Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 99 Five Institutes and One Pavilion (Subscription Request)
"Get up, go and train with the First Regiment first. If anyone from the south comes to contact you, remember to report to me first."

"Yes!"

Lu Jin deliberately reminded Li Ruizhong that some things are better said openly, as saying them out loud can also avoid mutual suspicion between the monarch and his subjects.

What Li Shanchang said just now was actually said intentionally for Li Ruizhong to hear, telling him that even if Xu Shouhui became emperor, it would be difficult for him to accomplish great things, and asked him to think carefully and not do anything stupid.

Lu Jin and Li Shanchang had no prior arrangements, but they sang in unison and had a great understanding of each other.

After Li Ruizhong went out, the two looked at each other and smiled at each other. After a while, Feng Guoyong also came over.

Li Shanchang and Feng Guo have used the past two days to familiarize themselves with the structure of the Marshal's Office and the organization of the Shengwu Army. Now they are preparing to hold a small three-person meeting to formally determine the future system.

It’s better to sort out the management relationship as soon as possible so that you can start working.

Lu Jin handed the two men several sheets of paper that he had prepared in advance, and then said, "Gentlemen, please take a look first. This is the five courtyards and one pavilion that I am going to set up."

When the two heard the abbreviated name, their eyebrows jumped. It sounded like a big change.

After they looked through it for a while, they seemed to think that the changes were not that big.

The so-called five courts and one cabinet refer to the Privy Council, the Executive Council, and the Inspectorate. These three are easy to understand. They are in charge of military affairs, civil affairs, and supervisory powers, which are similar to those in the Song Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, there was the Privy Council and the Secretariat, which was later shortened to the Secretariat and collectively known as the Two Ministries, which were in charge of military and political affairs. Here they are simply renamed the Two Courts.

There is no difference between the Inspectorate and the Censorate; both are responsible for supervising officials.

What surprised them the most were the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering, as they had never heard of them.

Li Shanchang frowned and said, "General, what are these two academies of science and engineering? Judging from the names, they seem to be in charge of the imperial examinations and the Imperial College, as well as the affairs of the Ministry of Works?"

"No." Lu Jin explained immediately.

"The two academies of science and engineering are departments for technological exploration and research and development. They are academic institutions based on the Gongshu Secret Code. They are only responsible for researching knowledge and craftsmanship, and providing scientific and technological advisory services to the central government. They do not have the power to decide on major military and political affairs, but they have the right to make suggestions."

The two looked at each other and frowned. It sounded like they were a group of highly skilled craftsmen.
Feng Guoyong immediately said, "General, if we are just discussing the craftsmanship, then it would be the same if we put it in the Ministry of Works. Why do we need to set up two separate academies? Wouldn't that lead to redundant officials and staff?"

Of course, Lu Jin couldn't let the two academies of science and engineering, which he had always cared about, be rejected by them just like that, so he explained again immediately.

"Actually, that's not the case. You underestimate craftsmen and technology. Confucian scholars always think that craftsmanship is just a trick, but they don't know that it is also related to military and national affairs."

Afraid that the two didn't understand, Lu Jin spoke again.

"Let me give you an example. Do you know how much grain the Yuan court transported north every year? How much was transported by sea and how much was transported by grain? How many days does it take to transport it once?"

Li Shanchang really knew the answer to this question. "I heard that the total is about 18 million dan, half of which is shipped by sea. If the shipping is smooth, it will take about 18 days from Hangzhou to Dadu, and days by sea as well."

Lu Jin immediately said, "If I tell you that with Gongshu's knowledge, the speed of the modified sea-going ship can be increased by more than double, and the original 18-day voyage can now be completed in seven or eight days, would you use it?

"If sea vessels can travel steadily and quickly, should we still keep the canal? In order to dig the canal, the Yuan government caused the Huaihe and Yellow River systems to become disordered, resulting in constant natural disasters and frequent floods. If sea transportation can be of great use, why not stop the canal first and properly control the floods in the Yellow River and Huai River to avoid suffering?
"Isn't this the skill of a craftsman in military affairs?"

"This"

After hearing this, both of them were speechless, because what Lu Jin said made sense. If sea transportation was feasible and the food and drink needs of the north could be met by sea transportation alone, then the canal transportation could indeed be stopped to properly control the flood problem.

Seeing that the two had nothing to say, Lu Jin continued.

“In the military field, if we could create a large fire gun, place it on a cart, and pull it with horses or manpower, and fire a single shot that could devastate the area for miles, penetrate armor, break the enemy’s formation, and smash city walls, wouldn’t this be a powerful military weapon?
"Can scholars make such an artifact without the help of craftsmen?"

"This"

The two were speechless again and looked at each other, "Is what the Marshal said true?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin immediately said seriously, "Do you think I'm joking?"

Li Shanchang immediately asked, "How can we double the speed of a seagoing ship? If the transformation is successful, will the cost of the ship be high?"

"Have you read the physics chapter of Gongshu Secret Book, the section on resistance in mechanics? All we need to do is change the current pointed-bottomed and flat-headed sea vessels into pointed-bottomed and round-headed or pointed-headed ones, and we can effectively reduce resistance and increase speed. The ship is still a wooden sailing ship, so how expensive can it be?" Lu Jin explained immediately.

"What about the big musket that destroyed a few miles of land?" Feng Guoyong asked with shining eyes.

"That's true. After we take over Lujiang County and smelt iron ourselves, we will make this kind of artillery."

"That's fine with me. Let's look at the next one."

Li Shanchang immediately stopped opposing the establishment of the two academies of science and engineering. After all, they were just a group of craftsmen who could not decide on military and political affairs. Moreover, they were indeed of some use, so why oppose it?

Feng Guoyong also nodded in agreement. In Lu Jin's description, the two academies of science and engineering were a group of technical officials who could not participate in political affairs. In fact, there were also pure technical officials in the Song Dynasty, but they were just technical officials who painted pictures and made music for the emperor and other artistic talents.
Next, the two of them saw the civil and military academies. The Privy Council had five departments in total: the Military and Political Department, the Military Command Department, the Armament Department, the Logistics Department, and the Military Education Department.

The military and political administration is responsible for military registration, promotion and transfer, recruitment, demobilization, and review of military merits.

The Military Command Department is a bit like the General Staff, responsible for formulating and issuing combat orders. It is also in charge of seals and has the power to mobilize troops, but not the power to command them.

The Armament Department is responsible for the research, development and manufacture of weapons and equipment. There is nothing much to say about this.

The Logistics Department is in charge of military supplies and arsenals, pays salaries to generals and soldiers in peacetime, is responsible for directing the transportation of logistics and food during wartime, and also manages military farms.

The Military Education Department is responsible for managing military academies, as well as the education of local garrisons and propaganda work within the army.

After reading it, the two began to frown again. There was nothing else wrong. The main points of contention were the Military and Political Department and the Logistics Department.

One is the power to appoint and dismiss military officers, the other is the financial power to distribute military pay, isn't this stealing the power of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue?
Li Shanchang immediately asked, "General, if the Privy Council Military Affairs Department is in charge of military registration, promotions, appointments and dismissals, and military merits, then doesn't this take away half of the Ministry of Personnel's responsibilities?"

"Yes." Lu Jin nodded.

"Why should civil officials be in charge of the appointment and dismissal of military officials? How can a group of Confucian scholars who know nothing about military affairs know which general is good at fighting which battle? In order to solve the separatist regimes of the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty went too far and used civil officials to control military affairs, which led to repeated defeats and the demise of the country. Isn't this a profound lesson enough?" Li Shanchang refuted on the spot, "Then if the military officials are in charge of the appointment and dismissal of military officials, what if the military and political officials form cliques for personal gain, appoint people based on personal connections, and exclude dissidents, which leads to the reappearance of separatist regimes? What should we do if the tail is too big to be eliminated?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "Sir, don't be anxious. Let's take a closer look. The civil servants of the Privy Council are also civil servants. They just don't overlap with the civil servants of the Executive Yuan. Besides, when it comes to the separatist regimes, we only need to use the officials and generals."

So the two of them read the instructions carefully again. In Lu Jin's plan, the army was divided into three types, namely the imperial guards directly under the royal family, the main field army, the Shengwu Army, and the internal guards stationed in local areas.

Among them, the Internal Guard Army adopted the conscription system, that is, the compulsory military service system, and forcibly recruited able-bodied men from each village. The service period was three to four years. There was no military pay, but a limited amount of grain tax could be exempted, just like the exemptions for gentry in the Ming Dynasty, except that this was a tax exemption for soldiers.

Moreover, it is not lifelong. Tax exemption is only available during the period of service, and it is a fixed amount. For example, the maximum limit for a soldier is one hundred acres, so as to prevent others from donating land and voluntarily becoming tenants to evade taxes.

The Internal Guard is a local garrison army. Assuming a village of a hundred households has ten people, and a county has dozens of villages, it can form a battalion. This battalion is usually responsible for providing yamen runners, guarding prisons, military farming, and garrisoning in cities. They are provided with food and accommodation, and do not receive military pay, but their families are exempt from taxes.

If mobilization is necessary, no matter how large the scale is, whether out of the county, out of the prefecture, or out of the province, it must be reported to and approved by the higher authorities. As long as you go out to fight, you will be given a certain amount of travel pay, or a field allowance. If you do not leave the county at ordinary times, you will not be given any military pay.

The Shengwu Army, the main field army, adopts a recruitment system, that is, a voluntary system, which has a stable military pay and a service period of three to four years. Civilians can sign up directly, and retired internal guards are also allowed to sign up. The military pay is paid by the national treasury.

The Imperial Guard was also a conscription army, with its salaries paid from the royal treasury, and was the emperor's absolute private army.

At the same time, there is no restriction on the flow of personnel in the three armed forces. After retiring, the Internal Guards can sign up to join the Shengwu Army or the Imperial Guards. At the same time, the grassroots officers of the Imperial Guards can be transferred to the Shengwu Army as middle-level officers, and the grassroots officers of the Field Army can also be transferred to the Internal Guards in various places for promotion.

In this way, the emperor could control the military power of the whole country through the imperial guards and the flow of officers of the three armed forces, and prevent the occurrence of separatist regimes.

In fact, the Yuan Dynasty also played the same game. The Yuan Dynasty's imperial guard was called the Qiexue Army. Every time an emperor ascended the throne, he would delegate the Qiexue Army to the local areas to seize power.

However, the Qiexue Army of the Yuan Dynasty held both military and political power and had too much power. For example, Prime Minister Tuotuo was from the Qiexue Army of Emperor Shundi of Yuan Dynasty.

In this version of Lu Jin's story, the Imperial Guard went down to seize power only to control the military power of the entire country.

At the same time, if low- and middle-level military officers cannot be promoted and choose to retire, they can also transfer to local areas to work as clerks.

For example, a large number of retired officers can be arranged in the public security system, postal system, transportation system, or in the industrial direction to be responsible for mining and metallurgy, agricultural farming, or even physical education teachers in the education system.

There is no worry about having no place to assign them, but there is a worry about having no talents available. At the same time, it also provides those soldiers with another channel for advancement besides the imperial examination.

When the two of them had finished looking, Lu Jin spoke again.

"In fact, it's not just the appointment and dismissal of military officers that needs to be separated. The civil service department also has problems."

After these words came out, they both put down the documents and looked at Lu Jin, "What do you mean by that, Marshal?"

Lu Jin immediately explained, "I have always thought that there was something wrong with the previous system of selecting officials in the Ministry of Personnel. What does it mean to select the virtuous and capable?

"Take the six ministries for example. One person was transferred back and forth between several ministries. He was previously the vice minister of the Ministry of Works, then transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, or the Ministry of Justice, and became the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Can one person really be proficient in so many things?

“I think that civil servants should also be promoted and transferred in a straight line according to their occupations. For example, if you were a county clerk in charge of criminal law, you could only be promoted to the prefecture-level criminal law department, then to the provincial government, and finally to the central government, the Dali Temple, or the Ministry of Justice.

"Instead of randomly promoting him, an official who is good at criminal matters was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Rites. Isn't that ridiculous?"

The two looked at each other again after hearing this, and Feng Guoyong immediately said, "The Marshal means that officials in the future should only specialize in one thing?"

"No, it's about being specialized in multiple areas. A person should take one profession as a foundation, do that thing well, and then consider developing other abilities. You can have other strengths, but at least you should do your job well first." Lu Jin continued to explain.

The two thought about it, and Feng Guoyong said immediately, "It should be feasible."

After reading the three-army rotation system, Li Shanchang no longer worried about the separatist rule of the military governors. If the military officers could be changed to the rotation system, it would definitely be a great improvement in the system!
At least it's better than hereditary.

But he still had one last question, "Marshal, where does the food and salary for the Privy Council Logistics Department come from?"

"Food and wages should be considered separately. As for food, there are few people and much land now. I plan to set aside a piece of wasteland in each place and give it to the Internal Guards to cultivate. The harvest from these military fields will be supplied to the three armies nearby.

"This is for food. As for the rest of the military pay, we need to count the amount needed each year according to the military roster at the end of the year and ask the Ministry of Revenue to provide the military expenses accordingly next year." Lu Jin explained again.

"What if the population grows in the future and the military fields are not enough?" Li Shanchang once again asked a soul-searching question.

Lu Jin spread his hands, "Then go out and fight, expand the territory, and grab more farmland. If you don't want to fight, the Ministry of Revenue will pay and buy grain from the people. It won't be of much use for us to talk about the future now."

Li Shanchang nodded. Anyway, they didn’t need to think about this now. Let future generations think about the future.

In fact, Lu Jin was not too worried. How many people could the army have at most? Two million at most. That was not enough food. When he brought back the high-yield crops from overseas, he could seize a piece of land from Liaodong for military settlement. One piece of land could feed the entire army.

Once the division of powers of the Privy Council was determined, the remaining matters of the Executive Yuan and the Cabinet became simple, and neither of them had any objections.

In their view, the so-called Executive Yuan is the former Secretariat or various ministries, with only slight additions and reductions.

The cabinet was the Zhongshu Province of the Song Dynasty, the prime minister and deputy prime minister were the left and right prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, and the cabinet regent was the "Sanzhi Zhengshi" of the Zhongshu Province of the Song Dynasty, who helped the prime minister handle state affairs.

At the local level, the chaotic divisions of provinces, prefectures, roads, states and counties of the Yuan Dynasty were abolished. The main reason was that some places in the Yuan Dynasty had four levels, some places had three levels, and there was chaos within their own territories. Some prefectures were larger than states, and some states were larger than prefectures, which gave people a headache.

From now on, the territory of the Shengwu Army will be unified into five levels: village, town, county, prefecture, and province.

After finalizing the system, Lu Jin gave the two of them some more instructions.

“We have relatively few talents now, and some departments cannot be fully established all at once, so we need to take it step by step.

"The next priorities are, first, to register the people in all places as soon as possible, then recruit the internal guard according to the village system, and train enough second-line troops to defend the city. Secondly, it will be convenient to collect taxes and dispatch civilians for corvée labor. Thirdly, we need to collect feces and urine according to the registered households to make saltpeter and gunpowder.

"In terms of military, first, we must restore the Luzhou Horse Farm for horse breeding, and second, we must quickly set up the Armament Department to build weapons and armor, and transform warships to prepare for our future crossing of the river."

"Yes." The two agreed immediately.

(End of this chapter)