Chapter 33183320【Deepening Reform】
After the hunting activity, Xiang Nan met with the princes of Mongolia and Qinghai and Tibet the next day to talk about political affairs, build relationships, exchange gifts, etc.
Among them, the princes of Mongolia and Qinghai and Tibet presented mostly BMWs and horses, gold and silver jewelry, beauties from various tribes, etc. Xiang Nan gave back mostly silk, spices, porcelain, tea, etc.
The princes of Mongolia and Qinghai told Xiang Nan about the harassment by Rakshasa and Jungar in recent years. Their population was enslaved, their livestock was plundered, and their pastures were occupied. They were in great pain. They begged Xiang Nan to send troops as soon as possible to help them seek justice.
Xiang Nan agreed one by one. He must fight against Jungar and Rakshasa Kingdom. In addition, Nanyang and Southeast Asia will also be placed under the protection of the Qing Dynasty.
However, this all takes time and cannot be accomplished overnight. At this stage, the Qing's national power was not enough to start the war. Otherwise, once a war breaks out, the money will be like running water.
It will take at least four years to start a war. After pacifying Junggar, they will completely conquer the Jinchuan and Jinchuan areas, and finally defeat the Rakshasa Kingdom and the Nanyang colonists.
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After staying in the Rehe Palace for a total of eight days, Xiang Nan said goodbye to all the princes and then returned to the capital with his imperial chariot.
This Mulan Qiuyi, overall, the effect is very good.
Xiang Nan showed the bravery and affability of a king, while the new army showed strong combat power and courage, which successfully intimidated and won over the princes of Mongolia and Qinghai-Tibet.
After returning to Beijing, Xiang Nan continued to promote commercial, military, and political reforms.
In terms of commerce, more cotton yarn mills and textile mills were opened, and foreign businessmen were allowed to establish businesses and factories in the country, but they still had to abide by the laws of the Qing Dynasty.
Previously, in order to prevent foreigners from causing trouble in the mainland, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty did not allow them to buy houses or build factories in the mainland. However, Xiang Nan knows that introducing foreign investment is a necessary means to open his eyes to the world.
Only by having long-term contact with foreigners can Chinese people break the ignorance and complacency of the superior state and self-centeredness. Moreover, foreign advanced technology and management experience will also inspire many Chinese people.
In terms of military affairs, eliminate bad soldiers and check for empty pay. Gradually, the original Eight Banners soldiers and the Han army's green battalions were replaced by new troops. Military attachés of rank five and above are required to attend the Armed Forces Academy to learn infantry drills, logistics coordination, troop formations, artillery drills, live ammunition shooting and many other subjects.
In terms of politics, geography, physics, mathematics, foreign languages and other courses will be introduced in county schools, government schools, state schools, and Imperial College, and these four subjects will be added to the next imperial examination, but this is only for reference for the time being.
It is okay for candidates to answer all questions, but it will be better if they know these four things. The imperial court will also conduct these four assessments when selecting and appointing officials in the future.
Xiang Nan knows that Chinese people are the best at dealing with exams. As long as the exam will affect their future, they will definitely work hard and study hard.
Just like the IELTS test, within a few years of its launch, the Chinese people have thought it through, and various strategies for coping with the test have been developed. The IELTS test was forced to make changes.
If subjects such as geography, mathematics, and foreign languages will affect their future, Xiang Nan believes that those students and officials will definitely study hard.
The purpose of adding subjects such as geography, mathematics, and foreign languages is to open the eyes of the scholars of the Qing Dynasty to see the world, and stop simply thinking that the Qing Dynasty is a great dynasty and the best in the world.
In fact, the Qing Dynasty is now in danger. Nanyang has been occupied by Spain, Tianzhu has been occupied by England, Africa has been occupied by Britain and France, North America has fought for independence, South America has been occupied by Spain and Portugal, and Siberia has been occupied by the Rakshasa Kingdom, and it also supports Jungge I'm doing trouble in the Western Regions...
As long as it falls behind a little bit, the Qing Dynasty will be divided among others. In fact, this was also the case. By the mid-19th century, as the Qing Dynasty's national power declined, those foreign powers invaded one after another. Even some small countries dare to rely on their strong ships and powerful guns and their status as foreigners to dominate China.
So Xiang Nan will never allow this to happen again.
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Reform will naturally face many obstacles, among which business reform is easy to say, but the key ones are military reform and imperial examination reform.
One is to take the life of military generals, the other is to take the life of civil servants.
Wen and military are the cornerstones of rule and cannot be shaken easily, otherwise, they will easily suffer backlash.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, party strife broke out frequently. The emperor and the civil servants fought endlessly for power, which caused the Ming Dynasty's national power to suffer a serious impact due to internal strife, which led to the rise of the Later Jin Dynasty.
The recruitment system during the Tang Dynasty resulted in the separatism of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Therefore, after Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, he would drink wine to release his military power and force his generals to hand over their military power.
The reason why the release of military power over a glass of wine is famous in history is because such an example of taking back military power without losing any blood was so rare in ancient China that it is worthy of being recorded in the history books.
Xiang Nan also knew that military reform and imperial examination reform were not easy, but he also knew that remaining unchanged would not work.
His method for promoting reform is to remove fuel from the bottom of the cauldron.
The Qing army was originally composed of Eight Banners soldiers. However, after Kangxi pacified the Three Feuds and conquered Baodao, the world was at peace for a long time, which caused the Eight Banners soldiers to begin to deteriorate.
Not only do they lack training, their weapons are lax, they only know how to carry cages, eat, drink and have fun. They even left the army for a long time and sold their uniforms, swords, firearms, military supplies, etc., and they have become complete parasites.
But this is also because the rulers of the Qing Dynasty did not allow banner people to engage in farming and business.
Because the bannermen were the most important source of soldiers in the early Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners of the Manchu Army had the strongest combat effectiveness. If they go to farming or doing business, they will waste their bows, horses, riding and shooting. In this way, there will be no way to continue fighting.
Therefore, in the early Qing Dynasty, rules were set that banners were not allowed to engage in farming or business, and were only allowed to serve as soldiers.
Even though farming and business are not allowed, bannermen who own flag land are exempt from taxes. Moreover, being a soldier also provides military pay, so the life of the banner people is not difficult.
During the Shunzhi period, one of the three bannermen served as a soldier. If there is a family of three, one male will serve as a soldier. You can get a lot of land, two taels of silver per month, and forty-eight hulum meters per year, which is enough for a family of three to live a very prosperous life.
However, with the pacification of San Francisco, Shoubaodao, Qinghai-Tibet, Junggar, etc., the world has become more and more peaceful, wars have become less and less, and the number of soldiers needed has also decreased year by year.
Comparatively, because there was no family planning at that time, the banner people gave birth to more and more children.
By the end of Kangxi's reign, there were already five soldiers and one soldier. By the Qianlong period, there were already eight soldiers and one soldier. In the past, one soldier could feed a family of three, but now he had to feed a family of eight. The population has nearly tripled, but wages have remained the same, and the quality of life has naturally declined significantly.
In addition, there is no war, and the soldiers of the Eight Banners cannot do business or farm, so they can only sit idle and have nothing to do. This creates a big problem.
(End of this chapter)