After hearing Yuan Keli's words, Sun Chengzong turned around and looked at him, then said with a smile, "You're really something. Even at this time, you still have such a petty idea."
Yuan Keli sighed and said helplessly, "I'm not like you. Sometimes I have to think like this."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Sun Chengzong thought for a moment and said, "You will recommend Sun Chuanting."
Seeing that Sun Chengzong understood what he meant, Yuan Keli smiled and said, "That's the best way, naturally."
After the two of them finished their discussion, Yuan Keli left. It was already late, and it was not appropriate for him to stay here any longer.
When Yuan Keli left, Sun Chengzong also went to rest.
By the next day, the news had spread completely.
Officials of all ranks were discussing this matter. Many were interested in the newly established General Staff Office, clearly hoping to get a piece of the action.
At the same time, Zhu Youxiao summoned Chen Sihai to Xiyuan.
Glancing at the somewhat exhausted Chen Sihai, Zhu Youxiao said, "You look very tired. You must have been very busy these days. You should also make sure to rest. Your health is very important."
"Thank you very much for your concern, Your Majesty. I am not tired." Chen Sihai said quickly, of course, this was just talk.
Chen Sihai has been extremely busy during this period. How could he not be tired?
Chen Sihai, following Zhu Youxiao's imperial edict, began to survey the garrisons in various places and was extremely busy.
Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Sihai and asked, "Then tell me, what's the situation?"
After hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Sihai's expression grew serious. He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, this is truly shocking. I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty's garrisons are rotten to the core."
After saying this, Chen Sihai did not speak, but raised his head and looked at Zhu Youxiao.
After so many years in officialdom, Chen Sihai is very clear that there is a very important principle of conduct in officialdom, that is, to report good news but not bad news.
If you report good news, you are likely to be rewarded; but if you report bad news, not only will you not be rewarded, you may also get yourself into trouble.
What I found out this time was simply shocking. Those people below can be said to be insane.
Under such circumstances, if I tell the truth in front of His Majesty, it is very likely that His Majesty will not be able to accept it.
If His Majesty had not previously ordered the Ministry of Public Security to investigate many major cases, and even punished Prince Fu and thoroughly investigated the Henan officialdom, Chen Sihai would not even dare to think of such a thing.
Even if you dare to say it, you can only do it cautiously.
Seeing Chen Sihai remained silent, Zhu Youxiao raised his head and glanced at him, then said casually, "Go ahead, why don't you say anything? Don't you dare?"
After saying this, Zhu Youxiao laughed first.
Then he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. In this deep palace, no one will tell me the truth if I want to know something. I asked you to investigate because I want to hear the truth."
"So just say whatever you want to say. It's okay to say it. It's not something you did wrong, so why feel guilty?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
With Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Sihai felt a lot more at ease.
Your Majesty has killed many people since he ascended the throne, and his reputation outside is not very good. Some people even call him a foolish and tyrannical ruler.
But those who worked closely with him knew that although His Majesty had no rules and regulations and had killed many people, there was one thing he never blamed anyone without reason, and even if something really happened, he would never use his ministers as a shield.
The officials in charge all knew what was going on. Whether or not the Duke of Cheng was being tricked was irrelevant. Those people were just sitting there doing nothing and weren't cut out for anything.
So Chen Sihai felt relieved after hearing what Zhu Youxiao said. So he said, "Your Majesty, the time is still short. I have only checked the garrisons in Shandong and Henan provinces. What I found has frightened me. These people are really too bold."
Zhu Youxiao didn't care. He leaned back in his chair, rocking gently, and said, "Tell me, let's see what good things these people have done."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Sihai said quickly: "After my investigation, I found that the most common thing these people did was embezzle public land."
In the Ming Dynasty, there were public fields and private fields.
The public land belonged to the imperial court, and the local government had a part of it, but the vast majority was in the hands of the army, because this was a system invented by Zhu Yuanzhang called the military farming system.
The military farming system was implemented on top of the military farming system. It can be said that military farming was the foundation of the military farming system.
Each army would have a large amount of land, which they would use for battles and cultivate in their spare time. Part of the land's produce would be handed over to the court, and part would be kept for the army's own use.
This way, the court would not have to allocate food to the army, which was a good thing. The army could also reclaim wasteland and expand its own farmland on weekdays.
It seemed like a win-win situation: the court would increase revenue and reduce burdens, and the army would be able to be self-sufficient. At the same time, coupled with the hereditary monarch-household system, the army's population and land were not mobile, and were sufficiently stable.
But here comes the problem.
Farming is something that requires a lot of energy. After many years without fighting, most of the military households only know how to farm.
And those hereditary military officers could take advantage of the grain and even turn public land into their own land. This kind of thing was not uncommon.
The imperial court also needed soldiers to fight, which led to the formation of two types of soldiers: military households and private soldiers. Although they were nominally the army of the Ming Dynasty, in reality they were not.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
