The Ming Dynasty in the history books was in the Jiajing period because of the corruption of the Tuntian system, and had to embark on the road of recruitment.

This is almost the fate of a dynasty, and the endogenous logic is also very clear: that is, the political and military systems are all corrupted, the administrative efficiency is greatly reduced, and the demons and monsters are rampant in the DPRK and China.

In order to solve the immediate problem, it is necessary to spend money to recruit soldiers to solve the urgent need.

At the beginning, a soldier's annual salary was 9 taels, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty, it had increased to 30 taels per year.

In short, everything is sliding into the abyss of getting out of control.

Zhu Houzhao's existence can be regarded as saving the corrupted guard army at the last moment, and it also caused a rebellion in several border towns at the beginning.

The rest was forcibly carried out by Wang Shouren and the army.

All in all, it's also a bit thrilling.

If it weren't for the visitors of later generations, it would be really difficult to accomplish this, first of all, it would be difficult to have complete trust between the emperor and the ministers. At least Zhu Houzhao's trust in Wang Shouren can't be achieved.

In the current twenty years of Zhengde, Juntun has survived with a sigh of relief, but as time goes by, he will definitely 'relive the old dream' again.

Because no matter how perfect or strict the laws of the imperial court were, the phenomenon of subordinate tuntian being encroached upon by the superiors for various reasons was bound to gradually increase.

In other words, the number of soldiers who can't survive will increase year by year.

If people can't survive, they will run away.

As a result, the combat effectiveness will be weakened by the dissatisfaction and low morale of the troops.

It's almost certain,

No matter how diligent Zhu Houzhao is, his energy is limited, and it is impossible to stare at the things in the military cantonments of thousands of guards across the country every day.

Regarding this, Zhu Houzhao himself understood it very early.

In addition, the current chaotic military system has made it more and more unbearable for him.

The fighting between the military department and the governor's office obviously could not keep up with the specific requirements he announced to build an army in the new era.

Finally, at the end of November,

The main generals of the Ming Dynasty in Jiubian began to gradually return to Beijing in batches.

These people are equivalent to the commanders of military regions, and if the imperial court wants to reorganize the military system from top to bottom, then it is completely insufficient to rely on a few letters with each other, the efficiency is too low, and the matter is not clear.

And the next actions need the full support of these people.

To put it mildly, they need to control the army, at least they can't come up with such a vicious incident as a mutiny among soldiers.

These people include the governor of Hetao, Wugong Bo Ma Rong, the chief military officer of Guyuan Town, Shi Feng, the governor of the Right Army and the chief military officer of Datong, Yang Shangyi, the chief military officer of Xuanfu, Zhang Li, and the chief military officer of Liaodong, Han Shishilang.

It can be said that the heaviest generals among the nine sides have come.

In fact, the army of the Ming Dynasty also included various guards scattered in large and small cities in the interior.

These guards were usually controlled by the local governors, but over the years they had lagged behind the Beijing camp and the border army in terms of various resources, and it is safe to say that they all suffered from the 'disease of peace'.

Finally, there is the Navy.

Admiral Zheng Bu had already made an expedition to Luzon, so he would definitely not be able to come.

But the admiral of the Navy has been added to the rank of squire of the Ministry of War over the years, so he is still in the sequence of the Ministry of War, and it is enough to have Gui Cao here.

Combined, the size of the large and small troops is definitely more than 1.5 million.

This number is very large even in modern countries.

However, such a huge army size, as well as millions of taels of silver military expenditure, did not reach the level of combat power it should have.

That's the big problem.

When these border guards arrive in Beijing,

Zhu Houzhao also summoned the old faction of nobles in Beijing, including Zheng Guogong, Yue Guogong, and the new generation of British Duke Zhang Shu.

The three of them added Zhu Feng, the Duke of Chengguo in Luzon.

The four great princes of the Zhengde Dynasty were them.

The British Gong Zhang Shu is the grandson of the previous British Gong Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao, the evaluation of ordinary people is 'dignified', to put it bluntly, he is mellow and calm, and because of his long life, he has served several generations of emperors, so when he arrived at Zhu Houzhao, he held heavy power.

Later, Zhu Houzhao was asked to find a reason to resign at home.

Ten years of Zhengde, at the age of seventy-five, he finally died.

The historical raider is called Zhang Lun.

But Zhu Houzhao didn't care about this, he took action and gave this title to Zhang Shu, who was more motivated and had studied at the Military Academy.

Then he was allowed to enter the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

The return of the British Duke is politically a kind of attraction to the old-school nobles, after all, Zhang Mao has been in power for decades, and he has promoted many people.

In fact, at this time, there was also a Dingguo Gong Xu Guangzuo.

But the guy is incapable, and he's old, so although the title is obvious, the sense of presence is not strong.

Including Xu Pengju, the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, he was also a bastard and had always been ignored by the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao doesn't care, he is very satisfied with the current pattern of the four major princes in the DPRK and China.

Zheng Guogong Changfei is a hero of the generation of Hongwu founder, and the emperor takes care of him, so this attitude is there.

Yue Guogong is the representative of the rising military generals of this dynasty.

The Duke of England and the Duke of Chengguo are the representatives of the traditional nobles.

The remaining marquis and earls with a strong sense of presence include Jinghai Bowu Wending, Nanning Bomao Wenwen, Xinjian Bowang Shouren, Weining Bowang Xuan, and the recently newly crowned Marquis of Bowang.

Their status is relatively low, and they are not all in the military generals, and in terms of power alone, they may not be as high as the total army.

Pinghai Hou Mei Kejia is even more old at home.

But they also have a place in the court.

All in all, the chief soldiers of the real power faction and the three princes in Beijing were called by the emperor.

and met them in the royal garden of the West Garden.

In fact, these people themselves also have the realization that the emperor will recall all of them back to Beijing at one time, and there must be something important.

Zhu Houzhao is actually still a little proud, it is because of him that a group of capable and talented generals have emerged in the Ming Dynasty at this stage.

Seeing them rushing in, I couldn't help but say smugly, "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has Wei Huo, and I have no shortage of pillars of the country!" ”

Among them, Han Shishilang is still a relatively young general soldier, anyway, you don't look at your age on the battlefield, you just see whether you fight fiercely or not.

Seeing that the emperor was coming, Zhou Shangwen, the Duke of Yueguo, led the way to kneel down and salute.

"See Your Majesty!"

"Alright, alright, let's all get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao asked someone to bring a stool and let them sit down along the lake, he himself was really tired of sitting, so he stood and lectured them, "Today, I am not a civil official, not even the secretary of the military department, but only the general who commanded the army and the army." Why? I just want to put aside those red tape, and let us kings and ministers say something that doesn't go around the bush. What do you think? ”

Zhou Shangwen smiled, "We naturally listen to the emperor." ”

"Yes, listen to the emperor!"

……

Before the main drama began, Zhu Houzhao always had to say a few words of greeting, but it was not a lie, he sighed and said: "Speaking of which, I really envy you." If I am not the emperor, then I must be a general, a man with blood, all over the field, meritorious service, and a happy life!

Although there are also immediate sons of heaven among the ancestors, but in this regard, I really have too many ancestors, and I am worried that I will cause trouble to your generals in command after I go, so I always endure it. After enduring it for more than ten years, I suddenly found that Daming's opponent was gone, it was really too late to regret it, and now I don't know who else to recruit! ”

"Hahaha."

The general's temper was still more direct, and when he heard the emperor say funny, he couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Houzhao should also talk to everyone, "This responsibility can be counted on your heads, blame you for being too capable." ”

It's a joke.

"Your Majesty, it's not that we are capable, but that the emperor is strategizing and strategizing. When the country is strong, only the ministers and others can leap on the battlefield and be invincible. These are the credit of His Majesty. Martial arts Bo Ma Rong also patted his ass.

"What Wu Gong Bo said is good." Zhou Shangwen said: "If it weren't for the new policies to change the accumulated shortcomings, the Ming Dynasty would not have today's prosperity." ”

Zhu Houzhao really had to accept all these credits, and said even more wantonly: "But I am not Tang Xuanzong, and I don't want to lie on the past merits and sing songs every night." ”

When the generals received such a message, they immediately stood up and clenched their fists, "The ministers are willing to drive for Your Majesty and go to the soup and fire, and they will not hesitate!" ”

"I believe it." Zhu Houzhao paused,

For these generals and national dukes, he is basically satisfied.

Speaking of which, this time the reform of the clan and the feudal system, he heard that there were also people making trouble, but after all, there was no major situation in the whole country, which was because of the army led by these generals and national dukes.

There are hundreds of thousands of elite troops around the Beijing Division, how can there be chaos in this world?

Then he changed his tone and said, "I've been imagining a scene for a few days. Is there a day when the army of the Ming Dynasty can have a clearer division of labor and a more rapid response, and the Beijing camp does not have the chaos of the current Shangzhi Qinwei and the three major battalions, and the border army divides the direction to the west, north, and east, and sets up a large army in the division, or 100,000, or 150,000, all of which are field Rui clans. As long as you give an order, you can wave your army into the surrounding country that is not subordinate, and where the iron hoof goes, it is like a thunderbolt, and no one can stop it! ”

"Or will there be a scene like that...... The people of every household in the Ming Dynasty no longer regard the phrase 'a good man is not a soldier' as the truth, but can have the heroic pride of 'rather being a centurion than being a scholar', and the military household is not despised by others, and is respected for the country? The whole country is united, there are no Shandong people, Shanxi people, only Ming people. Ladies and gentlemen, you say you want to do it to this extent. Where are we left? ”

Except for Zhou Shangwen, everyone else lowered their heads a little, and they didn't know if the emperor was dissatisfied with something.

So Zhu Houzhao called the name, "Twelve Lang, you come." You're the youngest here, and if you say something wrong, you'll have time to make a comeback anyway. ”

"Yes." Han Shishilang got up, "Your Majesty, the minister is not afraid of being degraded, but the minister is only afraid that he will say something wrong and mislead His Majesty." ”

"It's okay, you can say it."

"The minister has the courage to ask His Majesty if he wants to cancel the military household?"

Zhu Houzhao touched his nose, "Do you think it's okay?" ”

"Your Majesty doesn't know, my Ming soldiers have been accustomed to the succession of their fathers and sons, and the succession of military households, if it is suddenly canceled, and the soldiers leave the army, resulting in vacancies in various places, how should this be good? Also, how can these people make a living without military salaries? ”

"It's brainy. Wu Gong Bo, what do you think? ”

Ma Rong got up, "Back to Your Majesty." Weichen thought that after the abolition of the military household system, if someone wanted to leave, then let him leave, he had resources to leave, and he couldn't complain about others if he didn't live well without military pay. ”

"So, what about the vacancies that Twelve Lang said?"

Ma Rong said: "I heard that His Majesty announced at the Army Academy that he would build a new era army that knows what it is fighting for. If the soldier himself is unwilling to join the army, it will be in vain to force him to remain in the army. Moreover, Wei Chen thought that with the rise of firearms and the high cost of medicine, if he really built a 100,000 elite army, the amount of money it spent would be far greater than in the past, and he could lay off some personnel and save money. ”

"Yes. There is some truth. Zhu Houzhao touched his chin, "That's what I think." The armed forces of the Ming Dynasty can be stratified with reference to the three levels of A, B, and C that were previously determined.

The court of Class A troops should devote more resources, higher salaries, better weapons, stronger horses, and stricter conditions for soldiers to enlist. Led by you generals of a hundred battles.

The troops at the B and C levels do not participate in direct foreign wars, and at most you will conquer a country, and they will ensure order. Of course, their salaries, rations, and weapons cannot be compared with those of Class A troops.

I also thought about it, the troops at the B and C levels were still under the control of the guards, and the garrison area would not be greatly adjusted. The first-class troops, on the other hand, will undergo a comprehensive restructuring. ”

His gaze fell on Zhou Shangwen.

The two of them have already discussed these contents.

Zhou Shangwen faced the princes and generals of all countries, "The emperor considers that the first-class troops are characterized as the strongest armed forces in our Ming Dynasty, and the old guard system with a scale of 5,600 people will be abandoned, and each guard will be governed by 10,000 soldiers. It includes three thousand-house stations with 3,000 soldiers and an artillery station of 1,000 people. Three guards are one army, while a military district contains three to five armies. Its size is between 90,000 and 150,000.

In this way, the size of a military region will not be overstretched by 350,000 people, nor will it have to be bloated and sluggish by 200,000 or 300,000 people. Officers are selected from among the outstanding officers of the Army Academy and units at the B and C levels, and they do not work in the fields on weekdays, but only train troops, and their salaries, grain, and grass are uniformly allocated by the household department. In addition, he did not listen to the orders of the Ministry of War, and was only ordered by the Military Aircraft Department, that is, the emperor!

In this way, you don't have to care about the ups and downs in the court, fighting a war is a war, and training is training. To advance is to advance, and to retreat is to retreat, starting with the general army of the military region! This will be a force only suitable for men who are really willing to make a difference on the battlefield! ”

Zhu Houzhao said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been thinking about this day for a long time, but even if only three military regions are established, this is 300,000 people. 300,000 Rui clan and tiger army, if they don't accumulate some silver, they can't afford to raise it. What do you think? If I give you generals who can fight well and a force like this, can you have the confidence to conquer new lands for the Ming Dynasty?! ”

Martial Arts Bo Ma Rong only felt that these mentions coincided with the thoughts in his heart, and he immediately knelt down excitedly, "Your Majesty, the minister invites himself to be the chief soldier of the first district, and he is only loyal to His Majesty and fights for His Majesty's great cause!" Fight for the Ming Dynasty! ”

Han Shishilang, Shi Feng and Yang Shangyi also knelt down one after another, "The minister is also willing!" ”

"Good, good." Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, "The Ming man can't lose this martial spirit, now the world is being discussed outside, heh, without a strong army, you can't take an inch of land just by relying on benevolence and etiquette, and you can't protect a common people!" ”

"Your Majesty! The Emperor Shengming! ”

Zhou Shangwen gave Zhu Houzhao an encouraging and supportive look, and the emperor clapped his hands violently, "Okay." In that case, let's do it! ”

After the army is strong, it is indeed difficult to control, but that is the problem behind it, the Ming Dynasty is now on the rise, and it is necessary to forge an army that really makes other countries feel terrified.

Zhu Houzhao believed that with his leading ideas and ideas on army building, he would definitely be able to train an army that could push all opponents across. Only in this way can we adapt to the barbarism and plundering of these hundreds of years.

===

In January, although I took a leave of absence for 4 days, I finally updated 156,000 words. As a part-time author, it's okay, right?

In addition, the book has come to 2.7 million words.

At my rate of 150,000 words a month, it will be over in two months. I will finish the 20-year period of Zhengde, and the 300,000-word estimate is about the same.

Overall, although the quality of the writing fluctuated, the overall rhythm was within my original vision. In the end, I actually thought about the ending chapter on the first day.

(End of chapter)