Chapter 211: Balancing the Conscription System and the Interest-Free Loan Policy

Zhu Biao said with some concern: "Since ancient times, agriculture has been the foundation of a country. If all the people are conscripted into the army, won't the local fertile land be abandoned?"

Zhu Gang said meaningfully: "The high concentration of land is a nationwide phenomenon in our Ming Dynasty.

Chengdu Prefecture, located on the Chengdu Plain, occupies 70% of the local fertile land.

The garrisons stationed in Chengdu occupied 20%, while ordinary people only occupied 10%.

Farmers in the south of the Yangtze River could not afford the taxation and had to give their land to officials and gentry in exchange for tax-free treatment as tenants.

In other words, the life of paying taxes is worse than being a slave to officials and gentry.

We must first help some farmers who have no land or little land to solve their survival problems, so as to reduce instability as much as possible. "

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to remember something, “I remember you once said that the court could distribute grain seeds, farm tools, and food to the people in the form of loans.

Afterwards, a time limit will be set for the people to repay the principal. In order to reduce the pressure on the people, interest-free loans can be repaid in installments.

If we now recruit all the landless peasants into the army, how can we implement this interest-free loan policy?"

Zhu Gang said confidently: "There are very few families in the Ming Dynasty with only one son, so each family can recruit only one person to join the army.

This ensured their livelihoods but also allowed a large influx of population into the army, causing the land to become deserted.

Moreover, in the prefectures and counties where civil unrest is more frequent, if they want to take over the land for the imperial court, it will not work without the assistance of the army. "

Zhu Biao was about to speak when the chief eunuch Wang Jinghong came in and reminded him, "Your Majesty, it's almost time. Do you want to order dinner?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a puzzled look: "Didn't we tell you long ago that people in the palace, like ordinary people, eat two meals a day.

If you are really hungry, you can eat some fruits and snacks to fill your stomach. There is really no need to eat another meal."

Finally, after Zhu Biao's persuasion, Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to add a dinner today.

After having a good meal and a few drinks, Zhu Gang had already come up with his own overall plan for how to balance the conscription system with interest-free loans.

He thought for a moment and said, "Father, I think that after the landless farmers join the army, their families can still enjoy this policy as long as they continue to farm.

This will not only ensure the availability of troops, but also not affect people's livelihood, killing two birds with one stone!"

After listening to this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly to show his approval.

"Yes, Not Bad.

This is indeed a good strategy as it can ensure the military's manpower and not affect people's livelihood."

At this time, Zhu Biao suddenly interrupted and said, "Third brother, this plan is very good, but we still need to formulate specific implementation details to prevent someone from taking advantage of the opportunity.

For example, how to determine who is eligible for interest-free loans, how to supervise the use of funds, etc.

These all require careful consideration.”

Zhu Gang agreed and added: "Brother, you are right. We can also set up a special agency to be responsible for this matter to ensure the fairness and transparency of the policy.

At the same time, supervision of officials should be strengthened to prevent corruption and other problems."

Afterwards, everyone had a heated discussion on the implementation details.

After repeated consideration, it was finally decided to pilot it in some areas first, and then promote it comprehensively after the results are significant.

"This plan can ensure that the army has sufficient manpower without placing too much burden on farmers. It can be said to be a win-win solution.

It’s just that for a newly established institution, it’s important to select the right officials.

Otherwise, if corruption and bribery problems arise, some ministers may take the opportunity to oppose military reform.”

Facing the concerns of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang turned his attention to Zhu Gang. "The Third Brother not only has 200,000 cavalrymen under his command, but also controls 10,000 Shenjiying.

As long as we make good use of this power, sooner or later those people with ulterior motives will become dead bones in the grave like Hu Weiyong!
Hmm...I wonder how many people you plan to bring with you on this business trip to Quanzhou?"

Zhu Gang held up three fingers and said, "I only plan to take 3,000 Shenji Camp with me. After arriving in Quanzhou, I will use them as a base to expand the 30,000 Shenshu Camp first.

Once the rapid-fire muskets are distributed, actual combat training will begin.”

In fact, the general principle of the repeating matchlock gun is to load a large amount of gunpowder and bullets into one mechanism.

Every time the trigger is pulled, a bullet and some gunpowder enter the chamber.

The shooter then pulls the trigger to fire the gun.

This greatly reduces the reloading time and allows continuous firing.

However, in actual operation, there is a big problem, which is the step of tamping with a cleaning rod during loading.

In other words, you can't just load the bullets and shoot. There are also two steps: firming it with a cleaning rod and cleaning the barrel.

In addition, after firing a rapid-fire matchlock gun, a lot of gunpowder residue will be left behind, and the barrel needs to be cleaned manually frequently.

The solution Zhu Gang came up with was to form a square formation of soldiers with three rows of musketeers in it.

One row fires, two row ignites, three row clears barrels.

Repeated rounds of shooting and maintaining order can also effectively kill the enemy.

Of course, in the long run, researching more advanced firearms is the best way to solve these problems.

In the following period of time, Zhu Gang was preparing to leave the capital and go to Yingtian.

Until one day Zhu Biao found him, "Shang Hao, the Minister of Justice, was impeached by Zhan Hui, who was in charge of the Inspectorate, and has now been demoted to Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice."

After the abolition of the Secretariat and the Prime Minister, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice became a senior official second only to the Shangshu and Shilang.

However, Zhu Gang was still somewhat surprised that the Minister of Justice was suddenly demoted at a time when the court was in need of people.

Shang Hao was recommended as the Censor-in-Chief in the third year of Hongwu because of his conscription.

Later, in the sixth year of Hongwu, he was promoted to Chief Censor and was ordered to go to Henan to gather his old soldiers.

In addition, in the 19th year of Hongwu, Shang Hao went to the two military governors of Henan and Shandong to train military horses, and sent his subordinate guards to Liaodong to respond to the call.

According to historical records, Shang Hao once proposed a marriage to Ma Sanbao, but was rejected by the other party.

Of course, the historical influence of Shang Hao, the Minister of Justice, is mainly reflected in the political and military activities of the early Ming Dynasty.

His activities in the sixth and nineteenth years of Hongwu were closely related to the conscription and military training of the Ming Dynasty.

It played an important role in the Ming Dynasty's military strength and preparations for the Northern Expedition.

Historically, at the end of the ninth year of Hongwu, Shang Hao was demoted to Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice.

What Zhu Gang did not expect was that the official who impeached this man was Zhan Hui, who was in charge of the Inspectorate.

“If I remember correctly, Shang Hao was promoted to the Minister of Justice from Zhejiang Province this year.

Logically speaking, even if there are unjust, false and wrong cases in the Ministry of Justice, it shouldn't be blamed on him, right?"

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Gang in surprise, "Third brother, how do you know that there was an unjust, false, and wrong case in the Ministry of Justice?"

(End of this chapter)