Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 404: Wu's new official system is adjusted, and the grass-roots team is bid farewell

Daoqian Street,
Miao Youlin took off his sword and pistol.

He raised his hands to be inspected by two guards.

"Master Miao, please."

"it is good."

He straightened his wide-brimmed hat, fastened his discipline buttons, straightened his back and walked quickly into His Majesty's temporary office.

Yesterday, he just returned to Suzhou Prefecture by boat.

I was ordered to come to see Your Majesty early this morning.

Kneel down on one knee:

"Your Majesty, I, Miao Youlin, pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty."

"Get up and give me a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

……

Li Yu put down the pen in his hand and said with a smile:

"You led the Second Army to fight well in Jiangbei, and you also executed the post-war order for the gentry to relocate well. Lin Huaisheng requested the first merit for you in his memorial."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust and for the honor given by Marshal Lin. I am overwhelmed."

"What are you afraid of?"

Miao Youlin's heart trembled, and he quickly stood up:

"I ordered the slaughter of the captives, which led to a fierce conflict with Zheng Hean and almost ruined the good situation."

Li Yu had no expression, just staring at him.

The atmosphere was solemn, and cold sweat broke out on Miao Youlin's back.

"A general is not subject to military orders when he is away from home. As the commander of the corps, you have the power to make decisions on the spot. But I want to hear what you were thinking at the time."

"The war is coming to an end, and the army is about to pursue the enemy northward. Leaving tens of thousands of prisoners behind is a huge hidden danger. It is neither right to release them nor to use them. I would rather bear the infamy of slaughtering the prisoners than put your majesty's cause at risk."

……

Li Yu just nodded and said nothing.

Then he started the conversation:
"After this conflict, it will be awkward for you to continue to stay in the 2nd Legion."

"I understand. I will obey your majesty."

"I want to hand over the Fifth Legion to you. After the enthronement ceremony is over in a few days, you will set off for Nanchang."

"Your Majesty, please tell me what the combat mission of the 5th Legion is?"

"Take over Jiangxi before the severe winter. Southern Jiangxi is mountainous, and it is not easy to completely control it, but your army needs to control most of the cities, and then slowly encroach on the countryside when the flowers bloom next spring. Now my Wu country is at its peak, so before the battle, you can send a proclamation to all directions. It would be best if you can take the city without bloodshed."

Speaking of which,

Li Yu suddenly stood up, took out a booklet from the cabinet, looked it up, and wrote a line of numbers on the paper.

Miao Youlin took it with both hands, and saw the following words clearly written on the paper:

"Forty-five thousand jin."

"Your Majesty~"

"This is the gunpowder quota that your unit has taken from Jiangxi. If you have more, I can't give you any more. Do you understand?"

Miao Youlin took two steps back and knelt on one knee:

"I understand. I will obey your order."

Li Yu smiled:
"You have worked hard, so go back home. It would be unkind of me to keep you any longer."

……

When Miao Youlin returned home, his wives and concubines were waiting for him at the door with eager anticipation, and the music of music and harp was in harmony.

The Miao family has always been peaceful, with his wife being kind and his concubines being respectful, and there have never been any conflicts or quarrels.

The wife Chang Jin often took her concubines and a group of servants out of the city to go hunting in Qizi Mountain. People at that time described the lady riding a horse, wearing hunting clothes, carrying a musket on her shoulder, and coming in with a whistle and returning with a full load.

rumors,

So far, she has hunted 23 wild boars, 35 rabbits, 4 deer, and 45 monkeys.
She can be called "the first female Baturu in Suzhou Prefecture".

Li Yu also heard about it from Mrs. Bai.

He just smiled and said nothing.

I think this record is not exaggerated. A woman who can survive the Jinchuan War and fight with her husband in several provinces must be very brave.
……

The intelligence sent back by the personnel stationed in the 2nd Corps by the Ministry of the Interior confirmed that there was no conflict between Miao and Zheng before the conflict over the killing of prisoners, and that they cooperated quite happily.

Enmity is an emergency.
finally,
Li Yu gave up further investigating the matter because he could not find any suspicious points.

Miao Youlin's "massacre order" was a bit cruel, but his actions were justifiable at that time.

Li Yu even speculated that this might have been tacitly approved by head coach Lin Huaisheng~
Miao Youlin has made great military achievements and will be rewarded in a few days.

In fact, Zheng Hean's military achievements were more remarkable, but after this incident, it was a headache how to reward him.

Li Yu pondered for a long time.
Summoned the guards from the Secretariat:
"How is Zheng Hean, deputy commander of the 2nd Corps, doing?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Zheng is ill."

"Real illness, fake illness?"

"real."

"is it serious?"

"The high fever won't go away, and the face is sallow. The doctor said the root of the problem might be in the liver or spleen."

"Any visitors?"

"Yes. At least 2 officers from the 25nd Corps, which is currently resting in Changzhou County, have visited Mr. Zheng."

……

Li Yu thought for a moment and ordered:
"Invite the four famous doctors of Wumen Medical School to see him. When he gets better, let me know."

"Yes."

After the Jiangbei Campaign ended, the issue that the soldiers were most concerned about was "rewarding according to merit."

The Examination Office was very busy distributing the reward money to individuals one by one. After this stage, there was a formal "promotion ceremony".

Li Yu suddenly realized a problem.
The regular army system is too flat, with too few layers of "team", "battalion" and "corps".

Once promotions are made on a large scale, there will not be enough positions for officers.

When we first started the war, we kept things simple and many aspects were too crude.

Now that the empire is gradually taking shape, it is time to make timely adjustments.

The regular army structure is divided into 3 levels from 5 levels.

There are 10 people in a squad, 50 people in a platoon, 250 people in a company, and there is no adjustment at the battalion level, which remains at 500 people.

The "regiment" organization was added between the battalion and the corps.

A group of 2500 people.

A legion consists of 10000 people.

Military ranks are divided into the following categories from smallest to largest:
Private first class, private first class, non-commissioned officer, warrant officer, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, Bronze Star Lieutenant (2 star, 1 stars, 1 stars), Silver Star Lieutenant (2 star, 3 stars, 1 stars), Gold Star Lieutenant (2 star, 3 stars, 1 stars).

Above them are the Field Marshal of the Army and the Admiral of the Navy.

Li Yu holds two positions as marshal.

……

New recruits are promoted to second-class soldiers with a monthly salary of 2 taels.

After one year, if there is no violation of discipline, he will automatically be promoted to private first class with a monthly salary of 1 taels.

Non-commissioned officers are the leaders of the soldiers, with a monthly salary of 8 taels and can command a squad.

Warrant officer is the lowest-ranking officer, with a monthly salary of 10 taels and commanding a platoon.

A second lieutenant earns 20 taels a month and commands a company.

The lieutenant’s monthly salary was 40 taels, and he commanded a battalion. The original title of commander was cancelled.

The captain's monthly salary was 60 taels and he commanded a regiment.

The Bronze Star (1 star) lieutenant has a monthly salary of 300 taels and commands one legion. Except for Lin Huaisheng, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief of each regular legion are temporarily appointed in this way.

In addition, in this game where you add stars to your shoulders, your monthly salary will increase by 1 taels for every additional star.

……

According to Li Yu's idea, promotions above the rank of colonel must be strictly controlled.

As for the 123 stars, it is mainly to prevent the reward from running out. There will be many wars in the future, and we can't let people make military achievements without room for promotion, right?
Since the length of the war is taken into consideration, the metabolism of the soldiers must be taken into consideration.

The Ministry of the Army officially issued a document,
Later, the Wu army recruited two types of soldiers.

One type is soldiers with a fixed-term contract, who will be unconditionally allowed to return home after three years.

There is no salary during normal times, but a one-time reward of 100 taels is given when returning home.

You can get the same reward for military merit.

If one dies in battle at any time within three years, a pension of 3 taels will be given.

The other type is professional soldiers, who have no fixed term and aim to become officers.

Want to quit?
Unless you are disabled or old and weak, you can only do so with approval from the Ministry of the Army.

……

The Wu army's battlefield communication system was also too lagging.

So in addition to the snare drum, horns and whistles were added.

The battlefield was noisy, and only the deep and penetrating sound of the big horn could reach the ears of all soldiers.

The whistle is hung around the officer's neck.

The soldiers fired their muskets at the sharp whistle!
in addition,

Professional messenger knights are also indispensable.

The knight's military cap has a long tassel on top, which is eye-catching and easy to identify. ...

With major changes in military ranks, the ranks of civil servants must naturally be improved as well.

Li Yu directly introduced a 10-level civil service system.
Level 1 is the lowest and level 10 is the highest.

The minister corresponds to the 9th level of civil servants, the director corresponds to the 8th level, and the deputy director corresponds to the 7th level. The director of a department corresponds to the 6th level, and the deputy director of a department corresponds to the 5th level. The director of a section corresponds to the 4th level, and the deputy director of a section corresponds to the 3rd level.

After graduating from the Civil Service School, you are at level 1, and after serving for 5 years, you will be promoted to level 2. For higher levels, length of service is irrelevant.

If you perform mediocrely, you will be a level 2 civil servant for your whole life.

Locally,
The county magistrate corresponds to level 4, the prefect corresponds to level 6, and the governor corresponds to level 8.

……

Monthly salary:

9级文官为1000两，8级为800两，7级为600两，6级为500两，5级为400两，4级为300两，3级为200两，2级为100两，1级为50两。

In addition to the 10th level of civil servants, there are also clerks.

The clerks are contractually employed for a five-year term with a monthly salary of five taels. They are required to be proficient in writing and arithmetic. After the term expires, they cannot be renewed! They must leave!

There are only two ways for clerks to succeed:
One is to pass an exam and enter a civil service school.

The second is to join the army and start as a private. After serving for three years, you can enter the civil service school without taking an exam. If you have made meritorious service or become disabled during this period, you will be treated according to military standards.

The 10th-level civil servant position is temporarily vacant and is reserved for the "Prime Minister".

As to whether he is the prime minister or the premier, it is not yet known.

……

In terms of monthly salary, civil servants earn much more than military officers.

However, military officers receive silver rewards for military merit, but civil officials do not.

On the surface,

The salary that Li Yu set for his subordinates seemed to be quite high, but in fact it was not.

For example, the governor of Jiangsu Province in the Qing Dynasty received 12000 taels of silver per year. The prefect of Suzhou received 3800 taels of silver per year, and the magistrate of Yuanhe received 1700 taels of silver per year.

The "beggar treatment" of the Ming Dynasty sounds good, but it is not practical at all.

The Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming system, and the salaries set in the early days were also very low. The annual salary of a county magistrate was only a few dozen taels.

People have reached this point.

If one lives on salary alone, he can be considered a god-like gentleman.

There is not one in a million!

Therefore, Yongzheng created the silver system to maintain integrity and at the same time implemented an iron-fisted approach to governance.

……

Li Yu understood:

Giving up moral conscience may not necessarily bring rich rewards, but continuing to possess it will require a high price.

So he introduced the "official residence system".

All civil servants above level 3 were required to live in houses provided by the court while in office.

The Department of Architecture was ordered to build "clusters of official residences" in each prefecture and county.

The official residence belonged to the imperial court, and those who lived there only had the right to use it.

If someone is promoted, transferred, demoted or retires, the occupant needs to move out and vacate the house within 3 months (except for ministers).

Cluster Residence,

Different areas and grades correspond to different levels.

For example, the official residence of the minister was located on the bank of Jinji Lake in the east of Suzhou City, and the house and its attached courtyard covered an area of ​​15 mu. The official residences of the director and deputy director were also on the bank of Jinji Lake, 5 miles apart, and each covered an area of ​​only 10 mu.

……

Li Yu also made a thoughtful rule.
In order to ensure the personal safety of officials, a solid wall was built around the official residence, leaving only one main gate.

Moreover, the official residences are all located outside the city, with the reputation of not disturbing the public.

Not many people understand the painstaking efforts behind this.

The cluster of official residences is a form of mutual restraint.

If someone has an unwanted visitor at home, they cannot hide it from their colleagues.

If anyone wants to dig a cellar to store cash, they cannot hide it from their colleagues.

Of course,
This only relatively raises the threshold of "falling", but it cannot be absolute.

If you want to fall, there are many ways.

For example:

Instead of digging a cellar to store silver, you can collect silver bills.

If the visitor does not come to the official residence, he can meet outside in plain clothes.

You can even secretly rent a house outside to use as a hiding place for valuables.

……

Li Yu understood all of this.

"Fall prevention" is like flood prevention, the higher the embankment can be, the better.

Although there are always floods that occur once in a thousand years and cannot be prevented, it would be good if we could prevent it for even one more day.

It's like locking the door.
If you encounter a determined and professional thief, you will definitely not be able to prevent him.

But it can stop most of the thieves who have poor skills and just want to steal.

and,

Clustering official residences is just the first step, and there will be more patches to come.

There were two things that Li Yu was determined to hold tightly in his hands.

It’s also the ticket industry.

Another thing is the export of tea, silk and porcelain.

Anyone who wants to get involved in these two industries will face the most fierce counterattack.

Its importance is equivalent to that of 10 elite troops.

someone said:
The end of the business is lending.

Li Yu agreed with this deeply and was determined to achieve his goal.

Controlling the banknote exchange industry not only brings huge profits every year, but also allows the company to act as an invisible hand to promote industrialization.

……

Changzhou County.

The Department of Construction has just delivered a batch of "Lieutenant Officers' and Military Attachés' Residences".

All of them are two-story red brick buildings with terraces, which are quite beautiful.

Taking into account the rainy weather in the south of the Yangtze River, the eaves of the roof extend forward.

Two white pillars outside the main entrance support the balcony on the second floor, so you won’t get wet in the rain when entering and exiting the door.

The officers of the 2nd Corps, who had just withdrawn from the Jiangbei battlefield, were beaming with joy as they looked at the houses allocated to them.

They all agreed that this was His Majesty's grace~
Call friends to buy furniture, pots and pans to fill the empty house.

Many people feel that they should get married and have children the moment they own a house.

There were already groups of matchmakers with a keen sense of smell wandering around nearby. Whenever they saw a young man in military uniform, they would come over and act as matchmakers.

Li Yu had no intention of restricting, but encouraging.

There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants. It is a good thing to let the officers under your command have something to worry about.

……

After the promulgation and interpretation of the "New Civil Service System" and the "New Military Service System",

The civil and military officials of the Wu State were very receptive and had no objections.

Adjust quickly and adapt quickly.

Everyone supports Your Majesty from the bottom of their hearts because they all benefit from it.

In this adjustment, the monthly pay of most ordinary soldiers was increased, and rewards and promotions also arrived as expected, making them very happy.

Not to mention the civil servants.

They finally had a clear goal to strive for.

From level 1 to level 10, he holds the highest official rank, the highest position among the officials.

More importantly,

The makeshift team has finally become formalized, and there is a sense of dominance.

In this exciting atmosphere,
The first "civil servant entrance examination" of the Wu State was held as scheduled.

The location is in the Confucian Temple on Shuyuan Lane.

This provincial school and Confucian temple was founded by Fan Zhongyan in the Northern Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 700 years.

The scholars from the Wu Kingdom and the "talents from the Qingtong area" are striding into the sacred examination hall with their heads held high after their identities have been verified.

……

A poor scholar from Yuanzhou Prefecture sighed:
"Your Majesty has an extraordinary demeanor, a true emperor."

The candidates around were quite dissatisfied.

You can express your feelings if you want, but why are you shouting so loudly? You're making our ears tingle. Are you afraid that His Majesty, who is standing 20 meters away, can't hear you?

Another loud voice sighed:
"Today's exam has dispensed with the body search before entering the exam room. This is a sign of treating us like the country's best. How great is our emperor."

After all,

He stepped out of the line, faced the direction of His Majesty, and bowed deeply.

(End of this chapter)