Yu Qian smiled bitterly, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Earlier in the morning court, he relied on himself, but as a result, he was opposed by the whole court.
He admitted that he underestimated the intensity of opposition from the ministers on this matter.
However, this is how government affairs are conducted.
Especially for this kind of major national affairs, very few can be passed at once. Usually, it takes continuous pulling, several discussions and mutual compromises before a final conclusion can be reached.
The real trouble is that, as the emperor just said, the scope of this matter is too wide.
Even if he lowered his dignity to lobby a group of people who could support him and made all the preparations, he still didn’t think he could get the matter passed through the court.
Yu Qian raised his head and looked at the emperor and said.
“Your Majesty, please make it clear.”
Zhu Qiyu pondered, organized his words, and said.
“To be honest, sir, although the nine-sided strategy is imperative, not only Mr. Shen and the ministers of the court, but even I will not agree to spend more than half of the year’s taxes on the construction of the nine-sided strategy.”
“Such an action, like fighting for years, is exhausting the people’s strength.”
Hearing this, Yu Qian felt even more frustrated.
Jiubian's strategy is a plan he finally formulated after painstaking efforts, continuous deliberation, and countless energy.
If it can be implemented, then he is confident that he can build a strong line of defense so that the Ming Dynasty will no longer face the dilemma of being driven straight into the capital to attack the capital within a hundred years.
Several years of hardship, in exchange for nearly a hundred years of rest and recuperation, were completely worth it in Yu Qian’s opinion.
However, what made him a little disappointed was that the emperor also had the same attitude...
Looking at Yu Qian's somewhat disappointed expression, a smile appeared on Zhu Qiyu's face, but he changed the subject and made it clear.
“Therefore, I agree with Mr. Shen’s idea and will not agree to spend all the annual income on the Jiubian. At the same time, I also agree with Mr. Shen’s idea that the Jiubian must be built, and it must start next year at the latest.”
This time it was really Yu Qian's turn to be confused.
What does it mean not to use the annual revenue for the nine sides, but the nine sides still need to be built.
Are you planning to let the horses run without giving them hay?
At this point, Zhu Qiyu simply stopped talking about it and went straight to the point.
“Sir, do you still remember the military settlement issue that I discussed with you a few days ago?”
juntun?
Yu Qian frowned and thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
This corruption of the border military garrison has been discussed in the imperial court for a long time.
Early before the mutual trade, the emperor and he, as well as Yang Hong, Fan Guang and others, had discussed this matter.
Yu Qian still remembered that the emperor told him at that time...
“Your Majesty, do you mean that I would like to ask you to cultivate your own land and restore your military garrison?”
Zhu Qiyu was still satisfied with this understanding, nodded and said.
"Yes, Taizu once said that the Ming Dynasty raised millions of troops without costing the people a grain of rice. Mr. Wang has read the history books. You should know that during the Hongwu period, our annual income was not as high as it is today, but the daily expenditure of the frontier army was less than ten percent of today's military expenditure.
One or two.”
“The root cause lies in the shrinking of defense lines, the rampant use of private fields, the dereliction of military camps, and the corruption of generals. Such accumulated disadvantages have caused the court’s military expenditure to increase year by year, while the lives of the military households at the bottom have become more and more miserable.”
“The imperial court cannot spend unlimited amounts of money to support the border troops, so if it wants to support the construction of the Nine Borders, it must start with the border troops themselves.”
Yu Qian was stunned for a moment, and a hint of admiration arose in his heart.
This Majesty is really...unfathomable!
Everyone’s attention is focused on the construction of the border defense line.
Even when he learned that he had been summoned, he had a vague hope in his heart, thinking that the emperor might be here to distract him.
but none.
The emperor’s thoughts are always in front of everyone’s thoughts.
At this time, Yu Qian suddenly understood what the emperor's purpose was when he asked the Ministry of Husbandry to maintain the border army's annual silver level.
As the Emperor just said, during the Hongwu period, the Ming Dynasty’s military expenditure accounted for less than one-tenth of its annual revenue.
The core reason is that the border army can basically achieve self-sufficiency by relying on farming, democratic movement, and other methods.
At that time, the Jingli silver given by the imperial court was more of a reward and an icing on the cake, rather than a necessity for survival.
However, with the stability of the country, of course, the most important thing is the destruction of the King of Sai system, the establishment of the rotating guard system of the Beijing army and border troops, coupled with the corruption of generals, the proliferation of privately cultivated land and other reasons.
The military garrison was gradually depleted, and relying solely on the democratic movement and Kaizhong could no longer support the huge expenditure of the frontier army, and the imperial court could only make up for it.
Therefore, theoretically speaking, if privately cultivated fields can be reorganized and military settlements can be restored, it is entirely possible, allowing the frontier army to save a large amount of silver every year.
In this way, under the condition that the Ministry of Household Affairs maintains the original Beijing-regular silver allocation unchanged, the extra silver can be used for the construction of Jiubian.
At the same time, it will not affect the normal operation of the country.
This is indeed a good idea.
It was not enough. What made Yu Qian even more nervous was that in addition to mentioning private land reclamation, military settlements and generals' rape, the emperor also mentioned...
“Your Majesty just said that the defense line should be reduced?”
Zhu Qiyu sat on the throne and glanced at Yu Qian with interest.
Yu Qian is indeed a great expert in military affairs. Whenever it comes to military affairs, every detail will immediately attract his attention.
However, originally, he had no intention of hiding anything from Yu Qian, so he nodded straightforwardly and said.
"Yes, Mr. Yu is an expert, and there are no outsiders here. I might as well say it bluntly. In fact, although the border policy formulated by Taizu had the disadvantage of making the King of Sai powerful and difficult for the court to control, it was purely based on national finance and border policies.
In terms of defense, it is the most complete system."
this……
This is really hard to accept...
The border policies currently implemented by the Ming Dynasty were formulated by Emperor Taizong.
As the Minister of War, Yu Qian naturally knew that there were many shortcomings in it. Otherwise, he would not have taken advantage of the remaining momentum from the Civil War to propose reforms to border defense.
In fact, he knew in his heart that what the emperor said was absolutely right.
From a national perspective, the border policy formulated by Taizu was the most effective.
The nine-sided strategy he now proposes has been improved and revised in detail, but the overall idea still refers to Taizu's idea of establishing the King of Sai.
However, you can do it, but you can’t say it.
At least, it seems inappropriate for Yu Qian, who is a minister, to take any side at this time.
To echo the emperor's praise of Taizu is tantamount to denying Emperor Taizong's border policy.
As for refuting the emperor's praise of Taizong, it seems inappropriate.
After hesitating for a moment, Yu Qian said cautiously.
"What your Majesty said is true. However, I believe that all border policies must be determined according to the situation. When Taizu founded the country, he considered long-term inheritance. However, as your Majesty said, there was a suspicion that the King of Sai was in power, so he tended to be conservative.
"
“Taizong’s Northern Expedition was due to the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty stirring up people’s hearts on the grasslands. The five expeditions to Mobei frightened the grassland tribes, which established the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty, but also worried about the aggressiveness of the attack.”
“The so-called combination of hardness and softness, and Taizong’s military prowess, then the kings of future generations will naturally follow the royal way and combine offense and defense. This approach is the foundation of adhering to Taizu and Taizong’s legacy and achieving long-term peace and stability.”