Chapter 6: Leading the snake out of the cave (2)

Sitting around the fire, sandalwood lingering, a group of beautiful concubines gathered in the Kunning Palace of Empress Zhou Yingning. Some played chess, some played cards, and some were busy with the knitted girl in their hands. Then there were a few concubines who had just been born and held dragon and phoenix girls in their arms, teasing and breastfeeding. Intermittent laughter like silver bells came out, and a peaceful and warm picture of family harmony was painted.

Anyone who saw such a warm and beautiful picture was afraid that he would not be able to destroy it. Zhu Yinglongyan saw the harem in peace and harmony, and he had just done a "bad thing" that could destroy this rare tranquility and harmony. How could he bear to destroy it?

"Your Majesty, aren't you going in?" Xu Yingyuan saw the emperor reaching Kunning Palace, but when he arrived outside the palace gate, he suddenly stopped and asked softly.

Zhu Yinglong sighed to the sky, waved his hand, and turned around and said, "Forget it, go back."

"Yes." Xu Yingyuan didn't know why the emperor suddenly felt a little depressed, but he just needed to know that he could do whatever he obeyed orders.

Some time ago, the cabinet was reorganized, and Zhu Yinglong's energy was almost all focused on it. The new yamen and new official positions were almost all set by him. Not only did he work hard but also worked hard. Even Zhu Yinglong's young body was a little overwhelmed, and he couldn't help but feel a sigh that the emperor was really not a profession that ordinary people could do.

"Xu Yingyuan."

"The slave is here."

"Let Wang Chengen stop flipping the signs for the past few days. I want to be alone." Zhu Yinglong closed his eyes tiredly, sat on the dragon chassis, and ordered.

"Yes." Xu Yingyuan responded cleanly and said, "But if the empresses ask the reason, how should the servant answer?"

"Just say I've been tired these days and need to rest for a while." Zhu Yinglong said.

"I understand."

"What do you understand?"

"What a slave means is that a slave knows it." Xu Yingyuan hurriedly said.

"Oh, just understand." Zhu Yinglong glanced at Xu Yingyuan with a deep meaning, and closed his eyes again.

"Your Majesty, will you return to the Palace of Yangxin?"

"No, go to Wuying Pavilion."

"yes."

When Sun Chengzong learned that the emperor was coming to Wuying Pavilion, he had already led a group of ministers from the Military Pavilion to welcome him outside the Pavilion.

"Drop the chariot!" With Xu Yingyuan shouting, the dragon chariot slowly fell down.

"Sun Chengzong, the chief minister of the Chenjun Ji Pavilion..."

"Okay, all my dear friends are calm. I'm just here to see. You don't have to mobilize others like this. You should do whatever you should do." Zhu Yinglong, with the help of Xu Yingyuan, walked down the dragon chariot with a smile, and slowly walked to the kneeling of the ministers and said.

Since the emperor said that he would do whatever he should do, he naturally followed his orders. After a while, dozens of military officials who came to welcome him dispersed, leaving only Sun Chengzong, Xiong Tingbi and other important officials.

"Sun Aiqing, how is the 'military rank' system I asked you to discuss and formulate?" Zhu Yinglong took off the snow-white fox fur gloves on his hand, handed them to Xu Yingyuan's hand, and smiled and asked Sun Chengzong.

"The emperor's idea is good, but the old ministers discussed it for a while and felt..." Sun Chengzong paused for a moment, and saw that the smile on Zhu Yinglong's mouth seemed to be restrained, and then he stopped talking. The emperor's virtue and power were getting stronger and stronger, and many times he had already begun to act arbitrarily. At some point, he seemed to be unable to listen to the ministers' opinions.

"What do you think, Lao Aiqing might as well say it." Zhu Yinglong twisted and peeked at the hesitant look on Sun Chengzong's face, and quickly slowed down his emotions.

"Old ministers and others think it is appropriate to implement this 'military rank' system first, or to temporarily suspend the implementation of this system." Sun Chengzong was an important minister of the emperor after all, and he was also familiar with Zhu Yinglong's nature. At present, "The court military system is still very chaotic. Three of the ten guards in the world are still tired of the old people, and less than one or two can be used. The military system is corrupt and corruption are everywhere. Old ministers and others believe that the most urgent task is to first implement a new compulsory military service system, eliminate scum in the army and those who are greedy and afraid of death, and implement the whole country according to the new army's organizational methods, establish three different organizations: reserve army, standing army and combat group army, and carry out sanctions, withdrawals, and retreats, and then implement the 'military rank' system, so as not to be confused with the current military generals and the 'military rank' system can be less hindered, and it will come naturally."

It can be seen that after some consideration, Sun Chengzong also revealed some truths, and confirmed his concerns and doubts about the "military rank" system. After all, "military rank" is a new thing, and it is not easy to accept it by Sun Chengzong and others. Moreover, this matter is too urgent. Zhu Yinglong himself is also considering whether to implement the "military rank" system first or to transform the entire country's army first. Relatively speaking, the "military rank" system is easy to implement, and the resistance will not be too great. After all, "military rank" is just a false thing and replaces the "military rank" to a certain extent. I think that if I have been a "military rank" for a while, I will still be with the "military rank"

It is impossible to completely abolish the title and feudal system when it is an imperial country. Zhu Yinglong now has a clear understanding of this point. The "military rank" system does not have a great impact on middle and upper-level officers, because there are very few people who can be awarded titles and worshipped marquis in the end, but it has a profound impact on middle and lower-level officers. The implementation of "military rank" is a recognition of their military merits and can more determine their future destiny. The reason why Zhu Yinglong implemented the "military rank" system was that his greater idea was to change the fate of ordinary soldiers of middle and lower-level officers. They were the most basic existence of the army and the pillar of the country, winning them.

The heart is to get the morale of the army, and the army can be as solid as a soul. Of course, he will not tell Sun Chengzong and others these things. A good general can eat the same meals and sleep in the same tent with his soldiers. Even if he really loves soldiers like his sons, he can understand the true thoughts of an ordinary soldier. He can care for him, and he can care for him or even protect his shortcomings. But they are always two people in different worlds. Soldiers will never touch the halo of the general. Generals cannot live the same life as soldiers for the rest of their lives. People are divided into different levels. As long as society exists, this level will still be blurred.

It exists objectively, and people have desires. From low to high level, it is everyone's desire after thinking. Of course, except for saints, but since they are already saints, the level will not be low. The "military rank" system gives ordinary soldiers and the vast majority of people who are struggling to shed blood and die for the empire at the lower level. One can get higher treatment and enter a higher class. The promotion of the "military rank" system will inevitably undergo earth-shaking changes in the army. Therefore, it is not just a "system", but more of a thing that directly points to the morale of the army. This is also why Zhu Yinglong introduced it.

Speaking of military system reform, this is another part that Zhu Yinglong cares most. The new compulsory military service system has been formulated. The old "Guards and Instrument System" has reached the end of his life. It is easy to demolish the building and rebuild it. However, it is not easy to demolish a wall in the old building and replace it with a few pillars or others. It can be said that if you are not careful, not only will the newly replaced pillars be crushed, but the entire building will collapse, especially in the army, there are some uncultured people.

It's a vulgar man. It's no wonder that civil officials have looked down on military generals for thousands of years. In the army, you have your rules. I have my rules. There are many people who regard the country's army as their own things. This is also one of the reasons why kings in history are afraid of "high achievements and shocking the master". The army has become the personal things of the ministers, and can only obey your private orders. In this way, which one is better to be a king than to feel pins and pins and needles and treat him as a enemy enemy?

Therefore, the first step in the reform of the military system is not to promulgate the new compulsory military service system, but to literate the army. Most people would think that the army is a tool for killing people. It is best to just be able to kill people, and then learn some rules. Anyway, these people don’t know etiquette and cannot learn Confucius and Mencius. As for generals, they can understand words, understand military orders, and surpass ordinary soldiers in terms of force. This will also be easier for the king to control it. In the war, a civil servant leads the army and use the wisdom of civil servants to break the conspiracies and tricks of the enemy, and they will be able to win. In the middle and late periods of the Ming Dynasty, they basically did this. If there were not a large number of generals with both civil and military power, the Ming Dynasty would have been devastated for a long time. The Ming Dynasty learned from the Tang Dynasty’s military system and learned the Song Dynasty’s imperial guards system by ten times.

Football, the Anshi Rebellion eventually led to the decline and even demise of the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty's emphasis on culture and over military also made the Song Dynasty a history. It is impossible to say that the Wei Su system was definitely a very effective and good system for the newly established Ming Dynasty. However, it was a temporary product after the Mongolian ravaged the Central Plains and the population declined sharply. The Wei Su system had become a huge resistance to restricting the development of the Ming Dynasty's national defense. Although there was a later recruitment system, it was not possible to form a persistent system. Moreover, the recruitment system could only be regarded as an auxiliary system of the Wei Su system. It was only taken out when it was not possible. In this way, there were many famous generals and they were unable to save the demise of the Ming Dynasty. In this way, the Wei Su system was also a major reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty, although it was known as the "two million army."

In Zhu Yinglong's view, the military's literacy is more important than the military reform. First of all, it is necessary to let the soldiers understand why and who they fight for, and to let the soldiers understand their country and their army, and to give the soldiers a sense of honor, rather than simply having a good meal and having a tile hiding place, and to let the officers understand that the army is not a place for them to get promoted or make money, nor is it a tool for them to use their swords and guns to oppress the people. Therefore, literacy is the top priority, and the understanding and ideological literacy in literacy are the key points that cannot be relaxed in the future military work.

The implementation of the 'military rank' system is to give the soldiers the honors and rewards they deserve, which is one of the reasons why Zhu Yinglong is so concerned about the 'military rank' system.

"I do not agree to the implementation after the implementation. It is possible to consider this. Although the new compulsory military service system has been promulgated throughout the world, it may be until three to five years later. The court is not short of soldiers now, and the large-scale layoff of veterans will inevitably reduce the combat effectiveness of the army. There are nearly two million registered soldiers on the Ministry of War roster. I have seen it. With the current national strength, it seems that it cannot afford the consumption of so many troops at all, so it is imperative to lay off, but how to lay off, where to lay off first, how many people are laid off, how to place them, these are the key points of your current work." Zhu Yinglong said as he walked.

"What the emperor said is, the old minister has recorded it." Sun Chengzong followed suit and nodded frequently.

Zhu Yinglong continued: "I also know that although the more than two million names are written on the roster of the Ministry of War, how many people are actually registered must be verified by me. I will oppress the people, eat empty wages, embezzle and accept bribes, use power for personal gain, and have loose military disciplines to lay off all of them. Don't be afraid of losing soldiers. If you cut one third of the soldiers for me, I will reward you with a marquis, cut one half of them, duke!"

When Sun Chengzong heard this, he was shocked and stood there on the spot. It should be noted that if Xiong Tingbi, who had made great achievements, had never been expected to be granted a title, and he could be granted a title as a marquis as long as he accomplished the matter of laying off the army. It was too easy for this marquis to come, just like a golden ingot fell from the sky and hit his forehead.

Moreover, the court had a long time ago. Xiong Tingbi was not only an important minister of the emperor, but also a father-in-law. Logically speaking, he should have been granted a title for a long time, but the emperor had not even mentioned it. Many ministers understood that if the emperor did not grant Xiong Tingbi, then other people who were expected to grant titles would have no reason to ask the court to grant titles. Therefore, there were some complaints below. However, I also heard that the court would replace it with "military rank", and most of the generals who deserved titles were generals who had made military achievements, so the storm subsided, and the hereditary title system became a lifetime system (except for the royal family, but they could only be demoted from the second generation). The royal family abolished the hereditary title, and the princes below naturally accepted the reform of this title system, and there would naturally be complaints, but for families with many children and grandchildren, this was actually a relief.

"Your Majesty, the old minister is really..." I was sure that the expression on Zhu Yinglong's face was not a joke with him, and immediately said in a panic.

"My dear, you don't have to refuse. My intentions have been decided. The ministers outside all said that I am mean and polite. The soldiers fought for the country in blood and refused to even have a title. In fact, I am not willing to grant them, but I cannot grant them. My dear, do you know the reason?" Zhu Yinglong stepped forward with a happy face and grasped Sun Chengzong's cold old hands.

"The old minister is ignorant."

"There is a common saying among the people, do you know about the old love?"

"Prince, please tell me?"

"This saying is 'rich, only three generations'. The meaning is quite clear. Wealth accumulates to three generations and is over. Can you tell me the reason here?"

Sun Chengzong was silent for a while. How could he not know this common saying? But this is just a phenomenon that the world summarizes, but not many people really think about it. Although Sun Chengzong is a Confucian master, he usually talks about the great principles of Confucianism. But he never thought that there would be any deep truth hidden in this folk saying. Now that Zhu Yinglong is so a little bit, he suddenly feels alert. It is important to know that the creator of this common saying may not necessarily know what profound meaning it contains, but the listener has a different idea. If you think deeply, you will feel that this sentence is simply a warning word.

After a long time, Sun Chengzong let out a long breath, and a strange light flashed in his eyes: "The emperor said this, making the old minister feel ashamed. The old minister was really ashamed of some of his previous thoughts."

"Those who are capable will be self-reliant and self-improvement will naturally make a name for themselves. If our Ming Dynasty was all mediocre people who were blessed by ancestors, how can the country be strong and how can the people be rich?" Zhu Yinglong was strong and powerful.

"The emperor's thoughts are far-reaching, and it is not comparable to the old ministers. Those people are short-sighted. If they can understand the emperor's painstaking efforts, they should not have any resentment towards the emperor." Sun Chengzong said.

"The reason I have granted you a title is because, although you can't see any results in what you did now, for future generations, their achievements are no less than those of expanding the border. How could I be stingy with a title?" Zhu Yinglong was very happy. After all, it was a very pleasant thing to be able to understand his good intentions.
Chapter completed!