Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 421 Eight Banners Reform
When the two brothers returned to Prince Rui's mansion, Hong Chengchou, Fan Wencheng, Ning Wan, and I had already been waiting in Dongnuan Pavilion. Only Manchu nobles could participate in the New Year's sacrifice for Jiannu, Hanchen was not eligible.

Hong Chengchou and the others could only wait in Prince Rui's Mansion to worship Dorgon for the New Year.

As soon as Dorgon and Duoduo came in, the three of Hong Chengchou slapped their sleeves and knelt down on one knee: "I wish the two masters a happy new year, and the Qing Dynasty is prosperous and the people are safe."

"Hehe, let's have a look." Dorgon said with a smile.

Hou Fangyu immediately walked out holding a tray.

I saw three wooden boxes on the tray, and the wooden boxes were open.

Inside, there are surprisingly many oriental pearls that are almost as big as thumbs.

Against the backdrop of the lights, these pearls reflect dazzling brilliance.

Dorgon said with a smile: "The three gentlemen have worked hard for the Qing Dynasty last year, and they have worked hard. This is the Dongzhu that General Liaodong just paid tribute to. A little gift is not enough to respect."

"Master, this reward is really too much." Hong Chengchou and others declined.

Doduo next to him couldn't help being a little jealous, and he didn't have so many Dongzhu rewards.

"Take it." Dorgon waved his hand and said, "If the three gentlemen don't accept it, it's too little."

"Slaves wait in fear." Seeing what Dorgon said, Hong Chengchou and the three could only accept it in fear.

According to the etiquette, after worshiping Dorgon for the New Year, the three of Hong Chengchou can go home, but this year they were just about to leave but Dorgon stopped them.

"Three gentlemen, go slowly." Dorgon waved and said, "I have something important to discuss with you."

The three of Hong Chengchou turned back immediately and stood respectfully in front of the kang waiting for Dorgon to speak. They had a vague intuition that the matters to be discussed today would directly determine the fate of the Qing Dynasty.

Dorgon lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said: "The news from the south is not very good."

"Chongzhen's 'Meishan Enlightenment' may be true, because since Chongzhen was expelled from the capital and fled to Nanjing, his military and political actions are completely different from before."

"Military, let's not talk about its performance in the Xuzhou battle."

"I just got a shocking news. When the Qing Dynasty and the Puppet Shun fought in Hetao, Chongzhen also led an army of 20 to quell the Tusi Rebellion in Yunnan. flow!"

"Reform the land and return it to the exiles?" Hong Chengchou and the three were taken aback when they heard the words, did Chongzhen actually want to carry out the reform of the land and return it to the exiles?

Fan Wencheng said: "Master, the act of reforming the land and returning it to the bloc is the way to create chaos. From then on, there will be troubles in the southwestern border."

Ning Wan and I also said: "What brother Xiandou said is very true. Reforming the land and returning it to the local people is indeed beneficial to the country and the people in the long run, but in a short period of time it will only lead to the confusion of the people and the weakness of the national power. Chongzhen's move is really short-sighted. Send your confidants to the southwestern border, secretly contact the chieftains of the southwest, and plot to make trouble."

Fan Wencheng said: "If this happens, there will be great chaos in the southwest, and the national strength of Nanming will be severely damaged, and its military strength will be greatly restrained by the chieftains of the southwest. This will give me an opportunity for the Qing Dynasty to take advantage of."

"Oh, the heavens don't fulfill people's wishes." Dorgon sighed and said, "The news I got is that the chieftains in western Hunan, Hubei and Yunnan did not cause trouble. The country's strength has not been weakened, and its military strength has not been diverted."

"Huh?" Fan Wencheng and Ning Wan were stunned.

Didn't the implementation of land reforms lead to riots?

Chongzhen, the dog emperor, has such abilities now?
Hong Chengchou also had a gloomy expression on his face, did Da Ming faintly appear to be revived?
Dorgon went on to say: "In addition to using troops in the southwest and reforming the land, Chongzhen has also made great progress in governing the country compared to before. It is said that the current Jiangnan market is prosperous and all industries are prosperous, and every family can afford it. It's unbelievable that Baifan can afford to wear cotton clothes."

"This?" Hong Chengchou and the three looked at each other in blank dismay.

Can every household in the south of the Yangtze River afford plain rice and cotton-padded clothes?
Duoduo also didn't believe it, and frowned and said, "Brother Fourteen, could it be that Luo Zuojiu and Luo Zuochang, the two dog slaves, purposely made scare words to increase costs?"

Dorgon shook his head and said, "I have already sent someone to verify."

After a short pause, Dorgon said again: "Whether Luo Zuojiu and Luo Zuochang exaggerated or not, one thing is certain, that is, the national situation of Nanming has shown a momentum of prosperity. The gap in national power between the Qing and the Southern Ming will only become wider."

The three of Hong Chengchou couldn't help but look at each other, and the topic turned to the topic they expected.

At that moment, Hong Chengchou followed Dorgon's words and said: "What the master said is very true, not to mention anything else, only to say that in terms of population, there is no way to compare the Qing and Nanming."

"According to the Fish Scale Atlas in Wanlijian, there were more than 400 million adults in Beizhi, and no less than 1000 million including women and children. However, as of the end of last year, Beizhi counted the bannermen who moved in from outside the customs in the Qing Dynasty. , the entire adult population is no more than 150 million, and the population including women and children is no more than 300 million.”

"The loss of population is simply too great."

"In the long run, the demographic gap between the two sides will only grow wider."

Speaking of this meal, Hong Chengchou said again: "The huge disparity in population will inevitably lead to a huge gap in national strength between the two sides. At that time, the manpower, material resources and military power that Nanming can mobilize may be ten times that of our Qing Dynasty."

"So what if it is a hundred times larger than my Qing Dynasty?" Duoduo said disapprovingly, "When the old Khan launched an incident in the past, the total population of my state was only [-], and the Eight Banners warriors were only [-]. How about defeating the army with a population of hundreds of millions? The Ming court with millions of troops? It can be seen that the population is not the decisive factor."

Hong Chengchou immediately shut his mouth.

Never try to convince others.

If the Dorgon and Duoduo brothers disagree, it's useless to say anything.

However, Hong Chengchou has a vague intuition that Dorgon seems to have realized that the lack of population will really lead to the destruction of the Qing Dynasty, so there is hope to change the established national policy.

At least the Han people in Beizhi can no longer be bullied and persecuted.

At the same time, major reforms should be made to the Eight Banners system.

"Old fifteen, what you said is wrong." Dorgon said quietly, "It is different today. When Lao Khan was here, he could fight all over Manchuria with his big bow and Baya La soldiers, but now Can it still work?"

"In the Battle of Junzhijin, if it weren't for the flintlock guns and Hongyi cannons supervised by Tang Ruowang, our Qing army would have been defeated."

"In the future, it will no longer be the Dashao bow and the Bayala of the Qing Dynasty that will determine the outcome of the war, but the flintlock gun, the Hongyi cannon, and the gunners and musketeers on both sides."

"Can a big bow be as sharp as a flintlock?"

"No matter how strong the armor is, can it stop the close-range shooting of the flintlock?"

"I know you will say that there is a chariot, but can a chariot block a cannon?"

"Old fifteen, have you ever thought about how much it cost the Qing Dynasty to cultivate a Ba Yala? However, it only takes three months for the Green Camp to train a musketeer, but Ba Yala may not be able to defeat the musketeer now."

With a sigh, Dorgon said again: "Old Shiwu, times have changed."

Duo Duo was speechless, because what Duo ErGun said was the truth, and he had no way to refute.

"The future is the era of firearms." Dorgon said, "In addition to the Eight Banners Mongolia retaining cavalry and shooting, our Eight Banners Manchuria also have to fully replace the firearms. The heavy armor and big bows can no longer keep up with the times."

"Master is wise!" Hong Chengchou was so moved that he almost wanted to cry.

Dorgon said again: "The heavy armor and big bow can't keep up with the times, and the Eight Banners system can't keep up with the times, so it must be reformed, and we must learn from the Han people to implement centralization."

"If you can't twist the Eight Banners into a single rope and force them to one place, how can you compete with Nanming?"

Speaking of this meal, Dorgon said solemnly: "From now on, all the human, material and financial resources of the Qing Dynasty must be allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Anyone who dares to oppose will be killed without mercy."

Duoduo was stunned when he heard the words, why did he become a unified deployment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?

The House of Internal Affairs is an inner court office established by Huang Taiji, which is in charge of all affairs in the palace.

Let the Ministry of Internal Affairs allocate all the human, material and financial resources of the Qing Dynasty in a unified manner. Isn't that handing over the power to Fulin?Did the old fourteen suffer from insanity?Or was he dizzy by Bumbutai?
But Dorgon's next sentence immediately dispelled Duduo's concerns.

Dorgon went on to say: "Old fifteen, from now on you will be the Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of the bodyguard and in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Duoduo hurriedly got off the kang, flicked his sleeves and knelt down on one knee: "Your brother takes orders, Brother Fourteen, don't worry, I will take care of the House of Internal Affairs like a finger."

"Don't take too many steps, and eat the food one bite at a time."

Dorgon pondered and said: "The first step is to reform the military system and replace it with firearms."

"Your brother understands." Duoduo nodded and said, "My younger brother will ask Tang Ruowang to increase the production of flintlock guns. Within a year, we will produce [-] flintlock guns and [-] red cannons."

Dorgon said: "What is more important is the reform of the military system."

"Military system reform?" Duoduo frowned, "How to change this?"

Dorgon said: "Return the money, food and military equipment from the public treasury of each banner to the national treasury. In the future, when going abroad, the flagmen of each banner will not need to bring their own food, grass and military equipment. Instead, the imperial court will provide food, grass and military equipment."

Lao Nu's Eight Banners system is actually not new at all, it is a primitive hunting system.

That is, the hunters bring their own dry food, horses, bows and arrows, and then go hunting together. After hunting the prey, they distribute the prey according to the contribution of each hunter.

This set of systems already existed in primitive society.

Therefore, the system does not have to be advanced, and whether it is applicable or not is the most important thing.

For primitive tribes like Jiannu, the same primitive system is the most suitable.

But after the efforts of Huang Taiji and Dorgon, especially after the occupation of Beijing, and the large number of Hanchens such as Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng joined in, this primitive hunting system is no longer applicable.

(End of this chapter)