"One-two-one"

"One! Two! ”

"Beep-"

"The flag is fluttering, Ma Zheng Xiao Xiao, a good man, a good man, a good man to serve the country in the future!"

At the foot of Guanyin Mountain in Nanjing, when the morning exercise and the piercing whistle sounded, on the playground of the National Defense University, which covers an area of more than 200 acres, thousands of students wearing mandarin duck jackets were shouting slogans and singing the "Song of the Army" "arranged and written by Zhu Gaoxu." They were full of spirit.

On the school platform, more than 300 military attachés dressed in trolling stood in a phalanx, and those who reviewed them were Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty who appeared at the National Defense University early in the morning, and Zhu Gaoxu, the prince of the East Palace, who was brought by him.

Among this group of military attachés, Chen Heng, the Duke of Jingguo, Zhang Yu, the Duke of Britain, Guo Ying, Hou of Wuding, and Mengshan of Baoding, appeared.

Zhu Di took Zhu Gaoxu to inspect them, and Zhu Di didn't stop until he saw the face of Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, but Xu Huizu didn't look at Zhu Di at all.

Looking at his appearance, Zhu Di was a little annoyed, and felt that Xu Huizu, as his own family, didn't understand him.

It's just that after thinking of his own Xu sister, he still let go of his temper and glanced at the three hundred military attaches behind these five lords.

Compared with Chen Heng and his group of forty or fifty-year-old lords, the more than 300 military attaches in the rear were of different ages, and more than 100 of them were very young, and their appearance was slightly different from that of the Han Chinese.

The reason for this is because they are all middle and high-level military attachés selected by Zhu Gaoxu from the Shenji Battalion.

These more than 100 military attaches are almost the backbone of the entire Shenji Battalion, and after they took over the work in handover, they participated in the teaching of the National Defense University.

Even so, no one dared to look down on them, because no army in this era was more experienced than them when it came to firearms warfare.

"Wei Guogong, report on the situation of the university!"

Zhu Di opened his mouth on official business, and Xu Huizu also took a step forward and then said: "The National Defense University is now the first phase of Yongle, with 346 teachers, 4 colleges, 200 classes, and a total of 6,797 students!" ”

After Xu Huizu finished reporting, he took a step back and retreated into the team, and Zhu Di had a toothache when he heard it.

Although it is now the 28th day of the first month of Yongle and only two days before Chinese New Year's Eve, the children of military attachés enrolled in the National Defense University have only been in school for four months.

In four months, more than 14,000 military attachés ran away with more than 7,000 children, which made him embarrassed as an emperor.

If it weren't for the nearly 6,800 people left, he would have lost his face.

Thinking of this, he glanced back at Zhu Gaoxu, who was following him: "It's only been four months since the start of school that so many people have run away, and when the second phase of enrollment next year comes, there won't be only two or three thousand people left, right?" ”

"Erchen didn't expect to run so much, but if he did, he wouldn't be able to graduate if he kept this group of people who were not strong-willed."

Zhu Gaoxu was very helpless, he originally expected that there would be 7,000 people at the end of the period, but now it seems that although it will not be two or three thousand as Zhu Di said, it is estimated that it will not exceed 5,000.

Of these 5,000 people, I am afraid that less than 20% of them can graduate in five years, and the rest will either repeat their grades or quit.

However, if they can graduate, it will be more than enough to serve as a hundred households, and a thousand people can lead 100,000 people.

"According to what you do, the remaining more than 16,000 military attaché children who have no news are afraid that they will not even come to school next year, and they will directly choose to be awarded the rank of equal."

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochu worriedly, but Zhu Gaochu said calmly: "Erchen has thought about this matter a long time ago, so he has already issued an order to the Governor's Mansion of the Six Armies. ”

"Starting in the first month of next year, the health centers in various localities can recommend 10 military households to study at the National Defense University."

"In addition, the difficulty of martial arts in the world will also be changed, and there will no longer be martial champions and martial artists, only martial artists."

"Wuju people do not enjoy any privileges, only the qualifications to enter the National Defense University."

"In this way, Erchen estimates that tens of thousands of people can be elected by the private and health centers in total."

The National Defense University has never been for the children of military attachés, but for the more than 2 million children of the guards under the entire system of the Governor's Office of the Sixth Army, as well as the Confucian students who are interested in joining the army.

Daming has a total of 556 internal and external guards, each guard recommends ten people is more than 5,560 people, plus the civil martial arts people, 10,000 students every year are only conservative estimates.

Compared with the children of military attaches who already resisted enrollment, these tens of thousands of interested students are the talents that Zhu Gaoxu needs.

"If you can really get something, maybe it can be used in the imperial examination."

Zhu Di listened to Zhu Gaoxu's whimsical ideas, and immediately affirmed him.

He didn't lower his voice, because this matter would be exposed next year, and as long as the group of people in the temple paid a little more attention to it at that time, and the court would have this meaning in the future, it would definitely not be difficult for them to guess.

The supporting facilities of the martial arts and the National Defense University seem to be a bit upside down, after all, ordinary people do not have the capital to participate in the martial arts.

However, at present, the military resources of the Ming Dynasty are not much, and it is impossible to invest too much in the civilian sector, so they can only maintain the current conditions.

In the future, when the basic military resources are raised, the National Defense University will certainly take root in the provinces.

Once this system is well utilized, many talented generals will inevitably emerge every year.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di looked at Xu Huizu and them: "In the past four months, have there been any children of military attachés who have performed conspicuously?" ”

"Wang Tong, the son of Chengshanbo...... is good," Xu Huizu replied, this familiar name also made Zhu Di happy: "It's him, Wang Zhen told me about him a few days ago, and he plans to let him take the title after he graduates." ”

"I can get your praise, it seems that this kid is not far behind, hahaha......"

Zhu Di smiled heartily, but Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing behind him, was very embarrassed.

Wang Tong, isn't that the general who died in the battle of Liu Sheng, and then abandoned the land in fear, although he lived to the Jingtai period, during which he also participated in the defense of Beijing and made military achievements, but such a person was placed among the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty, and his ability may not be as good as a Huaixi commander under Xu Da.

Such people can be praised individually, which makes Zhu Gaoxu dare not imagine the extent to which this group of military attache children has been wasted.

Sighing in his heart, Zhu Gaoxu could only be glad that most of his subordinates were young and strong.

"Okay, since there are excellent seedlings, then you can cultivate them well, but in the end, you still have to rely on strength to speak."

Zhu Di commanded, and then turned around and got off the school platform.

Zhu Gaoxu followed, and the father and son began to wander around the National Defense University accompanied by Meng Shan, Chen Heng, Zhang Yu, and others.

The buildings of the National Defense University are all modern buildings of later generations, made of wrought iron and concrete, and each of the three colleges has 10 teaching buildings, each covering an area of 2 acres, with four floors high and 48 classrooms.

Taking advantage of the big wheel, and looking up at the teaching buildings, Zhu Di couldn't help but scratch his beard: "This cement is a good thing, but it's a pity that the output is not high, otherwise it can be used in all cities in the world." ”

Seeing Zhu Di say this, Zhu Gaoxu also reported: "Sun Cheng has set up 72 cement yards in eastern Liaodong, and Erchen has also asked Yizha to purchase one cement yard in each province, and 10 in the north and south. ”

"Today, these 103 cement yards have already started operation, with an annual output of more than 86,000 tons."

"Tons?" Zhu Di was a little curious about this new word, and Zhu Gaoxu also explained: "One ton is a thousand catties." ”

"Well, where are you going to use all this cement?" Zhu Di asked Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu replied without thinking:

"It is needed for the construction of official roads, as well as for the construction of cities and sewers, as well as canals, rivers, and dikes."

"Erchen has calculated, if the official road is three zhang wide and three inches thick, half of the cement will be set aside every year, and the official road can be built for about 300 miles."

"Although the 300-mile official road does not seem to be much, cement factories will spring up one after another in the future, and it will only take a hundred years to build a concrete official road connecting various prefectures and counties."

Zhu Gaoxu told his imagination, but Zhu Di frowned: "The imperial court needs official roads, and this concrete official road is also comfortable to walk on, but the imperial court only needs a few main concrete official roads." ”

"From Jilin to Jinzhou, from Shenyang to Quanning, from Quanning to Beijing, from Beijing to Yangzhou......"

Zhu Di seems to have coveted cement for a long time, and he doesn't ask on the surface, but he has built a huge transportation network in his mind in private.

His idea was to allow the army to enter the provinces as quickly as possible, and the usefulness of concrete roads was similar to that of Qin Chidao.

"It is necessary to build the main roads first, but if the imperial court is rich in the future, it can better rule the local area by connecting the prefectures and counties."

"What's more, the official road can also be used by merchants and ordinary people, which can promote the exchange of goods from all over the world, which is a good thing."

Zhu Gaoxu swore that although the strength of the concrete he used to build the road was even inferior to the C15 of later generations, the problem was that the Ming Dynasty in this era did not have vehicles with a load of dozens of tons on the road.

As far as the most common sixteen-wheeled carriage in the Ming Dynasty is concerned, the long row of horse-drawn wagons that can be pulled by six horses is only five or six thousand catties, and the tonnage of later generations is not even four tons.

Judging from the standards of future generations, this batch of concrete official roads is not even counted as a tofu slag project, but it can be placed in Daming, which is to connect the place and ensure the existence of smooth local traffic for a hundred years.

"To build roads and what you call city roads and sewers, are you going to use conscription or pay wages?"

"Also, the output of this concrete is so high, how many craftsmen do you use, and how much does it cost each year?"

Zhu Di remembered that Zhu Gaoxu said that conscription could be dispensed without, but it could not be without, so he asked him.

"To distribute wages, the imperial court has obtained so many copper coins from overseas, and it always has to be spent to let the money circulate."

"As for the number of workers in the cement yard, there are more than 26,000 people, and the daily wage per person is 10 yuan, and they are now paid away."

"The cost of building official roads and roads and sewers in the city is also paid at ten wen a day."

Speaking of which, Zhu Gaoxu began to talk to Zhu Di in detail about economic issues.

It is true that conscription can save money and food, but it also delays the agricultural time and the people's time to open up wasteland.

At present, the imperial court earns millions of gold, silver and copper coins from overseas and southwest China every year, and the copper coins alone are no less than two million yuan.

The two million copper coins are over-issued currency for the Ming Dynasty, and the two million yuan must not be used up in a single region, which will lead to local inflation and soaring prices.

This money must be invested in scattered places, so as to ensure the stability of prices at the same time, the construction of roads, urban construction, water conservancy and other infrastructure in the Ming Dynasty.

When the peasants have money in their hands, they will naturally consume it, which also stimulates the local economy, and as long as there is no problem with tax revenue, the local government can also recover a part of it through commercial taxes.

Compared with exemption, Zhu Gaoxu is more inclined to get rich through work.

Zhu Gaoxu had been talking to Zhu Di about these things for two hours, until they had left the National Defense University under the escort of more than 100 cavalrymen, and he hadn't made it clear to Zhu Di.

"You also said these words to Yu Xin?"

Zhu Di always felt that these things were familiar, but he was confused when he heard them.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "Yu Xin and Xia Yuanji are all important ministers that the imperial court needs to rely on, so naturally I want to talk to them about these things." ”

"Good ......" Zhu Di bowed his head, and the expression and movements made Zhu Gaoxu think that he had understood what he said, but Zhu Di said:

"You don't need to talk to me about these things in the future, I have a headache when I hear it, you just need to ensure the local money and food, and don't let the construction of Beijing, the Northern Expedition, and the dredging of the canal stop."

"Also, I think that the ancient and modern classics library is really useful, if there is a person like you in the morning to read all the books in it, I'm afraid that the Ming Dynasty will be able to get a lot richer and stronger in advance."

"I thought about it, and I wanted to copy all the useful books in the ancient and modern classics library together, and make a book that can hold the words of a hundred schools."

Zhu Di suddenly said that he wanted to repair the book, and Zhu Gaoxu knew that this book was probably "Yongle Canon", but he did not agree.

"It's good to fix books, but you have to make them spread."

"Father, even if you let people revise books now, with the current manpower and material resources, you can compile at most a class of books, but if you wait a few years, when the students in Liaodong graduate, you can rub it after compilation, so that it will not be lost in the future."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced out the window, only to find that they had not returned to the inner city, but were heading south.

Looking at the movement of the carriage, Zhu Gaoxu on the carriage couldn't help frowning: "Where are we going?" ”

"When I go to the big church, I really miss the third child." Zhu Di was still reminiscing about Zhu Gaoxu's words, and when he heard him say this, he answered, and quickly returned to the topic.

"What you said means a little, if you repair the book but can't pass it on, it really can't show my merits."

"In this way, when the students of Liaodong graduate, you will choose someone to help me compile this book."

"Yes!" Zhu Gaoxu nodded in response, after all, he also wanted to take the opportunity of compiling the "Yongle Canon" to stuff some books "since ancient times" into it.

As soon as he thought of this, Zhu Gaoxu looked out the window and saw some people who were still working in the fields even in this cold winter.

"We still have to improve productivity......

Looking at the group of peasants, Zhu Gaoxu's mind flashed through various things that could improve productivity, such as steam engines and internal combustion engines, but although he knew what these were and learned them when he was in school, he finally forgot them in his perennial work.

He only remembered that the principle of the steam engine was to generate heat energy by burning fuel, heat water to produce steam, and then use the expansion force of the steam to push the piston or rotate the shaft to achieve energy conversion.

It's just that the principle and the specific steps are completely different things, and just because he remembers the principle doesn't mean he can figure it out.

He was able to make arquebuses and cannons and flintlock pistols because he had seen these things, and for the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty, there was no generation gap in making these things.

But right now, he doesn't even remember the shape of the steam engine, and he can't provide anything other than the principle.

It is precisely because of this that he wants to select a group of people with scientific talents from among the students of Bohai and Liaodong over the years.

"Calculate the time, the results are almost out, I don't know how many people can be selected."

Zhu Gaoxu thought of the current final exam in Bohai, and Zhu Di saw that he didn't speak, so he immediately began to pick up the Zhu pen and deal with the notes on the big wheel.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu also began to deal with it, one of which was Chen Ying's impeachment of Yu Yu and Che Shu last time.

More than 10 officials and their families related to him were sent to Yunnan as teachings, while more than 50 officials and their relatives including Che Shu were exiled to Guangxi after a thorough investigation, involving more than 2,000 people.

For this amount, Zhu Gaoxu is very satisfied, but this is not what he wants most.

What he wanted most was to start cracking down on corruption once he had enough officials in his hands, and to make the "regular income" of many yamen illegal income.

At that time, he will be able to capture and exile a group every year, so as to enrich the population of the frontier.

As he thought so, the sound of artillery firing began to be heard in the distance.

"Boom-"

"This cannon sound should be a siege artillery."

Zhu Di's eyes revealed excitement, obviously in the past half a year, he had memorized the sound of all kinds of cannons.

Zhu Gaoxu was not vigilant because of this, but was a little happy.

After all, Zhu Di can better grasp the use of firearms, so he will be much smoother on the road to Mobei.

"That's right!" Zhu Di suddenly thought of something, looked at Zhu Gaoxu and said:

"Your battle deduction is good, I'm going to get the generals in the army to test."

"That's okay, but ......" Zhu Gaoxu hesitated for a moment, which made Zhu Di frown: "What?" ”

"No......" Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be embarrassed: "But I think father, you should not expect too much." ”

"Forgive Erchen bluntly, among the generals in the north, except for Zhu Neng and Song Sheng, the rest of the generals including Qiu Fu, Tan Yuan, Chen Wu, Huo Zhen and others are only suitable for generals, and it is good to say that leading tens of thousands of soldiers and horses is good, once it exceeds 20,000, I am afraid that the result is not as beautiful as bringing 10,000 troops."

"You look down on them?" Zhu Di has not experienced Qiu Fu's fiasco at the moment, so he still has illusions about his old brothers.

But in fact, he also has his own opinion in his heart, that is, there are indeed few brothers in his own group who can stand up and take charge of themselves, so he wants to choose a few of them who can take charge of the key training.

It's just that now judging from the words of the second child of his own family, it is estimated that this group of people really can't pick out a few handsome talents like Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng.

"You've moved everyone to the south."

Zhu Di could only complain about Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaochu was dumbfounded when he heard this: "There are still Meng Zhang, Chen Mao, Wang Yi, Chen Chang, and Xu Sheng in the north." ”

"That's right, or I wouldn't have asked you for them." Zhu Di scratched his beard and seemed to approve of his vision.

Among the five people, Meng Zhang, Chen Mao, Wang Yi, Chen Chang, and Xu Sheng, except for Xu Sheng, who is only suitable for being a pioneer, the other four people can be trained well.

Although they can't reach the height of Geng Bingwen and others, they are still the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty today.

Of course, their biggest advantage is still their youth, even the eldest Wang Yi is only thirty-nine years old.

"Beep-"

"Visitors stop and check!"

When the wooden whistle sounded, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaoxu with a resentful face, obviously he had encountered this experience many times.

Zhu Gaoxu ignored Zhu Di's resentful eyes and took the lead in getting out of the carriage.

"Your Highness Chitose-"

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu who suddenly appeared, the two hundred soldiers at the gate of the Great Sect hurriedly bowed down, which made Zhu Di, who got off the car, have a toothache.

"Long live Your Majesty!"

Fortunately, a hundred-household official saw Zhu Di and immediately took the lead in shouting long live, otherwise Zhu Di would have no face today.

"Check it out, let's ride in first."

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di didn't need to be checked, so he asked someone to bring two riding horses.

Zhu Gaoxu, who hadn't ridden a horse for a long time, couldn't help but think of Chiyu when he turned over and got on the horse, so he asked: "How is Chilu at the horse farm?" ”

"When I returned to my Highness, I gave birth to many foals, and the brethren served them well." The hundred household officials grinned, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded when he heard this: "I'll go see him for a while, I haven't seen him for a few months." ”

Since he was brought back to the south, Chiyu has taken on the task of breeding horse breeds in the military horse farm, and he has lived a chic life, but he and Zhu Gaoxu often need several months to meet, and every time they meet, they rely on him not to leave.

Today, I finally came to the big teaching field, and he just happened to be able to meet Chiyu.

"Let's go."

Zhu Di shook the reins of the horse, greeted Zhu Gaoxu, and then rode his horse to the big teaching field, and Zhu Gaochu also followed.

After a short time, the two rode to the edge of the playground of the large teaching field.

On the playground, nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses were training, and the two of them watched from the edge.

The soldiers here are all Jurchen soldiers recruited from the Bohai Sea, and no matter how many times they come, Zhu Di can watch them train with bright eyes.

"If you hadn't restricted me, I really wanted to take all the soldiers and horses in Beijing to the north, so that I could teach the Hu people who were the supremacy of the grassland to know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is now."

Zhu Di glanced at the Jurchen soldiers and horses in this playground and other playgrounds not far away, and did not hide his longing.

"Hehe, my father is serious." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled: "Whether the soldiers and horses can fight depends on how they train." ”

"I naturally know, but I haven't led this army to fight yet, and my hands are itching." Zhu Di smiled heartily, and his laughter also made the soldiers and horses who were training not far away hear it clearly.

Some curious people looked at this side, including Zhu Gaosui.

"Daddy?"

In the middle of the military formation, when Zhu Gaosui saw Zhu Di, his brain was down for a moment, and he didn't dare to imagine that his father, who had been thinking about him for a long time, would suddenly appear, and even thought it was a hallucination.

"Zhu Gaosui is out of the ranks, and you are allowed to leave for a quarter of an hour!"

When the voice of the hundred household officials sounded in Zhu Gaosui's ears, he realized that Zhu Di in front of him was not vain.

"Daddy!!"

For a while, tears burst out of his eyes, and he simply threw away the weapon in his hand and ran towards Zhu Di with his head buried.

Zhu Di didn't recognize that this was Zhu Gaosui at all, and couldn't help but be taken aback: "Who is this?" ”

"This is Gao Sui." Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "Aren't you coming to see him?" ”

"This is the third child?!" Zhu Di was stunned, he couldn't see the slightest resemblance at all, and he didn't know that he thought it was a Xifan from Wusizang.

"Daddy! You're going to call the shots for me! ”

Zhu Gaosui, who ran in front of Zhu Di, immediately hugged Zhu Di's legs, and wailed with a handful of snot and tears:

"I want to go back to the palace, I'll go to Changsha now, I don't want to stay here anymore!!"

(End of chapter)