Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 885 Military Power
Zhu Shenzhu's Ming Dynasty couldn't be worse than the Qing Dynasty in history, right? His descendants, at least, were better than Emperors Daoguang, Xianfeng, and Tongzhi. Therefore, the education of the royal family was extremely important. Zhu Shenzhu took this opportunity to formally finalize this matter, and it would continue as a formal institution and charter in the future. After a hundred years, at least the long-term continuation of the Ming Empire could be guaranteed.

In fact, Xu Jingqiu didn't know that in addition to these reasons, there was another important factor for Zhu Shenzhu to use Sun Chengzong.

After he ascended the throne and took control of the power, the two most important things were: one was the Ming's external war, that is, the war with Huang Taiji in Liaodong. Although the Ming had gotten rid of internal troubles, with the successive demise of Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others, except for Zhang Xianzhong who surrendered and became a wealthy idler, the other leaders of the rebel army had all been wiped out.

But the Ming Dynasty's foreign wars have not yet ended. Huang Taiji, who proclaimed himself emperor, is still entrenched in Liaodong, and the Eight Banners have not been destroyed. This is a problem that the Ming Dynasty has not been able to resolve since the Wanli period. After Zhu Shenzhui became emperor, he naturally had to continue the war. In the end, there can only be one winner in this war, either the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, either him, Zhu Shenzhui, or Huang Taiji.

Zhu Shencui knew that it would be difficult to end the war at once relying on the current strength of the Ming Dynasty. Although he had the most capable new army, he could not put his trump card directly on the Liaodong battlefield. Once the new army suffered too heavy losses, or the war could not be ended in a short time, Zhu Shencui would not be able to guarantee the imperial power or stabilize the local area without the new army.

The reason why the north is now stable and restored, and Zhu Shenzhu has great say in the court, is mainly due to the existence of the new army. Today's new army has replaced the original Beijing camp, and is the strongest and most powerful army in the north of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, this army is directly controlled by the emperor and stationed in the capital. With this army, who dares to attack?
It would be a different situation if the new army was sent out. Without absolute military suppression, those evil spirits might emerge in a few days. In addition, the local army and other armies of the Ming Dynasty have already shown signs of military leaders. If they get out of control, it will lead to consequences that are difficult to deal with.

This is also the reason why Zhu Shenzhui did not send out all his main forces when he used the New Army several times. Even in the previous Battle of the Great Wall, although Wang Jinwu led the New Army as the commander-in-chief, the real elite of the New Army was still stationed in the capital, monitoring every move everywhere.

The same is true now. With the new army in hand, Zhu Shenzhui has nothing to worry about. But once this trump card is gone, it will be hard to say.

In the foreign war against Liaodong, Zhu Shenzhu mainly relied on local troops and the original field troops of the Ming Dynasty, including the border troops of the nine borders. However, after the Tianqi year, due to the court's reasons and the subsequent messing of Emperor Chongzhen, the court's control over the border troops and local garrisons was constantly weakened. In addition, due to the internal bandits, the court was exhausted from suppressing them and gave the generals with great autonomy, which also led to some signs of warlords in the Ming army.

This situation is most serious in Liaodong. During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, when Yuan Chonghuan served as the governor of Ji-Liao, there were signs that he was self-reliant. The entire Liao army, including the Guanning Iron Cavalry, was nominally the army of the Ming Dynasty, but in reality it was controlled by the generals of Liaodong. Moreover, this situation has become increasingly serious in recent years. If it is not resolved, it may become difficult to get rid of.

The Liaodong battlefield still needs to be fought, but we must not cultivate a group of military leaders who are self-reliant because of foreign wars. The same is true for other places, whether it is the various towns in the nine borders or the Ming army that encircled and suppressed the bandits before, these must also be taken into consideration after the bandit problem is solved.

Guns, seals, and money bags are the three important factors in controlling power, and none of them can be missing. Zhu Shenzhu must solve the current military problems and eliminate these hidden dangers while ensuring foreign wars. In this way, he must adjust the army of the Ming Dynasty, especially the Liao army and the Ming field troops that had previously encircled and suppressed the local areas.

The nine frontiers were better, and could be changed by directly replacing the generals, but the former was somewhat difficult. Although Zhu Shenzhu had the new army, using force was certainly a solution, but it was not appropriate to use force. After all, many generals had their own troops, but they showed no signs of betraying the court. Moreover, these generals had made contributions to the Ming Dynasty, whether in foreign wars or internal wars. If Zhu Shenzhu directly replaced their military power without thinking, or found reasons to punish them, it would be counterproductive.

Even if it is necessary to use it, it needs to be done step by step. It cannot be rushed, and it cannot hurt the hearts of the army and generals. After thinking about it, Zhu Shenzhui planned to use several methods. One is to transfer some generals in the name of promotion but in reality to undermine their military power. Another way is to use the new army as a basis to gradually change the various armies of the Ming Dynasty, and to mix sand through reorganization to divide their military power.

In addition, he used the lure of high-ranking officials with titles. In addition, he was already preparing to use the framework of the Five Military Governors' Office to set up the General Staff. He invited some veteran generals to the capital to serve in the Five Military Governors' Office and build the General Staff of the Ming Dynasty, so that they could leave the army and take over.

No matter which method is used, it cannot be rushed, and some generals must be prevented from having resistance for various reasons. It is not easy to do this. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu is not suitable to come forward directly in this matter, and letting Wang Jinwu or other nobles do it is not the best way. After all, they are completely different from these military leaders. Letting them do these things may make the other party disgusted.

But Sun Chengzong was different. Don't forget that Sun Chengzong was the first commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao. He stayed in Liaodong for a long time. Moreover, all the generals of the Liao army, including the Guanning Iron Cavalry, were promoted by Sun Chengzong. Although these people were later regarded as Yuan Chonghuan's men, in fact Sun Chengzong was their real old leader.

As for the generals of the troops who were sent to encircle and suppress the bandits, most of them were the same. Don't forget that many of the generals selected by Emperor Chongzhen to suppress the bandits were from the Liao army, including Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, Zuo Liangyu, Huang Degong, etc. They were also subordinates of Sun Chengzong. Sun Chengzong's words in front of these people were much more effective than those of Emperor Zhu Shenzhu.

If we can get Sun Chengzong's support, helping him do this will be twice the result with half the effort. This is another reason why Zhu Shenzhui values ​​Sun Chengzong. Now let Sun Chengzong serve as the chief teacher of the teaching hall to teach the prince and the king of Song. The purpose is not only for the education of the royal family, but also to use Sun Chengzong's prestige to solve the military problem. And Zhu Shenzhui is very sure about this, because he knows that Sun Chengzong is a loyal minister. As long as it is beneficial to the country, Sun Chengzong will not refuse. There is no rush now. This matter can be done slowly. Let Sun Chengzong live in the capital first and be the chief teacher for a while. Wait a few days and find an opportunity to reveal some information to Sun Chengzong. With Sun Chengzong's wisdom, he will definitely understand Zhu Shenzhui's intentions, and then it will come naturally.

In addition to solving the problem of military leaders within the army, there is another issue that must be addressed, which is the current problem of the Ming Dynasty’s garrisons.

The Weisuo system was established by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang established this system from the perspective of military deployment and local stability. The Weisuo system did play a huge role in its early days. It not only made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty's foreign wars, but also made many contributions to stabilizing the Ming Dynasty's foundation.

However, a system often goes from good to bad from its establishment to its subsequent development. This problem has been a problem in all dynasties, and the same is true for the Weisuo system established by Zhu Yuanzhang.

In fact, the Wei-so system had gradually begun to corrupt more than a hundred years ago. After several generations, the Wei-so system originally envisioned by Zhu Yuanzhang had changed. Although the Wei-so system still exists today, it has undergone tremendous changes from the original system. Instead of helping the Ming Dynasty, it has become a hidden danger within the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's garrisons existed in name only. The garrison troops had long been useless, and the garrison soldiers became tenants of the officers. Countless people were exploited or even fled. The garrison officers also all became big landlords and colluded with the local authorities to bully the local people.

Zhu Shenzhui noticed this problem when he was in Shanxi. When Wang Rong was the commander of the garrison, he reorganized the Luzhou Garrison. Although there was a slight improvement, it was only a slight improvement due to the Ming Dynasty system and could not completely solve the problem.

Now that Zhu Shenzhui has become the emperor, he will of course rectify the Weisuo system. In his opinion, the Weisuo system is no longer useful, and it would be better to cancel it directly. But Zhu Shenzhui himself knows that the Weisuo system has lasted for more than 200 years and has long been deeply rooted. Moreover, the Weisuo are spread all over the Ming Dynasty. It is completely impossible to forcibly cancel the Weisuo system. This will directly affect the interests of all levels of the Weisuo, including the local and even the central government. Once he does this, it will not only be ineffective, but will lead to opposition and chaos. Zhu Shenzhui is not Emperor Chongzhen. He is not as stupid as Emperor Chongzhen, who would do things without considering the consequences.

This matter must be done slowly and carefully, and must not be rushed, and it must be done more carefully than solving the problem of military leaders within the army. Zhu Shenzhui would not act immediately without absolute certainty, and even if he did, he would first find a way out for the upper and lower levels of the garrison, and try not to affect their fundamental interests before he could carry it out.

After much deliberation, Zhu Shenzui decided to take the first step, which was to change some problems in the Ming army, including the issue of military positions in the Ming military system.

Zhu Shenzhui believed that the military system of the Ming Dynasty was a bit chaotic. Originally, the military system of the Ming Dynasty was based on the garrison system, but later the garrisons were no longer useful, so a border military system was set up outside the garrison system. After many adjustments and evolutions, it became the current situation.

At present, the military positions in the Ming Dynasty's military system are in chaos. There are military positions in garrisons, border troops, temporary military positions, etc. For example, the position of commander-in-chief. The commander-in-chief of the garrison is a third-rank official, and the capital commander-in-chief is a third-rank official, in charge of the garrison troops of one place and one province. However, there are several positions equal to the commander-in-chief in the border troops. The lowest one is garrison, the higher one is guerrilla general, and the higher one is lieutenant general. These military positions are equivalent to the commander-in-chief, but they are different.

As mentioned before, the military positions in the Ming Dynasty were divided into garrison military positions, border military positions and temporary military positions. To make an analogy, they can be distinguished from military ranks and positions. Often, border military positions such as guerrilla generals and lieutenant generals were given the title of commander-in-chief to determine their rank, and above them were deputy generals and generals. Deputy generals were also called deputy generals, and like generals, they were military positions instead of garrison positions. They were equivalent to the level of commander-in-chief, but there were some differences.

Even between generals there are differences. The generals of the Ming Dynasty are divided into ordinary generals and town generals. The smaller ones can only lead a few thousand soldiers, while the larger ones can lead tens of thousands of soldiers. Their powers and status vary greatly.

Ordinary generals were at best of the second rank, and some were of the third rank. However, the general of a town was of the first rank. For example, Mao Wenlong was the general of Dongjiang Town, a first rank military general. Other generals could not compare to him at all.

There are so many similar positions, from low-level to high-level, that even people who understand the military system of the Ming Dynasty sometimes can't figure it out. They have to listen to the other party's military titles and promotions to figure out what kind of general they are. This situation must be changed, otherwise it will be difficult to look at such a confusing military system.

(End of this chapter)