Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 156 Civil and Military Achievements: My Choice of Martial Arts (Part 2)
After the palace examination, Zhu Jue officially designated the list of successful candidates in the palace examination for military officers in the first year of the Chongzhen reign (1648).

Zhu Youzhen, the martial arts champion, was born with the imperial surname, but he was not a member of the royal family. He was a military household member of the Guangzhou Left Guard of the Guangdong Provincial Military Command.

Pan Guozhong, the second-place finisher, came from a military household of the Hanzhong Garrison under the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command, while Wang Laipin, the third-place finisher, was from Huaining County, Anqing Prefecture, Southern Zhili Province, and was not from a military household of the garrison.

The other second and third class military graduates will not be discussed for the time being.

Zhu Jue attached great importance to this imperial examination for military officers. In addition to bestowing a banquet of honor upon the candidates according to the tradition of the imperial examination for civil officials and holding a parade of the top military officer, he also directly appointed all the military graduates as officers of the Beijing Garrison.

Zhu Youzhen, the martial arts champion, was directly appointed as the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison, while Pan Guozhong, the second-place winner, and Wang Laipin, the third-place winner, were directly appointed as assistant commanders of the Beijing garrison.

Those who passed the imperial examination in the second class were awarded the titles of Guerrilla General and Captain respectively, according to their ranking, while those who passed the military examination in the third class were all awarded the title of Captain of the Beijing Garrison.

This system of granting military ranks was unprecedented. The lowest rank, Qianzong, was a fifth-rank official, while the highest rank, Fuzongbing, was a second-rank official.

The top scholar in the imperial examination for literature could only be appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official. The second-rank scholar could be appointed as a sixth-rank official, which was considered quite good. The rest were basically seventh-rank censors or county magistrates.

Military positions were never granted in this way during the military examinations. For example, the famous general Yu Dayou ranked fifth in the military examination in the fourteenth year of the Jiajing reign, and he was originally a hereditary centurion, but he was only granted the position of chiliarch.

That's good for him; even at the very least, he's a commander in the Beijing Garrison, which has more real power than a commander in the local garrison.

That wasn't all. After the imperial military examination, he ordered Lu Xiang-sheng to begin recruiting infantrymen from the capital garrison. This time, he recruited 200,000 infantrymen!
He wanted to ensure that all military graduates had sufficient troops under their command.

However, the construction of the outer city of the capital did not stop.

The construction of the outer city should be completed in one go, so that the infantry of the capital garrison can be deployed to fight. If the construction of the outer city is delayed like this, who knows when it will be completed.

Time flies, and it's already the end of October.

While the capital was already gripped by howling winds, the western outer city was a hive of activity. Over 100,000 able-bodied farmers were frantically digging the moat and the canal connecting to the Wenyu River with their hoes, while 200,000 newly conscripted infantrymen and the remaining tens of thousands of young men from the Beijing Garrison were building the city walls with their trowels.

Around 1:00 AM that day, hundreds of riders swarmed out of Fucheng Gate. Among them were Lu Xiangshan, Zheng Zhilong, Huang Degong, Zhu Youzhen, and others. It seemed that they went to check on the progress of the city wall under construction on the west side every day at this time.

In fact, the one who was actually checking the progress was Zhu Jue, who was hiding among them.

When they arrived at the west gate of the outer city, they saw that the huge arch of the gate was already completed, and the city wall was almost ten feet high. On both sides of the gate, countless craftsmen and their families were quickly building their courtyards.

Zhu Jue reached out and felt the cold wind, then looked at the somewhat gloomy sky and sighed softly, "This year's first snow is probably coming earlier than last year's."

The city wall and the moat outside the city should be able to be completed, but the city gate towers, arrow stalks, and the inner city walls separating the city walls probably won't have time to be built, and the canal connecting to the Wenyu River probably won't be able to be dug either.

How do you say this?

Lu Xiang-sheng thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, we can actually work even when it snows, even if the world is frozen over."

Working in the dead of winter is a bit cold, but it also helps to build a strong physique. The reason why the Liaodong Border Army is the strongest among the nine border towns is because the winters there are the coldest. The soldiers are used to resisting the severe cold, so their physiques are naturally stronger than those of ordinary people.

Therefore, I believe it is advisable to allow the 200,000 newly conscripted infantrymen to continue constructing the city walls during the winter. Only three sections of the inner city wall are needed in total, and the two on the north side are only about ten li long, while the western section is longer. Completing the construction in one winter should not be a problem.”

That makes sense. Working when the world is frozen not only helps to strengthen the body but also helps to build perseverance.

If you can't feel anything when the biting cold wind blows on your body, then you'll feel even less when you suffer minor injuries on the battlefield.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue slowly nodded and said, "Well, let them keep working until the New Year, consider it training. By the way, Elder Yuan, do you think these newly recruited artisans, young and strong, can work outside when the world is frozen?"

The Emperor's father-in-law, Yuan You, nodded without hesitation and said, "This should not be a problem. I am also from a crafts family, and I have also experienced hardship and toil."

Winters have been getting colder and colder these past few years. To earn a living, we artisans have to go out and work, even when the world is frozen and we're wearing tattered clothes. Every family and every member of these artisans has been given a bolt of cotton cloth, and they're all wearing thick new clothes. They shouldn't have any problem working when the world is frozen.

"Your Majesty, we artisans aren't afraid of the cold or the hard work; what we fear most is not earning enough money to eat, and our families going to starve to death."

That's absolutely true; artisans were really in a bad situation back then.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Well, let them work together then. Let's try to finish all the work before the New Year so that everyone can have a peaceful New Year."

What do these artisans do after the New Year?

Nowadays, it seems that only silk and cloth are produced without the use of steam engines.

The reason they didn't lack silk and cloth at this time was because Wei Zhongxian had already seized a lot of silk, cloth, raw silk and cotton.

They definitely can't rely on robbing anymore. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to get that much. Once they start doing business with the Spanish, they could potentially sell tens of millions of bolts of silk and tens of millions of bolts of cotton cloth that year.

Perhaps we could consider building a weaving factory here, and a spinning mill in the eastern part of the city. Anyway, the waterways in the capital are well-connected now, so it would be very convenient to bring the spun yarn by boat and then transport the woven cloth to the canal wharf.

As he was pondering this, a fast rider suddenly galloped towards him from the direction of the inner city.

A moment later, Fang Zhenghua returned with a memorial in hand, bowing with a joyful expression, and said, "Your Majesty, good news from the southwest."

Has the She'an Rebellion been quelled?
Zhu Jue took the memorial and looked at it; it was indeed true.

Zhu Kuiyuan, the governor-general of five provinces, submitted a memorial to the emperor, proposing to gather more than 100,000 troops from the chieftains of Yunnan and Guizhou to encircle and feign an attack on the southwest of Shuixi, while simultaneously gathering tens of thousands of troops from the chieftains of Sichuan and Chongqing to encircle and feign an attack on the north of Shuixi. Qin Liangyu, the general of the Eastern Sichuan Circuit, led 50,000 White Spear Soldiers as the main force to launch a fierce attack from the east of Shuixi.

Qin Liangyu lived up to expectations, beheading She Chongming and An Bangyan in battle, defeating the main force of the rebel army, annihilating more than 10,000 enemies and wounding countless others. An Wei of the Shuixi An clan surrendered in fear. Thus, the She-An rebellion was completely quelled.

Ok.

Zhu Kuiyuan was indeed formidable.

Qin Liangyu lived up to my expectations.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and then decisively said, "If I am foolish, I will draft an edict to promote Zhu Kuiyuan, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, to the position of Governor-General of Five Provinces, and to grant his son the title of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I will also promote Qin Liangyu, the General of the Eastern Sichuan Route, to the position of Marquis of Loyalty, with the title to be hereditary and permanent."

He ordered Zhu Kuiyuan to remain in charge of the five southwestern provinces, pacify the local chieftains, and prevent further rebellions. He also ordered Qin Liangyu to return to Chongqing Prefecture to guard the gateway to Sichuan.

Ah!
Qin Liangyu was a female general, wasn't she?
It is rare for a female general to lead troops, and it is even more unprecedented for her to be ennobled for her military achievements.

Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with shock.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was shocked, but his expression was also complicated.

Who is Qin Liangyu, and why is she more favored by His Majesty than I am?
I had to wipe out more than ten pirate groups before I was gradually promoted to the rank of Marquis, but Qin Liangyu went straight to the rank of Marquis!

The generals of the Beijing garrison were shocked but also delighted.

It is a great thing that Your Majesty values ​​military merit so much.

If they can achieve enough military merits, they may have a chance to be ennobled and granted titles.

(End of this chapter)