Why does the emperor trust civilian officials more than military generals?
In addition to the repeated usurping of power by military generals in history, a very important reason is that the Confucian theory is very popular with emperors. The most famous one is the Three Cardinal Guidelines of Confucianism: if the king wants his ministers to die, the ministers have to die.
The emperor liked this very much, and naturally he felt more at ease with the civil servants.
But in fact, civilian officials are really more reliable than military generals?
Not necessarily, there were more than one or two powerful ministers in history. When the Ming Dynasty fell, these civil servants immediately turned around and defected to the new masters, and there was no sign of how loyal they were to the emperor.
Now Liu Jin emphasizes that the most important thing in this military academy is to instill the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. This is very good, and it is completely learned from Confucianism.
Needless to say, the emperor must like it very much. Everyone who is an emperor likes others to be loyal to them.
"You can have this~"
Zhang Mao nodded and said.
"Mr. Zhang, these are just my humble opinions. As for how to change them, it ultimately depends on His Majesty's wishes."
Liu Jin smiled and told these things, hoping that Emperor Hongzhi would eventually adopt them.
Now Liu Jin is still a man of low opinion and his official position is too small, and his influence on the entire huge empire is still very limited. If Emperor Hongzhi does not adopt it, no matter how good Liu Jin's words are, it will be useless.
"You brat, I really don't know how your brain was created and why you are always able to come up with something new. I think your majesty should have adopted your method of transformation."
Zhang Mao looked at Liu Jin and said confidently.
He knew Emperor Hongzhi better than Liu Jin. He knew clearly that Emperor Hongzhi was really not just taking back military power this time.
Emperor Hongzhi has changed. He used to be a good old man who listened to the civil servants in everything. Although he loved the people like a son, was diligent and frugal, and diligent in government and loved the people, Emperor Hongzhi was not actually a qualified emperor. There was a huge difference between Lixiong and Caixiong.
It is far from comparable to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.
But now, Zhang Mao saw in Emperor Hongzhi some things that only a talented and strategic emperor could have, such as courage, political means, long-term vision, and ambition.
Now he can see some of it in Emperor Hongzhi. Although it is still not obvious enough, Emperor Hongzhi has really changed.
…
In the imperial palace in the capital, as October entered, the weather became colder and colder. Emperor Hongzhi also officially moved into the newly built Qianqing Palace not long ago.
As soon as he moved in, Emperor Hongzhi immediately fell in love with this place, especially this winter, he fell in love with the Qianqing Palace even more.
The new Qianqing Palace was designed by Liu Jin. It was built using reinforced concrete and was decorated with a large amount of glass and ceramic tiles, making the entire palace look magnificent.
Of course, in addition to being very grand and luxurious, this palace is also full of humanized design in many aspects.
For example, the heating design was very popular with Emperor Hongzhi.
The winters of this era are very cold, especially as the Little Ice Age is about to come. From time to time, the winters of some years are particularly cold.
In the past, Emperor Hongzhi was only willing to build a warm pavilion. It was warmer inside and was used for office work and ministers' discussions.
But the thermal pavilion is small after all, and the lighting is not good in winter. You need to light candles in broad daylight, and other places are very cold.
It's different now. The entire new Qianqing Palace adopts floor heating and heating design, uses coal to boil water, and then runs the heating to every place in the entire Qianqing Palace through laid pipes.
So the whole Qianqing Palace is very warm.
At the same time, many places adopt an all-glass design, and the lighting is very good, especially the higher you go to the upper floors, the better the lighting. It is definitely a great pleasure to enjoy the heating while watching the cold wind howling and snowflakes falling outside the window. matter.
In addition, the entire large and small rooms, conference rooms, etc. of the Qianqing Palace are all covered with carpets. It is very comfortable and very clean when you are in them.
In addition, Liu Jin also designed a gym, swimming pool, entertainment room, etc. specifically for Emperor Hongzhi to relax and play.
As soon as Emperor Hongzhi moved in, he immediately fell in love with the place. He didn't even go to the Queen's Kunning Palace. He directly called the Queen over and lived in it together, living a happy life without shame or impatience.
The Qinzheng Hall of the Qianqing Palace, this Qinzheng Hall is actually the study of Emperor Hongzhi. It is located on the second floor of the Qianqing Palace. The room is very large and luxuriously decorated. There are all kinds of calligraphy and painting by famous people of the past dynasties. Ordinarily, anything you take out is a national treasure.
The Qinzheng Hall faces north and south. Facing the south is a huge floor-to-ceiling window. When Emperor Hongzhi was tired from working, he could come to the window and overlook the capital. The scenery is definitely the best.
At this time, in the Qinzheng Hall, Emperor Hongzhi was summoning Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Zhang Mao to discuss the reform of the military system. The three ministers all wrote a detailed memorandum on the reform plan. Emperor Hongzhi looked at it carefully. .
Liu Jian and Li Dongyang's restructuring plan is not too special. They just refer to the military systems of previous dynasties and make some minor modifications around the existing military system of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the core point is still mentioned, that is, from now on From now on, the Ming army was directly under the control and command of the emperor, weakening the power of the Ministry of War.
Emperor Hongzhi put down the memorials of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang with some disappointment. He still had high hopes for these two pavilion elders, hoping that they could come up with some truly useful plans.
However, the result was disappointing. The plan proposed by the two people could not satisfy Emperor Hongzhi.
Finally, I picked up Zhang Mao's memorial and read it.
Zhang Mao's plan was written based on what Liu Jin said, plus some of his own ideas.
When Emperor Hongzhi saw the first article, which was the abolition of the military household system, he was immediately attracted to it, and then he looked at it very seriously.
"Is there a compulsory military service system?"
When he saw the compulsory military service system, Emperor Hongzhi's eyes lit up slightly.
“Not bad, quite good~”
Soon, when he saw the establishment of a military school system to cultivate the loyalty and patriotism of military generals, he couldn't help but applaud him.
Emperor Hongzhi's actions also immediately attracted the attention of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang. The two immediately became curious. What kind of restructuring plan did Zhang Mao propose that was so favored by Emperor Hongzhi?
"Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, you should also take a look~"
Emperor Hongzhi gave Zhang Mao's memorial to Liu Jian and Li Dongyang and asked them to read it too.
Liu Jian and Li Dongyang read it carefully one after another. After reading it, they couldn't help but open their mouths wide, looked at each other, and then looked at Zhang Mao.
There is a feeling in the eyes that people are waiting for each other with admiration after seeing each other for three days.
They had never thought that Zhang Mao was so awesome, but at this moment, they felt that Zhang Mao was really awesome and it was incredible that he could come up with such a restructuring plan.
As for Zhang Mao, he was smiling. When he looked at Liu Jian and Li Dongyang, he glared slightly. The meaning was very clear. What are you looking at? Can't I, Old Zhang, be awesome?
“This method is truly a stroke of genius, it’s really amazing!”
Liu Jian couldn't help but sigh.
"It's admirable. It's really admirable. Anyone who can come up with a solution is a god."
Li Dongyang has always considered himself talented and knowledgeable, but at this moment, he had to express his admiration.
Zhang Mao's memorial was sharp in describing the problems existing in the military household system in the Ming Dynasty, and also explained the reasons why the military household system had to be abolished.
At the same time, the proposed plan is very practical. More importantly, establishing a military academy and instilling loyalty and patriotism into the generals is simply a way of understanding the emperor's heart.
"Hehe~"
Hearing the two people's praise, Zhang Mao couldn't help but grinned widely.
"What do you think of this restructuring plan?"
Seeing that the two people gave high evaluations after reading it, Emperor Hongzhi smiled and asked.
To be honest, he is quite satisfied with this restructuring plan. This is exactly what he wants. The Ming Dynasty needs a strong army, and the existing military household system is rotten.
When Prince Zhu Houzhao returned from an inspection trip, he told Emperor Hongzhi in detail what he had seen and thought. Combined with the investigation by the factory guards, he found that the military household system was indeed rotten. This was why he was determined to reform the military system.
s reason.
The more the military structure is reformed, the sooner the Ming Dynasty will have a strong army. He wants to pave a broad road for Zhu Houzhao as much as possible while he is still there.
He had had enough of the grassland Tatars in the north. They used to go south to plunder every winter, and they couldn't sleep well every winter. He didn't want his son Zhu Houzhao to have such a thing happen again.
Therefore, it must be changed and a strong army must be built.
What's more, Emperor Hongzhi and Zhu Houzhao are now the largest emerging capitalists. They have a share in all the most profitable industries and businesses, and they all take the lion's share.
So it is very clear that if you want to continue to make more money and continue to make money overseas, you must have a strong army to protect you.
The military household system must be abolished. This was also the idea of Emperor Hongzhi, and it was also the suggestion given by Zhu Houzhao.
That's why he was disappointed with Li Dongyang and Liu Jian's plan, because neither of their plans was designed to the fundamentals, and there was no way to truly build a powerful army.
It was just a minor change. It only strengthened the power of the emperor and transferred the general power from the Ministry of War to the hands of the emperor. Other than that, there was nothing else.
But Zhang Mao's plan is completely different. Based on a full understanding of the current situation of the Ming army, it fundamentally reforms the Ming military system and creates a powerful Ming army. More importantly, it makes people feel very reassured.
Is the compulsory military service system a bit nonsense?