Mainly, exchanging the military power of the Grand Secretariat for the Tumet was quite a good deal.
The Group Assistant cannot influence much; ahead of him are two Vice Grand Secretaries and one Grand Secretary, but the most important factor is the attitude of the Emperor.
There will be even more preferential treatment for them later." Zhu Ci said while pruning some flower branches, "I want to set up some schools in Tumet.
"Schools?" Fu was clearly a bit surprised.
Zhu Ci gave an affirmative response. He plucked a flower, turned to tuck it behind Fu's ear, said with a smile, "The beauty of the face and the beauty of the blossom reflect each other's radiance."
Although they weren't peach blossoms, the pink azaleas were not much different.
Fu looked at the Emperor with a hint of helplessness; were they not discussing serious business?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Do I need to wait for the right time to tease you? The little kitty is acting arrogant with its hands on its hips. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 284
Zhu Ci put down the scissors and answered Fu's question: "Exactly. By establishing schools and letting them learn to read and write, even if they maintain their own lifestyles, what difference would there be between them and the Han people if they speak Chinese and read Chinese books? Even among the Han people, different regions have different customs."
This land has never relied on race or bloodline for identity, but rather on cultural identity.
Fu Qingsheng thought it made sense, but in the past, they had always sent Han envoys to civilize the people; why did they want to establish schools now?
Consider it a pilot program. If the results are good, we might establish more in other places in the future," Zhu Ci said thoughtfully. "The rulers of every dynasty feared nothing more than the awakening of the people's intellect, but I believe that education only awakens it to a limited extent and won't cause any real trouble.
In later generations, even when literacy campaigns were carried out, the illiteracy rate remained so high that, in reality, most people could only recognize a few characters. Never mind discussing the great affairs of state; they couldn't even figure out their own studies or work.
Of course, it cannot be denied that some children from humble backgrounds would emerge, but they were ultimately as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Unfortunately, if he were to rashly implement universal education, setting aside whether or not there was enough money, the first to oppose him would be the civil and military officials.
Therefore, Zhu Ci simply decided to try it out in Tumet first, at that time, allow the Tumet people to participate in the imperial examinations as well.
In the future, once there are more Mongols, we will expand it to other ethnic groups; by then, the civil and military officials will be clamoring to have the Han people receive an education as well.
Although national policy aims to treat all ethnic groups equally, it is not an easy task to completely eliminate ethnic barriers at the moment.
Fu listened slowly to Zhu Ci's words, thought for a moment, said, "That would work, but I fear the choice of candidates.."
Zhu Ci said, "That is simple. Anyone who has experience in assisting the Mongols will surely see a promotion upon their return, so there will naturally be people willing to go."
Fu pondered, "In that case, there will certainly be people willing to go, but I'm afraid the Ministry of Personnel won't agree."
Zhu Ci glanced at him and said, "It doesn't matter whether they are willing or not. There won't be too many people going to aid the Mongols in the early stages. There is no need to make it too explicit; just keep detailed records of those who go. When they return, or if they go through the Grand Secretariat, I will personally issue an imperial decree. Once it happens enough times, it will become an established custom, regardless of whether they agree or not."
Fine.
Once the Little Emperor had made up his mind to do something, no one could stop him.
The most important thing was that this was quite deceptive, because since people would be sent to help the Tumet Mongols reclaim wasteland for cultivation, the teachers who would instruct them in literacy would travel with the group.
Lamazabu did not expect there to be additional benefits. He was not originally interested in things like schools, but upon hearing that those who achieved success in their studies could participate in the imperial examinations, he became very intrigued.
Now that the Tumet have submitted to Great Ming, it is no simple vassalage, but rather they have truly become a part of Great Ming.
Therefore, for the sake of his own clan and for the sake of the Tumet, he certainly hoped that the people of his tribe would gain more and more influence in the imperial court.
Since the Emperor refused to enter into a marriage alliance, their options were significantly limited.
However, the specific details would have to wait until after the New Year to continue negotiations, as many of the matters involved were extremely complex.
Zhu Ci only needs to provide the ideas, but Fu needs to lead the Grand Secretariat in discussing and standardizing them bit by bit.
However, no matter how much of a workaholic Fu was, he would no longer handle official business during his time off as he once did.
In the past, it was because he had nothing else to do during his holidays, he himself wasn't particularly interested in those boring banquets or musical performances. Now, even if he does nothing but spend his days with the Little Emperor admiring flowers and snow, it is quite enjoyable; why would he insist on working?
This year, everyone had gained much, both from the imperial court and personally. As the New Year drew closer, the joy on everyone's faces grew even more apparent.
At the New Year's banquet, once the formal proceedings had concluded and several rounds of wine had been passed, the gentlemen, who were usually so well-dressed and dignified, began to reveal their true natures.
There were dancers, poets, singers, even acrobats.
Zhu Ci had originally thought that if it became truly boring, he and Fu would leave the banquet early, but he hadn't expected his subjects to be so capable of putting on such a show.
He sat in the seat of honor, watching in a daze, for a moment, he actually felt reluctant to leave.
The consequence of being too unrestrained was that many people ended up getting drunk. Helpless, Zhu Ci could only specially open a side hall to send these people there to sober up and cool down, lest they catch a cold from the wind after sweating so much, which would turn their joy into sorrow.
On a normal day, Zhu Ci might have let them stay overnight in the palace; after all, there was plenty of space in the Imperial Palace, they could always make room.
But today was New Year's Eve. Throughout this year, many people had been separated from their families for long periods; even when they were with their families, they had been living in constant anxiety. Now that the world had finally found peace, this was the first New Year, most people surely wanted to spend it with their families.
After Zhu Ci instructed the subordinates to take good care of these pillars of the nation, he turned and returned to the inner palace with Fu.
The two of them left very low-key, without alerting anyone, they originally thought that no one would see them.
However, as Zhu Ci was chatting with Zhang Huangyan, he looked up just in time to see the two of them disappearing together behind the screen.
He couldn't help but widen his eyes. For a moment, he even doubted whether his eyes had deceived him, but there was no way he could have mistaken the bright yellow dragon robe on Zhu Ci or the silver hair visible on the Grand Secretary.
Actually, at this point in time, it was almost the Hour of the Rat, so it was quite normal for the Emperor to leave early, it was also quite normal for the Grand Secretary to leave early.
But it was very strange for the two of them to leave together, especially since that direction led toward the inner palace!
Zhu Ci felt as if he had accidentally learned something he shouldn't have, in that instant, he sobered up considerably.
After a long silence, Zhu Ci decided to suppress all his doubts and not probe into the matter for the time being. He should keep his mouth shut; regardless of what the relationship was between the Grand Secretary and the Emperor, it had nothing to do with him.
However, he still couldn't help but recall that, to be honest, during this recent period, the Grand Secretary and His Majesty seemed to have become even closer; in the past, His Majesty would only occasionally keep the Grand Secretary behind to discuss state affairs.
However, lately, it seemed that regardless of whether it was a large or small court assembly, Grand Secretary Fu would stay behind after every dismissal.
Zhu Ci had always thought that the Great Ming had simply been too busy since it had just stabilized, but now he realized that this matter.. was not something to be thought too deeply about.
"Your Highness? Your Highness?" Beside him, Zhang Huangyan was somewhat puzzled.
They had been chatting just fine, so why did this Prince suddenly stare blankly toward the throne? Even if His Majesty had left the room, it shouldn't have been enough to cause such shock, right?
Zhu Ci snapped back to his senses and managed a forced smile: "Oh, it's nothing. I just saw His Majesty leave and was a bit worried whether His Majesty had drunk too much."
He shouldn't have, but even if he did, it wouldn't matter." Zhang Huangyan said casually. "His Highness the Prince of Yue left with His Majesty; I'm sure he will keep a close eye on him and take good care of him.
Zhu Ci stammered instantly, "You.. you.. you saw it too?"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: This chaotic New Year banquet is truly an eyesore; I'd rather go on a date with the Grand Secretary. A kitty curled up in Fu's embrace, wagging its tail. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock
Chapter 285
Zhang Huangyan revealed a knowing smile and said, "It's nothing particularly unusual."
His words instead plunged Zhu Ci into deep thought. What exactly did Zhang Huangyan mean by saying it was nothing to find strange?
Did he think it was nothing unusual that the Emperor and the Grand Secretary had left, or had he already guessed something?
Zhu Ci shook his head. No, that wasn't right. His Majesty and the Grand Secretary might have other matters to discuss, which is why they left together. How could he be so certain there was something wrong between the two of them?
But.. it was truly hard not to let one's mind wander.
Zhu Ci feigned a yawn and said, "It is getting late; the Marquis of Jinghai must be heading back to reunite with his family, right?"
Zhang Huangyan glanced at the large clock placed in the hall and immediately said, "That is correct. I shall take my leave now."
Zhu Ci stood up and said, "This Prince should also be going."
After you, His Highness the Prince of Qi.
Zhu Ci paused, it took him a moment to realize that he was now the Prince of Qi.
Mm, during that previous wave of collective honors, he not only received the title of Prince of Qi, but was even exceptionally permitted to pass the title down through his lineage. Although his grandson would have to inherit a lower rank, it was still considered preferential treatment.
Of course, the title of the man before him had also been elevated to Marquis of Jinghai.
He walked out together with Zhang Huangyan. As the wind blew, he looked up at the moon in the sky and suddenly felt that after experiencing so much, it was good enough just to have survived; why bother investigating what the Emperor's life was actually like?
Thinking about his younger cousin being all alone in the vast Imperial Palace all day long, it was quite lonely.
"Lonely" Zhu Ci was currently making dumplings and tangyuan with Fu.
They hadn't really decided what to do either; they couldn't exactly head straight to the sleeping quarters, could they? It felt a bit strange to celebrate the New Year like that.
After discussing things back and forth, they eventually ended up not knowing what to do, Zhu Ci began reminiscing about the past, so the two of them inexplicably started getting handsy with each other.
Zhu Ci used to be a Northerner and was accustomed to eating dumplings during the New Year, whereas Fu had eaten tangyuan for the New Year since he was a child.
When he was in Nanjing before, Zhu Ci usually followed local customs, but for some reason, once he arrived in the North, his genes began to take over.
This palace banquet basically included both dumplings and tangyuan.
Fu looked at the crooked dumplings Zhu Ci had made, fell silent for a moment, set down the tangyuan in his hands, turned to help wrap the dumplings.
Zhu Ci had originally intended to give him some guidance, but after Fu finished making one, he compared the two and decisively abandoned the idea; the dumplings Fu made were even better than his.
Zhu Ci tilted his head and watched for a while before sighing and saying, "Your skills are truly impressive."
By comparison, his dumplings looked rather tragic.
However, Zhu Ci's cooking skills had never been much; if he were left to fend for himself, he could at most cook a bowl of noodles and wouldn't starve to death.
Fu Qingsheng said, "It can't compare to the imperial chefs in the palace."
"That's different." Zhu Ci simply switched tasks and began wrapping Tangyuan.
Anyway.. as long as I can roll them into spheres, it's fine; there's no particularly great technical difficulty.
Compared to Fu, Zhu Ci felt like he was the one who had been raised in luxury.
But on second thought, perhaps that was indeed the case.
After all, Fu's life had not been easy since childhood; he had survived and struggled to grow up all on his own, with no one to rely on, everyone who saw him treated him like a monster.
Thinking about it this way, Zhu Ci felt a bit of regret; he had met Fu a bit too late. If only it had been a little earlier.. oh, it seems there was no way it could have been any earlier.