eldest son of Ming dynasty

In the 20th year of Zhengde, after Zhu Houzhao's repeated conferrals, the Xungui Group had changed from the decline since the orthodoxy, and many honorable persons with a strong presence in the court appeared.

Including Zhou Shangwen, the Duke of Yue, Mei Kejia, the Marquis of Pinghai, Wu Wending, the uncle of Jinghai, Shouren, the uncle of Xinjian, and Ma Rong, the martial arts master who had made meritorious service in Qinghai in the 13th year of Zhengde.

In addition, there are Cheng Guogong Zhu Feng, Weining Bo Wang Xuan, Nanning Bo Mao Yuwen, and Zheng Guogong Chang Fei who rarely appears in ordinary people's field of vision.

In the fifth year of Hongzhi's reign, the emperor issued an edict: The Imperial Ancestral Temple deserves to be honored by all the meritorious officials, and those who are given to the king will assist the emperor in pacifying the world and have made great contributions. However, the descendants may not get enough money and become slaves. I can't bear it, so I can ask him to be his direct descendant, give him an official, and offer sacrifices to him first.

Chang Fei is a descendant of Chang Yuchun, King of Kaiping. During the Hongzhi period, he was granted the title of Commander of the Jinyi Guards, which was a false title with no actual duties.

Because Zhu Houzhao had touched many nobles, he inherited his father's policy on this point. Later, he called Chang Fei as his confidant and ordered him to lead Tengxiang's left guard.

This is a political move, which can be regarded as showing the emperor's care for the descendants of the founding heroes.

Of course, Chang Fei is not as majestic and brave as Naizu. Fortunately, he once lived among refugees, which saved him from the bad habits of those playboys. Moreover, the two generations of emperors Hongzhi and Zhengde were very kind to him, so when it comes to loyalty, it is not Give it to anyone.

Although there have been many wars in the country over the years, Zhu Houzhao would not call him to go to war, but only wanted him to stay in the capital and take charge of the governor's office.

Especially when the old Duke Cheng Zhu Fu passed away, and now the Duke Cheng Zhu Feng was stationed outside, he, the Duke of Zheng, naturally took over and took over all the administrative matters of the Governor's Mansion.

Everyone else also knows that when a person's official career is prosperous, it is the manifestation of his ancestors.

With the status of Queen Kaiping, even if there are many noble children in the army, he must be given three shares.

Because what these people rely on is their identity, and to put it bluntly, they are fighting for their ancestors.

But if we were to compare our ancestors, how many of them could compare with Chang Fei?

After the rise of the Xungui as a whole, they will inevitably have to compete with the Ministry of War for power. This trend has gradually strengthened in recent years, but history never completely repeats itself, and what it will look like has not yet formed a fixed pattern.

On the whole, there are two main forces in Beijing. One is naturally the Twenty-six Guards directly under the emperor.

The other is the three Yongle battalions that were reorganized and restored on the basis of the original Beijing camp, namely the Shenji camp, the 3000 camp and the 5th military camp.

These three names have their own historical origins. It doesn’t take much thinking to know that they still have to obey the emperor’s orders.

The main reason why I want to recover is because it feels right.

The first is the development of firearms. Guns and artillery are already widely used in the elite guards of the Ming army. The Shenji Camp certainly has a reason for its existence.

The same goes for the Three Thousand Battalion. During the Yongle period, this unit was mainly composed of surrendered Mongols.

With Zhu Houzhao, the concept was expanded even wider, because in addition to the Mongols, various chieftains under the Ming Dynasty also had to accept orders from the central government to send soldiers every year.

Therefore, the Three Thousand Battalion also has a reason to exist.

The fifth military camp has slightly changed.

As for the status, it cannot be said that it has declined, but it is still somewhat special.

During the Yongle period, the Fifth Military Camp was a mixture of cavalry and infantry composed of elites drawn from various places.

But each of the twenty-six first-class guards under Zhu Houzhao's direct command was a small fifth-level military camp.

In this case, there is actually some overlap, so Zhu Houzhao shaped the Fifth Army Camp into an 'experimental force'.

This matter was only possible because of military theoretical institutions like the Army Academy. Once theoretical research begins to become a system, it cannot just be placed on paper.

The Chinese nation has a history of more than a thousand years. In this cold weapon age, it has given birth to the Wei soldiers, the Qin Iron Army, the invincible Tang Army under the imperial military system, and the Mongolian Iron Cavalry that swept across the Eurasian continent. They were invincible and invincible. of troops.

The Army Academy has such a field, which specializes in studying the history of these troops and summarizing their patterns.

Accordingly, the elite tribes were selected and organized into an army, with a total size of 7,000 people.

There are more than ordinary health clinics.

This is also intentional.

Because the Fifth Military Battalion is rarely sent out to fight, its main task is to serve as a training opponent for other guards. In the past few years, it has gradually become a devil in the eyes of other soldiers during military exercises.

Even more evil is Zhu Houzhao, who already likes to use this 7,000-man army to ravage the direct guards and the guards transferred from the border towns.

And it’s not just about the quality of the soldiers and the establishment of a more systematic army.

Zhu Houzhao also equipped the fifth army camp with a resourceful, brave and fearless general like Zhou Shangwen.

In this way, the annual martial arts performance is somewhat interesting.

Furthermore, in order not to cause boredom as one side always wins. In the 16th year of Zhengde's reign, Zhu Houzhao had already said that no matter which garrison was in charge, it would only defeat the fifth military camp in military exercises.

The commander of the guard station will directly grant a title, and the official rank will be raised by three levels. Under the commander, the deputy commander and the Qianhu will be promoted by two levels, and the officers of the Baihu will be promoted by one level. Ordinary soldiers are more selective. Directly enter the Army Academy or be promoted to an officer, whichever you choose.

Such a reward is not generous. In fact, even if all 5,600 people choose silver, one hundred taels per person is equivalent to 560,000 taels.

For Zhu Houzhao, who is now wealthy, if he can spend this money to get a strong general comparable to Zhou Shangwen, it will definitely be worth it.

Not to mention such a group of elite soldiers. In addition to the three major battalions of the Shangzhi Guards in Beijing, the total size is approximately 20.

Judging from the current situation, the military strength during the Zhengde period was obviously better than that of the subsequent dynasties after Zhengde.

However, Zhu Houzhao is not satisfied with this. He has never been satisfied with this matter. The moment he is satisfied is the beginning of decadence and corruption.

He has long been thinking about a better military system.

In the current situation, there is still some confusion between the Shanzhi personal guards, the three major battalions, the border guards, the inland guards, and the newly born navy.

There is also no effective coordination between the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office.

Instead, it turned into a mutual struggle.

The Navy is also very embarrassed to be caught between the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion.

Furthermore, Beijing Camp has always invested huge resources, but the more arduous combat tasks are shouldered by the frontier troops. Zhu Houzhao didn't know what the soldiers at the bottom thought of this unfair phenomenon.

In fact, theoretically speaking, the frontier army and the Beijing camp were both troops of the imperial court and should obey the imperial court's dispatch, but few emperors switched defenses between the two armies.

There is a more fundamental problem,

Military household.

Zhu Yuanzhang designed the world into a huge machine. Under the household registration system, military households, civilian households, and craftsman households each had their own responsibilities. Lao Zhu's family is responsible for being the emperor. If he doesn't move like this, it will last forever.

This is of course very unreasonable.

Many people in the army are soldiers because their fathers are soldiers. The living conditions of military households are not good, and they have become the middle and lower class of society.

What did you say?

A good man should not be a soldier!

Soldiers have no sense of honor.

Such an army has sufficient military pay and strict discipline. Of course, its combat capabilities will also be strong, but there is always an upper limit.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Yue wants to see you."

The emperor was thinking about this issue while shooting arrows. After hearing You Zhi's voice, his thoughts returned and he nodded and said, "Let him come over."

He estimated that Zhou Shangwen came here at this time because of the martial arts performance this year.

Soon after, dull and powerful footsteps were heard.

"My lord, Zhou Shangwen is here to pay homage to Your Majesty."

"The country of Yue is fair."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houzhao waved to him and said, "The Duke of Yue is here just in time. Come and give me some pointers on my archery skills."

"Don't dare. Your Majesty has been practicing archery for more than 20 years, and the essence is all in his heart. Where can I give you some advice?" Zhou Shangwen now has a beard. Although he is a bit old at fifty years old, But he still has enough energy and is improving well, and he still hasn’t put down all his boxing and kicking skills.

"Your Majesty, I am requesting an audience this time to discuss the martial arts performance at the Jehol Palace in the 20th year of Zhengde. In accordance with your Majesty's decree, all five military camps have been mobilized. The form of the martial arts performance is still based on previous years. Your Majesty is requested to see it."

Yes, even the rules were set by Zhou Shangwen.

In this way, anyone who can beat him must either be extremely lucky or have a natural talent.

It is not too much for Zhu Houzhao to make his commander a count, because unless such a person dies halfway, he can make great achievements in the future.

"You have to worry about martial arts. I have nothing to worry about." Although Zhu Houzhao took the memorial from him, he was not in a hurry to open it. He waved, "Come, sit with me and chat for a while."

Zhu Houzhao first asked him a question, "Mr. Yue, I have been ruling the country for twenty years. It may be due to human psychology. Every year, I have to look back at the past and look forward to the future. I am not humble either. I have been in charge of the country for twenty years. In the year, I still have some achievements as emperor."

Zhou Shangwen flattered him and said, "There are some achievements. Your Majesty has conquered the Western Regions, opened up the ocean, defeated Mongolia, and taken over Taiwan. The annual revenue of the national treasury has doubled..."

"Okay, okay, let the civil servants say these things. I want to ask you a question,"

"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."

"What do you think the Ming army can improve on?"

Zhou Shangwen was surprised, "I don't understand what your Majesty means. Our Ming Tiger Army is invincible in all directions. Is there something wrong?"

"It is true that there are no opponents, but now is not the time to let go of Nanshan. People say that studying is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. Isn't running an army the same? Wait until the soldiers and horses are weak before considering today's issue. I'm afraid it will be difficult to return. I don’t know where to start. But don’t worry, it’s not that I think there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just that I’m wondering if it can be better.”

Military construction is another major aspect that Zhu Houzhao is concerned about.

After twenty years of accumulating national strength, the Ming Dynasty is now like an active volcano that has been simmering for many years. However, the most direct factor affecting how violently the flames erupt is the Ming army in his hands.