Sun Chuanting's garrison in Montenegro was quickly sent to Beijing and placed in front of Zhu Youzhen, who immediately sent Hong Chengchou, the secretary of the military department, and several cabinet elders into the palace to discuss.

"What is the cabinet's opinion on Sun Chuanting's recital?" Zhu Youzhen asked.

"Back to Your Majesty, the ministers have already discussed, Montenegro is deep into the grassland, six or seven hundred miles away from the border wall, and it is not suitable to garrison there. First, the army is alone, if it is attacked by the enemy, our border army will not be able to support in time, and second, the supply and transportation are too far, and they have to pass through the territory of the Mongols, which consumes too much and seems unnecessary. Huang Liji was the first to say.

"Sun Chuanting said in his recital that the Montenegrin rebels have reclaimed tens of thousands of acres of land, and the grain produced is enough to feed the Montenegrin defenders, and there is no need to transport grain from thousands of miles from the interior." Zhu Youzhen pointed his finger at the song.

"Of course, the army can be tuntian, but an army needs more than food, armor, weapons, cotton clothes, tea, salt, sauce and vinegar, too many things are needed, and then there is a large army hanging alone, the morale of the army may be considered, how long to be stationed, if it is stationed for a long time, it is necessary to send the families of officers and soldiers to Montenegro, if it is rotated to garrison, then every change of defense must pass through the territory of the Mongols, at present, Lin Dan Khan needs the Ming Dynasty to agree to our army to garrison, but if the threat of Jiannu is no longer in the future, it will inevitably try to expel our army, and the Montenegrin army is surrounded by Mongols, It's too hard to hold the lonely city. Zhou Yanru stood up and said eloquently:

"Your Majesty, the ministers understand Governor Sun's plan, it is nothing more than a plot to Hetao, but my Ming Dynasty is now suffering from internal and external troubles, and it is really not the time to redeem the army, and I hope Your Majesty will think twice."

I have to say that what Zhou Yanru said was very reasonable, and Zhu Youzhen hesitated for a while, not knowing whether to agree to Sun Chuanting's garrison in Montenegro.

"I don't dare to agree with the opinions of the two elders." Hong Chengchou stood up and expressed his support for Sun Chuanting,

"Those who do not seek eternity are not enough to seek a time. Those who do not seek the overall situation are not enough to seek a corner! Although the Ming Dynasty is in difficulty at the moment, those of us who are in the court should focus on the overall situation and the eternal world.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the troubles of my Ming Dynasty have come from the north, from Mongolia. That's why Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing, and the Son of Heaven guarded the country.

Since Longqing was crowned tribute, the Mongol threat seems to be gone, but who can guarantee that it will not produce another male lord in the future and will not attack the Ming Dynasty again?

Now that the Mongols have been attacked by Jiannu one after another, and they are extremely weak, they will allow our Ming Dynasty to garrison Montenegro in order to jointly resist the westward invasion of Jiannu. So now is the perfect opportunity to occupy Montenegro. After the Jiannu is destroyed, our army can go out of the border wall, destroy the Mongols, occupy the Yinshan Hetao, and even occupy the entire Monan, so that the border troubles will never be again.

Of course, the current garrison will bring some difficulties and some burdens to the imperial court, but it is only a few thousand soldiers, and the imperial court can still afford it. ”

"It's just a matter of plotting to seize the Hetao, plotting to seize the Monan grassland, Da Sima, I'm afraid you're a little whimsical, right?" Zhou Yanru shook his head, "Monan is thousands of miles wide from east to west, located outside the fortress, and most of its land can only grow pasture grass and cannot grow crops, what is the use of me occupying such a bitter cold place?" Could it be that the Ming army went to the grassland to herd horses?

Maybe Da Sima will say that he will build a city on the grassland and defend it, but how much grain does it cost, and how much money and food is used to comfort the hungry people in the country?

Your Majesty, Da Sima's words are too whimsical. From ancient times to the present, our Chinese territory only reaches the side wall, and the grassland is not suitable for Chinese people. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is not the blessing of the community to be reckless." Huang Liji also said.

Zhu Youzhen suddenly closed his eyes, and he suddenly remembered the pictures in his mind, after the Manchu Qing Dynasty got the world, it occupied the entire grassland, and its territory far exceeded that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. If the Manchu Qing could control the grassland, why couldn't the Ming Dynasty?

The hall was quiet, Hong Chengchou and Zhou Yanru and the others no longer argued, and they all looked at Zhu Youzhen, waiting for his decision.

Zhu Youzhen Huo Ran opened his eyes and looked at everyone calmly: "Since Sun Chuanting is the governor of the three sides, he has a better understanding of border affairs, and since he suggested stationing troops in Montenegro, there must be a reason. After all, only our army stationed in the grassland can help the Chahar Department resist Jiannu. Therefore, I made a resolution, and it was played by the quasi-grandson court. ”

"Your Majesty......" Zhou Yanru was anxious, and when he was about to step forward to speak, he was pulled by Huang Liji's sleeve and had to keep his mouth shut.

"That's it, Da Sima stays for a while, and the others retreat." Zhu Youzhen waved his hand.

.....

"Your Majesty is reckless, Yuanfu, why don't you let me persuade you?" Back in the cabinet, Zhou Yanru asked Huang Liji dissatisfied.

Huang Liji sighed: "It's not that you don't understand Your Majesty's character, he has made up his mind, and no one can persuade him." And as Hong Shangshu said, the garrison of Montenegro is indeed conducive to encircling and suppressing Jiannu. ”

Zhou Yanru said hurriedly: "Yuanfu, you know that what I am talking about is not to resist Jiannu, but to prevent His Majesty from really trying to occupy the entire Monan in the future, and even build a city in Monan, which will cost too much, and I am worried that it will drag down the Ming Dynasty." ”

Huang Liji shook his head and sighed: "Let's talk about it later, Jade Rope, you must not anger Your Majesty now, you must cater to Your Majesty as much as possible in small things, so as to gain the Sacred Heart, so that you can overpower Wen Tiren in the future." ”

In the cabinet, Huang Liji admires the upright Zhou Yanru the most, and what he hates the most is Wen Tiren, who likes to fight for power and profit, and is accustomed to protecting himself, and has always regarded Zhou Yanru as his confidant.

"I see." Zhou Yanru nodded. During this time, Wen Tiren was aggressive, which made Zhou Yanru feel great pressure.

.....

In the Qianqing Palace, Hong Chengchou was reporting to Zhu You about the situation in the border town.

"Liaoxi has been completely reorganized, the former Liaoxi Town no longer exists, most of the main generals of Liaoxi are now training in the Beijing Military Academy, learning the rules of the Praetorian Guard, and after a while, the minister plans to send them to the inland provinces, or to serve in the capital division, or to be the deputy general of the general army. These people are brave people, and it is still very suitable to calm down local bandits. And transferring them from the bitter cold border to the interior can be regarded as compensation for them.

After the reorganization, there are now 30 battalions of the Janissaries in the whole Liaodong, organized into four armies, with a total of 102,000 people, and the four armies are stationed in Liaoxi, Liaonan, Liaoyang, and Dingliao Right Guard, but at present most of the troops are gathered in Liaoyang to maintain pressure on Shenyang and prevent Jiannuxi from invading Chahar. ”

"The three towns of Xuanfu, Datong and Yulin are now clearing fields. Some time ago, Xuanda and Yulin sent troops to attack Montenegro, but they were all defeated by Montenegrin bandits, which shows how corrupt the border army of the three towns is. At present, the generals of the three towns have been arrested and imprisoned, and Sun Chuanting is cooperating with Jinyiwei to review his crime of embezzling military land and embezzling military salaries.

Part of the results has been sent to Beijing, and His Majesty must have seen it, which can be described as shocking! The vast majority of the military fields of the three towns were occupied by the generals, and hundreds of thousands of military households were all reduced to the military slaves of the generals.

Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly clean up the military fields and return the fields occupied by the generals and officials to the military households. This work will probably take a long time, at least until the whole winter. And this winter, Jiannu is likely to invade the west and attack Chahar, so the recruitment training must also be carried out simultaneously. ”

"What are the specific regulations for recruitment?" Zhu Youzhen asked.

Hong Chengchou said: "Considering the defense of the border towns, after the minister and Governor Sun discussed, the number of troops in each town was approved, and the Xuanfu planned to reorganize ten battalions of the Praetorian Guard, with a total of 30,000 people. Datong is close to the city of naturalization, and the Mongol nest is closer, so it is approved to reorganize 40,000 soldiers. As for Yulinwei, the minister had a suggestion that Yulinwei could be included in Yansui, and the entire Yansui Town, including Yan'an Mansion and Yulinwei, approved the number of 40,000 troops. In this way, the three towns have a total of 110,000 Praetorian Guards. ”

Zhu Youzhen pondered for a while: "Yulin can be included in Yansui, and its grain and grass can be transported from Yansui nearby, which is more convenient." By the way, the 110,000 Praetorian Guards will be expanded all at once, and will there be enough candidates for officers at all levels and military supervisors? Do you have any more questions? ”

Hong Chengchou said: "The officers are indeed a little nervous, but the candidates for the supervision of the army are okay, there are many literate people in the military households in the border towns, there are regulations of the Praetorian Guard, as long as a little training is a qualified candidate for the supervision of the army." As for the grass-roots officers, there is indeed a shortage of them, after all, in order to maintain a certain combat effectiveness, it is impossible to disrupt and reorganize all the Praetorian Guards in Xuanda and Yansui. The minister suggested that a group of officers and soldiers could be transferred from Liaodong Town to Xuanda Yansui to serve as officers at all levels. In the previous battle against Jiannu, there were too many soldiers who made meritorious contributions, and it was just right to be promoted. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded: "Yes." ”

"There is also the Tuntian policy, Sun Chuanting said that all military land should be distributed to ordinary military households, and the trilateral military system should be changed, all military households will be turned into private households, and conscription will be changed to recruitment, and military households will only need to farm and pay land rent in the future, and the others will be exactly the same as those in the mainland." Hong Chengchou said.

"What do you think?" Zhu Youzhen asked. In his heart, Zhu Youzhen agreed with Sun Chuanting's method, after all, the military household system was too backward, and the military households were too restricted.

"In my opinion, Sun Chuanting's method is acceptable, but it is not suitable now. If the military households are now changed to the same as those in the mainland, I am afraid that they will not be able to recruit enough soldiers in the future, after all, for the people of the world, as long as there is a bite to eat, no one wants to be a soldier to fight. Hong Chengchou worried.

Zhu Youzhen smiled: "Then improve the treatment of soldiers, and also set up armor protection in border towns, and the first official positions of security chief armor are all held by retired officers and soldiers." In the future, all officers and soldiers who have made meritorious contributions and retired from service can serve as officials in Baojia townships and townships, or they can also serve as officials in county government offices. The list of retired officers and soldiers should be registered, and the officials should be notified to the department, and the officials at all levels used in the prefecture and county, such as the head of the government service team, such as the patrol inspector, and the ambassador of the treasury, should be given priority in appointing from among the retired officers and soldiers. ”

Hong Chengchou said happily: "In this case, the people of the world will enthusiastically serve as soldiers." ”

"Are there any questions?" Zhu Youzhen continued to ask.

Hong Chengchou said: "Yes." The three towns reorganized more than 100,000 Praetorian Guards at once, and needed too many armor and weapons, Sun Chuanting had already sent a letter to the Ministry of War, asking the Ministry of War to dispatch a batch of cotton clothes and firecrackers and artillery, but the firecrackers and artillery were all in charge of the arsenal, and there was not much stock in the arsenal of the Ministry of War. ”

Zhu Youzhen thought for a while, and instructed Wang Chengen, who was waiting on the side, to say: "You send someone to the Royal Arsenal to see if you can mobilize a batch of guns and artillery to send to the three sides." ”

Wang Chengen hurriedly agreed to deal with the matter in person. The arsenal was not far from the inner palace, and the eunuchs sent soon returned, saying that the arsenal was not in stock at all now, and the last batch of guns had just been sent to Liaodong.

"Didn't the three sides have weapons originally, so they should use them first." Zhu Youzhen said.

Hong Chengchou sighed: "The three sides originally had weapons, but most of them were cold weapons such as knives and guns. Moreover, many of the original weapons were owned by military households. Now that it has been reorganized into the Praetorian Guard, military households must no longer be allowed to bring their own weapons. ”

Zhu Youjian said: "However, the production capacity of the arsenal is limited, so I can only wait." ”

Hong Chengchou suggested: "Your Majesty, it is better to open an arsenal in the border town and cast guns, so as to expand the production capacity, you can also arm the border town guards nearby." ”

Zhu Youzhen hesitated. If the border towns are allowed to make their own weapons, I am afraid that it will be difficult to control them in the future.

Hong Chengchou saw Zhu Youzhen's worries, so he said: "Your Majesty, although the arsenal is located in a border town, its chief officials must be appointed from the imperial court, and the border generals have no right to govern. ”

"That's very good. The head of the arsenal was sent by the royal arsenal, and the inner palace supervisor and the brocade guard were stationed to supervise it. Zhu Youzhen nodded and finally agreed.

Hong Chengchou opened his mouth, he still wanted to set up the arsenal under the military department, but now it seems impossible.

"There is an iron factory in Jizhou, which can set up an arsenal nearby, and there is coal and iron in Liaodong and Anshanyi, where an arsenal can be set up. With these two arsenals, it is enough to arm the border army. Hong Chengchou continued.

"One of the biggest problems is the military spending required for reorganization. Although some silver taels were copied from the defeated generals, it was really a drop in the bucket compared to the reorganization of more than 100,000 troops. 110,000 border troops, the monthly military salary will be 230,000 taels, not counting other expenses, according to Hong Chengchou's report, the silver in the trilateral treasury has been exhausted, and the next month's military salary may not be issued, and the imperial court is urgently needed to quickly allocate money and grain. Hong Chengchou finally said.

The original border army was often short of pay, and the imperial court often couldn't pay money, but as long as there was food, as long as the military households could barely survive, it didn't matter. It's a big deal not to practice, except for a few soldiers on duty, all the other soldiers are sent home, so that there is no need to give rations, and they will be called together when the time comes.

But the Praetorian Guard is different, it is a standing army, and it has to be trained all day long, which also means that you have to take care of food every day and pay silver every month. However, the salary of the Praetorian Guard was more than twice that of the original border army, and according to the noble army set by Zhu Youzhen at the beginning, no arrears or deductions were allowed, which brought a great burden. Although the number of Janissaries was more than half of the original number of border troops, the cost of food and money was much higher. The current money and food in the border towns cannot afford to support them at all.

When it comes to money and grain, Zhu Youzhen also has a headache, during this time, too much silver has been spent, and the sea trade silver shipped from Fujian has almost been spent, but fortunately, there is a steady stream of tax silver from the tax department to support it. However, the income of the tax department is also limited, and the amount of money and grain that Sun Chuanting needs is too large, and the current inner treasury will support it for a month or two at most, but what will happen after one or two months?

Hong Chengchou looked at Zhu Youzhen, although he was resourceful, he didn't know where to find money.

"There it is!" Zhu Youzhen slapped his thigh and suddenly thought of a solution.