The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 346 Three-Year Development Plan
Two hundred thousand elite troops—this number may sound alarming, but it was only Jiang Han's conservative estimate.

Although the Ming Dynasty is currently riddled with problems, its massive size and profound foundation still make its military strength not to be underestimated.

Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangshan, Sun Chuanting, and even the Guan Ning Army in Liaodong were all seasoned and capable warriors.

If we were to hastily send troops now, it would be tantamount to putting ourselves in a precarious position.

Even if they can achieve some tactical victories in the early stages with their initial momentum, once they provoke a full-scale counterattack from the Ming court, they may be drawn into a protracted war of attrition.

At that time, Huang Taiji outside the Great Wall will be able to act freely.

This is the situation Jiang Han least wants to see.

He needed time to reorganize his troops and prepare for war, and he also needed time to deplete the national strength and vitality of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, he planned to spend three years preparing for war, raising funds and supplies, and cultivating talent.

Upon hearing this decision, the faces of the generals present involuntarily revealed a hint of disappointment and discouragement.

Jiang Han took in their expressions and couldn't help but smile:

"What, you think you can relax without fighting?"

"Wrong, the next task is not simple at all!"

"Currently, the number of soldiers in our army who can be called combat soldiers is only about 50,000."

"I'm giving you three years to expand your army to 150,000."

"In addition, the militia responsible for land reclamation and garrisoning should be expanded to 300,000!"

Jiang Han's task can be described as extremely difficult.

Expanding the army, especially on a large scale, is not simply a matter of recruiting local militia and able-bodied men.

There is a fundamental difference between militia and combat troops; one is a type of military responsible for local defense, land reclamation, and production.

The other type is full-time professional soldiers who require long-term, systematic, and rigorous training to become soldiers.

Its training content is extremely complex and demanding:

Soldiers need to be proficient in the use of swords, shields, and spears, and also need to memorize the coordination of various battle formations;

In addition, discipline instilled and physical training are of paramount importance and cannot be neglected.

Upon hearing this enormous number, everyone in the hall couldn't help but gasp.

How easy is it to expand the military on such a large scale and complete it in just three years?

Seeing that no one objected, Jiang Han made the final decision:
Since neither of you says anything, that means you agree.

"Alright, now let me assign tasks."

His gaze first fell on Cao Er:
"You will lead 80,000 combat troops and 100,000 militia."

"Recruit soldiers mainly from the core prefectures and counties in central and western Sichuan, such as Chengdu Prefecture, Sichuan Provincial Military Command, Xuzhou Prefecture, and Luzhou. They must be rigorously trained and there must be no mistakes!"

Cao Er, standing in the crowd, stepped forward without hesitation, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:
"The last general takes command!"

Jiang Han nodded, then looked at Dong Erzhu, who was in charge of the defense line in northern Sichuan:
"Zhu Zi, you shall take the quota of 10,000 combat soldiers and 30,000 militiamen."

"The main recruitment and training of soldiers was carried out in Baoning Prefecture, Long'an Prefecture, Shunqing Prefecture and other places."

"Jianzhou is adjacent to Hanzhong and is crucial to the security of my northern front. You must train a strong army for me."

Dong Erzhu replied in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, rest assured!"

Then, Jiang Han turned to the side and said:

“Li Laowai, you are in Kuizhou Prefecture and Chongqing Prefecture. This place is located at a strategic point on the Yangtze River, with waterways crisscrossing the area.”

"Then you shall be in charge of the navy!"

"Navy... Navy?"

Li Laowai was stunned when he heard this, his face filled with astonishment.

How did he, a landlubber from the Northwest who was used to riding horses and fighting, suddenly get assigned to manage the navy?

He was about to decline when Jiang Han raised his hand to interrupt him:
"I know you can't swim, but there's no one else available right now, so I have to let you take on this responsibility for now."

"I don't need you to train your navy to be invincible and dominate the Yangtze River."

"Your primary task is to oversee the construction of various warships, cargo ships, and troop transport ships."

"While building ships, we also train or recruit sailors."

Hearing this, Li Laowai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he isn't allowed to board the ship to fight, everything is negotiable.

"I understand. I will urge the craftsmen to speed up the shipbuilding process when I get back."

Jiang Han nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Shao Yong and Li Zicheng one last time:
"The remaining 60,000 soldiers will be split equally between the two of you."

"The newly incorporated provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are barren and the people are poor. You should adapt to local conditions and take it slowly."

At this moment, Li Zicheng stepped forward again and raised a crucial question:
"Your Majesty, what should be done with the militia stationed in various places?"

"Yunnan and Guizhou are remote areas, and many places are not suitable for large-scale military operations. Why don't we simply reopen the garrison posts and use them to guard the local areas?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Li Zicheng:
"Tell me, what are your thoughts?"

Li Zicheng gathered his thoughts and stated:

"In my opinion, the garrison system has its unique value in Yunnan and Guizhou, where Han and Yi people live together."

"Take Yang Jia as an example. If a garrison has stationed troops nearby in advance, it can effectively deter the surrounding wild people and barbarians, making them dare not easily come down the mountain to plunder."

“The military households in the garrison can cultivate land and be self-sufficient in peacetime, which can reduce the pressure of food and pay; they can also maintain basic military skills through training in peacetime.”

"Its very existence is a symbol of the king's rule, and it is of great benefit to deterring unruly chieftains and consolidating my rule on the frontier."

After hearing this, Jiang Han fell into deep thought.

To be honest, due to the influence of public opinion, he has always harbored a considerable prejudice against the "garrison system" deep down.

Later generations were filled with fierce criticism of the corrupt garrison system, the desertion of military households, the low combat effectiveness, and the officers' encroachment on the military farmland, almost regarding it as one of the important reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

This led Jiang Han to have a preconceived notion that the garrison was a backward military and political organization that should be completely abandoned.

However, after he became king in Chengdu and took control of the entire situation, he gradually changed his mind.

No ancient system can be judged lightly without considering its historical context.

You can criticize Zhu for loopholes in economic policies, the monetary system, or household registration management;
But you can never say that a founding emperor who started from scratch had problems with raising, training, and using troops.

Considering the realities of the early Ming Dynasty, the garrison system played a crucial role at that time.

The military farms enabled the army to achieve basic self-sufficiency, which greatly reduced the burden on the national treasury.

At the same time, the garrisons formed a nationwide military control network, which was also very helpful in maintaining border stability and local order.

The hereditary military households of the Ming Dynasty ensured a relatively stable source of soldiers.

However, as time went on, politics gradually became corrupt, and the garrison system began to decline.

As a result, by the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the court had to turn to recruiting soldiers to deal with major wars.

The problem is that no system in the world is perfect or unchanging.

The collapse of the garrison system stemmed from official corruption and the failure of its supporting oversight mechanisms, rather than from the system itself being entirely ineffective. Even towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, many of the conscripted soldiers still capable of fighting came from the garrisons.

The guards had at least handled weapons and had received some military training, unlike the young and strong militiamen who had never handled weapons before.

With sufficient food and pay, and after a period of training, the originally weak guards can gradually be transformed into elite troops.

Li Zicheng saw the potential of the garrison system in maintaining local stability and providing a reserve of soldiers, which is why he put forward this suggestion.

Despite this, Jiang Han was still somewhat unsure about the situation.

He waved his hand, deciding to put the issue aside for the time being:
"This matter has far-reaching implications and is not just a military issue. Let's discuss it further at another time."

At this moment, Zhao Sheng stepped forward again, cupped his hands, and said:
"Your Majesty, even disregarding the garrisons, the 450,000 troops alone require a considerable amount of provisions and pay."

"If a natural disaster were to occur, it would be difficult to sustain this."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han asked in surprise:
"Isn't it?"

"In the past two years, I have reduced corvée labor, encouraged land reclamation, and invested a lot of manpower and resources in dredging waterways and building water conservancy projects."

"It is likely that there are quite a few wealthy people among the common people."

He turned his gaze to Li Xinghuai, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture.

"Tell me in detail, roughly how much tax revenue can I collect each year in the three provinces under my jurisdiction?"

Li Xinghuai nodded, then stepped forward to report:

"Your Majesty, according to the latest audit conducted this year by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Revenue:"

"The registered land in Sichuan that pays taxes is about 16,523,000 mu, of which about 230,000 mu are newly developed paddy fields and terraced fields."

"Excluding the elderly over sixty and children under sixteen, the registered population is approximately nine million."

"In Guizhou, including the newly acquired Shuixi land, there are approximately 1.6 million mu of farmland and 700,000 people."

"Yunnan has approximately 3.4 million mu of land and 1.8 million people."

"In terms of grain production, rice is the main crop in the Sichuan Plain and other areas, with an average yield of about two to three shi (a unit of dry measure) per mu (a unit of land area), and two harvests are made per year."

"Corn is mostly planted in the mountainous areas, with one harvest per year, and an average yield of about one and a half shi per mu."

"All things considered, the total annual grain output of the three provinces should be around 64 million shi (a unit of dry measure).

Jiang Han's expression softened slightly upon hearing the number:

"Sixty-four million koku?"

"This number is already quite large; it should be more than enough to support hundreds of thousands of troops."

But Li Xinghuai shook his head, very cautious:

"No."

"What I just reported is the most ideal situation; the actual calculation is much more complicated."

"First of all, droughts occurred in northern Sichuan and northern Guizhou last year. Although the local government made every effort to fight the drought, a reduction in grain production was still inevitable."

"This alone resulted in a loss of nearly a million shi (a unit of dry measure) compared to the estimate."

"Secondly, the total output is 64 million shi. If we take 50% as land rent, we can theoretically collect 32 million shi."

"When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, you issued a decree to all the people of Sichuan, granting them a one-year tax exemption;"

"Last year, the Crown Prince was born, and it was proposed to reduce the summer and autumn taxes by 30%."

"Based on this calculation, the actual amount of tax grain that can be collected is far less than 32 million shi."

"To support the king's plan to expand the army, the local granaries are under tremendous pressure, and they may be stretched thin in the event of a famine."

Jiang Han nodded after hearing this:
"When you calculate it this way, the pressure is indeed considerable."

"But don't forget, the grain from the tax cuts has already gone into the pockets of the people, and they have a certain ability to withstand natural disasters."

"Even if we take it all out of the box, 500,000 troops would only need 2 million shi of grain a year."

"And those 300,000 militiamen are not entirely off-duty, so they should be able to support themselves."

"The treasury of this prince's palace has a considerable amount of gold, silver and cloth stored up. As for military pay, there will be no shortage of military pay in the short term."

"Furthermore, military expansion cannot be accomplished overnight; it can be carried out in stages."

"In the first year, the fighting force will be expanded to 80,000, and the militia to 150,000;"

"In the second year, the number of soldiers increased to 140,000 and the number of militia to 250,000; it was not until the third year that the goal was fully achieved."

"By proceeding step by step, the financial pressure can be greatly reduced."

After listening, Li Xinghuai silently calculated in his mind for a long time before slowly speaking:
"If we proceed according to His Majesty's plan year by year and coordinate properly, we should be able to sustain it."

Having resolved the issue of provisions and pay, Jiang Han then looked at Zhuang Qirong, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Works:

"Since you are going to expand the army, your Ministry of Works should also make full preparations."

"The production of weapons such as swords, spears, bows, crossbows, armor, and muskets must keep pace with the expansion of the army."

"If we don't have enough manpower, we should immediately issue a notice to recruit craftsmen. We absolutely cannot hold them back!"

Zhuang Qirong looked troubled upon hearing this, and stepped forward to report:

"Your Majesty, the matter of recruiting artisans is going well."

"The most pressing problem right now is that the two workshops of the Ministry of Works located in Chengdu and Baoning Prefectures are already nearing their production capacity limits and are unable to undertake larger-scale manufacturing tasks."

"The most urgent task is to find a suitable location to set up another military industrial workshop."

"It would be best to concentrate the processes of iron smelting, forging, firearms manufacturing, and armor making in one place to form a synergy and improve efficiency."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han pondered for a moment:
“That’s easy. Since you’re going to start from scratch, you can go to Qijiang County, Chongqing Prefecture.”

"I remember that there are both coal mines and iron mines around Qijiang, so raw materials can be obtained nearby."

"Moreover, this place is located near the Qijiang River, with convenient water transportation, making it an ideal location to establish large workshops."

"How about this, you should just set up a Qijiang Ordnance Bureau. It must be large enough to meet the needs of future wars."

Zhuang Qirong nodded and bowed to accept the order:
"As you command, I will select officers upon my return to Qijiang to survey and select a site."

"Strive to set up the framework of the Ordnance Bureau as soon as possible and put it into production at an early date!"

Finally, Jiang Han looked at Wang Chengbi, the head of the academic department, and instructed him:
"Your department needs to hurry too."

"Expanding the army and expanding the territory ultimately requires officials to govern the local areas and consolidate the foundation."

"Especially since Yunnan was newly pacified, there was an urgent need for a large number of officials to fill the government offices of various prefectures, states and counties to promote the rule of the king."

"This year, the county, prefectural, provincial, and even township examinations in various regions must be organized promptly and the selection process must be rigorous."

"The talent shortage will continue to grow in the future, and your department should plan ahead and make preparations for talent reserves."

"In that case, let's simply set up a few more government-run schools in key prefectures and counties like Baoning Prefecture, Chongqing Prefecture, and Xuzhou, which are densely populated and have a strong literary tradition, and expand their enrollment."

"The curriculum will follow that of Tianfu Academy, focusing on practical subjects such as agriculture, mathematics, and law."

"Guizhou and Yunnan should not be ignored either. We should send teachers to them and provide them with some support, so that people won't say that I am favoring one over the other."

Wang Chengbi nodded and bowed in response:
"Your Majesty understands. The Ministry of Education will do its utmost to cultivate talents for Your Majesty to meet the needs of the times."

(End of this chapter)