Chapter 42 Reform Plan Chen Yiqin was cautious by nature, although he knew that Shen Chongming's method was for the sake of the imperial court, but he still objected: "Your Majesty, the reform of the military system is a major matter related to the stability of the world, according to the opinion of Wei Chen, it is best not to find a way to alleviate the problem of the shortage of income in the imperial court from the military system of the guards." ”

Without waiting for Emperor Longqing to speak, Li Chunfang followed and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen agrees with Lord Chen's point of view. There are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the guards of the imperial court, and once the restructuring is not done properly, I am afraid that it will cause riots. ”

When the two of them said this, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but worry. The foundation of the imperial court's maintenance of the local guard is the distribution of land, which has been passed down in their hands for generations, and has long become the lifeblood of a large family. Once it is to be deprived, riots are inevitable.

However, Shen Chongming had already thought of a solution to this point. Now seeing that Emperor Longqing's expression was a little shaken, he hurriedly bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, according to Weichen's understanding, the reason why the combat effectiveness of the guards in various places is low is not only due to insufficient training, but also because the generals of the guards are greedy. They not only withheld the silver taels allocated by the imperial court, but also forcibly occupied the fields of their subordinate soldiers, making it difficult for many soldiers to have no land to cultivate, so they had to escape military service and leave their hometowns to find another way to survive. ”

After a pause, Shen Chongming broke the news again. And those generals not only did not restrain themselves, but further deceived their superiors and subordinates to eat empty salaries, they lied about the number of soldiers in the guards, and took the silver taels allocated by the imperial court as their own. It is precisely because of this that although the imperial court has repeatedly urged the local guards to train troops to improve their combat effectiveness, they have not seen half of the effect, and even worse, the situation has deteriorated. ”

"Shen Aiqing, is it really that serious?" Emperor Longqing's face was full of surprise. He also knew about the problem of empty salaries for all the officials of the local guard, after all, this matter has existed in all dynasties, and it cannot be completely eradicated. But Emperor Longqing never expected that the situation in the Ming Dynasty would be so serious by Shen Chongming.

Shen Chongming nodded firmly, "Your Majesty, how dare Weichen open his mouth in such a big matter, if there is a little falsehood in it, Weichen is willing to bear the responsibility." ”

Emperor Longqing did not know about such a situation, but the four ministers of the cabinet heard about these things from time to time. It's just that this kind of thing involves a wide range of things, and no one wants to be idle and cause such a big trouble, so it has always been treated with a passable attitude, unless someone causes a big mess because of this matter, then they will be severely punished.

However, at that time, the punished generals have nothing to say, as long as they know how to stop and not involve others, they will basically not provoke the kind of situation where the radish is pulled out and the mud is brought out, and of course it will not cause uncontrollable riots.

It is precisely because of this that no one has ever told Emperor Longqing about this, and of course, Emperor Longqing can't realize that the local guard has reached such an incredible level.

To say that Emperor Longqing is also sharp-eyed, he found that something was wrong with the four ministers at this glance, and asked with a frown: "You say, has my army of the Ming Dynasty really become like this?" ”

The tone was a little harsh, Li Chunfang didn't care about the three behind him, and fell to his knees with a thud, "The emperor is angry, Weichen is incompetent, please punish the emperor." ”

As soon as he confessed, the other three could only kneel down and plead guilty. Shen Chongming saw that he was standing there too dazzlingly, and quickly knelt down, this was really a disaster.

Emperor Longqing didn't speak, but the two slightly trembling fists were enough to show that he was already furious. A few people didn't dare to speak, and they all knew that once they said it wrong, it would become the emperor's punching bag.

After being silent for a while, Emperor Longqing sighed and shook his head, and only said after a while: "Ladies and gentlemen, since the local guard has reached such a point, this military system has to be changed no matter what, do you have any objections?" ”

Who would dare to disagree at this juncture, Wu ** nodded in agreement, for fear that the amplitude would be small and Emperor Longqing would think that he would disagree.

Waving his hand to let everyone get up, Emperor Longqing set his eyes on Shen Chongming. "Shen Aiqing, do you have a charter for this military system reform now?"

If there was no charter, where would Shen Chongming open this mouth, he originally planned to hide the opportunity to perform and leave it to the four ministers of the cabinet, but looking at the current situation, he could only go up to the top himself.

"Your Majesty, as Master Chen said, the reform of the military system of this guard is very wide-ranging, and the slightest carelessness will cause riots, so Weichen thinks that this matter must be gradual and gradual, and it will take at least three years or more than seven years to see results, and it must not be too hasty to shake the country's foundation."

As soon as these words came out, not only Emperor Longqing nodded in agreement, but the other four also looked at Shen Chongming with the eyes of agreement, since Shen Chongming could realize this, then the certainty of success in this matter was greatly increased.

Everyone's expressions immediately let Shen Chongming know that this matter is promising, and he suppressed the excitement in his heart and continued: "In terms of the specific operation of the restructuring, Weichen thinks that the first thing to do is to win over most of the generals who have committed minor crimes, so that they can continue to stay in office or be promoted to the next level, as long as they taste the sweetness, they must support the restructuring." For a small number of generals who have committed serious crimes, they must be severely punished, dismissed from their posts, and convicted in accordance with the laws and regulations of the imperial court. ”

"Well said." Emperor Longqing high-fived and praised, smiled at the other four and asked, "Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think of Shen Aiqing's method?" ”

"Your Majesty, Lord Shen's method is extremely thoughtful. Weichen thought that the imperial court could try it out in one place to see the effect, and if it was really feasible, it could be carried out in other places. Li Chunfang said with a smile.

The others nodded in agreement, and Gao Gong couldn't help but stroke the beard on his chin and looked at Shen Chongming with a smile on his face. This kid, I really didn't misunderstand him.

"Your Majesty, Lord Shen's method Weichen thinks there should be no big problem, if the assessment is introduced again, maybe the time to see results will be shorter." Zhang Juzheng laughed out loud.

Emperor Longqing's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said: "Zhang Aiqing, you tell me in detail." He also knew that Zhang Juzheng had a unique view on many things, and since he opened his mouth this time, it must be a good way.

Shen Chongming also set his sights on Zhang Juzheng. This adult really deserves his reputation, and he thought of his most proud move in the restructuring so quickly, could it be that this is the prototype of the test method?

"Yes." Zhang Juzheng responded and said eloquently: "Since it is a reform of the military system, not only the recruitment of non-commissioned officers must be changed, but also the appointment and promotion of generals must be changed accordingly. Moreover, once the strength of the guard post is streamlined, the entire general system will have to be disrupted and restarted, and when the time comes, according to the merits in peacetime and the merits in wartime as the basis for promotion, so that the combat strength of the armies in various places will be improved as soon as possible. At the same time, it can also prevent them from deducting military salaries for the sake of committing crimes again. ”

"Hehe, in this way, the reform of the military system of this guard can be carried out." Emperor Longqing smiled, and suddenly felt that the burden that had been pressed on his body for a long time was much lighter.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and at this moment, Chen Yiqin frowned slightly and said: "Your Majesty, although there is no big problem with the reform of the military system, it is still too early to see results, and it is of little use to the current predicament of the imperial court's shortage of silver." ”

Like a basin of cold water poured on his head, Emperor Longqing looked stunned at first, and then his shoulders collapsed. What Chen Aiqing said is very true. Although this military reform is good, at the beginning, I was afraid that the imperial court would have to put silver taels into it, so it would not only be useless to the current predicament, but also maybe there would be some waves during the restructuring due to the shortage of silver taels. ”

Sighing, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but set his eyes on Shen Chongming again, and the others basically couldn't count on it, so they could only see if he had any good solutions.

He thought like this, and the others were exactly the same, with ten hot eyes on his body, Shen Chongming suddenly felt awkward all over his body.

"Your Majesty, Weichen has an idea, but I don't know whether to say it or not." Shen Chongming said resignedly, so far, he can only pour out the thoughts in his heart in one go, and whether he succeeds or not, can only depend on the will of heaven.

"Although Aiqing said bluntly, I forgive you without sin." Emperor Longqing hurriedly said. At this time, even if it is a big rebellious idea, as long as it can be beneficial to the court to alleviate the current predicament, for the sake of the ancestors' country, he can only adopt it.

With this sentence, Shen Chongming was relieved, even if someone impeached him for contempt for the laws of his ancestors, he would not be afraid of being punished. "Your Majesty, lift the sea ban and allow free trade among the people."

The words were very short, but the five people, including Emperor Longqing, were stunned and speechless.

That's a long story about the sea ban. It was still the Taizu period, in order to avoid sporadic Japanese raids, the imperial court set a rule that the people were not allowed to enter the sea. After Zheng He's voyage during the Chengzu period, the official trade was officially ended, and more than a hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye, and no one has dared to mention the lifting of the maritime ban. After all, the ancestral law hangs over the head, and once it falls, it is not something that one or two people can afford.

Over the years, although some people have made a fortune by privately engaging in maritime trade, many more people have lost their families because they secretly went to sea to do business, which shows how serious the consequences of violating the laws and regulations of their ancestors are.

So now that Shen Chongming's words came out, how could he not teach everyone to be dumbfounded, and this guy was bold, right?

The situation was a little bad, and Shen Chongming also knew why they were surprised, so he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, my lords, the reason why Emperor Taizu announced the sea ban back then was because at that time, the Japanese invaders often killed my people and plundered my money for the sake of the coastal areas, and Emperor Taizu announced the sea ban in order to protect the people. But now that a large number of pirates have been eliminated, the conditions for lifting the ban on the sea have been met. ”

"Never." Chen Yiqin objected. Although he knew that Shen Chongming was doing this for the sake of the imperial court, the lifting of the sea ban was of great importance, and he couldn't let it go because of his loyalty.

"Merchants are cunning and greedy, and they can still be bound by the law in our Heavenly Empire, but once they enter the sea, they can't be sure. A few years ago, the Japanese pirates were very troubled, and everyone knew that it was those smuggling maritime merchants who participated in them to make such a formation, but now the Japanese pirates have just been cleared and the sea ban has been opened, but I am afraid that they will not change their thieving intentions and cause trouble again, you must know that colluding with the Japanese to plunder property is not a business. ”

Li Chunfang also nodded and said: "Maritime merchants have made a lot of profits, once the maritime ban is lifted, it will definitely give birth to many rich businessmen who are rival to the country, once these rich businessmen and ill-intentioned people collude to make trouble, it will also be a big disaster." ”

The two points raised by the two immediately made Emperor Longqing, who was still eager to try, wilt, and nodded weakly: "What the two Aiqing said is right, the people are powerful, and they will also shake the country's foundation." ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen has a way to put an end to such a thing." Without all preparations, how could Shen Chongming come up with this idea.