In mid-to-late March, everything was settled, and the imperial court's will to reward the heroes of the resistance finally arrived at the mountain city of Ulan Hada, and at this time, the armies under the command of Sun Chengzong gathered here had reached the time when the grain and grass were exhausted.

Therefore, Sun Chengzong, who was awarded the title of the first-class Earl of Ningcheng, adhered to the emperor's will, re-demarcated the territory of the Karaqin Tribes, the Kulun Department and the Duolun Department in the Xilamulun River Basin in Ulan Hada, and assigned the middle and lower reaches of the Xilamulun River and the grasslands north of the Narit River to these Mongolian tribes who stood on the side of the Ming Dynasty.

Along the way, the Jizhen Border Army and the Liaozuo Frontier Army were assigned to the defense area outside the Jizhen border, and then batches of border troops were assigned to each city and fort to stay and garrison.

In this way, he returned all the way to the south and arranged all the way, until he returned to Rehe Fort and explained the affairs of Rehe and Ulan Hada and other civil and military generals to Ma Shiying, the governor of Rehe, before he returned with confidence.

For such an old minister, Emperor Chongzhen has always been respectful, if he has a meritorious service in ambushing Huang Taiji's army of Jianlu in Liaodong in the grassland north of the Xilamulun River, then he will not be stingy if he is named a marquis.

This time, Sun Chengzong and his entourage had just arrived in Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen sent him outside the Desheng Gate to greet him with the eunuch Bingbi eunuch and the eunuch Chu Xianzhang, who was in charge of the military attache of the imperial chamberlain, picked him up, and the group took a carriage and quickly came to the palace gate of the Forbidden City.

Emperor Chongzhen did this, and what he wanted to show was the great importance he attached to Sun Chengzong, an important minister of the court.

At the same time, it is also to tell the ministers of the Jingshi court that the position of the Minister of Military Aircraft, Ningcheng Bosun Chengzong, is still very important in the eyes of the current emperor.

Of course, it is also to tell everyone that the current emperor removed Sun Chengzong from the position of secretary of the military department, and when Li Banghua, a junior who was named a first-class marquis, only Sun Chengzong was named a first-class uncle, and he was also a little-known Ningcheng uncle in Saibei, which is not a sign of Sun Chengzong's declining status.

It was when he brought the important ministers around him to meet Sun Chengzong this time, after listening to the report on the situation in Saibei, Emperor Chongzhen immediately approved and praised Sun Chengzong's garrison arrangements for Jibei Rehe and other places, and then said to Sun Chengzong and others:

"I have heard that soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the place of death and life, and the way of survival, must not be overlooked! At the beginning of the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu Gao set up the guards, and the children of military families usually cultivated and farmed, and were transferred to the battlefield during wartime, without spending a single money or food in the imperial court, and the soldiers were not self-sufficient. Honest and good governance!

"However, since Emperor Taizu Gao set up the guard, the military system of the Ming Dynasty has continued to this day, and it has been nearly three hundred years! There are guards everywhere, the system is lax, the drills are wasted, the military discipline is corrupt, the soldiers are unusable, and those who have the name of the guard but have no reality, let alone the mortal!

"I also know that these things have been postponed until now, and there are many ills, and it is difficult to return, and it is definitely not the fault of the emperor! However, knowing its disadvantages and changing it is the responsibility of me and Qing! ”

After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, no one in the imperial court did not know about the abolition of the armaments of the five military governors and the subordinate capitals, and such figures as Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, and Nan Juyi also wrote books to discuss the issue of the military system during the Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi periods.

Emperor Chongzhen himself was very dissatisfied with the slackening of the armament of the guard, and several important ministers of the court present also knew it.

If it weren't for this, Emperor Chongzhen would not have cleaned up the old nobles who had controlled the governor's mansion of the five armies in the north and south for generations.

And if it weren't for the extreme dissatisfaction with the current corruption of the guard system, Emperor Chongzhen would not have implemented the reform of the guard post in the Beizhili area before, turned the military households into civilian registration, and changed the guard post into a state and county.

In this regard, Xu Guangqi, who has been pushing the imperial court to organize and train the new army, and Sun Chengzong and Nan Juyi, who personally participated in presiding over the restructuring of the Beizhili Border Internal Guard, are very clear.

It's just that after this war, Emperor Chongzhen ordered to re-establish the command of the envoys in Rehe, Xuanfu, Datong, Hezhong and other new places outside the border, which made several people unable to understand.

At this time, these people saw that the emperor was on the occasion of receiving Sun Chengzong, and they didn't say anything else, and they came up and raised the issue of this guard again, knowing that the emperor's mind had been consistent and had not changed.

However, these people are all figures who have been up and down in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty for many years, and they have also dealt with the Chongzhen Emperor in front of them for a long time, knowing that the emperor in front of them has always planned and then acted, and never fought uncertain battles, so before Emperor Chongzhen said his true intentions, they were not ready to speak, what if they stood on the wrong side?

Therefore, after Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he saw several ministers sitting on the brocade bench specially given to the important ministers of the imperial court and pondering.

After being cold for a while, no one spoke, and Emperor Chongzhen continued: "Since the country's major events are in worship and Rong. The reform of the military system will affect the whole body, and as for which is better or worse, I still have no fixed opinion in my heart. Qing and others are all old people who seek the country, I propose this matter today, and I want Qing and others to think about it together! ”

Emperor Chongzhen said this, and although these people were skeptical of the emperor's statement, they could no longer remain indifferent.

On this occasion, Emperor Chongzhen originally came to summon Sun Chengzong, but seeing that everyone did not speak, Sun Chengzong took the lead and said:

"Since His Majesty's accession to the throne, the imperial court has been determined to re-enforce the military, first train the new army, and then set the nine-sided salary, and then cut out the redundant personnel, and move the guards.

"In the opinion of the ministers, the military system of the national dynasty has been maintained for nearly three hundred years due to attacks, and its shortcomings are full of diseases, as the saint said! Knowing its shortcomings and changing them, it is true that the ministers are also responsible! However, today's external troubles have not been eliminated, and the internal worries are even worse than those of the military system! The reform of the military system is really urgent! ”

Sun Chengzong had operated the Ningjin Defense Line for many years, and of course he knew that the guards in various places were broken.

Moreover, as early as the Jiajing period, in the anti-Japanese war in various coastal areas, the system of guards had collapsed and decayed and was no longer usable.

Otherwise, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, these famous anti-Japanese generals, would not abandon the guards and use them, and specially recruited and trained a battalion of soldiers, which is how the titles of Qi Jiajun and Yu Jiajun came from.

Including himself during the period when he was stationed in Liaodong, he also recruited from the Han people in Liaodong and Denglai, and selected and trained many battalion soldiers.

Because at that time, the guards outside the Northeast Pass had already existed in name only, and the world military system could not be implemented at all.

If you don't carry out the conscription system, you can't even get together the soldiers to fight, so what can you talk about eliminating Jianyu and recovering Liaodong?

Therefore, Sun Chengzong knew very well in his heart that the hereditary system of the guard house for nearly 300 years would not work if it was not reformed.

It's just that everything has a priority, and we must pay attention to the priority.

In his opinion, now the internal and external situation of the Ming Dynasty has just improved a little, as long as the current saint does not toss blindly, maintains the current momentum of the recovery of national strength, and focuses on stability, then the revival of the Ming Dynasty is still very promising.

Sun Chengzong spoke, and the others were a little easier, and Li Guoyi, the first assistant of the cabinet, followed his words and said:

"Your Majesty! The governor's office of the five armies in the north and south of the country, the number of guards in the world under its jurisdiction is thousands, and millions of military households are involved!

"If Your Majesty changes it in one fell swoop, the ministers are afraid that the rebellion in the northwest will not be appeased, and the chaos of the world's capital guards will start! Your Majesty be careful! ”

After Li Guoyi, the first assistant of the cabinet, finished speaking, Xu Guangqi, the cabinet minister, also said: "Your Majesty's worries are known to the ministers!" However, what Lord Shoufu said is really the most reasonable thing to do!

"In the opinion of the minister, it is better to change it slowly! From top to bottom, from inside to outside, from near to far! Push it out step by step, step by step, so that in a few years, you can achieve the full success! Your Majesty, please see it! ”