My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 311: Prefectural Soldiers or Garrison?

In September, temperatures in Shandong Province began to drop steadily.

It's no longer as hot as before, and it's also the planting season.

"Hu... husband."

Like a fish out of water, Zheng Dache finally collapsed onto Gao Yu, exhausted. Although he wasn't hot, he was covered in sweat.

Gao Yu reached out and put his arm around her.

After giving birth to her son, Zheng Dache became quite plump and experienced a second growth spurt.

He sensed Gao Yu's gaze.

Zheng Dache couldn't help but bite her lower lip. Gao Yu used to like looking at her from behind, but now he preferred to look at her from the front.

Are you adjusting well here?

Gao Yu subconsciously stroked her smooth, jade-like back skin. She had been pampered since childhood, and even without modern skincare products, her skin was still fair and tender.

"It is enough to serve my husband."

Zheng Dache was not one to argue. Even though her younger brother Zheng Zhongli had been there with some of the clansmen for over a month, she hadn't whispered anything in Gao Yu's ear.

very smart.

To contend is not to contend; not to contend is to contend. It is precisely because one does not contend that no one in the world can contend with him.

The maternal relatives will inevitably enter Gao Yu's circle.

And the status is not low.

no way.

Compared to unrelated people, maternal relatives are more trustworthy, but of course, any trust should be kept within limits.

Gao Yu had no choice. He wasn't playing a game and couldn't see everyone's loyalty. A certain degree of nepotism was inevitable. He had to build an interest group with himself at its core.

"Your younger brother settled his clan in Dongyang City, didn't you even think of helping him out?"

"I am but a woman, how dare I disturb my husband?"

Zheng Dache leaned against him and said softly, "If my brother is capable, my husband will certainly give him an important position. But if he is not capable, wouldn't that just cause me trouble?"

Gao Yu chuckled softly, "Then do you think he has the ability?"

Zheng Dache was silent for a moment, then said, "It's hard to say... My family doesn't have a good reputation."

Zheng Yanzu, the father of Zheng Dache, did not have a good reputation in Luoyang. In the eyes of many ministers, he was a sycophant and had a problematic lifestyle.

Although the Yuan dynasty Xianbei ruled the Central Plains for more than a hundred years, there was the Sixteen Kingdoms period before that, during which different ethnic groups integrated with each other and adopted each other's customs.

Zheng Yanzu was merely a man who was quite unrestrained in matters of love and sex during a time of moral decay and social disorder.

He had heard about it to some extent, but hearing it from Zheng Dache made him laugh so hard.

"Don't worry, I won't let you and Run'er down."

Gao Yu patted her back gently, and a hint of joy flashed in Zheng Dache's eyes.

She certainly doesn't need to compete, but if her family members could be given important positions or even high ranks under Gao Yu, her influence would be much greater.

Not to mention coveting the position of the principal wife or first wife, at least you don't have to worry about being bullied, right?

Although Yang Changchu and Erzhu Yuechan don't seem like the type to bully others, that's because they haven't had any children yet. A woman's mindset changes after giving birth.

She, who had been exhausted, suddenly regained her strength, held the thunder in both hands, and learned a completely new way to play it, following Gao Yu's instructions.

She used to be plump but still lacked something. After having children and going through a second growth spurt, she could try holding a thunderbolt in her hand.

It's always the kind-hearted older sister who's the best.

………………

Two more days passed.

Gao Yu arrived at Tian Ce Mansion.

Cui Jie, the acting Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, is indeed worthy of his past as a Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat in Luoyang. While he may not be a man of extraordinary talent, he has handled the current matter with remarkable efficiency, and all the policies that Gao Yu wants to implement are progressing steadily.

Gao Yu has summoned everyone here today to continue the discussions that were held previously.

After Cui Xian bowed first, he said, "The matter that the young master asked us to discuss has now made progress."

"Oh? Tell me about it." Gao Yu quickly pressed for an answer.

"After discussing with Uncle Zheng, Zishan and I, we felt that the general's mention of 'Fubing' (府兵) was still somewhat inappropriate. Although this military system is slightly different from the military system of the Great Wei, it also has hidden dangers."

Since ancient times, military systems have been a cycle.

Conscription, recruitment, and hereditary military service systems took turns being implemented.

The hereditary military system, which had been in use since the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Wei and Jin Dynasties, was particularly ineffective from the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period due to the lack of recruitment and conscription systems.

Years of war caused many ordinary people to go bankrupt and seek refuge with powerful families and wealthy clans in order to survive.

The manor developed rapidly during this period. If you can't even control the population, how can you talk about recruiting and conscripting soldiers?

Cao Wei then implemented the "hereditary military system," forcibly classifying soldiers and their families as "military households," separating them from civilians.

But soldiers are inherently inferior, and ordinary women are unwilling to marry into military households, and even those who do marry into military households may run away.

The Northern Wei was a regime established by the Tuoba Xianbei. Its military system initially bore a strong resemblance to that of nomadic tribes. It was the Tuoba Xianbei, the leading figure, who led various smaller shareholders to sweep across the northern border.

The system of the Six Garrisons that guarded the frontier of the Great Wei was actually very similar to the later Fubing system.

The powerful and influential Han Chinese men, from respectable families, personally led their own troops to guard the frontier. They provided their own troops and weapons. In exchange, the court exempted these people from taxes, and they were the first to share in the profits from foreign wars. Therefore, in the early days of the Great Wei Dynasty, they were highly regarded.

The Six Towns are highly coveted, a 'chosen land' that many people would kill to get to.

But it eventually declined and became a place even dogs would avoid.

"Although the young master proposed to give land as a reward, ... the land is ultimately limited, and it may be difficult to sustain in the future. Moreover, the permanent land is in the hands of the garrison soldiers, and I am afraid that it will eventually be annexed, causing a large number of garrison soldiers to go bankrupt."

The Fubing system was essentially a minor patch to the military system of the Great Wei Dynasty.

In addition to simple tax exemptions and spoils incentives, an extra step was added: providing land.

It is divided into Yongye Field and Koufen Field.

The former refers to private land that was entirely given to the soldiers, while the latter refers to land that could be reclaimed after the soldiers died.

This way, when it becomes impossible to plunder spoils from foreign lands, the soldiers won't completely lose their source of income, as the harvest from their fields can serve as a safety net.

Gao Yu nodded in agreement.

Cui Xian and his colleagues immediately saw the biggest hidden danger of the Fubing system.

The actual speed of land expansion may not be able to keep up with the actual demand for land, and... the biggest hidden danger is land consolidation, which will lead to the bankruptcy of a large number of garrison troops. After the garrison troops go bankrupt, their fighting capacity will be difficult to sustain.

This is also an important reason why the Fubing system quickly declined after the expansion period of the early Tang Dynasty.

"So what do you think we should do?"

After a moment's hesitation, Cui Xian said, "In my opinion... it would be better to take over all the land from the Tian Ce Prefecture, not to give out permanent land, but to give out all the land to the poor, and to make the strong and healthy soldiers into warriors, while the weak would be responsible for agricultural production and various odd jobs..."

Ok?
Gao Yu was taken aback.

Doesn't this sound just like the Ming Dynasty's garrison system?
The garrison system was essentially a patch to the existing military system, as there wasn't enough permanent farmland to distribute.

Then we won't give out permanent land; all of it will be allocated land.

It was as if the emperor had become the biggest landowner in the land, and all the military households in the garrisons were the emperor's 'tenants'.

Gao Yu hadn't expected this either.

He proposed the framework of the Fubing system, but unexpectedly, Cui Xian and his group actually figured out the Weisuo system based on its drawbacks.
What a smart bunch!
It gives one a sense of exhilaration, as if all the heroes of the world are now under my control.

"There are indeed many drawbacks."

Gao Yu did not deny it.

Throughout history, countless intelligent people have explored the mechanisms by which human society operates.

The ultimate conclusion is that there is no perfect system, only a system that suits the actual situation.

Each situation needs to be analyzed specifically.

Society is changing, needs are changing, and systems must change accordingly.

The problem is simply that the old system creates a large number of interest groups, and changes to the system will harm their interests. Therefore, these old interest groups become the biggest obstacle to reform.

"However... there is no such thing as a perfect strategy."

"It's all about weighing options and making choices."

(End of this chapter)