Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 563: Disrespect of Court Etiquette

Meng Jun originally wanted to reward Xia Wanchun generously, but a group of upright officials in the court strongly opposed it, and at the court meeting the day before, the reward for Xia Wanchun was not implemented.

After the court was dismissed, Meng Jun wanted to drive all these opposing opinions out of the court. However, after calming down, Meng Jun gave up this idea. This was because if there was no opposition in the court and only ministers obeyed him, it would be an extremely dangerous thing for the court.

As the saying goes, use copper as a mirror to adjust your clothes and use people as a mirror to know your gains and losses. Even if what you say is wrong, as long as it does not violate the principle, Meng Jun can be tolerant.

However, Meng Jun felt that rewarding Xia Wanchun was a matter of principle. Therefore, after the court was dismissed, Meng Jun held a banquet in the palace and invited a group of nobles to drink.

If you have something to say to these warriors, you have to speak directly. If you beat around the bush, they won't understand you, and may even misunderstand you. Therefore, Meng Jun said directly: "You may think that the matter of Xia Wanchun has nothing to do with you, but in fact, it is of great importance."

The emperor spoke, and all the generals listened to Meng Jun quietly. Meng Jun continued, "Today, Xia Wanchun led the craftsmen to develop cement, and the court rewarded them generously. Tomorrow, someone may be able to develop weapons that can destroy the city wall with one shot. When the time comes, the generals will not have to worry about stopping the troops in the fortified city and besieging it for several years!"

Qian Biao nodded and said, "That's right, the emperor can confer whatever title he wants. That old man Liu is really too talkative and has nothing better to do."

Gao Yi also agreed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty has unified the world. Can Liu Xunchun's vision be better than the emperor's? Your Majesty, don't pay attention to Liu Xunchun. Next time at the court meeting, we will go on stage together. With dozens of mouths, we will definitely be able to refute old Liu and make him speechless."

All the nobles below patted their chests and said that the emperor could confer any title he wanted, and they would do it properly for him.

Qian Biao said seriously that he is now like Wuxia A'mon, with quick wit and great talent, but it's a pity that he didn't study before, otherwise, he, Qian Biao, would have won the top spot in the imperial examination long ago, or at the very least, he would have become a Jinshi.

Meng Jun was accustomed to Qian Biao's bragging, but he was still very happy. When he said he wanted to do something, his old brothers all agreed with him. He was nothing like those upright people who always made things difficult for him all day long. They would even gossip about him even when he was fishing. It was so annoying.

After the banquet, the generals did not go back to their homes, but gathered together to discuss how to make Old Man Liu speechless tomorrow.

For a moment, the scene was extremely heated, with all the talented people coming up with their own unique strategies. In the end, Bai Yongfu vowed, "This time, we have to rely on our mouths to defeat that old man Liu. I'll say one more thing, if I can't win the argument, I'm not allowed to hit anyone."

Qian Biao sneered and said, "What are you talking about? Would I attack an old man?"

Without even raising his eyes, Bai Yongfu replied, "I didn't mention any names, but you insisted on identifying me. What can I do?"

Qian Biao stood up, pointed at Bai Yongfu and said, "I think you are talking about me!"

"What's the use of your thoughts? I said it, and I want my thoughts!"

"you……"

A group of nobles quickly pulled the two apart, and tried to persuade them to save their energy for tomorrow's court meeting.

There will be a meeting the next day.

Liu Xunchun debated with all the nobles alone. He had only one point of view, that Xia Wanchun could be rewarded, promoted, and given rewards, but he could not be promoted to a higher title based on his skills.

As he spoke, Qian Biao became speechless. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He immediately took a step forward and kicked Liu Xunchun down.

This made Meng Jun speechless, and he immediately ordered the guards to drag Qian Biao away. Qian Biao swore solemnly yesterday that he had studied with the Taoist priest for a long time and attributed all the witty words to himself, but when he really went on stage, he was defeated after just a few words.

Liu Xunchun sat on the ground, his clothes in disarray. He looked up at the emperor, tears streaming down his face, and cried to Meng Jun: "Your Majesty, I argued with Duke Qian in the court, which was disrespectful to the court. I beg Your Majesty to punish me, but I am devoted to the country and not a rebellious minister. Xia Wanchun's talent is indeed desirable, but his skills are minor. How can you rashly grant him a title!"

Meng Jun felt somewhat pitiful for him and looked at Qian Biao unhappily. Qian Biao was still staring at Liu Xunchun angrily. It was obvious that the kick was not enough to vent his anger.

Meng Jun asked the guards to help Liu Xunchun up, and then comforted him. Then he said to Qian Biao, "You were disrespectful in front of the palace and beat a court official. You will be fined half a year's salary and confined for two months!"

These warriors were no match for Liu Xunchun in terms of talking. Meng Jun then stood up, walked down the steps slowly, and said in a gentle tone, "I have heard everything you said, but the world has changed, but the principles have not changed. In ancient times, people ate raw meat and drank blood, and their diet was bitter. Now, firearms are rumbling, and cities are being taken down. Isn't this a change in skills?"

Liu Xunchun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what I am saying is that I hope the court will select talents based on virtue, rather than using extraordinary skills as a stepping stone for advancement!"

Meng Jun walked up to Liu Xunchun and said, "Amazing skills? What Liu Xueshi said is wrong. Military affairs are a major issue for a country. In the past Ming Dynasty, the country was repeatedly defeated on the battlefield due to military affairs. It has only been more than ten years since then. We must be careful to learn from the past. This year, Xia Wanchun improved the equipment and made great contributions to the court's control of the border. The court should commend him for both reason and emotion."

Seeing that Liu Xunchun was about to speak, Meng Jun stopped him and said, "The title is not only for promotion based on skills, but I think that rewarding innovation and encouraging hard work can also boost the morale of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, and let the people of the world know that no matter whether they are scholars, farmers, merchants or artisans, if they can make great contributions to the country, then the court will not hesitate to reward them."

"His Majesty……"

"Okay, I understand what Mr. Liu said. The generals' words of wanting to reward him with the title of Duke are indeed too much. Let's just grant him the title of Earl!"

Under Meng Jun's strong promotion, Xia Wanchun was promoted to a noble title for his technical innovation, and the entire experimental base, from top to bottom, was rewarded with money.

Meng Jun then urgently ordered Xia Wanchun to send experimental personnel to the capital with a secret recipe for cement. He also ordered the Ministry of Works to recruit workers to prepare to build a road from the capital to Shanhaiguan.

This time, Meng Jun did not allow the Ministry of Works to conscript laborers in the name of corvée labor. Instead, he planned to hire them with money and provide them with food.

This cement road is good in every way except that you cannot run horses on it. Running horses on a cement road can easily injure the horse's legs and hooves. But apart from this flaw, the speed loss in transporting baggage or marching troops is incomparable to that of a dirt road.