Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 139 The greatest harm to the people is to ignore them! (First update)
Looking at the soldiers with confused eyes, and then at Zhu Di and others who looked frightened, Xia Zhibai smiled.

He said calmly: "These words above have indeed had a great impact on you. Many people even dare not even think about it. But as a politician, a military strategist, and a strategic theorist, this is something you must consider."

"Know thyself, ever-victorious."

"Only by making every possible effort can one fight a hundred battles without danger."

"However, the policy is decided by the imperial court. What the imperial court will choose and do in the end will be determined by the imperial court according to the circumstances. It is not something that can be easily changed by me saying a few words here."

"The only thing you know about me is that I'm a newly crowned top scholar."

"You don't know."

“I am currently a business officer.”

"I am building an iron smelting plant here this time."

“I also have my own selfish desires.”

"I, Xia Zhibai, dare not promise anything else, but one thing I can say is that part of the 'hundred-fold steel' produced by my iron smelting factory will be used to improve weapons."

"I just observed the fire gun up close. The surface of the casting is very rough, the structure is loose, and there are many wash holes and sand holes. This shows that the iron used in the fire gun is not 'cooked steel', let alone 'hundred-fold steel'. The Ming Dynasty is able to produce some hundred-fold steel, but compared with the priority of firearms, the government is more willing to use this hundred-fold steel to forge precious weapons such as swords and sabers, rather than using it on firearms."

"I am not like that, Xia Zhibai."

"I would like to use most of the 'cooked steel' and 'hundred-fold steel' I produce to improve firearms."

"Even if the improvement is not much, as long as it is improved and can be more convenient for the soldiers to use, it is worth it."

"I hope that in the future, the muskets you hold will be easy to load, less likely to cause accidents, and more likely to hit the target every time. The cannons you carry will no longer be difficult to aim, and everyone will be able to become a master gunner, standing several miles away and deciding the outcome with one shot."

"I hope the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will not be killed by their own weapons."

“We also hope to reduce casualties as much as possible.”

"In a close combat, physical confrontation, this kind of casualties is not worth it. Every soldier of the Ming Dynasty is precious. Every casualty is an unbearable burden. This kind of casualties that can be avoided and greatly reduced should be reduced as much as possible."

"I sincerely hope that the weapons of the Ming Dynasty can completely widen the gap with those of the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"When the Northern Yuan were still riding horses and shooting arrows, the Ming had already begun to use firearms on a large scale. When they rushed over, the Ming's firearms were enough to defeat the Northern Yuan cavalry, achieving the greatest results at the lowest cost."

"I also hope that these increasingly powerful firearms will eventually completely tame the North."

"Let them only dare to sing and dance from now on."

"All this takes time and requires sincere cooperation among the soldiers."

"When the Beiping Iron Smelting Factory opens, the first batch of firearms produced will be handed over to you for handling. You can then report the usage and any problems you find during use in detail, and the relevant craftsmen will then make adjustments based on the situation."

"I believe."

"All I'm saying won't be too far off."

"Soldiers working together can break metal, let alone us who are united as one."

"But I am willing to pay so much for a purpose. The ironworks is newly built and short of manpower. I hope that when the iron mine is established, you can go to the ironworks to help speed up the construction of the ironworks and the output of the initial pig iron, so that the ironworks can be put into use as soon as possible."

Xia Zhibai saluted solemnly to the soldiers below.

He does have selfish motives.

He is so short-handed now.

If he really relies on recruiting people on his own and then slowly planning and building, it may take several months before he can start the construction. Sometimes he has to think of other ways. These three guards of Prince Yan are the ones he wants to borrow. The reason why he "belittled" Prince Yan before actually has a meaning.

On the one hand, Prince Yan’s strategic vision is indeed poor.

Secondly, it was an opportunity for the Prince of Yan to reflect on himself. Training troops without a purpose was meaningless in today's world. In the words of literati, it was just like "accompanying the young master in his studies". Zhu Di needed to change his "incomparable" arrogance and seriously think about how to command the army.

While the King of Yan was thinking, he could take the opportunity to borrow soldiers.

The camp was quiet.

Xia Zhibai's words are touching.

Especially for the soldiers at the front, it was the first time they saw an official who cared so much about their life and death, and was really willing to listen to their suggestions, and even willing to make certain changes based on their suggestions. This was something they had never seen before.

Not even His Majesty today.

Having been ignored and neglected for a long time, they have actually taken it for granted and have long been accustomed to it.

But Xia Zhibai's appearance made their hearts tremble.

Many soldiers had red eyes.

An inexplicable sobbing sound came from nowhere and soon spread to the entire camp. At first, it was just someone sobbing quietly and there was only an indescribable feeling of being moved, but in the end it evolved into a kind of sad gratitude.

The man did not shed tears, but he did not go to the sad place.

Xia Zhibai sighed softly.

The scene before him was not what he expected.

He admitted that what he said was not very good, but the fact that it had such an effect was probably because these soldiers had been ignored for too long.

When I was suddenly noticed, I couldn't control the feeling of grievance and unwillingness.

For a politician, the most painful punishment is not dismissal or removal from office, but being forgotten.

But for an ordinary citizen, the most desperate feedback is never abuse, nor accusation, nor being easily trampled on, but being ignored! ! ! The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have been ignored for too long.

From the emperor to the officials and clerks in the Ming Dynasty, they had been away from the real grassroots for too long. They thought that the court had given enough support and policies to the military households, but they did not know that the military households did not have much status or rights in the world, nor were they given enough honors.

The imperial court did provide farmland, but the military households’ production and living conditions have always been very problematic.

Because there were too many people like Zhu Di who were "ambitious", he would gather these military households together every now and then and train them for more than half a month without any purpose or reason, which seriously delayed the normal production of the military households.

Moreover, after being promoted, local generals have been secretly encroaching on the land of the lower-level soldiers. However, the lower-level soldiers have no channels to speak out, and their complaints and dissatisfaction cannot be passed on to higher levels.

If the imperial court really solicits suggestions from the lower-level military households.

Nine out of ten people are dissatisfied.

However, no one in the court, whether civil or military, cared about it.

Most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty only obey their superiors. It is absolutely impossible to ask them to look down to the grassroots.

The Ming Dynasty's Wei Suo system had serious problems. Only because Zhu Yuanzhang's prestige was high enough, the court could still control the various Wei Suo under Zhu Yuanzhang's authoritarian system. Once Zhu Yuanzhang died, the accumulated problems of the Wei Suo system would quickly become apparent.

In history, Zhu Di did not do well in this regard either.

Zhu Di knew about the long-standing problems of the Wei Suo system, but he did not intend to change them. Instead, for the sake of his own great achievements, he chose to concentrate the elite troops of each Wei Suo and repeatedly launched northern expeditions against the Oirat. When Zhu Di had exhausted most of the elite troops of the Wei Suo system, Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne and was forced to retreat and abandon many Wei Suo in the north.

From this point on, the Weisuo system was basically just an empty shell.

By the time of Emperor Jiajing, the Weisuo system had completely collapsed.

It was from then on that the Ming Dynasty began to adopt the conscription system. However, the system created by Zhu Yuanzhang could not collect much money and food, so how many elite soldiers could it afford? To some extent, the Ming Dynasty was indeed made by Zhu Yuanzhang, and also failed by him.

What the Ming Dynasty wants is "Zhu Yuanzhang" generation after generation.

Only a strong and powerful person like Zhu Yuanzhang can manage this system.

No one else can do it except Zhu Yuanzhang.

Looking at the soldiers crying below, Zhu Di's face turned ashen.

There was confusion in his eyes.

He couldn't understand why Xia Zhibai could shake the morale of his troops with just a few words and even make these soldiers shed tears of gratitude?

He had been in Peking for such a long time, but he had never appeared once.

Is he really not kind to these soldiers?
This is impossible.

Zhang Yu and Yuan Gong stared blankly ahead, feeling mixed emotions.

They already had a vague idea of ​​the reason.

the reason is simple.

Xia Zhibai said it before.

Zhu Di's status was too noble, so noble that he could not be on the same page with the lower-level soldiers. Perhaps in Zhu Di's view, he had distributed most of the rewards given to him by the court, and he had been leading his soldiers to win battles and galloping on horseback. How happy he was.

But this kind of 'sharing happiness with the people' is too high a level.

This is not what the soldiers want at all.

Zhang Yu turned around, looked around and shook his head.

For Xia Zhibai, there is only admiration in my heart.

Yuan Gong looked at Zhu Di, then at Yao Guangxiao, his eyes slightly focused, and he made a decision secretly.

When the noises around him quieted down, Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Your sudden emotion caught me off guard. If you don't know, you might think I did something to you and made you cry. However, there is a limit to what I can do now. The only thing I can do is to help you improve your equipment."

“As for what can be done next.”

"It's probably to make sure you can afford salt and clothes."

“I’m a business official.”

"You can't expect a business official like me to do too much, right?"

"Haha."

“I’d also like to give you a quote that I really like.”

"The future is bright, but the road is tortuous. We still have many difficulties to go through, and we cannot ignore them, but please always believe that the future is bright."

"Every day will get better."

"Let's encourage each other."

Xia Zhibai saluted to the soldiers below and slowly walked down the martial arts stage.

"Things will get better day by day." Hearing these words, the soldiers below showed excitement on their faces and their eyes brightened a lot.

But when they wanted to return the gift, Xia Zhibai was no longer around.

The wind was still blowing, but it was much softer.

(End of this chapter)