The Beijing camp was reforming with great fanfare, and Zuo Zhan always wanted to personally inspect the battalions. However, many ministers made it clear that they were opposed, ostensibly because the soldiers were dissatisfied with the reform and worried about the emperor's safety, but in fact they were afraid that the emperor would notice those things that were not visible. They can blackmail Li Banghua and fool Sun Chengzong, but they will never dare to perfunctory this resolute little emperor.

Sun Chengzong, who was in charge of this matter, also did not agree to Zuo Zhan's inspection of the Beijing camp, but he let this student toss in Liaodong at the beginning, and he was worried that he would make some more moths. The so-called once bitten by a snake for ten years was afraid of the well rope, and he was the first to stand up in the early dynasty and said indignantly:

"At present, the whole country is implementing a new policy, and the energy of the imperial court should be focused on internal construction. At this time, if you go to Beijing to inspect the three armies, it will inevitably create a false impression to the subjects of the world, mistakenly thinking that the saint prefers martial arts, and the court is about to fight again. ”

Zuo Zhan didn't want to go, but the problem had to be solved, and he deliberately coughed and raised his eyebrows at Nan Juyi, the governor of the warehouse. This is the code of the two, Nan Juyi understood it, stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, the ministers were ordered to inspect the Jingying camp and found that there were six main malpractices:

First, the phenomenon of occupying military service and pretending to be false is serious, and there are as many as four or five hundred people in a small battalion, and the generals, honorable relatives, eunuchs, and powerful people use their own servants to pretend to be strong men in the army, and pay a generous salary every month.

Second, the original amount of horses in the Beijing camp was 26,000, but at this time it was less than 15,000, and even so, many officials still came to borrow horses, and even bought military horses at a discount.

Third, every year, the generals at all levels of Taifu Yin are unrestricted in asking for it, and they are very harsh in setting up names.

Fourth, the establishment of generals in the Beijing camp is 360 people, and the promotion is dotted up and down the whole screen.

Fifth, the three battalions set up reserve battalions, each battalion of 3,000 people, the same salary as the main battalion, but without training, it has become a fertile land for the powerful to pretend to lead.

Sixth, the Beijing camp received more than 1,664,000 stone of military rations a year, an increase of more than 57,000 stone over the 46th year of Wanli. ”

Nan Juyi's words hit the back of everyone's heads like a stick, and they were panting one by one. You must know that occupying servitude, falsehood, and embezzlement of state property are the only ways for these people to make a fortune, and now they are listed one by one, and I am afraid that this bowl of rice will not be eaten in the future.

Zuo Zhan had long known about these problems in the army, and he had already handed them over to Li Banghua to deal with, but this fierce man really didn't know how to be flexible, and soon pierced this hornet's nest, and was finally erected in the Chinese Military Governor's Mansion. Fortunately, Zuo Zhan still had Nan Juyi's big move in his hand, and when he saw that everyone was facing a big enemy, he said slowly:

"Soon after Nan Juyi was transferred to the military department, he was able to discover many shortcomings in the Beijing camp, was it because he had extraordinary talent, or did he dare to attack corruption? I would like to ask the dignitaries of the military department, have you not found these problems, or are there other hidden secrets?

When everyone heard that the little emperor wanted to ask the teacher for guilt, they kowtowed and laughed at themselves for being incompetent. Zuo Zhan had long expected that these people would come to this hand, and continued without hurry:

"The Beijing camp is the elite of the country, and it is the main force of the Gongwei Beijing Division, but now it is so bad, no wonder it was defeated by the Eight Banners of Jianyu in Liaodong. This is still the case in Beijing, not to mention the health centers in various places.

With such shocking corruption, why only Li Banghua and Nan Juyi dare to speak out? You usually claim to be the elders of the Three Dynasties, full of benevolence and morality, don't you feel ashamed of what you have done?

The reason why I wanted to go to the expedition in person was to see that the Ming Dynasty had been corrupted to the bone marrow, and if it continued like this, it would ruin the country and the family. After returning to the palace, I was determined to sweep away the malpractice, but there were always people who got in the way, and did not hesitate to use the fate of the country and the nation as a stepping stone for their own selfish interests. At the beginning of the year, I chased Wu Wending, with the intention of giving these people a wake-up call and giving them a chance, but Li Banghua was still subjected to all kinds of difficulties and even threats to his life. I warn you that you have enough face, and that if you play those tricks again, you will be killing yourself. ”

Speaking of which, Zuo Zhan had already begun to lose his temper, and asked angrily:

"Is the Imperial Historian here?"

Wang Zaijin hurriedly knelt down and moved to the middle of the hall, and replied with a sweaty head:

"The minister is here."

Seeing this, Zuo Zhan continued:

"How did you behave as a royal historian, you know the mistakes of staring at me on weekdays, and you are like a stupid chicken. There are so many imperial historians in the court, but only a small Kuraba governor dares to stand up and say a few words of truth, why is this? Selflessness is fearless! ”

By the time he had finished saying these words, the crowd had been kneeling on the ground for a quarter of an hour, all sweating profusely but not daring to argue. Everyone knows that selflessness can be fearless, but the unspoken rule in officialdom is to be with the light, to put it bluntly, everyone is here to eat, and being convenient with others is convenient with oneself.

At this time, Sun Chengzong understood the student's intentions, a few days ago he gave Li Banghua a Chengying sword, and today he knocked on the mountain and shook the tiger, which is ready to carry out drastic reforms. It's just that these problems appeared in Jingying, and he, as the secretary of the military department, naturally couldn't escape the blame, and stepped forward to ask for guilt and said:

"There are many evils in Beijing, and the ministers have the fault of poor supervision, please punish Your Majesty!"

Zuo Zhan knew his mentor too well, and he didn't mean to blame him at all. first asked him to get up and answer, and then ordered a stool to be moved for him to sit down, and then he spoke:

"These shortcomings have existed for a long time, and the first emperor was merciful and couldn't bear to deal with you, but now it is different from the past, and the border troubles are becoming more and more severe. If the army can't keep one side peaceful, not to mention that the people don't have a good life, even we may not be able to enjoy prosperity in peace.

Sun Aiqing has not been in the military department for a long time, this matter has nothing to do with you, you don't have to blame yourself. However, you must strictly screen the officials of the military department, thoroughly investigate the corruption and bad habits that exist in the Beijing camp, and at the same time rectify the guards, squads, and border guards, and not only remove those corrupt and incompetent generals, but also destroy their protective umbrellas. ”

Sun Chengzong happily accepted the order, and at this time, Nan Juyi was still kneeling in the middle of the hall and waiting for the emperor's reply. Zuo Zhan secretly wanted to kill chickens and monkeys in moderation, these problems involved too many princes and nobles and ministers of the court, and they could not be solved by a governor of Kuraba, so after making up his mind, he said:

"Nan Aiqing's six articles were handled by me, and the specific matters were entrusted to Sun Chengzong and Li Banghua. When the time is ripe, I will personally inspect the battalions to observe the drills after the military reform. ”

After the dispersal of the dynasty, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty complained, secretly annoyed that the little emperor had made them kneel for so long, and most of them limped to the Wuying Hall and the Wenhua Palace. In fact, Zuo Zhan also understands that many people are innocent, and the Ming generation is proud of "fighting to the death with literature and fighting to the death", but they have been exposed to the majesty and prosperity of the Heavenly Empire since childhood, and they lack a sense of crisis in their hearts, and they don't know what it means to lose a country and a family, so it's time to remind them.

Since Zuo Zhan personally went out to carry out military reform, many problems were solved, and who could have a bigger backstage than the emperor. By the time his guard of honor entered the Siwei camp, the soldiers were already ready to be reviewed by the Son of Heaven.

This is a new atmosphere, and the ministers of the military department, such as Sun Chengzong and Li Banghua, and the generals who command the army, such as Cao Wenzhao, Huang Degong, and Sun Chuanting, attach great importance to it. Especially the new army and the Yongwei battalion raised by Sun Chengzong, these soldiers have just experienced the bloody battle in Liaodong, and there is a murderous aura in their eyes, and they look like they are at home.

Zuo Zhan was wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, a Tai'a sword hanging from his waist, a sweaty and bloody horse, and a red cloak fluttering in the wind, like a god descending to earth. When he swept past the guard of honor, the soldiers looked at the young emperor who had led them to charge, and they admired it from the bottom of their hearts, and their pride burst out like magma, shouting long live.

At this time, he was also rendered by this angry scene, and secretly said in his heart that this is where a man should come, so he waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Warriors, you are all the bravest soldiers of the Ming Dynasty and the best men of the Chinese nation. In the past, you regarded death on the battlefield as if you were at home, sacrificed the dead heroic souls with the heads and blood of the enemy, and established countless military exploits for yourself.

I would love to take you to the battlefield again, and that's where good men can make great achievements. I believe that a warrior should fall on the way to the charge, and instead of being wasted by time and being killed by illness, it is better to indulge in killing the enemy, and live and die in mourning! ”

For a militant like the little emperor, all men with courage like it. The soldiers thought that this was about to prepare for war again, and they were all like sharks smelling blood, full of desire to kill, and under the command of Sun Chengzong and others, they instantly opened the formation and threw themselves into a huge exercise.

Standing on the viewing platform, Zuo Zhan carefully observed the coordination between the various arms, and was still very satisfied with the spirit of the soldiers. You must know that in the first battle of Liaodong, they not only received rich rewards, but the orphans of those martyrs were also specially recruited to Yulin. In particular, the emperor's deeds of supporting the martyrs in Cining Palace have a strong repercussion in the army, and the hero's mother is also the pride of the heroes.

Of course, to evaluate whether an army's combat effectiveness is strong or not can not only be judged by will, courage, although Zuo Zhan very much emphasized the spirit of the bright sword of the brave who meets on a narrow road, but he also attaches great importance to the advantages of weapons, so he spent a lot of money to set up a military academy and an arsenal, and hired Western craftsmen to develop new firearms together, trying to build Beijing into the strongest modern army on the surface within ten years.

Of course, this exercise also made Zuo Zhan discover a serious omission, the number of war horses is seriously insufficient, not to mention the quality. In order to form a strong cavalry corps, in addition to the quality of soldiers, weapons and equipment, and tactical play, war horses are also an extremely important factor.

We have always admired the strong Han and Tang dynasties, but in the early days of the founding of the country, both dynasties chose to compromise with the Xiongnu and the Turks, and achieved their own recuperation by making peace with the pro-tribute. The Ming Dynasty was different, in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the land of China was full of holes, for example, Yangzhou, which was famous for its prosperity, had only 18 households, and other places can be seen. After Zhu Yuanzhang took over this mess, he used troops abroad while recovering his national strength, first Xu Da and Chang Yuchun Northern Expedition, then Lan Yu, Fu Youde, and Mu Ying conquered the West, and finally sent Lan Yu to crusade against the Northern Yuan, and won a complete victory in the fishing sea, shattering the contempt of the "fourth-class untouchable" in the hearts of the Mongols.

In fact, we are also very lucky, because at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the new China killed the 16-nation coalition led by a certain country, and fought a great victory in southern Tibet, Zhenbao Island repelled the strongest northern neighbor in history, and the Laoshan area carried forward the tradition to teach the monkeys in the south.

To get back to the point, the reason why the cavalry in the early Ming Dynasty was able to defeat the Mongol cavalry that once swept across Eurasia was that in addition to military geniuses such as Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Li Wenzhong, their war horses were not inferior to the Mongols. For example, Chang Yuchun, who is good at playing forwards, the cavalry under him is all sweaty and bloody horses, which was purchased by Chen Youliang, the king of the Han Dynasty, from the Western Regions at the expense of a lot of money, which can be regarded as worth the money.

By the time Zhu Di raised his army, in addition to the famous Duoyan Sanwei, there were still a large number of Mongols in his cavalry corps. For example, Huoli Huozhen made great achievements in Jingjing and was named Tong'an Hou. After moving the capital to Beijing, Zhu Di set up four horse divisions and established countless horse farms. There were more than 600,000 horses in the middle of Yongle, and by the time of his death, the number had reached a staggering 1.5 million.

The armament was also borrowed from the Mongol cavalry, with each knight wearing a bow and arrow, in addition to a long-handled glabellar knife. This kind of knife is about 1.6 meters long, and the handle of the knife can be held with both hands, which can not only chop but also stab, and is more practical than other weapons in actual combat.

In order to solve the problem of insufficient war horses, Zuo Zhan immediately promulgated the "Military Horse Law" after returning to the dynasty, and the war horses were also compiled into the roster, prohibiting castration, slaughtering, and selling. At the same time, the bank was allocated to the Western Regions and Europe to purchase excellent stallions to improve the quality of war horses.