingly flattering words made Zhu Yongxing secretly glad that he didn't bring Mengzhu and Long'er. Looking at the sea is a very romantic thing, but when the sea breeze blows so and the sun shines so brightly, it is inevitable that the skin will become deeper without any sunscreen. And this situation varies from person to person, some people inadvertently turn into a little black face after spending a day at the beach, and some people go out of their way to sunbathe and work hard for a healthy bronzer.

Men, it's okay to have a darker complexion; Woman-Zhu Yongxing felt that Mengzhu and Long'er must be very proud and cherish their fair skin, and they became like this, hehe, I can't imagine their expressions and reactions.

After the business affairs were settled, Zhu Yongxing was about to leave for Lang Son to meet with Ma Bao and others, who were about to set out for the expedition, and to inspect and make arrangements for the final inspection.

The more than 2,000 soldiers who had been eliminated because they were temporarily unaccustomed to seagoing ships continued to stay in Ha Long, where they underwent relevant training together with the local officers and soldiers stationed there. For example, often go to sea by boat, first near and then far, gradually overcome the problem of seasickness, and be familiar with the handling of the boat; rowing boats and rushing to the beach, practicing the essentials of landing operations...... Under the command and training of several officers left behind by Deng Yao and Chen Shangchuan, and in accordance with Zhu Yongxing's specifications and requirements, the Marine Corps finally had a prototype.

It's getting better and better every day! Zhu Yongxing faced the sea and the sky and sighed. It's been a year, and the situation is still grim, but it is an impossible task for the Qing army to pacify the southwest in a war.

In the past year, I have done a lot of things. The remnants of the Southern Ming Dynasty, which were divided and scattered, were mostly pinched, and they took advantage of the rainy season and terrain to achieve a victory and stabilize the morale of the army; crusaded against Annan, bullied the weak, and used unequal treaties to obtain a relatively stable anti-Qing base; used his own foresight to incite the Tusi of Yunnan Province, took advantage of the chaos, and used sky-bombing cannons and tunnel blasting to counterattack western Yunnan; He also took the enemy by surprise in Yuanjiang, and used a hastily formed naval division to isolate the battle and repelled Wu Sangui......

The journey is long and there is a long way to go. Zhu Yongxing put away his thoughts, waved his hand and gave the order to set off. The sound of horses' hooves rumbled, and they ran into the distance with smoke and dust all the way.

…………… (To be continued......)