Dream of the Red Chamber: I can upgrade my entries!

Chapter 107 Deceiving the Heavens: The Showdown Between Hunter and Prey!
"Nephew."

"I did the work that was so bad it would get me struck by lightning."

Niu Jizong gritted his teeth and decided to trust Jia Yan.

"Dry!!!"

Liu Fang and Hou Xiaokang echoed in unison.

"it is good."

Jia Yan then got to the point: “The Qianlong Emperor inherited the Ming system, and there were 500 guard posts throughout the country, with about 5600 people in each guard post. They were used to protect the capital and the surrounding areas. The military service was hereditary, with most of them engaged in farming and a small number stationed for defense.”

"The Ministry of War has 2.8 million garrison troops, and the garrison farmland is about 4 million hectares, accounting for about half of the country's cultivated land. Our dynasty has a population of 90 million, and the garrison farmland accounts for less than one-fifth of that."

"hiss!!!"

Niu Jizong and the other two immediately gasped in shock. The garrison had actually created this huge pit.

For nearly 400 years, from the Ming Dynasty to the present, no one has dared to touch this pit, as it concerns the livelihoods of millions of soldiers and at least 15 million military households.

“My three uncles have already guessed it.”

"I'll only ask one question: Do you dare or not?"

Meeting the gazes of the three, Jia Yan spoke calmly.

"Nephew."

Liu Fang, who always planned carefully before acting, sensed that this matter was not simple and asked in return, "The garrison is a place where one move affects the whole situation."

"Since the Ming Dynasty, the Minister of War has been in charge of the assessment of military officers, the allocation of military units, and border defense affairs. He often supervises the army on expeditions."

“The Beijing Garrison and the Twelfth Battalion are recruited soldiers and are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War truly has jurisdiction over the Nine Border Garrisons and the Garrisons of the Entire Country.”

"You're going to crack down on the garrisons, and that's not just targeting the corrupt military system. Are you planning to take on the Ministry of War?"

"Ouch!!!"

Niu Jizong and Hou Xiaokang both turned to look at Jia Yan.

"It's not that I want to deal with the Ministry of War, but that the current ruler has great ambitions, and I, the Marquis, will be his vanguard."

With a slight smile, Jia Yan said meaningfully, "The primary reason for the nation's poverty and weakness lies in the central government. The Six Ministries obey the retired emperor and treat the current emperor as nothing."

“The corruption in the local areas was most prominent in the garrison system, which had 280 million registered soldiers. Their military pay mainly came from land reclamation and government appropriations.”

"As far as I know, the Ministry of War allocates one to two taels of silver per month to ordinary garrison soldiers based on the number of people, and the annual military pay is at least several million taels. It is still unknown where all this silver ends up."

"The families of the garrison troops number no less than 2000 million, scattered across the two capitals and thirteen provinces. What kind of lives do they lead? 400 million hectares of fertile land are not enough to feed them. So how can the two capitals and thirteen provinces feed 7000 million people with roughly the same amount of arable land?"

"Even a clever cook can't cook without rice. If the nation wants to change the status quo, it needs a lot of gold and silver. Where will this silver come from?"

“Once the garrison system is abolished and the land is re-established, the national dynasty can increase its tax revenue by at least ten million taels per year.”

"Are the three uncles aware of the current state of the garrison system?"

"I don't know."

Niu Jizong, Hou Xiaokang, and Liu Fang shook their heads. They were all heirs to the Duke's mansion and spent their days in the capital. How could they know anything about the hardships of ordinary people?

"The garrison system was actually a system in which hereditary military households were allowed to cultivate land in order to ensure the supply of military pay."

“Nowadays, the military farms have been swallowed up by generals at all levels, and the military households have gone bankrupt and fled, leaving very few survivors. The remaining people are poorly trained and are used by landlords and officers in peacetime. How can these soldiers shoulder the responsibility of defense?”

"There are only 8.9 million hectares of arable land in the country. 4 million hectares of land have fallen into the hands of landlords. Those garrison commanders are also the biggest landlords. 20 million military households and civilians have become their tenants, who are starving and have no clothes to cover their bodies."

"It won't be long before the world falls into the same state as during the Chongzhen era, with uprisings breaking out everywhere."

Jia Yan spoke the most brutal truth in the calmest tone: the current state of the Great Qian Dynasty was no less than that of the late Ming Dynasty.

"What does my dear nephew want us to do?"

The three men, including Niu Jizong, looked more solemn than ever before; this was no longer as simple as offending someone.

"It's not that I want my three uncles to do something, but rather what do my three uncles want?"

"What His Majesty needs now is for the power of the court to be returned to the Qianqing Palace, which is obviously impossible."

"Only with the dismantling of the garrison system can this portion of revenue bypass the Six Ministries and go directly into the Imperial Household Department for the emperor's control."

"After the abolition of the garrison system, adjustments to the nine border regions are inevitable. The dynasty needs usable troops, and the power of the Ministry of War will be weakened in a roundabout way. Therefore, this part of the power needs to be held by someone else, as the emperor does not trust the Ministry of War."

After giving Niu Jizong and the other two a deep look, Jia Yan began to speak eloquently.

"call!!!"

The three men's breathing became somewhat rapid; they had already discerned the direction in which power was shifting.

"Nephew."

"You tell us how to do it, and we'll do it."

Niu Jizong replied solemnly.

"That's the truth."

Liu Fang and Hou Xiaokang shared the same attitude.

"Do my three uncles still remember what I said in the past?"

Jia Yan looked as if he had everything under control.

'The Five Military Commands!'

An organization immediately came to mind for Niu Jizong, Liu Fang, and Hou Xiaokang.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Five Military Commissions controlled all military affairs, both domestic and foreign, and held supreme power over the army, thus creating a system of checks and balances between the Five Military Commissions and the Ministry of War.

"The abolition of the garrison system requires a strong army; otherwise, it will inevitably fail halfway."

"You will face tremendous pressure, from a vast network woven by local gentry and generals."

“Once the garrison system is abolished, the military force used to maintain local stability will be gone. How can we rely solely on the yamen runners of the prefecture and county?”

"What my dear nephew means is..."

Niu Jizong and the other two gathered at Jia Yan's place again.

"In the current dynasty, there are two capitals and thirteen provinces with governors of the second rank, who are in charge of military and political affairs, civil administration, personnel management, criminal justice, customs, and grain transport in their respective provinces. They are truly powerful officials in charge of the provinces. There are also provincial governors of the second rank, who are in charge of the administration and revenue of their respective provinces. And provincial judges of the second rank are in charge of criminal cases and impeachments in their respective provinces."

"The governor essentially has the function of overseeing all the garrisons within the province. Unrestricted power is a bit too frightening."

"The garrison system will inevitably be replaced by a conscription system. Therefore, while rectifying the garrisons throughout the country, it is necessary to recruit soldiers."

"To be precise, by reforming the garrison system, qualified young men were selected to form local garrisons. The garrisons were mainly responsible for maintaining the peace of a province, and could be mobilized to the frontier when necessary."

With keen insight, Jia Yan gave an unexpected answer.

If I understand correctly.

"My nephew means that a province needs a general who can oversee all the troops in the province."

“This general is not under the governor’s jurisdiction; he has taken away the most important military and political power from the governor’s hands.”

"At least fifteen generals are needed to control the military forces of the entire country, including the two capitals and thirteen provinces."

Liu Fang was the first to react and asked.

'? ? ? '

Niu Jizong and Hou Xiaokang were dumbfounded.

"Yes."

Jia Yan nodded and continued, "I will personally submit a memorial proposing to establish the Zhili General, a second-rank official, in Beizhili, with 50,000 troops stationed in Baoding, taking Beizhili as an example. "A total of fifteen second-rank local generals will be established in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, with 750,000 troops recruited."

"understood."

Niu Jizong suddenly realized: "Re-establish the Five Military Commissions to govern these local generals. In this way, the Ministry of War will lose control of local military power and will only have the Nine Garrisons left."

"clever."

Hou Xiaokang gave a thumbs up.

"Nephew, are you planning to use the Earl of Lintao's reorganization of the Jizhou Garrison as a pretext to launch an attack, starting with the dismantling of garrisons in Beizhili?"

Liu Fang's eyes gleamed as she asked.

"good."

Jia Yan greatly admired Liu Fang's wisdom and couldn't help but turn his gaze to him: "Even a clever housewife can't cook without rice."

"The Jizhou Garrison, which guards the capital, has embezzled a great deal of gold and silver from top to bottom."

"Moreover, the twenty-one guard posts under the jurisdiction of Jizhou accounted for two-thirds of all the guard posts in Beizhili Province."

"After the Earl of Lintao purged the Jizhou Garrison, he kept one-third of the confiscated goods to reorganize the Jizhou border troops, sent one-third to the Imperial Household Department, and used one-third to recruit 50,000 Zhili Guards. This was a triple win."

'I see! ’

Niu Jizong and the other two nodded; it was indeed a good idea.

"Nephew."

"When can we start working?"

Hou Xiaokang looked eager to make a move.

Niu Jizong and Liu Fang both turned their attention to him.

"Not urgent."

Waving his hand, Jia Yan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and patiently explained, "In the current dynasty, guards are only established in local prefectures and counties. Each guard is under the jurisdiction of 5 thousand-household units, and each thousand-household unit is under the jurisdiction of 10 hundred-household units. Each hundred-household unit is further divided into two general banners and ten small banners. Each general banner is stationed in a fort, and each small banner is stationed at a sentry post."

“Under normal circumstances, a fort has about 200 to 300 soldiers and their families, a 100-household garrison has at least 1,000 soldiers and their families, a 1,000-household garrison has at least 7,000 to 8000 soldiers and their families, and a garrison has about 30,000 military households.”

"Most counties in our dynasty have only tens of thousands of people under their jurisdiction. If these military households are converted to civilian status, it is necessary to establish prefectures and counties to govern and manage them. Otherwise, how can taxes be collected from so many people?"

"Therefore, abolishing the garrison system is not just a simple matter of military and political affairs, but also involves complex civil affairs, and should not be done hastily."

“My three uncles, don’t forget that there are currently 150 prefectures and 1300 counties in the country. If all these garrisons are abolished, at least several hundred counties and dozens of prefectures will need to be established. With so many officials, where will they come from?”

"Yes Yes Yes."

Upon hearing this, Niu Jizong and the other two felt a chill run down their spines.

Abolishing the garrison system is not just a problem; it's also a huge piece of meat that everyone wants a bite of.

“My three uncles.”

Looking around at the group, Jia Yan solemnly said, "The Five Military Commands must be established after the garrison system has been completely replaced by the garrison system."

"At present, the only way is to investigate the local garrisons as an imperial commissioner, with the special permission of the emperor, to act first and report later."

“Beizhili is an opportunity. I will recommend Uncle Niu to serve as Imperial Commissioner. You will first organize and train 50,000 Beizhili garrison troops, move them to Baoding, and earnestly handle the matters of abolishing garrisons and establishing prefectures and counties.”

"As for Uncle Liu and Uncle Hou, how about they go to Shaanxi and Guizhou respectively?"

What do you mean, my dear nephew?

Apart from Niu Jizong readily agreeing, Liu Fang and Hou Xiaokang were both somewhat puzzled.

"Of the Khalkha Mongol tribes, only the three tribes of the northern desert, the Khorchin tribe of the eastern desert, and the three guards of Bairin remain."

"With no further threat from southern Mongolia, Ningxia Town, Yulin Town, Guyuan Town, Shanxi Town, and Datong Town have lost their meaning of existence."

"Yang Jishan, the General Commander of Ningxia, Zhang Ji, the Deputy General Commander of Ningxia, Zhao Tengye, the Deputy General Commander of Guyuan, Sun Yanliang, the Deputy General Commander of Gansu, and Wang Senluo, the Deputy General Commander of Yulin, were all generals who rose from humble beginnings. They were used to counterbalance the Ma family of Ningxia, the Wang family of Gansu, the Ma family of Guyuan, the You family of Yulin, and the Cao family of Shanxi."

"Shaanxi Province is too large, which puts a great deal of pressure on the northwest border defense. The retired emperor and the current emperor have never been able to deal with it."

"Now is the best time to split up Shaanxi Province, further adjust the Northwest border defense structure, and reduce the number of border towns."

"Someone, bring me the map."

Jia Yan beckoned, and a maidservant waiting to the side brought out a map of the Northwest, which marked all the major border towns, Xining Prefecture, local prefectures, counties, mountains, rivers, and so on.

“Tap tap.”

Liu Fang stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the map of Northwest China.

"Uncle Liu, please take a look."

"Nowadays, Yunzhong Prefecture has been established in the Tumochuan Plain in the eastern section of Yinshan, and Wuyuan Prefecture has been established in the western section. Only Ningxia Town in the western part of Hetao remains."

"Since we need to deal with the garrisons in these areas, the first thing to consider is how to adjust the civil administration."

"My opinion is that the Yellow River, Helan Mountain,

The Liupan Mountains and Longshan Mountains serve as the dividing line, thus redrawing the boundaries of Shaanxi Province.

"The towns of Ningxia, Yulin, and Guyuan were changed to prefectures, namely, the prefectures under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi Province, namely Yunzhong Prefecture, Wuyuan Prefecture, Ningxia Prefecture, Yulin Prefecture, Guyuan Prefecture, Xi'an Prefecture, Fengxiang Prefecture, Yan'an Prefecture, Hanzhong Prefecture, Xing'an Prefecture (now Ankang), Tongzhou Prefecture (now Weinan), Binzhou, Fuzhou, Shangzhou (now Shangluo), Binzhou (now Binzhou), Qianzhou, and Suide Prefecture, totaling eleven prefectures and six states."

"In this way, 50,000 elite troops from the three border garrisons were selected to form the Shaanxi Guard, which was commanded by the Shaanxi General and stationed in Xi'an."

Pointing to the location on the map, Jia Yan explained carefully.

"Does Your Excellency intend for me to use Shaanxi as a base to radiate throughout the Northwest, including Xining Prefecture and Gansu Town?"

"Simply shutting down the three major border towns in Ningxia might not be enough."

Liu Fang understood his intention and even asked him a question in return.

"of course."

Shrugging, Jia Yan placed his hand on the other side of Shanxi Province: "Shanxi Town and Datong Town will be abolished together."

"Of the nine border regions, only Gansu Town, Xuanfu Town, Ji Town, and Liao Town remain."

"I think you should know the reason."

"Ah."

Liu Fang nodded.

Gansu Town faces the Dzungar Khanate outside Jiayuguan Pass, and if necessary, it also needs to contain Xining Prefecture and the Khoshut tribe in Qinghai. Xuanfu Town is located outside the Bashang Plateau, where the Three Guards of Balin are stationed, guarding the road from the capital to the northern desert. Ji Town protects the important area around the capital, while Liao Town faces the Later Jin directly.

At present, none of these four border towns can be touched, otherwise, trouble will surely break out on the northern border of the country.

"Shanxi Town and Datong Town were directly established as Shuozhou Prefecture and Datong Prefecture, respectively, and incorporated into Shanxi Province."

"The border troops of the two towns also selected 50,000 men to be used as the Shanxi Guard, under the command of the Shanxi General, and stationed in Taiyuan."

"I will recommend Zhang Ji, the deputy commander-in-chief of Ningxia, to be appointed as the general of Shaanxi, and Wang Senluo, the deputy commander-in-chief of Yulin, to be appointed as the general of Shanxi. At the same time, the area west of Helan Mountain and west of Longshan Mountain, including the Hexi Corridor, will be established under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Gansu, with Yang Jishan, the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, appointed as the Governor-General of Gansu, ranking as the first-rank official."

"The governor-general oversees military and civil affairs within his jurisdiction, supervises the appointment, dismissal, and evaluation of local officials, and manages finance, taxation, canal transport, and military defense."

“Sun Yanliang, deputy commander of Gansu, was promoted to commander of Gansu, and Zhao Tengye, deputy commander of Guyuan, was transferred to Gansu as a general and stationed in Tianshui.”

"I'm fine."

Liu Fang spread her hands and accepted the task.

PS: The Shaanxi province included the later Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia.

(End of this chapter)