Chapter 602 Powerless
It seems that the prince does not know how to farm, so Liu Laifu had to explain to him: "Your Highness, the corn that is plowed in spring can mature in two months. However, after ripening, it needs to be harvested and dried. Even if it is dry for seven or eight days, and then transported, it is simply impossible to do it without three or five months."
Zhu Cilang said "Yes": "If so, I will find someone to harvest."
Lai Fu was stunned: "Look for someone to harvest? Your Highness, who is the one?"
"Yes, are the soldiers of the three camps all enjoying a good meal? You can't keep the soldiers in the court, they do nothing. If you want to eat, you have to do it yourself. Our palace mobilizes the soldiers of the three camps to collect them together with the people in the suburbs of Beijing. The collected grain is quickly put into the warehouse, so that when enough food is raised, we can lead the troops to fight."
Zhu Cilang said the method seemed to be good, but he also revealed sorrow and pity in his helplessness. That is, is this still a court and a country?
No matter how you look at it, the Ming Dynasty has become a mess. In fact, the current Ming Dynasty court system has long collapsed. The reason why it has not collapsed is just a last breath.
From high-ranking officials to high-ranking officials to yamen runners, they all tried to make money and concealed the household registration of the people, while the big families colluded with officials and businessmen. In the end, all the pressure was put on the civilians at the bottom.
The people have long been squeezed out the last drop of blood when they are all used to squeeze ordinary people. But they have fed officials and wealthy families, and the people are not surprised.
The set of laws formulated during the reign of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang have long been no longer applicable. A third-rank official’s salary is even less than that of a small vendor. What should he do if he doesn’t make money or embezzle it?
It’s nothing more than the so-called clear stream pillars that are higher and more constrained. Most officials take the opportunity to fill their pockets. If you are not greedy, you are greedy, why not lose your pockets?
Raising soldiers for a thousand days is not about raising soldiers, but about raising soldiers, which is about not about letting soldiers do nothing and wait for death. It is not about letting soldiers practice every day and go to the battlefield only when fighting.
There is no such good thing in the world. In ancient times, when productivity is low, even soldiers in the military camps had to work hard when there was no war. Otherwise, how could tens of thousands of troops survive?
Only during the slack season do soldiers get up early during the day, wash up, gather together, and listen to the literate persons who have given orders. After breakfast, they go on business and sell horses. They rest at noon, sit or sleep, and keep at peace. When the sun and west, they learn martial arts, learn bows and horses, or wear armor, and stop until they are dusk.
Of course, except for the soldiers who were truly guarding the border during the tense period. They must always prepare for war to prevent foreign enemies from invading.
On weekdays, for example, the army of the three major battalions has their own defense zones. When there is no war, they are all about training and production labor.
Growing vegetables, chopping wood, fetching water, walking horses, building city walls, engaging in agricultural production, etc., all of these are to ensure the military's expenses.
There are so many people in the three camps, 200,000. That is known as 200,000, but in fact there are only 150,000 or 60,000 people. More than 100,000 people can really fight on the battlefield.
What are the remaining people doing? Logistics. We must have strong logistical support so that the army can have combat effectiveness.
How much food does the soldiers of the 200,000 three camps eat every day? Where does their food, drink, defecation, and military pay, food and grass come from? All of these require money and all of them need food.
This is also the reason why Emperor Chongzhen knew that Li Zicheng in Huguang was in chaos but could not send the Beijing army to encircle and suppress the enemy. The local army was vulnerable and was no match for the thieves. The three camps in the capital were unable to fight again and did not have enough military pay and food to support them.
When the army arrives, food and grass will come first. The supplies troops transporting food are transported by ox, mule, and trolleys. During the transportation, the people of the supplies troops have to eat themselves. Often, for hundreds of miles, a trolley man has to eat two-thirds of the food on the way back and forth. The remaining one-third is delivered to the army.
Yes, the efficiency is so slow. How much cargo can a wooden wheelbarrow pull, and ox carts are not equipped with large quantities.
Could it be that it was really so difficult for the ancients to fight? According to the meaning, how did the Qing Dynasty enter the pass, and how Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di fought to the north of Mo before? Isn’t this nonsense?
It’s really not nonsense. When the Ming Dynasty was strong, military pay, food and grass were naturally not a problem. We could raise grain locally and supply military supplies. The combat effectiveness of the Ming army at that time was extremely explosive.
During the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji brought very little food for troops, only two or three days or even less. But they would rob, they started their own business by robbing. Wherever they fought, some people were robbed there, and some were robbed in the Ming Dynasty.
It's not possible now. The entire Jiangbei is surrounded by disasters. If the court sent three camps to the local area to suppress bandits at this time, where did the food come from? Will it be the local raising food in the disaster area? The people in the disaster area themselves have no food.
Transport from Jingji? What kind of transportation is that you are afraid that the food has not been transported to Henan, Huguang and other places, or they have been eaten up by themselves or robbed by bandits.
Emperor Chongzhen was in trouble. He watched the bandits in Huguang grow bigger. However, he was powerless to let the troops stationed in various places confiscate. The local armed combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty was really ashamed.
Or, any military general who has some combat effectiveness will have the right troops to maintain their own combat effectiveness and refuse to send troops.
This cannot be entirely blamed on local armed forces, such as the governor of a province. He was ordered to suppress the bandits, and indeed wiped out the bandits. However, if he killed one thousand enemies and suffered 800 of them, his own power would also suffer a lot of losses.
At this time, you have to ask the court for merit and reward. According to the military merits, where did the imperial court get the money? Emperor Chongzhen mostly just issued an order to praise it, and there was no practical reward. It was just because of one word, poor.
The local military generals were naturally unhappy. I fought hard to fight. After making military achievements, the court only gave verbal rewards, so who would not be too popular?
No matter how historical books record it, Zhu Cilang, who traveled to the Ming Dynasty, understood it. The fall of the Ming Dynasty was not really due to the collapse of the bureaucratic system, but also the reason for Emperor Chongzhen.
There have been more corrupt dynasties in history. Which dynasty has no corrupt officials? But have they lost their country? No. Is Emperor Chongzhen a foolish monarch? He is not.
Although Emperor Chongzhen made many ruling mistakes, he really couldn't be considered a foolish monarch. The main reason was the collapse of the Ming Dynasty and the collapse of the bureaucratic system, and the encounter with the small ice disaster that was rare in a thousand years. This is the main reason.
Chapter completed!