NCCnovel Chapter 740 Are Kings and Nobles Born with a Special Kindness?
Chapter 740 Are Kings and Nobles Born with a Special Kindness?
"I know what you're thinking. Joining the army and getting paid is just about making a living; it won't bring you the glory of scholars. It's like you're saying things that have nothing to do with you." Under the gaze of thousands of people, Liu Ye waved his hand and said loudly, "I won't talk to you about those grand theories of scholars. I'll just ask you one question: I'll give you a chance to lead your troops back to the north, to make the officials and gentry who used to ride roughshod over you kneel at your feet and tremble in fear, to make the Tartars who killed your families and burned your homes become the dead under your swords, to make you surpass those scholars and become the most respected group of people in the Ming Dynasty. Are you willing?"
These words were simple and direct, hitting the students' sore spots with every sentence.
For the students, who came from Shaanxi and were displaced people, natural disasters and heavy taxes were painful memories they didn't want to revisit. The reason they were easily coerced by the bandits was out of resistance against the oppression of the old order. If they had the chance to make the once high-ranking officials and landlords kneel at their feet and beg for mercy, what a delightful scene that would be! Their whole lives would seem to be complete.
For the students from the capital region, living under the emperor's nose, these past few years had been free from severe droughts and floods, and even with heavy taxes, they could manage. Only the incursions of the Tartars shattered their generations-long peace, destroying their homes and separating them from their loved ones. Before joining the Qionghai Army, they were powerless against the enemies responsible for all this. Now, with the opportunity to personally behead their enemies and console their families in heaven, sacrificing their lives seemed worthwhile.
Liu Ye's promise to elevate them beyond the esteemed scholars and make them the most respected group in the Ming Dynasty sounds like a fantasy, defying the heavens. However, the Qionghai Army has already created many miracles, and creating another seems possible. If all this could be achieved, their ancestral graves would be emitting auspicious smoke; they would no longer be lowly commoners but transformed into superior beings, bringing glory to their ancestors and deserving of shrines and memorial tablets from their descendants after death.
The goal was too good to be true, and no one believed it could be achieved so easily. They were stunned and no one answered, resulting in an awkward silence.
Liu Ye shook his head and said, "Have you been kneeling for too long and can't stand up anymore? Are kings and generals born with a special destiny? Everyone is born of parents, so why should you be lower than others? Why can't you surpass those gentry and scholars?"
Xiang Yu's heart pounded with excitement, a fire burning in his chest, making him feel suffocated. He raised his fist and shouted, "I do!"
Liu Ye turned his gaze over and pressed, "What are you willing to do?"
Xiang Yu stood up abruptly, clenched his fists tightly, and shouted, "I am willing to kill the Tartars with my own hands and avenge my parents! I am willing to follow the general, surpass those scholars, and become a person of high status!"
A man from Shaanxi, who had been at odds with Xiang Yu in Taiwan, stood up and shouted, "I'm willing to beat down all those county magistrates, yamen henchmen, and landlords who bully us, and make them kneel down and beg for mercy!"
Led by a few bolder individuals, the rest gradually came to their senses and joined in the shouting in varying degrees.
Liu Ye held up his hand in a fan shape to his ear and said, "I can't hear you. Are you willing to fight back to the North, kill the Manchu Tartars with your own hands, and kick the corrupt officials and gentry?"
The voices of thousands gradually merged into a unified cry: "I do!"
"Speak louder, I can't hear you. Are you all women? Can't you even speak properly?"
Xiang Yu, amidst the crowd, excitedly opened her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs along with those around her: "I do!"
The resounding shouts pierced the sky and echoed above the Ma Niao Military Academy, startling the birds in the surrounding woods, which then scattered in all directions.
"Good, that's manly enough! That's the kind of spirit I've been looking for!" Liu Ye said with satisfaction. "To achieve all of this, it's very simple: all you need to do is study and train hard, and then come north with me. I guarantee that all of these goals will be achieved within a year!"
The students couldn't help but cheer, and the playground instantly turned into a sea of joy.
After Liu Ye's address, the training enthusiasm of these thousands of reserve officers reached an unprecedented level, which was exactly the result Liu Ye had hoped for. Liu Ye attached great importance to this largest-ever officer training program, as it directly relates to whether the Qionghai Navy, after its large-scale expansion, can maintain its original combat effectiveness with the help of rank-and-file officers, and avoid becoming a large but empty shell of a force.
Three days after the military academy's initiation speech, with the arrival of the last batches of reservists, Xu Yifan and Su Hongtu, who had been responsible for bringing up the rear, also returned. All the major figures in the army were present. Liu Ye met with the two, gave them a good pep talk, affirmed their outstanding performance in Shandong and Taiwan, and instructed them to rest for two days before starting the reorganization and restructuring of all front-line troops.
Good things come in pairs. Not long after Xu Yifan and Su Hongtu returned, Fang Zhenghua, Liu Ye's ally and the eunuch in charge of conveying imperial edicts, also traveled all the way from the capital to Lingao by boat.
South Garden.
"What? You're ordering me to Beijing to defend against Li Zicheng?" Liu Ye was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. "Just as I planned, everything was exactly as I intended..."
Fang Zhenghua carefully put away the imperial edict and asked in surprise, "What did you say, Lord Marquis?"
"Well... what I mean is, I anticipated that the Emperor would do this." Although the other party was an ally, Liu Ye did not intend to reveal such a confidential matter to him, but vaguely glossed over it and then diverted the other party's attention. "It's just that I don't understand. I once rebelled against my superiors and led troops to besiege the capital. Didn't the Emperor and the bigwigs in the court regard me as a thorn in their side? How could they put aside their grudges and summon me to the capital?"
Fang Zhenghua chuckled softly and replied, "There are priorities. To use an imperfect analogy, the feud between His Majesty and the Marquis is like a conflict between father and son—a family matter that must be resolved behind closed doors. But the rebel Li Zicheng has raised the banner of 'equal land distribution and tax exemption,' attempting to overthrow the court. This is like an outsider trying to seize the family property. His Majesty can clearly distinguish which is more important. Besides, looking across the country, apart from the Guan Ning Army guarding Liaodong, only the Marquis's troops are reliable. If not you, who else can be mobilized? Are you suggesting we rely on those young masters of the Beijing Garrison?"
"Haha, you're so witty, Eunuch..." Liu Ye pointed at him. "If I'm not mistaken, the Emperor isn't sure if he can persuade me. You must be on a mission to 'persuade' me to come to the capital. If you successfully 'persuade' me to bring troops to the capital, will you get some benefit from it?"
"Nothing can be hidden from you." Fang Zhenghua couldn't hide his joy. "His Majesty has promised that as long as the Marquis comes to the capital, he will give me the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial."
Liu Ye's eyes lit up. In this way, the value of his alliance with Wen Tiren and Fang Zhenghua would be greatly enhanced, which would also be a good thing for him.
He cupped his hands and said, "Then I congratulate you in advance, Father-in-law."
"Congratulations! Your Excellency's promotion to Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince is truly a cause for celebration."
"Hahaha..." The two, each with their own thoughts, looked at each other and laughed.