Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 241 Encouragement to study!

"The era of recklessness is over!"

Xia Zhibai's powerful words echoed in the hall for a long time.

Even someone as arrogant as Lan Yu was stunned at this moment. He stared at Xia Zhibai blankly, his eyes full of disbelief and astonishment. In all his long years of leading troops to fight, this was the first time he heard someone say that their way of fighting was "rough".

Not only Lan Yu, but also veterans such as Tang He and Fu Youde were also stunned.

Xia Zhibai stood with his hands behind his back, his face stern, looking at the generals below indifferently, and said indifferently: "I know you don't obey me, and I also know that you don't agree with my words, but what I want to tell you is that the era of generals is gradually shrinking."

"If you fail to change in time, sooner or later, there will be no place for you in the great court of the Ming Dynasty."

“It’s just like the Song Dynasty.”

“This is definitely not an exaggeration.”

"Before the steam-powered salt machine was popularized, how many people in the world dared to say that the salt-making industry, which was related to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of salt-making households in the world, would collapse overnight, and hundreds of thousands of salt-making households would lose their jobs all of a sudden. They are your lessons."

"However, the fact is that the emergence of steam-powered salt has completely destroyed the old salt-making ecosystem."

"A cook who cannot keep up with the trend is doomed to be eliminated by the times."

"Military commanders will be no exception."

"The Northern Yuan Dynasty is indeed a major threat to the Ming Dynasty now."

"Not only because the Northern Yuan had a large population and vast territory, and had a strong military force, but also because the Northern Yuan ruled the north for hundreds of years and had a great influence on the north. As long as the Northern Yuan existed, the scholars in the north would always have a certain fluke mentality and try to make the Northern Yuan regain its dominance in the Central Plains."

"But you are generals who lead troops to fight."

"As the one who knows the military strength of Ming Dynasty and Northern Yuan Dynasty best."

"You should understand better than anyone else in the world that it is impossible for the Northern Yuan Dynasty to regain its dominance over the world."

"It is only a matter of time before the Ming Dynasty overthrows the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"In your mind, as a military commander, you should seize this only window of war to make greater contributions and bring greater wealth to yourself and your family. But you must not forget that the reason you have achieved what you have today is mainly because you led troops to fight."

"Without leading troops to fight, you are actually a burden and a nuisance to the Ming Dynasty."

"I'm sure you've heard His Majesty accuse and complain about you over the years. Many of you have committed crimes and violated military discipline. Now you're just relying on your outstanding military achievements to make His Majesty, Your Highness, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty choose to tolerate you. But how can this tolerance last long?"

"Once the court can no longer tolerate it, it will no longer tolerate it."

"Besides, His Majesty has repeatedly ordered you to strictly control your behavior."

“It’s just that you can’t do it on your own.”

"Unjust is doomed to destruction!"

"Your future fate is all your own fault."

"Besides, you are so aggressive, who among the officials in the court doesn't know about this?"

"Do you really think that the court doesn't know about the dirty things you did in private? Have no officials ever impeached you? It was just suppressed by His Majesty and His Highness. But because you are too tough, you are bound to be suppressed by the court in the future. No court can allow the court to be full of arrogant and tough generals."

"You haven't considered your own options at all."

"Many people in the world know the saying 'When the birds are gone, the good bows are put away; when the cunning rabbits are dead, the running dogs are cooked', but many people do not understand why this is the case, because some people do not know the current situation, do not know how to judge the situation, and cannot see the current situation clearly."

“The world situation will change.”

"Military generals are indeed noble now, but it won't always be so."

"Because there aren't so many wars in the world."

"The Ming Dynasty will focus on recuperation for a long time to come. If you generals still have the same hot temper as now, ask yourselves, who can tolerate it?"

"The whole government is united in wanting to improve people's livelihood, but you are all arrogant and domineering behind the scenes, using your power to oppress the locals, relying on your contributions and bloodshed for the Ming Dynasty to act recklessly."

"I can tell you very clearly."

"In the imperial court of the Great Ming Dynasty, there will be no such thing as a meritorious official!"

"Because everyone in this world has made contributions. You have made military contributions, the civil officials have made governance contributions, and the common people have made contributions by observing the law. Their contributions are not necessarily less than yours, and may even be greater than yours."

“Construction is always much more difficult than destruction.”

"In your imagination, the Ming Dynasty will march north to Liaodong in the next one or two years, completely defeat Nahachu, and then rest for a few years before marching north again to destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty. After that, it will clear out the Northern Yuan Dynasty every few years until the Northern Yuan Dynasty completely collapses and splits."

"But may I ask you, have you ever considered the supply of food and fodder?"

"Logistical supplies?"

"This kind of long-term war ultimately tests national strength and logistics. The economy of the northern part of the Ming Dynasty is already weak, and we have to sustain the attack of hundreds of thousands of troops. This will be a huge loss to the national strength of the Ming Dynasty. All the food and supplies you need for the war come from the people."

"That is to say."

"You used the food and fodder that the people had to hand in after they had eaten grass and milked their cows, and fought a few battles that had little practical effect."

"The Ming Dynasty cannot afford such a war!"

"It's not a good fight."

"Sun Tzu said: The best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, and the worst is to attack their cities."

"And now, all of you from the Five Military Commands have come here with great joy, only to carry out the 'low-level' 'siege'. Such generals, with only the courage and strength of ordinary men, how can they be respected by the people of the world? How can they win the support and recognition of the court?"

"I, Xia Zhibai, am not talented."

"But he proposed the ideas of 'attacking the enemy' and 'attacking the enemy' in order to conquer the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"And it has been approved by His Majesty."

"I am just a scholar, not good at military affairs, but I did what you generals should do. Shouldn't you generals feel ashamed?"

The hall was dead silent.

Lan Yu, Chang Sheng and others glared at Xia Zhibai. Fu Youde's eyes darkened slightly, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Feng Sheng twirled his beard, a strange look appeared in his eyes, but his expression was confused.

Only Tang He nodded secretly.

Xia Zhibai was actually not wrong. The reason these generals of the Ming Dynasty could act so recklessly today was entirely because they relied on the favor of His Majesty. Once the war in the north stopped, at least most of these generals would have no place to use their military skills. If they continue to act arrogantly in the court, even if His Majesty could tolerate it, His Highness probably would not.

They have to find a way out for themselves.

He had thought about it a long time ago.

Therefore, he began to think about retiring early on, and had always intended to fade out of the court. He rarely participated in court disputes, and never easily got involved in some right and wrong. He also restrained his family members, because he was worried that they would be used as a handle and eventually purged by His Majesty. He considered this, and so did Xia Zhibai.

It's just that his thinking is different from his. He only considers his own safe retreat, while Xia Zhibai considers more. He wants to maintain the basic status of military generals in the world, rather than 'when the birds are gone, the good bows are hidden'.

He wants to reform these generals.

Let these generals who only know how to fight learn to use their brains.

In particular, I want to proactively increase the voice and importance of these generals.

The justification he gave was that "a country, though big, will perish if it loves war; the world, though peaceful, will be in danger if it forgets war." Based on this fundamental principle, he also put forward higher requirements for military generals, requiring them to understand the art of war and know how to "subdue the enemy without fighting."

It is also important to understand the foundation of a military general's career: 'The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities.'

Only by grasping the necessity of military generals and the imaginary enemies on the border of the Ming Dynasty, can the military generals of the Ming Dynasty stand firmly in the court and avoid repeating the mistakes of the Song Dynasty and falling completely into the vicious circle of using civil power to control military power. These suggestions are insightful and heartfelt, and they are truly for the consideration of the military generals.

All this was just to prove one thing to the court.

Military generals are still useful!
just
Tang He raised his head and looked around. Very few people could actually listen. Lan Yu, Chang Mao and others had long been accustomed to fighting on the battlefield. It was really difficult for them to calm down and think about a more perfect strategy to deal with the enemy.

As for veterans like Fu Youde, they are already over fifty years old and have long lost their drive, so they will not give it too much thought.

What's more, war is direct and straightforward.

Military generals prefer this straightforward style.

Although Xia Zhibai's suggestion is sincere, I am afraid it will be difficult for people to believe it.

Tang He withdrew his gaze.

What Xia Zhibai said today was completely beyond his expectations.

He seemed to have no scruples at all.

He directly said the outrageous words "When the birds are all gone, the good bows are hidden."

Moreover, from the very beginning, Xia Zhibai had always firmly held the initiative, from the initial shooting threat to the subsequent saying of a lot of specious and ambiguous words that made people unable to guess his true intentions. He had been deliberately leading everyone's thoughts. Even someone as hot-tempered as Lan Yu could not say anything at this moment.

Because they could also hear the deep meaning in Xia Zhibai's words.

Xia Zhibai stood tall, with a lot of sweat on his forehead. He looked at the generals in front of him and continued, "Since you have no objection, I will assume that you agree with what I said. I said that the fighting style of the world is changing."

"The requirements for generals will also become higher and higher."

"During the Three Kingdoms period, there was Sun Quan who encouraged people to study, and then there was Lu Meng, who was 'not the same old Wu A'mon'. Today, I, Xia Zhibai, would like to give you the same advice. In your spare time, you can read more books, be it military books or other books. At least you should read more because military and economics are part of politics."

"It is not advisable to talk about military and economic issues without considering politics."

"With the promotion of firearms, just like the steam-powered salt machine, there will be a huge change in the future military direction. Many existing tactics and operations will gradually be eliminated. You are the best generals of the Ming Dynasty, but you must also understand that if you don't advance, you will retreat."

"When the times abandon you, they won't say goodbye to you."

"In the next few months, some new weapons will be delivered from Peking. You can study them and use them to re-formulate a plan to conquer the Northern Yuan. Of course, during this period, I also hope that you generals can be less selfish and focus more on the country."

"I believe that when you see those new weapons, you will have a new perspective on the world's military affairs."

"You will also understand why it is right to postpone the Northern Expedition."

"The Five Military Commandery should play a role to some extent."

"At least it can't just be a place to house military commanders, it should also be a place to provide the court with 'upper, middle and lower' military strategies. This is the original intention of your majesty in establishing the Five Military Commandery."

"I am not here to persuade you today."

“Because it’s impossible to persuade him.”

"I came here this time just to tell you, I hope you can open your eyes and see the world."

"The world has changed!"

"If you don't wake up in time and catch up with the times, then you will be left behind by the times. Don't say that no one reminded you, because I have reminded you, but you didn't take it to heart."

"All right."

"I have said everything I should and could say."

"If you want to listen, then listen. If you don't want to listen, then forget it."

"I'll take my leave now."

Xia Zhibai bowed to the generals, and then slowly walked out of the Five Army Commander's Mansion. He did not take the spear he brought with him, but left it in the mansion.

Watching Xia Zhibai go away, Lan Yu snorted coldly, with a look of hostility and dissatisfaction in his eyes.

He was usually quite rampant, but Xia Zhibai was even more rampant.

In front of them, he called them reckless men and a bunch of brainless people, and still tried to teach them how to fight, saying a bunch of useless nonsense, which was actually not as attractive to him as that spear.

Lan Yu said: "Haha, you guys won't be scared by him, right?"

"He's just a scholar, what the hell does he know about fighting?"

"What do you mean by 'the best strategy is to attack the enemy's strategy'? In the end, we still have to fight with real swords and guns. The bigger the fist, the more powerful it is. Everything else is just empty talk."

"Your Majesty hates the Northern Yuan Dynasty to the extreme. How could he give up the Northern Expedition so easily? In my opinion, it is most likely that scholars like Xia Zhibai went to slander your Majesty. I don't know why your Majesty would believe these slanders. Your Majesty is not unaware of the threat that the Northern Yuan Dynasty poses to the court."

"When I get back later, I will write a memorial myself. Didn't Xia Zhibai say that we are brave but not wise? Then I will write one."

"I want to let these scholars take a good look at whether our generals are brave but not wise!"

Lan Yu looked proud.

He was stunned by Xia Zhibai's words just now. Now that he reacted, he was a little ashamed and angry. His face flushed, and he expressed his dissatisfaction openly.

Lan Yu's words were recognized by many generals.

But veterans like Tang He, Fu Youde, Feng Sheng and others were all silent.

Tang He sighed and said, "Lan Yu, you should control your temper. Xia Zhibai has announced all this in front of us. His Majesty must have some thoughts on this. I'm afraid we have to put the Northern Expedition on hold for now."

"But that's okay."

"With more preparation time, the Northern Expedition will be smoother."

"And I think what Xia Zhibai said makes sense. There are wars during wars, and there will be unification after the world is unified. That's another matter."

(End of this chapter)