New Shun 1730

The condition of being willing to serve as a soldier in exchange for being given a cornucopia of corn is not attractive to the second sons of these good families at least.

Liu Yu couldn't know what would have happened if Li Guo had not died early, but he knew that after these years of change, these old Wuying Liangjiazi were somewhat like Han Liangjiazi and somewhat like Tang Guan. The descendants of Long are somewhat like Prussian Junkers, and somewhat like Qin's control over Shang Junfa in Guanzhong.

Like, but not at all.

Very paradoxical.

After asking some more questions about the harvest, the conflict with nationality, the implementation of land equalization, etc., I took out my pocket watch and looked at it. It was already the time.

When delivering the test paper, Chen Qinghai handed it over with both hands raised.

Although Liu Yu did not reveal his identity, Chen Qinghai had already imagined a big drama in his mind: someone cheated, His Majesty was furious, he killed the treacherous minister with a sword, and sent eight governors to visit him privately...

He shook his head to get rid of these daily dramas from his fantasy. The other party did not reveal his identity, and he could not directly address him as "sir." He just treated the other person as Lord Qingtian when he came into contact with him.

The papers are difficult to combine, some are very easy, but some are a little more difficult. Especially for the next few questions, the direction of the questions is very clever. If you give them another three to five hours, you might be able to solve them. But I only had half an hour, so I couldn't figure it out no matter what.

Chen Qinghai thought that his studies were not bad, and he was considered an outstanding person in arithmetic and geometry in Baoding Prefecture's camp school. He just thought that if he couldn't answer the question, others would not be able to answer it either. Maybe it was the adult in front of him. Did you take the wrong paper from Taketoku Palace?

Liu Yu took the test paper and glanced at it a few times, then handed the paper to the steamed bun behind him and told him to put it away.

"Chen Qinghai, please take me out for a walk around the village. Don't talk too much or ask too many questions. My surname is Liu, so just call me Mr. Liu."

Liu is a very common surname, but Chen Qinghai, who was thinking about a big drama in his head, naturally thought of a name that was in the limelight this year.

His brother died in the siege of Nenjiang. Many people in the village community also participated in the battle, and two who returned injured often mentioned the name of a young man who fought in the battle in northern Xinjiang.

When I was in Baoding Fuying School, I heard about the hot air balloon flying in the capital. It was time to take the Wude Palace test again, so of course I bought and read the policy statement of the leader of the autumn exam. Seeing how young the person opposite was, I naturally thought of that name.

I secretly thought to myself, could this person in front of me be Lord Liu Yu, who led the Crosha Numbers Fortress, expanded the soil for three thousand miles, and was the leader of the Autumn Examination of the Wude Palace?

He still had the story of Mr. Qingtian's private visit in disguise. The man in front of him was so young, about the same age as himself, and his words naturally exuded a condescending attitude.

Chen Qinghai's heart was pounding, not only because his destiny might take the turn he imagined, but also because he actually saw with his own eyes some of the legendary figures who had often been heard about in the Liangjiazi circle in the past two years, standing right next to him. In front of you.

Although he was not sure, he believed his guess seventy-eight percent in his heart. Seeing that Mr. Liu didn't want to make a big deal, he said: "Then Mr. Liu, come with me, let's go for a walk. But I didn't know that Mr. Liu wanted to go first. where?"

"Let's go to the camp first. Can I go in?"

"Okay, but be quiet."

"I saved it. Please lead the way."

He turned around and ordered Mantou to buy some drinks and food. The others would rest here for a while. He only took Kang Busao and a boy army warrior assigned by the emperor to follow.

Not far from the door is the camp school. Chen Qinghai is a familiar face. Although he will not be able to teach in the village camp school in the future, he can come and go freely.

He led Liu Yu and the others to sit in on a class, which was regarded as the best class in the dormitory of the camp.

The level is roughly equivalent to the third or fourth grade in the previous life? Learn to read, arithmetic, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, Arabic numerals, and recognize various shapes.

I went to the girls' school again and found that it was less difficult than the boys' school, that is, the level of literacy, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

In the field outside the camp classroom, some eleven or twelve-year-old children were practicing forming a team, walking in line and listening to the left and right. They were holding a long stick in their hands, and they were learning the most recent way of holding a spear with both hands and backhands.

Liu Yu shuddered when he saw it, and thought to himself that there is no need to popularize the Yingxue Sanshe method. Even if he had money to popularize the education level of Yingxuexiashe across the country, it would be enough for millions of people to understand it every minute. Left and right, I have known the army of standing in line and marching in line since I was a child.

After watching for a while, Liu Yu asked: "Among these people, who cannot bear the status of a good family member, won't the imperial court recruit troops?"

Chen Qinghai shook his head.

"Recruiting, but there are few people going. If you don't have the military status of Liangjiazi, you can just serve as a soldier. The money you get for a month is far less than helping out at home. The imperial court is very strict about Liangjiazi's status. If you have civilian status, you can join the army. "You have to kill someone as high as the captain to show off your identity as a good family member of the Fifth Battalion."

Kang Busao, who was following Liu Yu, added: "Sir, as the saying goes, soldiers are more valuable than their elites. If the military pay is generous, there will be no money. If the military pay is not generous, there may be people who believe that it will be a bad boy, but a girl." Good. If you give birth to a girl, you still have to marry your neighbor. If you give birth to a boy, you will not have to worry about Baicao."

"Besides, this dynasty has not yet reached a situation where all the heirs of a good family are forced to join the army. Since they are members of a good family, the younger brothers are also considered as half of the farmers. If the father is still the father, he is the head of the family. If the father is not alive, he who has the status of a good family is the head of the family. . If there is property outside, the family will be divided. If there is no property, the good family will go out to fight, and the younger brothers will work at home. In this case, the court will not dare to force them, otherwise the good family will be resentful. "

Kang Busao explained the key point with one sentence, and Liu Yu thought for a moment and understood the logic.

If you are a member of a good family and go on an expedition, your family's land must be planted. Not everyone has property outside Yongye Field, and not everyone wants to hire long-term workers. At this time, the brothers are actually working at home.

Of course, the imperial court knew that those who could not attack Liangjiazi but had gone to camp since childhood were good sources of soldiers, but they did not want to offend the huge class of Liangjiazi for these soldiers, and acquiesced in the exploitation of their younger brothers by those who attacked Liangjiazi.

Unless there is a dynasty change, it will be possible to conscript the younger brothers of these good families on a large scale... However, that is just drinking poison to quench thirst. Once these people are recruited, the life of the good family class will inevitably decline rapidly due to the lack of labor force. Maybe it can go on longer.

After clarifying the relationship between them, although Liu Yu coveted these soldiers as new troops, he still reluctantly filtered them out.

The post-modern conscription system is not suitable for Dashun, and they have to adopt the route of recruiting refugees by adding an officer corps and a "rogue army".

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but sigh.

An officer corps that comes entirely from a small privileged class of more than 100,000 households... I'm afraid it's not a good thing.

When that day comes, I'm afraid it will drag the entire empire down an unimagined path.

When Chen Qinghai heard Liu Yu sigh slightly, he thought that Liu Yu felt sorry for the poor life of these good family members, and thought that Liu Yuxu was the great master of Qingtian, so he boldly said something else.

"Mr. Liu, when you are eleven or twelve years old, you will be selected to enter the inner camp school. There are several inner camp schools in each prefecture. After three years, you will be admitted to the inner camp school."

"It's actually unfair to talk about it. Although most good families have big animals in their homes, being able to ride a horse and riding a horse well are not the same thing."

"The Kao Wude Palace requires equestrian skills, marksmanship, etc. It has been said since ancient times that the rich in martial arts are poor in culture. If those who have official status, their children will certainly have money to eat meat, learn equestrian skills, and practice marksmanship. I am waiting for these people, Even if we are good at geometry and arithmetic, it is difficult for us to enter the Wude Palace. We are still far behind in equestrian, marksmanship and martial arts. I think that in a few decades, everyone who enters the Wude Palace will be the son of an official. ”

Kang Buzai experienced the turmoil when the policy theory was changed to the Eight-Part-Part Part Scholarship. The incident mentioned by Chen Qinghai can be regarded as a replica of the change of the Policy Theory scholar to the Eight-Part Part Scholar:

Even though the imperial court spends an extra two to three million taels of silver every year on the elite class, riding, shooting, and martial arts are just like the "insight, policy, and strategy" in the Eight-part Political Debate. Over time, the advantages of the descendants of officials gradually expand. , and it is an expansion of advantages under the "exams that do not violate the system".

Liu Yu is good at horsemanship and marksmanship, because if he wants to play with guns and horses, his family has money to let him do it.

Du Feng was good at horseback riding, because his father was the captain of Zhechong, and his family had hired workers and tenants in a ghost place like Songhua River, so Du Feng had a lot of time to play with horses.

Kang Buyao was able to pass the examination as a strategic scholar because his family was once wealthy. Back then, when even intellectuals were taking the policy theory exam, ordinary poor families had no chance to have that kind of knowledge and read a lot of expensive history books.

Even if the entire Liangjiazi class is considered a privileged class, within this class, there are still upper, middle, and lower classes.

Faced with Chen Qinghai's complaints, Liu Yu didn't answer.

He also complained a lot about the selection of the Wude Palace. Just like the martial arts examinations of the previous dynasties, the things tested were completely the standards for selecting warriors. Sun Wu's military strategy is completely based on the commander's ability to strategize.

The ground was shattered by the sound of guns and cannons, and there was no longer Zhao Guanzhang in the world. If Zhao Guanzhang came and faced the line of soldiers, it would be impossible for him to rush into the formation and kill seven in and seven out. Although Zhao Zilong was brave, did he recognize the rifle hunter squatting in the grass?

Whether it was Chen Qinghai's grievances or Liu Yu's complaints, there was actually one thing behind it: there was something wrong with Dashun's military system and army building ideas.

This is not a problem with flintlocks and matchlocks, but a problem brought about by the entire military system.

Reform is not just as simple as changing the matchlock gun into a flintlock gun and adding a bayonet. Otherwise, it will just be an embroidered pillow, with the gold and jade on the outside being ruined.

The thinking of the military system is wrong. Even if it is replaced with new guns and new artillery, it will be at the level of a sick man in West Asia at best.

Group the sons of good families as elite soldiers. Once these elite men of good families are eliminated, it will be like the scene at the end of the dynasty: bad money drives out good money, all the soldiers of good families are filled in, the recruits are weak, military discipline is ruined, recruiting strong men, selecting Servants, preserve your strength, the master will disperse the elites he has raised, and the rest will perish in a rush.

These things need to be changed without patting oneself on the head.

I don’t want to start over again now, but I want to regard this legacy of literacy and numeracy as the legacy of Zhu Xia instead of the royal family, so I have to play around with it within the scope of what the royal family can allow.

Although Liu Yu had a general idea, he also knew that he needed to examine the actual situation and draw samples for analysis.

I walked around the village community again and had a meal with Chen Qinghai and his family. Afterwards, I took advantage of the meal break to make a surprise inspection of what the rich and poor households in the village ate on weekdays.

I chatted with the rich families and asked them about letting their children do business; I chatted with the poor families and asked them about the cultivation of their family land during their military service.

He stayed in this village for three days, and did not reveal his identity until he left.

He just explained to Chen Qinghai the ideas for similar questions that Chen Qinghai did not answer in the test paper. The military officer who followed him thought to himself that Master Liu was a studious man who never tired of teaching others.

Before leaving, he told Chen Qinghai not to go out these days and wait for the news of the list.

After leaving this village, Liu Yu selected several prefectures in Zhili and more than a dozen villages, staying for as short as one day and as long as three days.

He went to Baoding Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, Daming Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture and other places, and inspected the inner and upper quarters of the camp school.

He asked more than 20 failed students about their expectations for the future, their psychological expectations for future income, their daily family income, and

He also watched two lawsuits.

One was a conflict within the Liangjiazi: his wife cheated on him during his military service; the other was a lawsuit between the Liangjiazi and the civilians: he borrowed too much debt and transferred the right to cultivate the permanent land to the civilian landlords.

He wandered around until November, and then he wrote an investigation report of more than 80,000 words.

He hid 40,000 words of the 80,000 words himself, and wrote the remaining 40,000 words into a memorial, and asked someone to go back and present it to the emperor.

…………

"Wonderful! Wonderful! This is what it means to say something meaningful, this is my inspection and inspection envoy!"

In the forbidden palace, Li Gan, wearing glasses, flipped through the long memorial by the light, and couldn't help clapping and praising.

He didn't say the name, but the eunuch serving on the side knew from the length of the memorial and the emperor's attitude that this memorial must be from Liu Yu, the current palace guard.

The emperor had received such long memorials before, and the eunuchs knew the emperor's attitude towards such memorials: they had to read them, and they would always curse before reading them. After finally finding the real content in them, they would give a few comments and then curse them again for being long and stinky.

The eunuchs who served knew that most of Liu Yu's memorials were extremely long. But every time the emperor read them, he would not curse them, but would praise them greatly.

The reason why the eunuchs cared so much about Liu Yu was because they always felt that Liu Yu was a little scary.

A few months ago, when Liu Yu was still a guard of honor and not a dragon forbidden, most of the eunuchs who heard the conversation that day suddenly "suffered from acute illness and died of illness".

He was the only eunuch left who had heard the conversation of "cutting off the canal transport and opening the imperial examination" that day. How could he not care?

The rest of them "died of illness", and he didn't want to die of illness, so he could only remind himself to control his mouth.

Thanks to his years of service, he still had some affection for the emperor. He had originally regarded this affection as a capital to show off his power, but now he only regarded it as a floating grass to save his life from "dying of illness".

At this time, he quietly observed the emperor again and saw that he picked up the pen and just kept drawing circles in a few places, but did not reply at all.

After drawing more than a dozen circles, he put down the pen again and muttered a few words, "It makes sense, seeing the big picture from the small, it turns out to be like this. With a mountain of treasure in hand, but hating poverty, what is the reason?".

The eunuch thought, what kind of words can make His Majesty sigh like this? Thinking of this, his body immediately stepped back, not even looking at the memorial.

I just think that if Liu Yu's words are very reasonable, it is better not to read them, it is easy to die of illness...