Chapter 180 Say it again
After Zhu Chong entered the palace to pay his respects to Old Zhu, Old Zhu looked at his son and asked him bluntly, "You really came to the palace?"
Hearing what Old Zhu said, Zhu Chong knew that Old Zhu did not want him to enter the palace, but the problem was that Old Zhu was causing him trouble, so how could he let Old Zhu get his wish?
"Father, I just can't understand!" Zhu Chong had a preconceived notion. "I've never led an army before. I don't know why Your Majesty wants me to lead so many troops. With my experience and no concept of commanding troops, I'm afraid I won't be able to convince the others."
"Besides, I am also currently serving as the Director of the Imperial Banknote Administration. With an additional 5,000 men under my command, I am worried that I will be unable to meet your expectations, and therefore I beg you to revoke your order."
Hearing what Zhu Chong said, Old Zhu smiled sinisterly and said, "Since we've put you in charge, you should manage it well. You've managed such a complicated place like the Baochao Tizhusi so well, so how could you not manage a mere 5,000 soldiers well?"
Zhu Chong couldn't help but roll his eyes, stiffening his neck and saying, "Father, I'm a civil official. It's not right for a civil official to command troops!"
"If we say it's reasonable, then it's reasonable. Who dares to say anything?" Old Zhu retorted domineeringly, causing Zhu Chong to roll his eyes again.
This is a blatant rogue act! Who can believe that this is what the Ming Emperor said? In all the years since the Ming Dynasty was founded, when has it ever allowed civil officials to lead the army?
But even so, Zhu Chong only dared to complain in his heart and could not say it out loud.
"Don't even think about giving up, kid. We're asking you to place those people to protect your Baochao Tizhusi. It has nothing to do with whether you can command troops, do you understand?"
After hearing what Old Zhu said, Zhu Chong could only accept it with a pinch of his nose, but he was still unhappy in his heart, and almost blurted out: "But..."
"But what?" Old Zhu glared at Zhu Chong, and he immediately became intimidated. His father started to act hegemonically, so who dared to say anything?
"Tell me, if you can give us a clear plan, we will make new arrangements for you!" Old Zhu was still arrogant.
Zhu Chong shrank his neck, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "No, Father, if you want to give me troops to protect the secrets of the Treasury Department, you should also give me some elite soldiers. Why do you only give me a bunch of old, weak and sick people?"
"Old, weak, sick and disabled?" Old Zhu casually grabbed the teacup on the dragon table and almost hit Zhu Chong on the head with it. Zhu Chong was so scared that he staggered backwards and almost fell to the ground.
"What kind of eyesight do you have, kid?" Old Zhu angrily scolded, "Do you know that those are veterans who have followed us since the Zhizheng period and have lived through hundreds of battles?"
"Old, weak, sick, and disabled? I'm not afraid of bragging. Even if we mobilize 50,000 men from the Five Barracks, we still wouldn't be their match!"
After hearing what Lao Zhu said, Zhu Chong was shocked. It turned out that it was Lao Zhu's old subordinate who was ordered to serve as a soldier under him.
From this point we can see that Lao Zhu still has feelings for the old soldiers, but he is too bossy. If you really care about those old soldiers, why don't you give them something practical instead of assigning them tasks all day long?
But he couldn't say this directly. Zhu Chong thought for a moment and pretended to be puzzled before asking, "So you are a meritorious official of our Ming Dynasty. But I have a question for you, Father."
"You say." Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, and his eyes turned unfriendly when he looked at his son. This kid had heard everything he said, so what other questions could he have? He must be planning something bad again!
"Father, I wonder why these old uncles, who have fought on the battlefield for decades and have been away from home for so long, haven't they retired and returned home to enjoy their retirement?"
Hearing Zhu Chong's words, Old Zhu's face darkened, but he suddenly thought of something and said sullenly: "You kid don't understand the military system. Those people are all military households, so they can only be in the army for life."
"Ah? Is this how military households are?" Zhu Chong looked at Old Zhu's cold face, still puzzled. "Then may I ask, Father, as far as I know, military households in the Ming Dynasty are exempt from paying taxes and performing corvée labor, is that true?"
"Just say what you want to say, kid. If you have to fart, say it now. Don't beat around the bush with us." Old Zhu's patience with Zhu Chong has almost reached its critical point.
"Then I'll tell you." Zhu Chong, upon hearing what Old Zhu said, simply said bluntly, "In my opinion, the old soldiers among the military households who are too old should be discharged and return to the countryside."
"Those who have fought for their country their entire lives should not be left to waste their time in the barracks. They should be allowed to enjoy their final moments."
"Also, I think that although these men are veterans of many battles, they are still old. Forcing them to continue serving the country is somewhat inhumane. Moreover, keeping them in the barracks will increase the burden on the court. It would be better to send them back to their hometowns!"
After hearing what Zhu Chong said, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression softened a little. He knew the situation of those old military households.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang was dismissive of Zhu Chong's proposal. He was an emperor and practiced the skills of an emperor. In his eyes, what Zhu Chong had just said was just womanly kindness and completely meaningless.
Do you think I don't know that these old military households in the barracks will be a burden to the court? Do you really think I'm keeping them here on purpose?
The truth is that the imperial court has no money, or to be more precise, not enough money, to repatriate these veterans. They can only keep on wasting time like this until the imperial court has enough money to repatriate them!
"That's easy to say, but do you know how much it would cost to repatriate those people? Do I even need to explain the court's situation to you?"
Old Zhu shouted angrily, "Besides, why are you sending these old men who only know how to fight back to their hometowns? To farm?"
Hearing Old Zhu's voice getting louder and louder, Zhu Chong looked helpless, he also knew that this was the truth.
The Ming Dynasty court was too poor, so it sent those old soldiers back to their hometowns. Even if the court had money to give them for repatriation, the money would run out one day. If the money was spent, how would those old soldiers live?
But we can't just sit there and do nothing because of this. After all, solutions are invented by people. We can't just turn a blind eye to them. That would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater and burying our heads in the sand like an ostrich.
"Your Majesty, if I tell you that there is a feasible solution, would you be willing to issue an order to repatriate those old soldiers?" Zhu Chong suddenly said something shocking.
"What did you say?" Old Zhu's eyes widened when he heard this. "Say it again!"
"Your son says that he has a way to successfully repatriate those old soldiers. Please grant me your permission, father!" Zhu Chong said to Old Zhu with a firm tone, neither humble nor arrogant.
Hearing Zhu Chong say this, Old Zhu stood up, looked down at his son, and pondered for a long time before uttering a word...
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