Zhang Jing once again rejected Zhu Ping'an's request on the grounds that the government office was in deficit and had no extra silver to withdraw.
The Yingtian Military Department is in serious deficit and has no treasury silver? !
no!
After Zhang Jing was transferred to Yingtian Military Department, he paid close attention to the Japanese invasion and actively raised grain and silver, recruited brave men, and prepared to resist and eliminate the Japanese pirates. Zhu Ping'an had learned about it before he came. The Ministry of War had 27,000 taels of silver in the treasury. After Zhang Jing took office, he loaned 20,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of War for pastures, withdrew 10,000 taels of silver from the Yingtian Ministry of Revenue for grain and grass, borrowed 50,000 taels of silver from Lianghuai salt, Suzhou Prefecture Huchaoguan ship materials, and Houhu fines of more than 50,000 taels... ... Adding up all the silver in the treasury of the Ministry of War, there must be about 200,000 taels. How could there be nothing if he only withdrew 5,000 taels of silver!
If you have it but don’t give it to yourself, then there is a problem.
Zhu Pingan narrowed his eyes slightly, observing Zhang Jing carefully without leaving any trace, but he found nothing. Yes, Zhang Jing was not an ordinary person, he was both a man of literary and military skills, how could he observe anything
"Sir Zhang, the Japanese invasion is becoming more and more serious. The people are suffering greatly. Ping'an urgently needs this salary so that he can reorganize the military, lead the militia, and do his part to resist the Japanese pirates." Zhu Ping'an bowed again and said earnestly.
"I know that the Japanese invasion is serious," Zhang Jing replied. "It is precisely because of the serious Japanese invasion that our army has spent a lot of money on mobilizing troops and recruiting brave warriors. As a result, our army is in serious deficit and has no extra money to pay Lord Zhu."
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan finally understood that it was not that the Ministry of War had no silver in the treasury, but that Zhang Jing wanted to use the silver to deploy troops and recruit brave warriors. Thinking about the questions Zhang Jing had just asked him, he probably felt that he was still a child and had no experience in commanding troops. He planned to lead a militia, which was not as good as the officers and soldiers of the garrison and the brave new army. Therefore, he felt that his side was unreliable and not worth the five thousand silver. In his opinion, the role he could play in deploying troops and recruiting brave warriors was far more useful than leading the militia himself during this period of increasing Japanese invasion.
Weigh the two.
Zhang Jing made the choice without hesitation. He withheld his own salary and used the money to deploy troops and recruit brave warriors.
"Sir Zhang, the officers and soldiers of the garrisons today are no longer the same as they were in the past. The garrison farms have been repeatedly occupied. According to investigations and statistics, the garrisons actually control less than 30% of the original farmlands. The economic capacity has greatly declined, resulting in the garrisons being poorly equipped, and the arrears of food and salary have become the norm. The soldiers of the garrisons have become slaves of the powerful nobles, unable to bear the abuse, and countless deserters. I have counted the situation of the garrisons in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The average number of officers and soldiers in each garrison has dropped from 5,000 to 1,700. This number is inflated, and the remaining garrison soldiers are old, weak, sick and disabled, accounting for a considerable proportion, and have little combat effectiveness. How much effect can such garrison officers and soldiers play if they are transferred here?!"
Zhu Pingan said with a bow.
Zhang Jing did not respond, nor did he stop Zhu Ping'an from speaking. He just looked at Zhu Ping'an with burning eyes.
Seeing this, Zhu Pingan continued, "As for the brave new army, it is indeed more combat-effective than the guards. However, the new army is composed of regular soldiers, and its cost is much higher than that of the militia. Calculated based on the salary of 18 taels per soldier, 5,000 taels of silver is only enough for the annual salary of 277 people in the brave new army, but these 5,000 taels of silver are enough for Jiangsu and Zhejiang to have an additional anti-Japanese force in addition to the guards and the new army - the militia."
"If the garrison is unusable, then the militia can be used?! What good will it do to the people of the country to spend five thousand taels of silver to add a useless militia?!" Zhang Jing looked at Zhu Ping'an with burning eyes and said slowly.
"Sir, the militia is the new army. The key to whether the militia is useful lies in its training," Zhu Ping'an replied.
"Lord Zhu also said that the key to the militia is training. Lord Zhu is not yet twenty years old and has no experience in commanding troops. How can you train a usable militia?!" Zhang Jing looked at Zhu Ping'an with burning eyes and said bluntly.
"Sir Zhang, although I am not yet 20 and have no experience in commanding troops, I have experience in commanding civilians. Three months ago, when I was the magistrate of Jingnan County, the Japanese pirate leader Honda Heihachi led more than 3,000 Japanese pirates to besiege Jingnan County. At that time, the county's military office had less than 100 soldiers. I organized 2,000 young and strong men to help defend the city. I fought fiercely with the Japanese pirates for a day and a night, defended the county, and captured 795 Japanese pirates. The next day, I organized civilians to pursue the Japanese pirates who fled to Taiping County, beheaded 31 Japanese pirates, and recovered Taiping County that was occupied by the Japanese pirates. At the beginning of the month, Wang Zhi sent more than 6,000 Japanese pirates under Ye Zongman's command to attack Jingnan at night. The coastal outposts discovered the traces of the Japanese pirates in advance. I organized civilians to be on high alert, and the Japanese pirates changed their route in fear..."
Zhu Ping'an looked into Zhang Jing's eyes, bowed and told him about his experience of organizing militia in Jingnan.
"I've heard about your experience before. Let's not talk about whether it's true or not. Defending a city is completely different from training and commanding troops."
Zhang Jing shook his head slightly and did not change his decision just because Zhu Ping'an cited the achievements he had made in leading the militia.
In Zhang Jing's opinion, Zhu Ping'an certainly had some achievements at that time, but there must be some water in them. Moreover, training and commanding soldiers are completely different from defending a city. The difference between the two is huge. Defending a city does not necessarily mean that you can train and command soldiers well.
"Sir..." Zhu Ping'an spoke again.
Zhang Jing interrupted Zhu Ping'an and asked, "Master Zhu, what do you think is the key to training a useful army?"
"I believe that the key to commanding and training troops lies in strict military discipline, clear rewards and punishments, strict training, and ideological education."
Zhu Pingan bowed and replied.
"Strict military discipline, clear rewards and punishments, strict training, ideological education..." Zhang Jing couldn't help but repeat it in a low voice after hearing it. His eyes lit up and he looked at Zhu Ping'an again, but his gaze was different from the first time.
Zhang Jing was a man of both military and literary skills, so he had his own say on how Zhu Ping'an would answer. When he asked this question, he unexpectedly discovered that Zhu Ping'an was actually an expert on military affairs.
"I know about strict military discipline, clear rewards and punishments, and strict training. What do you mean by ideological education?"
Zhang Jing asked with great interest, and his tone changed from the initial "keep away from strangers" to a more friendly one.
"My Lord. This is the experience I gained from organizing the militia to defend the city. At the beginning, the militia was afraid of the Japanese pirates outside the city and wanted to flee. I encouraged them with words like 'Our parents, wives and children are behind us, we have no way to retreat' and 'Defeat the Japanese pirates, protect our parents, wives and children'. The militia was immediately full of energy and spirit. They were no longer afraid of the Japanese pirates, nor were they afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice. They were brave enough to defend the city. So, I realized that in order to make the people fearless, we must let them have faith! Let the people know who they are fighting for and why they are fighting! I think the same is true for training and commanding troops. Soldiers must have faith, let them know who they are fighting for and why they are fighting, and improve their ideological awareness and spirit. A soldier with faith and discipline will not become a scattered and vagrant army or a mob!"