The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Just as Galdan was looking at the land enclosure records of the Eight Banners, Li Guangdi and Ouyang Jing came into the main hall with some folding books and account books.

The entire administration of the Han Dynasty is now handled by the two of them. Li Guangdi, needless to say, does a great job in pacifying the people and coordinating affairs. Every time he submits a simple folded document, it is a testament to his abilities.

No wonder Emperor Kangxi liked it so much in history.

Who wouldn't love a minister who can make things easier for them?

What surprised Galdan was that Ouyang Jing managed the Ministry of Works and inventoried the assets of the Eight Banners in Beijing all by himself, and he did it in an orderly manner. Could this be a genius?

Is there no upper limit?

As for Zhou Peigong, he was in charge of military affairs on behalf of Galdan, but his main task was to contact the Green Standard Army in Shanxi and Wang Fuchen, the governor of Shaanxi.

If Wang Fuchen could be persuaded to submit, then the northern regions would be connected, forming a straight line of territory that could be conquered from the north to the south.

These past few days have been just the two of them; this is the first time they've come together, and Galdan is quite curious.

"My two esteemed ministers, what is it you wish to report?"

Li Guangdi was the first to hand over a memorial, his expression unusually grave. "Your Majesty," he said, "this is the total amount of land seized by the Eight Banners. In the four prefectures of Shuntian, Yongping, Baoding, and Hejian, a total of 200,000 hectares of land have been seized, accounting for 80% of the total farmland!"

"More than five million people, accounting for half of Hebei's population, lost their land due to land enclosure. These people could only cultivate the land for the Manchus, yet they had to hand over 70-80% of their profits!"

"Due to the restrictions imposed by the law on fugitives, people are only allowed to farm and pay taxes, and cannot do other work, resulting in nearly 90% of them going hungry. This could easily lead to a popular uprising!"

"I wish to immediately organize the equal distribution of land and the allocation of grain for wasteland reclamation!"

Galdan remained calm and composed upon hearing this. Wasn't this the standard practice of the Manchus? They were waiting for a popular uprising so they could take advantage of it and reap the benefits.

Fifty or sixty years later, as the Eight Banners population grew and their appetites increased, the entire four provinces of the country experienced frequent uprisings, leading to the Eight Banners seizing even more land. Eventually, five or six tenths of the land belonged to the Eight Banners.

Thinking of this, Galdan picked up two books from the table, namely the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang.

"Li Guangdi, nowadays the Manchus are either being killed or fleeing. There is so much fertile land in Hebei. If we directly distribute the land to the people, our Great Han has no money or grain to recruit soldiers!"

"What do you think about restoring the Tang Dynasty's militia system?"

The Fubing system meant that the imperial court allocated land to the people according to their household registration, but the male members of the family had to learn martial arts and be ready to fight for the country at any time.

This is the solution Galdan has been devising these past few days. The current situation of the Han Dynasty is similar to that of the early Tang Dynasty, where the court is short of money but controls a large amount of land.

Li Guangdi was very clever and knew what Galdan was thinking.

"Your Majesty, you intend to take the policies of the Tang Dynasty as the foundation of the nation. If so, that is indeed a good idea. Our Great Han Dynasty has more than the Tang Dynasty in terms of the Western Regions and the southern Gobi Desert, so we are not lacking in elite cavalry!"

"But in Shandong and Shanxi, the Eight Banners didn't acquire much land; that was all land owned by the local gentry!"

squire?

Galdan had long considered that there were many ways to deal with them, but he chose the simplest one.

"I will order Zhao Liangdong and Subutai to deal with some of the corrupt local gentry. The land they vacate will become the foundation of the local militia!"

Galdan's solution was to choose between the common people and the gentry, and to kill all the gentry.

Being rich and heartless is unacceptable!

Li Guangdi felt a murderous aura approaching, and couldn't help but feel sorry for the local gentry.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"However, for the sake of the Han Dynasty's reputation, it would be better to disguise ourselves as Eight Banner soldiers or bandits!"

Galdan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Alright, Li Guangdi is a kindred spirit!

Just as Galdan was about to finalize the national policy, Li Guangdi once again cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the garrison system of the former Ming Dynasty was actually better and more comprehensive than the militia system!"

"Compared to the Fubing system of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Weisuo system was more suitable for territorial expansion, and the soldiers were more courageous in battle. This was the foundation upon which the Ming dynasty was able to drive out the Northern Yuan!"

This stumped Galdan, as he had never actually studied the Ming Dynasty's garrison system.

In his understanding, the officers' constant consumption of soldiers' blood led to the low combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty's garrison troops, which was one of the reasons for the Ming Dynasty's downfall.

Tell me about it!

Li Guangdi, as expected of a seasoned politician, had a great understanding of the Ming Dynasty's system and spoke without a draft.

"First, compared to the Fubing system of the Sui and Tang dynasties, although the Weisuo system was directly under the military, it required the Ministry of War to verify the land and weapons, thus not diverting Your Majesty's military power!"

"Secondly, the garrison system stipulated that the soldiers who settled in the fields received 70% of the grain, while the government granary received 30% for reserves. Having their own granaries prevented soldiers from going bankrupt, thus avoiding a decline in morale!"

"Third, the Hundred-Household Garrisons in the Guard System can be set up while fighting, and refugees and bandits can be dispersed and reorganized, saving the court's operating costs."

"The only drawback of the Ming Dynasty's garrison system was the decline of the Five Military Commissions, which led to civil officials suppressing military officials and the annexation of land becoming increasingly rampant."

Galdan understood after listening. This thing was a powerful tool for military campaigns. If civilians could join the army and fight, they would be even more courageous if they could obtain hereditary official positions in addition to land.

Qi Jiguang, Cao Bianjiao, Man Gui, Hou Shilu, and others were all born into military families and received military education from a young age, making them outstanding figures in the military.

Galdan had even realized that this garrison system was far superior to the Western governor-general colonization system.

If this were placed in the heart of a colony, with a thousand households of several thousand people, as long as the imperial court could withstand the pressure, the area would fall under Han rule within a few decades.

Excellent, excellent! As expected of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he actually came up with such a system. No wonder the Ming Dynasty was able to defend the northwest border until the death of Zhu Youjian.

Galdan secretly praised him and then asked a question.

"My dear minister, tell me quickly, how to resolve the land annexation issue!"

After a long silence upon hearing this, Li Guangdi knelt down.

"I am incompetent!"

Galdan was not angry upon hearing this. This was a power struggle between the civil and military officials, or even between civil officials and imperial power, which was impossible to resolve. Li Guangdi could not be blamed for this.

He didn't believe that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di couldn't see through it, but since they still didn't change it, he could only use it for now. At worst, he could nationalize the land after seizing power.

Anyone who dares to stand up will be killed without mercy!

Galdan was about to help Li Guangdi up when Li suddenly stood up. "Your Majesty, I've got it!"

"Directly divide the garrison system. The commander of a thousand households will only be responsible for training soldiers, while the Ministry of War will send people to manage the land and provisions, checking the land every three to five years and the granaries every year!"

"The personnel dispatched by the Ministry of War are subordinate to seventh-rank officials, and can be promoted after three years of performance evaluation!"

Galdan pondered this carefully and found that it was indeed much better, but it still could not prevent the consolidation of the thousand-household offices, because everyone is greedy.

But he couldn't control that anyway.

Water that is too clear has no fish.

In an era where imperial power is supreme, there will inevitably be those who seize power.

"Li Guangdi, from today onwards, you will establish the framework of the Five Military Commands of my Great Han Dynasty, using Tianjin Garrison as a model to create the first garrison!"