Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 444 Abolition of the Army
After a pause, Li Jing continued: "In order to prevent these Jurchens from making trouble, we have to arrange a part of our troops to garrison every time we occupy a city. Small counties need hundreds of people, and larger cities need thousands of people. People. For big cities like Guangning and Liaoyang, there are even more, 5000 people. As for Shengjing, Zhuzi even arranged for 1 troops to garrison.

Cao Wenzhao wrote in a letter saying that there are now more than 3 soldiers stationed alone, so that his strength is seriously insufficient.After the battle in southern Liaoning is over, it is estimated that another [-] to [-] people will be stationed in various places.

Leaving aside the materials consumed by these garrisoned soldiers, the cost of transporting the materials to these defense areas is an astonishing figure.If this continues, the logistics simply cannot afford it.

If we can't send troops to garrison in order to save costs, then we have to kill all the Jurchens who are hostile to us.This time the Eastern Expedition to Liaodong has killed enough people, I don't want to kill any more.Because the population of Liaodong is small, the more we are killed, the more difficult it will be in the future.Huang Taiji is still very prestigious among the Jurchens. If he can be used by us, it will be much easier to subdue the Jurchens and save us a lot of trouble.

But since Huang Taiji didn't want to surrender, he could only let him go.Huang Taiji is a smart man, he was sure that I would not kill him, that's why he talked to me so confidently. "

Zhu Youjian nodded: "That's right, if we kill Huang Taiji, the Jurchens in Liaodong will definitely share the same hatred, which will be even more detrimental to our future governance."

Li Jing smiled and said: "That's it. Okay, let's not talk about this, let's talk about those Han officials who served in the Qing Dynasty. Now that the Qing Dynasty is considered dead, these people are working for tigers, but they cannot be let go. It is time to settle accounts with these people. Xiao Jiu, send someone to capture Fan Wencheng and put him on death row, and when we find out the details of the traitor officials we have captured, we will interrogate and execute them together."

Xiao Jiu laughed when he heard the words: "Hehe, Fan Wencheng has been doing a good job as an envoy these days. A few days ago, he even put on airs as an emissary with Master Lin, saying that the two countries will fight each other without beheading the envoy, so that Master Lin will treat you He's being polite."

After hearing this, Li Jing laughed and said, "Hahaha, he is trying to squeeze us out of killing him. It's a good plan, but it's a pity that the Qing Dynasty has already perished, and he is no longer the envoy of the peace talks. Besides, even if the Qing Dynasty has not perished, we I will not tell him those useless things, I will not let anyone who treacherously surrender to the enemy, I will kill one to warn others, I want to give a warning to future generations, Fan Wencheng and others are their role models for anyone who betrays the country and surrenders to the enemy."

Xiao Jiu nodded, went out to greet a few guards, and told them to arrest people.

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps outside the house, and then a guard came into the house to report: "Report to Commander-in-Chief, Sun Chuanting, Mr. Sun, please see me."

Li Jingwen was overjoyed when he heard this: "Bo Ya is back, invite him in quickly."

The guard took the order and hurried out.

After Shaoqing, Sun Chuanting followed the guards to Dongnuan Pavilion, met Li Jing and Zhu Youjian, and the head of Sun Chuanting bowed to him and said, "My subject, Sun Chuanting, pays his respects to the emperor and the commander-in-chief."

"Sun Aiqing is free." Zhu Youjian waved his hands.

"Hehe, Boya, come, sit here." Li Jing pointed to the chair beside him and said.

"Thank you, Marshal." Sun Chuanting clasped his fists together.

Seeing Sun Chuanting acting like a soldier, Li Jing smiled and said: "Bo Ya, I haven't seen you for half a year. You are much darker than before, but your body is also tough."

"Hehe, the sun on your head and the steam on your feet won't turn black?" Sun Chuanting said with a smile.

Li Jing laughed loudly when he heard this: "I didn't expect your speaking style to become so simple! Come, drink tea."

Sun Chuanting took the teacup with a smile: "The commander-in-chief appointed Sun to supervise the construction of the shipyard. Sun spends every day with those craftsmen, and they can't understand the polite words. It's not simple."

Li Jing nodded with a smile: "A few days ago you led the navy to capture the islands in Liaodong and won a complete victory. It seems that your training for the past six months has been very effective!"

Sun Chuanting shook his head: "No, it's still far away. It's luck this time, and there are no storms at sea. Otherwise, the consequences will be unpredictable."

Li Jing waved his hands and said with a smile: "This is very good, don't forget, these soldiers have never been in contact with water warfare before, and some of them can't even swim. What about them?"

Sun Chuanting shook his head: "The transportation of grain to Liaodong this time is of great importance, and Sun pulled these recruits out as a last resort. This battle is not as optimistic as the commander imagined. Compared with the Qing army, our army is far behind in handling ships The level of commanding the fleet is not as good as that of the Chinese army, and the level of commanding the fleet is not as good. The reason why we can win is firstly because of the weather, there are no wind and waves on the sea, secondly, our army has superior weapons and can suppress the Qing army, and thirdly, the Qing army has been defeated in Liaodong. Losing the battle means losing morale. If any of these three advantages are missing, this battle will be a disaster."

Li Jing nodded silently when he heard the words, pondered for a while, Li Jing looked at Sun Chuanting and said with a smile: "You must have a lot of ideas to tell me when you come to Beijing this time? Tell me, if you have any difficulties and requirements, as long as I can Do it, I promise you."

Sun Chuanting clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Then I will thank the commander first."

Li Jing waved his hands and said with a smile: "You have a bad problem, you are always so polite."

Sun Chuanting said with a smile: "Then I will not be polite. Marshal, Chuanting wants to lay off a group of soldiers, and then recruit new recruits, recruiting a group of fishermen who grew up by the sea as sailors."

"It's your duty to recruit new troops, why do you need to ask me for instructions?" Li Jingqi said.

Sun Chuanting smiled wryly and said: "Commander, Chuanting's original staff and General Zhou's subordinates, the total number of sailors is more than [-]. I originally thought that as long as they go through training, these people can become sailors. After the screening, there were only more than [-] people who could be used.

If I continue to recruit soldiers, it will increase the burden of military expenses, but if I don’t recruit new soldiers, the navy has 5000 men, but only [-] soldiers to fight.Therefore, I want to abolish a group of soldiers, but the abolition of troops is not the power of the court, how can I not ask the commander in chief? "

Li Jingjing nodded: "Bo Ya is very worried, but the troops you belong to are all veterans of many battles, it is a pity to dismiss these people, how about this, I will assign these troops to Sun Meng, and you recruit a group of new recruits .”

"Then I'll recruit less first, and then recruit 3000 more soldiers. If there are too many soldiers, the burden on the country will be too heavy." Sun Chuanting pondered for a moment.

Hearing this, Li Jing couldn't help sighing: "Since ancient times, the leading generals have always thought that their own soldiers are too small, but Boya is afraid that his soldiers will be a burden to the court. It is really rare for you to think about the court. But the navy has only 6000 people. If it is not enough, you need 1 people anyway. Just recruit 7000 people.

As for the military expenditure you mentioned, I really should think about it. Daming now has abolished the guards in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places, and there are still guards and local garrisons in other provinces.

At present, the total strength of the five major military regions and the garrisons in various places is nearly 60, but less than 20 are really capable of fighting. It seems that it is time to abolish the army. "

Sun Chuanting hurriedly said: "In fact, the 60 soldiers of the Ming Dynasty is not too much, or even not enough. The key is that the military salary given by the general is too high, especially the military salary of the Jishi Army is several times that of other troops. The annual military expenses of the Guangji Shijun More than 200 million taels of silver."

Li Jingjing nodded: "Bo Ya is right, but the military salary of the Jishi Army has been fixed, and it is impossible to change it. We can only think of a safe way to solve this problem."

Sun Chuanting said: "This problem is not difficult to solve. In the future, as long as the Jishi Army does not expand its army, it will gradually ease when the soldiers get older and retire, or send soldiers from the Jishi Army to serve as officers in various units. pressure on military spending."

Hearing this, Li Jing thought for a while, then nodded slightly.

In fact, Li Jing also thought about breaking up the Jishi army, but before Li Jing's foundation was not stable, he had to rely on the Jishi army to take care of himself. Now Liaodong is about to be pacified, and the northern provinces are completely under Li Jing's control. Jiangxi, Nanzhili, Huguang and other places are gradually being controlled by Li Jing. At this time, it will not be a big problem to break up the Jishi army.

After disbanding, let the soldiers of the Jishi Army serve as officers, then the contradiction of military pay can be easily solved, and at the same time, the combat effectiveness of each army can be greatly improved.

On the surface, this approach has not reduced military expenditures, but in fact it has reduced military expenditures in disguise.

Because the military pay of the local armies in various places did not increase much after Li Jing took power, the monthly salary of ordinary soldiers is only about one tael of silver, and the soldiers of the frontier army, that is, the troops of Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui, are only about two taels, accounting for the majority. It's actually officers and generals.After the soldiers of the Jishi Army became officers, the original officers could let them retire, which invisibly reduced military expenditures.In the final analysis, it is not soldiers who are disarmed, but officers.

For Ming Dynasty, 60 soldiers is already the lowest figure for such a big country, and the military expenditure of more than 2000 million taels a year is not too much. The key is whether the country can afford these military expenditures.

For the original Daming, 2000 million taels of silver was definitely not available, but Li Jing could.

Because the tax policy formulated by Li Jing is different, and the national policy is also different.

Li Jing vigorously promotes commerce and develops handicrafts and industries for what is taxation.

Why did Li Jing want to win Zheng Zhilong, because Zheng Zhilong took over the foreign trade, and did not pay a penny to the state. This is something that Li Jing cannot tolerate. If Zheng Zhilong is taken down, the foreign trade is dominated by the state, and it can at least generate income for Daming every year. 2000 million taels of silver.

In addition, Li Jing has already begun to promote banknotes in some areas. When banknotes are used throughout the country, the pressure on the national treasury will be relieved a lot.

Although the value of banknotes has to be linked to silver, there is no doubt that the issuance of banknotes must be higher than the value of silver reserves. There are certain risks in doing so, but unless people all over the country exchange banknotes for silver, otherwise, the country is It will not be exaggerated by a run.

(End of this chapter)