Chongzhen Chat Group

"Second, I want you to start paying attention now. Local officials in various places who can do practical things will be mobilized as soon as possible to carry out post-war reconstruction when the army pacifies Liaodong. Over in Liaodong, I do not plan to set up a separate capital department. , provincial and county agencies will be set up.”

The administrative system of the Ming Dynasty generally implemented local institutions such as provinces, prefectures, counties, or provinces and prefectures in places where the Han people lived. In border areas or places where ethnic minorities concentrated, border management institutions integrating military and political affairs, as well as the chieftain system, were set up. Different forms of institutions such as the Dusi system.

For example, Nuergan Dusi, which governs Nuergan on the east coast of the lower reaches of Heilongjiang, covers an area that extends to the sea in the east, Sakhalin Island in the northeast, the Onan River in the west, the Tumen River in the south, and the Waixing'an Mountains in the north. However, local governance is actually dominated by ethnic minority autonomy, which requires regular tribute, similar to taxation.

Hearing Emperor Chongzhen's second request, Wen Tiren couldn't help but frowned slightly, and then said: "Your Majesty, the rebels are raging in Liaodong, and all ethnic groups have suffered greatly. It is indeed no longer the same as before. When our imperial army regains Liaodong, , it seems easy to no longer set up separate capitals as before."

At this point, he paused and asked his doubts: "But Liaodong is a very cold place, so why bother with so much effort?"

The implication is that the Northeast is too poor and not worthy of the court's efforts!

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but shake his head after hearing this. However, he also understood that people of this era naturally had their limitations and could not see the benefits of the Northeast, so he patiently said to Wen Tiren: "Wen Qing is right! Don't look at that place now as a very cold place. That place is a treasure and must be brought under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court!"

"Treasure land?" Wen Tiren confirmed with some confusion.

Liu Xingzuo was also puzzled. He was from Liaodong. He had lived in Liaodong for so long and had never heard of the saying that Liaodong was a treasure land. But Wen Tiren was already asking, so he remained silent.

The other two eunuchs are not from Liaodong, nor are they familiar with Liaodong, let alone know.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this and said: "It is a treasure land, it will be the granary of the Ming Dynasty, and there will be iron-oil trees... Well, you will know about it later!"

He felt it would be a bit troublesome to explain now, so he stopped explaining. As an emperor, you have this power.

Wen Tiren listened to Emperor Chongzhen's words seriously. Although he didn't understand what iron oil was, since the emperor had identified it as a treasure land, judging from past experience, it should be a treasure land!

So, Emperor Chongzhen made the second point, and Wen Tiren agreed.

"In addition, I think that military reform must be put on the agenda!" Emperor Chongzhen continued, "The new army has proven to be effective through actual combat. Not only can it persist in Liaodong alone, but it can also defeat the Jianlu. I think , can be promoted to armies across the country!”

"What does your Majesty mean by the military reform?" This time, it was Liu Xingzuo who asked. He was a military general and had more say in this matter, but he still didn't know what he meant, and the other people didn't know either.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said with a slightly serious expression: "It is to eliminate the weak and retain the strong, and to set up supervisors at all levels in the army, with clear divisions between the responsibilities of the military chiefs. In the future, all Ming armies must further study and assess these ."

Many officers of the Ming Dynasty were hereditary, such as Qi Jiguang. This approach was actually beneficial in ancient times when information was underdeveloped. After all, those who come from a general family always know more about things in the military than ordinary people. Of course, before a hereditary officer can be hereditary, he must go to the capital for an assessment. Only after passing can he be qualified for hereditary status.

Military reform is no small matter. After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, no one in the hall spoke for a while, as they were all thinking about all aspects of the matter. Even Cao Huachun, who was accustomed to flattering Emperor Chongzhen, bowed his head and remained silent.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't rush them, he just waited for them to think about it and speak.

After a while, Wen Tiren was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, the old minister agrees with the model of the new army. The army must have supervisors, so that it can be controlled by the court and your Majesty. But if we eliminate the weak and keep the strong, All dynasties have always had this intention, but not many people can actually implement it. The reason is that how to place the eliminated soldiers is a big problem! "

Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded with a smile. He had naturally considered this and immediately said: "I plan to carry out major infrastructure construction in the next few years, that is, the construction of basic public facilities, such as road construction. Bridges, water conservancy construction, etc. The eliminated soldiers are classified according to their physical condition, or transferred to the army specializing in infrastructure construction, or..."

Hearing him say this, Wen Tiren immediately had a corresponding term in his mind, and couldn't help but blurt out: "Song Zhixiang Army?"

The Xiang army in the Song Dynasty was actually an army that performed various chores, including building cities, making weapons, building roads and bridges, transporting grain and reclaiming wasteland, etc. Their pay was much lower than that of the Forbidden Army. Therefore, Wen Tiren immediately thought of this after listening to Emperor Chongzhen's description.

Emperor Chongzhen naturally knew about it in advance, so he understood what Wen Tiren was referring to, so he nodded and said: "Pretty much, I feel that the military system of the Ming Guard is no longer applicable. Therefore, I plan to re-divide the national army according to purpose, that is, similar to the Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty, Xiangjun classification.”

There is precedent for this, and Wen Tiren and others can understand it. In fact, as far as the Ming Dynasty is concerned, there are also armies divided according to purpose, that is, the Cao Army distributed on both sides of the canal, specializing in water transportation.

Wen Tiren thought for a while and replied: "Your Majesty, I think this is a major matter and needs to be studied in detail!"

As long as you don't object, Emperor Chongzhen thought in his mind, and nodded in response: "You are my most trusted ministers, so I just mentioned this idea to you first. Among these matters, If you have any difficulties, think about it first, and when you submit a memorial to me after the new year, I will consider it carefully!"

In fact, he already had a draft in his mind, but he didn't say it out loud. He planned to read it before talking about it. According to his intention, he also wants to set up a special tax department to separate the power of tax collection from local governments and let local officials govern the local area full-time.

After all, one of the most important reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was the lack of tax revenue. A specially established tax department should study and formulate taxes that are in line with the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty and be responsible for collecting them. This should be able to improve this situation. In terms of manpower, low-level errand runners can be transferred from the eliminated soldiers.

However, this matter was too important, so Emperor Chongzhen did not reveal any news.

There are 23 more to come.