Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Chapter 120 Military Academy

As dawn broke, the drums on the Meridian Gate tower had just sounded three times when civil and military officials lined up in front of Fengtian Gate according to their ranks.

Today is the regular court session, and most of those present are high-ranking officials from various departments and censors, numbering about a hundred.

Although not as grand as the grand court assembly on the first and fifteenth of each month, all the key figures who were supposed to attend were present.

Xing'an sang a line as usual: "Ministers, if you have something to report, please do so; otherwise, the court may adjourn."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Kan, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward and knelt down: "Your subject, Li Kan, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, has a memorial to present."

The reorganization of the Ganzhou garrison has been underway for over a month, and I have heard that initial results have been achieved in Gansu.

Your Majesty, I request that the relevant offenders be escorted back to the capital.

The case will be handled by the Ministry of Justice!

Zhu Qiyu glanced at him: "I already know about the matter in Ganzhou."

Wu Ning's memorial arrived a few days ago.

The family of Ren Li, the General of Ganzhou, is already on their way back to Beijing.

As for the others, they need to be investigated on the spot and evidence needs to be seized.

"What, you don't trust the people I sent?"

As he finished speaking, Zhu Qiyu's eyes suddenly sharpened as he glared at Li Kan.

Wang Jing and others have confirmed that they sold military supplies to the Oirat Mongols.

This is treason, this is betrayal of the country!

Furthermore, preliminary investigations have revealed that they have connections with a duke's steward in the capital.

Should they be escorted back to Beijing?

They have a million ways to be "accidentally" on the road.

Even if you successfully arrive in Beijing.

There are also a million ways they could be "accidentally" imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice.

Li Kan trembled under Zhu Qiyu's glare and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Your subject dares not, Your subject dares not."

Taking advantage of the moment when he returned to the train, Zhu Qiyu suddenly spoke up: "Since the matter of Ganzhou is not urgent, I have an important matter to discuss with you all."

The ministers were invigorated and all looked at Zhu Qiyu.

Zhu Qiyu slowly said, "Since the Tumu Crisis, I have often pondered one thing: How did my Ming army come to this?"

The atmosphere in the hall immediately became heavy upon hearing this.

Zhu Qiyu continued, "More than 100,000 elite troops were wiped out in one fell swoop at Tumu Fortress."

Are the soldiers not brave?

Is the general incompetent?

I don't think that's entirely true.

His gaze fell on Yu Qian: "Young Master Yu, tell me, where did the defeat at the Battle of Tumu Fortress lie?"

Yu Qian stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the defeat at Tumu Fortress was due to the fact that the generals did not know their soldiers and the soldiers did not know their generals."

The Emperor Emeritus hastily led a personal expedition.

Soldiers from various garrisons were temporarily assembled into an army.

Their commands were inconsistent, and their operations were chaotic.

Furthermore, Wang Zhen abused his power and arbitrarily changed the marching route.

This left the army stranded in waterless territory, ultimately allowing the Oirats to take advantage of the situation.

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "What Junior Protector Yu said is right."

But what I want to ask is, why are the generals ignorant of their troops, and the troops ignorant of their generals?

Yu Qian replied, "I believe the root cause lies in our dynasty's military system."

The soldiers of the garrison served in the army for generations, but the officers' positions were mostly hereditary.

There are many who are unfamiliar with military strategy and tactics.

The three battalions of the Beijing Garrison, though nominally training troops, had no real combat experience.

Although our dynasty established the Capital Guard Military Academy, it mainly taught Confucian classics.

Most martial arts skills involve archery, horsemanship, and horsemanship; very few people are actually capable of commanding troops in battle.

Zhu Qiyu interjected, "So I'm thinking, could we establish an institution specifically to train generals capable of commanding troops in battle?"

The ministers looked at each other, unsure of what to say next.

After a moment, Hu Dan stepped forward and said, "Is what Your Majesty is saying similar to the establishment of the Imperial Academy?"

However, the Imperial Academy was established to support scholars for the purpose of selecting officials through the imperial examinations.

Military generals have always been either soldiers or hereditary leaders; if a separate institution were established to train them—”

Zhu Qiyu interrupted him: "Minister Hu, can a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from the Imperial Academy directly become a county magistrate?"

Hu Dan was taken aback: "No. After passing the imperial examination, one must observe government affairs for several months before being appointed as an official in a remote area."

Starting as a county magistrate or registrar, one must gain experience over several years before being allowed to govern a region.

Zhu Qiyu asked, "Then why can generals rise to the top in one step?"

A hereditary commander.

He inherited his father's position at the age of twenty and was in charge of thousands of people. Did he learn how to manage them?

Has he ever fought in a war?

Can he read a map?

Hu Dan was speechless when asked the question.

Zhu Qiyu continued, "I have heard that when Emperor Taizu Gao first established the empire, he set up a Grand Hall in Nanjing."

They invited renowned scholars to teach military strategy and tactics to the sons of princes and meritorious officials.

After Emperor Taizong moved the capital to Beijing, he also established the Wuying Hall in the palace and ordered the sons of the emperor's sons and nobles to practice martial arts.

However, these were all stopgap measures and never became a fixed system.

He looked at Yu Qian: "Young Master Yu, what do you think we should call a permanent institution specifically for training generals?"

Without hesitation, Yu Qian replied, "Your Majesty, I believe it can be called the Military Academy."

Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian had already discussed the matter of the Military Academy.

Today, it was merely Zhu Qiyu who brought it up through Yu Qian.

A few days ago, when Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian were discussing it, they originally wanted to call it the Beijing Military Academy or the Ming Dynasty Military Academy.

However, Yu Qian did not know what a military academy was, so he suggested calling it the Military Academy.

Yu Qian's explanation was: "Those who talk about martial arts are those who talk about and practice martial arts."

A hall is a place or venue.

This name is both concise and clear, and conforms to ancient customs.

Emperor Taizong of Tang once established the Hongwen Academy to select literary scholars from all over the country.

Emperor Renzong of Song once established a military academy to teach military strategy.

Although our dynasty does not have the name of martial arts, it has the substance of martial arts.

During the Yongle reign, Emperor Taizong ordered the sons of nobles to practice martial arts at the Wuying Hall every day, where they were personally instructed by Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying.

This is the rudimentary form of martial arts.

After hearing this, Zhu Qiyu felt that it made a lot of sense.

It was better than directly proposing the concept of a "school" himself, so he agreed to Yu Qian's suggestion of a "military academy."

Zhu Qiyu nodded and then looked at the assembled officials below.

Seeing that they seemed to still be pondering Yu Qian's so-called Military Academy, he continued, "Military Academy, what a good name."

So, how should this military academy be structured?

Yu Qian said, "I believe it can be divided into three levels."

The first level involves selecting brave and skilled young soldiers with basic literacy from various garrisons to study in the academy.

The course lasts from six months to one year, and teaches basic subjects such as military strategy, geography, firearms, and military formations.

After graduation, he returned to his original garrison and was promoted to junior officer and then commander.

"The second level is to select outstanding captains and centurions from various garrisons to enter the training hall for further study."

The course lasts one to two years, teaching more in-depth subjects such as strategy, logistics, and intelligence.

Upon graduation, he was promoted to the rank of centurion and then commander of a thousand.

"The third level selects outstanding commanders and officers from various garrisons to study in the main hall."

The course lasts from six months to two years, during which participants study historical battles and exchange practical experience.

Upon graduation, one could be promoted to the rank of brigadier general, deputy general, or even commander-in-chief.

Zhu Qiyu then asked, "Where did the instructors come from?"

Yu Qian said, "I believe that instructors can be divided into three categories."

First, military officers with practical combat experience.

Famous generals such as Shi Heng, Fan Guang, and Yang Hong could take turns giving lectures at the military academy and sharing their practical combat experiences.

Secondly, those civil officials who were well-versed in military strategy.

Scholars such as Ru Chen, Minister Hu, and Academician Chen could teach military strategy and theory.

Thirdly, those with superb skills.

For example, the firearms experts in the Divine Machine Battalion and the cartographers in the Craftsmen Battalion could teach specialized skills such as firearms use and map drawing.

Zhu Qiyu: "Good idea. These are experiences gained at the cost of our lives. It would be a pity not to pass them on to future generations."

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone stepped out of the train.

Everyone looked over and saw that it was Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Justice.

Yu Shiyue bowed deeply and exclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise!"

I second the proposal to establish a military academy!

I believe this is the foundation of a strong army and a strategy for securing the nation!

Zhu Qiyu was somewhat surprised. Yu Shiyue was known for his caution, so why was he being so proactive today?

Yu Shiyue continued, "I have read history and found that the prosperous Han and Tang dynasties all had martial arts institutions."

The Han dynasty established the Qimen Gate and the Yulin Gate to house fierce warriors within the palace.

The Tang Dynasty established military examinations to select military talents from across the land.

Although our dynasty has enjoyed peace for several decades, its military preparedness has fallen into disrepair, and many of its generals are unfamiliar with battle.

The Tumu Crisis is clear proof of this!

If martial arts had been established earlier, things wouldn't have come to this."