Near Jinchuan Gate in Nanjing, there is a very spacious courtyard with high walls outside. Inside the courtyard there are schools, libraries, attics, martial arts venues and other places. At the gate, a plaque with the name "Royal Army Academy of the Ming Dynasty" is particularly conspicuous.
, it is said that it was personally inscribed by Emperor Guangwu of the Ming Dynasty.
A master of Shilin calligraphy once commented on this character, "The character Shengshang is average in writing, but it has strong Qiu strength and is very elegant."
Emperor Guangwu of the Ming Dynasty started his career with martial arts and paid special attention to military education. He often said to his ministers: "The fundamental reason why our Ming Dynasty was beaten by the Manchu Tatars and almost destroyed the country is that we emphasize culture over martial arts. If the martial arts is not strong, the country will be in danger.
So. Therefore, we must pay close attention to military education, starting from young people. If young people are prosperous, the country will be prosperous, and if young people are strong, the country will be strong."
These words were not just words. Within a few months, two institutions of higher learning were built. Near Jinchuanmen, the Royal Army Academy of the Ming Dynasty was built; near the Dongshuiguan Pier, the Royal Navy of the Ming Dynasty was built.
College.
The reason why these two colleges are named "Royal" is because they are both aristocratic colleges, and their students only recruit children of honorary relatives and officials of fifth rank or above.
His Majesty the Emperor stipulates that if the children of senior officials and officials above the age of fourteen and above do not pass the examination, they will be transferred to these two academies to study for three years. After three years, if they pass the examination, they will be awarded the rank of general military officer of the seventh rank.
.In order to let everyone know the importance of martial arts training, His Majesty the Emperor also ordered his own son Zhu Ruo, King of Ji, to study at the Royal Army Academy of the Ming Dynasty; King Zhu Ruofeng of Yu entered the Royal Naval Academy of the Ming Dynasty to study.
Ever since the crown prince Zhu Ruoji returned to the court from his expedition to Burma, Zhu Hengjia, intentionally or unintentionally, paid close attention to the education of Zhu Ruodeng and Zhu Ruofeng.
On this day, I suddenly had the idea to visit these two military academies.
The emperor was going to inspect the military academy, but Yu Chaoxiang, Minister of War, was startled. He put down his government affairs and rushed to accompany him. He also sent people on fast horses to notify the deans of the two colleges to prepare for the inspection. p>
As soon as Zhu Hengjia's imperial guard arrived at the Royal Army Academy of the Ming Dynasty, he saw lights and colorful decorations everywhere, and red lanterns hanging high. The Chinese people attach great importance to inspections by superior officers. After all, no matter how good the work is, it is not as good as welcoming the inspection. Regardless of this life,
It will be the same in the next life or the next life.
The gray-haired fifth-grade bachelor in charge (dean) Zhu Yangen, along with two junior fifth-grade assistant bachelors (deputy dean) and a group of teachers and students, knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty Zhu Yang'en led the teachers and students of the school to welcome the Holy Master."
"Pingshen! You don't have to be polite, I'm just looking at you casually." Seeing that these teachers and students respected him so much, Zhu Hengjia was very happy and happily let them Pingshen.
Then, the old emperor inspected various parts of the academy with great interest. Well, this is the Wusheng Temple; this is the school; this is the library; this is the martial arts performance ground?? Yes, yes, thank you for your trouble.
After inspecting the place, the old emperor summoned various officials in the college's office building, a three-story attic.
He smiled and asked Zhu Yangen, the bachelor in charge, and Yang Wei, the assistant bachelor, and Zhang Shixian, "Do you know when this military academy was established?"
This is not a problem for the officials.
Zhu Yangen bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, I heard that Guiguzi held a "military academy" during the Warring States Period, but it was run by the people. It was a government-run military academy. Fu Jian of the former Qin Dynasty ran a "Jiaowu Hall", but it was very small.
.It was not until the Song Dynasty that martial arts was widely opened in central and local areas."
"Yes, do you know why the Song Dynasty wanted to develop martial arts?"
"As far as I know, it was because during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, Li Yuanhao, a party member in the northwest, rebelled. The king of the Song Dynasty went to quell the rebellion and returned with a great defeat. The whole country was shocked. Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi and other Song officials believed that the reason for the defeat was due to the lack of practice on the part of the officials.
Regarding military matters, he went to Shu to ask for the establishment of a specialized school to improve the military quality of officials. So in the third year of Qingli, the Song Martial Arts School was established." Zhu Yangen continued to answer.
"Well, Chat is really knowledgeable and talented!"
Zhu Hengjia first praised Zhu Yangen, and then asked: "I don't quite understand. If the Song Dynasty attached great importance to military education, why did it always lose more when facing Liao, Jin, and Yuan? Those martial arts students
They have never produced any famous generals. What is the reason for this?"
This question stopped everyone in their tracks, and there was silence for a while.
Yu Chao, Minister of the Ministry of War, saw the situation and hurriedly smoothed things over: "Your Majesty, I thought that the emperor of the Song Dynasty valued literature over martial arts. The courses in martial arts were mostly based on Confucian courses such as "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius", and military theory was limited to some "Martial Classics"
"Seven Books", "Wu Jing Zong Yao" and the like, military skills are just some practice of riding and shooting. The students who are taught have low military quality."
Yang Wei, the assistant academician, said: "I believe that the number of martial arts students in the Song Dynasty was too small. The central martial arts school had only 200 students in the Northern Song Dynasty and only 100 students in the Southern Song Dynasty. The local martial arts schools had only 17 students in the Northern Song Dynasty and 22 students in the Southern Song Dynasty.
The total number of students is only one thousand, so it is difficult to achieve practical results."
Zhang Shixian, associate bachelor, also said: "I have heard that the positions awarded to martial arts graduates in the Song Dynasty are very low. The highest graduates can only be awarded the eighth-grade official position of "three-way inspection, custody, village leader", and they are mainly responsible for
The guards who maintain local security and stability are not soldiers, so it is difficult to produce generals."
Zhu Hengjia understood clearly: courses, number of people, and distribution are the three major issues that affect the construction of military academies. As for the distribution issue, he has already ordered that graduates of the two military academies will be awarded the rank of general military officer, seventh rank, and be given priority to combat soldiers.
, the positions and salaries are much higher than those in the Song Dynasty, this problem has been solved; as for the number of students, the two military academies only have 500 students, which is less than the number of students in the Song Dynasty. The establishment of the military academy needs financial support, and it must be done step by step; as for the courses taught, it must be done step by step.
Ask carefully and make sure it is close to actual combat!"
Emperor Guangwu had fought in wars and knew best what kind of talents the army needed. He was afraid that the Royal Army Academy of the Ming Dynasty would train a group of nerds who were useless and would cause trouble for him, so he smiled and asked Zhu Yangen seemingly casually:
"Please explain to me in detail, what courses are taught in the college?"
Upon hearing the emperor's question, Academician Zhu immediately became energetic: "Your Majesty, the academy mainly teaches 'the art of war, martial arts of various schools, the success or failure of military use in the past, and the loyalty of past lives'??"
Zhu Hengjia understood the eloquent explanation. In the words of later generations, the college's courses include three major categories: ideological and political, military theory, and military skills.
In the ideological and political class, we mainly study Confucian classics such as The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, and Spring and Autumn Annals, and instill in students the Confucian concept of loyalty and righteousness, so that they can be loyal to the emperor and the country. This is good, I like it! The students must be convinced,
Being loyal to the king means being patriotic. If you eat my food and wear my clothes, you must listen to my words!
Military theory class mainly studies "Seven Books of Martial Arts", "General Essentials of Martial Arts", "General Essentials of Continuing Martial Classics", "Spectrum of Divine Weapons", "Fire Dragon Scripture", "Four Towns and Three Passes", "Fire Attack"
"Yao", "Military Bei Zhi", "New Book of Ji Xiao", etc.
Military skills classes mainly teach specific skills such as horse riding, archery, knives, guns, swords, halberds, shields, muskets, and cannon handling.
Zhu Yangen spoke eloquently, and Zhu Hengjia listened with great interest. It is said that this inspection should end perfectly, but who is Emperor Guangwu? It is not enough to just listen to what others say, but also to see.
He said to Zhu Yangen with a kind face: "I want to see with my own eyes how these students attend class, and you will arrange it for me."