When Dong Shuheng planned his deployment in the north so early, he actually had another consideration.
What if he leads his troops northward and approaches the capital, and the Manchu emperor goes to Mongolia or outside the customs?
There has been a saying in later generations that the Manchu Qing Dynasty hid a batch of treasures outside the customs.
Be ready to run away at any time.
When they entered the customs, it was completely beyond their expectations.
The Qing Dynasty only had a larger population. It can be said that they were able to occupy the Central Plains only because the traitors helped them move there.
After the Manchus entered the customs, they committed many crimes, which can be said to be too numerous to describe.
So they were afraid. They were afraid that the Han people would retaliate against them if they were driven out of power one day.
Therefore, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have not let go of foreign affairs in these years.
The Han people were not allowed to move there because they wanted to keep it as a way out for themselves.
Their plan was: one day the Han people would wake up and overthrow them, and they could retreat outside the pass.
Therefore, Dong Shuheng's worries are not unfounded at all.
The worst consequence would be that the Manchu Qing Dynasty would eventually fall into the hands of the Tsarist Russians.
At that time, Tsarist Russia had enough reasons to move south. They could say that they were helping the Qing Dynasty to restore their country, and maybe some scholar-bureaucrats would step forward to lead the way.
Although Dong Shuheng was not afraid of Tsarist Russia in his heart, he did not want Tsarist Russia to get such a bargaining chip.
Of course, another reason is that Tsarist Russia was unable to take care of the East due to the war with Britain and France. This is called taking advantage of the situation.
Now that the two northern provinces are in hand, when Dong Shuheng goes north, the army from the north can move south at the same time, blocking all the Qing's retreat routes.
Of course, Dong Shuheng was still very confident that he could wipe out the entire Qing royal family in one fell swoop.
On November 20, Dong Shuheng returned here after leaving Jiangning for more than a month.
I haven't been back for a month, and Jiangning City is still as majestic and handsome as this handsome man.
The tall city wall blends into the surrounding hills. The city stands on the riverside, and the Qinhuai River passes through the city. The mountains and rivers are interdependent, and the scenery is beautiful.
The streets in the city are obviously more prosperous.
Huai Haijun's policy of encouraging industry and commerce, coupled with the immigration of so many workers, allowed Jiangning's industry and commerce to rebound and develop after being suppressed by the Taiping Army for two years.
The "Great Health Care" street on the Qinhuai River will not be restored in the future.
He didn't want to let the officials under him lose their enthusiasm for work by a group of warblers.
After disembarking from the Xiaguan Pier, Dong Shuheng rode his luxury carriage straight to the Presidential Palace in the inner city.
When he returned to the mansion, his three beautiful daughters-in-law greeted him at the door of the mansion.
Dong Shuheng sent a telegram in advance to inform the ladies of his return home time. He was not prepared for a surprise attack.
The eldest wife and the second wife are both busy people. If they don't say anything, they may not meet anyone when they get home.
As soon as he entered the house, Dong Shuheng saw the school belle Wei Yuzhen, the top female student, the cool female master Yang Ximei and the girl next door Hui'er.
I went to say hello to my mother first.
Dong Shuheng and his three wives hid in the house and talked about their daily life and their recent experiences.
A breakup is better than a wedding. In the evening, the four of you can close the door and crack eggs together.
The annoying report sounded, and it was a female guard in the mansion who came to report.
It turns out that boy Wei Yuxiang is looking for me again.
Dong Shuheng rang, and he seemed to have made an appointment with senior officials to hold a military and political meeting.
It seems that I blame myself.
"Shu Heng, you go quickly, government affairs are important, otherwise some people will say that our sisters are a disaster to the country and the people, and our beauty is a disaster." Wei Yuzhen said.
After marrying Dong Shuheng, both girls changed their hairstyles to women's hairstyles, and their eyebrows became more charming.
It's a little closer to what Dong Shuheng likes most about a mature woman.
"You are all my beauty, but you are not my trouble." Dong Shuheng said.
"Okay, go ahead and we'll talk about it in the evening. I winked at Dong Shuheng."
Dong Shuheng saw Wei Yuzhen's seductive look and knew what was going on.
It seems that the three of them have already assigned themselves.
After confirming the look, I will spend the night in Wei Yuzhen's room tonight.
After leaving his "harem", Dong Shuheng came to the office area in the front yard.
"Is everyone here?" Dong Shuheng quickly returned to his work.
"Yes, President, everyone is here. Everyone knows that you are coming back today, so you stayed in the government office and did not go back."
Before Dong Shuheng came back, he sent a telegram asking his subordinates not to greet him and to work with peace of mind.
He just went out to fight a small battle, but Dong Shuheng refused his subordinates' arrangement to meet him.
He didn't like such a pomp, so it was better to come back quietly. He didn't even inform his men of the specific time of his return.
A group of people greeting him with great fanfare not only wastes everyone's time, but also tells the assassin when and where to attack.
In the small conference room, Huai Haijun's senior officials were basically in place at this time.
"Congratulations to the president for returning victoriously!" Seeing Dong Shuheng come in, Zeng Xianfeng led everyone to stand up and said.
"Okay, everyone, sit down. I will accept your congratulations. But there is a lot of work waiting for you to do next." Dong Shuheng said to everyone.
"Don't worry, President, everything has been arranged. We have already drawn up the list of officials to be sent to the two provinces. After you approve it, they can set off."
"Well, I'll have a few words with them before they set off."
There is an unwritten rule here at Dong Shuheng's side, that is, local officials must come to him for a talk before taking office.
Dong Shuheng actually didn't have much to explain, he just thought he should look familiar.
Also, when local officials arrive at the place and they ask them what the president looks like, they won’t be able to tell them.
"Yes, I will arrange it."
"Premier Zeng, I have an idea recently that I would like to share with you. Do you think we should conduct an official selection examination modeled on the imperial examination?"
"What does the president mean that we also hold the imperial examination?"
Zeng Xianfeng thought that Dong Shuheng was preparing to proclaim himself emperor.
As a traditional scholar, he supported Dong Shuheng's future claim to the throne.
But the strategy they originally formulated was the strategy of "slowly becoming king".
It seems a bit early to start the imperial examination at this time.
"It's either an imperial examination or an official selection examination. There's no requirement to have meritorious service. Anyone who is a scholar can take part."
"The exam is divided into two parts, one is the written test and the other is the interview."
"The written test is divided into two parts, one is administrative ability, which tests the ability to solve problems, and the other is essay, which is roughly writing a political essay. This is similar to the imperial examination."
"In the interview, we will look at the candidate's adaptability, communication skills, character, appearance, etc."
When Dong Shuheng said this, the people below probably understood.
Dong Shuheng wanted to create a new official selection examination model.
"President, do you want to reform the imperial examination?"
"That's right. Don't talk about it when you go outside. I'm going to replace the imperial examination with the official selection examination in the future."
"Our current military government model will be China's government model in the future."
"There is no distinction between officials. Officials have to start from the grassroots level, so the number of officials we need will increase many times, and the starting point of the corresponding officials is not that high."
"So, the imperial examination cannot meet our needs at all."
"In addition, we also need many professional government workers, such as teachers, police officers, and judges. These people even need to be trained and assigned by specialized schools."
"In the future, we will have two ways to select officials, official selection examination and training and distribution in colleges and universities."
"The president should have had plans in this regard for a long time. No wonder he has established those professional colleges!" Zeng Xianfeng thought, and he admired Dong Shuheng even more.
Being able to prepare for things in advance shows that the president is thoughtful.
Everyone has no different opinions on Dong Shuheng's proposal.
"President, we now occupy five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. These five provinces are all places where humanity gathers and there are many scholars. We can indeed recruit officials openly as the president said."
"Otherwise, it would be a waste for these scholars to hide among the people. Some may even feel resentful because their career as an official has been cut off." Zeng Xianfeng said, stroking his beard.
As a successful candidate who has failed many times, Zeng Xianfeng can be said to have personal experience in this regard.
The threshold for becoming an official in the Qing Dynasty was too high. Although one could become an official by being promoted, there were still so many Jinshi waiting to be selected.
How many people have read books all their lives, but they are of no use at all.
If Dong Shuheng sets it up like this, it will undoubtedly lower the threshold for selecting officials.
"Yes, didn't Hong Xiuquan always fail to pass the exam, so he resented it and started a rebellion?" Not many people know about this dark history of Hong Xiuquan. It was Dong Shuheng who told his subordinates at the beginning.
"However, President, some scholars with a good reputation may not be happy."
"Oh, we are not the imperial court, so there is no need to recognize the imperial court's reputation. However, in a few years when more students will graduate from the academy, we may have to add the requirement of being academy graduates."
When everyone heard this, they understood that the status of this academy will definitely rise in the future.
"Minister Ning, your Ministry of Education must find ways to build more colleges and universities." Dong Shuheng said to Minister of Education Ning Liwen.
The Ministry of Education of Huaihai Navy was previously in charge of Wei Yuan, but Wei Yuan has retired.
The main reason is that Lao Wei wants to concentrate on the affairs of Huaihai Academy. At the same time, he also needs to improve the political theoretical basis of the Fuxing Society.
Therefore, the position of Minister of Education was handed over to the younger Ning Liwen.
Ning Liwen is not a famous scholar, he is just an administrator, but it is precisely in this way that he can manage the work of the Ministry of Education with peace of mind.
"Yes, President, we have organized two research teams to go to Zhejiang and Fujian to inspect the local academies resources and integrate two academies in each of the two places."
"The preliminary plan is to focus on the four cities of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Fuzhou and Xiamen." Ning Liwen introduced their plan.
"Well, your Ministry of Education's funding expenditure is now second only to military expenditure, and it is growing at the fastest rate. This money is in your hands, and I hope you can make good use of it."
Ning Liwen suddenly felt a chill running down his spine and his heart was beating fast. "Yes, President, please rest assured, we will definitely use the money wisely."
Ning Liwen thought about it. After returning home, he would organize the audit department in the department to conduct a self-examination.
"Minister Chen, the Ministry of Agriculture is also going to send agricultural technology teams to the two provinces as soon as possible. The agricultural technology teams should go into the villages to deal with farmers. I heard that some of our agricultural technology teams have gone to towns to provide services to village officials and grassroots agricultural technology teams.
As long as the staff takes a class, they will go down."
"Do you dislike the dirt roads in rural areas? Doing this is a typical example of being disconnected from the people. Your agricultural technology department is like this. You can imagine what other departments will do?"
Dong Shuheng sprayed the Ministry of Agriculture again.
"Yes, President, we will carry out self-examination and education when we get back." Chen Dongsheng decided that after returning, he would send all the agricultural technicians to the countryside to stay in the laboratory all day and work behind closed doors.