"Stop the chariots, knights, military officers, boatmen, and military officials, and order them to be restored to the civilian ranks." [Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Chronicles of Emperor Guangwu]
"The selection of generals in the army is different from the imperial court's method of selecting generals. It is only determined by the generals' merits and bravery. If there is no peace at home, how will the imperial court select generals?" Zhu Jun's voice sounded like a bell. , directly pointed out the shortcomings he foresaw: "If the generals are unethical, arbitrarily recommend private individuals, collude with forces, or recruit mediocre talents through bribery, the method of selecting generals in the imperial court will no longer exist!"
His words were so powerful that the emperor was silent after hearing this. It was rare that he did not give an immediate solution as he had just done.
Although the promotion of middle and lower-level generals is subject to the arrangements of the Taiwei Mansion, the Taiwei Mansion cannot understand the specific situation of each army in detail, so most of them refer to the recommendation of the chief general of the first army. Almost the chief general If the reasons for recommendation are sufficient and the reported military exploits can withstand inspection, any recommendation for reward or promotion will be approved.
Now that the war has just subsided, the generals Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Ju Jun, Taishi Ci and others whom the emperor relied on were not people who would bend the law for personal gain. So far, the election system for the promotion of military lieutenant generals is still in good condition, but if it comes to the future , the military system is corrupted, how to solve it?
After a long while, the emperor moved slightly, put his hands on his knees, and asked very politely: "I wonder what Mr. Zhu should do about this matter?"
"I believe that those below the level of army commander can be determined by the generals of the four directions, and the list will be submitted to the court for inquiry. If the army is above the level of commander, they will be reported to the Taiwei, and strict examinations will be carried out. If there are any merits, they will be investigated. , and then put them under the supervision of the Ministry of War." Zhu Jun lowered his head and looked at the table in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "As for the rank of captain and above, it will be decided by your majesty."
This is actually just a further refinement of the promotion system, but no specific solution is given. Although the emperor is somewhat dissatisfied, he cannot be too demanding on Zhu Jun. After all, if the solution is to go by the ideas of scholars and civil servants, the solution is large-scale. When troops are reduced and soldiers and generals are gone, these problems will naturally disappear.
Seeing that Zhu Jun had finished speaking, the emperor said: "Although the method is good, it cannot cure the root cause."
"I am stupid..." Zhu Jun's face changed slightly and he bowed his hands down.
"Get up." The emperor gently put his hand on Zhu Jun, helped him up, and patted him on the shoulder: "Being an official is like climbing a mountain. The bigger the official, the harder he climbs. The higher it is, the farther it is from the ground. When you are at the foot of the mountain, you can still hear the suffering of the people, but when you get to the mountainside or even the top, you can't hear anything."
Seeing Zhu Jun's thoughtful expression, the emperor himself filled the tea bowls for both parties, and then said: "Whether it is in the military or in the countryside, you and I are in the temple, high up, and it is neither easy nor good to manage. So we must To prevent the slightest change, since the root of the disease lies in the military, it is natural to find a solution from the military..."
"Your Majesty is saying..." Zhu Jun speculated on the emperor's thoughts and said tentatively: "The supervisor of the army?"
"The supervisor of the army can only be placed next to the general, and only special edicts can be placed next to the captain." The emperor knew that there were too many shortcomings in civilian supervisors of the army, so he looked at this matter very carefully. He said: "The captain of the school is Above, there are military supervisors who will supervise the work. Any recommendations for generals, reports of successes, and meritorious deeds, etc., must be accompanied by names."
Zhu Jun nodded slightly, seeming to understand what the emperor meant. Nowadays, the four generals and above have corresponding subordinate organizations. In addition to setting up military supervisors, the emperor can also set up some subordinates to handle daily civil affairs beside the generals.
For example, Cao Cao, the general who conquered the West, had a long history, a record office, and other officials under his command. The Taiwei could directly send relevant staff to each general's office to record merits and recommendations. The generals could only be responsible for leading troops in war, logistics, recruiting troops, rewards and punishments, etc. Give them all to others.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jun suddenly remembered that some time ago, the emperor ordered the secretary supervisor and others to try out the "Pingqiang Inscriptions", and selected the secretaries and assigned them to officials. For example, Wang Can was sent to Cao Cao's command to serve as the reporter's office, responsible for writing the chapters. A document involves an official document.
Could this be a plan prepared by the emperor for the military in various places?
Zhu Jun thought so and heard the emperor continue to say: "Although there are no supervisors or subordinates below the captain, the military's education and chemistry department can be used as assistants. They teach the soldiers every night in the army. Just imagine there are others Who knows the situation at the bottom of the military better than them? I’m afraid even the captain cannot know the character and appearance of thousands of people, right?"
According to the emperor's idea just now, the night school will be assigned to centurions in the future. It will become another field for educating the lower class after the Imperial College and the County School. The teachers in the education department are mostly selected from Taixue students or local county schools. , changes once a year, and is not deeply involved with the leader of the army. Let them supervise and attach names, which can indeed solve the problem of hilltops in the army to a large extent.
"Your Majesty's wisdom is so great that I can't help but respect it." Zhu Jun said to the emperor sincerely.
The emperor indeed intends to deeply integrate the education and education department with the military. In conjunction with the system of veterans' distribution, in the future a large number of soldiers who have received a loyal education and mastered basic knowledge will take up grassroots governance positions. This will extend the emperor's power to the countryside and pavilions. Among these people, ability is second, and loyalty is the most important.
In time, the Department of Education and Huahua will be separated from Taixue, and the two will run in parallel, training a steady stream of grassroots officials for the emperor, and laying a solid foundation for his reforms.
"The General's Record Office will be directly under the Ministry of War from now on, and Zang will also be involved in whether or not he is punished." The emperor indeed mentioned the role of the Record Office, but he did not hand it over to the Taiwei for management. Instead, he slowly took the hot tea and While drinking, he said: "Before the Eastern Expedition, I discussed with everyone in the Chengming Palace the authority of the Taiwei, who is responsible for the management of the imperial military garrison, the transportation and supply of grain and grass, the repair of various city defenses, and the recruitment of civilians. As for the Ministry of War, The palm of the hand connects the troops, provides care for the retired soldiers, and trains the county troops. Each of them has subordinates, such as the left and right hands, who can help me."
Neither the Taiwei nor the Ministry of War had anything to do with Zhu Jun. What he was thinking at this moment was that once the Ministry of War had control over retreating soldiers and conducting merit tests, its power would directly overwhelm the Taiwei.
"In the past, the Ministry of War was founded, and was temporarily replaced by Huangmen Shilang Deng Chang. Now Deng Chang has been moved to Shizhong, and this position is temporarily vacant." The emperor seemed to have seen Zhu Jun's thoughts, and said slowly: "From now on, the Ministry of War must be familiar with the military. Those who know military affairs and have served as military supervisors can only serve in the army for several years. It cannot be awarded based on the reputation of the scholar alone, it must be customized."
"Your Majesty, Ruijian." Zhu Junshang was slowly digesting the various ideas put forward by the emperor, and suddenly felt at a loss. Although he was a cavalry general, he had no real power in his hands. All the things the emperor said had to go through the Chengming Palace. Yes, what can I do if I know it?
"The reason for calling Mr. Zhu here today is one thing." The emperor went around in a circle and finally got to the point: "In the past, there were many troubles in the world, and the imperial military system often made exceptions. For example, a school captain's original salary is two thousand dan, and his position is noble. But now the captain is like the centurion of the past."
Zhu Jun couldn't help but pricked up his ears. With the frequent use of troops by the imperial court, the status of Zhonglang generals and captains, who were rare in the past, dropped sharply and became ordinary middle-level officers, while generals with miscellaneous titles and heavy titles increased day by day. But these official positions There is not much difference between the ranks of the military, and reassessing the military hierarchy has become the first priority for the imperial court's military restructuring.
"The imperial court was troubled. In the past, there were only lieutenants and dozens of lieutenants in the world. Even the captains had thousands of stones." Zhu Jun seemed to understand the emperor's intention of calling him here: "Now all armies have lieutenants. It is possible to redefine the rank, for example, if the rank of a school captain is two thousand shi according to the Han system, it can be reduced to a thousand shi, and so on."
"While there is nothing else to do at the moment, I intend to revise the military system." The emperor leaned up, put down the tea bowl in his hand, and whispered: "First of all, redundant troops and horses in various places will be abolished, following the example of Liangzhou's troop reduction, or selected as officials. , or retreat to the fields, etc. In the meantime, the counties were ordered to rebuild the county soldiers, ranging from 200 to 500 soldiers in a county, and there could be more than a thousand soldiers in a county, and the garrison system was restored."
There were more than a thousand counties in the Han Dynasty. After the war, the people's livelihood was in decline. The emperor planned to merge a number of counties with insufficient population and ruined people's livelihood. According to the assumption of three to four hundred standing troops in a county, there will be hundreds of thousands of county soldiers in the world. And the cost of this is spread equally to the local finance, which is like a drop in the bucket.
County lieutenants are set up in counties, and county lieutenants are set up in counties to divide the military power of county guards and magistrates. In normal times, county lieutenants only have the power to recruit and train. If it is necessary to exterminate bandits, they can only send troops with the permission of the superior county lieutenant. If the situation is larger In case of banditry, the governor of the state would ask the imperial court for orders, and the county lieutenant would recruit soldiers and horses from each county to fight together.
In addition to county soldiers, there are also field soldiers. They are also dispersed to various counties. They work as farmers when they are busy and train when they are free. Although their combat power is not necessarily high, they can provide food, grass and military supplies for local county soldiers, and can also provide military supplies when necessary. Participate in combat.
Nowadays, the troops and horses of Cao Cao, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and others can only be regarded as ad hoc. After the emperor gradually resolves various conflicts and problems, these troops will be eliminated in large numbers. Therefore, in the local area, the emperor needs to rely on them for a long time. They are the county soldiers and the field soldiers, and these two systems belong to the Taiwei and the Ministry of War respectively.
"Grounding soldiers and county soldiers are the foundation of eternal peace in the world, and they must not be neglected for a day. Raising troops in fields and guarding land with county soldiers can not only reduce expenses, but also preserve the place." The emperor stated his thoughts to Zhu Jun with great ambition. : "In addition to this, there must be border troops, and the forbidden troops are considered to be standing ready."
Border troops refer to Xianglin camp, Huya camp, Yong camp, Liyang camp, Yuyang camp, Duliao camp and other long-term troops stationed in strategic border military locations. This type of military system began after Emperor Guangwu abolished the county soldiers. Gradually established. The border camp troops are a type of local standing army. Although they are small in number, they are elite and capable. Above them are the Northern and Southern Army guarding Chang'an and the Eastern Army guarding Luoyang.
The imperial soldiers are responsible for guarding the imperial court, the border soldiers are responsible for preparing for war, the county soldiers are responsible for Jing'an, and the field soldiers are responsible for providing military supplies. They are mutually beneficial to each other and have their own purposes. This is the military system the emperor is trying to create. Zhu Jun has it in his mind Li made a quick calculation and concluded that the total number of such an army must be at least one million. This is too shocking and fantastic!
"Your Majesty, let's not talk about whether the output of the farmland can supply hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the world. Excluding grain and grass, as well as ordnance, war horses and other items, it will cost no less than tens of millions in the future, and the imperial court will use it..." Zhu Although Jun believes that the emperor's system has no big logical problems. Although there are many soldiers in the prefecture and country, and soldiers in the field, the highest officers are usually just county lieutenants and field generals. There is no need to worry about the situation that the generals will be difficult to control, but for the sake of Considering the reality, this plan is indeed a bit taken for granted: "This matter is very serious, so I would like to ask Your Majesty to hold a special meeting and order people to give good advice and think twice before acting."
"During the Pre-Han Dynasty, soldiers from prefectures and states were deployed all over the world. At that time, there were no soldiers stationed in fields to produce military resources, but soldiers from prefectures and states could operate for hundreds of years." The emperor did not have to think about the outcome of this kind of thing in the next parliament. Knowing, he frowned slightly.
Could it be that the military system of prefectures and states, which was successfully implemented in the Western Han Dynasty, is no longer feasible now?
Zhu Jun frowned, as if there was something on the tip of his brow, and he whispered: "I am stupid, I guess from now on the world will be peaceful, why does the imperial court raise so many soldiers and horses?"
Emperors of all dynasties tried their best to reduce local armies, strengthen weak branches, and consolidate imperial power. So much so that the standing armies at that time were only the northern and southern armies of Luoyang and the border troops of Duliao and Liyang. The emperor relied on controlling the northern and southern armies to intimidate the local area. To ensure the imperial power. However, once civil unrest breaks out in the local area, the Northern and Southern armies are often exhausted. In the face of large-scale rebellions such as the Qiang Rebellion and the Yellow Turbans, they have to rely on the generals to recruit troops on their own...
Can all this be changed with the presence of county soldiers and field soldiers? Zhu Jun thought that was not the case, but the emperor was resolute and it was difficult for him to dissuade him. Zhu Jun was more or less clear about the other party's intention to reset the county soldiers. But he didn't want to think about it.
"Of course it is to eliminate the civil unrest in a subtle way." The emperor said calmly: "Most civil unrest starts from one township or one county. In the past, the imperial court did not have the soldiers and horses of the prefecture and the country. If the people in the township started to take action, they would soon start. It spread to the whole county, and even every county responded. By then, the report would be spread at every level, and the imperial court would dispatch troops and generals, but it would be too late."
He looked at Zhu Jun, who should have a deep understanding of the fact that the other party had overcome civil unrest: "If there are two or three hundred soldiers in the county, and civil unrest breaks out, they can be wiped out in one fell swoop with the permission of the county captain and the dispatch of feathers. .In this way, isn’t it more convenient than before?”
The army is divided into four categories. Logistics, pensions, merit recording, conscription and other rights have their own responsibilities and are not subordinate to each other. In addition, the emperor rebuilt the troop deployment system such as feathers, talismans, and edicts. This kind of military system can be said to be very complex. It's perfect. As long as the subsequent executors make no mistakes, it will be enough to protect the continuation of this huge empire for a long time.
"The imperial court cannot rely solely on strong troops. As long as the emperor is wise and the ministers are wise, good governance and moral governance are repeated, and the common people in the world have enough food and clothing, how can civil strife arise?" Zhu Jun worried that this would ignore the fundamentals and pursue the inferior, only focusing on suppression without knowing how to relieve the people's difficulties. .
"For the sake of the country and the people, it is natural that we must take civil rule as our foundation!" The emperor said righteously: "However, martial arts cannot be neglected. Emperor Guangwu wanted to save the people's land, but the world was almost in chaos again. He knew that he was not abandoning martial arts. ?”
Seeing that the emperor bluntly pointed out Emperor Guangwu's faults and left no room to cover up for his ancestors, Zhu Jun was shocked and left the banquet in a hurry.
"Mr. Zhu." The emperor stood up from the table and walked to Zhu Jun: "The rectification of the world's military will be completed within the next few years. Since the death of Duke Huangfu, you are the only general in the court!"