Chapter 962
I Want to Learn Too
It was so lively! The east gate of the Imperial College was also full of people queuing to go in. There were also many ordinary people with their eyes looking around furtively. When they saw Pan Yue wearing the Imperial College robes, they quickly looked away and ignored Pan Yun, whose hand was being held by Pan Yue. Instead, they stared intently at Miao Zhen, who was following behind them.
Because of the large number of people, Miaozhen was pushed aside by one person, and there was one person between her and Pan Jun.
A young man with patches on his elbows immediately squeezed next to her and whispered, "Miss, do you need a ticket?"
Miao Zhen paused slightly, turned to look at him, and asked, "How much?"
The young man held up two fingers and whispered, "Two ounces!"
Miaozhen shook her head: "No."
The young man whispered, "Miss, don't think it's expensive. The people over there at the entrance sell them for five taels of silver each. Mine is already cheap."
Pan Jun turned around and called to Miao Zhen, "Hurry up, let's line up first."
The young man knew they had tickets as soon as he heard them, and turned to leave, but couldn't help muttering, "If they have tickets, why are they asking me..."
He spotted a proud and wealthy young master, his eyes lit up, and he immediately rushed forward. He didn't care that the guards stopped him, and just lowered his voice to ask, "Young master, would you like a ticket?"
Pan Yun waited for a short while before Pan Yu arrived with Miao and Tao Yanbai. The six of them entered through the east gate together.
Countless people recognized Pan Yun in the shadows, so as soon as he entered the room, Pan Yue let go of his sister's hand and simply stood beside her with his arms clasped together.
He turned his head slightly to look at her and said, "This Mid-Autumn Festival..."
Pan Yun knew it was her father who missed her.
Without hesitation, she replied, "I will go back."
Pan Yue breathed a sigh of relief.
Pan Yun turned to him and smiled, saying, "Brother, we need to be cautious, but we don't need to be afraid."
“I knew it! If someone really uses us to threaten my little sister, we should just fight them. Are we afraid of them?” Pan Yu suddenly came alive: “If you ask me, don’t wait until Mid-Autumn Festival. You should come back with us for dinner tonight.”
Pan Yun glanced at the crowd gathered in front of her and said, "Second Brother, I'm not going back because I'm afraid of them, but because I don't have time."
Pan Yu rolled her eyes, leaned closer, and whispered, "Little sister, has your Ministry of Works developed a new musket?"
Pan Yun: "Our Ministry of Works?"
“Yes, aren’t you from the Ministry of Works?” Pan Yu said, “The soldiers in the army all want Grand Secretary Yu to bring you to the Ministry of War. Doesn’t our Ministry of War also have an Armaments Department? We can completely fulfill your idea of forging weapons.”
Pan Yu also wanted Pan Yun to come to the Ministry of War: "If you come, my brother and I will be working in the same department."
Pan Yun: "You are a member of the Imperial Guard, not an official in the Ministry of War."
"Then I'll also be under the Ministry of War's jurisdiction, it's the same."
Pan Yun complained that the Ministry of War's Armaments Department was too small, and that it only studied weapons, unlike the Ministry of Works, which studied all kinds of equipment.
Pan Yun said, "Weapon forging is not only for military equipment, but more importantly for people's livelihood."
"All things in the world are first for military use and then for civilian use. If you develop military equipment, the Ministry of Works can take the technology from the Ministry of War and then use it for civilian purposes."
Pan Yue held a different view, frowning as he said, "There are so many items used for the people, how can military equipment encompass them all? I think my younger sister is doing quite well in the Ministry of Works. Aren't most of the weapons in your Ministry of War's Armaments Department also from the Ministry of Works?"
Pan Yun: "That's right, that's right." Pan Yu muttered twice and insisted, "Is there a new weapon?"
Pan Yun said vaguely, "You'll know when His Majesty celebrates his birthday."
The Imperial College's training ground was very large, but it was now empty. Those who were participating in the preliminary selection for the Embroidered Uniform Guard were warming up in the ground. The four sides of the wooden railings were full of people, and there was also a tiered seating arrangement on one side, where many envoys from vassal states and the families of vassal kings sat.
However, everyone was very reserved, and they just greeted each other and remained seated.
I don't know which brilliant person came up with the idea of putting the two sides together.
Would a vassal king dare to interact with envoys from vassal states?
Pan Yun squeezed to the front and looked up to see two distinct groups of people on the opposite platform.
The Koreans were so bored that they talked to the Jurchen officials sitting next to them, but they didn't dare to approach the Ming Dynasty's vassal kings.
Pan Yun's lips twitched, and he asked Pan Yue, "Who came up with this idea? Isn't Father at the Court of State Ceremonial?"
Pan Yue touched his nose and said, "This was my father's idea."
Pan Yun's eyes widened.
Pan Yue quickly explained, "Father's suggestion was not to test the various vassal kings, but to let them appreciate the splendor of our Great Ming Dynasty."
He said, “The princes are divided into different regions. Who knows their own fiefdom better than them? Our Ming princes are talented and virtuous. If they can make the barbarians submit, the barbarians will naturally be loyal to Your Majesty and to the Ming Dynasty.”
Pan Yun pondered for a moment: "This line of thinking... isn't wrong. They all share the surname Zhu, so in the eyes of the foreign tribes, they are family with the emperor."
Pan Yu sneered: "The late emperor died on the grasslands. These foreign tribes said they came to celebrate his birthday, but they actually wanted to take advantage of the situation. I heard from my father that the birthday gifts they prepared were very simple. They had just presented their gifts when they complained to the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial about being poor. The Jurchens even dared to ask the court for muskets, saying that they wanted to help the Ming Dynasty defend against the Oirats. Who doesn't know what they were really up to?"
Pan Yun: "Second brother, the Jurchens are different from other foreign states. They are not vassal states, but are under the jurisdiction of our Great Ming. Their people are citizens of the Great Ming, and their land is the territory of our Great Ming. It's just that the Nurgan Regional Military Commission is mostly inhabited by Jurchens, so it is a tributary state with tribal autonomy. It is a legitimate act for them to request firearms from the court."
Pan Yu's eyes widened: "Little sister, you're not going to give them muskets, are you?"
Pan Jun glanced at him and said, "Unfortunately, the imperial treasury is in dire straits, and the war with the Oirat has ended. The officials and people of our Great Ming love peace, and at present, we should prioritize peace with the Oirat. So, let's forget about firearms and the like. Let the tribes reduce the number of soldiers they conscript, and focus on farming and herding to improve the living standards of the Jurchen people."
Pan Yue wholeheartedly agreed: "That's what my father said too."
Pan Yu felt a toothache: "How hypocritical."
The brother and sister both turned their heads and glared at him.
Pan Yu took a step back, deciding not to walk in the same row as the two of them. He stepped back into the line of Miao Zhen and the other two and asked them, "Where do you want to go? I know the Imperial Academy well, I'll take you there."
Miaozhen thanked her and said, "We are also familiar with the Imperial Academy."
Seeing his disbelief, Tao Yanbai explained, "After we returned to the capital, we came to the Imperial Academy to teach every other day. We've visited all the places we should and shouldn't have visited."
Pan Yu asked blankly, "What kind of classes do you teach? Do you practice Taoism?"
Tao Yanbai said, "No, it's arithmetic and cryptography, used for sending telegrams. More and more people are learning this now, and the teachers at the Imperial Academy are not enough."
Pan Yu's eyes lit up, and she grabbed his arm, shouting, "I want to learn too!" (End of Chapter)