New Han Dynasty 1834

Chapter 7 Jingzhao City and the Academy of Natural Sciences

By the time the war strategy for the next few years of the Han Dynasty was finalized, it was already noon.

Liu Yulong ordered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to prepare a banquet and held it in the Wuying Hall for the governor and his military advisors. Liu Yulong ate with them.

Just like how Liu Desheng used to often have meals with his cronies.

After lunch, Liu Yulong dismissed the governor and his officers and staff and ordered them to return to their respective offices to begin preparations for specific military affairs.

Drafting military orders, assigning generals, dispatching troops, and preparing supplies.

Liu Yulong himself then traveled to the "Gewu Academy" to prepare to adjust the arrangements for scientific and technological research and development of the Great Han.

After Liu Desheng became emperor, he attempted to actively promote scientific and technological development and specially established the "Academy of Gewu".

The most skilled craftsmen in the world were gathered together, and scholars and writers interested in "miscellaneous subjects" such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, physics, chemistry, and mechanics were selected to "investigate things and acquire knowledge" together in the Institute of Natural Sciences.

At the same time, the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Medical Academy, the Imperial Observatory, and other technically demanding government offices were reorganized, and specialized advanced schools were established for these institutions. The reorganized institutions and schools were then listed as subordinate institutions of the Institute of Natural Sciences.

Furthermore, the government-run industries established since the founding of the Han Dynasty were also directly managed by the institutions under the Gewu Academy.

The Imperial Academy of Natural Sciences in the Han Dynasty was a complex institution that combined the functions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Ministry of Education, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Of course, compared to its modern counterparts, the Gewuyuan (Institute of Gewu) had negligible assets and personnel, but its scope of coverage was already very close.

However, in Liu Yulong's view, the massive Institute of Physics built by Liu Desheng has many problems.

The Han Dynasty at present also has significant problems with its military structure, but these are not urgent.

The key issue is that there's no quick solution; we can only adjust things gradually.

The problems in science and technology may be larger and more urgent than those in the military, but they can be solved quickly.

Therefore, Liu Yulong did not want to wait a moment longer, and once he had the time, he decided to go to the Gewu Institute immediately.

This was also the first time Liu Yulong had left the palace since regaining his memory.

The Gewuyuan (Imperial Academy of Geography) is located west of the Weiyang Palace in the Imperial City, in Xianyifang, opposite the Xi'an Gate, occupying all the land in the entire fang.

Its total area is roughly the same as that of the Forbidden City, and it houses a large number of research and management institutions.

The capital city of the new Han Dynasty was formerly Shuntian Prefecture. It was completely emptied by Liu Desheng and then repurposed according to needs. The highly valued Gewu Academy was able to occupy a large piece of land on its own.

In Liu Desheng's war to seize power, the first step in dealing with the various ethnic minorities was to eliminate their ruling groups and armies, and then register the remaining civilians as slaves to be used as servants and laborers.

Among them, the Manchu imperial family, nobles, high-ranking officials, and all the Eight Banners descendants belonged to the "ruling group," so Liu Desheng repeatedly demanded that they be "completely eradicated."

Every time they attacked the Manchu city and the areas where the Eight Banners were concentrated, they specifically requested that no prisoners be taken.

Liu Desheng also repeatedly reiterated that officials and soldiers were strictly prohibited from marrying or taking in Manchu women as wives, concubines, or servants.

Once discovered, they were regarded as lackeys and traitors of the Manchu Qing dynasty and executed along with the Eight Banners members.

At that time, the largest Manchu city in the country was the inner city of Shuntian Prefecture, the capital of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

According to the house-occupation decree issued in the early Qing Dynasty, the Qing emperors expelled all the original residents of Shuntian Prefecture from the city and allocated all the houses in the city to the Eight Banners descendants who had entered the pass. Even Han officials who surrendered could only live in the outer city.

Therefore, during the Qing Dynasty, the vast majority of residents in the inner city of Shuntian Prefecture, the capital, were descendants of the Eight Banners.

The small number of people who did not belong to the Eight Banners were merchants, craftsmen, servants, and so on who depended on the Eight Banners for their livelihood.

When Liu Desheng attacked Shuntian Prefecture, he adopted a typical strategy of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Manchu imperial family, nobles, and high-ranking officials fled through the north gate, intending to escape back to Liaodong.

However, Liu Desheng had arranged for cavalry to ambush and kill them, and all those who rashly tried to escape were wiped out.

At the same time, the city gates were opened wide, and Liu Desheng arranged for infantry to rush into the city and take control of the situation inside.

Drive all the people out of the city and execute all the remaining Manchu imperial family members, nobles, high-ranking officials, and Eight Banners descendants.

The servants who served them, the merchants and artisans who depended on them for their livelihood, were sent to Liaodong to serve as slaves to the immigrants who were reclaiming land there.

Liu Desheng thus turned the former Shuntian Prefecture into a completely empty city.

Then the districts and markets were reorganized, personnel who were supposed to be stationed in the capital were arranged to move in, and counties and prefectures were re-established to manage them.

The administrative divisions of the Han Dynasty at that time were a combination of prefectures and provinces.

Most regions were established as provinces, which governed prefectures and directly governed states. Prefectures governed more scattered states and counties, while directly governed states governed fewer counties.

In a small number of areas, prefectures were established, which directly governed a large number of scattered prefectures and counties. There were no prefectures or directly governed prefectures between the two.

The size of a prefecture was smaller than that of a typical province but larger than that of a typical prefecture, and its size was close to that of modern Chongqing.

The Qing dynasty integrated the Beizhili region, including Datong, and established five prefectures: Jingzhao, Fengling, Fufeng, Changshan, and Beiping.

These five prefectures are collectively known as the Hebei region, but they are administratively independent and directly subordinate to the central government.

Before Liu Yulong went to the Academy of Natural Sciences, he arranged for a captain and a palace attendant to ride over and inform them.

When Liu Yulong arrived at the Gewu Academy, the academy's main officials, senior scholars, and senior craftsmen all changed into their formal attire and gathered in a line to welcome him in the small square outside the academy's main gate.

Upon seeing Liu Yulong's imperial carriage arrive, the officials, scholars, and craftsmen of the Gewu Academy collectively bowed in respect.

Liu Yulong waved for them to stand up and led them into the Gewu Academy, heading towards the Gewu Hall where ceremonies and meetings were held.

The Gewu Hall is roughly the same size as the Wenhua Hall, and the main hall is decorated with a plaque inscribed with "Gewu Zhizhi" (meaning "Investigating Things to Attain Knowledge") written by Liu Desheng.

The officials, scholars, and craftsmen of the Imperial Academy had a different mindset than the officers and nobles; they were more apprehensive and worried.

Xun Gui and most of the officers felt that Liu Yulong was more like one of their own than Liu Jin'an, but the people at the Institute of Geology and Physics thought the opposite.

Most of the officials and scholars at the Institute of Natural History considered themselves civil officials, while the craftsmen at all levels considered themselves craftsmen, but neither side was a military officer.

Most of them also felt that Liu Jinan was more like one of their own.

But the more important reason is the difference in the source of power.

Although the status and power of the nobility and the army were determined by the emperor, the emperor's own power and status also originated from them.

The emperor, nobles, and the army were mutually protective and checkful.

The army was only worried that the emperor no longer valued them as much as before, but they did not believe that the emperor would completely dismiss them. The emperor's power certainly needed their protection.

Even Liu Jin'an, a civil official emperor, only planned to reduce the Imperial Guard by half.

However, the Imperial Academy of Natural History was entirely dependent on imperial power.

As a completely new institution, the Imperial Academy of Natural History now enjoys a status almost comparable to the traditional civil service system, all thanks to the direct support of imperial power.

Many traditional bureaucrats and scholars did not have a good impression of the Institute of Natural History.

From a public perspective, they felt that the Institute of Physics and the craftsmen were mixed together, studying miscellaneous subjects such as physics, chemistry, mechanics, and medicine, which polluted the sacred learning that was being managed together.

From a private perspective, the Imperial Academy of Natural History dispersed the power of traditional officials and government offices.

From the day it was established, the Academy of Natural History was frequently criticized and impeached by traditional officials who felt that it had led to the collapse of the rites and music.

At best, they demanded that the Hanlin Academy be separated from the Hanlin Academy; at worst, they suggested that the Gewu Academy be completely abolished and closed.

The emperor doesn't need to actively abolish the Academy of Natural Sciences; he only needs to reduce the supply of materials and money and stop expressing his support openly. Other officials will soon rise up against it and quickly suppress the Academy's status.

However, Liu Desheng consistently supported the Academy of Sciences and forcibly suppressed all opposition and impeachment.

When Liu Desheng passed away, the Academy of Natural Sciences faced a crisis, but fortunately, the new emperor Liu Jin'an also supported the Academy.

The officials, scholars, and craftsmen of the Gewu Institute originally thought they could finally have some peace and quiet for a while.

As a result, Liu Jin'an died suddenly less than two years after ascending the throne, and his grandson Liu Yulong, who grew up in the army, became the new emperor.

In the memories of the officials, scholars and craftsmen of the Gewu Academy, although Liu Desheng often brought Liu Yulong with him when he came to inspect the academy, he never arranged for Liu Yulong to study alone at the academy.

The bigger problem is that Liu Yulong did not show much interest in the various miscellaneous subjects studied at the Gewu Institute when he was a child.

On the contrary, they raised a lot of questions and often showed obvious signs of not understanding.

Therefore, the staff of the Gewu Institute have been very worried during this period, not knowing what Liu Yulong's attitude is towards them, which is related to whether they can maintain their current status.

When the staff of the Gewu Institute learned that Liu Yulong was coming, they came out to greet him with great trepidation and worry.

Surrounded by them, Liu Yulong entered the main hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences and sat on the throne reserved for him in the center, looking at the high-ranking officials, scholars, and craftsmen of the Academy standing below.

Among them were several people Liu Yulong had heard of in his previous life, mainly those who could barely be considered scientists in this era.

Liu Yulong had come to the Gewu Institute with Liu Desheng before, but he had a very bad impression of them and always felt that many of their research directions were somewhat inexplicable.

Perhaps influenced by information deep in my memory, even though I hadn't recalled those events at the time, I instinctively felt that their research was very strange.

After Liu Yulong regained his memories of his past life, and compared them with the instructions in Liu Desheng's will, he finally understood why the Gewu Academy had made him feel uneasy.

Liu Desheng was probably misled by the "internet culture" rhetoric from his previous life, and set a bunch of very abstract scientific research rules.

Liu Yulong thus understood the current predicament of the Gewu Institute.

Although the Imperial Academy of Natural History has a large framework and seems to have a very high status, it is actually an empty shell, forcibly supported by imperial power. Once it loses the support of imperial power, it will quickly fall apart.

Liu Yulong could continue to use imperial power to maintain his position, but that would continuously deplete the emperor's prestige and resources. It would be better to install actual supporting pillars.