Chapter 293 Gradually abolish the military household and guard system
When Chen Rui was questioned like this by Wang Shouren, he immediately realized that he was in a desperate situation. Not to mention that he, the coach, was now controlled by Wang Shouren. Even if his subordinates wanted to rescue him, they would not have sufficient logistical supplies or sufficient resources. With explosives and cannons, it was impossible to break through the General Government Building, which was built with thick bricks, high walls, and heavily garrisoned.
What's more, because of the adulteration of gunpowder together with Eunuch Wei, even if the Xuan Mansion still had gunpowder, most of it would be mud and sand, making it impossible to attack the General Government.
In addition, the Guards were still watching eagerly outside the city, and Chen Rui had to admit that he had no power to fight back now.
Other officials involved in the adulteration of gunpowder, such as Yushi Song Bin, could not help but tremble all over at this time. He did not expect that the commander-in-chief Wang Shouren would suddenly change his mind and wanted to punish people like himself, but now he also knew that he was already a turtle in the urn and had nothing to do with it. The power to fight back and room for quibbles.
The whole process was not thrilling. All the civil and military officials of Xuanda University from the general level down were captured by Wang Shouren and imprisoned in the General Office.
After confirming that the iron prison was firmly locked, Wang Shouren led his own soldiers to a high platform in the General Administration Office. Looking at Xuanfu City outside, which was already as calm as ever, he just smiled faintly and looked at the iron prison he had brought from Jiangxi. Vice General Ren Meng ordered: "Pass this order to the general, the military exercise is over, and the Guards will immediately enter the city. At the same time, generals above the General Flag of the Guards and Border Army will go to the General Office to listen to training and receive rewards!"
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Ren Meng took the people out of the General Office after receiving the order.
The Xuanfu generals who were still in the dark didn't understand why the military exercise ended suddenly, but no one suspected that there was a fraud. After all, they also knew that the military exercise could not really be a war, and the two armies had to use real guns. They were working with live ammunition, and even some Xuanfu generals were lucky because of this, thinking that it would be a good idea for the military exercise to end like this. After all, if they were to really fight with live ammunition, their own gunpowder mixed with sand would not be able to defeat the nearby troops in any way. The Guards even exposed their own internal corruption.
Even some Xuanfu generals still despised Wang Shouren in their hearts. They believed that the commander-in-chief Wang Shouren was worried that Xuanfu's gunpowder adulteration would be exposed, so he directly ended the military exercise.
However, some Xuanfu generals thought this was very strange. After all, they did not know the content of the military exercise from the beginning, nor did they know when the military exercise would end. Now that the military exercise ended suddenly, it naturally made some Xuanfu generals feel uneasy.
However, because the senior generals and officials were all in the General Administration Office, these middle and lower-level Xuanfu generals could not do anything even if they had doubts.
At this time, the Guards also entered the city, and all four divisions entered the city.
"I have controlled the important civil and military officials of Xuanfu. Now they are the generals and generals at the bottom who are involved in this case. Once I gather these people together later, your people will immediately occupy the key passes in Xuanfu Town. Try not to Because there was bloodshed in this case!”
As soon as Wang Shouren saw Zhang Lun, they started a secret discussion, and Zhang Lun nodded: "Don't worry, I have passed on the order!"
Wang Shouren nodded, straightened his clothes, sat on the Grand Master's chair in the middle hall, and ordered Ren Meng: "After all the generals in Xuan Mansion, they disarmed their weapons and detained them all. These guys thought they were generals of one side." ,keep Some servants think that the court's laws cannot do anything to them! This time, we must use this matter to remind the commanders of the army and towns that the Ming Dynasty still has royal laws. Anyone who does something detrimental to our Ming Dynasty must be dealt with strictly! ”
Ren Meng nodded and led a group of soldiers to the front hall.
"Why do you want us to disarm? When did your General Office have this rule!"
At this time, Chen Rui's younger brother Chen Chen suddenly felt dissatisfied with the fact that the soldiers of the General Administration asked him to remove his weapons.
Ren Meng came over at this time: "There are no less than 100,000 officers and soldiers stationed in the entire Xuanfu City right now. What if someone tries to assassinate Mr. Zongzhi and takes the opportunity to cause chaos? If you refuse to unload your weapons, then you are not allowed to come in to receive the reward. In addition, , I will report this matter to the commander-in-chief and the commander-in-chief!”
The commander-in-chief Wang Shouren was in charge of the promotion of border officers and soldiers, and the commander-in-chief was Chen Chen's clan brother, so Chen Chen could only stop his activities and unload his weapons at this time.
Seeing this, other officers and soldiers had no choice but to remove their weapons.
After all the civil and military officials entered the front hall and the front hall of Nuo University was packed, Ren Meng led a group of officers and soldiers around the curved railing and came to the center. At this time, Wang Shouren also formally wore The royal python robe came out, stood on the pre-built high platform, and shouted: "Read one later, come up one!"
then.
After Wang Shouren finished shouting this sentence, a civil servant sang his name: "guerrilla Chen Chen!"
When Chen Chen heard that his name was being read, he thought he was the first general to receive the reward. He also forgot about the unpleasantness of being unarmed at the beginning and walked up directly.
“I’ve seen the total system!”
However, Chen Chen also had some doubts in his heart at this time, wondering why his brother Pingjiang Bo Chen Rui did not show up, as well as other civil and military officials at the head of the Xuan Mansion, but he still saluted Wang Shouren.
At this time, Wang Shouren did not wait for Chen Chen to ask why Chen Rui and others were not seen, and ordered: "Get it!"
Chen Chen couldn't help being stunned when he heard this!
"What! Take it down?! Take me down?!"
Chen Chen was horrified.
The other generals of the Xuan Mansion below were also horrified.
These middle and lower-level generals of the Xuanfu were already a little confused when they saw that Chen Rui and others were not on the high platform. Now that Wang Shouren suddenly ordered to take down the clan brother of the chief military officer, they naturally had a premonition that something was wrong.
And this time.
Ren Meng also waved his hand, and the soldiers of the General Administration who had been ambushed outside appeared around the wall and the high platform, raising their muskets.
These middle and lower-level generals in the Xuanfu naturally felt that something was wrong at this time, and they all started making noises, asking what was going on.
But at this moment, these middle- and lower-level generals in Xuanfu Town also realized that they had no servants or weapons, and naturally they could not resist. Therefore, except for noisy questioning, no one dared to rush out of the general headquarters or rush to the high platform to attack Wang Shouren. .
This time.
Two soldiers beside Wang Shouren walked up behind Chen Chen, grabbed Chen Chen's arms, and escorted him down.
Chen Chen came to his senses and asked loudly: "Master General, what are you doing? Why did you take me!"
"After investigation, Xuanfu's gunpowder was adulterated and mixed with a large amount of sediment. This box of gunpowder is one of the clear proofs!"
As he spoke, Wang Shouren grabbed a handful and threw it down. At the same time, he said: "You should know this matter better than me, but none of you reported this matter to me, and some even helped the evildoer." , share the benefits, and some murmur secretly , dare not report it, but in any case, the evidence is conclusive that the entire Xuanfu civil and military officials have joined forces with the inner court to cause the adulteration of gunpowder, and you will naturally not be able to escape the involvement! Maybe some people will not be punished, but they still need to be punished and warned!"
When Wang Shouren finished speaking, Chen Chen had been escorted down and put into prison.
At this time, all the middle and lower-level generals of the Xuan Mansion present were dumbfounded. Many of them were loyal to Chen Rui. Naturally, they guessed that something was wrong with Chen Rui and wanted to avenge Chen Rui. However, they did not have weapons in their hands. And there were officers and soldiers from the General Office guarding everywhere with guns and ammunition around them, so they had no choice but to hold back their anger and did not explode.
There are also some who are not confidants such as Chen Rui, but feel uneasy.
The generals of the Guards who were also summoned also arrived and were shocked. They did not expect that they were sent to the Xuan Mansion just to see how the chief executive punished the corrupt people.
"Guard Mingbin!"
At this time, the civil servant read the name of another general, and the general named Ming Bin didn't know whether he should go up or not, and he couldn't help but tremble.
Seeing this, Wang Shouren winked at Ren Meng. Ren Meng understood and led his men to escort Mingbin away from the crowd.
Next.
Every time the official read a name, a general from Xuanfu Town was taken away.
After all the generals in Xuanfu Town were taken away, only the generals of the Guards were left in the entire front hall. The generals of the Guards also looked confused, and their hearts were also filled with such a big move by the imperial court. And people became panicked.
However, Wang Shouren did not do anything to the Guards. Firstly, the Guards were not involved in this case. Secondly, the Guards and the Border Army were now two separate systems. He, the Minister of War of the Three Sides of the General System, only dealt with the Border Army. Have control.
Zhang Lun walked in at this time, took away these Guards generals, and immediately ordered these Guards officers and soldiers to occupy the key passes of Xuanfu.
And the soldiers in various guards in Xuanfu also so confusedly handed over the key passes to the Guards.
Even some of the military attache's servants didn't know what to do because the general was away. They all watched in confusion as the Guards officers and soldiers occupied the residence of their general.
At this time, Wang Shouren also announced the emperor's decree. All the border soldiers in Xuanfu were organized into the new Guards reserve army, and they gathered in Jizhou to prepare for training. After the training, they were dispersed and reorganized into the Guards system. .
Many of these border soldiers are veterans who have resisted the Tartars for many years, and they are all recruited by Lumi. Naturally, they cannot become farmers and farm the land.
The guardsmen of Xuanfu have all deposed their military status and are waiting to be distributed the land of each guardhouse. These guardsmen themselves are the military households of many officers and soldiers. They are no different from serfs and are no longer necessary as a military force. According to Zhu Houzhao's intention, he naturally wanted to take advantage of the incident of renovating Xuanfu to completely turn these military households into farmers, give them land, and exempt them from taxes for three years.
Zhu Houzhao believed that after three or five generations, these would become the most stable popular foundation for the Ming Dynasty to rule the border towns.
The border troops are naturally happy to become the Guards. After all, they all know that the Guards will often go out to conquer the fortress according to orders. Basically, they can get a lot of loot and make a fortune. It is better than staying in the border town and Guancheng and just guarding the border every month. The salary is strong, and you even have to worry about being deducted from time to time by the officials. However, within the Guards, you don't have to worry about having your salary deducted, because there is a Military Justice Department and even a Soldiers' Committee in each battalion, which can make suggestions about life matters to the battalion officers. Go directly to Emperor Shu to sue the chief official.
For the guardsmen, they were naturally the happiest to be given land, in addition to their military status, and to completely escape the fate of being enslaved by the officers. It even made them have a good impression of the imperial court for the first time.
Even some guardsmen instinctively worried about the imperial court, and they all discussed: "Let us have land to cultivate, and let us no longer be military households serving as slaves to these officials. But in this way, thousands of households will be destroyed." Can these officials agree? ”
The only ones who cannot accept this change are the servants raised by the military attaches at all levels. These servants were originally supported by the military attaches with generous salaries. They even had various relationships and were relatively loyal to the military attaches. Now that they see themselves The land of the general's family was about to be divided, and the military households of the general's family were about to be deprived of military status. They all became worried and uneasy.
But these scattered servants couldn't do anything and could only wait for the court to deal with it.
Zhu Houzhao knew that these people were minions of military attachés at all levels, so naturally they could not be used. Although these people were also very powerful in combat, a soldier who was accustomed to relying on his master to rob homes and houses would create hidden dangers if he stayed in the army. But if If they stay among the people, they will only become bandits.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao decided to disperse these servants and immigrate them to various colonies in the Ming Dynasty.
When Wang Shouren announced Zhu Houzhao's decision, some servants naturally refused to work and were unwilling to live in other places. They even wanted to rescue their master out of so-called loyalty. Naturally, they were inevitably shot to death by Wang Shouren's officers and soldiers.
But most of the servants are not really loyal to their masters. After all, people seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. These servants do not really want to be loyal to their masters, and they can only let the court arrange for them to be common people in various colonies. go.
The whole gunpowder adulteration incident in Xuanfu was handled smoothly, with basically no major disturbances, and neither the border troops nor the guardsmen complained.
The next step is to deal with these civil and military officials who are suspected of adulteration of gunpowder.
In accordance with Zhu Houzhao's will, Wang Shouren set up a special military court to try these border town civil and military officials who were in the military system but not the Guards system.
It is also very simple to deal with these civil and military officials. Those with serious crimes will be shot directly, while those with less serious crimes will be demoted or sent overseas. Those who do not report the information will be warned and demoted to serve as military attachés overseas or in remote areas.
Pingjiang Bo Chen Rui and his clan brothers were naturally shot.
But the real person involved in this case is not Chen Rui, but Wei Bin, who is responsible for the production and transportation of gunpowder.
Wei Bin's home was confiscated and he was sentenced to death, and his equity was nationalized by Zhu Houzhao.
Generally speaking, after Wei Bin was executed, the campaign to purge Chaogang launched by Zhu Houzhao in the 18th year of Zhengde came to an end.
This movement not only started the pace of the construction of the rule of law in the Ming Dynasty, but also started the pace of the abolition of the military membership system in the Ming Empire.
All the guards in Xuanfu were changed to Fuzhou and County, ending the guard system, but this does not mean that there will no longer be troops stationed in Xuanfu.
Zhu Houzhao still stationed 100,000 guards in Xuanfu according to Wang Shouren's suggestion.
At the same time, Zhu Houzhao also ordered the Ministry of War Minister Gui E and Yang Yiqing to be responsible for forming a new Guards Army. Previously, an army from the Guards would be transferred to the Border Army to be responsible for the defense of border towns.
In this way, the new soldiers who are organized into the Guards can first receive actual combat training in the Guards, while the older veterans who are organized into the Frontier Army can enhance their defense capabilities based on actual combat experience.
But because of this, the Guards and the Border Army have almost become a system. Zhu Houzhao directly incorporated the official management and command rights of the Border Army into the Guards system, and upgraded the Guards system to the Ming Military Commission.
The Military Commission of the Ming Dynasty was established according to the original Guards command system into the General Staff Department, the General Political Department, the General Equipment Department, the General Military Law Department, the General Logistics Department and the Military Court.
As a result, the power of the Ministry of War has been further reduced, and it is only responsible for recruitment training, military school management, weapons research and development, and the guard posts that have not yet been dismantled.
However, the guard station is now basically in name only. Most of the military households in the guard station have deserted and become floating people in the cities and towns, while the guards officers have become landlords without land ownership.
Zhu Houzhao thought that after the reform of the Xuanfu health office system was completed, he would transfer junior officials to reform other health offices.
But all this can only be done step by step. The gradual elimination of the guard system and military status requires human and financial support.
Because abolishing the guard system and military registration is not as simple as issuing an imperial edict. If you abolish the guard system, you have to send officials to establish government management there. If you abolish military registration, you also have to send officials to establish household registration.
Moreover, Zhu Houzhao's ban on the guard system and military status was not just about changing the guard system into a model of official governance in prefectures and counties. In order to prevent subordinate officials from harming the countryside and avoid the disadvantages caused by the grain chief system, Zhu Houzhao decided to reform the Ming Dynasty Administrative system.
The new cabinet minister Zhang Cong is mainly responsible for all this.
Kang Hai, the chief minister of the cabinet, was an academic official and was inferior to Zhang Cong in terms of administrative ability and experience. However, Zhang Cong himself was determined to innovate and took the initiative in the process of administrative reform.
First of all, according to Zhu Houzhao's edict, Zhang Cong extended the administrative official system of the Ming Dynasty to the township level, and merged the li chief and the grain chief into Li Zheng. Li Zheng was the most basic manager of the Ming Dynasty, but not Officials are just officials, and they are appointed by honest and virtuous people from each village or village.
Those at the township level and above are unified into the official system, and former subordinate staff are naturally included in the official system, giving them grades and promotion opportunities.
Because of the expansion of the Ming Dynasty's territory, it was basically guaranteed that a large number of experienced junior staff at the grassroots level could be transferred to serve as county magistrates and other officials.
The most worth mentioning is that the li chief and the grain chief merged. The grain chief system was the first system created by Zhu Yuanzhang. However, with the development of the empire, it became outdated and even caused many families to go bankrupt because they served as grain chiefs or were exploited by the grain chiefs. Now, the merger of the district chief and the grain chief is equivalent to changing the entire tax collection by the government to prevent the people from losing economic benefits due to being assigned public service tasks.
Of course, this change was possible because the Ming Dynasty now had the basis for reforming the tax collection system after the large inflow of silver. Zhu Houzhao issued an edict that each province could change the tax collection system to silver coins according to their actual conditions.
Zhu Houzhao did not directly implement the one-whip system across the country like Zhang Juzheng did in history.
Because the Ming Empire was a complex country, with differences between the north and the south. In areas with developed commodity economies in the south, silver dollars had become the mainstream currency, and all economic life relied on silver dollars for exchange. People's homes more or less had silver dollars but no food. Therefore, It is most beneficial to the people to collect silver coins in the south.
However, in the north, the commodity economy is not developed enough, most people are still farmers, and many commercial activities in poor areas still involve physical goods in exchange.
Therefore, if taxes in the north are rashly levied mainly in silver dollars, it will put a burden on the people, because in order to pay taxes, the people will have to take grain to merchants in exchange for silver dollars, or even directly borrow usury. After all, the banks of the Ming Dynasty It is impossible for institutions to be spread in every town and town. Even if they can be exchanged at banks, once merchants manipulate grain prices, people will lose profits by exchanging silver coins.
This is also why historically some people opposed Zhang Juzheng's reforms and some others supported them.
The same is true for Wang Anshi. His policy of exempting people from corvee work by paying different amounts of money to the government according to different levels of wealth and poverty, and then having the government recruit personnel to carry out public construction, so as to prevent the people from doing corvee work and damaging their farm time, is no longer the same. Supported by the northerners, but supported by the southerners.
Because the commodity economy in the south is developed but the population is densely populated, the people in the south have money but no land, while the people in the north have land but no money. The labor exemption law allows the people in the south to pay to be exempted from corvee and avoid delaying the farming season, while the people in the north will have to pay corvee money. I had to find merchants to lend money at high interest rates.
Now that Zhu Houzhao wants to reform the Ming Dynasty, he has to consider the differences between the north and the south, and let the local officials of each province make arrangements according to the actual situation. If they can pay, they will pay money, and if they can pay, they will pay grain.
This also resulted in the Ming court's national income still being divided into two parts. One part was grain, and it still accounted for the main part. After all, agriculture accounted for a relatively large proportion in the Ming Dynasty, and the other part was silver dollars, and the proportion was increasing.
However, the Ming Dynasty's state expenditures were mainly silver dollars. Various expenditures such as supporting the army, officials, and public construction were all paid with silver dollars. This also resulted in the Ming court having to exchange grain for silver dollars.
Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty had a state-owned grain company like the Grain Bureau. When the court issued silver coins to officials, soldiers and other public officials, it could sell grain to these people and earn profits from it without causing the court to suffer losses in this economic exchange.
Zhu Houzhao could imagine that without the Grain Bureau, a large number of people engaged in public services would have to exchange grain from businessmen, and undoubtedly this profit would fall into the hands of businessmen, resulting in strong private capital.
The grain in the hands of the Ming Dynasty will gradually depreciate due to the shelf life of the grain, causing damage to national interests.
"The Grain Bureau is an important institution to maintain the stability of the empire. Otherwise, once a large-scale famine occurs, we will not be able to organize enough financial resources to solve the famine and maintain stability!"
Zhu Houzhao said this to the officials of the Grain Industry Bureau.
Of course, the coexistence of two "currencies", grain and silver dollars, was also a test for the economic planning of the Ming Empire. As the administrator of the empire, he had to consider these two variables at the same time to control the collection of prices and taxes and the distribution of silver dollars. quantity.
(End of chapter)