Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 309 Give the world a teacher to serve the people!
"Army." Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils shrank, and he seemed to understand Xia Zhibai's thoughts.

Since ancient times, the army has been a forbidden zone for emperors.

Every emperor attached great importance to military power, at least the vast majority of them did. After the Tang Dynasty, military power was completely put into a cage, and the government began to use civil power to control military power. By the Ming Dynasty, the right to mobilize troops belonged to the emperor alone.

The army is the stable foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, compared to getting involved in military power, the officials were obviously more interested in money.

Therefore, there is the least resistance for the imperial power to seize military power.

In fact, this has always been the case in all dynasties, but it is not so easy to seize military power. In the late period of every dynasty, there were frequent cases of people who only obeyed orders and not decrees, who relied on their own troops, or who used their troops to establish their own regimes. It was also easy for officers at all levels to lose confidence in the court.

This is not the most important thing.

What’s more important is that the soldiers turned into bandits.

They smashed, looted, burned and plundered the people, each one was more brutal than the other. Everyone wanted to kill such soldiers.

Naturally, they cannot bear the heavy burden of supporting the world.

But as Xia Zhibai said, the army is the easiest for the court to control and is also the most deterrent.

To many extents, the army is purer and easier to educate than court officials and local clerks, because it is the duty of soldiers to obey orders.

As long as the army is properly educated, it will always be loyal to the emperor.
immediately.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head again.

not enough.

But loyal emperors cannot save the country from collapse. Zhang Han of Qin, Huangfu Song of Han, Zhang Xutuo of Sui, etc., which one of them did not try his best? But in the end, they failed to save the country from collapse. The defeat is like a landslide. Once the people's hearts are scattered, even if you have hundreds of thousands of troops, it is difficult to save the country from collapse.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xia Zhibai with deep eyes.

He finally understood why Xia Zhibai was not talking about the army.

Instead, they are called "military and civilians".

Because the army alone cannot sustain it.

Only if the people still have trust in the army can they help the army.

Zhu Biao looked confused.

He didn't figure out the reason.

Because in his mind, the army is the army, and the people are the people. If the army is close to the people, wouldn't it make the monarch uneasy in the long run?
But when Xia Zhibai said the "four words" that he was very familiar with, Zhu Biao's face suddenly changed in shock.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "It's really hard to understand when I first heard it."

"But let me give you an example. This isn't really an example. It's something that really happened to your Majesty."

"When Your Majesty was still a young emperor, I'm afraid something happened."

"The common people lined the streets to welcome the king's army with food and drink."

“The most pleasing words are four.”

"The commander is here!"

boom!
Upon hearing these four words, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed immediately. His originally expressionless face could no longer maintain its expression, and a hint of panic and helplessness emerged on his face, as if these four words had some magical power that froze Zhu Yuanzhang in place.

"The Marshal is here," Zhu Biao murmured.

I felt a little dazed, as if I had returned to more than ten years ago.

At that time, his father had not yet become emperor. He and his mother were still following his father on his journey. His father led the troops to fight in the front, while his mother calmed the people's hearts in the back. Whenever they conquered a place, all kinds of cheers could be seen everywhere, and the loudest one was the word "Marshal"!
This was also my father’s favorite name at the time.

Although this has little to do with what Xia Zhibai said, this sentence of "Great Marshal" contains the most warmth and earnest expectations of the people. At that time, my father's army was really a royal army, and every time it went to a place, it would win the praise of the people. Xia Zhibai said: "The arrival of the Great Marshal is a sincere cry from the people to welcome the royal army, but this is not enough, because the army of the Ming Dynasty has long lost its simplicity at that time. It is good for the people today not to run away or worry when they see the army of the Ming Dynasty. What the Ming Dynasty needs to do is to return to its original intention."

"The original intention of establishing the military must also be re-established."

"It's no longer about changing dynasties, but about making people live a good life."

“And practice it.”

"The hearts of the people are very broad. Your Majesty still has the court. It is impossible to win the hearts of the people all over the world because there are corrupt officials, corrupt officials, and gentry. These people will always undermine the prestige and dignity of the court and make the court lose its reputation. But the army is different. The army is isolated from the lives of the people."

"Whether it's guarding the border or clearing out bandits, it's beneficial to the country and the people."

"More importantly."

“Everyone in the world knows this.”

"Being a soldier is not a life of comfort, but a hard job."

"Therefore, the people actually have a simple sense of identification with soldiers in their hearts."

"So as long as the military doesn't do anything wrong or stupid, it's easy to maintain the trust of the people. Of course, given the current situation, that's not enough."

"But if the Ming army's duty is to maintain national stability and unity, to protect the lives of the people, and to always stand firmly with the people and serve the people wholeheartedly, who would not love such an army? Who would not support it?"

"And if you want to do this, this is undoubtedly easier to achieve than various policies in the court."

"Because the decision-making power has always been in the hands of the emperor!"

"And there aren't too many ministers interfering."

"As long as the army always wins the support of the people and is directly controlled by the emperor, if the court is really full of righteous people and the emperor is no longer able to control the court, then why not follow your majesty's example and directly carry out a violent purge to rebuild the Ming Dynasty."

“Violence really can’t solve many problems.”

“But it can solve a lot of problems for people.”

"And given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, it is very easy for a situation to arise."

"The imperial court cannot mobilize the army!"

"Because the Ming Dynasty implemented the Wei Suo system, the army cultivated land in the frontiers. If they could really be self-sufficient, I'm afraid they would be unwilling to work for the court. Moreover, if the Wei Suo system is allowed to exist, when the military land is occupied in the future, I'm afraid there will be many more people on the Ming Dynasty's military rolls who are not paid for nothing."

"It is very likely that the entire military system will collapse."

"As far as I can see."

"The Weisuo system has nearly completed its historical mission."

"Whether it is to better maintain combat effectiveness or shoulder due historical responsibilities in the future, other military systems are far better than the guard system."

"Looking at the historical trend, the most suitable system is the new system where both conscription and volunteering coexist."

"At the same time, we must also distinguish between internal and external affairs."

"Keep the army pure."

"The army is rotated every few years, and all financial expenses are paid by the court, which ensures that the army is not lost to others. The court always controls the lifeline of the army. At the same time, it weakens the actual control of the military officers over the army, but does not weaken the command ability of the military officers."

"And use this opportunity to restore the military's reputation."

"Strictly rectify military discipline and eliminate bad elements in the army."

“Let the people of the world completely change their view of the army and rebuild their trust in the Ming army.”

"Give the world a teacher for the people."

(End of this chapter)