Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 186 3.93 Why should Wang Ziteng take the lead in reorganizing the army?

Volume Three

3.93 Why should Wang Ziteng take the lead in reorganizing the army?

"Teacher, please forgive me. Before I speak in detail, I still want to find out how many troops there are in the Gyeonggi area now?" Zhou Yang smiled, rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, "We can not say the specific number, but we must also Is there a nominal statement? For example, in terms of numbers, how many troops should there be in this Beijing camp? "

"Tell him!" Chen Ruiwen glared at him, and conveniently left the window-dressing "Spring and Autumn" on the desk. He didn't turn around until someone poured a cup of tea and put it in front of him with an apologetic smile. He turned to Chen Yejun and said, "Just talk about the positions!"

"At present, we only talk about the three major battalions. The Three Thousand Battalion has more than 2 elite soldiers and is stationed in the Xishan Camp; the Fifth Military Battalion has more than [-] elite soldiers and is stationed in the Fengtai Camp; the Shenji Battalion also has more than [-] elite soldiers and is stationed in the Fengtai Camp. Miyun Camp; the above are often referred to as the 'One Hundred Thousand Capital Camp', which can be regarded as the most elite army of the Zhou Dynasty." Chen Yejun said confidently.

"One hundred thousand?" Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment, "It's not that much - well, Senior Brother Chen, I guess there are more than one hundred thousand troops in the capital area, right?"

"Father?" Chen Yejun ignored him and turned to Chen Ruiwen, bowing and asked.

"Tell him too, I want to see what kind of trouble this kid can make today." Chen Ruiwen glared at someone angrily and said. Logically speaking, these are the absolute secrets of the Zhou Dynasty's military. Judging from Zhou Yang's current situation, I am absolutely not qualified to know my identity.

"In addition to the troops of the Beijing camp around the capital, there are also several elite troops stationed not far away, which are also directly under the imperial court." Chen Yejun said then, "It mainly includes the [-] elite troops of the Tongzhou camp, including [-] elite troops. The elite cavalry is controlled by Uncle Shi, who repairs the Duke's palace; the [-] elite soldiers in Jinmen Town, including two thousand elite cavalry, is controlled by Uncle Ma, who manages the Duke's palace.

These are elite soldiers. In addition, there are many soldiers from guard stations, such as Langfang Qianhu Station, Baoding Qianhu Station, as well as Dingzhou, Zunhua, Hejian, Zhengding and other places. They are also stationed in corresponding places. There are more than 5 troops in total, not counting the two direct armies in the palace, namely the Yulin Army and the Imperial Guard; as well as the Five Cities Military and Horse Division under the control of Brother Qiu or Zhao Quan The Jin Yijun and so on. "

"In other words, the total military strength in the Gyeonggi region alone is no less than 20 people?" Zhou Yang was really surprised by this, "It is indeed more!"

"Speak humanly!" An angry Chen Ruiwen picked up the "Spring and Autumn" and threw it at him. "If you continue to beat me around the bush, the government will really come over!"

"Teacher, your majesty and all the ministers, the meaning is actually very clear, that is, the army must be dismantled in order to reduce military pay." Zhou Yang said quickly, "Wang Jiedushi's secret statement is actually just a primer. Even if No, the purge of the capital camp is just a matter of time, it depends on when it will be launched."

"So?" Chen Ruiwen nodded.

"Since disarmament must be carried out, we can only try to avoid it falling on our own family members, right?" Zhou Yang saw the Chen family nodding and then continued, "Wizi Teng is just the governor of the Beijing camp. In theory, he can control , only the three major camps of the Beijing camp have changed; however, we are not big hollow carrots like him, there is no need to use a knife on our own heads."

"Huh? You mean to disband other armies?" Chen Ruiwen had already guessed what he meant, but still didn't fully understand. "This is not easy to handle. Now that Wang Ziteng has made it clear that he wants to move the Beijing camp, it's not too late for other armies to see the show. , how could he interfere with the situation and not be afraid that the fox might not be caught, but would make himself a mess?"

"Teacher, why do we have to let Wang Ziteng lead the way?" Zhou Yang said angrily, "Of course you and the other two uncles of the Third Camp cannot touch the forces outside the Beijing Camp, but Uncle Niu and Uncle Liu can Ah! Since there is no way to escape, why should Wang Ziteng take the lead in reorganizing the army? Wouldn’t it be over if the Ministry of War directly formulates a disarmament plan and promotes it to the world? "

"Can it still be like this?" Chen Yejun said stupidly.

"Why not?" Chen Ruiwen's reaction was much faster, "Yes, the Beijing camp is the elite army of the world and the fundamental force of the imperial court. Aren't you afraid of shaking the world if you dismantle it blindly? Compared with this, the strength of the nine-border town and the four major frontier armies It's also difficult to move, but the piles of empty health clinics in the interior can be moved!
Although these places have long since lost their combat power, and it is hard to say whether they even have actual military strength, these people still occupy positions and need to be paid. If they are eliminated, a large amount of military expenditure can also be saved; then there is only one problem. , it is difficult to say whether the big-headed soldiers exist, how should the generals in various places be placed?If these people make trouble, they will still be in trouble! "Is there any easy resettlement? Is it possible that the imperial court can't even afford to pay these people?" "Zhou Yang said with a smile, "The treatment of all high-ranking generals remains unchanged. The court will continue to distribute the same salary and salary as they originally received. As long as he is not dead, he can continue to receive money without having to bear any responsibility. How about that? ? "

"You kid is really——" Chen Ruiwen stood up excitedly and kicked someone staggering, "Yes, in this way, we can easily lay off at least [-] people. Whenever necessary in the future, we will Take out a few health clinics at random and you won’t have to worry about them for at least ten years!”

"Junior brother Zhou, isn't this enough?" Chen Yejun was still confused, "At the beginning of the founding of this dynasty, the military system basically copied the previous Ming Dynasty. Although the guard posts at all levels were not as allocated as before, there were still a lot of fertile farmland. Real estate, you are only cutting jobs, these fields, huh?"

"Senior brother, have you figured it out?" Looking at Chen Yejun who was gradually showing an expression of ecstasy, Zhou Yang held back a smile and said, "First, pick a few outrageous ones from the Gyeonggi area and make an inventory in strict accordance with the records compiled by the Ministry of War. How many will be killed? I am short-sighted, let those who have dishonest ideas take a closer look, next."

"Next, when it comes to the whole world, let His Majesty come forward and find any excuse to let go of his favor. For example, he will no longer interfere with the accounts of previous years, and only needs to hand back half of the original Weishou land. This can not only stabilize the situation with a little sweetness, but also It will allow His Majesty to extend his kindness widely, gain the hearts of soldiers and horses from all over the world, and gain both dignity and respect." Chen Ruiwen nodded with satisfaction.

"Actually, we can go further." Zhou Yang said with a smile, "The total number of these fields is very large. If we really give them all a favor and don't hold them accountable at all, it would be too cheap for them. It is better to change it to 'redemption', and the fields registered by the Ministry of War As for the quantity, half of it will no longer be asked, but the other half must be converted into silver according to the market price and turned over. Of course, it is not impossible to redeem all of it."

"䱱TM——" Chen Ruiwen suddenly turned his head to look at someone and kicked him again. Fortunately, Zhou Yang was prepared this time and jumped away quickly, "Yes, this way the people below can It was justifiable to bring the original imperial property into his name, and the imperial court could also take back a considerable sum of money.

This money can just be used to place the laid-off soldiers. Each of them only needs to be given twelve or eighty taels, so it is not a problem to send them away. We can even go a step further and abolish a few more empty guard stations, saving positions and salaries for use in Where it is more needed, for example, adding some elite cavalry to the troops in the Beijing camp! "

In fact, the truly operable part is far more than that.

For example, only the Ministry of War knows the amount of land registered by the Ministry of War. Officials from all walks of life can discuss it and allocate a lot to their own families at will; or they can play a little "buy low and buy high" when "redeeming" fertile land. "Sell" trick, you can easily make a considerable amount of income.

For another example, the so-called "disarmament resettlement fee" is also a bad debt. It is impossible for the gentlemen in the capital to know how much the top soldiers below have taken. All they can see is the number reported by the Ministry of War. How much room there is for maneuvering can be guessed by just looking at the current situation in the military where soldiers are eating empty pay and drinking soldiers' blood.

For another example, those generals and officers who have been laid off from the guard posts are also good candidates for slaughter. Anyway, one of them counts as one, and if one of them beheaded, there will never be an injustice. Who to kill or who to keep depends on whether they are You know, the biggest of these guards is the fourth-grade guard commander. Even if there is a military riot, they will just kill a few more people.

Of course, Chen Ruiwen understands the above, and so does Zhou Yang. Chen Yejun may still be confused, but Chen Ruiwen will soon let him understand how much benefit such so-called "purge and disarmament" will bring to his family, and how much it will cost him. How much favor points they have earned in front of Emperor Yonghe, this is a good opportunity that they may not come across in decades.

The only ones who lost a lot were the guardsmen, but it was not absolute. After all, they were soldiers in name, but in fact they were serfs of the guards officers. They were free of charge, although there was no such thing as a "military household" in the Zhou Dynasty. , but it does not mean that it does not actually exist. This kind of abolition is tantamount to letting them have freedom. It is difficult to say whether it is good or bad.

"Teacher, what we need now is to make one as soon as possible." Zhou Yang finally added.

"It doesn't matter whether the feasible plan is rough or broad, but it must be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible, at least one step ahead of Wang Ziteng." Chen Ruiwen nodded and interrupted Zhou Yang, "As for the specific implementation, it can be done in From now on, we will slowly work it out, and it won’t be too late to have it done before the end of the year or start early next year!”

"That's what the teacher said!" Zhou Yang smiled and bowed.

(End of this chapter)