Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 206: The Court within the Court
The bitter lessons of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms made subsequent dynasties deeply understand one truth: the army is a ferocious beast and must be firmly controlled.

Not to mention the Zhao and Song dynasties, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, once it entered a stable period, it also began to greatly suppress military generals.

This is particularly reflected in the supervision of the collection and expenditure of food and wages for military farms.

Let’s talk about military farming first.

In the early Ming Dynasty, due to insufficient population, abandoned land, and financial difficulties, Taizu established the system of military settlements.

Three-tenths of the border areas were used for defense, and seven-tenths for cultivation. Two-tenths of the inland areas were used for defense, and eight-tenths for cultivation. This approach was able to balance border defense and economic recovery at the founding of the country. In the first year of Yongle, although the country had just experienced the Jingnan Campaign, the grain obtained from the military farms that year was still as high as more than 20 million shi. In the same year, the tax grain from official and civilian fields was more than 30 million shi, which shows the effectiveness of military farming.

But this year's figure is the highest, and an extremely high highest.

Zhu Changluo was not sure whether it was because the military system was redivided after the success of the Jingnan Campaign, and because of the large-scale purge after Zhu Di ascended the throne, many confiscated items were included in the income from military farming to reward the three armies.

However, it is true that Zhu Di reduced the amount of grain that military settlements had to pay per mu by half.

In general, there were more than 5 million shi in the 21st year of Hongwu, more than 6 million shi in the first year of Hongxi, and more than 9 million shi in the sixth year of Xuande, which shows how much income there was when the military settlements were still there.

Then it started to break down.

During the Three Yangs' Cabinet, in the 10th year of Xuande, the military warehouses of the garrisons were transferred to the local government for management. In the 2nd year of Zhengtong, only the surplus grain of the military farms was returned to the military warehouses, and the regular grain was kept in the local government. In the 9th year of Jiajing, civilian households were allowed to cultivate the military farms. In the 2nd year of Jiajing, the affairs of military farms were transferred to the local government.

To date, the amount of grain used for military farms reported in the entire Ming Dynasty newspaper is less than two million shi.

This is a battle for control of food.

From the perspective of collection, the military farms that were supposed to be private plots for military households have now become government farms where anyone can grow crops as long as they hand in the seeds. The crops from military farms that were supposed to be managed by the military system have now become managed by local government.

When Hou Xianchun roared at the court meeting about the abandonment of military settlements, he was not only trying to stir up the Ming Dynasty's border troops and local garrisons, but also the Ming Dynasty's local civil servants and gentry.

As I said before: the Ming Dynasty has more people now, and the land will only be reclaimed more, not less. After Yongle halved the grain tax for military farms, he never changed the military farm tax system. The millions of shi of grain that disappeared were the common interests of local officials, gentry, and military officers of the garrisons.

Zhu Changluo wanted to clarify the economic foundation of the military system at the "collection" level. At the "payment" level, in order to control the army, the governors were involved in the distribution of food and salaries, and the Ministry of Revenue had specially appointed supervisors or officials to handle the delivery.

But these are just plans, not immediate actions, so pay attention to the detailed interests first.

Before leaving, he stood up and said, "Privy Council, if the Privy Council is not secretive, things will be ruined. I have said it in advance, the law is not permanent, and how to change it later depends on one's mind. But if the planning is not secretive, there will only be military law in the Privy Council!"

"...We will keep this in mind." Those who said this were the assistant ministers and doctors of the Ministry of War and the civil officials of the Imperial Household Department.

Currently, only the fifth-rank and above civil officials of the Ministry of War participated in this meeting. The civil officials of each hall under the Privy Council all had military posts, and even the governors of the Five Military Governors' Office, who were changed to civil posts, had frighteningly high ranks.

The assistant ministers may be given a second-rank military post after the military posts are redefined in the future, and they can also get military titles for their merits. The fifth-rank doctors and officials of the Imperial Household Department may now have a third- or fourth-rank military post in the Privy Council, and the other allowances for civil officials under the Privy Council system all depend on this.

More importantly, the emperor simply wanted to restrict the suppression of military officials by civil officials in the entire court to the Privy Council.

It is to allow everyone to have common interests, but can only rely on the support of the civil officials in the Privy Council and the emperor to balance the military officials.

With military power in his hands, the emperor doesn't have to worry about other problems.

Therefore, although the Privy Council can only balance military officials, they are closer to the imperial power than the civil officials in the other one house and three courtyards.

The salaries of military officers in Beijing were paid directly by the emperor, so their mentality naturally changed and must change.

Subtle emotions have been flowing in their hearts for a long time, and they dare not commit the crime of leaking military secrets.

After all, the emperor had emphasized at the beginning that there was only military law in the Privy Council, but if it was leaked, the person would be directly sent to the Northern Pacification Prison, and the only result would be extermination.

Therefore, the other five of the six ministries had no idea that the Ministry of War had been completely dismantled in the Privy Council. Jian Da, who was far away in Sichuan, might not have received the imperial edict yet. When he arrived in Beijing to take up the post of Minister of War, he would probably clapped his hands and said: Where is my huge Ministry of War?

Of course, since Zhu Changluo summoned him, he would not treat him unfairly.

"His ancestor Jian Yi was once called Jian Xia together with Xia Yuanji, but Taizu changed his name to Yi. When Jian Ru was the governor of Ji and Liao, he was successful in tackling border defenses and was able to prevent Ningyuan Hou's former subordinates from causing any trouble, which shows his prudence. As his assistant, he is capable of straightening out the Privy Council."

When Zhu Changluo returned from the Privy Council, he brought Tian Le with him.

Among the many government offices that are undergoing major changes, the Privy Council is the most important, and many candidates still need to be determined.

"Where are Li Hualong, Mei Guozhen and others?"

What the two of them were going to discuss now were other important positions: such as the Right Governor of the Five Prefectures, such as the Chief of Staff of the Military Strategy Hall who was specifically responsible for advising military affairs meetings, and such as the two assistant envoys of the Privy Council who were in charge of the military affairs and the military selection and discipline.

At least in the Privy Council, Tian Le already knew that he would be the actual military minister in the future.

The emperor meant: from the first rank, the actual post is the Privy Councilor. Wuying University Scholar is just their title of civil official.

The five Grand Commanders were also of the first rank, while the five governors-general, the two deputy envoys and the chief of staff were of the second rank.

Now they had to decide on the names of the other eight civil officials who held the second-rank military posts. Together with the Minister of War, there were ten civil officials at the top of the Privy Council, who together with the five Grand Commandants and the five Left Commandants constituted the Military Affairs Council that "participated in military affairs."

The rest of the people were only able to "know about military affairs" and were present as observers, but could not express their opinions on the spot. In the "court within the court" of the Privy Council, Tian Le was the actual prime minister.

"Li Yutian is going to Nanjing, so he can be appointed as the right commander of the front army." Tian Le considered, "The most appropriate way for General Mei Kesheng to take charge of the military affairs of Xuandashan and Shanxi is to appoint him as the right commander of the rear army."

"Where's Xing Jie?"

"Xing Jibo is the governor of Ji and Liao. Although the governor of Liaodong lacks prestige, he has made great achievements. He is still needed to keep things under control. I think he should be appointed as the right commander of the left army. With Xing Jibo's talent, he should return to the court in two years to serve as a deputy envoy."

After going to Liaodong, Li Ruhua and Yuan Keli, two fellow villagers, are now working on the three major triangles of Shanhaiguan, Kaiyuan, and Kuandian Liubao.

Li Chengliang was promoted to the marquis and governor of the Beijing camp, and now he is more likely to become the most important commander of the central army. Although Zhu Changluo was wary of him, he really used him heavily.

Faced with such a prospect, how dare his old subordinates in Liaodong not cooperate?
Ma Gui was as famous as Li Chengliang, and he also had a lot of energy after going to Liaodong.

Tian Le felt that the situation in Liaodong was improving and there was no need to disrupt it for now. Xing Jie was the governor of Ji and Liao, and he could let Li Ruhua and Yuan Keli handle the affairs in Liaodong, while he could devote more energy to managing the entire Zuojun Commandery.

"The various prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Left Army Commandery are not simple." Zhu Changluo was a little worried. "Hejian, Yongping and Shandong are easy to deal with, but Nanzhili, Huaiyang Town, Susongchang and Zhejiang are a bit far."

"It would be good if Xinjianbo can obey orders."

Among the territories under the jurisdiction of the new five prefectures initially divided by the two men, the two most important changes were: the Zuo Jun Governor's Office added jurisdiction over the two prefectures of Yongping and Hejian in northern Zhili and Liangcheng in Shuntian Prefecture, and then, going south along the canal, it also took jurisdiction over the two prefectures of Huai'an and Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Changzhou, and Songjiang, plus the original Zhejiang. It can be said that basically the entire canal was under the jurisdiction of the Zuo Jun Governor's Office, and half of the coastal defense was also taken into account.

Another major change was that the Central Military Governor's Office reduced the Huaiyang Prefecture and gained the entire Huguang Prefecture, and directly reached Shuntian Prefecture in the north via Daming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, and Baoding Prefecture. After being compressed, the Rear Military Governor's Office expanded westward to the three borders, and from then on focused on the defense and development of the entire northwest direction.

The Front Military Governorate lost Huguang, but gained Guangxi. Only the Right Military Governorate completely "lost power and territory", losing the three borders and Guangxi, and basically only Sichuan and Yunnan and Guizhou.

But it doesn't necessarily mean there are no benefits.

"The right commander of the central army is easy to deal with, after all, he is in the court. What about the right army? If the report from there is correct, the next step may be crucial." Zhu Changluo asked.

"The report is correct." Tian Le said, "The Burmese Toungoo invaded Yunnan in the tenth year of Wanli, and was defeated by Zhang Yongbo and Deng Zilong. In the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, even the king was captured and killed. But the current successor, Liangyuan King, is a heroic ruler and has saved half of the country. The Duke of Qian and Yunnan reported that they are eyeing Mengyangmubang of Luchuan, and now they have deployed troops on the border of Manmo."

Nurhaci was lying dormant in Liaodong, but the southwestern border was not actually peaceful.

Zhu Changluo said: "The Right Military Governor's Office must have capable and good military governors. This year, we should strictly implement preferential exemptions, investigate cases and return stolen goods, and the proceeds from Sichuan can be used to support Yunnan. While Toungoo has not yet recovered, as long as we defeat this powerful leader, we will be able to control the southwest in the future. The various departments in Outer Burma have been alienated for a long time, so we must first let them know that the Ming Dynasty is still strong, so that they will not join the south on the news."

This is the benefit that Zhu Changluo was going to give to the Right Army Commandery.

In the southwest, disputes began in Outer Burma during the Jiajing period. First, Mengyang, Mubang and Mengmi of the Luchuan lineage broke the original Ava Dynasty. Then the Burmese produced two consecutive heroes, Mang Ruiti and Mang Yinglong, who founded the Toungoo Dynasty. Now they are on the verge of unifying Outer Burma.

In the Ming-Myanmar Wars of the tenth and eleventh years of Wanli's reign, the Ming Dynasty won, but strategically it did not attach much importance to the southwest direction.

The Toungoo Dynasty was almost destroyed, but now there is a new King Nyaungyeon, and the country is rising again.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty only put in a little effort, and the Toungoo Dynasty, which had not actually unified Outer Burma, could not control the situation.

If they put in a little more effort, won another battle, and paid more attention, the Ming Dynasty might be able to expand out. With Sichuan's fertile land at the back and Burma's plains in front, both products and food are very abundant. As long as Yunnan becomes rich, how can it not further reform the natives and put more energy into Burma?

This is the future of the Right Army Military Governor's Office.

"If we just want to make preparations first, I have two choices. One is Lü Zhaoxiong, Lü Hengbo. He is a capable official who manages affairs well. During the Ningxia campaign, he inspected Liaodong and stayed in Kaiyuan for ten years. He was very effective in river management and military preparation. When he was the governor of Shaanxi, there was a change in Bayu. He was able to make a prompt decision to move to Hanzhong and led light cavalry to reinforce and capture the bandits. However, he was later appointed as the governor of the grain transport, but was later criticized and dismissed from his post. Lü Hengbo is committed to pacifying the people and has always been loyal."

Zhu Changluo nodded: "You said it a long time ago, but there has never been a suitable position. But it seems that... he is very suitable to go to the Zuojun."

After all, he has experience in managing grain transport as governor.

"In the future, when Xing Jiebo returns to the court as the deputy envoy, it would be best if he goes there when the grain transport troops are mobilized." Tian Le expressed his opinion. "The other person is Peng Guoguang and Peng Xiunan, the governors of Xuanda."

"Him..." Zhu Changluo recalled silently.

He was also a capable official in my mind. In the eighth year of Wanli, he had just passed the imperial examination when Zhang Juzheng was about to survey the land. He was very capable as a county magistrate. Not only did he complete the survey of the land in all the counties he was in charge of, but what was rare was that he was not liquidated after Zhang Juzheng's death, and he even got on the fast track of the imperial censor.

After that, no matter who was in the cabinet, such as Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue and others, they all admired this guy very much.

He is a person who always does his job well and effectively, is respected by others, and is rarely attacked.

"Since it was Xizhi who recommended him, it would be better to promote him to the position of Right Commander of the Right Army, rather than reinstating an old minister who has been away from the court for several years." Zhu Changluo made a prompt decision, "Let Lü Zhaoxiong assist in the military affairs of the Beijing Camp and grant him the title of Right Commander of the Central Army."

Tian Le thanked him, and then sighed, "But now, for the two deputy envoys and the chief of staff, except for the three-border governors Li Wen and Li Zongqi, I have no good candidates. The ministers who are both civil and military are old, and the young ones are still young and have little experience and reputation. There is a lack of successors."

Zhu Changluo was thinking about Yuan Keli, Xiong Tingbi, Zhu Xieyuan and others. Indeed, Zhu Xieyuan, who holds the highest official position now, was just sent by Zhu Changluo to Suzhou as prefect last year, and he was only a fourth-rank official.

"Li Zongqi is here to manage the military affairs. He is fine as the chief of staff, but he can work together as a team." Zhu Changluo asked, "But the deputy envoy who is in charge of military selection and military discipline... do you think Wen Chun can be used?"

Tian Le was a little surprised: "Mr. Wen?"

(End of this chapter)