My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 453 Foundation and Superstructure

When news of the Lantern Festival banquet spread, the well-informed nobles and high-ranking officials naturally understood what it meant.

When any new elite group emerges, the best approach for the old interest groups, besides suppression, is to absorb them.

It wasn't just the nobles who saw this; many civil officials also noticed it.

Finding a promising young man for marriage to secure a future for the family is the choice of most realists.

Of course, whether it will ultimately succeed depends on the personal charisma and abilities of these new officers.

This banquet quickly became the hottest topic during the Spring Festival.

After all, gossiping is a human instinct.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, military officers dressed in new uniforms attended the palace banquet in their finest attire.

Crown Prince Zhu Yijun presided over the banquet on behalf of his father, and all the top meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty, including the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Chengguo, attended.

Many civil officials with daughters of marriageable age also attended, including some with relatively high official ranks.

Little Fatty Jun was also very happy to see this group of energetic military officers. He hadn't had the chance to attend the last military parade, so this was a different way to enjoy it!

Although there were no women of marriageable age in Su Ze's family, he still received an invitation. When the lanterns were lit at dusk, Su Ze, fearing traffic jams, decided to walk into the palace.

The Lantern Festival was held as usual this year, but perhaps because it has been held so many times, the enthusiasm of the people in the capital has faded somewhat.

Emperor Longqing was in poor health, so he did not pay as much attention to this year's Lantern Festival as in previous years, and simply set up a few lanterns outside Zhengyang Gate as usual to celebrate.

There were far fewer people crowding around the imperial palace to watch the royal lanterns, but other markets in the capital were much more bustling.

Su Ze left the mansion and walked all the way to the palace gate. Along the way, he saw many vendors hawking their wares and various street performances, making it quite lively.

The most important aspect of Chinese people's festival needs is food, and the entire capital city is filled with a sweet aroma.

Su Ze then saw several children carrying sugar figurines and candied hawthorns, chasing and playing in the street.

Thanks to the continuous decline in sugar prices, ordinary families in the capital could afford to eat sugar.

Sugar is no longer an expensive luxury, so there are many more ways to enjoy it.

The first thing to appear was candied fruit.

Sugar preservation, an ancient method of food preservation, produces sweet-tasting candied fruits that are very popular among the people of the capital.

Several candy shops in the Eastern Palace also began making this type of candied fruit preserves.

This type of food, which can be preserved for a long time, was also welcomed by the grasslands and became another powerful tool for the Ming Dynasty's exports.

Candied hawthorn is a traditional snack that has been around since the Northern Song Dynasty.

After the price of sugar dropped, there were more vendors selling candied hawthorns.

As for sugar figurines, they are a novelty. These candies, which are both beautiful and delicious, are especially popular with children.

During the Lantern Festival, ordinary people would give their children some pocket money, which would mostly end up at these candy stalls.

When they arrived at the palace, ordinary people could no longer enter, but the palace gates were bustling with carriages of all kinds heading to the palace for a banquet.

Su Ze originally planned to enter the palace discreetly, but unexpectedly a carriage stopped next to him.

"Prosecutor Su, it's still quite a distance from the West Garden. How about we ride in the carriage together?"

Su Ze looked up and saw the warm face of Duke Zhu Shitai. Feeling the cold wind outside the Forbidden City, Su Ze decided to accept the other party's kindness.

This banquet was not a formal state banquet, so it was naturally impossible for it to be held in the three main halls.

However, there were too many people invited, so Xiao Pangjun eventually asked the emperor for permission to open the West Garden.

This is where the late Emperor Jiajing once lived. After Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, he closed the West Garden in order to show that he was breaking away from his father's policies.

However, a certain number of eunuchs and palace maids were still kept in Xiyuan to maintain it.

Holding the Lantern Festival banquet in the West Garden also had a bit of the feel of a royal family banquet, less formal and more warm.

However, this was tough on the people attending the banquet. For the sake of the palace's security, nobles and officials could only enter the palace through the main gate and then had to walk to the West Garden.

The area around the Forbidden City was empty, and the cold wind was biting.

This is where the advantage of meritorious officials became apparent. Many of them had imperial carriages bestowed upon them, which they could use to travel, while civil officials who wanted this treatment had to be at least Grand Secretaries or Grand Ministers.

Su Ze was unwilling to suffer in the cold wind, so he let his attendants leave first and boarded the carriage of the Duke of Cheng's mansion.

As a top nobleman, the Duke of Cheng's carriage was naturally very luxurious.

The carriage frame uses the latest shock-absorbing springs, while the body is made of high-grade wood. The carriage can accommodate eight people, and the interior is made of high-quality silk and satin.

However, the horses pulling the carriage were all ordinary horses, which puzzled Su Ze. Could it be that the dignified Duke Cheng's mansion couldn't afford to keep a few good horses?

Perhaps sensing Su Ze's confusion, Zhu Shitai said:
"All the good horses in the manor have been donated to the Military Affairs Bureau. This horse was sent back from Guangxi by my younger brother. Although it is small, it has good endurance. Since carriages in the capital can't go fast anyway, this kind of horse is just right."

This young Duke of Cheng is indeed a clever man.

"Is Prosecutor Su also interested in these horses? Shall we send two to your residence tomorrow?"

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"Thank you for your kind offer, Duke. I rarely travel by carriage, so let's not waste these fine steeds."

Zhu Shitai didn't mind and didn't continue to be polite. Instead, he chatted casually with Su Ze.

"Prosecutor Su, what are your thoughts on Grand Secretary Zhao's reforms of the Ministry of War?"

Su Ze looked at Zhu Shitai. In his opinion, this young Duke of Cheng was the smartest man among the nobles.

Duke Dingguo, Xu Wenbi, was only competent in his work and cautious in his conduct, but his talent was only average.

He became the most meritorious official because he was deeply trusted by the royal family and was good at performing sacrificial rites. He became a senior minister by performing sacrificial rites on behalf of the emperor.

However, the Duke of Cheng's mansion has shown great insight in several military reforms. When the Military Supervisory Commission was established, the Duke sent his younger brother to the Commission. In recent actions of the nobility, the Duke of Cheng's influence can be seen behind the scenes.

Zhu Shitai suddenly brought up the Ministry of War reforms promoted by Zhao Zhenji, and Su Ze asked in confusion:

"What insightful opinion does the Duke have?"

Zhu Shitai said:
"I wouldn't call it a brilliant insight, but I feel that Grand Secretary Zhao's reforms are imperative. It's laughable that the Ministry of War is so stubborn and insists on going against the tide."

Su Ze understood the principle of not speaking too frankly with someone you don't know well. He and Duke Zhu Shitai of Cheng State had only met a few times, and when the other party suddenly brought up such a topic with him, Su Ze regretted getting into his carriage.

As the chief official of the Fifth Office of the Secretariat-Chancellery, Su Ze's status is now different, and he must be careful with his words and actions.

However, Zhu Shitai mentioned Zhao Zhenji. Could it be that Zhao Zhenji, in order to promote the reform of the Ministry of War, actually made contact with the nobles?
This guess is far too outlandish.

Su Ze looked at Zhu Shitai, waiting for him to speak. The journey from the main gate of the Forbidden City to the entrance of the West Garden was only about the distance of an incense stick's worth of travel, so Zhu Shitai spoke directly:
"Prosecutor Su is not very clear about the specific differences between Grand Secretary Zhao and the Ministry of War."

Su Ze nodded.

Although he was in charge of the five departments of the Secretariat, Zhao Zhenji's political secretary was the head of the military department, and Su Ze would not interfere with the specific affairs of each department.

Su Ze and Zhao Zhenji are related by marriage, but because of his special relationship with Gao Gong, it is not convenient for him to get too close to Zhao Zhenji.

The relationship between Su Ze and Zhao Zhenji is more like that of "familiar strangers".

Su Ze knew about Zhao Zhenji's old grudges with the Ministry of War and believed that the main conflict between them was a power struggle. He was not very clear about the specific differences between Zhao Zhenji and the Ministry of War.

Zhu Shitai said:
"Grand Secretary Zhao believes that the current Ministry of War is no longer suitable for the current system and hopes to reform the entire framework of the Ministry of War."

"But the Ministry of War doesn't think so."

Su Ze asked:

"Is the Ministry of War ill-suited to the current system?"

Zhu Shitai looked at Su Ze and asked in confusion:
"Wasn't this reform initiated by Prosecutor Su? Haven't you thought about this issue?"

Zhu Shitai continued:
"Prosecutor Su, when our dynasty was first established, we used the hereditary military system of garrisons set up by Emperor Taizu. This system had many drawbacks, which led to various reforms in later generations. However, there is only one advantage that no other dynasty could match."

“The maintenance cost of the hereditary military system is very low. Some garrisons can be self-sufficient, while others can maintain their operation as long as some supplies are transported from the local area.”

“The replenishment of soldiers and combat training in the garrisons are all carried out within the garrisons themselves; the imperial court's job is simply to supervise.”

"Therefore, the Ministry of War of our dynasty only has four departments: the Military Selection Department, the Military Administration Department, the Carriage Department, and the Armory Department."

"The Military Selection Office is in charge of selection, promotion, transfer, succession, and reward for merit."

"The Directorate of Military Affairs is in charge of maps, military system, and garrison."

"The Chariot Officer was in charge of military post stations, guards, ceremonial guards, and stables."

"The Arsenal is in charge of weapons, documents, and seals."

"In the early days of our dynasty, this was naturally not a problem."

"But your military reforms, Prosecutor Su, have fundamentally changed the military system of the Ming Dynasty."

Su Ze looked at Zhu Shitai in surprise. He hadn't expected that this meritorious official, who was not well-known in the capital and even had a reputation for being a playboy, would have such insight.

As a reformer of the Ming Dynasty's military system, Su Ze certainly understood Zhu Shitai's meaning.

The advantage of the hereditary military system of the garrison system in the early Ming Dynasty was that it was worry-free.

Zhu Yuanzhang once said:

"To maintain an army of a million men, without costing the people a single grain of rice."

This system was well-suited to the times in the early Ming Dynasty.

The great turmoil at the end of the Yuan Dynasty left the economic foundation of the people very weak, but in the early Ming Dynasty, there was unrest in various places, and a large army was needed.

In this context, the hereditary military system of garrisons can be said to have perfectly solved the problem at the time, ensuring national defense security at a relatively low cost.

Moreover, at that time, high-ranking generals were nobles, and Zhu Yuanzhang himself had gained the empire on horseback. Military command was in the hands of the emperor and nobles, and the Ministry of War was a purely civil service department, mainly responsible for the administrative affairs and logistics of the army.

This also explains the establishment of the four Qingli Divisions within the Ministry of War.

However, after the Tumu Crisis, the military command of the nobles was stripped away, and the Ministry of War became the highest military institution in the entire empire.

The Ministry of War was able to survive because the country was stable at the time, and the hereditary military system did not require very detailed management.

However, after the Japanese pirate raids in the southeast, this system was already in grave danger.

Zhao Zhenji witnessed firsthand the failure of the Ministry of War's command system during the Jiajing era. The Ministry of War couldn't even control the Beijing Garrison, allowing Anda's tribe to storm the capital.

They also had no control over the southern garrisons, and the Japanese pirates moved through the southeast as if it were their own territory.

The situation became even more serious after Su Ze carried out military reforms.

Whether it was Qi Jiguang's new army in Datong, the newly trained Beijing garrison, or the new armies in several other regions, they all effectively broke the hereditary military system.

The Beijing Garrison abolished hereditary soldiers and transformed into a professional conscripted army.

Shanxi also abolished hereditary soldiers, allocated land to them, and recruited local elite young men into the army.

The situation in Liaodong was similar; officers were still hereditary soldiers from the garrisons, but soldiers were also recruited from among the immigrants.

There was also the construction of the navy. The navy almost completely destroyed the original naval defense system. The navy needed more professional personnel than the army, and even the officers were turned into recruits.

The conscription system, which involves full-time soldiers, is completely different from the hereditary military system.

A conscription army needs to be supported, needs to be trained daily, and requires a huge amount of supplies, including ammunition and military supplies.

The Ming Dynasty's strategy also began to shift from defense to offense. Any offensive requires processing massive amounts of military information, ensuring logistical supplies, analyzing military intelligence, and formulating strategic plans.

At this point, the Ministry of War, which was originally just a civil service agency, was completely incapable of fulfilling its duties.

Zhu Shitai said:
"Grand Secretary Zhao wants to reform the Ministry of War and establish a special Bureau of Military Affairs."

"However, the Ministry of War resisted this reform, believing that it was Grand Secretary Zhao trying to infiltrate the Ministry of War and undermine its professionalism."

Zhu Shitai said:
“My brother was fighting in Guangxi and witnessed the chaos in the Ministry of War firsthand. There were even instances where winter clothes that should have been sent to Liaodong were transported to Guangxi instead.”

"This time they sent the wrong winter clothes. What if they send the wrong clothes to the army next time?"

Zhu Shitai looked at Su Ze and said:
"Chief Prosecutor Su, the military and naval reforms here both originated from you, and you also proposed the establishment of the Military Supervisory Commission. Why is it that the military system reform has only been half completed?"

"Prosecutor Su, what are you hesitating about? If you need support, all of us meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty will stand behind you."

Su Ze remained silent.

Zhu Shitai is right; reform of the Ministry of War is necessary.

Whether the Ministry of War is a civilian institution or not, with the transformation of the military system, military reform is inevitable.

Su Ze submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of a military supervisory commission in order to provide sufficient talent for military reform.

Now that the first class of the Military Academy has graduated, and the second class is about to graduate, the imperial court has enough military talent.

Su Ze looked at Zhu Shitai. He didn't have mind-reading abilities and didn't know whether Zhu Shitai was acting for the Ming Dynasty, for personal power, or for the interests of the nobility.

However, as Zhu Shitai said, the foundation has changed, and it is time for the superstructure to be reformed.

"After the holiday, I will pay a visit to Grand Secretary Zhao and then request His Majesty to discuss the military reform in detail."

(End of this chapter)