Chapter 3451 Chapter 3453 [Abolition of Military Households]
In the sixth year of Tianshun, after two years of operation, Xiang Nan had recruited 100,000 new troops, and through the Arms Academy, he had trained hundreds of new officers who were proficient in firearms and infantry drills.
Xiang Nan then sent these new officers and new troops to the border and strategic battlegrounds. In name, they were to assist in defense, but in fact they were to prepare for military reform.
After making sufficient preparations, Xiang Nan then reformed the Ming Dynasty's military system.
First, the military household system was completely abolished and the military household system was changed to a recruitment system. Military households who are willing to serve as soldiers can continue to stay in the army after passing the review. Those who were unwilling to serve as soldiers were given severance money and allowed to return to their hometown.
Secondly, the land allocated to military households remains unchanged and is still held by military households, and no land tax is required to be paid within five years; thirdly, the personal freedom of military households is no longer restricted, and military households can leave their garrison...
In order to avoid the shock caused by the reform as much as possible, Xiang Nante issued an order to summon the generals leading troops from various places to the capital.
In name, they were sent to the Arms Academy to receive two months of short-term training to familiarize themselves with the application of new firearms, but the actual purpose was to sway the tiger away from the mountain.
The general came to the capital and entered the military preparation school to study. Since the school is under militarized management, they are unable to communicate with the outside world, which is equivalent to being under house arrest.
Even if there is a big disaster like the sky falling outside, they have no idea about it inside the school.
So when Xiang Nan issued the decree to cancel the military households, there was an uproar outside, but the generals inside the school still didn't know about it.
…
After the decree was issued, the generals were all dumbfounded.
The abolition of military households meant that they lost a large number of slaves who could be driven at will.
Being a military household in the Ming Dynasty was very miserable. Not only did you have to be stationed in a bitter and cold frontier, but the land, food, rewards, and equipment you were assigned would all be misappropriated by the superiors.
Even those officers would drive military households at will and treat them as slaves, farming, producing, doing miscellaneous work, and protecting them for them...
In "Jin Ping Mei", one of the four great wonders of the Ming Dynasty, it is recorded that after Ximen Qing became the executioner, there were twenty platoon troops ready to be dispatched anytime and anywhere.
After abolishing military households and changing to a recruitment system, those military households will naturally no longer be dispatched by them, which will make them lose a lot of power, which they are naturally unwilling to do.
It's just that a snake cannot fly without a head, and a bird cannot fly without a head. Now that all the generals from all over the country have been recalled to the capital by Xiang Nan for training, there are only some partial generals and deputy generals left. If they are asked to stand up and oppose, they really don't have that influence.
Moreover, although Xiang Nan abolished military households, he still retained the positions, salaries, and benefits of these generals, and did not say that he would beat them to the end, so many generals decided to endure it.
After all, the abolition of military households will have some impact on their interests, but it will not cause them to rebel at the risk of confiscating their homes and annihilating their clans.
…
However, some generals were smart and decided to support the invaders and deliberately create border crises to prevent Xiang Nan's reforms.
There was a general in Ganliang who secretly contacted Durbut's troops outside the pass and opened the door at night, intending to let the Mongolian army enter the pass and loot it.
As a result, the conspiracy was discovered by the commander-in-chief of the new army who was stationed in the local area to assist in defense. He simply took advantage of his plan and invited you to enter the urn. When tens of thousands of Durbut troops rushed into Guanzhong, intending to burn, kill and loot.
For a time, the sound of cannons rumbled, earth-shaking. Tens of thousands of Mongolian troops were defeated in an instant. In less than an hour, the entire army was wiped out. They were beaten to pieces and bloody, and they were unable to fight.
This battle immediately caused a sensation in the world. After this battle, everyone saw the power of the new army.
Not only the generals of the Ming Dynasty did not dare to act rashly, but also the various ministries of the Mongolian Kingdom were frightened. In the past, they used to rely on their powerful cavalry to frequently harass the border and plunder the people. This has become a habit.
Not to mention tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, even a few dozen Mongolian cavalry dared to attack the border at will, but the Ming army had no way to deal with them. But I didn't expect that this time tens of thousands of soldiers and horses would be defeated in an hour, and the entire army was wiped out. It was really tragic.
You must know that although Mongolia claims that all its members are soldiers, in fact, there are not many who can actually fight. When Genghis Khan was fighting for world supremacy, his army only numbered around 200,000.
Now the Mongolian country is divided into two parts: Oara and Tatar. Wara was divided into the Jungar tribe and the Durbut tribe, so the military strength was further dispersed and declined. The Durbut tribe could fight with an army of 50,000, which is good.
As a result, tens of thousands of Mongolian troops were destroyed, equivalent to the loss of 20% of their troops. Such a heavy loss made Durbut's troops really sad.
The Jungar tribe saw the opportunity and took the opportunity to launch an attack on the Durbut tribe, plundering a large number of cattle, sheep and herdsmen, making the Durbut tribe even worse.
…
Xiang Nan relied on this military exploit to successfully suppress the generals who were about to make a move.
Seeing that the new army was so capable of fighting and that a team of several hundred people could suppress tens of thousands of Mongolian troops, they did not dare to make another move.
Otherwise, if the new armies attack them directly, they will not be able to hold on.
The liberated military households were very grateful to Xiang Nan.
After the imperial court abolished military households, they no longer had to undergo forced military service, nor were they forced to stay in the bitter cold at the frontier, let alone be enslaved and exploited by their superiors...
For them, it is naturally a great good thing.
Xiang Nan then issued an order to investigate corruption, smuggling, empty pay, and land embezzlement in the army.
Every person found will be punished one by one. No matter whether he is a lord or has made many military exploits, as long as he has been corrupt, smuggled arms, or bullied military households, he will be punished.
At the first sign of this decree, the generals, Qianhu, Baihu, etc. were completely dumbfounded.
Previously, Xiangnan abolished the military household system, and because their positions, salaries and benefits were retained, most of them did not strongly oppose it.
The most they can do is make small moves and play some tricks to make the bandits self-respecting. But now, Xiang Nan is launching an anti-corruption campaign against them, which is really eradicating the roots.
But now, it is too late for them to resist.
First of all, the original army has been disbanded and replaced everywhere by new armies. The new armies have separate commanders who are not under their command at all. If they want to rebel, there is no one available.
Moreover, even if the old army had not been disbanded, those military households would not have rebelled with them. After all, it was too late for them to be happy about the abolition of military households, so how could they rise up against them?
Secondly, they have also heard and witnessed the new army’s fighting strength. Tens of thousands of Mongolian troops were crushed to pieces in an instant. Even if they mobilized their families, servants, and party members to rebel, they would all be killed suddenly if they could not last even a cup of tea.
When investigating corruption, even if you are caught, the best you can do is to pay your own bills. But if they rebel, it will be the disaster of destroying the whole family. They can still distinguish what is more serious.
(End of this chapter)