unclear

Chapter 966 Xiaoliuqiu Base 3
"Seagull, this is a question for the Navy General Staff. Military regulations must be followed, but they cannot be turned into dead letters. Inappropriate parts must be revised and improved at all times. The purpose of assessing marksmanship is to fight and kill the enemy, not simply for shooting results. What do you think?"

After this explanation, Hong Tao roughly understood. The soldier's eyes might have refractive errors or other problems, which made his vision poor at long distances. But it did not affect actual combat. Yes, it was combat, not target shooting.

The purpose of target practice training is to serve the war effort, and we should not put the cart before the horse. People have worked hard for eight years in the military, but they are not promoted because they cannot shoot accurately. The reason may sound reasonable, but it is not reasonable in essence.

No one joins the army for fun. Honors mean income, which is to say, earning money with one's youth and life. It is a high-risk profession. We must be fair where it can be fair, otherwise it will damage the reputation of the army and breed a series of problems, such as dogma, bureaucracy and lazy governance.

"Yes, students have written it down and will revise it immediately after returning!" Although he was not severely criticized, Navy Chief of Staff Zhu Haiou quickly took out his small notebook and made notes and assurances while breaking out in a cold sweat.

The emperor's personality is like this. When he speaks harshly, he may not be really angry, but when he is polite, you have to be extremely careful. It is best not to ignore it, because he may be very angry. It is best not to make excuses for not knowing it beforehand. Not knowing it is a big problem and the consequences are more serious.

"…Here, take it. If no one promotes you to a higher rank within six months, go and file a complaint with the military police. These are not rewards, but compensation for the loss of your salary in the past few years."

Hong Tao did not comment on Zhu Haiou's promise, but stretched out his hand to Wang Chengen, who immediately took out a heavy paper roll from his pocket, which was full of shining gold coins after he opened it.

Unlike the gold coins circulating on the market, it is larger in size, with a coiled dragon and the emperor's head printed on both sides. One coin weighs 100 grams and can be exchanged for twenty silver coins of one tael each according to its face value.

But this kind of gold coin was specially made for the emperor to reward, and no one would spend it easily. Some people even bought it at a high price and then resold it to rich people to put in their homes for good luck, after all, it was a gift from the emperor and had a fairy-like aura.

Hong Tao took five coins and stuffed them into the soldier's hand. The salary of the Ming Dynasty Marine Guard was basically the same as that of the Army, 3 taels per month. These five gold coins were almost three years' salary, which was enough to make up for the economic loss of not being able to be promoted in the past few years.

"It would be disrespectful not to accept the reward from His Majesty!" Seeing the soldier holding five gold coins foolishly without saying whether to accept them or to return them, Wang Chengen shouted softly, defusing the awkward situation.

"What's your ranking in your family? Why do you want to join the army?" After the soldier put the gold coins into his pocket, Hong Tao had another question.

In addition to letting the ministers see the world and see the achievements of the navy's construction over the years, he also had an invisible purpose, which was to take the opportunity to get in touch with the grassroots soldiers and civilians and listen to their stories. It would be best if they complained, and then correct the court's policies after summarizing and analyzing them.

With the feedback from Jinyiwei, Bihu, the Advisory Office, the Censorate and many new policy officials, the emperor was no longer blind and deaf trapped in the Forbidden City, and could understand the real situation of the people from some aspects. But Hong Tao felt that it was still not enough, and face-to-face conversation was more direct.

"Sixth brother, the villagers call me Lin Liu. The four of us brothers all went to Fuzhou to apply, but only my second brother and I were selected. My second brother is in Yuhengwei, and he wrote home last year saying that he had become a trial centurion. He joined the navy two years earlier than me, and he was lucky enough to be stationed in Shalian Port and caught up with a war.

There are mountains all around my home, not much land to plant, and even if you plant, it won't produce much food. If you don't join the army, you have to go to Fuzhou to unload cargo on large ships. Although you earn a little more, the food, clothing and other necessities are almost the same as those of a soldier. But after retiring from the army, you can find a good job and get a loan first to buy land. If you get seriously injured, you can get land and a house. There was a man in the village next door. He was fighting bandits in Yunnan, but he broke his leg in the mountains, and he got dozens of acres of good land in Annan for free.

My father has calculated that when my second brother retires, he will also go to Annan to buy a piece of land. But I think this place is not bad either, it is much closer than Annan, and planting trees is easier than growing crops. "

I don’t know if it was the effect of the gold coins or because Hong Tao was born with a friendly face, but the soldiers’ nervousness and excitement gradually eased a lot, they spoke more fluently, and showed various expressions.

"Have you ever heard of anyone who didn't get compensation or got insufficient compensation after retirement or disability?" Looking at this man who regarded disability as welfare, Hong Tao didn't know what to say. He pulled Lin Liu to the side a few steps, away from the ministers, and continued to ask in a low voice.

It is still poor. After more than 30 years of rural construction, there are still many people in remote mountainous areas who are barely able to survive starvation. However, some of them are still reluctant to leave their hometown and try other places, as they are far less knowledgeable than Lin Liujia.

Regardless of whether it is uneven development or not, as long as we continue to work hard for another ten or twenty years, the problem can be solved. But there is one thing that must not sprout, and that is corruption.

Compared with poverty caused by natural conditions, corruption is more harmful and contagious, and it spreads very quickly. If you don't pay attention, it will spread throughout the government and the country in a blink of an eye, and it will be difficult to treat it.

"...I haven't heard of that...I've only seen veterans who didn't want to retire. They cried and begged for a long time but were still taken away by the military police. Sometimes when I can't sleep, I wonder what age is appropriate for retirement?

After serving in the army for so many years, I am getting less and less used to going home to visit my family. I can support my wife and children with my salary, so I might as well continue to serve until I am no longer allowed to. By then, the children should be grown up, so if I let them continue to serve in the army, they will have everything!"

Seeing that the emperor was acting so sneaky, Lin Liu lowered his voice and told him everything he was thinking. It seemed that he wanted the emperor to help him make a decision.

"Well, this is one way. But being a soldier is very dangerous. What if you die in battle?" At this time, Hong Tao felt that his thirty years of work had not been in vain. At least he had corrected the people's fear of being a soldier.

However, Lin Liu's idea was a bit too optimistic. There had not been many wars in the past ten years, but that did not mean there would be no wars in the future. On the battlefield, even if the weapons and equipment were superior, it was impossible to be unscathed. If facing an enemy equipped with muskets and artillery, the casualty rate would be greatly increased.

"If you die in battle, you die in battle. With the pension and the land, your wife and children won't have to worry about their lives. You can wait until your children grow up before joining the army. You can't always be so unlucky. Yes, you must have more children. Like my family, if my second brother and I died in battle, my parents would not be left without support!"

Regarding this issue, Lin Liu was more open-minded than Hong Tao. He didn't seem to care too much about life and death, but was more concerned about how to live and whether he could make life easier.

(End of this chapter)