Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 187 The status of civil servants and generals
In the capital, in a restaurant, Yu Zigao, Qi Changguo, and Li Shunzu were having a gathering.

The three had no connection before, but after the emperor wrote "Yu Long, Qi Hu, Dong, Li and Xima" in his handwriting, many people regarded the four families as the top of the local generals and called them together.

Qi Changguo and Li Shunzu both served in Jinyiwei. After Yu Zigao came to Beijing, he was entrusted by his colleagues to inquire about Dongningwei.

After his in-law Wu Chunfu fell, Yu Zigao needed strong support in the capital. Thinking of the past experiences of his father, Yu Dayou, and Lu Bing being acquitted, he naturally deliberately made friends with these two senior Jin Yiwei officials and close ministers of the emperor. After talking to Qi Changguo about their friendship between their fathers, they re-established contact.

The three of them each had their own needs, so naturally they talked happily.

Speaking of the standing meeting he attended yesterday, Yu Zigao said with emotion:

"It's hard to say that the capital doesn't know that I'm a young official. Now I have a deep understanding of it."

"I used to think that being the commander-in-chief was enough. In Fujian, no one except the governor could give me orders."

"But when I arrived in the capital, I realized that the general soldier was nothing at all. He had just reached the threshold of Tingtui."

"Below the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief, no one pays attention at all in the court."

The Qi family and the Li family are both military generals, and their father and grandfather once served as general soldiers, so of course they feel sorry for this.

Only by understanding the method of selecting officials in the court can we understand why the status of generals has been declining.

For those who are of the third rank or above in the imperial court, local governors, chief envoys, and inspectors are all recommended by the imperial court as a rule.

However, only the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief came to the court to push the threshold.

The generals under this level are not even qualified to be noticed in the court. A fifth-grade doctor from the military selection department of the Ministry of War can decide their fate.

It can be said that only by serving as the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief can a general be noticed by the emperor and court ministers. Military generals below this level are basically unknown.

Moreover, after becoming the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief, the generals are still subject to the control of the governor in the local area, and there is no room for advancement in the court. Even if he performs meritorious service and is awarded the rank of Commander-in-Chief, he is still only the commander-in-chief, and his status has not changed——

The position of Commander-in-Chief is the ceiling for generals. Moreover, the status of the general soldier is still declining with the suppression of civilian officials.

The generals knew this situation, but they were powerless to improve their status to that of the early days of the country.

Thinking of the emperor's instructions, Qi Changguo said to Yu Zigao:

"Brother Yu has been promoted from commander-in-chief to admiral of the navy. He must work hard in the future."

"Especially when the naval yamen is newly established, the relationship with the military envoys must be properly handled."

"Your Majesty's painstaking efforts in setting up admirals and military guards cannot be wasted by us."

The word "admiral" was a title used by civil servants and generals in the past, but it is completely different from the position of admiral established by the current emperor.

Initially, the emperor only appointed the accomplished Man Gui as the Great Wall Admiral, taking the role of acting governor based on the precedent of Li Rusong serving as the military admiral.

Then when the admirals of the five provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou were established, it was clarified that the admirals were the supervisors and deputy governors, and could act when the two positions were vacant.

An admiral for the suppression of bandits in the three provinces was also established. In order to facilitate communication with local civilian officials, civilian officials were appointed as military envoys for the suppression of bandits in the three provinces. They were clearly auxiliary admirals and were responsible for protecting the army and handling logistics affairs——

This represents the position of admiral, which was placed by the emperor between the governor and the military envoy. How high the status of these two civil servants will be in the future, the admiral will change accordingly. If civil servants want to lower the status of the admiral, they need to lower the status of the governor and the military envoy at the same time.

It can be said that the emperor took great pains to improve the status of his generals. Use two civil servant positions and bring a military admiral. Yu Zigao quickly understood this painstaking effort under Qi Changguo's explanation. Thinking that as long as the status of the military guard could be suppressed, the status of the admiral could be maintained. Yu Zigao patted his chest and said:
"No one understands things at sea better than me."

"Brother Qi, just watch carefully. Who has the final say in the Navy Yamen?"

Qi Changguo was not relieved when he heard this. According to the emperor's instructions, he carefully explained to Yu Zigao:

"It's not that you suppress the power of the Protector, but that you handle the relationship with the Protector well."

"The admiral and the military guard are at the same level. They are both positions separated from the governor. In theory, they are equivalent to the governor."

"Currently, the Guardians are selected according to the standards of governors who have military responsibilities. If you reduce the power of the Guardians too low, in the future, civilian officials may also devalue the Guardians and select them with a standard lower than that of the governor. Consider it a position lower than that of a governor."

"In this way, the status of the military commander is lowered, and the status of the military commander is also naturally lowered. This is not His Majesty's original intention."

Yu Zigao didn't understand it for a while, but after Qi Changguo's careful explanation, Yu Zigao slowly figured out the subtleties. Understand that the high status of the admiral does not depend on whether he can suppress the military guard, but on maintaining the position of the military guard at the same level as the governor.

Therefore, let alone whether the military admiral can suppress the civilian military guards, even if he can suppress them, the power of the military guards cannot be suppressed too low. It should be made equal to the governor, so that the admiral who is at the same level as the military guard can be at the same level as the governor.

If Yu Zigao took advantage of his familiarity with the sea, he could suppress the power of Yu Anxing, the naval escort, as compared to the governor. Civil servants may devalue the status of the military guard, and he, the admiral, will also devalue it.

Suddenly enlightened, Yu Zigao said:
"So, my status as an admiral does not depend on how many soldiers I can lead or how many general soldiers I have under my command."

"It's about whether we can suppress the military envoys and at the same time make the military envoys' power no less than that of the local governor."

Qi Changguo smiled when he heard this and said:
"exactly!"

"This is your Majesty's intention in setting up an army guard."

"You, the admiral, and the military escort can have a priority. But more importantly, we need to divide the work and cooperate to jointly improve the status of the naval yamen."

"Only when the power and status of the Navy Guardsmen are improved, the civilian officials will select the Guardsmen according to the specifications of the governor or even the governor. As an admiral at the same level, your status will rise."

"The reason why the Guards are called Guards is to protect the army. The status of the army depends largely on the Guards."

Talking about the mystery of the position of guarding the army, Qi Changguo said with emotion:

"The status of the commander-in-chief in the early days of the Kingdom is considered high, right? Only Duke Gonghou and the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army Commander-in-Chief can hold the position."

"Where is the current commander-in-chief? Does he still have that status?"

"This is the disadvantage of not having an army guard, and it is also the reason why His Majesty set up an army guard."

"You must have civilian officials at the same level as reference to maintain your status as a military commander."

Yu Zigao didn't understand these histories, but he also knew that the status of military generals had been declining.

The Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army had the rank of a first-class official, but it was already in name only. The local chief and second-rank commander is regarded as a position under the chief soldier, deputy chief soldier, staff general, and guerrilla in many places.

It can be said that the status of military commanders does not depend on their rank at all, but on how high their status is considered by civilian officials.

The emperor really took great pains to set up civilian military envoys who were at the same level as military commanders and admirals!
(End of this chapter)