This sleeve is broken secretly

This is definitely the deadliest Chinese New Year in decades.

The scorching war in the north affects everyone's heart.After the first snowfall, the prairie was frozen, and the food and grass for the horses were in short supply, which to a certain extent slowed down the actions of the prairie army.But everyone knows that the current stagnation is only temporary. As soon as the spring begins, the grassland army that has recuperated for the whole winter will try to go south again with ten or even twenty times the firepower.

If you don't come up with a solution before then, there will be no peace in the world.

Emperor Hongwu was already weak, and the emergency military reports for several days dragged him down even more. Since the two sides in Yingzhou entered the armistice period, he couldn't get sick. Cough and collapse the emperor.In January, the Tai Hospital came and went in and out of the Qianqing Palace, and changed dozens of pharmacies. Finally, at the end of January, Emperor Hongwu changed from a "terminal illness" to a "lingering sick bed".

On the sickbed, Emperor Hongwu coughed and breathed out two oral orders - first, he appointed Li Chenfu as the second assistant of the cabinet, and at the same time promoted Shen Bing to be the secretary of the Imperial Academy and also a lecturer for the prince.Secondly, during the period of my illness, the prince supervised the country, and Kuang Zheng, Li Chenfu and others assisted the government.

This change of fate caused an obvious crack in the cabinet power controlled by Kuang Zheng.

Time flies, and seeing the beginning of spring is just around the corner, fortunately, at this juncture, the Ministry of War delivered a piece of good news—in the past few months, the Ordnance Bureau has recruited excellent craftsmen from all over the world, and has continuously developed a new type of firecracker day and night.Before the improvement, the firecracker was made of copper, but now it is made of iron. It has good ablation resistance, strong pressure resistance, and is not easy to burst. It can adapt to the increased chamber pressure due to the improvement of gun performance and the increase in charge. A new gun can be used many times without replacement, and its service life is greatly extended.

Furthermore, the rate of fire of the Heart Fire Gun has been increased.Its inner wall is smooth, and it is easier and less time-consuming to remove the medicine residue remaining in the barrel after firing, thus increasing the rate of fire.

At the same time, after a winter of training, veteran Lou Fu has developed a combat method that cooperates with firecrackers.Cooperating with firearms of different lengths and sizes, and adapting to the rotation of infantry and cavalry, the latest combat methods have a strong restraint on grassland cavalry.

Moreover, Father Lou has discovered that although the prairie soldiers are fierce, they are not good at defending the city.In the several confrontations after the beginning of spring, the Central Plains soldiers had the upper hand. After March, the Central Plains soldiers finally regained the upper hand.

At this time, Zhagan sent a request for peace.

----

In the Wenhua Hall of the East Palace, after Xie Ling and Shen Yi finished their explanation for today, the crown prince left them in the hall for tea.

What they drank was Yuqian Longjing. The buds stood upright in the tea bowl, the soup was clear and fragrant, and it was the best tea of ​​this season.However, the three people who drank tea didn't care about tasting it, and they were burdened with the same thing in their hearts.

After a while, several people talked about the peace agreement that had been under the Hongwu Emperor's case for more than half a month.

"Father doesn't know what it means." The prince sighed, "It's been so long, but still no decision has been made."

Shen Yan drooped his eyes and blew on the tea soup.He also fell ill during the change of seasons between spring and winter, but he got better recently, but he became thinner and thinner, and the black horn belt looked empty, loosely hugging his waist.Hearing what the crown prince said at this time, the corners of his pale mouth slightly raised, and he asked calmly, "If you follow the crown prince's words, how should we deal with this matter?"

Ever since Shen Bing entered the East Palace, the crown prince respected him very much.But that kind of respect is somewhat different from the respect he showed when facing Wang Dan and Xie Yi. When getting along with Shen Yan, the prince's attitude will be more intimate, and his eyes will be brighter. Subconsciously followed and nodded.

Sometimes Xie Ling watched from the sidelines, and he couldn't help being amused and a little jealous in his heart. Once, he even joked to Shen Yi, "When His Royal Highness sees you, you are like a puppy that wants to eat meat. You look so smart and cute." After finishing, he was severely reprimanded by Shen Bing.

Hearing Shen Yan's question at this time, the prince quickly turned to him, leaned slightly and seriously replied: "Of course it is to reject the peace agreement, and drive those prairie barbarians out of the border in one go."

Shen Yan asked back: "Why did the prince make such a decision?"

The prince was stunned: "Isn't this obvious? Now we have firecrackers, and the tactics newly developed by General Lou, and those prairie people are not good at defending the city. But isn’t this a good opportunity to counterattack?”

Shen Ting smiled slightly, raised his eyes to look at Xie Ling, just happened that Xie Ling was also looking at him, and the two of them understood each other when they met their eyes.

Xie Jin turned his head to look at the prince, and said in a deep voice, "My lord is at peace."

The crown prince was stunned for a moment, but then he heard Shen Yi say: "The minister is also the master."

"This..." The prince was suddenly at a loss, "Why is this?"

"First of all, there is the problem of ammunition." Xie Ling said, "Although Old General Lou's tactics can defeat the enemy, it consumes a lot of ammunition. Judging from the current consumption speed and the speed of the Ordnance Bureau, the bullets are only enough to maintain In the next three months, once this deadline has passed, we will be forced to return to the previous way of fighting, and then we will be at a disadvantage again."

The prince was stunned, but Shen Yan added lightly: "There is also the problem of food and grass. The armies of all parties gathered in Yingzhou. It is not enough to rely on the fields of Yingzhou to feed so many people. The only way is to get food from other places. Local recruitment. However, if the food and grass line is stretched too long, there may be problems of uneven distribution and untimely operation. However, the grassland army has no such concerns. They rely on their own home to fight, and the number of troops is small, so they are naturally more confident. .”

The crown prince listened in a daze, hesitantly said: "Then..."

Xie Qin shook his head and said, "The Prairie Army has been afraid of being beaten by us these days, thinking that we can continue fighting endlessly, so they sued for peace. However, they don't know about our ammunition inventory and food and grass problems. Only by asking for peace while they are still in the dark can we gain the upper hand in the negotiations."

The crown prince was full of fighting spirit just now and was poured down by the two buckets of cold water, and suddenly he was speechless.Looking at his expression, Shen Yan knew that he was a young man who was unwilling to reconcile, so he said in a harmonious voice: "Your Highness, don't be discouraged. It is also good for us to take a step back at this time. We need time to find out the crux of the defeat. , so that we will not be defeated again when the north invades next time."

Upon hearing this, the crown prince hurriedly asked: "In my opinion, what is the crux of this defeat?"

Shen Yan smiled slightly, glanced at Xie Ling, and said in a warm voice: "Two days ago, I asked him to talk to my minister about this matter, and what he said was nothing short of enlightenment. Let him, why don't you talk to His Highness."

I don't know if it's Xie Ling's illusion, but he always felt that when Shen Bing said the word "Rang Zhi", his tone was very soft, as if his name was slipping out along Shen Bing's soft lips.Hearing these two words, it was like a soft feather scratching in his ears, making his heart hot.

He almost exhausted all his strength before turning his eyes away from Shen Yi, and then he looked at the expectant prince and said with a smile: "I have some ideas, but they are not yet mature, so I can only drink tea." I will have a clear talk with His Highness when I am here." He pondered for a while, and then said, "In fact, there are many reasons for this defeat, and it is difficult to generalize, but I thought about it that day, and I always felt that there is one thing that is fundamental and long-lasting. It has been ignored since then—that is the Weisuo system."

Guard system?

The prince was taken aback for a moment, and then he seemed to understand something in a blink of an eye.

The so-called guard system refers to the establishment of guards and garrisons in important military locations across the country, with a guard of 600 people.All the guards are subordinate to the Dudufu of the Five Armies, and also belong to the Ministry of War.The source of the army is hereditary military households. Each household sends one person as Zhengding to the guard to serve as a soldier. The soldiers take turns guarding the guard and farming in the guard. The income from the farm is used to supply the needs of the army and generals.

The goal of the Weisuo system is to raise soldiers without spending the country's financial resources, but there are many problems hidden behind this system.

Sure enough, at this time, Xie Ling continued: "The most important issue is the quality of the soldiers. In addition to patrolling and training, soldiers in the guard also have to complete the task of farming. For a long time, the ability of this army to march and fight will be weakened. Secondly, the guard army is hereditary, and we have been in peace for a long time, at least four or five generations have passed since the establishment of the guard. It is inevitable that the army is mixed with young and old, and the combat effectiveness is very easy to decline."

When he said this, he paused, thought for a while, and then continued slowly: "My brothers and fathers all served in the Ministry of War. I heard something from them... Rumor has it that some guard officers It will even occupy military fields."

The prince shuddered all over, and looked at Xie Ling like lightning.

"The chief occupies the military land privately, and the soldiers become private serfs who plow the fields. This not only leads to a decrease in the number of defenders, but also destroys the self-sufficient guard system. The fertilizer water that should be watering the world, but flows to the Outside, it's been a long time..."

He stopped meaningfully and did not continue to speak, but the meaning of those words was already very obvious.

The long-term collapse of the Weisuo system, using the most fertile soil and soldiers, raised a cancerous tumor that gnawed at the court for a living and a group of "earth emperors" who got nothing for nothing.

"There's no reason for that." The prince slapped the table angrily, and said urgently, "What kind of military officer dares to be so bold? Why don't you implore father and emperor to order a thorough investigation, and investigate and deal with anyone who dares to use the military land for private use!"

"Well, the investigation is one thing." Xie Ling said slowly, without directly talking to the prince, but sighed, "On the other hand, it is still a problem with the system of the guard system itself. Although the soldiers have Houses and fields have a fixed monthly ration, but the actual situation is often insufficient. In addition, the occupation of the military field makes it even more starving, which also leads to the low combat ability and enthusiasm of the soldiers. What's more How many guards are there in my court, if it is really checked, I am afraid it will be a bad debt, and it will not be clear in three to five years, and we don't have that kind of leisure."

The prince frowned tightly, and murmured: "What should I do..."

Xie Ling bowed and said: "This matter still needs to be discussed in the long term. But as far as the imminent peace negotiation is concerned, Liang Qing and I are both in charge."

The prince nodded and said nothing.

After sitting for a while, Xie Ling and Shen Yan left the East Palace together and walked out.

Between the deep vermilion palace walls is a wide palace road paved with blue stones. Xie Ling and Shen Yi walked slowly on the palace road side by side, each immersed in their own thoughts, and did not speak for a while.Although the two of them have very different temperaments, they are both of average height and long legs, with outstanding manners.At this time, the two of them were wearing the same blue heron official uniform, and they walked slowly between the red walls and blue bricks, and the maids in the palace who passed by were all blushing and heartbeating.

"From today onwards, the crown prince will definitely report to the emperor about the peace talks." Xie Ling pondered, "I hope the crown prince can give the emperor a booster."

Shocked by the wind, Shen Yan coughed twice, and said in a hoarse voice: "If there are no accidents, the peace talks this time are a certainty."

"Hmm." Xie Qin responded, and couldn't help but glance at him, "Are you—all right?"

Shen Bing was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "Even if I want to avenge my humiliation that day, I still have to choose the right time. The current situation is indeed not suitable for fighting again, and I still have this point."

Xie Ling sighed with a smile.

At this time, Shen Ting thoughtfully said: "After what you said today, the crown prince will definitely ask the emperor to thoroughly investigate the private occupation of military land by the guards, and Kuang Zheng will definitely be investigated afterwards—"

Xie Ling sneered: "This old man is probably so anxious that he can't even sit in a chair now."

"Although this is a good opportunity to reduce his power, the foreign enemy has not been eliminated, so it is not easy to fight internally." Shen Yan said lightly, "We have sent away the prairie people, and we have plenty of time to deal with him. What we want to think about now is to raise troops. Only since After you mentioned to me the various flaws of the guard system that day, I kept thinking, how can I improve this system and get a group of elite soldiers in a short period of time?"

Xie Qin asked him back, "What do you think?"

Shen Bian pondered: "The current military households are all hereditary. Unless the family dies, generations will be recruited into the army. Not to mention the difficult conditions in the army, they cannot be deserters. Under such conditions, it is no wonder that the soldiers are active in combat. not tall."

Xie Ling nodded with a smile.

Shen Ting said again: "Let's talk about the military field again. If you want to eradicate corruption, you must find a way to separate the military power from the field. Otherwise, the private use of the military field will never be banned."

Xie Ling laughed and even claimed yes.

Shen Yan couldn't help but glanced at him, raised his eyebrows and said: "Looking at you, it seems that you have already made up your mind?"

"It can't be said to be confident, but it's probably close to ten." Xie Ling looked at him with a smile, "By the way, Liangqing."

His tone was very serious, Shen Chuan thought he was going to say something serious, so he stopped and looked at him seriously.Xie Qin smiled and approached him, raised his eyes and saw no one around, quickly reached out and grabbed his cold fingertips hidden in his green sleeves.

Shen Ting was about to withdraw his hand in shock, but Xie Ling smiled lowly and said softly: "I really like the way you mentioned 'we' just now."

"Get your trust, let it have no regrets."

Shen Bing was stunned, and after a while, a light rouge dyed his cheeks straight from his ears.Feeling embarrassed, he coughed and turned his head away from Xie Jin, but pretended to be calm and looked at the blue sky above the palace wall.

But this time, he didn't withdraw the fingertips held by Xie Ling.

----

A few days later, Xie Ling went to the Shu and proposed a military system different from the guards - the recruitment system.

Unlike the Guards Army, recruiting soldiers are not hereditary. Although they are soldiers, they belong to the nationality.And according to what Xie Jin said, the recruited soldiers are completely combat troops, unlike the soldiers of the guards who need to transfer some soldiers to carry out the task of farming.The food supplies and military salaries for recruiting soldiers come entirely from the direct expenditure of the state's finances, not from farming, and the salaries are higher than those of the guards and civilians.

Recruiting soldiers can have more choices, not necessarily recruiting from military households, so after recruiting excellent soldiers, they can quickly form an elite force after training and selection.At the same time, most of the recruits come from civilians, so they can be replenished quickly after losses.

As a result, the recruitment system also separated the military and political power from the farmland, avoiding the private use of military land.

Xie Jin's memorabilia aroused heated discussions among officials in the ruling and opposition parties.Most people think that to deal with the problem of the dynastic military disarmament, recruiting soldiers from civilian population to inject fresh blood into the existing army is the fastest and most effective way.Moreover, the salaries for recruiting soldiers are high, and many poor men without private land are willing to join the army, which also solves the problem of deserters.Although the recruitment system requires higher maintenance costs, but now the country's own treasury is full, it can be dealt with.

However, some people also pointed out that it will be difficult for the army that no longer farms to solve the problem of food and grass.Could it be that in future wars, we must draw food and grass from other places?

At this time, Liu Ling, the servant of the Ministry of officials, said that although the Weisuo system had many problems, it should not be completely abolished.It is better to develop a model that combines guards and recruits-the guards are mainly responsible for garrison, law and order, training recruits and farming.The battalion outpost is mainly responsible for mobile operations.Therefore, the Weisuo army has become a regular soldier, while the recruiting army is a mobile surprise soldier.

As a result, a new army system was quietly formed.

At the same time, peace negotiations are in full swing.At the end of May, at the cost of ceding half of Yingzhou, the prairie army generals were stabilized on the border, and the two sides ushered in a short-lived peace.

But everyone knows that the day when the first military training is effective and the grassland finds out a way to deal with the firecrackers, it will be the time when the flames of war will rise again.