Chapter 693 0688 [Terrible Military Expenditure]

When the royal carriage stopped, Ju Ming opened the curtain and jumped down, shouting to Qin Hui: "Where are these dishes?"

The two brothers Qin Hui deliberately turned their backs to the prince. At this moment, they seemed to have come back to their senses. They quickly turned around and held their hoes and bowed: "Your Majesty, Qin Hui (Qin Zi), pays homage to His Highness the prince!"

Ju Ming glanced at the vegetable patch nearby and pointed at a piece of vegetables that had just emerged. Since he couldn't identify what they were, he casually said, "These leeks are well grown."

Qin Hui was about to speak but stopped.

He wanted to show that he was good at growing vegetables, but Prince Zhu "referred to the spinach as a leek", which instantly confused Qin Hui.

Correction is equivalent to slapping the prince in the face.

If you don't correct him, he will appear to be flattering. The prince will not dare to remonstrate even if he makes a mistake.

Fortunately, Emperor Zhu got out of the car and scolded his son: "If you don't distinguish between grains, those are spinach sprouts!"

Ju Ming leaned over and took a closer look: "Spinach seedlings look like this? I have only seen spinach grown up."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Even if you admit your mistake, you won't mistake it for leeks, right?"

Ju Ming immediately learned his lesson and said: "Then if I admit the wrong crops in the future, I will try to make the error as small as possible."

The Qin brothers were completely speechless, especially Qin Zi. He didn't expect Prince Zhu to be so funny.

Zhu Guoxiang ignored his son, pointed at the spinach seedlings and said, "You are good at this."

Qin Hui quickly took the opportunity to express himself: "I also read the agricultural books written by the officials, and then I realized that there are all kinds of mysteries in farming. The same is true for growing spinach. You need to soak it in water for a few hours, and then take it out and let it sit for a few days to germinate. . After sowing, water it thoroughly and cover it with two inches of soil. The seedlings will be ready in six or seven days."

"This is indeed growing spinach according to my method." Zhu Guoxiang smiled in approval.

Qin Hui continued to flatter without leaving a trace: "I am busy with official duties and do not come to the fields often. I only come here occasionally on holidays. I follow the official rules and ask the tenants to strictly abide by them. At first, the tenants thought it was too troublesome and said that the emperor Do you know how to grow vegetables? But after planting it once, the tenants were convinced that they had been growing spinach for half their lives, but it was not as good as the emperor's method."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Everything has its own nature and must be carefully observed, experimented and summarized."

"What the officials said is true. Growing vegetables is like governing a country and its people." Qin Hui agreed.

Zhu Guoxiang added: "Spinach is excellent, with a simple temperament, cold and drought tolerance, and can be grown even in winter. However, it is best to plant it in summer, when it grows fastest and can be harvested in a month."

Qin Hui hurriedly said: "Since ancient times, there have never been any big farmers who are as familiar with the habits of all things as the official family. Farming is the foundation of the country. If the king of a country is good at farming, then all the people can be fed and warmed."

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Are you also familiar with farming?"

Qin Hui said: "I have limited energy, and I am not as knowledgeable as officials. Therefore, I have only learned some skills in growing vegetables. When it comes to growing wheat, rice, and sorghum, I only know a little bit about it."

"It's already very good." Zhu Guoxiang praised it.

Qin Hui suppressed the joy in his heart and said seriously: "I must work harder in the future."

Ju Ming also praised: "You are very good. You are good at government affairs and can grow vegetables. You are also the best among many courtiers."

Qin Hui was even more happy: "I was also encouraged by His Highness. When I went to Beijing to take the exam, I happened to live in the same inn with His Highness. Your Highness's knowledge and moral character shocked me. From then on, I knew that there is heaven and man outside the world. There are people outside, but I have no talent and can only study and work more diligently."

"Hahaha, you know how to flatter someone." Ju Ming laughed.

Qin Hui could no longer suppress his ecstasy, and a smile appeared on his face.

If someone else said he was a flatterer, Qin Hui would definitely think it was sarcasm. But these words came from the prince's mouth, which meant that the prince was so close to him that he could joke about it.

My future career is stable!

After a few words of encouragement, the father and son took a carriage back to the palace.

Qin Zi looked at the car driving away and said with envy: "Sanlang is now in the emperor's heart!"

Qin Hui said: "Second brother should have been remembered just now."

Qin Zi worriedly said: "Although Sanlang does not come every time, he has met the Tian family many times while farming. Will the officials and the prince suspect anything?"

Qin Hui smiled and said: "The officials and the prince are both wise men of the world, how can they not be clear in their hearts? But as long as I do a good job as an official and all government affairs are handled in an orderly manner, they will not care about much else at all, but think that I am I am motivated to farm here. The reason why I come here once in a while and I don’t dare to come to Houjia every time is just to avoid the suspicion of spying on Tianjia.”

"Sanlang does things in such a secretive manner, I admire him for that." Qin Zi admired from the bottom of his heart.

Qin Hui said: "In today's imperial court, there are countless people who are trying hard to cater to the holy will. The most successful ones are Xiao Chu and Huan Guo. They talk about the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, but they are just strengthening the imperial power and flattering them. What about the emperor and the prince? Don’t you like it?”

Qin Zi asked: "What's the relationship between Erlang and these two people?"

Qin Hui said: "Huan Guo and I hit it off as old friends, and our personal relationship is still very good. We can refer to each other in the court from now on."

In this time and space, the State of Huan was finally deceived by Qin Hui. He believed that Qin Hui had the talent to manage the world and benefit the people.

It is estimated that one day in the future, Huan State will be implicated by Qin Hui again.

Qin Hui suddenly asked: "Brother, when he was an official outside, he didn't take bribes and bend the law, right? The Supervisory Office keeps a close eye on him, and he must not lose big because of small things."

Qin Zi said: "I would definitely not dare to be a corrupt official. Only two people from neighboring counties were exiled last year. But who doesn't make a little money as an official? The little salary given by the court is not enough for my daily expenses."

Qin Hui finally felt at ease: "As long as you don't go too far, there should be no problem."

Before the Song Dynasty fell, Qin Hui had already made a strategy. He wanted to be an honest official and a capable minister, and let his brother secretly make money, so that he could have power, fame and money.

The Qin family was too poor, a small family, without the foundation of a big family, and it was difficult to support without making money.

On the carriage

Zhu Guoxiang said to his son: "This guy has put in a lot of effort and can talk about vegetable farming. At least, he has memorized the vegetable farming chapter I wrote in the agricultural book."

Zhu Ming laughed and said: "If he didn't have real skills, how could there be so many upright ministers helping him to become prime minister in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty? This guy deceived many capable officials until his true colors were exposed, which made countless people part ways with him."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Qin Hui is so good at being an official and a person, it's really hard to find a reason to attack him."

"Just use it for the time being," Zhu Ming said, "If he doesn't make a big mistake in his life, I will admit that he is really awesome."

The rest day passed quickly, and Prince Zhu began to work all day again.

Fu Zhirou brought a document: "Your Highness, this is a military reform plan jointly drafted by the Grand Marshal's Office, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War."

"It's done so quickly?" Zhu Ming was a little surprised.

The army of the Song Dynasty was divided into the Imperial Army, the Wing Army, the Rural Army and the Foreign Army.

The number of imperial guards reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty. On paper, there were 676,000 imperial guards. Most of them were stationed in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures and counties, and many were scattered all over the country.

When defending the city, Li Gang claimed that the imperial guards were short of one-third of their strength.

This statement was obviously reserved, and the actual shortfall was at least more than one-half.

The Hebei imperial guards had the most serious problem of empty salaries. Among the ten imperial guards, there were only two or three real people, and the rest were all empty soldiers.

The Northern Song Dynasty's wing troops also had hundreds of thousands of people. Not only did they eat empty salaries, but they also arbitrarily deducted them and used them as coolies.

The current Ming Dynasty has basically recovered the territory of the former Song Dynasty, and the army should also be cleaned up.

In addition, Zhu Ming changed the names of the imperial guards, wing troops, and rural soldiers to field troops, garrison troops, and militia.

The field army is temporarily set at 200,000 people, including some regular civilian and logistics personnel.

The garrison troops are tentatively set at 330,000, and they are distributed as follows: 30,000 in the capital, 50,000 in Hebei, 50,000 in Shanxi, 50,000 in Shaanxi, 30,000 in Shandong, 20,000 in Henan, 20,000 in Sichuan, and 10,000 each in Huainan, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi.

In addition, there are 180,000 grain transport troops, and the post stations and delivery shops in various places are also included in the grain transport army system.

There is also a 30,000-scale navy, which is divided into the navy and the river and lake navy.

The local anti-smuggling, anti-bandit, and inspection tasks are all entrusted to the garrison troops and the navy.

These are temporary organizations, with a total of 740,000 troops.

After the Jin Kingdom is destroyed, the garrison troops in Hebei and Shanxi will become smaller. After the Western Xia is destroyed, the garrison troops in Shaanxi will also become smaller.

If the southwest is to be conquered, the garrison troops in the corresponding provinces will increase.

The military pay of the Ming field army will be paid according to the specifications of the middle and upper imperial army of the Northern Song Dynasty, and then slightly adjusted upward. The monthly salary is 600 to 1500 wen (from soldiers to grassroots officers), and food is also issued every month, and clothes are issued in summer and winter. There are additional allowances when marching and fighting.

The food and salary of the Ming garrison army is adjusted up and down according to the specifications of the medium-sized imperial army in the Northern Song Dynasty. The monthly salary is 400 to 1200 wen, and there are also food, clothes, and allowances.

If the troops are stationed in an area with higher prices, there are also corresponding living allowances.

The food and salary of the transport army is slightly lower than that of the garrison army, and additional allowances will be issued when receiving transportation tasks.

The food and salary of the navy and the river and lake water army are between the field army and the garrison army.

The daily military salary of 740,000 troops is 600,000 guan per month (the Ming court now only calculates the full hundred), and the annual military salary expenditure is 7.2 million guan.

This 7.2 million guan is just military salary, not including food, clothing and allowances.

It does not include other logistical military expenses!

In addition, cavalry is particularly expensive, and various expenses of war horses are not included.

If we follow this set of standards, even if we no longer build weapons and equipment, we will no longer go out to fight. Including food, maintenance and various allowances, the annual military expenditure is estimated to exceed 12 million guan.

Once the war starts, military expenses will rise rapidly!

Fu Zhirou said: "The Ministry of War has shown it to the Ministry of Revenue. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue think that the food and salary for the garrison troops and the grain transport troops are too high."

"If it is not set so high, can we not starve to death like the former Song Dynasty?" Zhu Ming asked back.

The lower-ranking imperial guards and wing troops in the Song Dynasty lived like beggars, and most of them had to work to make a living. If they only rely on the actual food and salary, it is difficult to support themselves, let alone support their families.

Fu Zhirou said: "They say that the rice price in the new dynasty is stable and has dropped everywhere. Even if the military salary remains unchanged, they will live better than the former Song soldiers."

"Bullshit!"

Zhu Ming said: "Let Qian Chen find a way to make money. Don't make it difficult for him. There will be no big battles this year, only some small battles in Shanxi."