In Liu Jin's house, Liu Jin was leisurely drinking tea, watching the latest Ming Morning Post.

It took almost a month to go out with Zhu Houzhao, and now it is October of the twelfth year of Hongzhi.

After going out for a month, he followed Zhu Houzhao to run all over the border towns of the Ming Dynasty, and also visited a lot of guards, and he had a clear understanding of the situation of the entire Ming army.

It's not an exaggeration to say that it's rotten to the roots, and there are too many problems of all kinds.

At the highest level, it does not attach importance to it, and even deliberately suppresses it, because it is the civilian clique that is in power, and the civilian clique constantly suppresses the military generals and nobles for its own interests, and naturally in terms of army building, it is also constantly suppressed.

In terms of military spending, equipment renewal, military training, military support, and many other aspects, it is necessary to suppress military expenditures, which can be saved, deducted if it can be deducted, and misappropriated if it can be misappropriated.

There is basically no equipment update, and the armor weapons used by many border armies are even decades old, and the quality of the weapons and equipment issued every few years is so poor that people can't bear to look at it directly.

In the case of artillery, the artillery issued by the household department can only fire a few cannons with 50% of gunpowder, and if a few more cannons or a little more gunpowder are used, they will immediately explode, so that the artillerymen would even rather fight with knives than open fire, for fear of being blown up.

As for army training, that's even more nonsense, it's good to be able to drill once in ten days and half a month, this is still a border army, a unit that often needs to fight with the steppe Tartars.

As for the military households, they are already complete peasants, so naturally there is no such thing as drilling.

Military supply guarantee, Hongzhi five years ago, there was also a grain opening to ensure that if you want salt, you must transport grain to the border army, thus ensuring the demand for border military food.

However, after five years of Hongzhi, after changing the grain to the silver, the salt merchants only needed to pay a certain amount of silver every year to obtain the salt introduction, and then the imperial court used the silver to buy grain for the border army.

It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but because the civilian clique is in power, it is constantly suppressing the military generals and nobles and reducing military spending.

In the past, it was no problem to at least have enough to eat, but now, the court has allocated less and less money, and the grain purchased is also getting less and less.

What's more important is that the grain is in the hands of the grain merchants, if you want to buy the grain, you have to look at the color of the grain merchants, the price is the final word of the grain merchants, so often the grain merchants collude with the commanders above, the silver is not spent, but the quality of the grain bought back is getting worse and worse, and slowly everyone can't even eat.

It was still the Hongzhi Dynasty, and in the late Ming Dynasty, this problem became more and more serious, and eventually it also dragged down the finances of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Food is only one aspect of military expenditure, and it is also the most basic aspect; if the soldiers cannot eat enough food, one can imagine what guarantees can be obtained for military supplies in other aspects.

The lack of attention at the highest level, and even the deliberate suppression, coupled with the development of the military household system, has been completely rotten to the present.

Because of the restrictions of the household registration system, this military household can only be a soldier, and generations are restricted to this, which is nothing, the key is that there is no hope of being a soldier in the Ming Dynasty at all.

The civil official group is in power, they don't have any desire for external expansion at all, they are very Buddhist, and they expect to rely on their Confucian and Mencian ways and Cheng Zhu to solve everything, which is simply impossible.

In addition to the suppression of the civilian clique, the combat effectiveness is low, and I want to rely on being a soldier to turn over and dream.

If a soldier can be rooted in the Qin Dynasty, have status, be able to turn over, and bring substantial benefits to himself and his family, such as winning the war, everyone will have a reward, reward silver, reward land, be promoted and make a fortune, and so on.

Naturally, there will be people who will squeeze their heads out to become soldiers, and this military household is naturally superior.

But this is the Ming Dynasty, when the soldiers can't eat enough food, they can't wear warm clothes, and their families are also suffering from hardships, and the broken military households are talking about them.

There is no battle to fight, every year the Tartars go south, that is, hide in the city to guard the city, they don't dare to take the initiative to attack at all, you want to rely on being a soldier to turn over the salted fish is simply a dream.

Not to mention that the salted fish turned over, it was difficult to support the family and live a decent life, this is the status quo of the military households in the Ming Dynasty.

Originally, when a military household was a good one, there were still a few acres of land at home, but now, the fields of military households are basically occupied by thousands of households, hundreds of households, and general soldiers, and they have become their domestic slaves, making cattle and horses, and they have to be exploited by thousands and hundreds of households from above for generations.

To sum up, that is to be a soldier in the Ming Dynasty, the benefits are the same, and the disadvantages are the same, naturally, even if this system is completely rotten, what combat effectiveness do you expect from such a Ming army?

"It is also a miracle that the Ming Dynasty was able to hold out for more than a hundred years from Emperor Hongzhi."

Putting down the Ming Morning Post in his hand, Liu Jin couldn't help but sigh like this.

A huge empire, with a population of nearly hundreds of millions, and the largest economy of this era, the combat effectiveness of this Ming army is not even a scum, and anyone in the surrounding neighbors can come and bully you.

The grassland Tartars in the north, the southeast coast and the Japanese Kou, and even the Tusi in the southwest have not stopped, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty, they even let the mites clear and replace them, I have to say that it is really ridiculous, lamentable, and sad.

"Emperor Hongzhi took back the military power, and I don't know how this military system will be changed, if it is just to take back the military power, then it is not of much significance, and it cannot really change everything in the Ming army, and history will still repeat itself."

Then Liu Jin thought of what was in front of him, because he had crossed over, so many things had happened in the past few years, and this Hongzhi Emperor had also taken back the military power.

From then on, the emperor no longer needed to go through the military department with his troops, and he could directly mobilize all the armies of the Ming Dynasty, which was a good thing in this regard.

The Ming army has become what it is now, and these civilian official groups have made great contributions, and their suppression of the military generals and noble groups has reached the point of madness.

There was even a matter in history where a third-rank military general had to kneel to a seven-rank civil official, which was a real thing, which shows how mad the civil official group is.

This military power is returned to the emperor, and civilian officials no longer hold military power, naturally, the military generals and noble groups can slowly recover, and the Ming army is still expected to become strong again.

But in essence, this is only a matter of military power, and it cannot change the problem of the Ming army from the root, if the military household system is not changed, the combat effectiveness of the Ming army will not be improved, and it is impossible to say that every war is to engage in fundraising, relying on silver to stimulate.

"Stinky Boy ~ Stinky Boy ~"

Just as Liu Jin was thinking, the rough voice of the British Gong Zhang Mao came, and the people had already shouted before they arrived.

Soon, Zhang Mao walked in, he came to Liu Jin's mansion too many times, so that every time he came, he went straight to Liu Jin's study, not even the living room.

"Zhang Gong~"

Seeing Zhang Mao, Liu Jin hurriedly saluted.

At the same time, I also guessed the purpose of Zhang Mao's trip in my mind, and it is estimated that most of it is also for the purpose of changing the military system.

In the past, Zhang Mao was very leisurely, a grandfather of the country, looking for Liu Jin every day to make a fortune, and he also followed Liu Jin to buy a lot of industries, and now he is also very rich.

But recently, Zhang Mao has been very busy, Emperor Hongzhi distrusts the civil official group, and begins to attach importance to military generals and nobles, and he is also reused by Emperor Hongzhi as a representative of military generals and nobles.

The things of sacrificing ancestors are still being done, but he is also more involved in the affairs of the court, and his presence is indispensable every time he is discussed.

He also has a lot of big things to attend, so he naturally becomes busier.

Now Zhang Mao, Li Dongyang, and Liu Jian are also entrusted by Emperor Hongzhi with important responsibilities and are responsible for the reform of the military system, so the whole person is also busy and dizzy, the key is that he doesn't know where to start.

As in the past, I habitually came to Liu Jin, wanting to consult Liu Jin's opinion and see if Liu Jin, the son of a master, had any good suggestions.

"Excuse me, excuse me~"

Zhang Mao waved his hand, then sat down with a butt, thought for a while and said, "Stinky boy, you also know about the change of the military system." ”

"During the previous period of time, you went to the border army and the guard with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to inspect, and you must have an understanding of the current situation of our Ming army, I don't know if you can tell me how to change this military system."

Zhang Mao is also anxious, this is a big event, not only related to Emperor Hongzhi's major event, but also related to the interests of the military generals and noble group.

It was really miserable to be suppressed by the civilian clique before, and the military generals and nobles did not have any sense of existence, and they did not have any right to speak in the court.

But are these generals and nobles really willing to be like this all the time?

Obviously, it is impossible, everyone has their own ambitions, and naturally they want to have more right to speak and participate in the national affairs of the Ming Dynasty, instead of becoming an ornament without the slightest right to speak.

This matter is in his own hands, it is an opportunity for Zhang Mao to perform well, and it is also a hot potato, because everyone is looking at you Zhang Mao.

If you can't do this well, you must satisfy Emperor Hongzhi and the military generals and noble group, otherwise, you Zhang Mao will not want to gain a foothold in the military generals and noble group in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhang Mao couldn't eat or sleep well, and he has been thinking about this matter these days.

But after thinking about it, I have never been able to come up with a good plan, and more importantly, there is definitely no way to get Liu Jian and Li Dongyang to agree to the plan I came up with, the two of them represent the civilian official group, and naturally consider the interests of the civilian official group, and it is too difficult for each other to come up with a plan that satisfies the three parties.

So Zhang Mao also habitually thought of Liu Jin.

Of course, he didn't think of Liu Jin randomly.

He has been to Tianjin, he has seen Tianjin Maritime College, Tianjin Maritime Academy is only a semi-military management, just a few months of training, these students from Tianjin Maritime Academy are a strong army in his opinion.

His grandson, Zhang Lun, went to the Ryukyus, also trained at the Tianjin Maritime Academy, and also fought against the Japanese pirates, and wrote a letter back to his family that described the victory in detail.

So he knew that Liu Jin was well versed in the way of military training, and he would definitely be able to give him some advice.

"Gong Zhang, don't hide it, this time I accompanied His Highness to inspect the border army and the guard army, and I also felt a lot."

Liu Jin thought about it and said slowly.

"If Your Majesty just wants to take back the military power, this military reform is very simple, you can refer to the military system of all dynasties, and concentrate the military power in the hands of Your Majesty."

"But in my opinion, Your Majesty is not just as simple as taking back military power, Your Majesty loves the people like a son, and has always watched the Tartars go south to wreak havoc, and is very anxious, very eager to have a strong army to defend the country."

"So I think Your Majesty is not just as simple as taking back the military power, but more importantly, to create a strong army, a strong army that can sweep the world."

"If you want to do this, then this military reform will be more difficult."

Liu Jin first briefly analyzed the purpose of Emperor Hongzhi's military reform, which was not just as simple as recovering military power, he was already quite dissatisfied with the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

In the past, he couldn't sleep well every winter, and every year the Tartars went south, wantonly burning and looting, and his own people were poisoned, which made him, the emperor, very dissatisfied.

He wanted to fight with the Tartars for a long time, but he had no money before, the treasury was empty, and there was no money in the treasury, so he couldn't fight if he wanted to.

can only swallow his anger and endure it for twelve years, because Liu Jin, who crossed over, made Emperor Hongzhi's waist puff up, so he made up his mind to fight with the Tartars.

If there is no silver, it is estimated that Emperor Hongzhi will have to continue to swallow his anger, continue to save the silver in the treasury, and when it is enough, he will come to the battle again.

This is the case with the Hongzhi Emperor in history, who has been an emperor for seventeen years, saving money and frugality, and also leaving a lot of legacy for Zhu Houzhao, which is also where Zhu Houzhao's confidence lies in being able to fight with the little prince later.

Hearing Liu Jin's analysis, Zhang Mao also nodded solemnly.

He knew this better than Liu Jindu, and it was precisely because he clearly knew that Emperor Hongzhi wanted to build a strong army, so he was troubled and didn't know how to change it.

"Judging from what I investigated, if you want to build a strong army, you must abolish the military household system!"

Liu Jin pondered, thought for a while and said.

"Abolish the military household system?"

When Zhang Mao heard this, he immediately said in surprise.

"Yes, the military household system must be abolished, the military household system, it has rotted to the roots."

"Originally, according to the military household system formulated by Taizu, military households had military land, and they relied on military land to support their families, and while farming, they protected their families and defended the country."

"But now this system is completely inoperable, completely corrupted."

Liu Jin nodded solemnly and said.

"Tell me more about it."

Zhang Mao frowned, thought for a while and said.

"The reason why I say that the military household system is completely corrupted is mainly from three aspects: First, the existence of the military household system looks very good, soldiers in wartime, and farmers in peacetime, which can save expenses."

"But because of the existence of the military household system, a very powerful army, after several generations of farming, how much combat effectiveness can it have?"

"It can even be said that it doesn't take a few generations, only a few years of no training, and it will basically be scrapped, which is why the combat effectiveness of our Ming army is becoming more and more useless."

"Second, the foundation of the military household system is the military land, most of the following military fields have been encroached upon by thousands of households, hundreds of households, and the general army, and the like of seventy-seven-eighty-eight, and there is not much military land in the hands of the military households, and it is difficult to support their families, and the military households are dilapidated and the poorest."

"What's more important is that these military families are also oppressed by these thousands and hundreds of households, helping them to work for free and being enslaved."

"Third, the military land of military households has not changed, and even continues to decrease, but the number of military families is increasing, in the Taizu period, a military household can be divided into dozens of acres of land, only need to feed a few people in a family."

"But now, a military household may only be able to get a few acres of land, but it is to feed a family of dozens of people, the existence of the military household system, and restrict them from developing in other aspects, naturally they will become poorer and poorer, more and more dilapidated, and they can't even eat enough, how can they build a strong army."

Xie Jin sorted out his thoughts slightly, and also said the problem of the military household system in one breath, pointing out that the military household system has been completely rotten to the point where it must be abolished.

If the military household system is not abolished, then no matter how much it is changed, it will never be able to build a strong army.

After listening to Liu Jin's words, Zhang Mao pondered for a long time, and finally had to nod slowly.

As a representative of military generals and nobles, he can also be regarded as a vested interest in the military household system, and he also has a share of this invasion of military land, otherwise where do you think the thousands of dumps of land in the British government came from?

Of course, now Zhang Mao no longer looks down on those lands, he has transformed into a new capitalist, and the fields can only earn a few silver per year?

It's not as much silver as his family's boat going out to the country, and it's not as much silver as his textile factory earns in a month.

He is also aware of these things, but if the military household system is abolished, it will be tantamount to harming the interests of the military generals and noble groups, and everyone will have no way to encroach on military land in the future, and there will be no way to enslave these military households.

He Zhang Mao will inevitably be sprayed to death by the military generals and noble group, and he will be scolded to death.

So from the very beginning, he didn't think about this aspect, and he didn't think about abolishing the military household system at all, because that would harm the interests of the military generals and nobles.