bullyxtreme Chapter 83: The Third Scholar's Memorial Startles the Emperor's Heart
Chapter 83: The Third Scholar's Memorial Startles the Emperor's Heart
The next day, Xia Chengzong went directly to the military camp.
In the past few days, under Shi Kaishan's leadership, the thousand new soldiers have also been busy and have begun training.
After Xia Chengzong arrived, he instructed the new recruits to continue their training.
He then gathered all 120 officers together and began training them.
Before training, Xia Chengzong said to them:
"You are officers of my royal guard, and I have very high expectations for you."
"I hope to train this guard into an elite force. Following me, you will all achieve great things!"
"Next, we will begin training in formation movements, a training program that no other army has."
"I want you to know not only what to do, but also why to do it. Next, I will tell you why we need to carry out formation training."
This guard force is the foundation of his future career, therefore, he has high expectations for it.
He not only had to train this guard into an elite force, but also to enlighten all of them.
We not only train their individual combat capabilities, but also their ability to lead troops.
In the future, if needed, this thousand-man team can be split up at any time and led by an individual.
Gathering is a mass of fire, scattered is a sky full of stars.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Xia Chengzong was prepared to be completely open and honest with them.
They would even require them to do the same to the soldiers below them.
He said, "The purpose of drill training is twofold: first, to cultivate soldiers' habit of obeying orders and improve their sense of obedience."
"Secondly, it cultivates the habit of coordinated combat among soldiers, laying the foundation for future training in military formations and other areas."
"Next, I will demonstrate some formation movements for you."
Next, Xia Chengzong himself gave military orders and demonstrated the three main steps of marching: marching in step, marching in formation, and running, as well as the turning method during a standstill.
In his previous life, although he never served in the military, he underwent military training from high school to university.
He was extremely familiar with these queuing movements.
After watching the prince personally demonstrate the marching movements, the 120 officers and soldiers were filled with sincere admiration.
The prince's actions were swift, decisive, and powerful, leaving a great impression on them.
If all a thousand soldiers mastered this formation and performed it together, how spectacular it would be!
With this understanding in mind, they began to seriously learn the marching movements from Xia Chengzong.
In one morning, they learned the basics of marching, standing at attention, and other movements.
In the afternoon, Xia Chengzong ordered the entire army to assemble.
He had a thousand new recruits as his audience, he personally shouted slogans, and he had one hundred and twenty officers demonstrate the drill movements they had just learned that morning.
Although they only learned for one morning, their movements were not synchronized, and most of them did not even perform the movements correctly.
But this uniform, powerful collective movement still greatly impressed the thousand soldiers.
From now on, Xia Chengzong won't need to keep an eye on things anymore.
In the afternoon, Xia Chengzong left the military camp and returned to the Prince's Mansion.
However, the soldiers' training did not stop.
Xia Chengzong specially selected ten literate soldiers to conduct a literacy campaign throughout the army at night.
Later on, Xia Chengzong even planned to personally give lectures to improve the military skills of officers in all aspects.
……
That evening, Emperor Yonglong asked Dai Quan, "I heard that Zongge went to the military camp to train the troops today. I wonder how he trained them?"
Dai Quan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, according to reports from your subordinates, today, the Third Prince only had his soldiers walk and spin in circles."
"This old servant is ignorant of military strategy and does not know what kind of plan this is. Perhaps this old servant should go and find out more carefully?"
Walking versus spinning in place?
Emperor Yonglong was somewhat bewildered upon hearing this answer.
This is how Zong Ge'er personally trained his troops.
What can you possibly learn from this?
Emperor Yonglong was puzzled, but he didn't take it to heart.
He laughed and said, "Never mind, Brother Zong's every surprising move may have a deeper meaning."
"Furthermore, those in positions of authority do not need to be experts in everything; they only need to know how to use people effectively."
"He's young and has the mentality to train his own troops, so let him be. We don't need to keep an eye on him anymore."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Dai Quan smiled and agreed, but his heart was filled with turmoil.
The Emperor is increasingly valuing his grandson, Prince Ping'an.
In the Emperor's eyes, everything Prince Ping An did was excellent.
Even if a boy is mischievous, the emperor will only think it's just the nature of a child and won't take it seriously.
Now that the crown prince has been deposed, the emperor has no intention of appointing a new crown prince.
Several princes were eager to make their move and were fiercely fighting each other.
But the Emperor probably already has someone in mind.
I should try to get closer to this Third Prince in the future.
Meanwhile, Emperor Yonglong picked up another memorial to review.
Upon opening it, Emperor Yonglong discovered that the memorial was actually submitted by a junior editor from the Hanlin Academy, and the person who submitted it was Lin Ruhai, a third-ranked scholar.
Your subject, Lin Ruhai, respectfully reports:
Having spent two years observing governance in the Hanlin Academy, studying the classics by night and visiting officials by day, I was horrified to see the nation on the verge of collapse. Now, risking my life, I earnestly plead the most serious problems and abuses, humbly begging Your Majesty's wise judgment:
This third-ranking scholar, after studying at the Hanlin Academy for two years, had many reflections.
Emperor Yonglong wanted to see what astonishing words this third-ranked scholar had to say that the country was in grave danger.
The first thing he listed was the collapse of the tax and labor service system.
The rich own vast tracts of land, and their taxes and corvée labor are exempted; the poor own not a single plot of land, and are subjected to endless corvée labor.
Empirical evidence is provided:
In western Zhejiang, wealthy gentry hid millions of acres of land and instead enjoyed the benefits of silk in lieu of corvée labor; in northern Jiangsu, a remnant sold his house to pay taxes on his offspring, only to be implicated and punished along with the fleeing households.
The nobles and their relatives live off rent and taxes, while the gentry enjoy the emperor's favor and have become the nation's treasury's biggest rats!
Your Majesty has observed that among the powerful clans of Guanzhong and Longxi, the Su family's estate yields 30,000 shi of grain annually, yet their grain tax payment is less than 100 shi.
The Duke of Wei's estate possessed 4,000 hectares of land under an iron certificate, which was exempted from taxation as "sacrificial land."
...The military households along the nine borders sold their children to buy weapons, and a single banquet at a military family's home could be equivalent to ten years' worth of fire-fighting supplies!
The soldiers in Xuanfu Town received three dou of millet in cash for their monthly rations; the General of Datong spent two hundred taels of silver on a single roasted camel for his birthday banquet.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Yonglong's expression also turned solemn.
He was well aware of these drawbacks of the Great Qian Dynasty.
However, the deep-rooted problems were hard to change, and even though he held great power, he dared not make any rash moves.
In recent years, his health has deteriorated significantly, and he has gradually become addicted to pleasure, rarely thinking about these issues anymore.
Few people were tactless enough to bring up these things in front of him.
However, these deep-seated problems do not simply disappear because he does not see them.
Not only does it exist, but it is becoming increasingly serious.
If we don't rectify this in time, I'm afraid the entire Great Qian Dynasty will be dragged down within a hundred years!
Upon seeing this, Emperor Yonglong also became curious.
Spotting a problem isn't a skill.
Among the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, how many could not see these problems?
However, no one could come up with a solution.
Firstly, the problems are deeply entrenched and difficult to reverse; secondly, most of these problems were caused by the corrupt officials in the imperial court!