In the Penglai Palace, on the dragon boat in Xiaohai, Zhu Yihai talked with several prime ministers and could hang down two poles to relax.
"Does Your Majesty think that the five loyalists in Huguang can be reorganized this time?" Song Zhipu, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office and Chief Assistant, asked.
There are many ministers who have the same doubts.
After all, Zhongyi, Zhongwu, Zhongkai and other towns rebelled one after another before, and now with the newly established five loyalties, whoever can guarantee absolute loyalty to the imperial court.
Even Xu Shiqi believes that it is too early to reorganize Huguang at the moment, considering the special characteristics of Huguang. After all, after Huguang was divided into provinces, the Ming army in Hubei would only control Yunyang, Yiling, and Shizhou in the west.
The government and the city of Yunyang have not been captured yet.
Important towns such as Jingxiang, Wuchang, etc. were still in the hands of the Qing army.
"In the past, Li Chixin would attack Yiling, and the results were very good. Zhongzhen and Zhongyi were also more capable. Even the newly formed Zhongkai, such as He Zhen, Sun Shoufa, Wang Guangtai, Yao Ke, and Chen Jiao, who had withdrawn from Guanzhong, were
His performance in the battle of Xin'an was also pretty good.
These groups of people have basically stabilized, is it too early to eliminate them at this time?"
Zhu Yihai held the pole in his hand, his heart as calm as water.
Any major decision he makes is made after repeated weighing.
The situation in Huguang, Bashu and even Shaanxi and Gansu has indeed improved. It can be said that it has already established a firm foothold. More than a year ago, Huguang collapsed and the Three Zhongs rebelled. At that time, the situation was very critical and even seriously threatened the downstream areas.
But now it has not only stabilized the situation, but also launched a counterattack and gradually regained lost ground.
Huguang's troops and horses have been reorganized again and again, but Zhu Yihai still has to do it again and prepare for the next stage to adapt to the new situation.
Huguang is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, connected to Bashu above, Jiangxi and Anhui below, the Central Plains to the north, and even the southwest to the south. Its strategic position is very important, especially for the Ming Dynasty, which now focuses on the southeast.
But precisely because of its importance, this place is becoming more and more stable.
The biggest problem in the Huguang area is not actually the Qing army.
But itself.
When He Tengjiao was there, in order to fight against Zuo Liangyu and the Qing army, he recruited troops everywhere and paid homage to generals to grant seals. He did not care whether these people were loyal and trustworthy. Anyway, he recruited them first, regardless of whether they were originally from the shun army or the left army.
Or mountain bandits and water bandits.
Later, Zhu Dadian took over and based on the foundation left by He Tengjiao, he reorganized the Five Loyalties, which was even better.
So it was a disastrous defeat, and then the civil strife was suppressed. The rebellion collapsed and the rebels in Hunan looted the whole of Hunan, and even caused many chieftains to follow suit.
Although things have calmed down now, they are not truly stable yet.
Especially among the soldiers and horses in Huguang, there are not many that are truly credible. They have been reorganized and reorganized, and the Shun camp has basically not been touched. In addition, He Zhensun, who was withdrawn from Guanzhong and Hanzhong, abides by the law, and Xing'an local rises
The powerful Yao Ke and other people made the situation more and more complicated.
The number of soldiers and horses is large, but the combat effectiveness is not strong, and there is a sense that needles cannot be inserted and water cannot be splashed. In addition, the military discipline of these armies is generally not very good.
This led to the fact that the supply of these soldiers and horses in Huguang area was not enough, and they had to be subsidized. However, these soldiers did not listen to the imperial court's deployment. How could Zhu Yihai just sit back and watch?
This time, I plan to solve it all at once.
Huguang is divided into provinces, the imperial camp is expanded, the governor's pacesetters and provincial camp soldiers, as well as these loyal troops, will be reorganized into towns and regiment training respectively, which will not only reduce military expenditures, but also increase control over Huguang.
"The Battle of Huguang still needs to be fought, but we can't rush it. There are two main directions for using troops. One is to attack the Tatars in the north of the Yangtze River. These Tatars are stationed in big cities. When fighting, we must be careful and cautious, and try not to fight head-on. We should first clear up the periphery.
Finally, blockade and siege.
Another direction to use troops is the chieftain in the west."
During the Ming Dynasty, there were many chieftains in the west of Huguang who did not have seals. They were de facto chieftains anyway. They did not get the imperial edict, but they still had territory and soldiers and horses. In addition, there were dozens of chieftains with seals, and the number of chieftains was very large.
.
During the chaos in Huguang before, not many of these chieftains were safe.
Restore the villages and towns around the areas where the chieftains originally built their wards, and even eliminate some of the previously wiped out chieftains with seals and seals. New villages and towns should be established on their territory, where immigrants could settle down and garrison and farm.
Strengthen the deterrent against chieftains and further squeeze their space.
By the way, Shunying and others were also arranged so that the Wuzhong could keep an eye on these toasts.
From the original camp-managed troops and horses managed by the imperial court to this kind of garrison, the savings in military pay alone were huge.
Otherwise, if the total number of these troops now totals more than 100,000, and they are really paid and equipped according to the regular army, Zhu Yihai will go bankrupt.
If we treat them differently, it will easily lead to chaos.
It would be better to resettle them on site and build a corps instead.
The cost of resettlement is also low. A garrison town is set up, and the garrison soldiers and their families are directly granted the land. Although this is only the right to contract farming, not ownership. After death or withdrawal from the garrison, the land will be returned.
But after all, when the land was granted to them, they only paid rent according to the land tax, and there was no additional burden. In fact, it was the same as giving them free use for decades, which is different from real tenant rent.
After all, one acre of land can only cost two or three dou at most, but if the land is rented on a tenant farm, even if it is divided into four or six, it may reach eight or nine dou or even more than one stone.
As for the imperial court, these border areas now have a lot of land, are largely deserted, have lost their population, or have been occupied by chieftains. The imperial court can directly take back these fields and then allocate them to the towns, and allocate the fields to the tunding.
Even because the land is only for farming, if one person is reduced in the future, a piece of land will be taken back, a new person will be added, and a new piece of land will be granted. If these lands are kept, the town will naturally be able to continue.
Of course, things may change in the future, but at least there won't be any major problems within a few decades.
Even because there is a lot of land there, in addition to the land granted to the villagers, their families can also reclaim some land. These reclaimed lands will become their private property and can be passed down from generation to generation or even sold in the future.
Tunzhen is actually armed immigrants, using the land to replace military pay, and using militia to assist in border defense.
It not only reduces military expenditures, but also limits the force of these non-direct military leaders.
For Zhu Yihai, the only one he believed in most was Yuying.
For something like Shunying, you must use it, but you must also be careful about using it. You must have the initiative and control in your hands. You cannot just expect the other party to be loyal, but you must prevent the other party from having the opportunity and ability to rebel.
In the Huguang area, reducing these miscellaneous troops and increasing the number of imperial camps can also ensure their military pay, equipment, etc. This is the true guarantee of combat effectiveness.
Otherwise, there is no point in having more people. Over time, if the Tatars are not wiped out, they will be unable to supply enough and collapse first.
Don't expect an army that can't guarantee food and pay to have any combat effectiveness, let alone good military discipline and loyalty to the emperor and the court.
Aren’t the lessons learned in the late Ming Dynasty enough?
These miscellaneous troops in Huguang have been reorganized again and again, but they are still overstaffed at will. Now they still add up to more than 100,000. The imperial court really wants to pay according to the provincial camp standards, even if it is lower than the imperial camp, it cannot afford it.
What's more important is that even if the supply is affordable, spending so much money and food to feed them is seriously insufficient in terms of cost performance.
Now it is classified as a tun town, with three parts defending the city and seven parts cultivating. This model takes turns. When the city is defended, rations and subsidies have to be provided. This burden has been much reduced.
Even if so many people go to cultivate the land, the grain they turn in can be more than enough for the villagers to support themselves, and some more can be turned over to the state treasury.
Other local troops will be directly adapted into regiment training. This is purely a militia and is no longer in active service. They usually select some units and train during leisure periods. They are generally only responsible for assisting in the defense of cities and arresting thieves in the county. Training,
It's just a little subsidy for going on missions.
There is no need to allocate additional fields and grant land, just militiamen.
The pressure on Huguang is no longer great. The situation in the upper reaches of Bashu and lower reaches of Jiangxi is good. Even Huaixi is under the control of the Ming army. The Qing army in Hubei is surrounded on three sides, and the upper reaches have also fallen into the hands of the Ming army. Now Le
Ke Dehun and others had few soldiers and horses, and lacked money and food, so they could only huddle in a few big cities.
Just like when they attacked Yiling and Xing'an before, the Qing army in Huguang did nothing and could no longer attack. Especially when the Yangtze River was completely controlled by the Ming navy, they could only defend a few major cities and could not attack them at all.
Dare to leave the city.
In this case, maintaining an elite camp of 8,000 soldiers, coupled with surrounding troops, naval forces, and friendly forces upstream and downstream, is actually enough for the Hubei Qing army.
The imperial camp is the main force, the regiment trains to assist in the defense of the rear, and the navy is responsible for the river.
"Huguang is the granary. In the past, Huguang was well-known in the world, but now it has become a huge burden for the imperial court. It must be reversed as soon as possible. Huguang must not only be self-sufficient, but also become the granary of the imperial court. This cannot be done without changing the status quo.
"
Zhu Yihai still believed in the loyalty of Shunying. In another time and space, Shunying basically fought to the end. Except for the wave of surrenders by Li Zijing, Tian Jianxiu and others at the beginning, not many others surrendered.
Even the complete destruction of Nanming was due to Li Laiheng's tribe being finally encircled and annihilated in the Daba Mountains during the Kangxi period.
It's just that the model of soldiers and horses following the camp is still a group on the top of the mountain after all. It is relatively exclusive. Compared with the new army like the imperial camp, there is a big gap.
"The next imperial edict is for the generals in Huguang."
"Li Chixin, the Duke of Xingguo, granted 3,000 households a city of food, 1,200 households a feudal lord, and 3,000 acres of land in Yiling Prefecture."
"The Duke of Anguo must be upright. He will grant 3,000 households in the city, 1,200 households in the city, and 3,000 acres of land in Yunyang Prefecture."
Zhu Yihai once again sent out generous rewards, and Li Chixin and Gao Bizheng, two princes, were granted real seals of 1,200 households and 3,000 acres of Yongye land, of which 1,200 were real seals, not 1,200 allocated.
Their population was taxed, but according to the Song Dynasty system, one household was sealed, and a monthly payment of twenty-five Wen was given along with the monthly salary.
There are thirty strings in one month and three hundred and sixty strings in a year.
As for Gao Doushu, Sun Shoufa, He Zhen, Wang Xingtai, Dang Shouxu, Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongdi, Hao Yaoqi, Liu Fangliang, Liu Xiyao, etc., they were all granted the title of county princes, with 2,000 households granted food and 800 households granted food.
The prefecture where each village is located granted Yongye 2,000 acres of land.
For example, Wang Chang, Zhang Guangcui, Wang Jincai, Niu Wancai, Ma Chongxi, Tian Hu, Zhang Neng, Liu Guochang, Liu Shijun, Li You, He Lan, Yang Yanchang, Ta Tianbao, etc. were all granted the title of county marquis of the founding of the country.
One hundred households will be given a thousand acres of permanent land.
Yuan Zongdi was originally the Zhongzhen Battalion, but later joined forces with Li Zijing, Tian Jianxiu and others, including Liu Tichun and Hao Yaoqi, to establish another Zhongyi camp. Their split at that time was actually because it represented the conflict between the eastern and western battalions after Li Zicheng's death and their opposition to the Shun Army.
The struggle for leadership.
Finally, with the surrender of Tian Jianxiu and others, Dongying was considered over the edge. Fortunately, Yuan Zongdi, Hao Yaoqi, and Liu Tichun were relatively loyal to the Ming Dynasty and did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Instead, they resolutely respected the court and continued to resist the Qing Dynasty.
In particular, Yuan Zongdi had served as the admiral of Jinwu in the emperor's imperial camp before and was very trustworthy. Now he has the title of admiral of Guizhou as a guest general in Sichuan. This time, Zhu Yihai used Yuan Zongdi and his Shunying and some local troops in Guizhou.
, formed Zhongxin Town, plus Zhongyong from Qin Liangyu’s family in Shizhu, Chongqing, and were also adapted according to the regulations of Huguangtun Town.
The two princes, ten county princes, and thirteen county princes can be regarded as generous rewards to these seven loyal people.
All of them are the first-class founding titles, which are not only world titles, but also actual titles, with food, towns and permanent property.
From three thousand acres to one thousand acres of Yongye field, Zhu Yihai was also very generous. Anyway, the place where Qizhong was stationed now was originally a border area close to the chieftain. Now it is a vast land with few people.
When Xu Shiqi and other ministers heard the emperor's award, no one came forward to object.
Anyway, after the gentry and the gentry paid the grain together, the land occupied by the nobles and relatives would not affect the court's tax revenue. Especially in this kind of border barbarian land, the land occupied by nobles and nobles could be better developed and cultivated, and tax revenue could be increased.
"I hope they can all understand His Majesty's good intentions and receive the title of thanksgiving!"