****
When the memorial signed by Meng Ke and Jiang Yihan, requesting troops to be recruited in Liaodong, arrived in Beijing, Qin Mu was discussing matters with ministers in the Huangji Palace.
Because the memorials of Meng Ke and Jiang Yihan were sent on a six-hundred-mile expedited basis, they were sent directly to the Jinluan Hall without having to go through the Ministry of War.
After Qin Mu read it, he asked the eunuch in the palace to read it to the ministers in court.
As soon as Yang Chao, the right minister of the Ministry of Hubu, heard that another army was to be recruited, he immediately objected: "I am reporting to the king that our dynasty has raised fifty and a half million soldiers, which is a huge waste. What's more, today the slaves have been wiped out, and the Central Plains is gradually stabilized. It should have been At this time, there is no reason to reduce the number of troops and reduce the expenditure of the treasury to benefit the people.”
Ai Nanying, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, also followed up and said: "I think what Mr. Yang said is reasonable. Throughout the dynasties, after the country was first established, the military was reduced to allow the people to recuperate and recuperate. Now that the Central Plains has just been brought under the rule of the Qin Dynasty, the various places are very dilapidated. Thousands of people are crying for food. At this time, my king should be thinking about how to reduce the number of troops and reduce military expenditures to benefit the people. It is not appropriate to recruit more troops. "
The words of Yang Chao and Ai Nanying are not the foolish opinions of scholars. The reason why all dynasties are like this is very simple. Before the unification of the world, wars were fought for many years. The mountains and rivers were ruined and the people were in dire straits. What the world needed most at this time was to recuperate.
In this Northern Expedition, the Qin Dynasty was devastated and did not cause much losses in terms of military strength. It was indeed not appropriate to expand its army. If the army is further expanded, on the one hand, the national treasury will be overwhelmed; on the other hand, due to the lack of men in various places, there will be a serious shortage of labor force.
Qin Mu has actually been considering this issue, and he also intends to dismantle the army and change it to a conscription system. The so-called conscription system is not something that came into being in later generations. In ancient times, people were usually required to serve. In the Tang Dynasty's military system, even the weapons were made by the soldiers themselves.
Military households in the Ming Dynasty. It is also the son who inherits the father's legacy and passes it on from generation to generation. In short, the ancient conscription system was not like that of later generations, where you voluntarily joined the army. In ancient times, you had to be forced to obey even if you didn't want to.
Under this general premise, Qin Mu really did not want to increase the number of soldiers recruited. He asked the ministers in the palace: "Meng Ke and Jiang Yilu mentioned in their memorials that when the soldiers in the Pass arrived in Liaodong, it was difficult to adapt to the huge temperature difference between day and night in autumn and winter. Many people fell ill due to acclimatization. This is indeed an urgent problem to be solved. , if you don’t recruit troops in Liaodong, what other countermeasures do you ministers have?”
Feng Lingnan, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said: "To inform my king, I believe that it is normal for the Central Plains soldiers to be a little acclimatized when they have just left the customs. After a little time, they will gradually adapt to it, so my king does not need to be too anxious.
Now the Qin army has a lot of troops. Moreover, there is currently a serious shortage of local labor. If we recruit more troops, it will not only place a heavy burden on the national treasury, but also make the local labor even more scarce. It is extremely detrimental to the recovery of people's livelihood.
Moreover, recruiting troops in Liaodong for fighting outside the customs will cause great hidden dangers. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, most of the Liaodong soldiers were locals. Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui, etc. are actually too big to lose, and it is almost difficult for Mingting to control them. We must learn from the past mistakes and take precautions. "
This is true. During the Chongzhen period, the Liaodong Army was actually controlled by the large Liaodong families at that time. People like Xiangzu Dashou and Wu Sangui were not so much following Chongzhen’s orders to resist the Manchus as they were fighting against the Qing Dynasty. Protect your family's vested interests.
The capital of the Ming Dynasty was actually not very far from Liaodong, and this phenomenon still occurred. In the future, when the Qin Dynasty established its capital in Nanjing and the mountains were high and the emperor was far away, would this phenomenon accelerate
In short, although the formation of the Liaodong military group in the late Ming Dynasty had its complicated reasons and processes, since there was such a precedent, Da Qin should try to avoid it.
In later generations, the system of garrisoning in remote places was generally adopted. What was to be prevented was the emergence of localized military groups like Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui.
From this point of view, it is indeed not an option to rely entirely on Liaodong people for the defense of Liaodong. This will weaken the imperial court's control over Liaodong.
Meng Ke's request to recruit troops in Liaodong originally seemed simple, just to solve the problem of insufficient combat effectiveness caused by the acclimatization of the soldiers in the pass.
But after careful discussion, we found that this is a very complicated matter, and acting recklessly will bring many unexpected sequelae.
Qin Mu then asked: "Mongolia is in great chaos. Da Qin's military strength in Liaodong must be strengthened and it must be able to quickly form combat effectiveness to further control Monan Mongolia. Otherwise, when Monan Mongolia is naturally annexed and the power reorganization is completed, Da Qin will It will be extremely detrimental.”
Sima An came out of the squad and said: "What King Qin said is very true. I believe that although there are some things that we must pay attention to, we should not stop eating because of choking. It is bitter cold in Liaodong and the people are fierce. Many young people can fight on horseback. Recruit such young people Joining the army, firstly, it can reduce the chance of local rebellion, which is conducive to the stability of Liaodong, and secondly, it can quickly increase the military strength of Liaodong;
The minister believes that in order to prevent Liaodong from forming an invincible situation, we should recruit generals instead of soldiers, recruit soldiers from Liaodong, and deploy generals from the pass. Once the soldiers from Liaodong are promoted to a high position above the rank of general due to merit, they will be transferred to the pass and no longer allowed to stay. He led troops locally in Liaodong.
In this way, phenomena like Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui should be avoided. As for the number of troops, it is enough to first remove some of the old, weak, sick and disabled people in the army. Now that the world has not yet completely stabilized, it is not yet time to conduct large-scale disarmament. "
Sima An's plan still needs some questions, but it is considered relatively comprehensive. Moreover, as a civil servant, he took the initiative to propose that it was not appropriate to conduct large-scale disarmament now. This was entirely out of public interest and a conclusion he reached after assessing the situation. Qin Mu was very pleased with this.
Therefore, he followed Sima An's plan and issued an edict agreeing to recruit 10,000 troops in Liaodong. Of course, this was not recruited by Meng Ke, but by the Ministry of War sending people to Liaodong to recruit.
As the saying goes, state-owned laws and families have family rules. From now on, this must be strictly enforced. Generals cannot have the right to independently recruit troops. Even if they want to recruit one person, it must be implemented by the Ministry of War.
When Qin Mu returned to Qianqing Palace from the morning court, Han Zanzhou brought a letter and said: "King Qin, this is a letter just delivered by someone sent by the Queen."
Qin Mu took it and opened it to look at it. Yang Zhi first said hello, then congratulated on the victory of the Northern Expedition, and then talked about some things in the Nanjing Palace. Li Xiangjun, Qiaoer, Gu Hanyan, Dong Xiaowan all mentioned it, and then there was his son. After Qin Ye died, Yang Zhi praised her son a few words in the letter, but she probably didn't feel like praising her too much because she felt that her words didn't convey what she wanted. Now her son has also begun to study, and is taught by Master Fu Qing. In the letter, Yang Zhi also specially included a piece of "Three Character Classic" copied by Qin Ye. It seems that the writing is quite correct. This is probably what Yang Zhi is most proud of. After all, Qin Ye is still less than three years old and can copy. The "Three Character Classic" is indeed good, and Qin Mu, as a father, is very pleased.
The part about Qiao'er in the letter was written in different handwriting. Qin Mu could tell that it was Qiao's handwriting. It seemed that the letter was "co-authored" by the two of them.
Seeing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but think of the first time he met Qiao'er in Nanjing. This girl robbed him of a cookie, but paid back 60 million taels. Who would have thought? In addition, Qin Mu and her were more dependent on each other, so he made her a concubine before the marriage was consummated. Thinking of her, Qin Mu felt a warm current flowing through his heart.
At the end of the letter, Yang Zhi focused on Bian Yujing. She said that Bian Yujing was about to give birth in more than a month and was in good health, so she told him not to worry.
She was pregnant for ten months, and after counting the days, it was indeed almost time to give birth. Qin Mu thought that he would definitely not be able to return to Nanjing before Bian Yujing gave birth.
Qin Mu remembered a poem inexplicably: Suddenly seeing the color of willows on the street, he regretted teaching his husband to look for a title. For several women in Nanjing, Qin Mu and they had been together less and more apart in the past few years, especially Yang Zhi. As the head wife, she always stayed behind. Although Yang Zhi was not the kind of scheming woman, Qin Mu felt reassured by her precisely because of this.
Facts have also proved that every time she went on an expedition, as a queen, she never made waves behind the scenes, always adhered to her duties, never interfered in politics, and could play a very good role in stabilizing the rear. If it were a woman like Da Yu'er, I'm afraid she wouldn't be so comfortable.
Thinking of this, Qin Mu felt somewhat regretful. He asked the palace maid to sharpen the ink and wrote a letter back to Yang Zhi. After some gentle words, he took the initiative to tell her that the red lady was pregnant and was staying in Kaifeng temporarily. Finally, he thought about it and added a sentence at the end of the letter: We are husband and wife, and our love is unquestionable.
***************************
ps: Other people’s Golden Week is a relaxing trip, but I’m half exhausted. While keeping up to date, I also had to check and revise old chapters chapter by chapter. The word "harmony" almost made me fall down. I was too tired to complain. Five days passed in a blink of an eye. Brothers and sisters, Is the monthly subscription available? Please give me some encouragement, I'm extremely weak...
..(To be continued...)
...