Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 172 The staff system, politics comes from the military!
Civil and military affairs go hand in hand.

These four words summarize the content of the imperial edict.

The five members of Zhang Juzheng's cabinet were all smart people, and of course they could hear the emperor's dissatisfaction with the cabinet's disdain for Yu Dayou and the military.

He smiled awkwardly and accepted the order.

Lu Fang returned to the palace to report.

Hu Zongxian brought up the old matter again and said, "The separation of military and political power between the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister should also be discussed."

On the day he entered Beijing, he and the emperor finalized the national policy of separation of military and political power in Yuxi Palace, and the cabinet expressed its agreement.

But after such a long time, the cabinet only mentioned it once or twice, except for the transfer of the generals of the nine borders and nine towns and the use of the national policy of separation of military and political power to deal with the Huizhou merchants.

Most of the time, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin always avoided mentioning the separation of military and political affairs.

But for such a big thing, it was beyond the wisdom and ability of Hu Zongxian alone to formulate a detailed plan, so the proposal was delayed again and again.

The arrival of the imperial edict gave Hu Zongxian the opportunity to put the bill in front of Zhang, Gao, Li and Chen, and they had no way to avoid it.

Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin looked at the Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister with an indifferent look. After the separation of military and politics, the Cabinet, as the power center of the world, actually had little power fluctuation. For the two Prime Ministers, the impact was even smaller. If they did not consider their reputation in future generations, they could just divide it.

Gao Gong was very unhappy about the separation of military and political affairs. As a traditional civil official, it was his habit to control the military and he did not want to be threatened by the civil service group.

However, the deputy prime minister is still the deputy prime minister after all. Zhang Juzheng put down his wolf-hair brush, smiled at Hu Zongxian, and said, "Ruzhen, tell us about the proposal you have drawn up. The parts that are acceptable will be passed today. For the parts that are not acceptable, let's brainstorm and discuss them today. We will try to come up with a more mature preliminary proposal before nightfall."

The Prime Minister has the final say.

The deputy prime minister and assistant ministers were not even given a chance to refute.

When Zhang Juzheng showed his edge, even Gao Gong had to give in.

"Well, everyone, listen to me."

Hu Zongxian did not refuse, and pulled out a preliminary plan as thick as a book from the bottom of the desk, and said in a serious tone: "Yuan Fu, Ci Xiang, Zi Shi, Yi Fu.

Separation of the military and politics, my idea is to start with the division of power, but in order to avoid the situation of separatist regimes, the military cannot be completely separated from politics, and politics cannot be completely separated from the military. After all, the Taizu Gao Emperor of the Ming Dynasty also won the world on horseback, and the court was built on the army. "

Hear the words.

Zhang Juzheng nodded first.

The imperial court was a regime established by relying on a powerful army.

Hu Zongxian was worthy of being the fourth civil official to be awarded the title of nobility for his military merits in the 200 years of the Ming Dynasty. His understanding of the court and the army was truly impressive.

It can be said to hit the nail on the head.

Although Gao Gong disliked Hu Zongxian, he had to nod in agreement. If the Ming Dynasty was likened to a person, the court would be the head and the army would be the backbone.

Without brains, the army will sooner or later show off its military power to death, and without backbone, anyone can step on the court, and it is only a matter of time before they are stepped on. The prime minister and the second prime minister agreed, and Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin followed suit and indicated to Hu Zongxian to continue.

"What the cabinet or court officials are most worried about is that generals with large armies will become arrogant and self-reliant. Therefore, based on the actual situation of the army, I have added a few more controls."

Hu Zongxian opened the initial case and said, "The first point is the staff system, or the military advisor system.

Although the emperor issued an edict prohibiting officials across the country from hiring staff, most court officials hired staff to relieve the heavy workload.

Dealing with the criminal law, taxes, various items of affairs, and drafting official documents for a place is something that one person cannot handle unless he is a particularly energetic person.

However, Your Majesty has created the position of 'Political and Legal Affairs', which has divided the power of local officials and also relieved some of their pressure. Your Majesty is wise and wise.

After Hu Zongxian finished praising the emperor, Fang said, "But I have to say that the army is different from the imperial court. The commander of the border town must be accompanied by staff and military advisors."

Hu Zongxian was very clear about the role of his staff. When he was the governor of Zhejiang, Xu Wei helped him capture Xu Hai and lure Wang Zhi to death. The plan to collect half of the gunpowder and artillery in Jiangnan to wash the islands for the final battle with the Japanese pirates was all proposed and planned by Xu Wei.

This is not to say that Xu Wei is extremely smart. In fact, when it comes to war, apart from the battle of hard power, it also depends on the flash of inspiration.

It is an indisputable fact that the more people there are, the greater the chance of a flash of inspiration and a fatal blow to the enemy.

"One person's wisdom is short, but two people's wisdom is long."

In ancient times, due to various restrictions, the army's combat style was relatively simple. Battles were usually conducted in three modes: "attack, defense, and warfare". Generals and officers at all levels usually relied on orders, drums, flags, and other means to directly command the troops.

As the scale of war continues to expand, the size and mobility of the army have greatly increased, and it has become difficult for individual generals to cope with complex warfare.

Therefore, in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there emerged a group of military advisors and staff to assist generals in planning.

The "Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick" known to countless people in the Guo Dynasty are the representatives of the Central Plains military strategists.

However, the duties of military advisors and staff are usually to provide advice to generals for reference when drawing up combat plans, and they are not involved in the specific operations of the army and the execution of relevant orders.

But in the Song and Yuan dynasties, after gunpowder weapons officially entered the battlefield, the area of ​​a single battle expanded further, and higher requirements were placed on the connection between various arms and various firearms. As a general, while commanding operations, he must also focus on combat planning, be good at using troops and firepower, and choose the most favorable time to deploy them in the most favorable direction to win the battle.

In this case, there must be someone who can share the commander's responsibilities for some specific matters and free the commander from various complicated affairs.

By the Ming Dynasty, the role of aides had gradually improved, and aides began to be responsible for conveying orders, providing various analyses and plans.

However, the improvement in their roles did not bring about a significant change in the status of staff and military advisors. All the honor and merit of staff and military advisors still belonged to their respective commanders.

Take Xu Wei as an example. Xu Wei made many contributions in the suppression of Japanese pirates in the past twenty years, but all the rewards from the court were given to Hu Zongxian.

Hu Zongxian always felt that this was unfair to Xu Wei. Although the annual salary of hiring Xu Wei as his aide was as high as 8,000 taels of silver, which was higher than the annual salary of the current cabinet ministers, Hu Zongxian felt that Xu Wei deserved more and deserved a higher platform.

However, no matter whether they are court officials or military generals, facing such a great and wise aide or military advisor, they cannot afford it unless they are from a wealthy family and are not corrupt.

Hu Zongxian proposed to set up a special general staff team and several large camp staff teams in the army.

While giving advice to the generals, he also assists them in making decisions!
(End of this chapter)