My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 473 The Legend of the Soviet Party, Part Two

This is a request report from the General Staff Department to increase personnel.

Since its establishment, the General Staff Department has been primarily responsible for streamlining the military command and system.

In particular, the Operations Department, headed by Li Rusong, issued a series of proposals on reforming military orders and systems, all of which were approved by the emperor, and the prestige of the General Staff Department increased day by day.

However, with the relocation of the Kremlin forces, the General Staff was given new tasks.

According to Su Ze's military system reform plan, combat command was subordinate to the inner court.

The inner court, headed by the emperor, was responsible for specific military deployments. During wartime, the Grand Secretariat, the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the five departments of the Secretariat and Chancellery were also incorporated into the inner court, forming a decision-making body.

During wartime, the Ministry of War was responsible for specific logistical support and local coordination.

According to the plan, the General Staff Department would be out of work during the war.

However, while the system was designed, in practice, the emperor still sent people to inquire about the specific war plans from the General Staff.

Unfortunately, the inner court was an institution that concentrated military command in the hands of the emperor himself, but Emperor Longqing himself did not have much military expertise, so it was unrealistic to expect him to make a series of military decisions.

Within the cabinet, the only one capable of providing military advice was Zhao Zhenji, one of the three Grand Secretaries.

At most, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, responsible for intelligence, and the Military Affairs Office, which assists Zhao Zhenji in handling military affairs, will be added.

After the war, the emperor still had to listen to the opinions of the professional officers in the General Staff.

This gave the General Staff an additional temporary task.

Based on the "Situation Reports" sent from local authorities, they analyzed and assessed the war situation, provided decision-making references to the inner court, and drafted "Operational Staff Reports."

This task naturally fell to the Operations Division.

As a result, there are naturally not enough people.

Upon learning of this news, Xu Wenbi, the Duke of Cheng and head of the General Staff, submitted a memorial to the emperor requesting additional personnel.

It was this addition of personnel that gave Li Rusong a headache.

He looked at another small mountain on the table.

The largest mound consists of the "Situation Reports" from each army, while the shorter ones are the resumes of reserve staff officers.

The leader was Mu Changyou, the younger brother of the current Duke of Qian, who had met Li Rusong once.

Besides Mu Changyou, many others were sons of meritorious officials, or at least had powerful and influential backgrounds.

The reason Li Rusong rejected these candidates was that none of them had studied at the Military Academy.

Li Rusong was very troubled.

In his view, the most important thing for an operations staff officer is to understand military affairs!
How could someone like Mu Changyou, who had never even studied at the Military Academy, possibly understand military affairs?

Today, military affairs are highly specialized.

This group of military supervisors became junior officers, bringing military engineering into the military field.

Su Ze's military reforms placed higher demands on military staff, naturally driving the military towards a more professional direction.

Putting aside other things, arranging logistical schedules and formulating war plans require a considerable mathematical foundation.

Not to mention artillery, which is a more technically demanding branch of the military.

Battle scenario simulations and situation analysis require a foundation in mathematics and a sufficient understanding of military geography to be competent in the work of the Operations Command.

Therefore, Li Rusong was unwilling to recruit these people into the General Staff Department, believing that it would affect the professionalism of the General Staff Department and allow political factors to influence its purity.

However, these were people he couldn't refuse.

For example, Mu Changyou, who is at the top of the list, is the Chief of the General Staff. Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi personally greeted him. The Duke of Qian's family has extensive connections in the capital, and several groups have come to Li Rusong to plead for him in the past few days.

Li Rusong originally wanted to visit Su Ze and ask Dean Su to help him deflect the pressure.

However, he was in the War Department and knew that there had just been a big debate in the court about whether to defend the border or the sea. Su Ze's memorial on giving equal importance to land and sea defense had just been passed, but the emperor also ordered Su Ze to produce a development outline. These days, Dean Su was very busy with official duties.

If I can't even handle this little thing, wouldn't I be letting down Dean Su's expectations?

If I don't trouble Su Ze, who else can I ask for help?
My father is far away in the Northeast, and I'm afraid he can't give me much guidance on these political matters.

After much deliberation, Li Rusong came up with a name!
The military department gave Li Ji the trouble!
This is a name that Li Rusong often sees.

Li Ji was always among those who submitted memorials to the General Staff.

As a supervising secretary in the Ministry of War, Li Ji's main task during this period was to keep an eye on Li Rusong's memorials and fill in any gaps.

Under Li Ji's supervision, Li Rusong's skill in writing memorials improved significantly, and he became more professional in his work.

The most hated person in the entire Operations Division was this nitpicking Military Affairs Censor, but Li Rusong felt that Li Ji was his confidant.

The report from the Operations Department was too technical; there were few people who could find fault with Li Rusong.

In military matters, only a handful of people, such as Su Ze, could truly convince Li Rusong.

However, Li Ji was able to find fault with his own memorials, and his points were all insightful and to the point, helping Li Rusong to fill in the gaps. He also recognized Li Ji's military capabilities and was willing to listen to his opinions.

Although the two have never met, they have exchanged views on official documents many times, and can be considered to have known each other for a long time.

The six supervising secretaries were all politically astute officials, and Li Ji, as a senior supervising secretary, naturally understood politics better than I did.

Since I don't know how to reject these mediocre candidates, I might as well ask Li Ji for advice!
Like the Sixth Secretariat, the General Staff Headquarters was located within the Forbidden City. Li Rusong also had a token to enter and exit the Cabinet, and he quickly arrived outside the Sixth Secretariat's corridor.

It was past the time for the officials to leave the office, but the Six Ministries and the five departments of the Secretariat and Chancellery were still working together, and many government offices were still lit up.

Li Rusong dared not trespass, but fortunately he often came to the military quarters on official business, so he found an acquaintance and asked him to inform the officer on his behalf.

Inside the Sixth Department Corridor.

The six subjects were originally quite free.

The Six Ministries did not have a head, and each of the Six Ministries Censors had independent case-handling authority. Their job was to impeach others, meaning they did not have any routine administrative work.

Those in the business department know that the business department is often busy at times and idle at others, and the proportion of people slacking off is even higher.

However, the good days of the Six Ministries came to an end after they started working together with the five offices of the Secretariat and Chancellery.

You all work in the same office, but others are working overtime all day while you leave on time every day. What will your boss think?
The Cabinet is right next to the Zhongshulang!
These days, the Grand Secretaries have been working overtime frequently. Half of the Six Offices are brightly lit while the other half are dark. What do the Grand Secretaries think of this?
As a result, the Sixth Department was also forced to work overtime along with the Five Offices of the Secretariat.

Of course, not all overtime work is the same.

Some people just stay in their public housing until others get off work, while others are genuinely working overtime.

Li Ji, a supervising secretary in the Ministry of War, was the kind of person who truly worked overtime. After helping the General Staff correct errors for the General Staff last time, Li Ji was considered to have won the Emperor's favor.

As a result, the emperor would send all memorials related to the country's military and political affairs to the Six Ministries through the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, so that Li Ji could "take a look."

Now, with the Northwest in turmoil and ongoing debates over coastal and border defense, there are an unusually large number of related memorials.

Li Ji, having "received the emperor's favor," dared not slack off and could only read the books one by one.

Not only did they have to read them, but they also had to offer their opinions on each one, and in some cases, they even had to submit separate memorials to refute them.

Upon hearing the clerk's report that Li Rusong wanted to pay him a visit, Li Ji put down the memorial in his hand and rubbed his sore eyes.

He and Li Rusong had long admired each other, but this was their first formal meeting.

Why did Li Rusong come to see me?

Li Ji originally wanted to refuse, but then he remembered Li Rusong's status as a core member of the "Su Party" and swallowed back the refusal that was about to come out.

"Please ask Staff Officer Li to go to the guest room."

Li Ji straightened his official robes and went to the side hall next to the Six Ministries where guests were received.

Li Rusong sat stiffly in the side hall.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Six Ministries were absolutely core departments.

The Six Censors were the leaders of the Qingliu faction. Before the Li family rose to power, officials from the Censors and Censors were often sent to Qing troops to inspect local armies.

Back then, a few words from a Qing Dynasty censor could determine the life or death of a general like Li Chengliang in Liaoyang.

Although his and his son's status is different now than before, their reverence for the censors and officials remains undiminished.

In fact, it's not just Li Rusong who thinks this way.

Despite numerous complaints from officials in the Censorate and the Imperial Academy, their power had actually been increasing day by day since the Longqing reign.

While the performance evaluation system restricted officials in the censorate, it also made the oversight system more standardized.

Originally, officials in the censorate were often caught up in the political struggles of the court, and then intermittently became paralyzed.

For example, during the reign of the previous emperor, the Great Rites Controversy first dismissed most of the officials in the Censorate, and then there were successive factional struggles within the cabinet. Throughout the Jiajing reign, the Six Ministries and the Censorate did not perform their duties normally for a long time.

Moreover, during the Jiajing reign, officials in the Censorate and the Imperial Censorate became tools of factional struggles, driven by the forces behind them, and their reputations were not necessarily good.

At that time, the main political struggles were also framing and "gang fights." When the censors impeached someone, they would rush in, or they would resort to more ruthless tactics like knocking on the emperor's door.

However, now science and technology authorities cannot speak on rumors, and impeaching officials requires solid evidence.

As a result, the Science and Technology Bureau became more cautious in impeaching officials, but once they submitted a petition for impeachment, they rarely failed, and each impeachment brought down at least one official.

In this way, the power of the censors increased significantly, and ordinary officials became even more afraid of them.

Moreover, having detached themselves from factional strife, the censors focused more of their energy on monitoring ordinary officials.

As a result, the entire bureaucratic system trembled at the mere mention of the name of the Science and Technology Bureau.

As a key department under the care of the Military Affairs Department, Li Rusong had to muster up his courage to step into the Sixth Department.

With dark circles under his eyes, Li Ji stepped into the side hall. He saw Li Rusong sitting upright and took the initiative to greet him.

Li Rusong bowed slightly, looking a little reserved: "I am Li Jushizhong, and I am very busy with official duties. I apologize for disturbing you."

Li Ji's gaze was sharp, and he said in a calm tone, "Staff Officer Li, you're too kind. Although we haven't had a deep discussion, the Department of Military Affairs and the General Staff exchange official documents frequently."

When Li Ji mentioned "frequently," he looked at Li Rusong, clearly indicating that their official communication was not harmonious.

Li Rusong blushed at the thought of the "fierce argument" he had with the other party over official documents.

Unable to continue the awkward small talk, Li Rusong could only get straight to the point:
"Li, the situation in the Northwest is dire. The Khmer army has already set out, and the correspondence between the inner court, the Ministry of War, and the General Staff has increased dramatically. The Operations Department is particularly short-handed. However..."

He frowned slightly and gently placed the list filled with the names of noble sons on the table:

"Most of the candidates recommended by you gentlemen have not learned new skills in the Military Academy, and they may not be able to handle the tasks of staff work, mathematical deduction, and map analysis."

“If we select people solely based on their family background, we risk jeopardizing military affairs, which is not the original intention of Su Jianzheng’s military reform!”

"I, Li, have been tossing and turning over this matter at night, and have come to seek your advice on how to select talents for the country without offending any parties."

Li Ji glanced at the list, saw a few familiar names, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

He knew all these people's names; they were all people who were unwilling to endure hardship but would try to reap the benefits when they came along.

Ke Dao has veto power over personnel matters, and many people have been repeatedly vetoed by Li Ji.

The first name in the column is Mu Changyou of the Public Security Bureau. This man has a very good reputation among the upright officials in the capital. Although he is the son of a noble family, he was not afraid of powerful people when he was in charge of the Public Security Bureau. He led the Public Security Bureau to demolish many illegal buildings built by powerful people.

After the holidays this year, the Cabinet issued a commendation to the Public Security Bureau, noting that no large-scale fires occurred this winter, all thanks to the Bureau's excellent fire prevention work.

But apart from Mu Changyou, the rest of the names are "they are always involved in every crackdown on prostitution".

Li Ji nodded and said:

"Chief Li's concerns are very valid. The General Staff is the central hub of military command, and only those who are proficient in new tactics, knowledgeable in logistics and scheduling, and skilled in strategic planning can shoulder this heavy responsibility."

"The lesson of Zhao Kuo, who only knew how to talk about war on paper, is still fresh in our minds. If we let someone who is not familiar with practical matters serve as an advisor, at best we will miss the opportunity to win the battle, and at worst we will shake the foundation of the country."

"Is Chief of Staff Li here to have my Sixth Section reject this list? That's acceptable."

Li Rusong quickly said:
"Thank you, Li Jishizhong, but if this list can be sent once, it will be sent a second time. I am embarrassed to visit you so often. I have long heard that Li Jishizhong is a capable minister. I would like to ask for a good solution to resolve this problem permanently."

Li Ji looked at Li Rusong with a puzzled expression.

The "Su Party" is powerful, with many capable people and a powerful figure like Su Ze in charge. Why would Li Rusong come to ask him this question?
To solve this minor problem, Su Ze only needed to intervene slightly.

As a censor, Li Ji was a man of complex thoughts. He thought further and recalled the rumors about the "Soviet Party".

I've heard that this "Soviet Party" has always only recruited capable officials.

Li Rusong just praised me as a capable minister. Could this be a test for me?

Is Li Rusong testing Su Ze on his behalf, and trying to recruit him into the Su Party?
Li Ji's heart trembled violently!

How can you test your ministers like this?
Li Ji thought of the imperial edicts of commendation he had received these past few days, and the respectful and envious glances from his colleagues.

Join the Soviet Party? Can I withstand the test?
Li Ji convinced himself that this was not for joining the Soviet Party, but for the sake of national affairs!

(End of this chapter)