After hearing what General Zhang, the commander of the Grand Parade Ground, said, Hu Zongxian felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He couldn't help but curl his lips, sneered, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Haha, General Zhang, did you raise the Japanese pirates?! You said the Japanese pirates wouldn't come to Yingtian, so they wouldn't come to Yingtian?!"
"What?! I support Japanese pirates?!" General Zhang, the commander of the Great Parade Ground, broke out in a cold sweat, his head shaking as if it was about to take off, and he denied it three times in a row, "How is it possible!" "I didn't!" "Don't talk nonsense!"
Hu Zongxian's expression remained unchanged and he said nothing. He just looked quietly at Lord Zhang, the commander of the parade ground.
Lord Zhang, the commander of the Grand Parade Ground, seemed to realize that he was a little too excited just now. He coughed and said softly, "Ahem, Lord Hu, you are joking. The hat of 'supporting the Japanese' is too big for my head to bear! I am loyal to the emperor and love my country and my people. How could I do such an inhuman thing!"
"If that's the case, how can Lord Zhang guarantee that the Japanese pirates will not attack Yingtian City?!" Hu Zongxian asked slowly.
The commander of the Grand Parade Ground had an embarrassed look on his face, his mouth twitched twice, and he was unable to utter a complete sound.
"Sir Zhang, the Japanese invasion is getting worse and worse, especially Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, who are wreaking havoc in the southeast, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil. The people are suffering. Yingtian is like a pillar supporting the sky in the southeast. Yingtian cannot have any mistakes, otherwise the Japanese pirates will become more rampant, the people will become more disappointed, and the court will lose face!" Hu Zongxian said with a serious face, "The consequences are not something you and I can afford!"
"Master Hu is right."
Lord Zhang nodded on the surface, but he disagreed in his heart. You are exaggerating. How could anything go wrong in Yingtian
"Sir Zhang, what I'm going to say next is a bit blunt. You don't have to rush to explain. I'm not unreasonable. I won't make any records of today's inspection or what I said today, let alone report it. But..." Hu Zongxian paused, looked at the commander of the parade ground with a burning gaze, and said seriously, "But Sir Zhang, you have to find out the shortcomings and make up for them, and actively make corrections. Next time I come to inspect your army, I won't be so easy to talk to. By then, Ding is Ding, Mao is Mao! Today I came to your army for an on-site inspection and found that compared with the number reported in the books, the actual number of soldiers in your army is seriously insufficient. The shortage of soldiers is as much as 80%. Even the soldiers who are actually in the camp are mostly old, weak, sick and disabled. The military discipline is lax and disorderly, the soldiers are not well trained, and the weapons and armor are shameful. Only two-tenths of them can only do it with bare hands! The combat effectiveness of such an army is worrying. Such an army is not enough to assume the responsibility of protecting Yingtian!"
"Sir Hu, you are exaggerating!" Sir Zhang, the commander of the parade ground, felt that Hu Zongxian was exaggerating.
Empty salaries and the like are the unspoken rules of the entire Ming Dynasty. Do you think there is no empty salary in the military camp? !
So what if the Japanese invasion is serious? ! The Japanese pirates are rampant in rural counties, and have never attacked many prefectures. How dare they attack Yingtian City? ! Even if the Japanese pirates have 100,000 guts, they dare not attack the world. Yingtian is the second largest city in the Ming Dynasty. The city is high and the moat is deep. There are artillery and heavy troops. Although our military camps are very short of money, there are more than one military camp in Yingtian. With so many military camps added up, there are no less than 30,000 soldiers available. If the Japanese pirates want to move Yingtian, they can only do so if they use all the strength of Japan. However, is it possible for the Japanese pirates to use all the strength of Japan? It is impossible. Japan itself is still a mess! So, Yingtian is as stable as Mount Tai.
"Exaggeration?! Haha, Lord Zhang, nothing is impossible in this world! If you don't plan for the future, you will have immediate worries! Lord Zhang, please remember what I just said. I will come again in half a month. I hope that by then, the number of your troops will not be less than 10,000, and the elderly, weak, sick and disabled will not exceed 10%. The military appearance and discipline will be greatly improved, and the weapons and armor will be brand new." Hu Zongxian shook his head and sneered, looking at Lord Zhang with burning eyes.
"The number of soldiers should not be less than 10,000, and the number of the elderly, weak, sick and disabled should not exceed 10%..." Upon hearing this, Lord Zhang could not help but open his mouth and frown, with a look of embarrassment and disapproval, and every expression was a resistance, "Lord Hu, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are, but do you know how much silver it costs to support one soldier in a year?! Military pay, food, weapons, etc., which one doesn't cost money. Our imperial treasury is in a tight spot every year, and in recent years we have encountered countless floods and droughts. The military pay has not been paid, so how can we have extra money to support more soldiers. The shortage of soldiers in the barracks is not because I drink the blood of the soldiers and eat the empty pay, but because a good cook cannot cook without rice. If the imperial court does not pay silver, how can we support the soldiers..."
Hu Zongxian interrupted Mr. Zhang's complaint expressionlessly, looked at Mr. Zhang with burning eyes, and said word by word: "Mr. Zhang, if your army meets the requirements, I promise you that I will rate you as first-class competent in this year's inspection! If it does not meet the requirements, I'm sorry, but I'm sorry. Mr. Zhang will not be able to meet the third-class service in this year's inspection. It can only be rated as inferior. I will also impeach Mr. Zhang! I always keep my word. Whether it is first-class or inferior is up to Mr. Zhang!"
"Ah?!" Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang's face changed like a chameleon, hesitating, struggling, and getting excited...
This is an inspection! This is a rare opportunity!
In the Ming Dynasty, there were generally two main ways for officials to be promoted or demoted. Most high-ranking officials were recommended by the association, while officials below the fourth rank were mainly determined by inspection. The inspection was mainly conducted by the Ministry of Personnel through the "Beijing Inspection" and the Imperial Censor's Supervision. The inspection content was assessed according to the "four grids", namely: one is guarding (with request, caution, and peace), two is talent (with length and peace), three is politics (with diligence and peace), and four years (with youth, strength, and health). According to the inspection content of the four grids, the inspection results were evaluated. The first grade was competent, the second grade was diligent, and the third grade was serving. Those who were ranked first in competence could be promoted and rewarded, and promotion and salary increase were imminent. Of course, if the performance of the officials was poor and the results were poor, they would be dismissed, handed over to the Ministry of Justice for sentencing, ordered to rest, or demoted and transferred to other places according to the severity of the circumstances.
The number of troops should not be less than 10,000, with no more than 10% being old, weak, sick or disabled. The military appearance and discipline should be greatly improved, and the weapons and equipment should be completely new... These requirements are not too difficult to ask. It will just be a little less empty pay. It's not just my responsibility anyway. I should emphasize military discipline again and strengthen training... If we grit our teeth and work hard, we can do it!
If you meet the requirements, you will be assessed as a first-class competent official! First-class competent official, this is a result that is difficult to achieve even if you find connections and beg for favors. Once you are assessed as a first-class competent official, you will be promoted, and even being transferred back to the capital will not be difficult. Although this exile is comfortable, it is not as good as the capital.
Thinking of this, Lord Zhang gritted his teeth, and said to Hu Zongxian, "I will do my best!"
"Sir Zhang, it's not about doing our best, it's about making sure we do it!" Hu Zongxian bowed in return and emphasized seriously.
Mr. Zhang nodded, "Sure."
"I believe that through Lord Zhang's efforts, your army will live up to the name of the Beijing Camp and will be able to achieve great success in the near future!"
Hu Zongxian was satisfied and said with a smile.
"Thank you for your good words, Lord Hu." Lord Zhang bowed. Actually, he had never thought about making great achievements or anything like that. He just wanted to deal with the inspection. Until now, he still felt that Hu Zongxian was exaggerating and worrying too much!