Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Chapter 69: Absolutely No Interference from the Ministry of War Allowed!

Zhu Youcheng's gaze turned cold, unwilling to explain further to Liu Daxia.

"Just do as I instruct. I have my reasons."

"Retreat!"

Seeing this, Liu Daxia dared not advise further.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Daxia bowed and backed out of the Hongde Hall to oversee the dispatch of grain and provisions.

An army marches on its stomach.

Previously, when Zhu Youcheng sent 100,000 elite soldiers to Tumubao to intercept the Tatar Little Prince, he did not dispatch provisions.

That was because Tumubao was too close, less than two hundred miles away.

If the entire army advanced at full speed, they could reach Tumubao from Changtong in less than half a day.

Each soldier could prepare three days' worth of rations and set off immediately.

But now, the army was embarking on a distant expedition to Hami, Turpan, and Tashkent.

This journey was five to six thousand miles long, and the initial preparation of grain and provisions would take a considerable amount of time.

As for why he didn't conscript garrison troops from Suzhou Prefecture, Yongchang Guard, and Liangzhou Guard nearby for immediate support, there was a reason for that as well.

The garrison system was the most important military system of the Ming Dynasty, established by Emperor Taizu.

After Emperor Taizu Gao founded the country, he established the Fish Scale Register and, on this basis, implemented the Lijia system.

The national population was mainly divided into three categories according to their occupation: civilians, soldiers, and artisans, and they were registered.

Various household registrations were hereditary and fixed, and private escape and change of registration were strictly prohibited, with severe punishment upon discovery.

The garrison soldiers were organized from military households and were semi-professional soldiers who had not completely separated from production.

They were mobilized for expeditions when needed and returned to the garrison to cultivate land when there was no war.

Every military household had a house, land, and a fixed monthly allowance in the garrison.

The soldiers in the camp were divided into defense and land reclamation, with varying ratios, rotating on time. The land reclamation soldiers regularly handed over grain to supply the defending soldiers and officials.

This system greatly reduced the Ming Dynasty's pressure on military expenditure.

Usually, these garrison soldiers were like farmers, farming in the garrison themselves, without the need for the imperial court to allocate additional grain.

However, this system had already developed very serious problems during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.

The first problem was that garrison officers encroached on military farmland and privately used soldiers to cultivate the land.

Under the oppression of the garrison officers, the military households' land became the private land of the garrison officers, and the military households became the garrison officers' domestic slaves.

From then on, they no longer engaged in military training but focused on cultivating land and paying grain for the garrison officers.

The second problem was the serious desertion of military households.

By the third year of the Zhengtong reign, the number of military households who had deserted had exceeded 1.6 million.

Emperor Yingzong had to start a recruitment system to re-recruit free soldiers.

As a result, the combat effectiveness of the garrison soldiers was extremely low, and many garrisons had a large number of empty salaries.

Moreover, those military households had become farmers who only knew how to cultivate land and had no combat ability at all.

Moreover, the garrisons were subordinate to the Five Armies Chief Command and the Ministry of War, which Zhu Youcheng did not trust.

If garrison troops were dispatched to support, whether they could win or when they could win would be put aside for now.

Just getting these garrison soldiers to move would cost a lot of money.

As for whether the money would flow into the Ministry of War or into the hands of the garrison officers, it was unclear.

It was only certain that the soldiers would never receive their full salary.

As long as the garrison system was not resolved, Zhu Youcheng would never use garrison soldiers to fight.

As for the defense of the capital, the three major battalions guarding the capital originally had less than 200,000 soldiers.

Now, Zhu Youcheng had stationed 100,000 elite soldiers in the capital, and now he was dispatching 130,000 troops to the expedition.

Back and forth, the number of soldiers stationed around the capital was about the same as before, but with 70,000 more well-equipped elite soldiers.

The defense strength of the capital was even higher than before.

After Liu Daxia left, Zhu Youcheng looked at Gao Shun again.

"Gao Shun, have you chosen a general to be responsible for this expedition?"

Gao Shun had already made up his mind: "Your Majesty, I have someone in mind. My personal guard captain, Xu Chang, can take on this important task."

Xu Chang was the junior officer who had previously reported to Zhu Youcheng, and Zhu Youcheng was overjoyed and bestowed a calligraphy piece.

Zhu Youcheng nodded: "Good, then I will first grant him the title of General of Martial Valor, appoint him as the Northwest Governor, control the Northwest military forces, and be fully responsible for this expedition."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Go back first, select troops as quickly as possible, and set off immediately when the troops are ready!"

"Yes, this humble general takes his leave."

After Gao Shun left, Zhu Youcheng summoned Wang Zhi, the director of the West Depot.

Wang Zhi came to the Hongde Hall, and after paying his respects, Zhu Youcheng immediately issued instructions.

"Wang Zhi, two things in total."

"The first thing is to send some West Depot agents to supervise the nationwide land survey presided over by the Ministry of Revenue, and the dispatch of grain and provisions for the expedition to Hami by the Ministry of War."

"The second thing is that the West Depot should also send some people to supervise the army in this expedition to the Hami Garrison."

"Remember, the expedition is to be fully responsible by the elite soldiers and the West Depot, and absolutely no interference from the Ministry of War and border generals is allowed!"

Wang Zhi's expression was serious, and he respectfully accepted the order: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youcheng rubbed his forehead and waved his hand: "Go."

"This humble minister takes his leave."

After Wang Zhi left, Zhu Youcheng rubbed his temples, feeling extremely tired.

The Ming Dynasty was beset by internal and external troubles.

It had only been less than a year since he ascended the throne, and various problems were emerging one after another.

There were still many things he had not had time to do, and there were still many people he had not had time to kill.

Monetary reform, tax reform, and garrison system reform all needed to be done step by step.

The north had just been pacified, and the northwest was being invaded by enemies again.

Annan in the south was also restless.

The Chenghua ploughing of the court did not wipe out the three Jurchen tribes.

Historical records state that the late Emperor appointed General Zhao Fu to lead an army of 50,000, dividing the troops into three routes to suppress the Jianzhou Jurchens.

After a month of encirclement and suppression, the Ming army beheaded more than 630 people and captured more than 240 people.

Killing only this few people made Zhu Youcheng want to laugh.

An army of 50,000 went on an expedition for a month and only killed more than 600 people.

This was like Zhu Qizhen leading an army of hundreds of thousands on an expedition, only to be captured by the Wala forces that suddenly appeared in Tumubao at his doorstep without any news.

Extremely absurd and ridiculous!

He didn't know how those civil officials had the face to record these things in history.

"Your Majesty, the Shangshan Supervisor has sent pastries and hot tea. Would you like to rest for a while and have something to eat?"

The little eunuch who was attending him at the side appropriately handed over a tray full of pastries and hot tea.

"Put it here."

Zhu Youcheng pointed to the dragon case in front of him, and the little eunuch immediately deftly placed the pastries and hot tea on it.

Zhu Youcheng picked up the tea, took a sip, and suddenly asked: "What has Huai En been doing these days? Why haven't I seen him much lately?"

The attending little eunuch respectfully replied: "Your Majesty, Duke Huai has been staying in the East Depot recently, very busy, and has not been seen for several days."

Zhu Youcheng nodded thoughtfully.