I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 53: The Complete Fall of the Yan Party

September in the autumn of the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign.

Outside the west gate of the capital, the scene was desolate and sparse.

The lush green of the Western Hills turned into endless withered yellow.

At the Shilipu Posthouse, Zhu Yijun, Hu Zongxian, Xu Wei and others stood in the pavilion, watching two horse-drawn carriages moving slowly on the road in the distance.

Old vines, withered trees, crows, and a heartbroken person far away.

In one of the two carriages in front sat Yan Song, the former prime minister of the cabinet and a man with great power.

A car was carrying Yan Song's only son, Yan Shifan, who had just been brought back from Caishikou and was lying in a coffin.

"Mr. Jiehu still has resentment in his heart." Zhu Yijun said, "He feels that Grandfather Huang and I have sold his only son for a good price again.

Any parent would think that their child has made minor mistakes, but not serious ones. Lord Jiehu must have felt the same way. In his heart, his Qing'er had made mistakes, but his crime was not punishable by death."

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

After two or three months of wrangling,
Several major events that attracted much attention from both the government and the public have finally been settled.

Naturally, the responsibility for the Guihai Rebellion was shouldered by Yang Xuan, the former Governor-General of Ji and Liao, and Xu Shen, the Governor of Shuntian. Emperor Jiajing ordered them to be executed at Caishikou in the autumn along with the deputy general Hu Zhen and others who had "deserted from the battlefield."

Deputy Border Patrol Envoy Lu Yi, Lieutenant Generals and Guerrilla Generals Feng Zhao, Hu Can, Yan Zhan and others were spared from death, some were rewarded for their crimes, and some were demoted to commoners.

Also executed at Caishikou were Yan Shifan and his accomplice Luo Wenlong.

After Yan Shifan was sentenced to execution in the autumn, Yan Song submitted his resignation, which was approved by Emperor Jiajing.

Today, the elderly Yan Song embarks on the long journey back home carrying his son's coffin.

"Your Highness, you don't have to come and see Lord Jiehu off today."

Hu Zongxian changed the subject.

Yes, Zhu Yijun had a special identity. His coming to send Yan Song back to his hometown would cause a bad influence and would also make many people have associations.

Does the Emperor still have feelings for Lord Yan?
"No, if I don't come, Mr. Ruzhen won't be able to come either." Zhu Yijun said directly.

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei looked at each other.

This is indeed the truth.

"It's okay for me to come. Lord Shaohu and Lord Xinzheng, they can all guess that Lord Jiehu and I have a tacit agreement. Lianshengxiang has a branch in Yuanzhou Prefecture, and I bought 3,000 acres of paddy fields for the Yan Mansion. I can't hide it from them."

"Your Highness, is Lianshengxiang buying paddy fields for the Yan family?"

"Yes, three thousand acres of paddy fields were registered as the sacrificial fields of the Yan family ancestral hall. The Yan family's assets had long been confiscated when Yan Shifan was convicted.

The Duke of Jiehu has five generations living together, dozens of people, and the expenses are huge. The former Prime Minister of the Cabinet died of hunger and cold in his hometown, and the history books will record it for the emperor's grandfather. "

Your Highness the Crown Prince is a man of love and righteousness!

Hu Zongxian couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what do you think of Lord Jiehu?"

"He is definitely not a good person, he is a traitor, there is no doubt about that. Especially his son Yan Shifan, he deserves to be put to death!"

"Then Your Highness is coming to see him off?"

"At least the Yan family doesn't have 210,000 acres of fertile land!" Zhu Yijun sighed.

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei keenly realized that the prince was hinting at the new prime minister of the cabinet, Xu Jie!
"Those who have left have left. Lord Jiehu has retired from the capital and returned to his hometown to live out his days in glory. The Yan Party has since disappeared. Mr. Ruzhen, you don't have to worry anymore."

"I know." Hu Zongxian replied.

He knew that he had already escaped from the Yan Party and became the leader of the Prince Party.

"Sit down, Mr. Ruzhen, Mr. Wenchang, let's sit here for a while. It's a rare opportunity for us to come out and take a look at the autumn scenery of the West Mountain in the capital." "Yes."

Feng Bao brought the eunuch forward and placed three stools in the pavilion, with a small round table in the middle, on which there were fruits and tea.

"please!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

After a round of tea, Zhu Yijun said, "Mr. Ruzhen, you have been the governor of Shanxi, Datong, and Xuanfu for more than a month, and you have also passed through many nearby guard posts and passes. What do you think?"

"Your Highness, in fact, the root cause of all the border troops in the nine borders is the same, that is, food and salary."

After hearing Hu Zongxian's words, Zhu Yijun fell silent.

Yes, the Ming army is not fully paid. If they are fully paid, they will be invincible.

Food and pay were indeed the biggest problems for the Ming army. They directly changed the basic structure of the Ming army and caused great damage to its combat effectiveness.

Zhu Yijun said carefully: "Emperor Taizu implemented the garrison system at the border, where officers and soldiers guarded the border and settled in the army, relying on their own efforts and being self-sufficient in food and wages. Emperor Taizu also proudly announced that from now on, the border troops would not need to pay a grain or a penny from the local people for food and wages.

Unfortunately, ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel. Since the Yongle period, the frontier troops have been unable to be self-sufficient in food and wages. Then the court tried to find ways to raise food and wages, implemented the Chinese method, and promoted commercial settlements, but the gap between the two sides was getting bigger and bigger.

In this dynasty, the imperial court had to pay four to five million taels of silver to the nine frontiers every year for food and wages. The Ministry of Revenue was in great pain, and so were the local governments.

However, the demand for food and wages is increasing, and the combat effectiveness of the border troops is gradually declining. Anyone from the northern barbarians outside the pass can come to attack the border and extort money. As the combat effectiveness decreases, more troops are needed. The more troops, the more food and wages are needed.
In this regard, the Nine Frontiers are like a giant leech lying on the body of the Ming Dynasty, sucking blood day and night. But you still have to let it suck. "

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei never expected that the prince had such a profound understanding of the military preparations of the nine borders, so communication would be much easier.

"Your Highness is right. I have had many discussions with Mr. Wenchang. The key to the Nine Borders lies in food and wages. And the depletion of food and wages lies in the collapse of the garrisons.

Emperor Taizu set up garrisons at the border to guard the border and settle the army, which was a good intention. Unfortunately, as the officers of the garrisons became hereditary, these fields were either occupied by the officers of the garrisons or by local aristocratic families.

The military households had no land and could only become tenants. They only focused on farming and had no time to train for war. The officers who became big landlords colluded with the local noble families. For their own interests, they concealed the young and strong military households and would rather let them stay at home to farm for them than send them out to fight.

Hu Zongxian also talked about his own views.

After listening to him, Zhu Yijun disagreed with some of his views and directly refuted: "Mr. Ruzhen, you said that the nine frontiers' food and salary were rotten because the garrisons were broken. I think the garrison system itself was a mistake.

In other words, the Weisuo system had the effect of stabilizing the military, consolidating the local areas, and accelerating the recovery of production in the early days of the dynasty. But it soon deviated from the actual situation, and it was not changed when it should have been, which turned out to be a huge mistake. "

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei were very surprised. How dare the Crown Prince question the ancestral system?
When you think about how much the Jiajing Emperor questioned and modified the ancestral system during his more than 40 years on the throne, you even changed the temple name of Emperor Yongle, Taizong, to Chengzu.

Then I understood it in my heart.

This pair of grandparents and grandchildren really are of the same bloodline.

"Your Highness, you said that the guard system should be changed as soon as possible. I don't know where to start. Please give me some advice."

"That's fine. The guard system is what Emperor Taizu wanted. He wanted the border troops to guard the border, but also wanted them to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. It was too good to be true.

During the Hongwu reign, the problem began to emerge. The soldiers at the frontier garrisons not only had to guard the border and conduct drills, but also had to open up wasteland, plant crops, take care of crops, and harvest grain.

The two hardest jobs in the world are done by the border soldiers.

But is this the end? How can it be the end!

After the grain was harvested, it had to be sent to the government warehouse. Corrupt officials were rampant, and short weight was common. The grain that was grown with great effort was not enough to pay the taxes, so the only way was to do odd jobs and help out as a hired hand to make some money to fill the gap.

However, the soldiers in the garrisons had officers above them, and they had to work on their fields for free. And if there were any problems in the local area, such as paving roads and bridges, or repairing city walls, since there were few people in the frontier, these corvée duties would naturally fall on the soldiers in the nearby garrisons.

Is this a frontier army? They are not even as good as the slaves of the northern barbarians outside the Great Wall!

Who would be willing to serve as a border guard like this?
Therefore, starting from the Yongle period, a large number of military households deserted. They were replaced and deserted again. Later, the military households could not be relied upon, so the court had to recruit soldiers to guard the border, and the garrison system became a decoration and a burden.

(End of this chapter)