"It's almost time. We should go back now. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid grandpa may be injured."
At Liangzhou in Xuanwu Lake, Zhu Ying stood up and spoke.
Zhu Ying had known about Datong Zuowei's affairs long before.
Last year, a large number of members of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce went to Shanxi to explore and mine coal mines and needed assistance from surrounding military households.
It was at that time that members of the Chamber of Commerce came into contact with the sergeants of the Datong Left Guard.
Normally speaking, in the current Ming Dynasty, even the field soldiers are not particularly strong. Although they can be self-sufficient, it is unrealistic to eat with an open stomach.
Even if you are not thinking about yourself, you should also think about your wife and children at home.
However, people from the Chamber of Commerce discovered that the sergeants from Datong Zuowei were all skinny, skinny, and had obviously not had a full meal for a long time.
This is especially obvious when compared with other health centers.
On the other hand, the officials from hundreds of households who took the lead were all covered with fat. Standing together, it was even more dazzling.
You must know that Datong is close to the grassland, and the Datong Left Guard can be regarded as a frontier army. Not only do they need to train more often, but their combat effectiveness is also supposed to be strong enough.
Once the border grasslands are invaded, the first batch to be mobilized will be the nearest guard posts such as Datong Left Guard.
It has to be said that Zhu Ying's ideological education within the Qunying Chamber of Commerce is quite good. Although the directors of the Chamber of Commerce have no officials, in their hearts, they have always regarded themselves as direct descendants of Etai Sun.
Those who can now serve as directors of the Chamber of Commerce all grew up with Zhu Ying from the Western Regions. Maybe they have no loyalty to the Ming Dynasty, but they are all convinced of their boss.
From another perspective, if the former boss is now the great grandson, then the entire Ming Dynasty, just like the Western Regions, belongs to the boss.
After realizing there was a problem, the head of the chamber of commerce secretly contacted these sergeants.
Sure enough, a huge problem was discovered.
Everything that happens next is a matter of course.
The head of the Chamber of Commerce in Datong has stayed in the Mongolian grasslands for more than ten years. It is precisely because of his familiarity with the grasslands that he was assigned to be responsible for Datong.
When he was in the Mongolian grasslands, what this boss was best at was lining up vertical and horizontal alliances, sowing dissension, and secretly encouraging these evil tricks.
Since arriving in Datong, my life has been too leisurely. I am really not used to it. I even miss the exciting days in the grassland.
Good guy, after facing this incident, I made a mental decision and suddenly had an idea.
Because it was too far away from the capital, the person in charge immediately started planning after passing on the information.
The affairs of the Hundred Households of Datong Zuowei also gave the principal an opportunity.
Including the secret report sent to the capital, it was naturally written by the person in charge and through the channel of the Chamber of Commerce.
After Zhu Ying got the secret report, he thought about it carefully.
He knew very well that he wanted to get the old man's approval for the reform of the health system.
If you report it yourself, you may not achieve the desired effect.
After all, the old man's temperament is not ordinary.
I have raised the issue of the health center system before, but now, with the old man’s character, I might even guess whether this episode was directed by me.
It's better to borrow someone else's hand to pass it on.
This gaze finally fell on Rujun, Minister of the Ministry of War.
As the Minister of the Ministry of War, Rujun and the Governor of the Fifth Army have mutually restrictive positions.
However, in fact, because there are too many nobles and nobles in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, there are a lot of princes and counts, and they are implemented throughout the entire Ming army, and it is simply not something that a civil servant like Ru Ru can control.
It can be said that most of the time, except for conveying His Majesty's orders and mobilizing troops, Ru Ru had no power at all over the army.
In terms of positions, the Ministry of War is in charge of military guards, local officials are selected to teach examinations and military system, training, recruitment, garrison, border defense, honor guard, imperial guard, post office, stable husbandry, ordnance, talisman survey, military registration, martial arts, etc.
Military administration.
But now these powers cannot be implemented at all.
To put it simply, Rujun could not enter the gate of any Qianhu residence if he wanted to.
In all the guard posts, from top to bottom, no one bothers with the so-called Minister of War, he is an absolute bastard.
Ru Yu is a smart person, otherwise she would not be able to hold the position of Minister.
When this secret report came into his hands, Zhu Ying had already guessed that it would definitely not be mentioned at the court meeting, and the Huagai Hall ceremony after the court would be Ru Jin's best opportunity.
When Zhu Ying arrived in front of Huagai Hall, she happened to hear the old man's angry roar.
The feeling of being slapped in the face is really unpleasant.
"You should take Yunxi and Mingyue back to Kunning Palace first."
Zhu Ying glanced behind him at Zhu Yunxi and Zhu Mingyue, who were trembling with fear, and then gave instructions to Ye Yueqing.
The fear of Grandpa Huang in their hearts was a shadow they had since childhood.
How dare you go see Grandpa Huang when he is angry?
In the canopy palace.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Yang Jing, the Minister of Punishment, with a slightly sinister look in his eyes, and asked: "According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, how should the sergeants of Datong Left Guard be punished?"
Yang Jing, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, felt a little bit in his heart. How could the blame for the army be thrown at me?
This question is really hard to answer.
If someone below the rank of sergeant commits a crime and resists and disobeys, he will definitely be reprimanded by His Majesty.
If you say that the sergeants are not guilty and the commanders are responsible for their own faults, it would be a slap in the face of His Majesty.
It can be said that Zhu Bajie looks in the mirror, and the left and right are not human beings.
Just when cold sweat began to break out on Yang Jing's forehead, the eunuch outside the door reported: "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Grand Sun is here to see you."
When he heard that the eldest grandson was coming, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes became much gentler: "Let the eldest grandson come over quickly."
Yang Jing, the Minister of Punishment, breathed a long sigh of relief, the savior had come.
The other ministers also felt relieved, otherwise no one would be able to please His Majesty.
Zhu Ying entered the palace and saluted.
He glanced around and immediately understood the current situation.
"I heard that my eldest grandson went to Xuanwu Lake to play. Why did he come back so early?" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.
There was no trace of anger in his tone just now.
All the ministers below had an illusion. If it weren't for the cold sweat on their backs and the secret report on the desk, it would seem that everything just now was an illusion.
Feeling the old man's gentle tone, Zhu Ying's heart moved slightly.
After a slight pause, he said: "My grandson's heart is restless and he is pretending to have too many things, which is not in line with the peaceful feeling of Xuanwu Lake."
"When my grandson passed by the temple just now, he heard that his grandfather Long Yan was furious, so he came to see him. I just hoped that my grandfather would not be so angry."
Hearing Da Sun mention it, Zhu Yuanzhang waved to Da Sun to sit next to him.
Then he handed over the secret report on the desk.
Zhu Ying took it and read it carefully.
Of course, Zhu Ying had already read the contents of this secret report.
He looked fake, frowning and shocked.
"Dasun, how are you?" Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been paying attention to him, asked.
With obvious anger, Zhu Yingying scolded: "I am a great Ming Dynasty. It is simply unspeakable that such bad things happen."
"My grandson finally understands why grandpa was so angry just now. It's simply shocking."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and then asked: "What do you think should be done about these criminal sergeants?"
As soon as these words came out, Yang Jing in the audience first breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Taisun curiously, how he would answer.
Zhu Ying did not hesitate, but said in surprise: "What kind of treatment? They are not guilty. They have been wronged for so many years, so they should be comforted."
"The defense of the border still requires these soldiers to guard it."
Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "But they killed their own commander and violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Ying retorted: "Then the commander-in-chief named Li Lin deserves his punishment. What does he rely on to be able to sit in the position of commander-in-chief? He relies on these brothers who have sacrificed their lives for him."
"From the perspective of our court, this Li Lin has brought harm to military families, engaged in excessive corruption, deceived his superiors and deceived his subordinates, and deprived himself of military pay. All of these are enough for him to be executed without delay and skinned as grass."
"The worst thing is that the combat effectiveness of the entire Datong left guard has dropped sharply. If the grassland invades the border, how will these soldiers who are not well fed and not warmly clothed be able to resist?"
"If the border is lost because of this, how many people will be destroyed and their families will be destroyed."
"For the behavior of these sergeants, my grandson sees not only that there is no punishment, but also rewards, heavy rewards."
"Especially this hundred households should be directly promoted to the commander-in-chief of the capital to serve our Ming Dynasty. All sergeants should be made aware that if their officers are harmful to the foundation of our Ming Dynasty, corrupt and pervert the law, surrender to the enemy and other similar actions.
"
"Then such officers are no longer officers, but enemies. They should be chopped down hard. Don't hesitate at all. I am behind you and will provide you with strong support."
Zhu Ying's impassioned words reverberated throughout the Huagai Hall, and Zhu Yuanzhang even smiled with a brow. This obviously spoke to his heart.
In fact, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, soldiers should be loyal first, but this loyalty is not to their superiors, let alone a certain general or commander-in-chief.
It should be more towards the Ming Dynasty and the emperor.
"Okay, what Da Sun said is good. Then we will handle this matter according to what Da Sun said."
"Ru Shangshu, but you heard me clearly."
?After Zhu Yuanzhang agreed with Da Sun's words, he said to Ru Yu.
"I obey the decree." Ru Jin bowed in reply.
?This matter seemed to be implemented just like that, but Zhu Ying didn't want it to be like this.
If it were so simple, why would he go through so many detours to transfer the secret report to Ru Yu.
After a short pause, Zhu Ying continued: "Grandpa, this incident has made my grandson worried."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked deeply at the eldest grandson and said, "Let the eldest grandson tell you."
Just from this look, Zhu Ying already knew that the old man understood what he was thinking, so he said frankly:
"Grandpa, what happened at Datong Left Guard has been known through secret reports for nearly twenty years."
"For such a long time, no one in the imperial court heard anything about it."
"So, whether Li Lin's behavior is an isolated case, or whether it has become a secret behavior of many people, there is currently no investigation and it is unknown."
"However, if it is the behavior of many guards, even if it is not as serious as Li Lin, it is really digging into the foundation of our Ming Dynasty."
"No matter how well the internal affairs develop, no matter how full the national treasury is, even the food is enough for the people to feed and clothe themselves, but externally the soldiers are extremely weak and have no fighting power at all."
"How different is the Ming Dynasty from the previous Song Dynasty?"
These words were a direct impact on the old man. The ministers, including Jiang Yu and Liu He, suddenly stopped breathing.
Is it because only Zhu Ying is so smart that she can think of this problem?
No, that's not the case.
On the contrary, after the ministers read the secret report, Zhu Ying's idea came to mind immediately.
I know it, but no one dares to raise it even among the five ministers.
Zhu Ying came over from Xuanwu Lake just to make this suggestion.
"What does Da Sun mean..." Zhu Yuanzhang asked thoughtfully.
Zhu Ying's eyes were clear and he said in a deep voice: "Thoroughly investigate the corruption in the Ming Dynasty Guard."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer immediately. Instead, he paused and said, "Aren't you afraid of causing a mutiny?"
Zhu Ying shook his head and said: "Don't be afraid. Those who are corrupt must be the military officers, and the sergeants among them are the targets of their exploitation and enslavement."
"But they have forgotten that the source of their combat power is the people they exploit and enslave."
"Such a scene is like the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. What these soldiers are longing for is the Ming Dynasty court to support them. If these military officers dare to rebel, my grandson believes that all he needs is an edict from his grandfather."
"Those sergeants who were once enslaved will naturally gather spontaneously to bring order to the chaos."
"We still don't know how many health centers in the world are like this. My grandson naturally hopes that the fewer the better, but if the situation is serious, it has to be done."
"If we don't eradicate it completely today, it will definitely become a problem for our Ming Dynasty to subvert in the future."
?Zhu Ying is not an alarmist. In the later Ming Dynasty, the problems left over by the Weisuo system for three hundred years became more and more serious.
So much so that drinking soldiers' blood and eating empty pay has become a common and normal phenomenon in the border army.
In the army, corruption is a hundred times more serious than among officials.
Even if you have made meritorious deeds without paying filial piety to your superiors, the merits gained through life and death are just wedding clothes made for others.
For a long time, there were no soldiers who dared to risk their lives, and official positions were completely priced.
The military pay issued by the imperial court, after being exploited layer by layer, fell to the soldiers at the bottom. Even food and clothing were a problem. When it came to fighting on the battlefield, whoever fought hard was a fool.
Even if a general has the idea to make great achievements, the first thing he faces is the pay of the officers and soldiers.
Without money, even the soldiers could not feed themselves, and the court had no hope at all.
After Zhu Yuanzhang heard what Da Sun said, he did not respond immediately.
Instead, he started to think deeply.
He knew very well that there was another meaning in Da Sun's words.
That was an overthrow of the entire current health system.
The current thorough investigation is just an act to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.
Such a bad behavior by a Datong left guard has happened for more than 20 years without any news.
This is not something that a small city commander can accomplish.
The characters involved are extremely broad.
Who will conduct the investigation is the biggest problem at the moment.
The health center is now self-sufficient, and it is not that simple for outsiders to explore the real situation.
Ordinary patrol censorship is completely useless.
Zeng Lanyu is the best example.
They occupied Dongchang people's fields, and even the censor was beaten out without any dignity.
I'm afraid that after this investigation, there will be countless fish that slipped through the net.
Even if the current situation is changed, according to the current development trend, it won't take many years before a large number of military officers will secretly engage in corruption again.