The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, in the alchemy furnace of the Jiajing Daoist, honeycomb briquettes were burning fiercely, radiating warmth throughout the entire hall, so Galdan only needed to wear an undershirt.

Zhou Peigong, who had just returned to the capital for three days of recuperation, had just arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation and had already eagerly handed over a book.

"Your Majesty, these are some notes on the lives of people in various regions, which I recorded after I became the governor of the Northwest, following your instructions."

"Regarding the Hexi Corridor, which Your Majesty is most concerned about, although I have not personally visited it, I have heard from Zhao Weishang, the former military fortresses and post stations of the Ming Dynasty, that they still exist. With just a little repair, they can become a long-distance supply line for our dynasty to Hami, Ili, and Kazakhstan!"

"The cost of supplies alone along the way could feed two to three million people, not to mention the highly profitable trade in porcelain and tea!"

Galdan took the manual, which contained a lot of information, such as that potatoes had already begun to be planted on a large scale in the Loess Plateau and Hexi Corridor.

The salt from Huamachi remains a top priority in the Northwest, and the soldiers from Guanzhong are still of high quality.

Galdan remembered that potatoes were the main crop in the Northwest, and that it was thanks to this crop that so many people could be fed on that barren land.

The key is that potatoes grown elsewhere, whether in terms of taste or how well they withstand cooking, are not as good as those from Northwest China.

Now that the planting had begun, Galdan stopped worrying about it and instructed officials to promote it in Shanxi, Liaodong, and Shandong.

As for the Hexi Corridor, Galdan planned to send caravans to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Persia, and even establish diplomatic and trade relations with the Ottoman Empire.

With money in hand, we can recover the south as soon as possible. With this thought, Galdan closed the book. Just as he was about to discuss military matters, the old eunuch Zhao Fengnian walked in. He was the same eunuch who designed military uniforms for the Han Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, General Liu Xin has escorted the entire Kong family back to the capital and has come to inquire about their placement."

Galdan waved his hand in response.

"There's no need to ask for permission for this. Just send them directly to the Shuntian Prefecture government office for imprisonment. Their food and lodging will be the same as those of ordinary prisoners. Let them experience the hardships of ordinary people!"

Seeing Galdan's attitude toward the Kong family, Zhou Peigong's lips twitched.

"Your Majesty, this Duke Yansheng... is, after all, a descendant of Confucius. Is this not inappropriate?"

Upon hearing this, Galdan immediately raised his hand to stop Zhou Peigong from continuing, and then took a book from the table.

"This is what I found in the library of the former Ming Dynasty. It is Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind, which contains the concepts of 'mind is principle,' 'extending innate knowledge,' and 'the unity of knowledge and action,' which greatly resonate with me!"

"The scholars and officials of our great Han Dynasty should study more, try more, and do more practical work. They should not be confined to the Analects of Confucius and become empty talkers!"

"Therefore, I intend to replace the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism with the School of Mind!"

In fact, most of the capable officials in a dynasty were from the school of Neo-Confucianism, because they practiced what they preached. It's just that they felt they had been influenced by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism since childhood.

Moreover, the philosophy of mind is more suitable for technological development because its core is the pursuit of knowledge; the less you understand something, the more you need to understand it.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Peigong seemed to have made up his mind and stood up to bow with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Your Majesty, Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind could not be promoted in the Ming Dynasty because he advocated the divine right of kings, which conflicted with the Confucian concept of the divine right of kings."

"At that time, people's hearts will be more open, which will be detrimental to the imperial court!"

Upon seeing this, Galdan quickly waved his hand. He knew that Zhou Peigong would say such a thing, but he was from a later era and knew that the end of imperial power was inevitable. So what was wrong with taking the initiative to enlighten the people and leave a good reputation?

As some netizens have said, if Puyi had carried a dagger and tried to stab the Japanese Emperor during their meeting, even if he hadn't succeeded, the reputation of the entire Aisin Gioro family would have been much better.

"It's alright. The so-called divine right of kings is nothing but nonsense in my eyes. Anyway, I've been emperor for so long and I haven't seen any gods!"

"On the contrary, Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind, which states that everything should be based on the people, and that a true ruler is one whose people cherish and support him, is the one I believe to be the truth!"

"Hundreds of years ago, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, even the lowest-ranking soldiers knew the saying: 'The emperor should be chosen by whoever has the strongest army and the most powerful horses.' I do not wish to deceive myself!"

Galdan's words relieved Zhou Peigong of any worries, and his attitude began to straighten out.

"Your Majesty, if you truly wish to promote the doctrine of mind, then you must do so legitimately. I suggest that you invite Mr. Sun Qifeng from Rongcheng to the court, and then, under the name of the contemporary Duke Yansheng, widely spread the doctrine of mind."

Galdan understands the art of using someone else's resources to achieve his own goals!

Once the philosophy of mind is fully promoted, its core idea of ​​"practical work" will coincide with the teacher's saying, "Without investigation, there is no right to speak."

From now on, there will be much less resistance to implementing the new policies.

Galdan was overjoyed at the thought.

"Since that's the case, then let's do it this way. Pei Gong, you've had a long day, go and rest. I'll arrange for someone to fetch Sun Qifeng immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peigong hurriedly stood up.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Sun Qifeng is already ninety years old this year. Please do not be violent; he cannot be taken lightly at his age!"

Upon hearing this, Galdan immediately looked embarrassed, as he had just intended to send Batel to invite him.

Looking back now, if Batel had gone there, Sun Qifeng would probably have been driven to his death by anger, given his advanced age.

"Alright, then send officials from the Ministry of Rites!"

"This is a way of showing him the respect he deserves!"

Hearing this, Zhou Peigong finally felt relieved.

……

The last day of 1674 AD.

Lunar New Year's Eve.

The area from Yongding Gate to Wumen was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Every three hundred steps, there were lanterns set up by Shuntian Prefecture for people to enjoy freely.

Along the streets, there were also many vendors selling lanterns and dolls, calling out to passersby.

Without the suppression of the Manchu Qing dynasty, a large number of people began to wear exquisite wide-sleeved Hanfu, and the colors gradually became more vibrant. Hats and hairpins also appeared on their heads.

The women mostly wore light red paired with fruit green, while the men wore various shades of blue and off-white.

The word "Hua" in "Huaxia" also means beautiful clothing. Regardless of whether they are Han, Miao, Yao, Yi, or Mongolian, they all love beauty, which is very different from the conservative and dark style of the Manchu dress.

……

In the capital city, which has only been developing for seven or eight months, there are already more than 700 wealthy households in the inner city. All of them were moved here by Galdan from various places, and of course, they all did so voluntarily.

The number of ordinary people in the outer city has grown from over 100,000 at the beginning to 300,000 now. Among them, the increase is mainly due to military officers who buy houses in the outer city after getting married.

Similarly, in order to maintain order, Shuntian Prefecture arranged for a group of Shuntian Prefecture yamen runners dressed in black military uniforms and carrying fire and water sticks to gather at the crossroads. They would be dispatched immediately if there were any screams or robberies were discovered.

Beijing, far from reaching its peak population, was already incredibly crowded outside Zhengyangmen Gate. At each of the ten stalls, people were queuing up, with thousands of people in total.