"Your Majesty, is this reward too much?" Song Sheng asked. Of course they all noticed the conversation between Yunxi, Cao Xing and Liu Mao, and were very moved when they heard that five members of their family had sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty.
I was shocked, so I had no objection to granting him the title and temporarily inventing a 'special medal'.
But Yunxi's reward later seemed a bit excessive in their opinion. A hundred bolts of silk and satin, and a thousand taels of gold were nothing, but the rank of two thousand households, the flying fish uniform and the right not to kneel before officials were really not.
should be granted.
Especially Song Sheng. In the past few days, he and Xu Huizu were sorting out the merits of the entire Western Expeditionary Army. They remembered all the merits that were enough to be promoted to the second level or above. There were no names of Liu Yi and four others, nor Liu Mao's.
The name shows that although their family has been tragic, they have not made great achievements. According to the current reward regulations of the Ming Dynasty, it is not appropriate.
Yunhe did not answer Song Sheng first, but encouraged Liu Mao, who was already dizzy and could not find his way, and ordered the guards to arrange a place for him to have a celebration banquet. Then he turned to Song Sheng and said: "Ai Qing feels that
Is the reward too much? I think it’s just right.”
The reason why he rewarded this family so highly was simply because the people in their family worked so hard for the Ming Dynasty. In wars, the command of generals is of course very important. The same army commanded by different people has very different effects, but he believes
, it is necessary to direct a more important matter, that is whether the soldiers are willing to serve the country.
Let’s take the well-known late Ming Dynasty as an example. When Zhu Yousong was emperor in Nanjing, there were still 100,000 troops in the four towns of Jiangbei. Huang Degong and other generals were not sweet potatoes, but they had no intention of fighting when facing the Qing troops led by Duduo who went south.
, the generals surrendered without a fight, even if some generals wanted to fight to the death with the Manchus, it was useless, because there were no soldiers available, just themselves and dozens of their own soldiers, even if they wanted to resist, the Qing soldiers could still be used
The arrows killed them all and left him unscathed. Anyway, the arrows can be recycled and reused without any waste.
Of course, there were many reasons why soldiers in the late Ming Dynasty had no fighting spirit. Most of those reasons do not exist now. Soldiers are willing to serve the country, but it is still important to encourage soldiers who are willing to die fighting for the country. Yunxi invented medals, and
The purpose of today's generous reward to Liu Mao's family is to create a culture in the whole society that soldiers have a higher status than ordinary people, thereby ensuring that there are people who are willing to serve as soldiers and fight for the country.
Of course, Yunxi's policy also caused some minor problems. For example, some soldiers with medals in their hands relied on their small privileges to bully ordinary people when they were allowed to leave the camp. They did not dare to exploit the ordinary people too much.
, after all, the medal is invalid after being used once. Anyone who dares to waste the medal will be scolded to death by his family! What's more, there is military discipline. But eating the King's meal is still done. Yunxi has seen it.
Many local officials reported it, and some censors also commented on the matter, trying to get Yunxi to abolish this system.
But Yunxi will never abolish it. In fact, bullying the common people by soldiers who have done great service to the country does no harm to maintaining the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
When a common man is bullied by a soldier who has made meritorious service to the country, he will clearly realize that the reason why this person is able to bully ordinary people is because he or his ancestors have made meritorious service to the Ming Dynasty and shed blood and received medals.
When this common man realizes this, what will he do in order to avoid being bullied? There are two main ways to get ahead in the Ming Dynasty. The first is to study and become a civil servant, and the second is to serve as a soldier and fight as a general. Ordinary people who study may not be able to read.
Only smart people can pass the exam. The more comprehensive way is to go to war, starting from a soldier and working your way up to a general.
This is of course very dangerous. If you want to make achievements that are enough to be promoted, you can't get it by just being in the army. You must dare to fight, rush and fight desperately. And in the process, you may lose your life, so you are willing to choose this path.
They are all the bravest people among the people.
When there is an upward path and they can squeeze in, most people will not oppose the rule of the Ming Dynasty because they were bullied by a few soldiers who have made great contributions to the country. Instead, they will be prompted to actively work hard and move closer to the imperial court.
Those who can pass the imperial examination are smart people, and those who are willing to serve as soldiers are brave people. Peasant uprisings in the past dynasties were led by these two types of people, and these two types of people are also civil servants.
People worthy of attention. The two roads of imperial examination and war brought in all the people worthy of attention among the people, achieving the purpose of "entering into my group" as mentioned by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, Yunxi believed that bullying the common people by soldiers who had done great service to the country would do no harm to maintaining the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, from this point of view, Yunxi's heart is dark, but if he wants to secure his position as ruler, especially the supreme ruler, he must have a dark heart and know what kind of people can be bullied and what kind of people can be bullied.
Only when people cannot be bullied can they maintain their rule as firmly as possible.
However, the truth is such a truth, but it cannot be said publicly. So Yunxi just said those words and stopped talking to Song Sheng.