Chapter 548: Military State (Fourth update, please subscribe)
Yingtian, the imperial palace...there is no palace.
Emperor Shengde was perhaps the most "shabby" emperor in Chinese history. The so-called imperial palace was just a three-story European-style building. This Rose Palace used to be the presidential palace of the President of Argentina.
Although the right building was expanded as an imperial palace, it is still very "shabby". After all, there is not even a palace here.
Even for the imperial meetings, there was no special "Golden Throne Hall". Even the so-called "dragon throne" was made of Brazilian mahogany, and only had a dragon head pattern carved on the chair to indicate that it was a "dragon throne".
However, this is not a problem. According to Zhu Xianhai, the dragon throne of the Ming Dynasty is in the capital. Yes, it is the one in the "Huangji Hall", also known as the "Taihe Hall" - it was carved by the so-called "carpenter emperor" Ming Xizong for himself. That dragon throne has been used for hundreds of years. From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the emperor sat on this dragon throne for hundreds of years.
"One day, they will give me the throne!"
Emperor Zhu had no doubt about this day.
So we have to make do with what we have for the time being, which can be regarded as a reminder to “don’t forget where you are in Ju”!
Monday, routine "Imperial Court Meeting".
Nowadays, there are no grand court meetings in the Ming Dynasty. There are only imperial meetings, which are attended by the ministers of various ministries and the left and right vice ministers. This meeting is almost equivalent to the company's regular meeting. In fact, this is also a custom inherited from the company.
Nanhua left a deep mark on the revived Ming Empire.
Today's meeting is really special. Sitting on the chairs on both sides of the conference room are not only the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of the Navy, the Minister of the Army, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, and the Minister of Posts of the Ming Dynasty, but also several influential newspaper editors-in-chief.
What was discussed at today's meeting was also quite special. It was about how to carry out political propaganda and education, cultivate the people's martial spirit, and make the subjects of the Ming Dynasty become military citizens who fanatically support the national war.
"Although the Ming Dynasty was founded by the military, the status of soldiers in our Ming Dynasty is still not high. Common sayings such as "good men don't serve in the army, and good iron is not used to make nails" still have a great influence on the people. Some people even despise the crudeness of soldiers and regard the military as a daunting task.
Since I founded Nanhua, the treatment of ordinary soldiers can be said to be extremely superior. The retired soldiers only have 200 acres of veterans' land worth thousands of yuan. In addition to the monthly allowance of 10-17 yuan, there is also a food allowance of 3-7 yuan. Married soldiers and non-commissioned officers also live in public housing in the dependents' villages, and have housing, water and electricity subsidies. Although civil servants have generous salaries, their actual treatment is far less than that of an ordinary soldier in our Ming Dynasty. As for the generous treatment of officers, it is far beyond the comparison of civil servants. Since the rise of the army, there have been no less than a thousand people who have been awarded titles in the army. How many civil servants are there?"
Emperor Zhu, who was sitting on the dragon throne, started talking at once, and all he said was focused on the status of soldiers. Although the founding war of the Ming Dynasty lasted for a very short time, and there was no influence of the traditional imperial examination system, the status of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty was still insufficient!
The highest titles mentioned by Zhu Xianhai are of course the titles of Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount and Baron, but in addition to these, he also borrowed from the French Legion of Honor system and established the "Iron Certificate Medal" to honor soldiers who have made military achievements. Although this "Iron Certificate Medal" borrowed from the historical meaning of "Red Book and Iron Certificate", it is not a "gold medal of immunity from death", but those who receive the medal can be called "Knights" and enjoy certain privileges.
Although it is a title without rank, it can still be considered a title!
When Emperor Zhu ascended the throne, he awarded 1,200 "Iron Certificate Medals" at one time. Compared with the preferential treatment for soldiers, the treatment of civil officials seemed a bit harsh... There was no civil official in the Ming Dynasty who was a noble! According to Emperor Zhu, the tradition of the Han people was to award nobility for military merit, and no nobility for non-military merit!
This was even listed as an ancestral rule, the reason for this was to prevent any emperor from getting kicked in the head by a donkey in the future.
In the end, the nobility is worthless. With whom will the emperor share the world?
He is definitely not a commoner, but a noble!
This is a matter of the buttocks deciding the head. And it is also necessary to maintain the imperial power. After all, only those nobles will tie their interests to the royal family.
As for ordinary people or civil servants who come from ordinary people, they should be thankful that they do not try every possible means to fight for power.
Just like in the UK. Queen Victoria of this era had supreme power, but the Prime Minister had to obtain the Queen's consent first for any decision he made.
But just half a century later, everything has changed dramatically. Compared with the queen, the prime minister cares more about the so-called public opinion.
In fact, the prime minister used the so-called public opinion to seize power from the royal family. They first used the public opinion as an excuse to attack the aristocracy.
Then what?
After knocking down the royal family's right-hand men and women - the nobles, he can then go into battle himself.
The Prime Minister is not a nobleman?
It doesn't matter, you can just confer a knighthood, and then the Prime Minister will enter the House of Lords. Gradually, the so-called first-generation nobles became the dominant force in the House of Lords, and they constantly fought for power.
In order to fight for their rights, they constantly try to curry favor with the people, just like the British Labour Party cabinet after World War II. What did they do to please the people?
They even scrapped the Royal Navy's warships at the cost of disintegrating the empire in order to save military expenses.
To reduce expenses, they allowed one colony after another, including India, to become independent.
In the end, they destroyed the entire British Empire with their own hands. What did they gain?
vote!
When some aristocrats stood up and accused them of ignoring the interests of the British Empire, the leaders of the Labour Party were there making solemn vows.
"Between the interests of the empire and the interests of the people, we choose the people!"
When they said these words shamelessly, they forgot another fact - the reason why Britain and France were the first to get rid of the economic crisis in the 1930s was because of their huge colonies as their resource suppliers and industrial product markets.
They enjoyed the benefits brought by the colonies, but at the same time destroyed them all with their own hands.
What did they ultimately destroy?
Just a few years later, the British Empire had become a second-rate country. The world's number one empire had since become a running dog of its former younger brother.
This is what those people did. In the name of the people, they disintegrated the world hegemony that had been established over hundreds of years by dozens of generations.
That is why Zhu Xianhai took precautions in advance. In the final analysis, it was to prevent his descendants from getting kicked in the head by a donkey in the future.
The strongest fortress is destroyed from within, and the empire's greatest enemy is also the enemy within!
"Although our Ming Dynasty was founded on a military state, all Ming Dynasty men must receive military training. Training every month may seem like Sparta, but in my opinion, this military state only has the form of a military state, but not the soul of a military state!"
There is no military spirit!
What is the soul of the military nation?
In fact, this was also the question that Zhu Xianhai was thinking about after Wang Xinjie left that day. This question cannot be avoided and must be solved.
"What is the soul of a military nation? It is the martial spirit that permeates the bones, and the trend of the whole society to respect strength and martial arts. This has a lot to do with our Chinese tradition. From ancient times to the present, what has been sung are the so-called talented men and beautiful women. As for warriors? They are just crude warriors! Think about our Chinese people who have valued literature and put aside martial arts for thousands of years, but what is the end?"
The Chinese have a very long history of loving young handsome men. In ancient times, they were often described as "handsome men" or "as handsome as Pan An". Even the famous generals in ancient times had the image of scholars. The brave warriors...they were just rough men.
After asking the question, Zhu Xianhai continued.
"On the other hand, Western countries all sanctify the army and heroes the soldiers, and the social status of the soldiers is much higher than that of the civil officials. For example, the monarchs and princes of European countries all wear military uniforms as their daily uniforms. They receive military education from childhood and hold military posts in the army. European noble men also choose to attend military academies as their first choice, serving in the army, fighting on the battlefield, and being proud to be loyal to the country. Because the status of soldiers is high, the people are proud to join the army, but what about our Ming Dynasty? Although the people were eager to join the army when they were recruited the year before last, how many people are proud to join the army? Are they proud of fighting for the country?"
What Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang talked about was not "universal military service." In fact, what the Ming Dynasty implemented was "universal military service." Moreover, to a large extent, the Ming Dynasty's universal military service exceeded that of Europe and the United States. Every man had to receive military training, and they had received training since they entered the immigration camp.
But this is not the foundation of strong military power.
Perhaps in the era of total war, the amount of military power is a factor in determining the outcome of a war, but it is only one factor.
The current military service in the Ming Dynasty is a compulsory military service system. There is no need to tie people up with hemp ropes or chains, because everyone is an employee of the company, whether they are workers or farm tenants. If they do not serve in the army after receiving the conscription order, they will definitely lose their livelihood!
But this system cannot last forever. After all, as time goes on, the company will eventually fade out of everything. Besides, how much enthusiasm can the conscripted soldiers have for training and fighting?
Although generally speaking, the current Ming soldiers are quite active in training and fighting, and are quite brave, there is still a big gap from Zhu Xianhai's hope.
"What the Ming army needs are warriors who are willing to die for their country, not gray animals who rely on military law to maintain their combat effectiveness!"
Russia's "gray cattle" is the most obvious example. Russia may have the largest army in the world, but what's the point? It seems to have crushed Europe, but those "gray cattle" often collapse, flee, or even rebel in adversity. In the end, they even overthrew the entire empire.
"Therefore, we must fundamentally enhance the soldiers' sense of honor and the enthusiasm of the people to join the army. Currently, the countries in Europe that implement conscription are doing their best to establish a top-down system - I call it "****"!"
After a pause, Zhu Xianhai finally took out his "big killer"! This idea is almost infamous in later generations, but in this era, it is the only way to survive.
"Under this system, the government must use propaganda, education and other means to promote nationalism to the people. Nationalism is the brightest and most just doctrine in the world. Using nationalism will inspire the patriotism of the people. At the same time, the social status of soldiers, the defenders of the country and the protectors of the nation, will be raised to an unprecedented level. Every boy will be proud to join the army and serve the country since childhood, and every soldier will be proud to meet at the "Martyrs' Shrine". In this way, we can not only recruit a large number of troops with high morale at a relatively low cost, but this "low-cost" army is also the basis for us to become a powerful land force."
Almost naturally, Zhu Xianhai thought of the "10 cents and 5 cents" of the Japanese soldiers - there is a famous Japanese proverb: "A soldier's life is worth a piece of red paper plus 10 cents and 5 cents." This is because Japan also started unlimited conscription after the full-scale invasion of China. There was no financial compensation for conscripting a soldier, only a conscription order written on red paper and a 10 cents stamp!
But it is these "15 cents" soldiers who are fanatical about war and fearless of death that are incomprehensible to outsiders. From the perspective of the rulers, such soldiers are exactly what they need.
Emperor Zhu was a ruler, and his butt was crooked. Although he despised Japan in his heart, it did not prevent him from standing on the position of a ruler and hoping that his army would be composed entirely of fanatical and dedicated soldiers.
But what is the reality?
Although the soldiers of Emperor Zhu's Ming Empire had high morale, this was based on high military pay and even land grants after retirement, but the sustainability of the land grant system for soldiers was not strong.
After all, it was impossible for the Ming Dynasty to rely entirely on landless immigrants to build its army. When the system of granting land to soldiers could not be maintained, would the morale of the Ming army plummet?
Without a continuous replenishment of immigrants, would there be problems with recruiting the Ming army?
Let’s talk about finance.
It is simply impossible for the Ming Dynasty's finances to maintain a large and well-paid army!
The military pay of 20 yuan per person per month is a considerable burden for the Ming Dynasty! Just at present, the annual military pay expenditure for maintaining this army of 170,000 people has exceeded 30 million yuan!
What if it’s 1.7 million people?
Or 5 million, or even 10 million?
By that time, military spending would drag down the finances of the entire empire.
The only way is to follow the example of Prussia and other countries and establish an army with compulsory military service!
However, in order to ensure the maintenance of combat effectiveness, in the process of changing from a professional army to a compulsory military service system, ideological preparation must be completed - transforming the subjects of the Ming emperor into the military citizens of the Ming Empire.
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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