My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 454 Discussion on Military Reform
As dusk fell, the West Garden was already brightly lit, filled with the melodious sounds of string and wind instruments.

The air was filled with the sweet aroma of glutinous rice balls specially made by the imperial kitchen, mixed with the fragrance of precious incense.

Duke Cheng and Su Ze entered the West Garden one after the other. Upon seeing the lanterns hanging there, they knew that the Crown Prince attached great importance to this palace banquet.

The palace doors opened, and a group of young figures stepped inside, instantly attracting everyone's attention. They were the newly promoted military officers of the Imperial Guard.

Zhu Shitai looked at the group of young military officers, who were wearing the uniforms from the last imperial military review. They were tall and strong, and several nobles and high-ranking officials with women of marriageable age in their families nodded in approval.

Clothes make the man, and the temperament cultivated during their military training gave these new officers a completely different air from that of the old nobles and civil officials.

Crown Prince Zhu Yijun, who was presiding over the banquet on behalf of his father, sat in the main seat, his face showing undisguised excitement like that of a child.

He had missed the grand military parade last time and was still regretting it. Tonight, the hall full of elite officers seemed to him like another form of "military parade," which he found very interesting.

Duke Zhu Shitai of Cheng secretly glanced at Su Ze, feeling a sense of disappointment.

If Su Ze were a member of the nobility, the matter would have been settled long ago.

Unfortunately, he was a true civil official, a civil official who came from the Shujishi school, and a core member of the civil official ranks.

However, Zhu Shitai also couldn't see through Su Ze.

Su Ze proposed establishing a military academy, but the academy would still train sons of noble families and hereditary soldiers, which would not be in line with the interests of civil officials.

The Ministry of War's suppression of Li Rusong and other Imperial Guard officers is also a form of suppression of Su Ze's disciples.

Su Ze's last intervention helped Li Rusong and other military students pass the national policy and military strategy, but he was not on the same page as the civil officials.

What exactly is he planning?
Zhu Shitai prided himself on his intelligence, but he couldn't see through Su Ze's intentions.

When the appointed time arrived, the eunuchs and palace maids closed the gates of the West Garden.

Zhang Hong, the eunuch serving the Crown Prince, shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Today's palace banquet is a celebration of the longevity of our Great Ming Dynasty and a joyous occasion for the peace and prosperity of the world."

"This banquet has no set seating; please help yourself to the delicacies, and enjoy the singing and dancing!"

Su Ze looked at both sides of the palace and saw various foods laid out on the tables, but there were no seats set up inside the palace like at a regular court banquet.

This isn't a buffet?

Su Ze looked at Little Fatty Jun, never expecting that his disciple would come up with something like this.

But upon closer reflection, a buffet is indeed quite suitable for today's occasion.

Today's event is ostensibly a Lantern Festival banquet, but in reality, it's a marriage alliance between new military officers and high-ranking officials.

In that case, we need to get to know each other.

The original practice of setting up seats according to rank prevented nobles and high-ranking officials from having access to these new officers.

The buffet format allowed these nobles and young officers to get to know each other better, and it also made it easier to arrange marriages.

Little Fatty Jun has made progress!

Because it was not a traditional banquet, after Zhang Hong made the announcement, the senior officials present led the way in bowing to the Crown Prince, and the banquet officially began.

At first, everyone was a little reserved about this type of banquet.

But people soon discovered that this kind of banquet, where food was served freely and conversation was free, was more efficient than traditional banquets.

The young officers sensed this unusual level of attention.

Some people faced the situation with composure, chatting and laughing freely, exuding confidence and charm in every gesture; others appeared slightly reserved, somewhat intimidated under the gaze of nobles and high-ranking officials, but still tried their best to maintain the composure of soldiers.

On the surface, the hall appeared peaceful and prosperous, but beneath the surface, countless eyes were meeting, silent assessments were being made, and meticulous calculations were being carried out.

Whether they can gain the favor of nobles and officials, paving a smooth road for their future, or simply suffer a failed performance, all depends on how they demonstrate their value and potential on this invisible "battlefield" tonight.

Little Fatty Jun watched this lively yet subtly scheming scene and felt it was more exciting than any play on stage.

Su Ze's family had no eligible women who needed to be married off, so he stood in a corner and observed the banquet hall from the beginning.

It must be said that the new officers trained by the military academy are indeed quite presentable.

When it comes to marriage, appearance and demeanor are also important factors to consider, since no one is purely rational and emotions are also important in marriage.

Su Ze even saw several Ministry of War officials taking the initiative to contact these new officers.

Opposition to military groups is one thing, but it doesn't prevent one from finding a military man to marry.

It seems there are quite a few clever people in the imperial court.

Su Ze then looked at Duke Cheng, Zhu Shitai.

All that could be seen was this Duke talking with Liu Shiyan, the Earl of Chengyi.

The newly restored Earl of Chengyi wore a fawning smile, while Liu Shiyan was standing behind Liu Jinchen.

Liu Jinchen stood behind his father, his back straight like a peacock spreading its tail feathers. Su Ze guessed that the Duke of Cheng's mansion wanted to propose marriage to Liu Jinchen, or even that they wanted to form a marriage alliance with him.

Su Ze looked around again, but did not see Li Rusong.

Just then, someone shouted from behind Su Ze:

"Su Hanlin".

"What an unfamiliar title!" Su Ze turned around and saw that it was Zhang Hong, the eunuch who served the Crown Prince.

"Su Hanlin, Your Highness requests your presence."

Only the eunuchs around the Crown Prince would still call him "Su Hanlin". Su Ze nodded slightly and followed Zhang Hong to Xiao Pangjun's side.

Upon seeing Su Ze, Little Fatty Jun asked boastfully:
"Master Su, how did the banquet go this time?"

Su Ze immediately said:

"Your Highness's banquet is unique, yet it has given the ministers an opportunity to exchange ideas and has broadened my horizons."

Hearing Su Ze praise him like that, Xiao Pangjun's face lit up with a smile.

He was bored serving his father in the palace, and having finally gotten this opportunity, he racked his brains for several days before coming up with this plan.

During this period, he personally supervised the event, and even personally directed the arrangement of the banquet venue.

Little Fatty Jun was even happier to have gained Su Ze's approval.

Little Fatty Jun then said:

"Master Su, Li Rusong, whom you trained under the Martial Arts Supervisor, is a talented individual."

"My father asked him to explain the situation in the Northeast in detail, and Li Rusong explained it clearly with just a map. Even I could understand it. My father likes him very much and keeps him by his side. He was unable to attend the banquet today."

So that's how it is. But it's good this way. Su Ze was just about to introduce a marriage proposal to Li Rusong. It would be bad if he were noticed by someone at the banquet.

Su Ze hadn't expected that Li Rusong would gain the emperor's trust so quickly.

It should be noted that after Emperor Longqing lost his speech, he rarely met with officials from outside the capital.

The fact that Li Rusong was able to meet the emperor in person and give lectures in front of him shows that he had gained the emperor's trust.

"Master Su, it turns out that land warfare can be quite interesting, just as good as naval warfare!"

Su Ze looked at Little Fatty Jun.

In the original timeline, although the Wanli Emperor was lazy in his political affairs, he was still very fond of military matters. All three of his major campaigns resulted in victory.

This also shows that Xiao Pangjun has a talent for military affairs.

Seeing that his disciple had developed an interest in the army, Su Ze thought of his conversation with Zhu Shitai earlier.

As a time traveler, Su Ze naturally knew how to reform the Ming Dynasty's military system.

The reform of the military system in any modern country has only one direction: the centralization of the military command system and the professionalization of military organs.

Centralized command is not a political factor, but rather a result of productivity.

Although ancient wars often involved millions of soldiers, the actual number of soldiers personally commanded by generals was not that many.

For example, in historical battles where a few thousand defeated hundreds of thousands, most of those hundreds of thousands were civilians carrying farm tools, or able-bodied men who were forced into the army.

In fact, a few thousand elite troops could decide the outcome of a war in ancient times.

A war between tens of thousands of people was considered a major battle in ancient history.

This is not to say that ancient emperors and generals were unwilling to raise large armies, but rather that they simply could not support such a large army.

One full-time soldier needs the support of ten farming households, and that's only when normal production is guaranteed and the weather is favorable.

In some dark times, being a soldier was almost like being a bandit; supplies were obtained through burning, killing, and looting.

The real battles involving millions of people in the original timeline didn't begin until after the Industrial Age.

While both involve the development of productive forces, the development of agricultural technology has led to an increase in food production.

The development of industrial technology has enabled fewer farmers to cultivate more land, freeing more people from the constraints of the land.

Industry brings in an industrial population, and the industrial population is also an excellent reserve force.

Then came the development of management science and bureaucratic systems, which made it possible to mobilize so many people to fight.

This led to World War I, which involved millions of people, and World War II, which was even larger and more devastating.

It is the development of productive forces that has led to the expansion of the scale of wars, and the expansion of the scale of wars has also increased the difficulty of commanding them exponentially.

Only a centralized and efficient command system can meet the needs of modern warfare.

Otherwise, if hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops were crammed together to fight, they would have been wiped out before even encountering the enemy.

Another direction is the professionalization of military institutions.

This is also the problem that Zhao Zhenji saw.

Such a large army, along with ever-increasing military supplies, has made military management a complex issue.

Take the Andong Protectorate in Northeast China as an example.

Since the beginning of winter this year, the imperial court has allocated a total of 50,000 sets of winter clothing, hundreds of thousands of cans of various meat products, and an unknown amount of coal for heating to the Andong Protectorate.

There were also cannons, muskets, gunpowder, medical supplies, building materials, and so on; the ledgers alone were dazzling.

With so many supplies needing to be transported to designated locations, and with no room for error in their allocation, the logistics route from factory production to delivery to each soldier was driving the Ministry of War officials crazy.

The Andong Protectorate could also transport goods directly from the port to the mouth of the Liao River by sea, covering a long distance.

If the transportation had been solely by land, the officials in the Ministry of War would probably have gone mad long ago.

To spy on the enemy, gather information on the geography of Northeast China, assess officers' military achievements for promotion, and deal with officers and soldiers who violate military law and discipline.

This was under the premise that the war in the southwest had subsided, there was no war in the northwest, and the court was focusing all its energy on the northeast, and the Ministry of War was already overburdened.

If there are other battles, the Ministry of War will be overwhelmed.

Specialized departments should do specialized tasks; the specialization of military agencies is an inevitable requirement of historical development.

But how do we build this new military system?

This is the reason why Su Ze has not yet taken action.

Another reason is that reforms to the military system are too sensitive.

Especially given the current situation, with the Longqing Emperor in poor health and the Crown Prince still young, proposing military reforms at this time would arouse the emperor's sensitivity and prevent the reforms from proceeding.

However, Su Ze thought again that now was also a good time to implement military reforms.

As mentioned earlier, centralizing the command structure is one of the goals of military system reform.

During the reign of the emperor, concentrating military command in the hands of the emperor reassured him.

Concentrating power in the imperial court does not mean concentrating it in the emperor's own hands.

Imperial power is merely a symbol; concentrating it on imperial power is nothing more than a slogan.

In Chinese civilization, the emperor was the supreme leader of the military and government. Su Ze's idea was to create a centralized military organization centered around imperial power.

If this military agency were to further decentralize some of its military expertise from the Ministry of War, it would be able to meet the reform requirements of centralization and specialization.

Su Ze made up his mind and looked at Little Fatty Jun again.

If he could get the Crown Prince's support, his military reform plan would be easier to pass.

Su Ze said to Little Fatty Jun:
"Your Highness, there is one more thing I need to say."

After speaking, Su Ze told his good disciple about his military reforms. Little Fatty Jun's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He looked at Su Ze and asked breathlessly:
"Master Su, will Father Emperor grant permission?"

Su Ze said:

"It depends on human effort; there have been signs of this in the outer court for some time now."

Little Fatty Jun said:
"What does Master Su want me to do?"

Su Ze said:

"Your Highness does not need to do anything now, but if His Majesty consults you, please state your position."

"This is natural!"

Little Fatty Jun patted his chest and assured him.

After hearing this story, Xiao Pangjun also found the banquet rather uninteresting.

After the banquet ended, everyone bowed to the Crown Prince once again, bringing the Lantern Festival banquet to a close.
-
After the Lantern Festival, the cabinet officially began its work.

Su Ze, who was in charge of the affairs of the five departments of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, led the entire five departments to pay their respects to the Cabinet, officially announcing the end of the holiday.

Su Ze couldn't help but reminisce about his days in the Imperial Household Department, when he could slack off until the end of the first month of the lunar calendar.

On his first day at work, Su Ze summoned Song Xun, the chief of the military affairs department.

"Chief Song, does Grand Secretary Zhao have any specific policies for the reform of the Ministry of War?"

Song Xun, the chief of the military affairs office, was somewhat puzzled, but since Su Ze was his superior, and Su Ze had inquired about the matter, Song Xun explained Zhao Zhenji's reform strategy to Su Ze in detail:

"Grand Secretary Zhao intends to establish four more Qingli Divisions within the Ministry of War. Three of them will be specifically responsible for military affairs in the Nine Garrisons, Liaodong, and the Southwest, while the other will be responsible for naval affairs. The military-related matters from other divisions will be transferred to these four Qingli Divisions."

"And what is the Ministry of War's attitude?"

Song Xun sighed:
Minister Cao of the Ministry of War opposed the establishment of the Qingli Division, believing that Grand Secretary Zhao was encroaching on the ministry's authority.

(End of this chapter)