As the saying goes, think about defeat before thinking about victory. In a war that is close to destroying the country, one must consider the possibility of failure. Zhu Yijun first explained the purpose of the war to Liu Xian clearly, and then asked what would be done if the military operation failed.
Liu Xian replied: "In my year of martial arts training, I have gained more than half my life as a soldier. I believe that the new army of three thousand is enough to sweep across Burma. If we use it as the main force and gather a large army, a thousand people can be equal to the enemy."
Ten thousand."
"As long as the firepower is sufficient, I believe that we don't need 10,000 new troops to attack Burma, but 3,000 will be enough!"
Zhu Yijun was pleased after hearing this, but he said: "The Commander-in-Chief must not underestimate the enemy. First, our troops are deep in the territory, and the terrain is not mine; second, there are enemies on all sides, and people and people are not ours; third, it is rainy in Myanmar, which is not conducive to firearms. This day
It is shared by both sides. If you underestimate the enemy, you may suffer defeat."
Liu Xian was now a little superstitious about the New Army's combat capabilities. He said so, but he didn't think so in his heart. Zhu Yijun took out the story of the anti-British fight in Sanyuanli in the late Qing Dynasty, told it in a different light, and exaggerated the results tenfold.
Only then did Liu Xian pay attention.
Zhu Yijun said: "The most taboo thing about this kind of war is to fall into the vast ocean of people's war - so when you go to Myanmar, you must also pay attention to military discipline and not waste the war." Liu Xian nodded and agreed loudly.
Zhu Yijun saw that he had given up the idea of underestimating the enemy, and asked about the tactics to deal with the elephant soldiers. Regarding some key points of mountain warfare, Liu Xian answered fluently. Zhu Yijun finally heard him clearly explain the principles of defeat in the war formulated by the combat department.
After thinking about the countermeasures, I realized that Liu Xian’s reputation as a famous general was not a matter of luck—I finally felt relieved.
...
The fourth year of Wanli ended after the imperial court arranged the expedition to Burma. In the summary edict at the end of the year, Zhu Yijun commended the second batch of double-excellent officials. This time, a total of 68 county magistrates and 15 prefects received the imperial court's favor.
The reward for being an official.
At the end of the third year of Wanli, only six county magistrates and one prefect were awarded the title of imperial official.
The award-winning officials can choose one of their offspring, and they can directly be awarded the official title of military attache, Jinyi Qianhu, or the actual professor of hundreds of households; they can also take the civil service route and study in the Imperial College and directly choose to be awarded an official position below the eighth rank; a particularly outstanding example will be directly awarded by the emperor.
Born with the same Jinshi, his son has not yet been crowned, and he is a seventh-grade official.
This was so exciting that officials at all levels who had already been tightened up had several cases of overwork death this year. Because of the heavy work in Huanghuai, the number of lower-level officials who directly died on the construction site in the fourth year of Wanli also reached 11.
Member name.
At this time, there was no concept of death from overwork in the Ming Dynasty. Officials all over the world thought that these sacrificed officials were unlucky and died of sudden illness.
Zhu Yijun was well aware of this. After conducting a detailed investigation, he arranged for someone to write a long newsletter about their deeds and published it in newspapers in the two capitals. While calling on the civil and military forces of the world to learn from them, he also arranged for the Propaganda Department of the Attendant's Office to organize the "Wanli
"Three Years of Loyal Ministers' Advanced Deeds Propaganda Group" toured all over the country giving lectures.
What Zhu Yijun didn't expect was that this method, which has become obsolete in later generations, and the preaching that made him fall asleep every time he listened to it - was so effective in the imperial society of the Ming Dynasty.
The members of the publicity team were composed of family members and subordinates of officials who died from overwork. Zhu Yijun carefully taught the speeches to be written with a large pen in the attendant's room. Wherever the floor was laid, where the climax was, and where the tears were triggered, everything was arranged properly.
As a result, the first speech in the capital made the officials in the capital and Shuntian Prefecture cry. There were tear-jerking speeches and touching deeds. These officials showed their loyalty to the emperor, their love for the nation, and their devotion to the people.
His deep affection and attachment to his career brought a soul baptism to the entire officialdom of the capital.
Subsequently, the publicity team carefully crafted each manuscript based on the data fed back from each report, and the speakers also continued to improve their speaking skills under the training of the Publicity Office - after passing Beizhili, all speeches
They have all reached the state of being transformed into gods.
Especially in the Huanghuai land, because of the resonance and empathy, the venues were full and tears flowed into the river. Officials at all levels in the Huanghuai land said that if the two rivers were not managed well, they would be sorry to God and the emperor, and to their parents.
How can the common people have the nerve to take salary and waste food?
If there were drones filming at this time, you would see the land of Huanghuai and large construction sites everywhere. And almost all construction sites have red flags waving and slogans fluttering.
For example, "Work with blood and sweat for three years, and earn food fields from the sky" is an agitation type; "It is illegal to destroy water conservancy facilities" is a law-enhancing type; and "Open the ditch, and the whole family will die" is a curse type.
——Later, all the imperial envoys who were inspecting were asked to pull it out.
Of course, Zhu Yijun could not let heroes bleed, sweat and shed tears. In the fourth year of Wanli, the imperial court issued a regulation: Any official who died on the job would be posthumously awarded an official position of up to seven levels based on his deeds, and would receive a generous pension.
One of the magistrates died of overwork. After the emperor's decree came, the family members directly removed the tombstone and replaced it with a shape that could only be possessed by a first-rate doctor - causing a sensation in the countryside.
This provision was later improved in accordance with the court's original posthumous title system and the actual situation. The court's additional document explained: In order to commend contributions and encourage filial piety, the family members of the deceased officials can make a voluntary choice to confer the highest official position posthumously to the official.
The ancestors who have been buried in the cemetery will then be awarded posthumously according to their seniority - this is the so-called posthumous title of three generations.
This coquettish operation simply made the officials in the Huanghuai area boil, and also made other officials in other areas who could not achieve double excellence become jealous with red eyes.
What Zhu Yijun didn't expect was that there were actually many officials who would rather not receive the political treatment of the imperial court's "Yin Yizi", and were willing to use this in exchange for the posthumous title of three generations - what the hell, Zhu Yijun must have said he couldn't understand it before traveling through time, but now it has
I completely understand and say that this is normal and harmonious.
The word "filial piety" is not only the cornerstone of rule, but also a weapon of motivation and a shackle of imprisonment. At the end of the fourth year of Wanli, another newspaper was opened in the capital called "The Beijing News".
According to the conclusion reached by later historians after in-depth research, the "Beijing News" was probably trying to open up the situation as soon as possible, so it directly dropped a big bomb in the first issue: "Is the Ding You system reasonable or unreasonable?"
This article directly attacks the Dingyou system of civil servants designated by Zhu Yuanzhang. The opening chapter clearly explains "Dingyou":
"Erya·Explanation": "Ding means Dang Ye." Encounter means encountering the solution. "Shang Shu·Shuo Ming Shang": "Worry means mourning. When parents are bereft, it is also called "Ding Jian".
The article then goes on to say that the Ding You system began in the late Han Dynasty and flourished in the Jin Dynasty. In the Jin Dynasty, not only did officials go to Ding You for the funeral of their parents, they also had to observe the system for the funerals of brothers and sisters.
During the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties, the system for managing mourning was greatly developed, and it was passed down to the imperial dynasty, where the civil servant Ding You was designated to organize funerals for parents.
After summarizing a few definitions and facts that everyone knows, the article begins to talk about the internal reasons of the Dingyou system: "A son has lost his parents, and the king's life is not enough for three years, so he teaches people to be filial. In ancient times, when seeking loyal ministers, they must come to the gate of a filial son.
, Sincerely practice filial piety at home, so loyalty can be transferred to the emperor. As a minister, there is no one who is not filial to relatives but can be loyal to the emperor; as a minister, there is no one who does not teach his ministers to be filial and can be loyal to his ministers. "
The general idea of this passage is that the Dingyou system is a system where the emperor teaches everyone how to respect relatives and observe filial piety. Loyal ministers can only be produced among filial sons, because only by being filial to their parents can they be loyal to the monarch; and the monarch cannot choose unfilial people because he cannot be loyal to the monarch.
This passage then goes on to say: "Scholar-officials are the people's hope. 'A gentleman is virtuous, and a villain is virtuous.'" This sentence means that the education and customs of the people are honest and honest, and they are all officials in the world, and the scholar-officials take the lead in abiding by them.
Because of filial piety.
The first third of this article is all serious writing, very elegant, and very positive. But then the author's writing style changed and it started to become less serious:
"However, if we count the rebellious ministers and traitors in China, and the traitors and thieves of the Han Dynasty, have there ever been those who failed to abide by the system of Ding You and betrayed their clan to seek glory? Let's also count the loyal ministers and good generals of China, whose fame will last forever.
Really?"
After two powerful rhetorical questions, the article then came up with the main theme: "Looking at it from this point of view, using Ding You to seize emotion and argue between loyalty and evil is a fallacy!"
The article then mentions Li Linfu and Qin Hui from afar, and Yan Song and Yan Shifan from a short distance. They are all honest and abiding by Ding You. Their conduct has long been determined.
The article also cites Bigan, Duke of Zhou, and Yue Fei as examples. There was no Dingyou system in the eras of the first two. Yue Fei's mother asked for mourning three times but her love was taken away from her. How their conduct was has been determined for a long time.
The article then starts from the time of Taizu of this dynasty and counts the officials who have seized love. Up to now, there have been ten cabinet ministers; thirteen ministers; thirty-two governors;
I can’t count the number of feelings, but there are hundreds of them.
The article said that among these people who seize love, there are of course "crazy" people who seek a good place and a good job, but there are also great politicians and writers like Yang Rong and Yang Pu, as well as local officials such as the county magistrate Fang Suyi -
These officials all organized national affairs or governed local areas after seizing love, leaving a reputation that will last forever.
The discussion is almost complete, and the article highlights the topic again: "Meng Yizi asked about filial piety, and he said: 'No violation'. If it is not against the parents, it is filial piety. Why bother to live in mourning for three years? How did Confucius' disciples ever stay in mourning for three years without doing anything wrong?
Officials? The system of Ding You in later generations has long gone against the original intention of the saint, and is ridiculed by carving a boat to ask for a sword."
The article ends with another rhetorical question: "In the second year of Wanli's imperial examination, Your Majesty took filial piety as the title, and wanted to show the true or false nature of filial piety to the world. Wouldn't you rather think deeply about it, all the princes in the court?"
When the first issue of the "Beijing News" was released, Shilin lost his voice for a while, and then the sky was full of excitement - those who regarded the "Beijing News" as a scourge, criticized it with words and writings, and the end of the fourth year of Wanli was filled with excitement.
Li Zhi, who was celebrating the New Year in Nanjing, quietly went to Feng Bangning's house and hid on the fourth day of the fifth year of Wanli. He repeatedly asked Feng Bangning: "No one knows that I wrote this article, right? Yes?"
No?! You mustn’t let it slip, I’m so scared!”
Seeing that he was so frightened, Feng Bangning said strangely: "Who would have thought that the Beijing News would use an article from Nanjing? Besides, my eldest brother's deviant words are much more powerful than this. Why are you so scared?"
After hearing this, Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "How many people listened to the talk? Now once the retribution is announced, it will be known to the whole world in ten days. Who is not afraid of being pointed out by thousands of people?"
Feng Bangning chuckled after hearing this and said: "I'm not afraid, just point it out, will the bird that bites me go away?"
After hearing this, Li Zhi's face turned blue and white. He suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Brother, you are right! I have decided to publish another article in our newspaper. The title is "Confucian scholars treat funerals as rituals."
"The World", how about it?"
After hearing this, Feng Bangning's face was as wonderful as Li Zhi's just now. He immediately knelt down with a plop, hugged Li Zhi's thigh and cried: "Brother, I shouldn't brag, please forgive me! I have an old man above me and a young man at the bottom.
You’re still talking about this little deal to eat!”