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The courtyard is so deep that the song of the cicada cannot be heard.
It was afternoon when Qin Mu came out of the small courtyard shaded by flowers and trees. It was a cloudy spring day, willow catkins were flying across the gallery, and pear petals were floating all over the lotus pot beside the gallery.
The current situation in Japan is basically under control, and the North Sea Fleet has basically stopped interfering in Japan's war;
Although Sakai Tadakatsu did not have the talent of Abe Tadayuki, the general situation was now very favorable to the Tokugawa shogunate, and the daimyo no longer dared to oppose the Tokugawa shogunate. Under such circumstances, he and Hoshina Masayuki and others could barely manage the shogunate.
However, due to the policy of expelling people issued by the Tokugawa shogunate, a large number of samurai who lost their source of livelihood joined Yui Masayuki. In addition, with the support of the Kyoto court, Yui Masayuki's rebellion was not completely extinguished, and he was retreating step by step towards Kyoto.
This led to Japan being roughly divided into two major camps: one was the Tokugawa shogunate, and the other was the Sekigahara Army led by Masayuki Yui, which was supported by the Japanese emperor.
The reason why Yebushou was allowed to control Xingzi was to prevent the situation in Japan from getting out of control, and to use Xingzi, the Emperor Meisho, as a last resort. Now it seems that Xingzi's move is not useful for the time being.
Qin Mu recalled the song "Kucican" and the Japanese song she played, which were also quite flavorful. Well, the queen herself was also quite flavorful.
As soon as Qin Mu returned to the Daqin Palace, he received a report from India.
The memorial was personally delivered by Gu Jun'en, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War. After Qin Mu read it, he asked, "What do you think of this, Mr. Gu?"
Gu Jun'en said, "Your Majesty, I think that our Great Qin can temporarily sit back and watch the fire. It is hard to determine what will happen between the Mughal and the Dzungar. However, after Sengge easily obtained the rich lands of the two provinces, I am afraid he will not be willing to retreat to the Western Regions. The two heroes will fight. In the end, one will win."
"Gu Qing thinks who has a greater chance of winning."
"The Junggar army entered India, and I think it was somewhat difficult to adapt to the local climate. In this respect, the Mughals have the advantage. But now, Aurangzeb's two brothers have successively proclaimed themselves emperors, and there are internal and external troubles. In addition, there is Hai Rufeng watching from the south. Aurangzeb's position was not legitimate, and his prestige has not been established after usurping the throne. After careful analysis, the situation is very unfavorable to Aurangzeb. In the battle with Sengge, Aurangzeb can only win and cannot lose. Once he suffers a severe setback, his rule is very likely to fall apart. Therefore, I think that if there are no more external forces joining, Sengge's chances of winning will be greater."
"Other forces..." Qin was not asking, but thinking and talking to himself.
There is no doubt that the other forces that Gu Jun'en mentioned refer to the Safavid dynasty of Persia. When the Persian Empire was at its peak, its territory stretched from Khorasan in the east to the Euphrates River in the west, from the Karakum Desert and the Aral Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the south.
It covers all of Iran, most of Iraq, parts of the Caucasus, Turkmenistan, western Afghanistan, and southern Uzbekistan. During the reign of Shah Abbas I, the territory even reached as far as Kurdistan and Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey.
The Safavid Empire was a Shiite Empire. It was the only country in Central Asia that could fight against the Sunni Ottoman Empire. The war with the Ottoman Empire for Baghdad lasted for 150 years.
Moreover, they were able to send troops to fight the Mughal Empire for Kandahar and even the Indus River Basin, which was later known as Pakistan.
Now the Dzungar army has entered the Indus River basin and is fighting a war with the Mughal Empire, or more precisely, with Aurangzeb, in full swing. As the saying goes, while the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gains.
Qin Mu absolutely did not want the Safavid Empire to be the one to reap the spoils.
Qin asked someone to bring the map, and then said: "In order to prevent the Safavid Dynasty from taking advantage of the situation, first send an order to Hai Rufeng to dispatch some warships to the north of the Arabian Sea. Once the time is right, first seize the Sindh region... Here, the port of Karachi next to the mouth of the Indus River, if necessary, use this place as a base to support the Junggar tribe."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Now the Junggar tribe is very obedient. They are carrying out Islamization in the Western Regions with the butcher knife in hand, cleanly and efficiently. Just this point makes Qin Mu feel very satisfied.
If Dzungar occupied northern India, they would certainly become more powerful. Would they still be so obedient then
Qin Mu was not sure about this, but as long as it was not allowed to unify central and southern India, Daqin had enough ability to contain it. Of course, Qin Mu did not want Junggar to unify northern India. What he wanted to see was that Junggar occupied the Pakistan region in later generations and maintained a high-risk balance with the Mughal Empire, which would be more conducive to Daqin's checks and balances and more conducive to the spread of Han culture.
The key is still the spread of Chinese culture, which is an expansion of soft power. It is sometimes more important than military strength, and its impact is more far-reaching and lasting.
Qin Mu has always emphasized that cultural expansion cannot lag behind military expansion, and in the future it must even be ahead of military expansion.
India is a hodgepodge and has a large population. It is unrealistic to turn such a place into the territory of Qin, but it can be slowly turned into the largest colony of Qin. To achieve this, military expansion alone is not enough, and cultural influence must be exerted.
When it comes to the literary level, the imperial examination is inevitable.
After Gu Jun'en left the Jianjia Palace, Qin Mu leaned back on the imperial chair and casually said to Liu Rushi, who was standing beside him, "The imperial examination has been going on for thousands of years, and it has had a profound impact on all dynasties. Rushi, what do you think the imperial examination has had on society as a whole?" Qin Mu paused for a moment and continued, "Let's start with the economic aspect. What do you think the imperial examination has had on society and the economy?"
The Ministry of Rites examination had just ended, and more than 300 new scholars were being led by the Crown Prince and the Vice Minister of Rites to visit the memorial halls for the victims in Jiangyin and Yangzhou and take an oath.
It was normal for the emperor to ask about the imperial examinations during this period of time, but it was a little sudden, and he specifically asked about the impact on the economy. Liu Rushi was unprepared and could only answer truthfully, "Your Majesty, can you let me think about it first?"
"Okay, think about it first."
As for the issue of the imperial examination, Qin Mu himself should think about it carefully.
Overall, the role of the imperial examination was relatively positive during the Tang and Song dynasties.
However, since the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination system has been plagued by problems, and it is difficult to reverse the situation. The role of the imperial examination has gradually become more harmful than beneficial.
In addition to restricting the thoughts of literati and creating thousands of pedantic literati like Kong Yiji, its impact on the entire society and the entire nation is also ubiquitous, and its influence has reached a shocking level.
Everyone seems to have forgotten that the original intention of the imperial examination was only to select some officials.
Qin Mu remembered seeing Yu Qiuyu describe the paradox of the imperial examination system in this way: "It was originally intended to show fairness and to provide as many people in society as possible with incentives, but the whole land of China became an imperial examination arena, and all young men who could read and write mortgaged their success or failure in life. The imperial examination was overloaded; it was originally intended to show authority and block many irregular promotion paths outside the imperial examination. As a result, families and individuals who had no other choice had to regard the imperial examination as a life-and-death political battle, and the rational motivation for establishing the imperial examination gradually became distorted. The calmness, objectivity, patience, and peace that the selectors should have disappeared, replaced by vigorous anxiety, excitement, panic, and chaos. Isn't it just a test of cultural knowledge? Isn't it just to see who is qualified to be an administrative official? It was so hot and heated all of a sudden that it hasn't cooled down for more than a thousand years, and it almost made a long period of history smell like fire."
In short, the imperial examination was originally just for selecting some officials, but because of too much decoration and heavy exaggeration, it disturbed the minds of all scholars, and not many people could calm down and study;
The mentality of all people in Kyushu has been distorted. Everyone regards passing the imperial examination as the greatest honor. Only in this way can you prove your value in life. Apart from that, you are nothing.
Therefore, if the imperial examination system is not reformed, everyone's mentality will continue to be distorted.
Why have Western natural sciences gradually surpassed China? Are Chinese people not smart enough
no.
There may be only one answer: Chinese scholars put all their intelligence and even their life's energy into the imperial examination. They pierced their thighs and hung their heads on the beams, chiseled holes in the wall to steal light, and studied the classics day after day, not for natural science, but just to get their names on the list of successful candidates. If the imperial examination system is not reformed, how can China's natural science develop
***************************(To be continued...)
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