Chapter 824 - 57: Luoshui River Ritual, A Cup of Wine to Relinquish Military Authority (Part 2)

Although history has been completely changed.

Yet at certain times—

It is unavoidable to connect with many aspects of the original history.

He didn’t know what this counted as.

After all, from various perspectives, this action could be considered an unavoidable link in the current Kyushu, but he vaguely felt that certain crucial gears had thus begun to revolve completely!

.....

Time passes swiftly.

Gu Lin certainly would not simply strip these people of their military power.

To him, this was just the first step.

Of course, he also would not destroy the promises he made. First, he rewarded these people in the name of the court, and then began to dismantle their wings in the military.

——A rise in status with a hidden demotion is always a very useful strategy in court struggles.

Although Gu Lin was not skilled in court struggles.

But given the foundation of the Gu Clan in the entirety of Kyushu now, all this came naturally, without much difficulty.

And with the stabilization of this matter,

——the entire Kyushu followed by soaring once again.

Actually, this is the most crucial premise for Kyushu’s current development, which is institutional stability.

The affairs of the court are one aspect, and the military is also a key part.

As long as these two points can stabilize,

then the world will naturally continue to develop along the path that has long been set.

This is destined to be an unprecedented flourishing era.

When the outdated and redundant systems within Confucianism were eliminated, the thoughts of "Gu’s School" gradually became a habit throughout the world, and all this will certainly far exceed any past flourishing era.

The key within "Gu’s School" is practicality!

This, in fact, is the core change.

So that all the students would not engage in empty talk, nor perform futile tasks just to gain reputation.

With the Gu Clan deliberately maintaining moral standards,

this move, in turn, would attract some criticism.

This fundamentally caused an unprecedented change in the habits of the entire Kyushu.

And most importantly, it’s talent!

The emergence of Gu Academy is absolutely the greatest change the Gu Clan has caused so far, and there is none other!

From the Western Regions... to the Northern Desert... to the entire Liaodong Peninsula.

Gu Academies existed in various places across these areas.

This greatly avoided the loss of talent, and talent is often the key to a dynasty’s continued prosperity, as they can always see the loopholes that ordinary people cannot see.

This greatly influenced the current development of Kyushu.

Of course, Gu Academy was not established overnight.

If it weren’t for Gu Kang’s educational foundation, if it weren’t for the military achievements and influence exerted by Gu Chen and others of that generation outside, even if Gu Yi had directly implemented Gu Academy, it would certainly not have had such a massive impact.

In fact, fundamentally, it was also because of the efforts of those generations of the Gu Clan.

If these people weren’t constantly promoting Kyushu culture,

even if Gu Yi had such an idea, it certainly would not have had the tremendous impact it has today.

In summary, this is the eruption of a millennial accumulation of the Gu Clan!

Just this point alone is enough to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of the entire flourishing era.

There’s no need to speak from the perspectives of grain production and population.

Once corn appeared and had been planted throughout Kyushu, all this, in fact, no longer had any reference value.

What really concerned Gu Yi was technology!

——Indeed, with stability in the situation and the continuous development of commerce,

the people of Kyushu, just like the development in original history, under increasingly higher output demands, are finally about to take that crucial step!

.....

Yuanxing, ninth year, Jiangning Prefecture.

This place is an important textile town in Jiangnan, where a thousand sails race to launch, and myriad merchants gather.

Along the canal banks, workshops of all sizes stand in a dense array, the sound of weaving machines never ceasing.

Thanks to the advocacy of "Gu’s School" for the notion of "observing things for practical use," and the systematic sorting and promotion of craftsmanship by Gu Academy over the years, skilled craftsmen are emerging in numbers, constantly trying to improve spinning and weaving machines, seeking to gain an advantage in increasingly intense competition.

Beside a fairly large "water-driven spinning wheel" workshop on the west side of the city, a small experimental workshop under the "Observing Things Institute" of Gu Academy, Gu Qi and several young disciples from the academy were pondering over a seemingly crude copper device.

This device was not used for textile purposes, its prototype even dates back to the former dynasty’s Taoist "pill furnace" and the art of "igniting fire with sun reflectors."

And after several generations of improvements by Gu Academy,

It now resembled a closed copper cauldron more, connected with several pipes and a rotatable impeller.

Their initial aim was merely to try utilizing the high-temperature steam generated from coal burning to more efficiently drive a complex hydraulic irrigation system, to solve the plight of difficult water retrieval in high ground within the workshop district.

Indeed, by using steam.

No—

According to Kyushu’s terminology, this was "fire qi"!

As early as decades ago, the students from Gu Academy had gradually sensed the secrets hidden within the records of "water boiling in the cauldron, slightly moving the lid," and delved deeply into it.

The person responsible for this project was a young lecturer named Shen Kuo from the Observing Things Institute.

He borrowed the sealed copper cauldron from alchemy, imitated the Taoist "bellows" to enhance firepower, and used the "mercury column" that the academy had long mastered for measuring air pressure to quantify the pressure inside the cauldron, to verify whether "fire qi" could indeed produce a stable, controllable thrust, and to what extent its force could reach.

The exploration process, though extremely tedious,

its results were astonishing.

Although it was far from fully utilizing this fire qi, now there were already some slight achievements.

Just for example, now!

Watching the impeller that had started spinning, Gu Qi suddenly raised a question just a moment ago.

"Why can’t fire qi be used to create a device that can automatically weave?"

And this was also the reason why everyone fell silent.

Of course, the silence wasn’t because it sounded unbelievable.

But instead, it was because there was a sense of possibility in it, which made this group of students studying this field fall silent!...

——————

"Spring of Yuanxing, fifth year.

Lin, following the ancestral system, performed the thousand-year sacrificial ceremony at the Luoshui River.

That night, he summoned Marquis Wuwei Guo Xin, Marquis Anyuan Zhao Bi, Elder Jingbian Li Ji, and sixteen other generals to drink at the field camp.

Initially, the founding ancestor was grateful for the Gu Clan’s assistance to the state and specially appointed them as the head of the Martial Sect of the world, allowing them to open offices in tandem with the Three Departments, overseeing military and political affairs.

Later, the Gu Clan, observing chaos in the world, established regulations of the military gates, managed for five generations, a total of one hundred and twenty years, finally achieving the accomplishment of unifying the seas.

When the world was unified, many border generals inherited ancestral privileges, holding private troops and owning lands, gradually forming a chronic illness.

At the time, Lin, in charge of the central office, received a secret memorial from the Imperial Censorate, and sighed, saying: "Initially, the military gates were established to resist outside threat, now that the four seas are peaceful, we should contemplate the aftermath."

Then he took the opportunity of the sacrificial ceremony to summon all the generals to meet at the Luoshui River.

In the tent, Lin was exceedingly respectful in conducting the rites, personally pouring wine for the generals, saying: "I recall the edict from the founding ancestor, instructing my clan to command military affairs to defend the Northern Border. Now, fortunately, we have not disgraced the mission, all thanks to your generations of dedication unto death."

Having said this, he raised his cup and poured it to the ground, in offering to the soldiers who had sacrificed themselves for the country over the past hundred years.

Xin and others bowed their heads, and outside the tent, the sound of folk songs became more prominent in the tent’s silence.

Lin continued to converse sincerely: "All of you are descendants of the Martial Sect, you should know that the ancestral founder granted military power to the Gu Clan as an extraordinary strategy in extraordinary times. Now that the external threat has been pacified, if the military gates continue to guard the border, it not only goes against the founding ancestor’s initial intention but also risks changes in future generations."

Thus, he showed them the inscribed bronzed plaques and the Three Ministers regulations, permitting the offspring to study new policies at the Imperial College and Gu Academy.

Marquis Anyuan, Zhao Bi, hair and beard completely white, wept, saying: "My ancestors fought bloodily under Lord Jin in Youyun, now wish to emulate ancient wisdom, and retire to the capital."

Subsequently, over a dozen people bowed their heads and requested to resign from their military commands.

Xin caressed the ancestral precious sword at his waist, silent for a long time.

Lin spoke warmly: "This sword was worn by your ancestor during the campaigns in Liao under Duke Wusu. Now the people live in peace, and sharp weapons should be stored in the armory, why let descendants eternally hold weapons in hand?"

Xin then kowtowed and pledged: "I dare not disobey!"

The commentary reads: Since the Gu Clan was appointed by the founding ancestor, they held the military pivot for five generations, eventually achieving the unification. The meeting at Luoshui did not abolish the ancestral system but retrieved military power from the feudal territories, which can be considered a commendable continuation and elaboration. However, to conduct such extraordinary actions as a minister, though upholding loyalty, it also reflects the changing times. Future military governance should contemplate the deep implications therein."

———— "History of the Song dynasty. House of Gu"