The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 275 One Million Standing Army

Everyone is a little confused. Is the retirement system so important?

In their view, there is no need to formulate any retirement system.

If there are too many troops, we need to disarm them. Wouldn't it be enough to choose to draw down the troops based on the actual situation?

Why bother?
Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Xu Da and other people who knew his character better saw something different.

Chen Jingke rarely adopts such a tough attitude and basically relies on persuasion.

If you can't be convinced once, you'll find another opportunity to say that this is the first time you're as tough as today.

Is this retirement system really important?

Zhu Biao said: "Don't worry yet. It's not that everyone is opposed to the establishment of a retirement system, but they just don't understand why you attach so much importance."

"Is there some secret in it that no one knows about?"

In fact, that's not the case at all.

"After three to five years, his mind has changed and he may not want to be a soldier."

Moreover, with fewer soldiers, it is easier to adopt the elite route, and it is also a way to limit the power of the army.

"How do we keep this army of millions alive?"

"Ask the channel that is so clear that it is a source of fresh water."

"Some people have that ambition but don't have the ability."

For the group, it means that the military will not be suppressed too much.

Then I became excited.

Xu Da frowned slightly and said, "When the Ming Dynasty resolves its border troubles, it will shrink its army."

"But there is an upper limit on the number of people in the army. If there is no retirement system, the number is always full. How can new people join?"

"The same goes for the army. If it cannot absorb new people in time, it will become lifeless."

The reason for this is simple, to reduce financial stress.

"Only the Song Dynasty maintained a standing army of one or two million people all year round."

Although I don’t know what the empire’s plan is specifically, feeding millions of soldiers is definitely not for defense.

Chen Jingke said: "As I said just now, a standing army of one million will put unprecedented pressure on the court."

"Is it really appropriate for such a person to stay in the army after five or ten years of service and still have not made any achievements?"

"But the bigger problem still comes from within the military itself."

As mentioned before, the Song Dynasty did not restrain land annexation, which resulted in a large number of people losing their land and becoming refugees.

For them, there couldn't be better news.

You know, these millions of standing troops are all fighting soldiers, not Xiang troops like the Song Dynasty.

Chen Jingke took a deep breath and said: "In all dynasties, after the country was stabilized, the standing army remained between 200,000 and 500,000."

what does this mean?
For individuals, it means military merit.

Imperial plan? What is this? It is necessary to maintain a standing army of one million people.

The generals looked at him in surprise. They originally thought that Chen Jingke was eager to limit the development of the military, but they did not expect that he actually opposed the reduction of the military.

Why do they maintain such a large number of Xiang troops?

The Song Dynasty government adopted the most brutal method to solve this problem and recruited all the young and strong refugees into the Xiang army.

"The army also needs talents to join. Where are the talents?"

"People's ideas can change. At first, he wanted to find a career in the military."

"Unless there is a major war, it will not exceed this number."

"The Song Dynasty was not long ago, and everyone should know the situation they faced."

The real number of soldiers in the Song Dynasty was only about three to five million, and the larger number were Xiang troops with little combat effectiveness.

This is where the problem of redundant troops comes from.

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Then they became infinitely curious, what exactly was this imperial plan?
But it was obvious that the people who knew about this plan had no intention of explaining it to them.

"How many troops does Ming Dynasty have now? 1.6 million."

Chen Jingke said: "No, Ming Dynasty must ensure a standing army of more than one million."

What surprised them even more was that Zhu Yuanzhang actually agreed and said:
"A standing army of one million may not be enough to implement the imperial plan."

"In the end, new people who want to come in can't get in, and old soldiers who want to get out can't get out."

"Everyone, do you know what an army of 1.6 million means to the imperial court?"

“If a pond is not filled with living water, it will stink and become a puddle of stagnant water.”

Many people would say that the Song Dynasty maintained a standing army of one million people because of external pressure.

"In the folk."

"How to absorb civilian talents into the army? The only way is to cast a wide net."

"Every year a group of new soldiers are recruited, and some of them are always qualified for the army."

"With a steady stream of talents joining, the military can maintain healthy development."

Everyone couldn't help but nod in agreement, it seemed to make sense.

But they also have doubts, which may be easier said than done.

To achieve this goal requires huge administrative costs.

Can the court really afford it?

Chen Jingke took a breath and continued:

"The retirement system can also effectively prevent the emergence of military leaders."

"Soldiers stay with officers all year round, and the two sides will form deep personal relationships, and it is easy to form gangs."

"In the long run, it will shake the foundation of the country."

"If the flow of soldiers is maintained and a batch is replaced every three to five years, officers will have no chance to win over soldiers."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows, it seemed that this was true.

I didn't expect that the retirement system would have such benefits. It seems that we really need to take it seriously.

Xu Da raised a question on behalf of the military: "Practice has proven that the combat effectiveness of veterans is much stronger than that of recruits."

"How to ensure the combat effectiveness of the military under the retirement system?"

Chen Jingke said: "Before answering this question, let me correct an incorrect point of view."

"What you said, Duke Wei, is that you don't treat people as human beings."

Xu Da wanted to defend, but he stretched out his hand to stop him: "Listen to me first."

"Veterans are more capable in combat, so do they deserve to live in the military for the rest of their lives?"

"Just because he has strong fighting ability, should we deprive him of an ordinary life?"

"If it's easy to use, then use it to death. This kind of thinking is unacceptable."

A wry smile appeared on Xu Da's face. Upon closer inspection, his words did mean something like this.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was a bit unnatural, you kid scolded Huai, right?

"Although kindness does not control soldiers and justice does not control wealth, as rulers, if we do not treat people as human beings, but as numbers and chips, it will be the biggest disaster in the world."

"There is nothing wrong with pursuing glory, wealth and personal honor."

"But as descendants of China and the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty, we should have higher aspirations."

"Everyone here has decided to leave his name in history."

"But how we will be judged in history depends on what we do."

"Wanting a higher evaluation does not depend on how high your personal achievements are."

"It's about what you have done for Chinese civilization, for the Ming Dynasty, and for all the people of the world." Originally, many people were very disapproving of the first half of his sentence. Why do you treat people as human beings?

Generals should be hard-hearted and soldiers should be tools.

If you have too deep feelings for your soldiers, you will be timid in fighting, and more people will be killed.

This is the conclusion they came to through practice, and it cannot be reversed in a few words.

But after hearing the second half of the sentence, everyone looked deep in thought.

Still the same sentence, for the Chinese people who respect ancestor worship, are good at recording history, and have never had any gaps in their civilization.

Leaving a name in history is a person's highest pursuit.

And history has proven that only those who serve the country and the people can receive the highest praise.

From this perspective, Chen Jingke’s words do make some sense.

No matter what we think in our hearts, no matter whether we should treat soldiers as human beings or not.

For the sake of your reputation, you must be kind.

Chen Jingke paused for a while to give everyone time to think before continuing:
"Let's talk about the issue of combat effectiveness. The Ming Dynasty had a standing army of millions, and it was impossible for all the troops to be put into the battlefield at the same time."

"As long as we can ensure that there are enough veterans on the frontal battlefield, it will be fine."

"The Ming Dynasty is about to implement a reserve system, which can improve the quality of its soldiers to a certain extent."

"When these people join the army in the future, they can go to the battlefield with a little training."

"First go to low-intensity battlefields to train a few times, and then you can transform into a veteran."

"As long as it is properly arranged, it will not affect combat effectiveness."

Everyone couldn't help but nod. From this perspective, it was indeed the case.

But doing so will still have the consequence of increasing administrative costs.

After all, it would be very troublesome to constantly retire and recruit new soldiers, and also arrange for them to be trained to go to the battlefield, etc.

Just use veterans and all these problems will be solved.

In this regard, Chen Jingke did not answer directly, but talked about another benefit of the retirement system:
"Retired veterans are transferred to the reserve force. If necessary, the court can re-recruit them to join the army at any time."

"If Ming Dynasty has five million reserve veterans who have been on the battlefield, do you know what this means?"

"It means that the court does not have to spend a penny and can feed an extra five million troops."

Everyone was stunned for a moment and immediately realized that this was really the case.

These retired veterans do not need to spend a penny from the court on weekdays. They can maintain public security and put into production when they go to places.

If the court needs it, they can be recruited to join the army at any time, and then they will be able to form combat effectiveness with a little training.

Without the retirement system, Ming Dynasty would always have only one million standing troops.

With the retirement system, Ming Dynasty can have millions or even tens of millions of troops.

This does not weaken the army's combat effectiveness. It simply increases the army's combat effectiveness.

After figuring this out, everyone's attitude immediately made a 180-degree turn.

Everyone thinks that the retirement system is good and must be implemented.

Seeing that everyone's opinions were unified, Chen Jingke finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A complete reserve and military service system, this thing had a very lofty name in its previous life, the military mobilization system.

Belongs to the country's top secret.

In military academies, only elite cadets from their own country can study.

Foreign students are not even allowed to touch.

However, what Chen Jingke values ​​most is not the mobilization ability of this system, but that it can reduce the burden on the people.

Without a complete retirement system, life-long service is basically the default.

It is an extremely heavy burden on individual soldiers and their families.

With the retirement system, serving as a soldier has become a phased job, and people have more choices.

"Cough..." At this time, Zhu Xiongying coughed dryly and winked at him.

Chen Jingke naturally knew what he meant and said:
"Everyone, Grandson has a plan that requires the cooperation of the military."

"If it succeeds, it will allow the court to bypass civilian officials and convey information directly to the people."

Everyone was a little surprised, bypassing civil servants and contacting the people? Do you need military cooperation?
What is the method?
The government must rely on civilian officials to govern the people, but it is also subject to civilian officials.

This was also a breeding ground for the gentry class.

The court knew clearly what the consequences would be, but had no choice but to compromise.

If Taisun could really bypass the civil service group and allow the court to contact the people, the impact would be far-reaching.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew what he was going to say, so he asked cooperatively:

"Xiongying, do you have any good ideas? Tell Grandpa Huang quickly."

So Zhu Xiongying unfolded his plan.

It's about indoctrination in the military and reserves, and passing messages through soldiers to their families.

You can also collect information from civilians through soldiers.

"Through enlightenment, the army's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty can be increased, the army's thinking can be unified, and it is also a way to improve combat effectiveness."

"Educated retired soldiers are ready-made gentlemen when they enter the civil society and can influence the public atmosphere."

"And this move avoids civil servants and scholars, giving the court another way to understand the people."

"If civil servants want to deceive superiors and deceive subordinates again, they will take greater risks..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at everyone and asked, "What do you think of Taisun's method?"

Xu Da said in admiration: "Your Majesty is so smart, this is really a good method."

Others also praised it, not to brag, they really thought this method was good.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said: "Haha... Then follow the hero's method. You must cooperate with him well."

Everyone naturally patted their chests and promised that they would assist their grandson and get this matter done.

Next, everyone reviewed the entire topic again and sorted out the key points of the new military system from the beginning.

And discussed how to cooperate with Zhu Xiongying in educating people.

A rough framework was quickly drawn up.

As for the details, they still need to be further refined.

However, these things can be left to the people below. They only need to grasp the general direction.

Here, Chen Jingke put forward a new point of view: civilized military management.

"Once the retirement system is implemented, a large number of veterans will retire every year."

"If the previous rough management methods are still used, soldiers will be treated as slave animals and they will be beaten, scolded or even mutilated."

"How will these veterans evaluate the military after they retire?"

"Ordinary people know that the army is so dark, how many people dare to join the army?"

"I believe that no one wants to be feared and reviled by all the people, right?"

"For the sake of the reputation of the army and to recruit enough recruits in the future, we must change the way we run the army."

"We don't require equality within the military, but we must at least treat people as human beings."

"Therefore, I propose to formulate a complete military law."

"It is best to have a standard for how soldiers should be punished when they make mistakes. It cannot be left to the officer's preference."

"If an officer harms a soldier, there must be a standard for what kind of punishment he will receive."

"What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)