Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 155 Civil and Military Achievements: My Choice of Martial Arts (Part 2)
The fifteenth day of the tenth month of the first year of Chongzhen's reign (1641) was the day of the imperial examination for military officers.

This day is not recorded in history.

This is all because since the civil officials took power in the Ming Dynasty, the military examinations have become increasingly useless. It was already considered good if the civil officials could simply hold a military examination, and the palace examination for military examinations had not been held for who knows how long.

At least, there are very few records of the imperial examination for military officers in historical books.

After the Yongle reign, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were all misled by civil officials, focusing only on civil administration and neglecting military achievements.

Therefore, the military strength of the Ming Dynasty plummeted.

During the Yongle reign, the Ming Dynasty was still incredibly powerful and invincible.

In just twenty-five years, the Ming Dynasty's military prowess was completely destroyed. In the Tumu Crisis, the Ming Dynasty was utterly defeated by tens of thousands of troops of Esen of the Oirat Mongols. Emperor Yingzong was captured, and hundreds of thousands of elite troops of the Beijing Garrison were wiped out like paper!
I don't know what the emperors of the Ming Dynasty after Yongle were thinking. Could a dynasty really cripple itself?
He's trying to kill himself!
Zhu Jue was naturally not fooled by the civil officials in the outer court. Between civil administration and military achievements, he would definitely choose military achievements.

This is because the world now operates on the law of the jungle; might makes right, and everything else is meaningless.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., he personally came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to test the martial arts candidates. Not only him, but Zheng Zhilong and even Zheng Chenggong also came.

Zheng Zhilong came here because Zheng Chenggong insisted on coming.

The father and son, dressed in bright red python robes, stood on either side of the emperor. They looked less like door gods and more like members of the royal family.

Their appearance somewhat surprised the three hundred military candidates who had been listed as tribute students.

However, the imperial examination for military officers had not been held for many years, and no one remembered the rules. No one knew whether dukes, marquises, and nobles would come. Since no one knew the rules, what they saw was naturally the only rule.

Therefore, these martial arts candidates were only slightly taken aback, and did not find it particularly surprising.

Soon, the imperial examination for military officers began.

No one remembers what the martial arts palace examination was supposed to test. However, it certainly couldn't be like the civil service palace examination, where one could just sit there and write essays. Military generals were meant to lead troops into battle; being good at writing essays alone was useless.

Lu Xiang-sheng also made special arrangements to test three martial arts subjects in the morning: lifting stone weights, archery, and martial arts competition.

The stone weight was used to prove that the selected martial arts candidates were all strong and powerful, not weak scholars.

Of course, this had already been tested during the imperial examination; Lu Xiang-sheng was simply having the selected martial arts candidates demonstrate their physical prowess.

These martial arts graduates could lift at least 200 jin of stone weights, and many could lift 300 or 400 jin. The most skilled could even lift 500 jin!
That guy, a 500-pound stone lock is two and a half person-sized giant rocks, which together are taller than the stone lions outside the Huangji Gate.

This is truly a force that can uproot mountains and an aura that can overwhelm the world.

Zhu Jue was thrilled when he saw it, and Zheng Chenggong couldn't help but want to clap his hands.

Next up was archery, with targets set up a hundred paces away. Of course, the martial arts candidates who made it onto the list couldn't possibly miss the target; there were plenty of those who could hit the bullseye from a hundred paces away.

That archery skill is amazing.

Zheng Chenggong couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, may I clap my hands?"

The rules are set by me.

The imperial examination for military officers should look like an imperial examination for military officers, not like the lifeless imperial examination for civil servants.

Zhu Jue glanced at the Imperial Guards around him, whose faces were flushed from holding their breath, and nodded readily, saying, "Yes, feel free to take pictures, even cheers are fine."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chenggong immediately clapped his hands and shouted, "Great!"

Suddenly, almost everyone's eyes turned to this side.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue said directly, "Cheng'en, convey my imperial decree that everyone can cheer. The martial arts examination should be conducted in the manner of a martial arts examination. No one can remain silent on the battlefield. Everyone should not hold back."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen immediately arranged for someone to convey the imperial edict. Before long, cheers and applause resounded throughout the Huangji Hall Square.

Everyone enjoyed watching it, and the martial arts examinee was even more excited.

Next up is the martial arts competition.

This competition is a real contest with real weapons, and participants can choose any weapon they like and demonstrate all eighteen martial arts skills.

Of course, this is just a martial arts competition, not a battle to kill enemies. We must know when to stop, otherwise, it would be bad if someone were to die.

This restriction somewhat limited their abilities, but the competition was still quite exciting.

This is because these martial arts graduates all learned techniques for killing enemies on the battlefield. There were no fancy moves at all; the key was speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy.

Those guys, the ones wielding spears, their thrusts were like lightning, the spear tip instantly hitting a person's neck; the ones wielding iron rods were like sweeping away a thousand troops, one blow could send a person flying far away; the ones wielding broadswords could even chop their opponents to the ground, weapon and all!
Zheng Chenggong clapped until his little hands were red.

Zhu Jue couldn't help but have a new idea.

These martial arts candidates, or those who are about to pass the imperial examinations, are all talented in both literature and martial arts. Their talents should not be wasted. They should be given the opportunity to lead troops into battle so that they can make contributions and achieve success. This will attract more people to take the martial arts examinations.

Unfortunately, the total number of troops in the Beijing Garrison was only 190,000 at this time. Even if all officers above the rank of 1,000 were selected from these military graduates, there would only be a total of more than 200 positions. Moreover, the Beijing Garrison already had quite a few officers.

If he wants these military graduates to have the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, then he needs to expand the capital garrison as soon as possible.

With the expansion of the Beijing Garrison, there are more troops available, making it possible to recover lost territory, expand the territory, and even dominate the seas.

The problem is that if you recruit men, you have to pay them wages, equip them with weapons and equipment, and provide them with sufficient provisions and supplies.

This is all money, and not just a little bit.

The current expenses for the 190,000 soldiers of the Beijing Garrison amount to over a million taels of silver per month. Not to mention the Liaodong border troops and the Sichuan White Spear Army. Hong Chengchou shamelessly demanded the provisions for 30,000 troops. Zhu Kuiyuan also submitted a memorial stating that there was enough food and that a large army should be assembled to quell the She-An Rebellion.

With so many troops, money is needed. The meager profits from the capital, Nanjing, and Japan are not enough. How can he expand his forces?
Should we let these military graduates rest for a few months and then expand the Beijing garrison next spring when the flowers bloom?
This seems to be affecting the morale of the troops. When leading troops into battle, it is important to strike with one burst of energy. It is not good to let most of the military candidates rest during the first imperial examination.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, then asked, "Zhilong, is it feasible to do business in Southeast Asia? If we were to do it, how big could we go, and how much could we roughly earn in a year?"

Business in Southeast Asia is certainly possible, but it's not something you can just do on a whim.

Zheng Zhilong thought carefully for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, I originally intended to do business in the South Seas after eradicating the pirates in the Southeast."

At this time, the countries in Southeast Asia were also wealthy, because they had many gold mines, and they also produced spices and precious woods, which were all in high demand when transported to the Ming Dynasty.

The problem is that Southeast Asia is too chaotic. There are too many people vying for business, and it's not uncommon for cargo ships to be robbed. The Dutch, British, French, and even Spanish could all potentially plunder cargo ships.

Therefore, to make a living in Southeast Asia, you need a powerful navy. The stronger the navy, the bigger the business can be. If you can seize all the business there, earning a million taels of gold a year is definitely not a problem.

This only includes the money earned from Southeast Asia, not the money earned from bringing back spices and precious timber from Southeast Asia.

If the business of spices and precious timber could also be established, earning several million more taels a year wouldn't be a problem.

The problem is that their navy is not strong enough right now.

If we were to start doing business in Southeast Asia now, we would probably have to send all of Zheng Zhilong's warships, which are over 800 liao in length, there.

By the way, the second batch of ships is almost finished.

By then, there will be fifty ships of 800 taels each. We can take advantage of the year-end to go to Southeast Asia and make a fortune, bringing back millions of taels of gold without any problem.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Then you should make good preparations and see what goods are in high demand in Southeast Asia, and what we can produce or purchase. Prepare all the goods and have Zhihu make a trip to Southeast Asia before the New Year."

(End of this chapter)