Someone once said that range is truth, and caliber is justice.
The Ming dynasty's firearms had a longer range and larger caliber than those of other nations, therefore the Ming controlled truth and justice. What Jiang Xinlong, the Ming Emperor "ordained as the head of the Heilongjiang Peasant Association," said naturally deviated from the norm and was extraordinary.
The princes and taidjis on the grasslands exchanged glances, and in the end, could only console themselves with the idea that "it's just setting up a few schools anyway."
What else could they do?
Did the grasslands have the capital to fall out with my Qing Dynasty, and then have the capital to fall out with the Ming Dynasty?
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Jiang Xinlong smiled and said to the princes and taidjis, "This is the right way. My Ming Emperor once said that only by studying can one truly change their destiny. Jiang also regards all of you princes and taidjis as his own people, which is why I advised you to establish schools."
In the eyes of the princes and taidjis, Jiang Xinlong was completely fickle, changing his demeanor as quickly as a dog's face. Just moments ago, he had appeared ready to bare his teeth and bite, but now he was as gentle as a large yellow dog.
Jiang Xinlong naturally didn't care about the complaints of these princes and taidjis, as it wouldn't cost him much.
What was important was the ability to establish schools on the grasslands.
Reading Han books, speaking Han language, and writing Han characters were not only for promoting Sinicization on the grasslands but also for planting the seeds of the Peasant Association there.
The problem of teachers was also easily solved. After the princes and taidjis had left, Jiang Xinlong immediately wrote a letter to Zeng Cheng, the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, requesting that a hundred or so scholars be dispatched from the Ming Dynasty.
As for where Zeng Cheng, the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, would get a hundred or so scholars?
What did that have to do with Jiang Xinlong, the head of the Heilongjiang Peasant Association? It wasn't as if the Ming Dynasty occupied the land of sixteen provinces and couldn't even find a few scholars, right?
...
"To ask for a hundred or so people with one utterance, I think he's just dreaming!"
After receiving Jiang Xinlong's letter, Zeng Cheng, the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, began to curse. "Even including those corrupt Confucian scholars, how many scholars does our Ming Dynasty have in total? The local community schools, county schools, and prefectural schools alone require hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of scholars!"
"Moreover, local governments, peasant associations, labor unions, and merchant associations, as well as some workshops, publishing houses, and newspapers in the imperial court, also need scholars. This accounts for tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of vacancies!"
"Well, he asks for a hundred or so scholars with one utterance. Then I'd like to ask him, does he think I look like a scholar?"
Seeing Zeng Cheng cursing and gesturing wildly, Liu Huaiwen thought to himself, "You are the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, and you passed the imperial examinations formally during the previous Qing dynasty. Aren't you a scholar?"
However, upon second thought, Liu Huaiwen, the pillar of finance, immediately felt a headache.
If Jiang Xinlong, that scoundrel, was asking Zeng Cheng for a hundred or so scholars to be teachers on the grasslands, then these teachers would definitely need salaries, wouldn't they? Where would these salaries come from? They would still come from the Ming treasury!
Upon thinking of the Ming treasury, Liu Huaiwen wished that Zeng Cheng would refuse Jiang Xinlong's proposal.
After a long while, Zeng Cheng finally said with a somber face, "Later, let's see how many corrupt officials can be apprehended by the Censorate and the Office of the Supervising Secretary. Those who deserve to be executed will be executed, and His Majesty will absolutely not let them go. The rest who deserve to be exiled will all be sent to that scoundrel Jiang Xinlong, and he can deal with them."
This made Liu Huaiwen happy.
The Ming Dynasty had plenty of officials, and also officials who made mistakes but did not deserve death. Exiling these scoundrels to the grasslands would serve as a deterrent to other officials, and at the same time save the treasury some money. It could be considered making good use of them, and it was unlikely that Zhu Jinsong would disagree.
After resolving Jiang Xinlong's issue, Zeng Cheng waved another memorial in his hand and said to Liu Huaiwen with a sullen face, "Prepare the money for the treasury. We will definitely be at war this year, but I don't know how big it will be."
Speaking of which, Zeng Cheng even couldn't help but complain, "I've seen people who talk nonsense, but I've never seen anyone who can talk so much nonsense. I've seen people who court death, but I've never seen anyone who is so eager to court death."
Hearing Zeng Cheng's words, Liu Huaiwen couldn't help but take the memorial from Zeng Cheng and read it.
"Subject: I, Zou Mou, Governor of Macau, respectfully memorialize: The foreign people called Franks are actually Spaniards. The leader in Macau is the Overseas Colonial Minister of the Kingdom of Spain, Castro... The foreign people are all insolent. Within two days of my arrival in Macau, the Portuguese completely ignored me. They sent interpreters to convey messages, but they dared to resist and disobey the summons. They only arrived after repeated summons, and dared to speak rudely and defiantly... The barbarian leader Castro is extremely cunning. He falsely claims that his country conquered Macau by force after the Ming Dynasty eliminated pirates during the Jiajing period, relying on the 'Royal Edict' issued by their king. Therefore, he refuses to return Macau, and is only willing to pay an annual rent of five hundred taels of silver according to the old customs of the Ming and Qing dynasties. I respectfully request imperial decision. In the 4485th year of the Yellow Emperor's reign, the Gengzi month, on the Jiayin day."
After reading this memorial, Liu Huaiwen knew it was over.
Firstly, this was a formal memorial submitted to Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Ming Dynasty, which meant that Emperor Zhu Jinsong would definitely see it.
Secondly, the end of this memorial stated "respectfully request imperial decision" instead of "respectfully report for information."
"Respectfully report for information" meant informing the emperor about the matter and letting it go at that. However, "respectfully request imperial decision" meant asking the emperor to make a ruling on how to proceed.
Thirdly, resisting and disobeying the summons, only arriving after repeated summons, daring to speak rudely and defiantly... falsely claiming that Macau was conquered by force after the Ming Dynasty eliminated pirates.
It was uncertain what would happen in such a situation with Emperor Qianlong, but when it came to Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Huaiwen had nothing more to say.
Finally, they were only willing to pay an annual rent of five hundred taels of silver according to the old customs of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Was this like sending away beggars? Was the Ming treasury lacking five hundred taels of silver to buy cat food, or lacking five hundred taels of silver to buy a coffin for you? Did you want a coffin made of Phoebe zhennan wood or a coffin made of huanghuali wood?
After returning the memorial to Zeng Cheng with a blank expression, Liu Huaiwen said, "The treasury can come up with ten million taels. If necessary, after the autumn taxes are paid into the treasury this year, we can get another twelve million taels."
Zeng Cheng grunted, "That's good. Since the treasury has money, the rest will be much easier to handle. Anyway, it's just another war, and I think those guys in the Five Military Commissions will be very happy to fight this war."
But Liu Huaiwen was unwilling. "Damn those idiotic fellows! My treasury finally has a bit of surplus money, and they're rushing to court death!"
Zeng Cheng clearly couldn't appease the enraged Liu Huaiwen, unless Zeng Cheng could come up with tens of millions of taels of silver.
After Liu Huaiwen finally calmed down, Zeng Cheng pulled Liu Huaiwen and other important officials to find Zhu Jinsong. Who knew how angry Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Ming Dynasty would be? Even if he got angry, it was better to face him with a few people than to face him alone.
However, what Zeng Cheng and the other important officials did not expect was that Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Ming Dynasty did not get angry at all. He merely let out a cold laugh and cast his gaze towards Zhu Erdan, the strongman of the former Five Military Commissions, and asked, "Have you read this memorial?"
Zhu Erdan nodded and said, "Prefect Zeng showed it to me just now."
Zhu Jinsong grunted, stood up, paced back and forth, and then said, "Emperor Xuanzong abandoned Jiaozhi, allowing it to become an outer vassal state, which is still criticized by people today."
"Emperor Yingzong was captured, and Esen treated him with the礼 of an emperor. He was still regarded as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but the world regarded Emperor Yingzong as the 'Son of Heaven who knelt at the Pass,' and his subjects were deeply ashamed."
"Before Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Meishan, the Ming Dynasty still had the goal of 'retaking all of Liao,' and never agreed to the Jurchens' demand for the region outside the passes to become a vassal state."
"Now, these barbarians falsely claim to have conquered Macau by force during the Jiajing period and want to dismiss me with five hundred taels of silver."
Speaking of which, Zhu Jinsong let out a long sigh and instructed Zhu Erdan, "Then go and get Macau back for me. All able-bodied barbarians will be sent to be laborers, and the rest will be used to build ossuaries."
"Three years. I'll give you three years. Within three years, I want your former Five Military Commissions to be equipped with warships and to have soldiers prepared for naval warfare."
"After three years, I want to see that so-called King of Spain in the Forbidden City of Zhili."
"I want to ask him, who conquered Macau by force?"
"I want to ask him, is the face of me, the face of the Ming Dynasty, really only worth five hundred taels of silver!"
Seeing Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Ming Dynasty enraged, Zhu Erdan immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Brother Emperor, rest assured! Your brother will surely capture their king! Destroy their country! Burn their ancestral temples! Destroy their offerings! Cut off their lineage!"
Liu Huaiwen also shouted, "Fight! The treasury will provide ten million taels of silver, fight! After the autumn taxes this year and the spring taxes next year are paid into the treasury, the treasury will disburse another thirty-two million taels, fight him!"
After leaving the temporary palace where Zhu Jinsong was located, Zhu Erdan summoned all the important officials of the former Five Military Commissions.
Zhu Erdan said with a grim face, "When we recently recaptured the land of Guangxi, we temporarily couldn't deal with the barbarians entrenched in Macau."
"Now that our Ming Dynasty has the opportunity, when we demanded that they accept the management of the Macau governor, they claimed that Macau was conquered by force. Not only did they refuse to accept the management of the Macau governor, but they also demanded that our Ming Dynasty allow them to occupy more territory, allow them to station troops, preach, and collect taxes."
"For this, they are willing to pay five hundred taels of silver to our Ming Dynasty annually as rent."
"Brother Emperor said that he wants to see the barbarian king within three years, and he wants to ask that barbarian king if the face of his Ming Emperor, the face of our Ming Dynasty, is only worth five hundred taels of silver!"
Upon hearing this, the generals of the military ranks could not stand it any longer.
The face of the Ming Emperor, the face of the Ming Dynasty, five hundred taels of silver?
If the face of the Ming Emperor and the face of the Ming Dynasty were only worth five hundred taels of silver, then the generals of the military ranks present should just find a chamber pot and drown themselves!
"Fight him!"
The commander of the South Sea Fleet under the former Five Military Commissions immediately stood up and requested, "The South Sea Fleet requests to be dispatched!"
Zhu Erdan said, "I just gave my guarantee before Brother Emperor that within three years, I will capture their king! Destroy their country! Burn their ancestral temples! Destroy their offerings! Cut off their lineage!"
"Now, I command!"