Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 61 The Stars Shine Brightly in the Ming Dynasty! (Please vote!)

Having made up his mind, Zhu Youjian felt a surge of joy.

Once the strategy is clear, the rest is simply a matter of how to do it.

As an emperor, he had too many means to break the deadlock: imperial lectures, newspapers, imperial edicts, official schools, and the Imperial Academy.

Zhu Youjian stopped thinking about this mess and pushed the messy stack of papers aside, clearing a space on his desk to begin drawing cards seriously.

The names on the list increased as his pen continued to fall:
"Yuan Keli, 65 years old, is known as a legendary figure who defeated the Manchu Qing dynasty so much that they were unwilling to write a biography for him."

"Xu Guangqi, 65 years old, was a leading figure in the eastward spread of Western learning."

These two are a year older than Sun Chengzong, but they should be able to work for a few more years, right?
"Yang Sichang, thirty-nine years old, a Ming Dynasty version of the 'four cardinal directions and six intermediate directions, ten-sided net' principle of 'pacifying the internal before resisting the external,' seems usable, but be careful of his endless lies."

"Yuan Chonghuan, forty-three years old. All I can say is that he died before his time, and who can know the truth of his life now! Let me see if you dare to say to me again, 'Recover Liaodong in five years'!"

“Sun Chuanting, thirty-four years old, is an SSR-level character comparable to Lu Xiang-sheng! Just use him, no need for further explanation!”

"Mao Yuanyi, thirty-three years old, is said to be the foremost military strategist of the late Ming Dynasty... I don't care whether it's true or not, but I am very interested in the Zheng He voyage charts you have!"

"Bi Maokang, fifty-six years old, is said to have invented the flintlock musket!"

Sun Chuanting and Xu Guangqi are undoubtedly SSRs!

One is maxed out in military strategy, and the other in technology!

Yuan Chonghuan, Yuan Keli, and Yang Sichang are the subjects of much debate in later generations. Some say they were very powerful, while others say they weren't, but they should probably be considered SR (Super Rare) as well.

As for Mao Yuanyi and Bi Maokang, they owe their success entirely to short videos.

Titles like "The First Military Strategist of the Late Ming Dynasty" and "Inventor of the Flintlock Gun in the Ming Dynasty!" are increasingly sensational.

Zhu Youjian didn't go to extremes. Regardless of whether someone had real talent or not, he would find out by having a chat with them.

In high spirits, he blew on the list and carefully placed it aside.

Zhu Youjian's gaze finally fell on the last and thickest stack of rosters—a list of current civil and military officials of the two capitals and local officials of the seventh rank and above.

This is a list of over 3500 people, 3500 draws!
Let's see how many talented people we can rescue!

……

After an unknown amount of time, Gao Shiming, accompanied by several eunuchs, entered the hall carrying the last remaining list of names.

Zhou Yu had returned sometime earlier and was sitting quietly to the side.

Zhu Youjian, however, was completely unaware of all of this.

He was flipping through the last list of more than three thousand people.

But the speed is much faster than before. Basically, I only need to look at the names, and I copy down the ones that look familiar.

Finally, Zhu Youjian threw the pen in his hand onto the imperial desk, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"I'm exhausted!"

He rubbed his sore eyes and looked at the results in front of him.

The blank sheet of paper, along with the two previous lists, was already densely covered with names.

In Zhu Youjian's eyes, they were like golden general cards, radiating dazzling brilliance!
Hong Chengchou, Right Vice Commissioner of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, was thirty-four years old. A formidable figure among treacherous officials, he was someone you could use even if you had to hold your nose.

Zhou Yanru, the Junior Chamberlain in charge of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy, was thirty-four years old. He was still a treacherous official, but shouldn't being a treacherous official require some ability? Surely he's better than a purely upright official?

Wen Tiren, Minister of Rites in Nanjing, was 53 years old. (Ibid.)

Sun Yuanhua, a 45-year-old military officer serving as a chief clerk in the Ministry of War and a front-line planner for the Liaodong Army, was a low-profile version of Xu Guangqi.

Ni Yuanlu, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, was thirty-three years old. My recollection is that he was a member of the "pure stream" faction? Anyway, he seemed quite active during the late Chongzhen era. I'll make a note of him!
Fu Zonglong, the Guizhou Provincial Inspector, was thirty-five years old. I can't remember anything he did, but the name sounds familiar. I'll write it down!

Bi Zisu, a councilor of Ningqian Circuit and vice commissioner of Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commission, was fifty-eight years old. This was Bi Ziyan's older brother; it was purely out of affection for his brother…

……

Including the people found earlier, there were a total of twenty-seven names, filling a whole sheet of paper.

This was all the talent he had managed to salvage by racking his brains and exhausting all his memories from later generations. Of course, there were also some "non-talented" people he remembered, such as Ruan Dacheng and Dong Qichang, which he simply ignored.

He stretched and then noticed that Zhou Yu and Gao Shiming were standing to the side, and that candles had been lit in the hall at some point.

He first smiled gently at Zhou Yu, then turned to Gao Shiming and asked:

"I have finished reading this list, but there are a few people I cannot find. I wonder why?"

"It's Bi Ziyan, Zhu Xieyuan, Xiong Wencan, and Song Yingxing."

Gao Shiming bowed, thought for a moment, and replied:

"Your Majesty, Lords Xiong Wencan and Zhu Xieyuan are currently in mourning."

"Among them, Lord Zhu Xieyuan was in mourning in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, and his time should be coming to an end soon."

"As for Lord Bi Ziyan, he has been recuperating at home since the sixth year of the Tianqi reign."

"As for Song Yingxing, I really don't remember him. I need to go back and check before I can report back."

Mourning, recuperating...

Zhu Youjian remained silent for a moment, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Bi Ziyan's illness should not be serious, and he can resume his normal duties as usual. It would be a good opportunity for him to take charge of cleaning up the Ming Dynasty's financial mess.

Historically, he is best known for his "Memorials on the Expenditure of the State", a lower-budget version of "The Accounting Records of the Wanli Emperor", but he did not have any particularly memorable highlights in governing the country and managing finances.

As for Xiong Wencan, he only remembered him because he had recruited Zheng Zhilong.

Zhu Youjian hesitated for a moment.

Is it really necessary to recruit Zheng Zhilong?

He vaguely remembered that this guy later went to Guanzhong to pacify the peasant uprising army, and it seemed that he made a mess of things.
And what exactly is Zheng Zhilong thinking now?
Judging from his later defection to the Qing dynasty, it seems that the concept of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism was probably useless; what needed to be discussed was interests.

But I know so little about him now.

How large has his fleet grown? What is the current situation of various forces in Southeast Asia, including foreign fleets, Chinese pirates, and the Japanese shogunate?

What could the Ming Dynasty use to restrain, control, or utilize him?

After all, to truly accomplish this, we must obtain tangible results, rather than being satisfied with the empty reputation of "peace and prosperity throughout the world."

The money from tariffs, the money from overseas trade, the possibility of opening up maritime transport, and the possibility of extracting grain from Southeast Asia—each of these offers enormous returns.

Alright, let's bring over some of the maritime merchants, military households, and thieves from Fujian and Guangdong for a chat first. After all, you can't speak without investigation.

Therefore, Xiong Wencan is not in a hurry; let him rest in his hometown for now.

As for Zhu Xieyuan...

The She'an Rebellion in Sichuan needs to be dealt with as soon as possible; Guo Yunhou just mentioned it this morning.

Of the fixed amount of 520 million taels for the Liaodong military service, 156 million taels were invested in the bottomless pit of Sichuan and Guizhou.

At such a great distance, it was impossible to reach them. Although the battle was ultimately won, the amount of money and food wasted in the process was beyond our control and we had no idea what to do with it.

Instead of doing that, skipping the intermediate process and directly reinstating Zhu Xieyuan, who ultimately won the battle, might have resulted in a smaller loss.

Wait! Is it beyond our reach?
Zhu Youjian suddenly realized something, and he abruptly raised his head and asked:
"Gao Banban, how long would it take for an imperial edict to travel from Beijing to places like Southern Zhili, Fujian, Sichuan, and Guizhou?"

　The time it takes for official documents to travel from Beijing to all parts of the country is referenced in the book "The Official System of the Civil and Military Offices of the Ming Dynasty".

　　This book was printed during the Wanli era and is fairly realistic.

　　Except for the problematic area in Liaodong, the information in other places should be accurate.

　　(Back then, when I sent a letter to Liaoyang, it wasn't through the Ningjin Channel, but by taking a boat from Shandong, haha.)
　　-
　　I converted the time limits for official documents from Beijing to the two capitals and thirteen provinces, as well as some other places, the travel time of scholars, and the 300-li and 600-li express delivery rates, into the spatial and temporal distance settings for this book.

　　See the section on "Time and Space Setting in the Late Ming Dynasty: How Long Does It Take to Travel from Beijing to Nanjing" in the work's related information.

　　-
　　At this time, Song Yingxing was still diligently preparing for the imperial examinations, and he was probably almost at the capital.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)