Smuggling Daming

"Everyone, let's discuss the issue of military reform in the south. A small rebellion by King Ning has caused huge losses to several southern state capitals. Most of the local defenders have not done their best to protect themselves. The duty of Tu Anmin is a shame to the army, and it is even a shame to the Ming court. In order to avoid this from happening again, the southern army must be rectified!" Inside the Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhou Zhong thumped the table angrily and said .

Although King Ning's rebellion was just a farce, the impact it caused was far from over. First, more than 400 people in the court were dealt with, and then the problem of the weakness of the southern army was also brought up on the cabinet's agenda. Originally, this matter Not much attention was paid to it. First, the main threat to Ming came from the northern grasslands, and this pressure was all resisted by the northern frontier army. Coupled with the vigorous development of the navy, it was basically impossible for the southern part of Ming to be threatened. It also caused neither the cabinet nor local officials to pay much attention to the military aspects of the South.

However, the rebellion of King Ning this time sounded a wake-up call for the imperial court. The mere tens of thousands of mobs actually captured several state capitals all the way from Jiangxi, and finally directly hit Anqing next to Nanjing. Most of the defenders not only did not resist, Instead, they fled in anticipation, fleeing faster than the common people, what use is this kind of army for them?

"Jianguo, in fact, is not only the southern army, but also the army in most parts of the north. It's just that Ningxia and Datong are threatened by the grassland from time to time, which makes the frontier army of Ming Dynasty maintain a certain combat effectiveness, but other areas The lack of pay in the army is also very serious, and most of the army are old and weak. If the imperial court had not sent the Beijing camp to encircle and suppress the Liuliu Liuqi Rebellion, it would have caused huge casualties. The reform of the army should not be limited to the south, the entire army of the Ming Dynasty needs to undergo some major reforms!" Zhang Cai echoed at this time, but his words made Wang Qiong, who was the minister of the Ministry of War, a little embarrassed, after all, the army of the Ming Dynasty The army is so weak, he also has to bear certain responsibilities.

"Cough~cough~. Daming's army does have a lot of problems, but these are not formed in a short period of time, but accumulated over several generations. In addition, the army is the most important weapon of the country, and it must not be lightly moved, so Although Jian Guo wants to reform the army, everything must be prudent!" The old Jiao Fang coughed a few times, panting for a few breaths and said, his health has become weaker and weaker in the past two years, but Jiao Fang is a man of fame and fortune. He is too serious, he is unwilling to retire even if he is beaten to death. It seems that he is determined to die in the position of a bachelor just like Li Dongyang.

"What Jiao Ge said is very true. The weakness of the army is not a one-day evil, but it has been slowly formed for hundreds of years. But the good news is that now, with the increase of graduates from military academies, many people have joined the local army Among them, these people are not only loyal to Ming Dynasty, but also know how to run the army systematically. Under the reform of these people, the combat effectiveness of the military in many places has been greatly enhanced. I believe that as long as this situation continues, it will not take many years. The army of the Ming Dynasty will completely change!" Wang Qiong also hurriedly said when she heard that Jiao Fang made a rescue for herself. The more he dared not act rashly.

Regarding Wang Qiong's words, several other cabinet ministers also nodded one after another. They did not approve of too drastic reforms to the military. After all, the military is the foundation of a country. It will be very serious, and it will even overthrow a country, so the best way to reform the army is to slowly change the situation of the army like a gentle wind and a drizzle. For example, sending general school students to serve in the army in various places is a good way.

But Zhou Zhong sighed when he heard this, and then picked up a memorial from the table and handed it to Jiao Fang: "I thought so too, but now it seems that the situation is not optimistic, even if the army cannot be reformed If the system is not established, no matter how many military cadets are stationed, it will be useless!"

Jiao Fang took the memorial and opened it to look at it, but the more she looked at it, the more she frowned. When she finally read it, she sighed helplessly, and then handed it to Wang Qiong and others next to her. As a result, most of them read it. , their faces became heavy, and many people even had regrets on their faces.

What Zhou Zhong gave to Jiao Fang and the others was a secret memorial sent by Jin Yiwei, which recorded what happened to some military cadets who were stationed in various armies. It successfully enhanced the combat effectiveness of the army, but after entering the army, more students were suppressed by the original officers and could not display their talents at all. The teachings received in the military academy become one of the people who eat nothing and drink the blood of soldiers.

"Everyone has seen that although officers who graduated from military academies have ideals and ambitions, they are also human beings, and their abilities are limited. Sometimes they are not only suppressed by their superiors, but also resisted by their subordinates. Some people can't stand the temptation. , completely degenerated into one of those old generals, and there are not a few of them, if this situation is allowed to continue, I am afraid that even the reputation of the military academy will be ruined by these people!"

Zhou Zhong couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken when he said the end. The army is no worse than the navy. The navy has been established for a short time, and under his leadership, a good environment has been created at the beginning of the army, but the army has been formed for hundreds of years. If you want to change this atmosphere, you can't just rely on the officers who graduated from the military academy, but you have to change the system, otherwise more and more military academy officers will be assimilated by this wind.

"It is indeed a pity for those military academy officers who have been assimilated, but there are also some military academy officers who have succeeded. From this point of view, it is still feasible to rely on military academy cadets to reform the army. The key is how we can give those officers some support so that they can feel When the imperial court stood with them, coupled with some conveniences provided by the imperial court, they could better change the army under their command. When the time is right, they will carry out large-scale reforms, which will not cause the army to change. Too much backlash!" At this time, Wang Shouren, who was the Minister of the Ministry of War, suddenly said that although he and Zhang Cai did not join the cabinet, they can usually participate in cabinet meetings and have a lot of say in government affairs.

"This is a feasible way. The imperial court can make some small changes to the army, so that the officers who graduated from the military academy can better control the army under them. After these new officers control most of the army, they can carry out large-scale Reform, the resistance at that time will be much smaller, and more people in the army will be able to support it, although it will take some time, but it is a safe way.” Wang Qiong also agreed at this time, Wang Shouren is His subordinates, now Wang Shouren proposed a feasible method, which is also equivalent to the opinion of the Ministry of War. If it can be passed, it will also appear that their Ministry of War is not doing nothing.

Zhou Zhong also attached great importance to Wang Shouren, and after hearing his opinion, he lowered his head and thought about it seriously. He originally wanted to take this opportunity to wipe out the corruption in the Ming army in one fell swoop, but now it seems that, Even most people in the cabinet disagreed with his approach. After all, such a large-scale reform of the army would take too much risk, which made Zhou Zhong have to reconsider this matter.

"Then how should we make some changes to the military academy, so that the officers who graduated from the military academy can better reform the army in their hands?" Zhou Zhong thought for a long time, and finally agreed with Wang Shouren's opinion and asked.

"If you want officers to change the army under them, they must be able to control the army in their hands, but now most of the army is from former military households, and they are inextricably linked with the original officers, and those low-level officers are also affected by the original The control of the officers, so the officers who graduated from the military academy will be restrained and embarrassed by the upper and lower levels when they come to the army, which makes it difficult for most people to display their ambitions, and we only need to make some changes to address this.”

When Wang Shouren said this, he paused for a moment and then continued: "I think the dispatch of military academy officers was very problematic in the past. According to the original dispatch system, the military academy officers who graduated each year would be evenly distributed to various places, but in this way, it will It will dilute the strength of the officers of the military academy and make them unable to support each other. Therefore, the subordinate officials think that the officers who graduate each year can be concentrated in a certain area so that they can take care of each other. When arranging the positions of these officers, they should also Think about it and let them control the real power of the army as much as possible."

"Another point is that the military supervision department of the military academy should also be used. In the past, the military supervision department was sent out when the army was out fighting, but now that a special military supervision department has been established in the military academy, many graduates every year. Supervising troops, these supervising troops were sent to the northern frontier army and navy before, but I think it is possible to expand the enrollment of supervising troops, and then send some supervising troops to the defenders in various places. The control of the army, and secondly, the restraint of these military supervisors can also prevent the original officers of the army from being too presumptuous."

After listening to Wang Shouren's two opinions, Jiao Fang, Wang Qiong and others nodded repeatedly. No matter whether it is to centralize the military academy officers or increase the number of military supervisors, it will not have a big impact on the entire Ming army. In the end, even Zhou Zhong nodded. Using this relatively gentle method to solve the army's problems was indeed much safer than what he had thought before.

"Just follow Wang Shilang's advice, and I will let the military academy fully cooperate." Zhou Zhong finally said, but then he frowned, and said again, "Where is the emperor now, have you seen him?" King Ning?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)