Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 181 Abolition of Liao Town
"Sorry..."

On June [-]th of the second year of Tianqi, when the Fujian Army newspaper was sent back to the north accompanied by the neighing of war horses, the two figures who were at the Yanshan Station also laughed happily.

"Good job! Shen Yourong and Huang Long did a great job! They should be rewarded!"

Hearty laughter sounded, it was Zhu Youxiao who was wearing a uniform, and opposite him was Zhu Youjian who was also wearing a uniform.

Zhu Youxiao handed the general report to Zhu Youjian, and after Zhu Youjian took it, he read the entire military report at a glance.

[On the ninth day of June, at the third quarter of the hour (5:45), Rong led the troops from Jinmen, crossed the sea to attack Penghu, and bombarded Jibei Island at 12:[-] noon ([-] o'clock), and the battle began. 】

[At 12:30 p.m. ([-]:[-]), sink the enemy ship on Jibei Island and recover Jibei Island]

[At seven quarters of the noon (12:45), Huang Long, the acting general, defeated and captured the enemy's chief general, Lei Ye, and captured three enemy ships. 】

[At the end of the day (13 o'clock), wipe out the enemy army and recover Penghu. 】

[In this battle, our army beheaded two hundred and ninety-six Hongmaoyi, sank two enemy ships, captured six hundred and fifty-six Hongmaoyi, and captured five warships, as did the enemy's chief general, Lei Zuo, fourth , seized...]

"Mysterious translation..."

Looking at the translation, Zhu Youjian was also helpless. He obviously sent officials from the Siyi Pavilion, but the translation was still hard to explain.

But it's not surprising, after all, if you know the meaning of the name, it is probably a direct transliteration...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian continued to look down, probably Shen Yourong and Huang Long separated after the war.

Shen Yourong arranged for a fleet to escort the prisoners north to the capital, while he led the troops to continue to Guangdong, preparing to encircle and suppress another Dutch expeditionary force.

As for Huanglong, half of the fleet was left behind and sailed towards Ryukyu.

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian also put away the military newspaper, and said to Zhu Youxiao:
"Brother, one of the red-haired barbarians has been wiped out, and the other will not be rampant for long."

"Now we can set up prefectures and counties in Daliuqiu, and move those lazy people from the nursing home."

"En! Shen Yourong and Huang Long did a good job, they should be rewarded!" Zhu Youxiao said, then turned around and said to the eunuch Liu Ruoyu beside him:

"Shen Yourong was granted the command of the General Army of Guangdong, and Huang Long was appointed as the General Army of the Three Guards of the Navy and the General Army of Fujian Province. They opened up the Great Liuqiu and defended Fujian from the Hongmaoyi."

"The maidservant leads the order..." Liu Ruoyu responded, and Zhu Youxiao also turned his head to look at a row of yards not far away when he saw this.

In that row of courtyards, Zhu Youxiao's portrait hangs high above the wooden boards, under the portrait are lectures and teaching, and below that are more than [-] students.

They sat in their seats, holding "Yanshan Arithmetic" in their hands.

Zhu Youjian gave all the textbooks about Yanshan to his imperial brother, so Zhu Youxiao naturally read them too.

But he didn't read it too carefully, he just read it briefly and then put it down, but he read the book about "Yanshan Civil Engineering" several times.

Of course, Zhu Youjian didn't know this, he just thought it was his brother who had seen it, so he raised his hand and explained to his brother:

"Brother, right now there are two schools in Yanshan, with a total of more than [-] people. Every year, students are selected from the orphans of generals and soldiers who died in battle. They are loyal and reliable."

"Based on the current progress, about September of the fifth year of Tianqi, more than [-] civil and military officials will be able to emerge."

"Forty thousand?" Hearing this number, Zhu Youxiao was a little surprised. After all, in his memory, those who could serve as court officials were those who had to study hard for more than ten years.

In just five years, so many civil and military officials have come out, and they are all in their teens or twenties. Is it possible?

Thinking of this, without hurting his younger brother, Zhu Youxiao carefully put forward his opinion:
"My brother thinks well, but have you ever thought about whether five years is too harsh on some young children in the academy?"

"Brother Huang, you can rest assured!" Hearing that his brother was worried about this, Zhu Youjian bowed back and continued:
"Children in Yanshan do not mean that they have to leave school after studying for five years."

"Their role is to supplement local positions as reserve officials after punishing corrupt officials."

"What if the local subordinates play tricks?" Zhu Youxiao thought about it, and asked Zhu Youjian with a smile.

"That's very simple. From the officials to the subordinates, all are abolished, and then a sentry horse is sent to escort the Yanshan students to take office."

"In addition, after taking office, my younger brother feels that the official system of Ming Dynasty can also be changed at that time."

"Change?" Zhu Youxiao asked in doubt, and Zhu Youjian continued:
"Change, from the nine-rank and eighteen-level official system, to the tenth-rank, twenty-level official system."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian said seriously to his brother:

"Since ancient times, most of the subordinate staff have no rank or even salary, so the subordinate staff have to muddle along."

"However, if we include subalterns in the official positions, set up [-] grades, and increase the salaries of officials to ensure the livelihood of all officials, how can we not make all officials diligent?"

"Even if there is a group of black sheep, but after they are found out, they will be gone."

"Looking at China, there have been disadvantages in all dynasties, and there are three disadvantages in things, namely redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses. These are the three redundant."

Zhu Youjian spoke out the three redundant words, and pointed out in detail the disadvantages that Daming also encountered.

"The so-called "redundant officials" means that our Ming Dynasty has a huge administrative organization with a very large number of officials and is increasing year by year, but it has not achieved a high-efficiency administrative speed. operating speed."

"Right now, what I need in Ming Dynasty is not [-] civil and military officials, but subordinate staff who have room for improvement and can do practical things."

"There are more than two million subordinate officials in the world. It is reasonable to say that each of them can only manage dozens of people, but they can't manage them like this."

"If there are [-] subordinate officials who can handle things, then Daming's yellow book and tax collection will be very simple."

"As for the "redundant soldiers", it refers to the fact that our Ming army has an extremely large scale and number of soldiers. For example, the so-called two million guards are actually of no use at all. I think my brother knows that."

Zhu Youjian's rhetorical question made Zhu Youxiao nodded.

Since he took over the military power, Zhu Youxiao can also walk out of the palace, so he can naturally see what the so-called guard soldiers look like.

Therefore, while Zhu Youxiao nodded, Zhu Youjian also said:

"The Weisuo system is essentially the farming system. Emperor Taizu Gao used this system because the north was dying at the beginning of the country, and when the population needed to move north, it stabilized the north and reduced military expenditures."

"However, since the reign of Xuande, the guards have fallen into a situation of corruption and uselessness, and even the army has less and less food."

"The Tang Dynasty changed from the government military system to the recruitment system in just over a hundred years. Although my Ming Dynasty tried to change, it was interrupted because of finances. reason."

Zhu Youjian said it very clearly, and after Zhu Youxiao woke up, he also knew that his younger brother's practice of abolishing the guards was gradually solving the problem of "redundant soldiers".

"Brother, as long as you can solve the problem of "redundant soldiers" in the guards and battalions, Daming only needs to guarantee [-] to [-] soldiers and horses, which is enough to sweep the four barbarians."

Zhu Youjian's words made Zhu Youxiao couldn't help nodding, and then asked:

"How does my brother plan to solve the waste of time?"

Seeing Zhu Youxiao asking about this, Zhu Youjian had already prepared the manuscript in his heart, so he immediately said:

"Redundancy, in fact, is the result of dealing with the problems of "redundant officials" and "redundant soldiers", because the huge number of officials and troops are supported by the imperial government's finances, which will inevitably lead to huge expenses that cannot make ends meet and eat more than enough food."

"The reason for the demise of the Song Dynasty was because of the "three redundancy", and the "three redundancy" problem was not unique to the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was a problem that existed in all Chinese dynasties, but the "three redundancy" problem in the Song Dynasty was the most serious. .”

"The "Three Redundancies" of the Song Dynasty were so serious that Song Renzong's "Qingli New Deal", Song Shenzong's "Xining Reform" and "Yuanfeng Reform" all ended in failure without exception, and the reasons for the failure were many. .”

"The Song Dynasty lacked courageous and decisive monarchs, and courageous kings tended to be short-lived. Therefore, when weak kings faced strong opposition from bureaucratic and aristocratic groups, they would always give up halfway."

"But my brother is different from the king of the Song Dynasty. As long as he has the military power, and the students of Yanshan Institute become adults, he can carry out reforms on the "San Duan"!"

Zhu Youjian's confident appearance made Zhu Youxiao's heart itch.

"Hearing my brother say that, I can't wait."

"If possible, the first thing to do is to replace both the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Speaker!"

"Er..." Hearing these words, Zhu Youjian understood how much his brother hated the officials and the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

But it's not surprising, let alone the other party, even I hate it...

"By the way, brother, this time I came to Yanshan not only for this matter, but also for one more thing. Take a look."

Zhu Youxiao suddenly remembered the business, and then turned to look at Liu Ruoyu. Seeing this, Liu Ruoyu also took out a document and handed it out with both hands.

Zhu Youjian took it in doubt, and immediately frowned after opening it.

This book records all the impeachment memorials from September of the first year of Taichang to May of the second year of Tianqi. It can be clearly seen that the object of impeachment has gradually changed from party disputes to Zhu Youjian and Yumajian.

"Is the co-authorship of the party dispute over my head?"

Looking at the more than [-] impeachment memorials in this booklet in May, more than [-] of the King of Qi and the Yumajian appeared, and Zhu Youjian knew that Donglin and the five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan, and Kun began to acquiesce. Consider yourself a party.

"Qi Royal Party? Seems pretty good..."

Zhu Youjian smiled contemptuously, then closed the file, and said to Zhu Youxiao who was standing on the rammed earth:

"Brother, let them jump on the beam for a few more years. After three years, they will have no place to jump on the beam."

"It's easy for you to say..." Zhu Youxiao pinched the bridge of his nose with a slight headache:

"They're bothering me..."

"I believe my brother has a way to deal with them." Zhu Youjian said something meaningful, but Zhu Youxiao was taken aback when he heard the words, and then raised his head and said:

"You kid..."

"Tell me! How do you plan to abolish the western Liaoning army?" Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, then walked outside Yanshan Institute, Zhu Youjian also followed and said:
"Simple, just overpowering people with power."

"Three cavalry guards plus six battalions of soldiers and horses will make up an army of more than [-]. When the time comes, we will transfer [-] soldiers from Liaoyang and Zhejiang to Guangning, and we will have an army of [-]."

"With a [-]-strong army, and some generous conditions, even if Zhu Wanliang and Jiang Bi want to make trouble, they have to consider whether the people below are willing to join them in making trouble."

"That's not bad, but we still have to consider people's hearts." Zhu Youxiao nodded in satisfaction, and nodded to Zhu Youjian by the way.

Zhu Youjian bowed in return when he heard the words, and then continued:

"People's hearts are hard to fathom, but I believe that the military pay for Liaozhen soldiers and horses is enough for most people to sway."

"It only takes this moment of uncertainty, and the abolition of Liaodong Town's soldiers and horses is settled."

The two brothers talked as they walked, and soon walked out of Yanshan Institute.

Looking at the land of Yanzhao in June, Zhu Youxiao only felt a heroic feeling grow in his heart.

He has done what the great-grandfather, emperor-grandfather, and father have not done for three generations, which is enough to make people praise him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao remembered what happened after the abolition of Liaozhen soldiers and horses, so he said:

"Abolishing the soldiers and horses of Liao Town must be brought under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Horse Supervisor. Can my younger brother afford the soldiers and horses of Liao Town?"

"This..." Zhu Youjian said with a wry smile:
"Currently, there are thirty-two battalions and three guards in Liao Town related to the Imperial Horse Supervisor, with a total of [-] soldiers."

"I have recruited another six battalions of soldiers and horses, and after the Liao Town soldiers and horses are abolished, there will be ten battalions of soldiers and horses left, so Liaodong Town should eventually have three guards and forty-eight battalions of soldiers, with a total of more than [-] people. But it’s not certain, maybe it will be lower than the [-]th Battalion.”

"Anyway, the salary of the soldiers of the [-]th Battalion of the Three Guards will not exceed [-] million taels per year, and with food and fodder, it should not exceed [-] million taels."

"Currently, Liao Town has [-] guards in the court's hands, [-] military households, and [-] million mu of military farmland."

"Based on the grain yield per mu in Liao Town, the grain fodder that can be provided to the Yumajian is probably only about one million shi. If the local grain price is discounted, the maximum is [-] taels."

"I am afraid that the Yumajian will have to spend an additional three million taels, which is really difficult to bear."

"There are too many soldiers and horses in Liao Town..." Zhu Youxiao frowned, and Zhu Youjian also said:

"Your brother also thinks so, but the old slave has [-] troops, and with [-] versus [-], he can be sure of stabilizing the entire territory of Liaodong."

"After recovering the entire territory of Liaodong next year, the color silver should reach one million taels."

"At that time, my brother wants to transfer Sun Chuanting's headquarters, plus the sixth battalion of Liaozhen to Shanxi, transfer Yang Wenyue's headquarters, and the sixth battalion of Liaozhen to Shandong and Henan."

"In this way, not only can the soldiers and horses of Liaozhen be reduced to the [-]th Battalion of the Three Guards, but it can also reform the guards and clans in Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong and other places."

Zhu Youjian made his plan very clear, and Zhu Youxiao also said after hearing this:

"From my brother's words, are you planning to transfer Sun Chuanting and Yang Wenyue's troops, with a total of [-] troops, to Liaodong to participate in the upcoming Liaodong battle?"

"Well..." Zhu Youjian nodded and said:
"The [-] main and auxiliary soldiers are in Guizhou, which is a bit too wasteful."

"Right now, Sun Chuanting and the others have just recruited new recruits, and they still need to temper themselves, so we need to wait."

"During the waiting time, we can start to abolish Liao Town. This process, my brother, estimates that it will take a year."

"Wait for the spring of next year, then we can transfer the two troops of Sun Chuanting and Yang Wenyue to go north, and fight back against the old slaves after the autumn harvest."

Zhu Youjian did not appear very confident, after all, Nurhachi's military capabilities are obvious to all.

Adding Sun Chuanting's two troops, that is, the Ming army's [-] soldiers will face Nurhachi's [-] soldiers, twice the number, even if the loss is heavy, it is enough to recover the entire territory of Liaodong.

"Removing Sun Chuanting and Yang Wenyue, that's about [-] main and auxiliary troops, right?"

Zhu Youxiao calculated that if these [-] troops were transferred, Guizhou would still have [-] main and auxiliary troops to encircle and suppress the rebels, which would not be too bad.

"Since the younger brother has made up his mind, then follow what the younger brother said."

"Chen, thank you for your trust..." Zhu Youjian bowed high, exaggeratedly expressing his gratitude, and asked Zhu Youxiao to raise his hand and pat him on the back:
"Don't show off, you have piled up so many plans, and there is a big gap on the big Liuqiu side. You have to weigh it yourself, and don't exceed the capabilities of the Imperial Horse Supervisor."

"No..." Zhu Youjian said with a smile:

"The people in the nursing home in the three provinces are all scattered. Although there are [-] people, it may take several months to move them to Daliuqiu for reclamation."

"The climate in Daliuqiu is not as good as that outside the Guan, which is bitterly cold. In winter, the ground is like iron plates, making it difficult to cultivate. However, the climate in Daliuqiu is pleasant, and it can be reclaimed all year round."

"As long as the lazy people from the nursing home are relocated, and the cattle and food are distributed, the people along the coast will definitely be willing to relocate."

"The only problem is that there are quite a few natives on the Great Liuqiu, and I'm afraid they will hate me, Han Jiaerlang, and even launch an attack."

"That's why I sent Huang Long to guard the two navy guards."

"However, if it is developed properly, the land of Daliuqiu is enough to support millions of people."

Zhu Youjian spoke confidently, and Zhu Youxiao also said curiously: "My brother is very confident."

"It's natural!" Zhu Youjian responded with a smile.

It's fine if other people don't know, how can he not know?

Zheng Zhilong and Xiong Wencan used the finances of Fujian Province to relocate [-] Fujian people to Daliuqiu just before the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

This time span is fourteen years, and Zhu Youjian's current investment is five or six hundred thousand taels of silver per year.

He is not afraid of losing money. After all, as long as the more than [-] lazy people can support themselves, then he can start to control Bashi Channel.

He is not going to be like Zheng Zhilong, who only collects protection fees, but is going to control the entire coastal area.

Controlling Guangdong, he is a bit out of reach now, but what if he only controls Qiongzhou Prefecture (Hainan) and abolishes the Hainan Guard in Qiongzhou Prefecture?
Two naval forces, one stationed in Ryukyu Prefecture and the other in Qiongzhou Prefecture, use two large islands to control the waterway and prohibit all maritime trade.

To put it simply, Zhu Youjian wants to eat the entire East Asian waterway trade.

Eliminate all smuggling sea merchants, and only allow the Yumajian family to dominate.

Right now, the sea trade market in East Asia has a trade volume of six to seven million taels, of which one million is the trade route to Japan, two million is the East-West and Southeast Asia trade route, and the remaining three to four million are from Ming Dynasty. domestic demand.

If they don’t pay taxes to sea merchants, it’s better to let Huangdian directly monopolize the trade.

In addition, only European maritime merchants are allowed to trade in southern Ryukyu and southern Qiongzhou, so as to directly sell goods to Europeans.

In this way, sea trade was monopolized by him.

He didn't have to be afraid of pirates, because with the size of the Yumajian Huangdian seagoing ships, as long as they were equipped with cannons and traveled together, there would be no pirates who would dare to rob the Huangdian fleet.

Eating up the entire maritime trade is enough to fatten up the soldiers and horses of the Imperial Horse Supervisor and expand the three guards of the navy.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian continued to bow to his royal brother:

"When the reclamation of the Ryukyu Prefecture is over, I hope that the emperor will allow Henghaiwei to station in Qiongzhou Prefecture and turn Qiongzhou Prefecture into Zhili Prefecture."

"Huh?" Zhu Youxiao frowned, a little confused why his younger brother wanted Qiongzhou Mansion, which used to be used by exiled prisoners.

"Okay, as long as my brother doesn't find it troublesome." Zhu Youxiao shook his head, and Zhu Youjian agreed happily.

At this time, the two brothers had already returned to Yanshan camp on horseback, and at the same time, a familiar figure appeared at the gate of the camp.

Man Gui, dressed in regular clothes, stood at the gate of Daying, bowing to Zhu Youxiao's two brothers from a long distance away.

Seeing this, the two went immediately, but Zhu Youjian did not move. Zhu Youxiao also knew that his younger brother had given him the benefits of being a corporal, so he got off his horse and helped Mangui up and said:

"Man Gui, you did a good job outside the pass!"

"I dare not disappoint Long Live and His Royal Highness King Qi."

Zhu Youxiao praised him as soon as he opened his mouth, but Man Gui exposed his shortcomings in politics at this time.

His reply made Zhu Youjian, Liu Ruoyu, Lu Wenzhao and others who followed Zhu Youxiao frown.

Because of this situation, as a general, it is best not to mention the prince who promoted him, but Man Gui didn't think so much, only knowing that Zhu Youjian promoted himself, so he mentioned it.

The atmosphere fell into embarrassment for a while, but Zhu Youxiao laughed and said:

"Okay! It's a good thing that you don't forget your brother's kindness to you. This time, it was my brother's suggestion to let you go to Liaodong to abolish the troops in Guangning and other places. What do you think?"

"I don't have any ideas, I just know that if someone dares to rebel, he will be killed!" Man Gui was as upright as ever, which made Zhu Youjian and others ashamed, but made Zhu Youxiao very happy.

"It's a good behead!" Zhu Youxiao nodded in agreement, then turned to Zhu Youjian and said:
"Brother, I know why you like using Mangui so much."

"If brother likes it, you can let Mangui go to the Three Guards of the Imperial City." Zhu Youjian said modestly, but Zhu Youxiao took a look at Mangui's awkward expression, and then said with a smile:

"Forget it, he's a reckless man, it's better to stay outside Beijing. If he walks in the imperial city, he might be impeached by civil servants."

After all, Zhu Youxiao patted Man Gui: "Whether the imperial court can abolish Liao Town this time is up to you."

"Your servant is willing to die!" Man Gui responded with a salute, and Zhu Youxiao stepped away with satisfaction when he saw this, and walked towards the inside of the camp.

Zhu Youjian came up and looked at the upright Man Gui, angry and happy at the same time. When the curse words came to his lips, he could only swear: "You bastard!"

After all, he also walked away, and then Liu Ruoyu looked at him and shook his head, and left too.

Man Gui could only hold back Lu Wenzhao, wondering, "Why did Your Highness scold me for raping money? What did I say wrong?"

"No, what you said is very good." Lu Wenzhao rolled his eyes at this guy, and then walked away, leaving only Man Gui with a puzzled expression on his face.

Scratching his head, he finally choked out only one sentence:
"It's really hard to serve you literati..."

　Four o'clock and one more

　　
　
(End of this chapter)