The Ming Dynasty's border defense army actually had a relatively complete system.
After the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu was very wary of the remaining forces of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, he not only sent troops many times to clear the border and pursue the Mongolian tribes, but also designed a border guard army based on farming.
This kind of farming is not simply for the army to farm, but a new method that combines grazing, plowing, and patrolling.
This system has two basic supporting points, namely, the military households that guard the local area passed down from generation to generation, and the vast pastures controlled by Hongwu.
At that time, Xuanfu and Datong, thousands of miles to the north, belonged to the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
Because the local military households have called this their home for generations, the fields and pastures are the industries on which they depend for their livelihood.
When the enemy invades, they are not only protecting the border as an army, but also protecting their homes. Naturally, their military morale is stable and their combat effectiveness is full.
At the same time, Emperor Taizu canonized the Thirteen Sai Kings and gave them great autonomy to protect the security of the border.
In the same way, because it is their own fiefdom, the kings of Sai will manage it well, protect the local prosperity, and strictly guard against the invasion of foreign enemies.
Therefore, during the Hongwu era, every Sai king worked very hard on military training, farming, and herding.
Under this system, the court was able to keep the border army's combat effectiveness strong without expending too much energy and financial resources.
But everything has pros and cons.
The biggest shortcoming of this system is that with the mutual assistance of military camps, grazing, and salt laws, the border troops can be almost self-sufficient and do not rely on the central court.
This is the only loophole left by Emperor Taizu.
Since it does not rely on the central court, it means that the central court's control over the border troops has plummeted.
Especially when the major kings of the Great Wall have various important powers such as military and civil affairs, once they are allowed to operate for decades, or even two or three generations, the border will naturally be stable.
However, it is almost inevitable for these Sai kings to become feudal states that are completely outside the control of the imperial court.
So in fact, Emperor Jianwen's reduction of vassals cannot be said to be a wrong move. No one who ascends the throne would turn a blind eye to this risk.
It's just that although Jianwen's direction was not wrong, his political ability was indeed poor, and he ruined himself.
Therefore, after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he made some major adjustments to the border system.
Emperor Taizong himself was the King of Sai, so he naturally knew where the core of this system lay.
In order to strengthen the central court's control over the border troops, he first revoked the military power of the feudal princes, and the control of the border troops was returned to the hands of the border generals appointed by the court.
At the same time, he transferred the troops originally stationed at the border to the interior and ordered the troops from the interior to rotate to the border.
The separation of soldiers and generals completely eliminated the threat from the border troops to the central court.
However, as a result, the border troops were all on rotation and had no sense of belonging to the border, so their combat effectiveness was naturally not as good as that of Hongwu.
And the most serious problem is that because the border troops are on duty, there is no way to continue grazing.
After all, the fields of the military camp were there, but the cattle, sheep, and horses needed long-term care. The border troops rotated them almost every few years, so it was difficult to maintain large-scale long-term grazing.
Without grazing, the huge pastures outside the customs would have no value, and instead would take a lot of time and energy to patrol.
Therefore, in the late Yongle period, Emperor Taizong abandoned Daning, Kaiping, Dongsheng and other strongholds outside the pass, and withdrew his defense lines, hoping to establish a new border defense order.
Unfortunately, once the original order collapses, establishing a new order must be a long process.
This is also the reason why Taizong continued his northern expedition.
The border defense line has been damaged, so if you want to maintain peace on the border, you can only take the initiative.
However, not everyone conquered the world immediately like Taizong.
The tribes on the grassland are always born again with the spring breeze. As long as there is enough time, they will quickly become stronger.
After abandoning Daning, Kaiping, Dongsheng and other strongholds outside the customs, Xuanfu, Datong, Ningxia and other strongholds became important towns facing the Mongolian tribes.
Without the buffer of these strongholds outside the customs, the new border defense system has not been built, and a certain overlord is overjoyed to achieve great success, the disastrous defeat of the Civil War has actually laid the foundation for the disaster.
As Yang Hong, who has been at the border for almost his whole life, he actually knows the situation of the border troops better than anyone else.
But precisely because of this, he couldn't agree with Wang Ao's statement.
"The imperial court appointed border generals to guard the border in order to maintain peace on the border and cultivate the fields. This was originally to relieve the pressure on the imperial court. However, in recent years, the imperial court has repeatedly reduced military expenditures on the border. Under such circumstances, if we do not increase the intensity of cultivating the fields, how can we ensure that
The soldiers’ pay?”
"Among the border generals, there are certainly a few unscrupulous people who use the border troops for their own purposes. However, these unscrupulous people will naturally have the imperial court to inspect and impeach them, and will not affect the overall situation. In the final analysis, it is still due to insufficient military expenditures and frequent rotations.
, This led to the decline in the combat effectiveness of the border troops."
"To solve these problems, we need to start from the root and increase border military expenditures. If the border military pay is sufficient, the number of soldiers fleeing will naturally decrease, and the border generals will focus more on training to improve the combat effectiveness of the border troops."
Since the orthodoxy, the imperial court has strengthened its control over the border, but the annual military expenditures allocated have actually been decreasing.
On the one hand, this was because the imperial court spent a lot of material resources on its three expeditions to Luchuan, and on the other hand, it was also because when Sanyang was in power, he advocated leaving aside all non-urgent tasks.
So from Yang Hong's point of view, the biggest reason why the border troops fled and the farmland was abandoned was that the court did not pay enough attention to the border.
Without enough military expenditures, the border troops would naturally flee, and the court would not give them money, but border expenditures would not be reduced, so they would naturally use the normal training troops to farm fields, which is what Wang Ao called "torture and forced soldiers."
Looking at Yang Hong who looked unhappy, Wang Ao also shook his head and said.
"Marquis Yang, you love your soldiers like your own sons and have strict military discipline. I know this. However, the border is not in Xuanfu. The border army is corrupt, the quota is serious, and the soldiers are tortured by the border generals. This is not my exaggeration, but a fact."
"What's more, there is not enough material in the country now. Silver is needed everywhere. If you want to organize border defense, starting from the border generals is the best way!"
Most of the arguments in the court are like this.
Yang Hong's words naturally make sense, but Wang Ao is not talking nonsense either.
The current situation on the border is due to both institutional reasons and court control. Of course, it is also due to the greed of border generals and even local officials.
This kind of thing is often caused by many factors and is very complicated.
However, due to different positions and cognitions, different people will have different views on solving problems.
Yang Hong advocated increasing the military budget and changing the treatment of border troops, so as to reduce flight and steadily restore normal order in the field.
This is viewed from the perspective of a line general.
Wang Ao advocated the dismissal of unqualified generals to directly curb this unhealthy trend.
No one is right or wrong between the two people, they just have different interests and perspectives.
Zhu Qiyu sighed and looked at the two people facing each other, feeling a little helpless. After thinking about it, he said to Yu Qian.
"Yu Shangshu, what do you think?"
Yu Qian pondered for a moment, his attitude was very clear, and he said.
"Your Majesty, I think that if we want to achieve quick results, we should start with the border generals. Nowadays, there are still many border generals in the passes of the border who have raided the army for their own use. If these people can be organized, it will be great.
Ease fiscal pressure on the border."
"However, there are several difficulties. The military report of the Ministry of War shows that there have been some changes in the northern Wala recently. If the border generals start a big fight at this time, they may be taken advantage of. There are also many border generals who are currently guarding various places.
He had meritorious service in the War of Oara, and as soon as the imperial court finished describing his merits, he implemented strict rectifications, fearing that the generals on all sides would be disappointed."
"Moreover, in the long run, simply rectifying the border generals will not solve the fundamental problem. Of course, the imperial court has a lot of annual income, so it is not advisable to rely solely on the imperial court for blood transfusions."
His words were considered impartial, and they euphemistically denied the words of Wang Ao and Yang Hong.
At this time, Jing'an Bo Fan Guang, who was silent on the side, suddenly spoke.
"Your Majesty, I have different views on this matter."
Zhu Qiyu's eyes fell on him, and he waved his hand and said, "Then let's talk about it."
Fan Guang then opened his mouth and said: "What I have just heard from several adults is all from a big picture perspective. However, over the past few years, I have traveled to Liaodong, Xuanfu, and Datong, and what I have seen is slightly different.
"
"Yang Hou and the generals of the first auxiliary generals have abandoned their military camps. This is due to the frequent mobilization of border troops and serious desertions. However, in fact, when I was in various places, I saw a large number of military camps. The reason why the imperial court could not support itself through military camps
The reason for the border army is that there is a large amount of privately cultivated land."
Zhu Qiyu perked up, turned sideways, and said.
"Privately cultivated land? Tell me in detail!"
Seeing the emperor's concern, Fan Guang did not dare to neglect and continued.
"It is privately cultivated land. In our military settlement, the soldiers guard the city in three parts and plant crops in seven parts. According to the fertility of the land and the buffer area, the grain produced is divided into 19, 28, and 46.
The bulk of the land needs to be turned over to the court, but if it is reclaimed private land, then it only needs to be reported to the government, and then the land tax can be paid in the form of private land."
"Private land reclamation is very popular in the military today. From the generals to the sergeants, they are all keen on private land reclamation. It is because of this that military villages are becoming increasingly desolate."
"So I believe that the top priority is neither to expand military spending nor to rectify border generals, but to solve the problem of private land reclamation."
The palace suddenly became quiet, and a group of ministers fell silent in unison, leaving Fan Guang confused for a while.
However, Zhu Qiyu smiled and said: "Well said, to the point! Private land reclamation is the most urgent problem that needs to be solved on the border today!"
There are actually many reasons for the disuse of military camps. What Yang Hong and Wang Ao said are both correct, but they both avoided the issue of private land reclamation.
Not for anything else, because the scope involved in private land reclamation is really too large.
The border is no better than the inland. The closer you get to the border, the fewer people there are, so there are more places available for reclaiming wasteland.
Compared to military camps where most of the output from farming needs to be turned over, the frontier army, from generals to ordinary sergeants, are more willing to reclaim wasteland as private land.
This is no longer a problem for one individual, but a problem for the entire border army.
Because of this, no one dared to bring up this topic easily, because once privately cultivated fields were to be rectified, it would not only be the interests of the frontier generals, but the interests of the entire frontier army that would be affected.
If it is not handled properly, it may even lead to mutiny.
You must know that whether in the hearts of the common people or in the hearts of these soldiers, the fields are the same as their lifeblood. Anyone who dares to touch their fields will have to fight you to the death.
Therefore, the ministers of the imperial court would rather squeeze out money for blood transfusions or organize and replace generals than easily touch the sensitive topic of private land reclamation.
That is to say, when Fan Guangjiu was in the army, all he could think about was how to lead troops in war, without so many twists and turns.
So when Zhu Qiyu asked, he said what he thought.
After glancing at the ministers who were bowing their heads in silence, Zhu Qiyu said calmly.
"Everyone, you didn't know about the private land reclamation until today, right?"
After a while, Yu Qian looked a little complicated and replied with difficulty.
"Your Majesty, forgive me. This matter is really of great importance. If we want to rectify the private land reclamation, the frontier army will be seriously injured. In the past few years, the court has been suffering from border troubles. All the people in the court are thinking about is how to improve the frontier army's combat effectiveness."
If we use our strength to launch a major war, the border troops will be restless and the border will be unsafe."
This is the truth. The problem has existed for a long time and the court has known about it for a long time.
However, unless forced to the point where it must be solved, everyone will never be able to stop ruthlessly curing the problem.
What's more, the imperial court has indeed not had the environment to solve this problem in recent years.
On the border, the Wara are watching eagerly, and there is constant friction. If this matter is not handled properly and the border troops mutiny, and the Wara take advantage of it, the country will be overturned at every turn. No one can bear this responsibility.
Zhu Qiyu looked at Yu Qian intently. After a while, Fang shook his head and said.
"Border troubles are one thing, but we can't delay solving the problem just because of border troubles. Private reclamation is a blunt instrument. If it is not rectified, the military settlements will become more and more formal, the court will spend more and more money, and the frontier army's combat effectiveness will decrease day by day.
, it may not be better than scraping bones to treat poison."
However, Zhu Qiyu also understood Yu Qian's difficulties, so he did not criticize him too much on this matter and continued.
"I know that you are all the pillars of the country and are working for the country, but the matter of private land reclamation must be resolved. Yu Qian, if I ask you to take charge of this matter, are you willing to take over?"
All the ministers' eyes were fixed on Yu Qian, this was a hot potato.
Not to mention how difficult this matter is, just the consequences.
If it is not done well and causes a mutiny in the army, even with Yu Qian's current status, he will inevitably lose his official position.
Even if it is done well, it is still a matter of duty, but from now on, Yu Qian will become a public enemy of the frontier soldiers, and it can be said that the two sides are not on good terms.
But if you want to refuse, I'm afraid it won't be easy. Since the emperor asked, it means that he must have had his thoughts in mind. As Yu Qian's minister of the Ministry of War, this should be his duty.
Yu Qian said nothing, and his expression was a little complicated.
Seeing this, Zhu Qiyu said: "If Yu Qing is worried about making too much noise and allowing Mongolian tribes to take advantage of the situation, there is no need to worry. If this matter is to be implemented, it must be done to ensure peace on the border."
Others think that Yu Qian cherishes his life, but Zhu Qiyu understands him better.
It is impossible to say that Yu Qian is not afraid of death, but he is a person who pays more attention to the overall situation of the society. In addition to personal life and death, what he considers more is whether doing so will harm the Ming Dynasty.
As expected, after Zhu Qiyu finished speaking, Yu Qian quickly made a decision.
He raised his head, looked determined, and spoke.
"Your Majesty, if the stability of the border can be guaranteed, I am willing to go to the border in person to inspect privately cultivated fields, organize border affairs, and restore military garrison!"
"good!"
Zhu Qiyu nodded, with a trace of satisfaction on his face, and said.
"In this case, the Ministry of War will start preparations from now on and make a detailed plan. Don't worry, I will order the Metropolitan Procuratorate to assist you."
Checking out privately cultivated land is no small matter.
How to conduct an inventory, who to send, how to appease the border troops, and how to deal with the border general's private farmland and the sergeant's private farmland.
All kinds of issues require careful consideration and repeated discussion.
So now, we just set a general direction, and it will take at least several months before we really start to organize things.
Zhu Qiyu was talking here, and Wang Cheng, led by Cheng Jing, hurried in, holding a box in his hand to report.
"Your Majesty, the Mongolian envoy has entered the city and forwarded a letter from the Great Khan Tutuo Buhua and several leaders of his ministries. Your Majesty is requested to read it."
This chapter has been completed!