The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 1754

[1754. Chapter 1667 The First Army in the World]

Liu Jian was also stunned. He looked at the list carefully and couldn’t help but click his tongue.

This is just one guard with 5,000 people.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s idea is to set up a standing army of thirty-six guards in the future.

Not only that, in the future, it is even necessary to establish a system to ensure armaments. If there is a major war, the guard of 5,000 people will be expanded to 20,000 people.

If calculated this way, how can the military supplies… have so much money in the national treasury?

This is tantamount to a bottomless pit.

Liu Jian glanced at Li Dongyang and Xie Qian with complicated eyes, and Li Dongyang smiled bitterly and said: “Your Highness has good intentions. The current guard station is indeed full of problems. Perhaps changing the hereditary guard station to a standing army can indeed eliminate many hidden dangers.” . This is the first army established by His Majesty. It is understandable that His Majesty the Crown Prince is eager for success, but… two million taels of silver, even if it is to be maintained in the future, it will require more than one million taels of silver a year, and it will need to be expanded in the future. , more health centers need to be set up, and the money required will only increase! Hey, how can I, Ming, have so much spare energy? “What do you think about

Liu Jian’s face ?”

Feeling helpless, he sighed and said, “Didn’t Your Majesty already make it very clear? There is no reason to break one’s trust in the edict issued by the Prince of Supervising the Kingdom. This is related to military affairs and should not be underestimated. The Ministry of War will do its best on this matter.” “Cooperate.”

“What?” Ma Wensheng almost exploded when he heard “cooperate.” He came here to ask for support, not for those two words.

Ma Wensheng was not stupid, and he immediately pointed out a difficult point: “If the Ministry of War wants to cooperate, the Ministry of Household Affairs must first allocate money and food. If not, how can we cooperate?”

Li Dongyang heard this, thought about it carefully, and then glanced at Liu Jian, smiled.

He seemed to understand the implication of Liu Jian’s words, so he said: “This is easy to handle. The Ministry of War and other places should save some money. The money that should be allocated to the Ministry of Revenue will not be less.”

Ma Wensheng was stunned for a moment. , I never expected that even Li Dongyang, who is also the Minister of Household Affairs, would also agree with this!

He couldn’t understand how the cabinet ministers, who usually spent tens of thousands of taels of money, suddenly became so generous.

Ma Wensheng was still unwilling to give in, so he said with a sullen face: “Gentlemen, I have something to say, but I don’t know whether I should say it or not. Although in the past, those censors and officials in the Imperial Academy were chasing after the wind and shadows all day long, saying nothing, and impeaching everywhere. Inviting people to buy people’s hearts is a great evil. After your Majesty’s rectification over the past few years, the atmosphere has been greatly changed, which can be said to have eliminated the old disadvantages of sitting down and talking. If something is wrong, you should be silent about anything. What you should avoid is overcorrecting. How can we let such absurd and nonsense policies go unchecked? Instead of stopping them, we condone them… What is the reason for this? ?”

Liu Jian remained silent as if the old god was there.

Li Dongyang smiled, glanced at Liu Jian, and said, “How can you know if it’s a bad government without trying?”

Ma Wensheng raised his voice and said, “But these five thousand people alone are two million taels of silver? Li

Dongyang said: “Since Ma Shangshu still knows that two million taels of silver is not a decimal, and feels distressed, then…in the palace…”

Suddenly…

this is really a word that wakes up the dreamer, who has been annoyed all the time. Ma Wensheng finally understood something at this time.

The cabinet opposed it and poured cold water on the prince.

It’s better to just go with the flow.

On the one hand, I heard that the cost was so high, and the army alone spent so much money, I’m afraid His Majesty felt very distressed.

On the other hand, the prince spent so much money and only built a new army of 5,000 men. Sooner or later, he would hit a wall.

But everyone knows that the current Crown Prince has a temperament that will not shed tears until he sees the coffin. If he strongly opposes it now, it will only cause His Highness the Crown Prince to backlash. Who knows whether His Highness the Crown Prince will do something earth-shattering without support? Let him give up on his own!

Sure enough… ginger is still spicy.

Ma Wensheng thought about it, and his heavy heart suddenly became much lighter, so he said happily: “Okay, that’s the case, then… the Ministry of War is doing its best to cooperate with the prince, and the Ministry of War will find a way to raise the money that should be paid, and the manpower required by the prince. The Ministry of War will also provide the necessary resources and assistance.”

Liu Jian said, “Don’t forget that the previous guard system has reached the point where it must be changed. The prince’s regulations are just excessive, but this does not mean that we, the Ming Dynasty. It is still conservative and incomplete, so… the Ministry of War takes advantage of His Highness the Crown Prince’s troubles to come up with a charter. The purpose of this charter is to be stable and innovative, but not to go too far. This is no small matter, do you understand? ?”

Ma Wensheng had something to worry about. He felt deeply that he had a heavy responsibility, so he said solemnly: “The Ministry of War will do its best and will not let Mr. Liu down this time.”

“Very good” Liu Jian nodded and said: “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Qi have good intentions…”

He stopped talking and shook his head.

………

This time, Zhu Houzhao was also surprised. He never expected… This time, the Ministry of War was actually very happy.

Almost give you whatever you ask for.

The latest artillery, the latest muskets… Because the Ministry of War did not have any reserves, they quickly placed an order. All ammunition was paid promptly.

Not only that, the camp prepared for the new army by the Ministry of War also freed up land from the original pro-army barracks, and hired craftsmen to repair it again.

As for the new military uniforms designed by Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan, the Ministry of War had no objections and directly looked for workshops to produce them.

This new military uniform no longer wears armor.

Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan agreed that the form of war in the future will undergo earth-shaking changes. Melee combat has been relegated from the mainstream to the bottom stream. And because of the large-scale application of firearms, sooner or later the enemies the Ming Dynasty will face will also use firearms. opponent, then the armor becomes useless.

Once this heavy armor is useless, it will be replaced by wear-resistant military uniforms. At the same time, in order to ensure supplies, the lieutenant general will equip more personal luggage.

The Ministry of War still has no objection to this.

The next step is to recruit people. Ming Dynasty lacks everything but people!

A group of military academy backbones with orders from the prince had already been sharpening their knives. According to Qi Guogong’s instructions, they went to southern Jiangxi, western Zhejiang, Fujian, northern Guangdong, Shandong, Shaanxi and other places to drill.

The southerners… live in the deep mountains and have difficult living conditions, just like the Yiwu and Yongkang soldiers of the Navy. In order to survive, these people urinate and teach by words and deeds. This ability of large-scale fighting is passed down from ancestors and can be traced back to the Yanhuang Dynasty. period. Pride, like Shandong, Shaanxi and other places, has always been tall and strong-boned, so it is also the best candidate for recruiting soldiers.

This time… we no longer only recruit military households, but carefully select them, and the salary they are given is not low. If they go out to work, they will probably only get this salary.

Not only that, for those men living in remote places, this salary is naturally more attractive.

Soon, a steady stream of soldiers began to enter Beijing.

Here at the Ministry of War, we have also begun to register all the newcomers.

Immediately afterwards… Wang Shouren received an order, and he was appointed as the commander of the First Army without any surprise.

This Mr. Wang Bo’an can be said to be Yun Wen Yun Wu. He is a good piece of steel and is always used on the cutting edge.

From being a civil servant to a relatively low-status military attache, most people would probably feel unwilling to accept it, but Wang Shouren has never been an ordinary person. Without any complaints, he shouldered the burden without saying a word and entered the empty military camp first. It’s time to take office.

Fang Jifan couldn’t help but sigh, Wang Shouren was the most conscientious among his disciples!

At the beginning of spring, all the newcomers gathered, and then… Wang Shouren began to practice according to the method.

He needs to formulate a training method that can be promoted.

It didn’t take long for Wang Shouren’s charter to be sent to the emperor.

Emperor Hongzhi specially summoned his ministers for discussion.

At this time, everything revived, and Emperor Hongzhi’s head was already covered with silver hair. He looked much older, and he seemed worried about the establishment of this standing army.

The princes Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan are very ambitious. Compared with the old emperor, they appear to be more capable.

Liu Jian and others are naturally present.

These days, the Ministry of War spends money almost like water, and it can be said that it responds to the First Army’s requests.

Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t help but shudder when he saw the money and food the Ministry of War wasted on…

This was so expensive that Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t help but suspect that he was raising five thousand men instead of soldiers.

Xiao Jing took Wang Shouren’s memorial and after reading it, everyone fell silent.

Wang Shouren’s proposition for the new army is that the way to train troops does not depend on the chief officer. The strength of the army and the strength of the commander are of little significance. Rather, the army needs to cultivate a group of capable low-level military attachés and backbone veterans. These People are the guarantee for an army to maintain its combat effectiveness. Therefore, protecting low-level military attaches and veterans is a top priority.

In addition, the military training minutes particularly advocate the role of the backbone.

In order for the army to comply with orders and prohibitions, in addition to logistical support to make officers and soldiers worry-free, there is also a system of drills and military laws that must be followed.

Of course… in this regulation, to put it bluntly, money is still required.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned slightly when he heard this, and turned to look at Ma Wensheng: “What do you think of Ma Qing’s family?”

Ma Wensheng said: “Your Majesty, the king commanded Yun Wen and Wu, and I didn’t hear anything wrong. But…he proposed The soldier hierarchy divides soldiers into three levels. The most questionable one is the salary of veterans. Is it too much? There are also low-level military attachés… these seventh-grade, eighth-grade, and ninth-grade military attachés, among others Salary…”

“Father,” Zhu Houzhao said: “It’s so hard for the soldiers to train day and night, and the military law is strict. If we can’t let them have nothing to worry about, how can we let them train in peace in case of emergencies? I think this is the safest charter. I am a person who has led soldiers and knows the hardships of the soldiers, but the court is always willing to spend money on this, which will inevitably make people feel chilled.”

Emperor Hongzhi gave Zhu Houzhao a helpless look. , I feel a dull pain in my heart. This child doesn’t know how expensive firewood and rice are when he is not a family member.

“This matter… let’s discuss it later.” Emperor Hongzhi said he felt sorry for the money, but he was still determined to take another look and see if the First Army could achieve any results.

Seeing this, Ma Wensheng suddenly said: “Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report.”

“Huh?” Emperor Hongzhi looked at Ma Wensheng.

Ma Wensheng said: “A few days ago, I sent someone to inspect the Yuzhou Guard camp, but I found that the Yuzhou Guards Ji Senran was well-organized. His commander Jiang Bin was stubborn and brave. The Yuzhou Guards were proud of daring to fight. Back then… … They participated in the battle against the Tatars and made meritorious deeds many times. Today, they still guard Yuzhou, and their officers and men are elite. “

The Yuzhou Guards…

Ma Wensheng suddenly mentioned the Yuzhou Guards, which made many people interested .

stand up.

Obviously this was an ordinary guard post, but as Minister of War, Ma Wensheng praised it highly.

You know, the Weizhou Guards raised by the imperial court do not need money. A Yuzhou Guard who does not need money can become an elite, and as Ma Wensheng said, a strong army, then…

others are naturally speculating in their hearts. What.

But when Fang Jifan heard the word Jiang Bin, he was shocked in his heart. Weizhou…Jiang Bin…

but that…bastard who was favored by Zhu Houzhao in history, regarded as his adopted son, and had great power?

(End of chapter)