I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 262 Be a Hero of the Ming Dynasty! Shen Ziheng's Military Camp Opens for Classes

Noon.

The sun was hidden behind the clouds, the treetops swayed, and a slight cool breeze blew.

A plaque inscribed with "Jingwu Academy" by Emperor Wanli himself has been hung in front of the gate of the military camp on the outskirts of Beijing.

Nine hundred soldiers sat in neat rows, ten to a table.

The young Wanli Emperor sat at a separate table.

Zhang Rong, Liang Menglong, Zhou Linshan, and Shen Nian, the four chief instructors (both principal and deputy), sat at one table, while the other instructors sat at three other tables in the very center of the camp.

After a while.

Bowls of pork and mutton mixed with small amounts of cabbage and tofu, baskets of steaming steamed buns and pancakes, and large jars of liquor were served.

Although the food standards of these meals were not comparable to those of the official chefs in the capital, they had the advantage of providing wine and meat in large quantities to satisfy the appetite.

What the soldiers loved most was being able to eat large chunks of meat and drink large bowls of wine.

The young Wanli Emperor picked up his wine bowl and shouted, "Come, drink with me, and then we'll all eat to our hearts' content!"

Immediately, everyone picked up their wine bowls and drank them down in one gulp.

After the young Wanli Emperor and his instructors started eating, the soldiers began to wolf down their food.

This was a banquet bestowed by the emperor, of extraordinary significance; everything eaten was a blessing.

Looking at the soldiers' eating habits, the young Wanli Emperor displayed his imperial grandeur, throwing aside the palace etiquette and rules. He picked up a large piece of pork bone and gestured for Shen Nian and the others to eat large chunks of meat and drink large gulps of wine.

Only when they are uninhibited can the soldiers around them be uninhibited.

Soon, all the soldiers began to feast, and young Wanli was quite pleased to see it.

……

About fifteen minutes later.

After drinking five bowls of wine, Emperor Wanli, at the signal of Duke Zhang Rong of England, began to leave, with instructors such as Shen Nian following closely behind.

As an emperor, it was absolutely impossible for him to attend such banquets outside the palace.

Nine hundred soldiers stood with their hands clasped in respect, watching the young Wanli Emperor leave the military camp.

This meal established a relationship between these soldiers and the young Wanli Emperor; from then on, they could only be the young Wanli Emperor's soldiers.

……

When the young Wanli Emperor returned to the Forbidden City, he was already somewhat drunk, as he was not a strong drinker.

He looked at Shen Nian and said, "Minister Shen, I drank heavily during the day. Will I be criticized by the Grand Secretary tomorrow?"

The young Wanli Emperor always held Zhang Juzheng in the same awe that a poor student might feel towards a strict teacher.

Shen Nian smiled and shook her head.

"Your Majesty drinks for the sake of state affairs, displaying the grandeur of an emperor. Grand Secretary Zhang will surely think that Your Majesty is capable of handling things independently!"

"Hahaha... Shen Qing speaks so well!"

With a flushed face, the young Wanli Emperor immediately returned to his bedchamber to rest.

His lectures at the Jingwu Academy and his drinking with soldiers quickly spread throughout various government offices.

The next morning.

Led by Zhang Juzheng, more than twenty officials submitted memorials praising the young Wanli Emperor for his close relationship with the soldiers and for displaying the spirit of the Taizu and Chengzu Emperors.

In Zhang Juzheng's eyes.

If the young Wanli Emperor were to drink alone in his palace, he should be advised against it. However, drinking with his soldiers and boosting morale is a sign that the young Wanli Emperor has grown up.

The young Wanli Emperor was in high spirits after receiving the praise, feeling that he was one step closer to assuming personal rule.

……

June 26th, afternoon, the office of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Shen Nian sat behind a desk, flipping through stacks of papers filled with writing.

These were all assignments given to Shen Nian by the nine hundred soldiers of the Elite Martial Arts Academy.

As their instructor, Shen Nian will be giving them their first lesson the day after tomorrow. Before the lesson, he will naturally need to understand the soldiers' level of literacy.

Therefore, he ordered all the soldiers to write an assignment of no less than 500 words on the theme of "the ills of the army".

There is only one requirement for the content: seek the truth.

At this moment, Shen Nian will be able to read through all their assignments after reviewing a dozen or so more.

All nine border garrisons of the Ming Dynasty had garrison schools that taught soldiers to recognize and write characters, as well as Confucian classics. However, the vast majority of soldiers were only literate, meaning they knew enough characters for daily use, but their written descriptions were often inadequate.

However, compared to civil officials who like to beat around the bush and try to express five layers of meaning in a single sentence, their expressions are quite sharp.

Some soldiers claimed that the biggest drawback in the army was that some officers, including captains, lieutenants, and centurions, liked to take concubines and forced them to give gifts as part of the ceremony.

Many unmarried soldiers were easily agitated by this scene and suggested that the court restrict the standards for officers to take concubines, so as to prevent some unmarried soldiers from having inappropriate thoughts and being unable to concentrate on training.

Some soldiers claimed that many soldiers in some garrisons were falsely claiming their pay and that there were also many deserters. This was the biggest problem in the army. They hoped that the soldiers who were falsely claiming their pay and the deserters could be identified and that all the money could be used to improve the army's food.

The soldiers wrote some rambling thoughts without a theme or logic, such as: soldiers are often unable to go home, causing morale to drop; some junior officers are secretly engaged in business and use their soldiers as free labor, etc.

Shen Nian could tell that they were telling the truth, but their expression skills were very limited.

The problems they pointed out in the military cannot be solved in a short period of time with a single policy.

Shen Nian thought about it carefully, took out a blank book, and began to write the lecture notes for the Jingwu Academy the day after tomorrow.

After he finished writing it, he needed to give it to the young Wanli Emperor for review before he could use it to teach the students.

As the saying goes: one monkey, one way to tie it.

It was clearly impossible to reason with this group of soldiers using the same teaching methods used on the young Wanli Emperor, the Prince of Lu, or even the eunuchs of the Imperial Academy.

Shen Nian decided to be bolder.

First, let these people become soldiers with a sense of responsibility, and then let them become generals with a mission.

……

June 28th, early morning, military camp on the outskirts of Beijing, the location of Jingwu Academy.

Shen Nian stood on a high platform, surrounded by nine hundred soldiers sitting cross-legged.

They were all within a hundred paces of Shen Nian.

If Shen Nian were to speak from within a hundred paces of the high platform, and if he did so with a strong voice, almost everyone within that range would be able to hear him clearly.

However, in order to ensure that everyone could fully understand the contents of the text, four recorders were arranged at the front.

They would record Shen Nian's words, expressions, actions, and even tone of voice, and then spread them to the surrounding soldiers one or several times after the lecture.

at the same time.

In front of the nine hundred soldiers were two eunuchs, Zhang Rong, the head instructor of the Jingwu Academy, two other deputy head instructors, and all the instructors.

Emperor Wanli summoned two eunuchs.

On the one hand, he wanted to take away the lecture notes that Shen Nian had given for his reading; on the other hand, he wanted to supervise the instructors to listen attentively to Shen Nian's lecture notes. After Shen Nian presented the lecture notes to the young Wanli Emperor yesterday, the young Wanli Emperor was very satisfied. He believed that all the instructors should listen to Shen Nian's military lecture notes.

this moment.

Instructors Zhang Rong, Liang Menglong, and Zhou Linshan all looked up at Shen Nian.

They were very curious about what Shen Nian would say to these soldiers. Would he talk about Confucianism or the Seven Military Classics? The most important thing was to make these soldiers listen and remember what he said.

At the same time, the soldiers all looked up at Shen Nian above them.

They were all excited to see this favored minister who had become a third-rank official at the young age of thirty and was secretly called "Little Grand Secretary" by everyone in the court and the public.

Most of them don't like going to class.

But for someone like Shen Nian, the emperor's daily lecturer, to be able to give them lessons was an honor as rare as the smoke rising from their ancestors' graves.

After pacing back and forth a few steps on the wide wooden platform, which was two zhang high, Shen Nian slowly opened his mouth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the theme of my discourse today consists of only two words: hero. I will now speak about what a hero is and how one can become a hero!"

After saying that, Shen Nian put her hands behind her back and looked around.

"Raise your hand if you have never read or heard a storyteller retell 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'!"

The soldiers were taken aback. They had thought Shen Nian would talk about something lofty, but to their surprise, he started by talking about the popular book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," which had been circulating in handwritten copies throughout the streets and alleys since around the first year of the Jiajing reign.

This book remains a bestseller today and supports at least half of the world's storytellers.

Even those who are illiterate can recount the story of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden.

Even the young Wanli Emperor read it more than twice.

After a short while, no one raised their hand.

Shen Nian smiled and looked down, asking, "Does everyone think Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang, is a hero?"

"Yes!" The nine hundred soldiers shouted in unison, their voices loud and clear. If Guan Yu was not a hero, then there were no heroes in the Three Kingdoms period.

Shen Nian continued, "Killing Hua Xiong while the wine is still warm is heroic; riding alone for a thousand miles is loyalty; releasing Cao Mengde at Huarong Pass is kindness... These are all characteristics of a hero."

"A hero is not one who acts violently, flaunts power, or stands above the law. A hero is one who earns the recognition of the people. The purpose of the Jingwu Academy is to cultivate you all into heroes in the hearts of the people!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all nine hundred soldiers raised their heads, and many of them exuded a heroic aura between their brows.

Every man has the fantasy of becoming a hero when he is young.

"In prefectures, counties, and villages, those who uphold justice for the weak and poor are hailed as heroes by the people; in major cities of provinces, those who boost the city's commerce and save many people from famine are also hailed as heroes; and in the capital, those who devise new strategies to strengthen the country and enrich the people are also hailed as heroes by the people..."

"You are in the military camp, as the emperor's personal guard, and the future great generals and commanders of the court. How can you become heroes?"

Shen Nian posed the question and looked around below again.

Immediately, the soldiers began to think seriously.

After pausing for a few moments, Shen Nian announced loudly, "In my classroom, you may speak without asking permission. Everyone is free to speak!"

"Scholar Shen, I believe that anyone who can protect His Majesty's safety for a long time is a hero!"

"Scholar Shen, I believe that anyone who can become the commander-in-chief of an army and repel all Tatar invasions is a hero!"

"Scholar Shen, I believe that anyone who can ensure there is no chaos in the capital is a hero!"

……

After listening to the soldiers' answers and waiting for them to stop speaking, Shen Nian said loudly, "What everyone said is correct, but it is not comprehensive!"

"In my eyes, if you want to become heroes, you must possess the power to protect the entire Ming Dynasty. The entire Ming Dynasty, including all its people, all its things, every inch of its territory, including a single stalk of wheat within its borders, will not be destroyed by any foreign tribe without our permission!"

The force to protect the entire Ming Dynasty?
Upon hearing this answer, the soldiers all felt it was impossible; they were too insignificant to possess such immense power.

Shen Nian continued, "Think about it from a different perspective. Start by protecting every citizen, every inch of land, and every grain of wheat in the Ming Dynasty. In the future, you may command thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers. When accumulated, this will become a massive force!"

"Remember this: a soldier who doesn't want to become a general is not a good soldier!"

"I tell you that you must possess the power to protect the entire Ming Dynasty, so that you will be ambitious, hardworking, fearless, and have a sense of belonging to the entire Ming Dynasty!"

“You now belong not only to His Majesty, not only to the court, but also to all the people of the Ming Dynasty.”

"I will always remember the words of Yue Pengju, a famous general of the Song Dynasty: 'I would rather freeze to death than dismantle a house, and starve to death than plunder.' Soldiers with such character are seen by the people as having the ability to protect the Ming Dynasty. The people will support them wholeheartedly. Once you have the support of the people, do you still think it is difficult to have the power to protect the entire Ming Dynasty?"

"To become a hero of the Ming Dynasty, one must start from the smallest details, do every little thing well, strengthen oneself first, and then gain the support of the people. The support of the people is the most powerful force to protect the Ming Dynasty!"

……

Before long, the soldiers understood Shen Nian's meaning.

Heroes are supported by the people. Only by gaining the support of the people can they protect the entire Ming Dynasty and ensure its prosperity and longevity.

This is the purpose for which the imperial court trained them.

As for protecting the emperor, driving out the Tatars, and ensuring the peace of the capital, these are merely a few smaller objectives under this larger goal.

"Do you want to become heroes of the Ming Dynasty?" Shen Nian suddenly raised his voice.

"miss you!"

Do you want to become heroes of the Ming Dynasty?

"miss you!"

Do you want to become heroes of the Ming Dynasty?

"miss you!"

Shen Nian asked three times, his voice growing louder and louder, and the nine hundred soldiers answered three times, their voices also growing louder and louder.

At that moment, many soldiers seemed to have found a purpose in life.

Becoming a hero of the Ming Dynasty would not only allow them to have everything they wanted, but also ensure that the people of the world and even future generations would remember their names.

Instructors Zhang Rong, Liang Menglong, and Zhou Linshan were all stunned.

All they remembered was that when Shen Nian started talking about Guan Yu, they were completely led astray by her.

Then, after hearing Shen Nian talk about the heroes who possessed the power to protect the entire Ming Dynasty, a surge of passion welled up in their bodies, and they subconsciously clenched their fists, as a tremendous force surged through their bodies.

This is the charm of Shen Nian's lectures.

In particular, the sayings "A soldier who doesn't want to become a general is not a good soldier" and "The support of the people is the strongest force to protect the Ming Dynasty" are very likely to spread throughout all military camps and garrisons of the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Nian always manages to immerse his listeners perfectly, making them believe everything he says.

He didn't talk about loyalty to the emperor and serving the country, nor about sharing the emperor's burdens while receiving the emperor's salary, nor about soldiers being fearless of death, but his concept of "becoming a hero" encompassed everything.

The word "hero" is as irresistible to every soldier as the posthumous title "Wenzheng" is to civil officials.

Shen Nian looked at the very excited soldiers.

"Finally, before this class ends, I'd like to leave you all with one last piece of advice: cherish your time at Jingwu Academy, and be grateful for all the setbacks and injustices, as they are all accumulating energy for your future!"

"get out of class dismissed!" Shen Nian bowed to the students below.

All the soldiers stood up and then bowed in unison, saying, "Thank you for your instruction, Scholar Shen!"

This one lesson was enough to make Shen Nian the most respected teacher in the hearts of the nine hundred soldiers.

(End of this chapter)