Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 52: One million to buy military morale!
"Getting paid at the training ground, but not bringing armor and soldiers?!"

[When the entire Beijing garrison heard the Prime Minister's orders one after another, the new recruits were still praising the Prime Minister's kindness, while the experienced veterans were terrified and trembling all over...]

The most terrifying thing about being a soldier in the Ming Dynasty was never things like "Our army is surrounded by the enemy!" or "Our army is defeated!", but when the commander said to them with a smile, "Tomorrow you will receive your pay at the parade grounds, so don't bring your armor!"

【Why? 】

[This brings us to the story of the "Jizhen Mutiny"...]

In the 23rd year of the Wanli reign, the "War to Resist Japanese Aggression and Aid Korea" was underway. To combat the invasion of Korea by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the then Ming court recruited elite troops from across the country to fight in Korea.

[One of these troops was the "Qi Family Army" left behind by the Ming Dynasty's war god Qi Jiguang... Although some insist they aren't the authentic Qi Family Army, they are indeed the military legacy left by Qi Jiguang himself.]

[This group of Qi's troops were extremely brave during the battle in Korea, and their military discipline was just like that of Qi Jiguang. As a result, they were highly praised by the Korean military and civilians, who praised them as the true soldiers of the Ming Dynasty!]

[And then this widely acclaimed Qi Family Army was wiped out shortly afterwards...]

【Is this the work of Japanese pirates? 】

[No, it was Daming himself...]

When these heroes who aided Korea returned home after the war, what awaited them was not honor and reward, but the butcher's knife!

[Because the Ming Dynasty was reluctant to pay them military pay, but was also afraid that this powerful army would cause trouble because of the pay, so they decided to do something big...]

So a general from the Ming court lied and said he was going to pay them, and then he said, "You should receive your salary during the training ground, but you should not bring your armor!"

When everyone believed it and came to collect their pay, the general sent out the swordsmen he had ambushed in advance to hack and kill these thousands of terrified Korean soldiers. In the end, over a thousand were killed or wounded, and the rest were exiled to the countryside, never to be employed again!

Afterwards, the general claimed that they were "mutiny" and that he was suppressing it! The Ming court, knowing full well that this was the truth, still took this as a credit and promoted him!

This is a win-win situation! The Ming Dynasty saved tens of thousands of taels of silver in military pay, and the general also received titles for his wife and children!

However, from that point on, the "Qi Family Army" left behind by Qi Jiguang completely vanished into the long river of history. A righteous army, rare in history, was reduced to ashes. The military spirit of the Ming Dynasty was also shattered in one blow, and it never recovered from this setback...

[You should not bring armor or weapons when you collect your salary at the training ground!]

[After over a hundred years, this famous saying that made everyone feel extremely disgusted was once again heard among the Ming army, and it naturally immediately aroused the PTSD of everyone in the Beijing camp!]

[Gradually, a strange atmosphere filled every inch of the air in the Beijing camp...]

"Sir! What should we do?!"

[The knowledgeable veterans quickly and fearfully sought out their respective commanders, asking them for advice!]

[But the officers were also panicking at this moment: "I don't know shit! I'm panicking too!"]

After all, taking the example of the "Jizhen Mutiny," those high-ranking officials in the imperial court simply didn't treat the soldiers as human beings. Whether they were privates or junior officers, they were essentially consumables and ants.

"Master, if I don't want to pay you, then I won't pay you. So what if I let you work for free? I've already shown you a favor by not making you second-rate people pay for military service or just killing you..."

[As for the military training grounds, the idea of ​​receiving salaries sounds good, but who knows if it's true? Faced with a court that has always lacked credibility, everyone has long lost their trust in it!]

[But... I can't disobey the orders from my superiors. Otherwise, it would be called a "mutiny." Then the court wouldn't even need to follow the formalities and could just send in the Imperial Guards to slaughter us...]

[So after a difficult weighing of the pros and cons, everyone still felt that they should go. Even though they knew there was a high possibility of an ambush, they had no choice but to go anyway... After all, this was the Ming Dynasty, and soldiers had always been second-class people. For them, the court's favor could never be repaid, and the court's military pay would never be fully paid...] [...]

As everyone slowly arrived at the training grounds, filled with anticipation and fear, you, sitting on the stage, gradually frowned...

[“How many of the 100,000 Beijing troops have arrived?”]

Hearing your sudden words, Gao Yiming, standing beside him, suddenly jumped. After looking around the parade grounds for a while, he nodded repeatedly, "Prime Minister, almost all the troops from the capital have arrived!"

Your eyes widened in disbelief, "You call this a hundred thousand people coming?!"

Looking at the sparse, frail soldiers on the field, even if you've never seen a true army of 100,000, you've led troops in battle after all. A rough estimate suggests there are only a few dozen soldiers on the field, at most. In this large parade ground built specifically for the Beijing Camp, it seems remarkably empty...

【"Forehead……"】

Gao Yiming was sweating profusely upon hearing this, and had no choice but to reveal the truth: "Prime Minister, please understand... Although the Beijing Battalion has a full complement of 100,000 soldiers, it is actually far from full strength. Among them, the elderly, weak, sick and disabled total about 30,000..."

"The last time I selected the elite troops from the Beijing Camp to march to Yangzhou, I eliminated tens of thousands of weaklings who couldn't even wield a sword properly. The remaining fewer than 20,000 were barely capable soldiers... During the rebellion, I led a total of 6,000 troops south, lost 5,000 in battle, and the remaining 1,000 or so returned to camp..."

“So the current 10,000-plus men are all the soldiers in the Beijing camp. Furthermore, they are often owed wages. The last time we went on the expedition, I had to give them some extra money before they agreed to leave…”

【you:……】

[For a moment, you were speechless! ]

You'd thought the Beijing Army might be seriously short-staffed, but you didn't expect it to be this serious. Only a little over ten thousand are left out of a hundred thousand, and the fighting power of these ten thousand isn't very good either. The private army of Yangzhou could easily wipe out five thousand of them... If they really intend to rely solely on the Beijing Army to suppress the rebellion, then the Ming Dynasty is doomed!

[When you think of the Yangzhou rebels, then think of the elite Western armies who casually use the line-up shooting tactic, and the armies of the various vassal states surrounding the Ming Dynasty... you become extremely anxious!]

If the Divine Emperor's power truly wanes, and the future Ming Dynasty still lacks a sufficiently powerful new army to defend its homeland, then isn't it just waiting to become the end of the Qing Dynasty?!

【Military reform is imminent! 】

[However, compared to the complex task of military reform, you need to first do something that is both ordinary and of extraordinary significance...]

Sitting on the high platform, your melancholy gaze swept across all the frail, cowering soldiers in the parade grounds. In one glance, you saw their fear of death, the distrust in their expressions, and even more, their doubts and expectations towards you, the new Prime Minister of Reform!

Everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows you're planning reforms, and they all hope you can bring a symbol of life to this stagnant world... At this moment, you need to use the simplest and most direct means to open the hearts of these ordinary soldiers who fear a recurrence of the "Jizhen Mutiny," and gradually rebuild the military spirit and morale that were shattered by the hands of Emperor Wanli...

[Use your divine power to announce another new policy order to the entire venue, reaching every soldier's ears. Make sure everyone hears it, understands it clearly, and lets this solemn voice bring their long-awaited reward and awaken their hope!]

"In the past, Shang Yang carried out reforms to gain the trust of the Qin people. He specifically removed some wood to establish their credibility. He offered a reward of fifty catties of gold to anyone who could remove the wood he had placed."

"Today, I, Zhou Liang, also wish to reform the law and follow the example of Shang Yang!"

"Every one of you, ten thousand men, will be given one hundred taels of silver! From now on, the imperial court will never again default on military pay. Anyone who breaks this oath will be punished by both heaven and earth!"

[In the past, the imperial court betrayed their trust for tens of thousands of taels of military pay, and now you, Zhou Liang, are willing to buy it back with a million taels!]

……

(End of this chapter)