Changes in any affairs are accompanied by pros and cons, and they should be viewed from both sides. At the moment of change, it is also necessary with the development of the situation. If we do not rely on realistic conditions and objective laws, we can rely on the emperor or the people in power to take action.
Making decisions on the head and insisting on going your own way is not a revolution, but a fool's errand that harms the country and the people.
The Han Dynasty court or Emperor Liu decided to reform the military system. Naturally, it was not just after receiving a few admonitions and listening to some suggestions, he made a decision with enthusiasm and heart.
It has been brewing for several years, and it has been concluded after many investigations and comprehensive considerations. The pressure faced by the finance is also an objective situation and a practical need.
Of course, it is not that there is really any problem with the Han Dynasty's finances. The current income from major taxes such as two taxes, commercial taxes, salt, iron, tea and cotton is enough to maintain the normal operation of the country's military administration. It will be fine in ten years.
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What Zhao Pu and other ministers considered was not to suppress the army, nor did they think that the imperial government's finances were really at a point where they would collapse if they did not disarm.
They also understand the importance of national defense consolidation, border maintenance, and military building, which are major events related to national security and political power stability. They just feel that in peacetime, maintaining such a huge army at such a high cost is really not possible.
If necessary, military spending can and should be limited, at least to a healthy level.
Over the years, Emperor Liu has been maintaining Han unification and has been making constant adjustments in his governance, becoming more pragmatic and more focused on the present. But this does not mean that he has completely lost his vision and no longer has the foresight.
As the emperor of the empire, the weight of the crown also forced him to make some long-term considerations, rather than waiting for the problem to come and then hastily dealing with it. At least, he is not willing to deal with it more than ten or twenty years later when the problem deepens and the situation becomes serious.
When it gets to the point where you have to change it, then deal with it passively.
Of course, it is still unknown whether he can live another twenty years, but as long as he is still in office, he must do what he can and should do resolutely, and try not to leave the problem to his successor.
This was Emperor Liu's responsibility as the "founding" king, and it was also dictated by his character.
In any reform, there is a very important issue, that is, while correcting current shortcomings and alleviating old contradictions, it is also necessary to pay attention to the emergence of new problems and the expansion of new contradictions. This is very necessary.
In the past many rounds of reforms in Dahan, there are countless examples that prove this point. The birth of any new policy or new system reform can be achieved once and for all, with no harm to all. Therefore, in this aspect, Dahan's
The monarch and his ministers are still very rational.
Judging from this military reform, if it succeeds and can be implemented step by step according to the plan formulated by the central government, then in the future, the military expenditure of the Han Dynasty can be effectively controlled, and the national finance can become more rational and healthy.
This is a benefit and the fundamental purpose of the reform, but it also brings new problems and new contradictions between national finance and national defense construction. If this problem cannot be solved, then the reform cannot be called a success, or even
could have disastrous consequences.
The most critical issue is how to maintain rule, how to consolidate national defense, and how to ensure the security of the Han Dynasty's thousands of miles of territory after large-scale army dismantling and military expenditure reduction.
The disbanded army must find a replacement for the responsibilities of homeland protection and public security suppression that they originally assumed. The number of officers and soldiers can be reduced, but not at the expense of national security.
Therefore, reducing the size of the army is only the first step in the reform of the military system. The next step is to organize a force that can fill the gap in national defense, which is the rural army.
After years of construction, the Han Dynasty had already established a basic rural soldier system across the country. Among the annual military expenditures, a part of the allocation specifically for the weapons, training, and supplies of the rural soldiers was borne by the governors of each state.
According to the regulations for building rural soldiers in the Han Dynasty, all registered rural soldiers who are volunteers must receive 45-60 days of training from the commander-in-chief during the off-season every year, including basic training and the indoctrination of military doctrine. The price is exempt.
A certain amount of labor.
During the war years, these volunteers with basic training experience were undoubtedly the most important and reliable source of soldiers for the Han army and the main recruitment target of the Privy Council, effectively supplementing the consumption of unification and foreign wars.
However, with the passage of time and the advent of peace, the organizational construction of rural soldiers has entered a state of stagnation, both in terms of financial investment and training.
After all, when the Han Dynasty conquered all over the world and was invincible, when the war was actually gone and society restored stability and tranquility, people's attention naturally shifted from the war, and their minds were completely focused on the hard work of making a living.
The border states are acceptable, and the environment and customs are suitable for the development of rural soldiers. Coupled with the strong support of the army and the capital, the construction of rural soldiers in the border areas has been maintained at a high level, and the atmosphere is also very strong. Li Jilong said that the border areas
It is also true that Jixiang Yong assumes more responsibilities in border defense affairs.
In comparison, the situation in the mainland Daozhou is obviously not optimistic. Although martial arts is still popular among the Han people and has been guided by the government, for most people, the cost of practicing martial arts is still high, and there are not that many
of time and energy to be deeply involved.
After the changes in the military system of the Han Dynasty, the construction of rural soldiers will also be intensified. Different from the previous simple training, the rural soldiers under the reform have higher requirements for them and the responsibilities they bear must be higher.
If you are bigger, your status in the Han army will also be improved, and your treatment will be improved.
Of course, this refers to those rural soldiers who have been selected and enriched into the Han national defense system. Not only the border areas need supplements after the reduction of regular soldiers, but also local Daozhou states will become auxiliary troops for the garrison.
The strategy drawn up by the Privy Council was to select the strongest among the rural soldiers and train them into a semi-military force, called regiment training. It was to re-plan a force in the Han military system. This force would supplement the national defense.
Gaps in defense.
According to the requirements put forward by the Privy Council, local regiment training must maintain at least two hundred days of training every year, and must assume the responsibility of maintaining public security and serve in other places. Regiment training on the border shall last for three years, and at the end of the three years, it shall be resumed.
The age limit for transfer back to your place of origin is also relaxed to forty.
The most critical thing is that these regiments are not paid for military training except when they are fighting or performing special tasks such as suppressing bandits and fighting rebellion. Instead, the court exempts these regiment trainees from the middle tax, the two taxes, and the labor service of two people per household per year.
The normal expenses of the imperial court for raising these regiments include daily training, uniforms, ordnance, supplies, and equipment requirements. These are also lower. This kind of treatment is cheap compared with the regular soldiers of the imperial court. Of course
, casualty pensions are also provided, which are also inferior to those of active officers and soldiers.
The construction of regiment training was also the most important and fundamental measure implemented by the imperial court in the reform of the military system, and the savings in military expenses came from this.
There is no doubt that regiment training is much weaker than the regular army of the imperial court. The impact of troop reduction cannot be made up by mere regiment training. The national defense strength of the Han Dynasty will be significantly reduced.
However, on the basis of basically ensuring national defense, it can achieve the purpose of maintaining a normal military expenditure, and at the same time, it can also further improve the Han's military system.
As for the entire military reform, the only army that has not changed is probably the Su Wei Army who defended Emperor Liu. They were the emperor's personal soldiers and were the last line of defense to protect the imperial city and defend Emperor Liu. No matter when, their status was
, its strength will not waver.
In addition, the Fanbing, which was once an integral part of the Han army, was also abolished. The imperial court no longer maintained its basic organization. Some of them, who had meritorious service and were devoted to the Han army, were selected to join the Han army.
When a war breaks out, temporary recruitment, temporary spending, and organized operations are carried out when necessary. This is also a consideration to eliminate the military threat of the Hu people. Of course, troops such as the Southwest Feiqian Army are still retained. They have already
