My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 321 Memorials to the Throne by Officials of the Fifth Rank and Above
The problem of the Beijing Garrison has dragged on until today. The issue of investigating it is not a technical problem, but a question of whether the imperial court has the courage to do so.

If a single censor were to enter the capital garrison, he would encounter resistance from all levels of government. If he were to uncover something serious, he might even suffer a "sudden death" like Zhang Baihu.

However, if all the censors were to enter the capital garrison, with border troops also present to suppress them, then the investigation of the capital garrison would actually be of little value.

The imperial censor took the roster of soldiers from the capital garrison, went to the military camp to take roll call, and checked the soldiers' household registration information. He was able to find out most of the details.

Some censors didn't even need to call out names; they could simply check the handwriting on the list of those receiving military pay and find out which soldiers had fraudulently claimed their positions.

By February 23, the report on the problems of the Beijing Garrison had been compiled and sent to the Emperor and the cabinet ministers.

The result was, of course, shocking.

The three major camps and seventy-eight garrisons in the capital had a total of 170,000 registered soldiers, but the actual number of soldiers in the camps was less than 70,000, which was less than a fraction of the total.

The remaining 100,000 men are merely "ghost soldiers" on the books, only appearing when their monthly pay is collected.

As for the remaining problems, such as garrison officers encroaching on farmland, accepting land donated by nearby people to evade taxes, and oppressing surrounding villages by imposing military service, these are problems that exist in every garrison.

Even more shocking cases exist, with some garrison officers treating their garrisons as their own independent kingdoms, enslaving their soldiers for generations and regarding them as slaves.

Some garrison officers even engaged in the buying and selling of labor, selling the garrison soldiers to do hard labor.

There were cases of murder, arson, rape, and kidnapping, but these were all isolated incidents. After all, the Beijing Garrison was located near the capital, right under the emperor's nose. These garrison officers were just parasites who did nothing. There were some truly heinous criminals, but they were a minority.

The investigation of the Beijing Garrison has been completed. Now, the question facing the officials of the court is how to deal with the Beijing Garrison.

According to Su Ze's memorial, the number of troops in the Beijing Garrison will be based on the number currently in the garrison, and the Beijing Garrison will be directly reduced to 70,000.

This is the easiest thing to handle; all that's needed is to revise the roster of soldiers.

How to deal with the officers of the Beijing Garrison who committed offenses was the first thorny issue.

The problem with the Beijing Garrison is no longer just a matter of individual officers; rather, the entire garrison has developed an unspoken rule of drawing salaries without working.

If this is to be dealt with, how should the officers currently serving in the Beijing Garrison be dealt with?

The three major military camps in the capital had more than a thousand officers with official ranks. If you include the lower-ranking officers such as captains and sergeants, the total number was close to ten thousand.

Everyone was involved in the practice of receiving salaries without working, and all officers in the Beijing Garrison would be implicated if investigated.

Should all these officers be dismissed?

If so many people were to be expelled from the Beijing Garrison, it would pose a significant threat to the security of the capital.

The second thorny issue is how to deal with the budget saved by the Beijing Garrison.

This is the military pay for 100,000 men! That's a huge sum of one million silver dollars a year!
What does one million taels mean?

This was nearly one-tenth of the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue before the introduction of commercial taxes, enough to support all of the Ming Dynasty's border troops.

During the Jiajing era, due to a palace disaster, the Forbidden City was rebuilt at a cost of three million taels of silver, an event that has been criticized by the court officials to this day.

The war against Japanese pirates cost a total of ten million taels of silver, but that money was a continuous expenditure. If there were one million silver dollars of circulating funds per year, it could support the Ming Dynasty to fight another war against Japanese pirates.

Such a huge sum of money naturally became the focus of controversy.

The emperor was also troubled by these two thorny issues. He ordered his ministers to discuss them together, while he himself retreated into the palace.

Dealing with the Beijing garrison was already troublesome enough, and the emperor was too lazy to clean up this mess, so he left it to his ministers.

The emperor could pass the buck to the outer court, but the cabinet could no longer do so.

The matter concerning the Beijing Garrison was far-reaching, and no matter how the cabinet discussed it, they could not reach a result that satisfied everyone.

In the end, the cabinet could only issue an order requiring all civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital to submit memorials to discuss matters concerning the Beijing garrison.
-
Martial arts supervisor.

"lighter!"

Li Rusong gasped, but in front of his classmates, he managed to hold back his cry.

Xia Zhongxiao carefully treated the wound, like a dutiful wife instructing him:

"Ban Zheng, you must keep the wound clean on the newspaper to prevent it from being infected by microbes. Be careful these next few days."

Li Rusong waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

For Wu Jiansheng, this temporary posting was like a bizarre dream.

Everyone went to take up their posts with great enthusiasm, eager to make a name for themselves in the Beijing Garrison.

But they soon discovered that the Beijing garrison was in a terrible state of disrepair.

Some who considered themselves smart just slacked off and stopped participating in drills and training. They figured that as long as they didn't cause trouble, the garrison would give them a good evaluation after their temporary assignment ended.

Some who didn't want to cause trouble simply did their own thing every day. Since the Beijing garrison was putting on a show, they would put on a show too. As long as they didn't practice too hard, they could always manage to put on a show.

Only someone as simple-minded as Xia Zhongxiao persisted in training troops until the very end, ultimately suffering a betrayal, but becoming the key to the court's exposure of the dark secrets of the Beijing Garrison.

Li Rusong's experience was different from theirs.

Because of his status, Li Rusong received special treatment from the Beijing Garrison from the moment he took up his post.

The soldiers who assisted him in the performance were also elite troops carefully selected by the Beijing Garrison.

Of course, this so-called elite force is relative.

It wasn't just Li Rusong; the Beijing garrison also spent a lot of money to put on a show for people like Zhu Shitai, the squad leader of the cavalry platoon.

The boss is kind, the subordinates are obedient, and the colleagues speak pleasantly.

Li Rusong trained his troops diligently, but when the Beijing garrison finally mutinied, he still couldn't understand why.

His cavalry squad from the Divine Pivot Battalion eventually became a "rebel force".

Li Rusong was forced out of the camp by soldiers and then ran into Qi Jiguang's Datong cavalry.

The result was obvious: Li Rusong's troops, trained for less than a month, were no match for the cavalrymen from Datong who had fought in actual border battles.

Li Rusong was captured alive on the battlefield and also fell from his horse and was injured.

Fortunately, the officer of the Datong cavalry was an old comrade-in-arms of Instructor Li Rusong. When the military supervisor went to bail him out, the censor also found out that Li Rusong had been deceived after an investigation, and he was released and returned to the military supervisor.

Because of this incident, Li Rusong became a laughing stock in the martial arts academy, so he could only stay in his dormitory to recover from his injuries.

"Ban Zheng, are the Datong cavalry really that powerful?"

Xia Zhongxiao's strength is his carefree nature. He has already put this temporary posting experience behind him. Now he is more interested in knowing just how powerful the cavalry that made Ban Zheng suffer a setback is.

"sharp."

Li Rusong trembled involuntarily as he recalled the scene of the cavalry charge in Datong.

These are the real elites!
This cavalry unit was also trained according to the "Cavalry Drill Manual".

They selected only the finest warhorses, and all the cavalrymen wore iron breastplates.

The weapon was a short gun that could be fired with one hand while riding.

This type of short gun did not prioritize shooting accuracy or reloading. In normal cavalry combat, it was used only once per charge, meaning it was fired right in front of the enemy's face.

When suppressing the Beijing garrison, the short guns were not loaded with live ammunition, but they were already enough to frighten the cavalry trained by Li Rusong into fleeing.

In addition, all cavalrymen were equipped with sabers, which were used by the cavalry in combat after firing short guns.

Li Rusong was injured when his horse was struck by enemy cavalry, causing him to fall from his horse and sustain injuries. In this battle, Li Rusong witnessed the true elite of the enemy forces.

He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if such cavalry were in Liaodong.
I'm afraid the Jurchens would flee in terror if they saw it.

Xia Zhongxiao then asked:

"How about facing that chaotic infantry formation?"

Li Rusong began to think.

The military academy not only had cavalry departments, but also infantry and artillery departments.

There are conflicts between the two platoons in the cavalry department, but when facing other departments, the cavalry department can unite against external forces.

The artillery department has a smaller number of students, and its training programs are quite different from those of cavalry and infantry. In the first year, the artillery department has a lot of math content, so there is not much conflict with the other two departments.

The conflicts between the cavalry and infantry branches are much greater.

After the new muskets were issued, the infantry's linear volley firing tactics sparked discussion within the army.

A view has emerged within the infantry department that the future belongs to infantry, and cavalry will inevitably fade from the historical stage.

While this argument may sound absurd, when a vast number of infantrymen line up with muskets, it is a formation that instills despair in all enemies.

Perhaps only long-range artillery could break through such an infantry formation?

The cavalry and infantry departments also conducted several wargames, and although the results were mixed, the cavalry students couldn't help but feel anxious when they thought about the cost of infantry equipment and the difficulty of training.

Cavalry is too expensive!
The cost of a cavalryman is more than ten times that of an infantryman.

This is just the cost of money and supplies; if the cultivation period is taken into account, the multiplier would be even more exaggerated.

The infantry department argued that, with the same investment, an infantry formation equipped with new arquebuses could completely defeat a cavalry formation with the same investment.

Moreover, infantry training and replenishment are much easier than cavalry, so cavalry has no future.

This argument spread within the military academy and surprisingly gained quite a few supporters.

This time, the Datong cavalry gave Li Rusong new ideas.

Cavalry is far from being relegated to the sidelines! In fact, new weapons and new manuals will make them shine even brighter on the battlefield!

The mobility of cavalry also determines that cavalry is the most useful type of troop for the attacking side.

After being captured, Li Rusong also communicated with the officers of this cavalry unit.

Marshal Qi was also involved in military reforms in Datong.

The direction of the reform is to streamline the soldiers and reduce the number of redundant troops.

While ensuring the garrisoning of several key fortresses, Qi Jiguang trained more cavalry and sent them to the grasslands for practical training under the pretext of suppressing bandits.

Each bastion and outpost will maintain a cavalry battalion capable of launching proactive attacks, ensuring the mobility of each outpost.

Li Rusong also began to think, what if Liaodong also used this method?
The outposts were defended by infantry and artillery, and when the time was right, the cavalry would patrol and fight outside the outposts, eliminating the Jurchens near the outposts.

In this way, one outpost can cover and protect a large area of ​​surrounding villages.

Li Rusong also thought of the Liaodong issue he had discussed with his father before coming to Liaodong.

The land in Liaodong is fertile, and even if only one crop is grown per year, it can still produce a large amount of grain.

However, with the Jurchen rebellion, the Han Chinese population in Liaodong continued to decline.

As the Han Chinese population dwindled, the Jurchens became even more rampant.

This creates a vicious cycle: population loss leads to a deterioration in the security situation, and the deterioration in security exacerbates population loss.

If this method is used to restore peace to Liaodong, then with the influx of people, the situation in Liaodong will stabilize.

As long as the Han population remains dominant, the Jurchens will no longer have a fertile ground to cause trouble.

After hearing Li Rusong's description, Xia Zhongxiao's eyes lit up, and he put his hands on his hips and said:
"Once I train an elite cavalry, I'm going to rip these infantry out of their laps!"

Everyone laughed, and the dormitory was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Having concluded this topic, Li Rusong said:
"Have you all met those classmates?"

Everyone nodded.

The classmates Li Rusong was referring to were those military academy students whose families were officers in the Beijing garrison.

These students were implicated in this major case involving the Beijing garrison.

They themselves were not involved in the affairs of the Beijing Garrison, but their families had served as generals in the garrison for generations, and many of their relatives and friends had committed offenses.

There were three such students in the second cavalry class; they were very depressed after returning from the Beijing garrison.

Since Li Rusong was physically unable to help, he asked other classmates to comfort them.

"Dean Su said that this case involving the Beijing Garrison will not implicate the Military Academy, so they can rest assured."

Xia Zhongxiao said:
“Ban Zheng, I have said this, but it is still very difficult for the family to get over such a thing.”

Li Rusong said:
“Go tell those fools that their family’s disgrace is a matter of their ancestors. Their ancestors ruined their ancestral property, and this has nothing to do with them.”

"If they still want to revive their family's legacy, then they should study hard at the Military Academy. Once they graduate, will they lack opportunities to make a name for themselves?"

Li Rusong then added:
"I heard from Zhu Banzheng of Class One that meritorious officials are submitting a memorial, wanting to train a new army in the capital."

"Train a new army!"

Xia Zhongxiao's eyes lit up!

"Keep your voice down!"

Li Rusong continued:

“If we want to train a new army, we will have to transfer officers from our military supervisory office.”

Li Rusong then said:

"However, the new army should not be too large; the court will mainly rely on elite troops."

"Whether you end up commanding cavalry or mules and horses depends on your fate."

The cavalry battalion's curriculum included not only commanding cavalry in combat, but also logistics and supply of mules and horses.

As Li Rusong said, if elite troops are trained, the competition among officers will be very fierce.

Xia Zhongxiao's face turned pale. He would rather die than be asked to command the mules and horses.
-
On February 22, more than 20 meritorious officials submitted a petition to the court, requesting that the budget of the abolished Beijing Garrison be used to train a new army.

This memorial caused a huge uproar, making the already chaotic court situation even more turbulent.

Officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital were both excited and distressed.

What's exciting is that with such a large budget, I also have the power to submit suggestions. Even if only a small part of it is adopted, it will still make a good impression on the emperor and his ministers, and the political rewards will be unimaginable.

The painful thing is how to write such a memorial properly.

Shen Yiguan pushed open the newspaper office door and saw Shen Shixing, whom he had not seen for a long time.

(End of this chapter)