Li Banghua's reorganization of the Beijing camp was quite effective, recalling more than 10,000 soldiers who had been conscripted and clearing out thousands of those who had been falsely inducted. Of the more than 100,000 soldiers in the three camps, nearly half were laid off, including the elderly and weak.
In addition to the three major camps, there are three reserve camps, each with 3,000 people. The military pay is similar to that of the main camp, but they do not practice martial arts. They have always been a treasure land for powerful people to hide.
Li Banghua reduced the number of soldiers by more than 4,000 and laid off more than 1,000 old and weak soldiers. He wrote a letter to the emperor requesting that the reserve camp be merged into the three major camps and no separate camp be set up. Zhu Youxiao approved all of it.
There are six deputy generals in the three major camps, which are further divided into 36 camps, with more than 360 officers of various ranks.
Zhu Youxiao ordered the Ministry of War to transfer all officers to the military academy for further training. He then selected officers from the Four Guards Battalion, the Warrior Battalion, and graduates of the military academy to temporarily replace them, and promoted Zhou Yuji to the commander-in-chief of the three battalions.
But that wasn't the end of it. Next, the Four Guard Battalions, the Warrior Battalion, and the Three Major Battalions were merged and reorganized. The first was the Brave Guard Battalion, the second was the Elite Vanguard Battalion, and the third was the Dragon Cavalry Battalion, commanded by Sun Yingyuan, Zhou Yuji, and Cao Wenzhao respectively.
After this operation, Zhu Youxiao had complete control over the army in the capital.
The most loyal generals, the best equipment, generous military pay, strict selection and training, these 70,000 to 80,000 personal troops of the emperor will be Zhu Youxiao's most solid support.
After the garrison in the capital was stabilized, Zhu Youxiao began to push military reforms to the nine border areas.
The simplest and most effective method was to summon officers from all over the country to study martial arts, and Zhu Youxiao gradually replaced the main generals of various border towns.
Sun Zushou, the lieutenant general of Ji-Liao, was promoted to the general of Datong; the veteran general Yang Zhaoji, who made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion, was promoted to the rank of deputy governor and the right governor, and transferred to the general of Jizhou Town; You Shiwei, the lieutenant general of Jianchang Camp, was promoted to the general of Xuanfu Town.
There were also You Shilu, Qi Xianzong and Qi Zhenzong, who graduated from the martial arts school and were assigned to Shaanxi to assist Sun Chuanting in training the new army in Yulin.
These were all loyal and brave generals favored by Zhu Youxiao. Each of them led a 500-man musket battalion to the border towns, and the plan to reorganize the nine border military towns was officially implemented.
Among the second batch of generals summoned to the military academy, there were also talents that Zhu Youxiao had high hopes for.
Such as Xuanfu guerrilla Jin Guofeng, Shanxi guerrilla Yang Guozhu, Ningxia lieutenant general Yang Jiamo, Laizhou garrison Jin Riguan; Yulin garrison Wang Shiqin, etc.
As well as Cao Bianjiao, the younger and lower-ranking nephew of Cao Wenzhao, Yang Zhaoji's sons Yang Yuyin and Yang Yufan, He Zan, the son of He Huchen, the general of Dengzhen, and so on.
Whoever controls the nine borders controls the world, and the threat from the north is the most realistic problem.
Not only was there a formidable enemy, the Eastern Tartars, but there were also the restless Mongolian tribes. Without a strong frontier army capable of deterring and defeating them, Zhu Youxiao's grand plan of trapping the Eastern Tartars to death could not be realized.
I'm not bragging about pacifying Liao in five years. Well, it's better to be cautious and not let anyone know.
As part of the five-year plan to pacify Liao, Zhu Youxiao sent the little toad away, issued an edict to commend Master Dong, and summoned another military general.
However, the general's loud defense scared Zhu Youxiao.
"I am not a descendant of the Western barbarians." Man Gui knelt on the ground, raised his head and shouted, "Your Majesty, I am originally from Yi County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, and have lived in the Xuanfu Vanguard for generations."
Huh? You're not Mongolian? Then why did I summon you?
Zhu Youxiao stared wide-eyed, unable to react to this change for a moment.
"How dare you!" Wang Tigan thought the burly soldier had frightened the emperor, and he shouted, "You're roaring and offending the emperor, you deserve the death penalty."
Man Gui quickly lowered his head and muttered softly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was loud and didn't mean to say it."
Zhu Youxiao blinked his eyes, wondering if Man Gui was embarrassed to say that he was Mongolian and was afraid of being discriminated against or something.
As he made this guess, Zhu Youxiao said in a gentle voice, "My Lord, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we have treated all ethnic groups who have naturalized in the Ming Dynasty equally. Mongolian warriors who have fought for the Ming Dynasty and made meritorious contributions can also be promoted to higher positions."
Man Gui shook his big head and said stubbornly, "Your Majesty, I am indeed a Han Chinese, not a Mongolian."
Zhu Youxiao rolled his eyes, thought for a while, and felt that he couldn't listen to Man Gui's nonsense. The country needs it, the court needs it, what can you do if you change the nationality?
"Don't argue any more." Zhu Youxiao stood up from the throne, exuding a kingly and domineering aura. He walked up to Man Gui with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and said in a loud voice: "I said you are a Mongolian, and you are. Well, you dare to disobey my order?"
Man Gui was stunned, blinking his eyes for a long time before he bowed his head and said aggrievedly, "I dare not."
Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied. As the emperor, it's just a matter of a word for me to change your nationality. You can't just talk it over, but you have to make me angry.
"Stand up and have a seat." A smile appeared on Zhu Youxiao's face. He turned back to sit and looked at the big guy with a warm expression.
Mangui sat on the embroidered cushion and looked up at the emperor pitifully, hoping that the emperor would show mercy and not let her become a Mongolian.
"I summoned you here to carry out an important task," Zhu Youxiao said slowly. "And your Mongolian identity is extremely important. If you have a heart of loyalty and patriotism, you will be forgiven for enduring this..."
Among the three original Beijing camps, there was a 3,000-man camp, composed of naturalized Mongolian cavalry as its backbone, but the actual number of troops exceeded 3,000. It was divided into five departments, each responsible for the emperor's flags, chariots and uniforms, military equipment, drums, and imperial treasures.
However, after the Battle of Tumu, the Beijing Camp was completely destroyed. Although it was rebuilt later, the Mongolian cavalry was no longer in place.
Now, the young emperor has gathered more than 2,000 Mongolian cavalry from various border towns, some of whom are surrendered soldiers from outside the Great Wall, and some who have naturalized into the Ming Dynasty, and he is ready to let Man Gui lead them.
And this is only the first step. Once the troops in the border towns are strong, Zhu Youxiao will have a good talk with the Mongolian tribes about the reward issue.
Let’s first talk about the current situation in Outer Mongolia, so that we can understand the complicated relationship between the Ming Dynasty, Mongolia and Later Jin at that time.
In the early years of Zhengde, Dayan Khan unified all the Mongolian tribes and divided the lands in the north and south of the desert into the left and right wings with a total of 60,000 households. The Chahar tribe where the Khan was located was known as the Central Ten Thousand Households of Mongolia and was under the jurisdiction of the left wing tribes.
During the Jiajing reign, the Chahar tribe migrated eastward to the Liaodong area (southeast of the present-day Greater Khingan Range). The eastward migration of the Left Mongols caused Mongolia to fall into division again.
At that time, the Mongolian tribes that retreated to the outside of the Great Wall completely lost the support of the agricultural economy, and the sources of materials such as ironware, cloth, tea and grain were almost cut off.
The Ming court took advantage of this supply and demand relationship and linked it to political interests, forcing the Mongolian tribes to submit by allowing tribute and trade.
After "Altan Khan's tribute", the Ming court and the Right Wing Mongols established a vassal trade relationship, achieving peace and stability on the northwestern border of the Ming Dynasty for more than 40 years.
However, the Ming court was unwilling to grant this successful trade and tribute model to the Chahar, Khalkha, and Khorchin tribes of the Left Mongols. As a result, during the Wanli period, the Mongol tribes frequently harassed and plundered the border.
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