Xinshun 1730

Chapter 223 Abolition and Immigration

In matters of the navy, you can mess around and be a prophet, but things in the army are quite different.

The mentality of the navy, the navy, and more people is to beat the rabbit with grass.

No matter how bad it is, there is still a navy that can protect the sea.

Starting from nothing is easier most of the time than reforming the old system.

There are too many problems facing the military reform of the army.

First of all, the most serious question is to abolish the old army and train the new army. What should we do with the abolished old army?
Taking history as a mirror, we can know the ups and downs.The lessons of the previous dynasty are here. Emperor Taizu was fired as a postman in reality, and then he was laid off and then employed as a soldier. As a result, he did not pay the military salary, so he reversed.

The experience is here, it is impossible not to absorb it.

Dashun has a recruiting system as a whole, there is no problem with that.

Restoring the conscription system at this time is purely an attempt to subjugate the country.

Who is in the army?Who is not a soldier?All serve as soldiers, the conscription system with a population of [-] million, in this era, is it to fight the Zentraedi?

Not everyone is a soldier, is it the rich or the poor?Conscription made into "The Officials in the Stone Trench", or is it a Latin hero?

Conscripting the poor means starving the whole family to death; joining the peasants as soldiers means speeding up the bankruptcy and land annexation of the peasants;

Conscription was out of the question, at least not until land reform.And land reform is [-] times more difficult than military reform. Carrying out land reform for military reform is like grabbing the sun to your side first to boil a pot of water.

In view of the previous experience of not paying military salaries to soldiers, relatively speaking, the military salary paid by Dashun's recruiting system is still enough to live on.

In particular, the children of poor people are very enthusiastic to join the army and earn a living.

However, problems also arise.

The lives of ordinary people are not so good, and being a soldier is a good way out.

Since being a soldier is a good way out, and Dashun treats the soldiers pretty well, at least he is treated with honors.Therefore, if the father did not save enough money for the landlord, of course he hoped that his son would take his place and continue to serve as a soldier.

After serving in the army for a long time, everyone in the army knows everyone well. When it is really necessary to recruit soldiers, the sons of veterans must be given priority to serve in the army.

The most important thing is that Dashun does not have a discharge system at all. The first thing to consider when it comes to military reform this time is to abolish a group of troops.

So, cut who?

If the local chief official is allowed to abolish, if the chief official is a good person, when it is abolished, the young and strong must be abolished first.

Young and strong are dismissed, and they can find other jobs to make a living.

The old, the weak, the sick, and the handicapped, if they are abolished, they don’t care. Isn’t that forcing people to death?
These days, food is still dominated by digging in the soil, so it is a big question how the laid-off people will live on.

I can't afford to eat, so it's the other way around. You, Li Zicheng, can become an emperor without paying your salary. Why don't I dare to try?
The Minister of the Military Government did not raise an issue about the redistribution of powers and responsibilities in this military reform, but first raised questions about the abolition of the old army.

"Eagle Sobo wants to train a new army, that's no problem. But should we raise or not raise the existing troops?"

"If it is raised, the treasury will definitely not be able to support another 20 new troops."

"According to 20 taels per person, this is 400 million taels for military equipment and quilts; the annual military salary is another 400 million taels. Adding in training consumption and so on, it is 1000 million taels a year. This is unaffordable anyway. "

"If you don't raise them, the old army will be disbanded, how will it be disbanded?"

Liu Yu was well prepared for this. The army's affairs are different from the navy's. The navy wants to be a prophet, and the army's military reform must be clearly explained one by one.

"Nowadays, there are about 50 troops in the entire country, not counting the Qingqi soldiers of the Zhechong Mansion. There are very few who can really fight."

"If it can be completely dismantled and replaced with a new army, it will not be done overnight, and it is even more urgent than urgent."

"The separated military training office is not affiliated to the military government, nor is it affiliated to the local Jiedu envoy and guarding Zhengzongquan, but is directly responsible to the superior."

"They go to the barracks and select soldiers according to the number. In this way, it can be guaranteed that the selected ones are all young and strong, because they are responsible for those who come to receive recruits, not for the local garrison officers."

The Minister of the Military Government interrupted Liu Yu's words.

"I don't think there is any problem with the selection of soldiers in the training department and being responsible to the superiors, and it can indeed put an end to the relationship in the disbandment process. What I want to ask Ying Suobo is that after the selection, the soldiers are all old and weak, so what should I do? Is it possible to make them have no livelihood?"

"Many soldiers are inherited from father to son. Although it is recruiting soldiers, Dashun has its own national conditions here. Being a soldier is better than starving at home. These people have no land and no skills, so they can only serve as soldiers."

"If these people are not dealt with properly, they may change."

The Minister of the Military Government also knew very well that this matter was brought up by the emperor, and it was the emperor who finally made the decision.So if you say a thousand words and ten thousand, you should grasp one thing: easy changes may lead to instability in your country, you have to think carefully.

If you have money, the recruitment system is the easiest to solve, just spend money to support them until you die.

The problem is that there is no money.

Dashun's annual fiscal revenue is only 3000 million taels, a series of reforms have not yet been implemented, and there is no hope of raising the annual revenue to 4000 million taels in a short time.

The potential of land tax is there. If there is no tax increase and only checks on the land and the policy of sharing the land into the mu, it will not be a problem to mention 500 million.

But this is much more difficult than the military reform, and the emperor didn't dare to touch it for the time being, at least before the military reform, Liu Yu probably didn't dare to touch it.

Naturally, Liu Yu had already guessed this question and thought about it carefully.

"Now I have returned to the Western Regions, gained the Northeast, and have the Hetao. These places are good places to open up wasteland and grow food."

"Those who have been abolished, if they have no land, or continue to receive two years of salary, after two years, the state will no longer manage it."

"Or, go to the northwest, northeast, Hetao and other places to reclaim wasteland. Based on a soldier's monthly salary of two taels of silver, the three-year salary is 70 taels of silver."

"The 70 taels of silver can be used to buy cattle, farm tools, and travel expenses."

"Some migrated to the Western Regions, and the other migrated to the coast of Jinghai, such as Vladivostok, Ussuri River, Heilongjiang and other places. It can not only strengthen the border, but also give them some work."

"I have a charter for going to the coast of Whale Sea to cultivate wasteland. Raksha country's rye, buckwheat, oats, etc. can be planted there. In addition, soybeans, potatoes, etc. can also be planted. There are no people living in thousands of miles. As long as you are willing to do it, the land not a problem."

"It just so happens that the new establishment of the Western Regions also needs some immigrants. You can choose from these abolished ones, and the money is supposed to be spent. Wouldn't the Western Regions not spend money to immigrate if it is not abolished? It can kill two birds with one stone."

On this point, he had already talked to the emperor in the previous memorial.

When I was in Weihai, I have been paving this road.

Immigration is a matter that costs less and less in the future.

In the early stage, you have to immigrate, and if you have money, you can't buy food locally.When the population increases, food can be purchased for less money, and there is no need to transport it from the mainland.

Take the sea route to Vladivostok, and up the river is a first-class river valley grassland.On the top, there is the plain area of ​​Xingkai Lake and Wusuli River. He also sent people to investigate there. It is not a large swamp like the Sanjiang Plain, but a dry grassland that can be reclaimed.

If you go by land, this is a long road with a narrow escape.

But if you can go by sea, it's much simpler, at most a month's journey.In Vladivostok, he has immigrated thousands of people and hoarded a large amount of food.

The soldiers along the Songhua River and Mudanjiang are not short of cattle and horses. What they lack is money. They can drive these large animals to Vladivostok for sale.

The place is remote, and there is no possibility of food marketization at all.Before the large-scale reclamation in the Western Regions, the price of grain there was the lowest, because it could not be transported and sold.

Immigrants can ensure the sale of local food and make the food profitable.In addition to the official reclamation, since food is profitable, more people spend money to buy "population", which is unofficial immigration, or population trading.

The imperial court's money, the official immigration, spent money to buy local food.

The local people, who sold the grain for money, bought unofficial people from Liu Yu as "long-term workers" to continue to expand the planting area and raise cattle and horses.

With a two-pronged approach, the speed of immigration will increase and the cost will decrease.

After controlling the coast of Whale Sea, sooner or later the land further north will belong to Dashun.Moreover, Hokkaido in the east is also a place where food can be grown, and all of them have to be occupied by enclosures, and there is no population.

Of course, these abolished soldiers cannot be long-term laborers for the locals, and they cannot be replaced by a horse.

So the price will be slightly higher.

The price he offered to the emperor was that 60 men could be immigrated each year, and the price was a resettlement fee of 20 taels of silver for each man.Including family members, the cost price of each immigrant has been reduced to [-] taels, which is quite low.

In the following three years, the annual number of immigrants can be doubled, and each resettlement fee can also be reduced to about 50 taels.

Therefore, if you want to abolish it, you need to delay it, first reform the Jingying and Liangjiazi troops, and then gradually abolish the troops everywhere. It will take about ten years to complete a complete set of military reforms.

As for going to the Western Regions to reclaim wasteland, this is the established policy of the imperial court.Since the emperor vetoed the plan to recruit returning peasants to cultivate land to save money, the Han people must be relocated there, and the abolished troops are available.

The Yili River Valley is above the 400 mm iso-precipitation line, which is definitely a good place to grow grain and cotton, not a piece of yellow sand as imagined.

Anyway, we have to immigrate, and we have to spend money anyway, so why not take this opportunity to abolish the old army in the Shaanxi-Gansu area, which kills two birds with one stone.

This is also a major factor in the emperor's enthusiasm for military reform. The longer it is delayed, the harder it is to deal with it.

Just taking advantage of the opportunity to calm down the immigrants in the Western Regions, we will solve them together.

Liu Yu played well in the Western Regions, and left a large amount of planned military expenditure. This military expenditure was not spent, and it can be guaranteed that the finances in the past few years are enough to support this whole set of plans.

It is necessary to mobilize the interests of some people and benefit some people, so that it is possible to promote the entire military reform.

The emperor knew in his heart where the basics were, and he also knew what to do and what not to do in the military reform, so there is no need to discuss this today.

But outside of the basic market, there is also a very special interest group.

In response to Liu Yu's answer, the Minister of the Military Government raised another sharp question about this very special interest group.

"These soldiers are abolished, or so to speak. What about the officers?"

"Eagle Sobo wants to change the military system. The officers are all from the military academy, and those who came from the Martial Virtue Palace can be said. There are also some who are not from the Martial Virtue Palace at all, either under the shadow, or hereditary, or rely on The military merits have come up step by step."

"The national army of 50 million will be reduced to 20. There must be many redundant officers. How should these redundant officers be dealt with?"

"These people have contributed to the country, but they have to be dismissed just because they don't conform to the qualifications of the military reform? Wouldn't this chill the hearts of the soldiers?"

"Besides, if these people are dissatisfied, agitate a little, and cause trouble, what will happen?"

Liu Yu replied: "A military officer has a rank, and a certain rank will continue to command the army, such as the fourth rank and above. I have already said that the military reform is to train a well-regulated army, and it is necessary to separate soldiers and generals, even if they can't fight. As a general, there is a staff department responsible for formulating plans, and if you fight step by step, you can still be undefeated."

"Below the fifth rank, it will be returned to the military academy. If it is qualified, it will be retained first. If it is not qualified, it will be transferred to the reserve service or retired."

"Such as post chiefs, etc., the military rank system can be used to transition. Some post chiefs can be converted into veterans, but retain their military ranks, and their salary and salary will be assessed according to their military rank. But they are no longer officers, but as soldiers, receiving the original salary."

"The military rank is determined according to the grade, and those who fail to pass will be transferred to the reserve service. The salary will be paid by one-third."

"If you fail the reheating process, fail the assessment, and don't want to give up drinking blood and want to be an official...then there is nothing you can do. Kill the chicken to make an example to others."

"Or, switch to a civilian job. For example, it's no problem to arrange to go to the Western Regions, Liaodong, Jinghai, Mongolia and other places to cultivate wasteland and guard the frontier."

The Minister of the Military Government laughed and said: "What Ying Suo Bo said is simple, how many people will this touch?"

"There are not many people. Master Shangshu, don't forget that those who come from the camp education system and Wude Palace are all literate, and they all know arithmetic and geometry. It is easy for them to learn new exercises."

"As for those above the fourth rank, they will continue to command the army, drill and set up camp, etc., all relying on their staff, which will not affect them. Even if they don't understand, someone can replace the command."

"Those who are above the fourth grade don't move, and most of the people below the fifth grade are literate. It is not difficult to go back and learn again."

"The rest are either abolished, or converted to military ranks based on their meritorious service or rank. According to the rank, priority will be given to the garrison stations in the Western Regions, Mongolia and other places."

"Besides, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. I have already finished compiling the drill code and the new military book. It's not like I can't understand it, and the assessment will be done at that time."

"Divided into ten years, slowly changing, why not?"

"Reform will touch the interests of many people. In the past 80 years, the military system of Westerners has improved so much. If there is no reform, what will happen in 30 years?"

"Guochao's tactics have fallen behind. The formation of spears and matchlock guns is really something that happened 30 years ago. The old one is no longer feasible."

(End of this chapter)