Sun Jiao was in September of the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, because of the border police in Xuanfu and Datong, and was ordered to pass through the border passes of Huanghua Town. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Emperor Xiaozong, who was still alive at the time, personally gave Jin Qi to perform for him, which can be described as a momentary glory, and it can also be seen that Zheng De's cheap father still took a fancy to him.

It's a pity that when he returned to the capital a year later, he had already been wrong, and the emperor who originally valued him had died. He was surprised that he had thought that he would spend some time at the border, but he was recalled by the new emperor who had just ascended the throne and was promoted to the head of the household.

So when the little eunuch came to the household ministry hall and asked him to enter the palace to face the saint, he was not surprised at all, he came to the emperor with a calm expression, and bowed, "The ministers and the servants of the household department will see Your Majesty." ”

Zheng De, who was holding the book, glanced back when he heard this, and the middle-aged man with a clear face standing in front of him gave him a lot of favor. waved his hand, "It turns out that Sun Qing is here, please take a seat." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your seat."

When Zheng De sat down behind the imperial case, Sun Jiao also sat down after him.

"Li Ge Lao said that Aiqing is a rare talent, and it is really unusual to see it today." Zheng De looked at him and said with a smile.

When Sun Jiao heard this, he naturally knew who Li Ge Lao was, after all, there was only one Li Dongyang Li Ge Lao in the court, but he didn't expect it to be him who recommended him. Although the two have a good personal relationship, with Li Dongyang's indifferent mind to fame and fortune, he will never take the initiative to recommend others, which also makes him feel a little moved.

But what he didn't know was that his real Bole was the one sitting in front of him, if it weren't for the coincidence that Zheng De knew his ability from the search system, I am afraid that he would still stay in the desolate Biansai, and it would be impossible for him to be recalled to Beijing so soon. As for Li Dongyang, it was just an excuse to cover up the existence of the search system, otherwise how would an emperor who stayed in the palace all day know about an official who was patrolling the border outside?

Sun Jiao said modestly, "Your Majesty has praised it." ”

"Sun Qing has been in the border plug for more than a year, and it is really hard, I don't know what the situation is in the side stopper?" Thinking of this person who had just come back from the side, Zheng Deshun asked.

Sun Jiao pondered for a moment when he heard this, "If you return to Your Majesty, the minister has something to play." Since the Yongle period, the Longqing Guards have been sent every year to purchase charcoal to supply the inner government. Later, although it was stopped, it caused it to lose 20,000 taels of silver per year, and the border army was trapped for many years. However, this kind of nameless tax is not what the prosperous times should have, and I ask Your Majesty to remember the poverty of the soldiers in the border and exempt them as much as possible to show mercy. ”

"That's it." Zheng De nodded, "What else is going on?" ”

"Since the time of Yongle because the sergeant purchased charcoal, there is no wood to be mined now. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to plant millions of trees every year on the barren mountains that are of little use. First, it can be used for the needs of charcoal in the future, and there is no need to bother the people. Second, if the border pass is densely wooded, it can also hinder the Mongol cavalry and help our army defend. ”

"You mentioned this last time." Zheng De remembered that when he first saw the name Sun Jiao, he had this proposal on the note. However, he was excited for a while and forgot about it, so he didn't send it.

"I'll make an order on this later, that's right." Zheng De suddenly remembered something, "What is the situation of the military household in Biansai?" ”

Hearing that the emperor took the initiative to ask about the military household, Sun Jiao was also a little surprised. However, thinking of the Mongol invasion, it is obvious that the emperor already knows something about the affairs of the military household, and this is what he is about to say, "Your Majesty, the border soldiers live in poverty, and they have reached the point where they cannot survive. The military fields were occupied by the powerful and the officers, and the families had no surplus food, but they still needed to pay heavy taxes and garrison the border. However, the imperial court thought that there was a surplus of military fields in the border area and thought that there was enough food, and less than one-third of the military rations were lost, and most of them were occupied by the officers, resulting in people freezing to death and starving to death every day in military households. Therefore, there may be another way for the soldiers to flee, otherwise they will either freeze to death or starve to death or die on the battlefield, which is more important than the other. ”

Zheng De was really shocked when he heard this, although he had heard Liu Daxia say that the military family fled because of the difficult life, but he didn't expect it to be so serious. Even basic survival is not guaranteed, so it is strange not to escape.

Suddenly felt a headache, and looked at Sun Jiao, "What does Sun Qing think about this situation?" ”

"I think it may be feasible to restore the opening of China and France."

"Open the middle of the law? I can't remember a little clearly, Sun Qing explains. To be honest, Zheng De has been in this world for so long, and he has read a lot of books, but he really hasn't seen any "opening the Chinese law".

Sun Jiao nodded, not surprised that the emperor didn't know about this matter, after all, the Kaizhong Law had been abolished for many years.

"The so-called Kaizhong Law is a system that encourages merchants to transport grain to the border in exchange for salt, and gives patents for salt trafficking. Later, because of the huge cost of long-distance transportation of grain, the salt merchants hired people to cultivate the fields in various border areas, and produced grain in the warehouse in exchange for salt, so as to make more profits. This method of exchanging grain transportation for salt is called the method of opening the middle. ”

Zheng De nodded when he heard this, feeling that this way was good. It can not only solve the food problem of the border guards, but also solve the transportation problem, and promote the development of the border guards. I don't know how such a good way can it be abolished?

"Then why was it abolished?" Zheng De looked at him suspiciously.

Because of the emperor's relatives and relatives, the noble officials saw that it was profitable to hold salt, so they begged for salt and resold it to salt merchants to make a profit, which was called "occupying the nest". This phenomenon intensified, undermining the Kaizhong system and seriously affecting the income of the imperial court, and finally had to be abolished. Ye Qi, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, changed the old system to the merchant to replace the rice with silver, paid it to the transportation department, solved it to Taicang, and then distributed it to all sides. Although there are more than one million dollars of silver in Taicang, it has also led to the relocation of most of the salt merchants in the border areas, the rapid destruction of the merchant system, and the lack of food supply for the border army, which is also one of the major inducements for the flight of military households today. ”

Sure enough, the easiest way for the fortress to be breached from the inside, the emperor himself opened the door of convenience, which led to the failure to implement the law in the end, who can blame him?

"It's really self-inflicted!" Zheng De sighed lightly, and he had to admire Sun Jiao's courage, he dared to accuse the emperor of his ancestors in front of the emperor, and it is estimated that no one has the courage to do so. But fortunately, Zheng De is not a pure Zhu family, and he doesn't care too much about it.

"However, this method can only cure the symptoms but not the root cause, if the officers and businessmen collude to exchange the grain of the military cantonment for salt to make profits, they can be said to be able to get the salt without spending a penny, and the living conditions of the military households are still not improved." Zheng De felt that it was not possible to open the Chinese method, but he still found a problem.

Sun Jiao stroked his beard lightly when he heard this, and he had to admit that the emperor's worries were justified, but there seemed to be no better way than this.

"I actually have a solution." Hearing the emperor's words, Sun Jiao looked at him in disbelief, but still nodded, "Your Majesty, please speak." ”

"Abolish the hereditary military household and change it to a compulsory conscription system, I don't know what Sun Aiqing thinks?" Zheng De said simply, and when he saw Sun Chengtong's thoughtful expression, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Would it be useful if the hereditary family was abolished?" Sun Jiao's face was suspicious.

Zheng De nodded, "As the saying goes, "the iron-clad battalion is a flowing soldier", if the hereditary military household is abolished and replaced by a compulsory conscription system, the military will not have to be coerced and exploited by the officers because of the drag of their families, and they can withdraw from the military household registration after the expiration of their service, and they can also mobilize their enthusiasm for fighting the border. As for the fact that an officer is no longer hereditary, we may stipulate that the term of office of an officer in a guard post shall not exceed ten years. Ten years later, someone was sent to evaluate his military merits, and according to his performance in the guard, he could be promoted, demoted, or even imprisoned. In this way, they do not dare to blatantly do these illegal acts of encroaching on military land. ”

Sun Jiao raised his doubts, "If you can freely withdraw from the military household, won't it be long before there will be no soldiers to be recruited?" ”

Zheng Deyi said with a smile, "Aiqing misunderstood what I meant, the compulsory conscription system I mentioned is not a conscription from military households. Rather, it was to levy Ding from all the people of the Ming Dynasty. All adults who will turn 18 years old next year must serve for me for three years without compensation, and enter the military household during the service period, and quit the military household at the end of the service period. ”

Sun Jiao felt that the emperor's idea was really good, in the final analysis, the soldiers fled completely because they couldn't guarantee even the most basic survival, and they didn't want to live a life of licking blood from the knife for generations. Military households can also withdraw freely if they are no longer hereditary, which can be said to fundamentally solve the problem of military households fleeing.

However, Sun Jiao still sensed a problem, "Isn't this the same as serving conscription, and with such frequent rotation, how can you train an elite soldier in just three years?"

"Sun Qing is really thoughtful." Zheng De praised, "But I already have a solution." If the three-year compulsory military service expires, those who are willing to continue to serve can sign an agreement with the imperial court to volunteer for military service, and the imperial court will pay military pay on time. If you die in battle, you will receive a pension, and if you have an orphan in your family, the court will raise you until you reach adulthood. In this way, are you still afraid that you won't be able to train an elite soldier? ”

"Your Majesty." Sun Jiao said from the bottom of his heart. However, there is still a trace of worry, "In this way, I am afraid that it will increase the burden on the court, if the military salary is insufficient, it can only increase taxes, and I am afraid that in the end, it will be my Ming people who suffer." ”

"If I can't even afford to raise an elite soldier in the Ming Dynasty, I won't have to bear the burden of the emperor." Zheng De was not worried. If a huge country can't even raise an army, I'm afraid that the Ming Dynasty is indeed not far from extinction.

"Your Majesty is cautious." Sun Jiao didn't expect that the emperor would even dare to say this, and he was really shocked by a cold sweat.

Zheng De pursed his lips, and he didn't want to dwell on this matter more. asked, "Aiqing thinks there is anything else to add?" ”

Sun Jiao thought for a while, "The emperor stipulates that my Ming people must serve in the military when they reach the age of eighteen, does it include the children of officials?" ”

Zheng Dehu glanced at him suspiciously, "Do you think that the heirs of officials should not serve in the military?" ”

Sun Jiao shook his head, "The minister has no intention of doing this, but in this way, the resistance to implementation is too great." ”

"Of course, there is a lot of resistance, and I not only want to include the children of officials in the scope of conscription, but also the children of the emperor's relatives and powerful people." Zheng De secretly thought, "But I asked Sun Jiao to do it for the sake of the household department, but I didn't expect to talk about the military household system in the end, which is too far." ”

However, in a conversation with Sun Jiao, Zheng De was also quite rewarding. Moreover, this person who deserves to be rated S-level ability, although he doesn't know how capable he is in the economic field, at least he is very clear about some of the shortcomings of Daming, and he also has his own opinions.

"Talent is really talent, and it can have dazzling brilliance in every aspect." Zheng De couldn't help but sigh, wondering if he had used him in the wrong place. The most suitable for him should be the military department!

At this moment, Zheng De had an urge to transfer him to the military department, but in the end he held back. Shaking his head helplessly, "Let's not talk about this military household for the time being, I came to you because there is something I need to give you to do, something that only you can do." ”