Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 55 In theory, I have 100,000 generals (Please vote!)

As the sedan chair swayed gently, Zhu Youjian half-closed his eyes, still feeling a pang of heartache.

That's 130 million taels of the imperial treasury...

Moreover, given the current situation, it's estimated that only half or even less of the actual amount will reach the soldiers.

We'll carefully select the candidates from the downstream company, and then send the factory guards to follow them.

But how effective it will be, only a genius would know.

"His Majesty."

Gao Shiming's voice rang in his ears, pulling him back from his thoughts.

“Each list can be compiled with information on place of origin, age, and background within an hour, but…” He paused slightly, as if considering his words, “the list of civil and military officials of the seventh rank and above in the country will probably take several days to complete.”

Zhu Youjian opened his eyes, and immediately realized the problem: "Oh? Are there many people?"

Gao Shiming bowed and said, "Your Majesty, there are approximately two thousand civil and military officials in the two capitals. These past few days, while filling in the official shrines for Your Majesty, we have already organized them. There are approximately 1,500 civil officials in the local areas. We can retrieve their files from the Ministry of Personnel within a few hours."

"But... but the military officers of the local garrisons won't make it in time."

"Of the more than four hundred garrisons across the land, there are over three thousand in the thousand-household garrisons alone. The flag officer is a seventh-rank official, and above him are centurions, deputy thousand-household commanders, thousand-household commanders, and so on... All in all, the number of garrison officers of the seventh rank and above is probably..."

Gao Shiming's voice lowered, somewhat embarrassed: "There are probably close to one hundred thousand..."

"One hundred thousand?"

Zhu Youjian's lips twitched slightly.

Are you saying that I now have 100,000 military officers of the seventh rank or above?
What a dark joke! If all 100,000 military officers were competent, I could sweep away the Jin dynasty next year and annihilate it.

The names of those generals from the late Ming Dynasty began to flash through his mind involuntarily.

Zuo Liangyu, Huang Degong, Liu Zeqing...

Besides the generals shining in Liaodong today, who else is hidden in the garrison system?

Even if it were available, I don't think I could get it out.

With a base of 100,000 people, he might be able to find three Zuo Liangyus and five Huang Degongs...

Zhu Youjian himself was amused by this idea, and couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"It was my oversight." He waved his hand and said to Gao Shiming, "There's no need to compile statistics on the garrisons for now. Just the lists of civil and military officials in the two capitals and local civil officials will suffice."

"This servant obeys the decree." Gao Shiming breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "In this way, only the list of more than 1,500 people in the local area is missing. Your Majesty may have lunch first. After you finish eating, all the lists can be presented. Only the list of seventh-rank civil and military officials will be presented a little later."

"Okay, go ahead and do it."

……

Zhou Yu went to the imperial estate outside the city to inspect and settle the families of the palace eunuchs, so he is not here today.

Zhu Youjian had no choice but to eat lunch alone. The meal was very simple, consisting of four dishes and a soup, all prepared by the Imperial Kitchen, which had undergone a purge.

He ate quickly, his mind preoccupied with the lists he was about to receive, and he had little interest in the food.

After lunch and rinsing his mouth, he couldn't wait to sit down behind his desk.

Gao Shiming had already arranged the compiled roster on his desk, categorizing them by type.

There are four layers in total, each layer thicker than the last.

The first set consisted of nine candidates recommended by the court for the positions of Minister of War, Minister of Personnel, and Minister of Justice.

The second stack contains the list of all pedestrians in the Pedestrian Affairs Bureau, totaling thirty-two people.

The third section contains a list of 283 officials dismissed during the Tianqi era for their involvement in the "Donglin faction."

The fourth and thickest stack contains the names of civil and military officials of the two capitals and local officials holding substantive positions of the seventh rank and above. It is only half completed so far, and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs is still sending over new lists.

Looking at the stacks of names before him, Zhu Youjian felt a surge of pride.

This is his future team!

This is the capital that enabled him to change this era and reshape the Ming Dynasty!
He rubbed his hands together, like a player about to open a blind box, his eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation.

Which one should we start with?

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept across the four stacks of names, finally settling on the thinnest one.

Come on! Let's start with the smallest amount, and use the knife as a base first.

He took a deep breath and picked up the list of nine people nominated by the court.

The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Justice were the central government departments.

The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, in particular, were of paramount importance, one in charge of personnel and the other in charge of military affairs.

Currently, the positions of Minister in these three ministries are temporarily held by the Vice Minister of the Left, which is not a long-term solution.

The most urgent task is to select the right people, even if they are just temporary "paperhangers," to get the framework in place so that the court can function properly.

As for the future... there will be plenty of time in the future, we can slowly change them one by one.

Zhu Youjian was filled with excitement.

This was the first time he had truly intervened in the appointment and removal of civil officials in the outer court. However, when he looked at the list with anticipation, his brows furrowed involuntarily.

Who are these people?
The first question is about age.

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over the string of birth dates, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant.

In his view, the ideal age for a high-ranking official in a country should be between forty and sixty years old.

Officials in this age group have enough experience and composure to avoid being impulsive and reckless like young people, and they are also energetic enough to avoid being senile and senile like the elderly.

Considering that medical care and health conditions in ancient times were not as good as they are today, this age range may need to be moved forward further.

But the people on this list seem a bit too "mature".

The oldest candidate for Minister of Personnel is Qiao Yunsheng, who is currently... seventy-four years old?
Zhu Youjian's eye twitched involuntarily.

Seventy-four years old...

Sir, are you sure you can make it to the capital alive to take up your post?
The second question is about place of origin.

Looking at the list, five out of the nine candidates were from Beizhili (northern Hebei).

Zhu Youjian's brows furrowed even more deeply.

He wasn't prejudiced against officials in Beizhili, but rather believed that one should never go to extremes in anything.

Officials in the Southern Zhili and Jiangzhe regions, regardless of their integrity, would more or less speak on behalf of local interests.

But this was true for officials in Beizhili, Shaanxi, Shanxi—and indeed for officials throughout the country.

The capital region is a crucial area, with the Later Jin dynasty eyeing it covetously to the north and a drought brewing to the west. It is precisely the most important place where he will eventually take control of the four directions in the central government.

The concentration of pollutants in Beizhili must be strictly controlled.

The third and most crucial question is that he doesn't know any of these people!

Well, I can't say I'm not familiar with any of them.

There were two names on the list that he vaguely recognized.

A man named Huo Weihua presented "Linglu Drink" to his adopted brother, the Tianqi Emperor.

But apart from that, we know nothing about her background or abilities.

What surprised him was that this person was not implicated like in the "Red Pill Case".

The other one is Wang Zaijin.

He was a famous pessimist when Liaodong collapsed, claiming that Guangning was indefensible and demanding a direct retreat to Shanhaiguan.

As a result, Yuan Chonghuan defended Ningyuan, and then pushed forward to defend Ningjin.

Aren't you embarrassed, Lao Wang?

Zhu Youjian sighed deeply, feeling utterly exhausted.

Never mind, let's just wallpaper it for now and make adjustments after the real masters arrive in Beijing.

He gently placed the list on the imperial desk.

"Gao Shiming, bring me the detailed drafts of these nine people. I want to take a closer look."

　The Ming Dynasty had 493 guards and 118 independent thousand-household garrisons.

　　The data statistics come from "Ningnan Zuohou", and the map I used is also from his.

　　He's more reliable than Zhu Shiwei; I trust him.

　　-
　　The garrison system is a very interesting topic, and we can discuss it in more detail when we write about reforms later.

　　-
　　The number of civil and military officials in the two capitals is based on the "Records of Officials in the Fourteenth Year of Chongzhen," which also comes from the statistics of "Ningnan Zuohou."

　　There were 1106 civil officials and 569 military officials in Beijing.

　　-
　　The number of civil officials of the seventh rank and above in the country is calculated by adding the number of civil officials at each level to the number of provinces, prefectures, states, and counties, which may result in some discrepancies.

　　It comprised two capitals, thirteen provinces, 138 prefectures, 193 sub-prefectures, and 1139 counties.

　　-
　　Of the nine candidates, only Huo Weihua and Chen Jiuchou's ages were deduced from the time they passed the imperial examination; the others were accurate.

　　People often say they're looking for Sun Chengzong, who is 64 this year, and Yuan Keli, who is 65. It's true that those who write Ming Dynasty novels don't care about the elderly.

　　Then I won't cherish it either; that's just how the world is, haha.

　　-
　　Regarding abandoning Liaodong, my view is that, from the most conservative perspective, we should at least hold out until Ningyuan.

　　At the time, Yuan Chonghuan said it was possible to defend, while Wang Zaijin said it was impossible.

　　When the report was submitted, Ye Xianggao was undecided and sent Sun Chengzong to the front line to take a look. After reviewing the report, Sun Chengzong also felt that it was possible to defend the front.

　　Later, it was proven that this was indeed possible.

　　Old Wang is really in deep trouble now.

　　-
　　Of course, this is just my personal opinion on this character, and I welcome any criticism.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)