You have truly caused me great suffering!

In the small courtyard of the Privy Council, a guard brought some tea.

The group huddled together, sitting close together, and Wu Jie took a portion and shared it.

Everyone was very involved, which is a good thing for them.

Everyone present had their own group of followers and old brothers who fought alongside them.

Every inch of their military achievements, which earned them titles of king and marquis, was imbued with their blood and sweat.

Chen Shao was unusually serious. He had been planning this for a long time, and finally he felt that the time was right to proceed.

At this time, civil officials had benefited greatly from the war, and were indulging in lavish feasts, so their voices of opposition should have been the fewest.

Moreover, the prime minister was Liu Jizu, who was deeply grateful for his patronage and was the most obedient prime minister since the founding of the Great Jing Dynasty.

The reasons for elevating the status of soldiers are not entirely lofty.

Although Chen Shao did indeed have the desire to restore the martial spirit of the Central Plains during the pre-Qin period.

But more so, it's because his Great Jing Empire needs soldiers now.

The Great Jing needs many people to volunteer to join the army and fight.

There are many people in the Central Plains, and since the opening of maritime trade, many of them have started to turn to trading.

Some people start their own small caravans, which gradually grow and recruit hundreds of workers.

As a result, the number of people engaged in production and fighting, especially young men, will decrease.

It's not obvious now, but what about in a few years?
After conquering these territories, troops are needed to defend them.

If we can hold onto these first few decades of conquest and nip any signs of resistance in the bud.

In the future, they will spontaneously consider themselves Jing people.

The most challenging period has been these past few decades.

Nowadays, the proportion of soldiers from various military branches, such as Tatars, Annamese, and Umans, is too high.

What Chen Shao needed was an army composed of highly capable men from good families in the Central Plains as his core armed force.

They can intimidate all the troops, preventing them from easily harboring rebellious thoughts, and if any rebellion does occur, they can suppress it in time.

After becoming emperor, Chen Shao began to think more about personal matters.

Before he ascended the throne, his only thought was to expel the Tartars and defend the Central Plains.

Enlighten the people early on, develop smelting, shipbuilding and firearms, repair rivers and dikes, protect forests and prohibit logging.
But now, he has begun to plan for the long-term prosperity of the Great Jing Dynasty.

This is only human nature.
As long as we get through the most dangerous years, thoroughly establish the system, and consolidate the newly conquered territories, we can succeed.

Then his Great Jing Dynasty would truly have a chance to surpass the lifespan of previous dynasties.

After reading their plan, Chen Shao remained silent, sitting at the head of the table.

The people below discussed it quietly.

The royal family and the nobility were bound together, and this has been the case in every dynasty.

They also wished that their family and the nation could prosper together, sharing its fate and flourishing forever.

Perhaps the Song Dynasty's suppression of military men was too harsh, causing these military men to lose confidence. The plans they came up with were so conservative that Chen Shao found them laughable.

What's the difference between this and not changing it at all?

The emperors of the Song Dynasty, especially Zhao Er, the war god of the donkey cart, were true masters.

His role has been overlooked. The reason why the Song Dynasty was not overthrown after its major defeat in the war against Liao, unlike the previous five dynasties, is largely due to Zhao Er's contributions.

From him onwards, the Song Dynasty's suppression of military men was not a matter of a single emperor or powerful minister making decisions on a whim, but rather a "closed-loop system" that locked down military generals through four lines: military power, personnel, finance, and supervision.

The most important of these were the rotation system and the separation of powers between the Three Offices and the Privy Council.

The method of rotating garrisons ensured that "generals did not know their soldiers, and soldiers did not know their generals."

The three military commands (the Palace Guard Command, the Imperial Cavalry Command, and the Imperial Infantry Command) were responsible for the imperial guards but had no authority to deploy troops.
The three departments were only responsible for training, daily management, and guarding.

The power to deploy troops rests with the Privy Council, which is usually headed by a civil official, typically the Chancellor who also serves as the Privy Councilor.

Military generals can never assemble the complete power of "managing people, managing money, and deploying troops".

When large-scale military operations are carried out, civil officials are often appointed as "Pacification Commissioners/Commanders-in-Chief" to lead the troops, while military generals are appointed as "Commander-in-Chief/Deputy Commander-in-Chief" under them.

The system of rotating garrison troops (separating generals from soldiers), the Privy Council's deployment of troops to the Three Military Offices, the civil officials' control by the Pacification Commissioner, the Transport Commissioner's management of grain, the censors' impeachment, and the lower rank of military officials compared to civil officials formed five layers of shackles.

From the time Emperor Xuan of Han first set up the portraits of meritorious officials in the Qilin Pavilion, to the later Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai and the Lingyan Pavilion of the Tang Dynasty, the portraits of meritorious officials of various emperors were mostly military generals.

However, most of the portraits of meritorious officials in the Jingling Palace of the Song Dynasty were civil officials.

After the Southern Song Dynasty retreated to the south of the Yangtze River, it rebuilt the Jingling Palace and commissioned portraits of meritorious officials. Surprisingly, the first person listed was Lü Yihao (Lü Wanyi's grandfather), not the generals who fought to the death against the Jin army and saved half of the country.

After a long silence, Chen Shao finally spoke, “After the Zhenghe reforms, the previous dynasty’s determination of the ranks and assignments of military officers was quite inappropriate. I started out in the Western Army, so how could I not know the disadvantages of this?”

Many of those present were former members of the Western Army, and they all wholeheartedly agreed.

They all sat up straight and listened attentively to His Majesty's instructions.

After all, His Majesty often does surprising things, and this time he might bring everyone another surprise.

Chen Shao continued, “The previous dynasty had a small territory and a short defense line, and its only concerns were the western bandits and northern barbarians. Today, I want to use military force to secure the borders and suppress the four barbarians, so we cannot continue with this approach.”

"First of all, the military merit system must be reformed! In the next few days, you will write out a 'Jianwu Military Merit Order,' detailing all the aspects of awarding ranks based on military merit, and have it engraved outside the Privy Council and in every major military camp!"

"Those who are granted titles for military merits shall be exempted from some corvée labor and miscellaneous taxes as appropriate. They and their sons may enter military academies. Those who die in battle shall have their titles passed down to their sons and be worshipped in the local shrines of martyrs."

Without much thought, Chen Shao said, "This clause should be awarded posthumously to those veterans of the Dingnan Army who have already retired from the army."

Han Shizhong's eyes widened in disbelief; he realized he had missed out on a good opportunity.

Military merit was strictly tied to rank, and the first batch of soldiers to return to their fields were allocated the most fertile land in the Central Plains.

A portion of the tax will also be exempted.
If such rules existed when I was young, I would have been beheading, capturing flags, and being the first to scale walls every day. I would have risen through the ranks long ago. How could I have ended up as a lowly soldier in the rebel army for more than a decade?

Everyone held their breath and listened attentively, not daring to interrupt.

Even with such a close relationship between the ruler and his subjects, they still dared not offer advice on this matter.
The emperor issued such an edict entirely of his own will, and as a result, all the soldiers and officers in the country were grateful to the imperial family.

If I were to interrupt, and word got out that I was advocating for the military's interests, that would be a serious matter.

You're trying to win over the troops.

They were even happier when the emperor personally issued the edict; they were also the biggest beneficiaries.

Every single one of them present had military merits so great that no further titles could be bestowed upon them.

"All soldiers recruited by the Great Jing shall receive double pay, meat sauce, and wine during wartime. Death benefits shall be paid immediately without the need for a six-month reconciliation period, and shall be directly managed by the 'Petition Bureau'. Wounded and disabled veterans shall be placed in the 'Loyal and Brave Battalion' to guard the imperial tombs, teach martial arts, and defend the city, without reduction in rations or seizure of land."

Since fighting wars is so lucrative, Chen Shao didn't want to be a good Samaritan and instead took the initiative to distribute the money.

The soldiers will figure out their own way. It's better to just let them divide it up!
It's much better than secretly making money through underhanded means.

Fighting for the country requires making money; otherwise, who would be willing to go?

The most absurd thing in the world is that you travel so far on a business trip, risking your life for your country, only to end up not making any money.

Even joining a caravan and making such a trip can earn you a considerable amount of silver.

“Every three to five years, a ‘grand review’ will be held, during which I will personally don armor, ascend the general’s platform, and bestow the battle-axe.”

"We will build the Temple of King Wu Cheng to worship Jiang Taigong, placing him alongside Confucius, the King of Literature. I will personally offer sacrifices there every year, along with sixty-four generals from past dynasties. We need to have our own grand statues. Before you die, we will pre-determine your positions, and after a hundred years, your statues will be placed in the temple!"

Han Shizhong quickly replied, "I second that proposal!"

If a general from the Great Jing Dynasty were selected, he would be a very strong contender.

Moreover, sixty-four were selected at once, and it's possible that four of the five founding kings could be included!

"In the next few days, we need to create momentum in the Dajing Daily and get this buzz going!"

After Chen Shao finished speaking, he stood up and laughed, "Once my two western expeditions by land and sea are over, the territory of our Great Jing will be larger than ever before. Only the good sons and soldiers of our Chinese nation can govern and guard the four directions for me."

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he heavily relied on generals of non-Han origin, and we have all seen the consequences.

In the end, those who were truly loyal and devoted, and who withstood numerous tests, were still people like Zhang Xun, Guo Ziyi, and Yan Zhenqing.

Even Li Guangbi, the Hu general who had the greatest military achievements, later engaged in disloyal acts by amassing his own troops.

This campaign reached Europe and conquered India. Chen Shao hoped it would be the beginning of a great unification, not just a brief conquest.

Therefore, he needs to strengthen his core base.

Only when you are strong enough will others think about striving in your direction, becoming or imitating you.

For example, after the Western Industrial Revolution, they became unprecedentedly powerful, and their set of values, and even the 'suit', became popular.

The prerequisite for all of this to come to fruition has never been morality or civilization.

Instead, they were artillery and rifles, warships and airplanes.

What morality or civilization does this white man have? Is it the morality of scalping or the civilization of selling opium?

If you have hard power, you don't need to promote your soft power; people will naturally flock to you.

Therefore, Chen Shao wanted to strengthen the military power in the Central Plains.

The Great Jing possesses advanced firearms and coal and iron smelting technology capable of producing armor. Chen Shao cannot use these to arm the Tatars, Annamese, Wuman, and Goryeo people, but instead allows his trusted Han and Qiang confidants to engage in trade and farming.

If that happens, something terrible is bound to happen sooner or later.

The better you farm or the richer you become in business, the more dangerous it is.

In Dajing, many people have already accepted that the Qiang people are of Han descent. The Qiang people in the northwest are rapidly becoming Sinicized at an astonishing pace.

In fact, they had already become much Sinicized, but the Western Xia deliberately suppressed them, which led to the distinction between the Han and Qiang people.

If it weren't for Chen Shao's rise to power, the Western Xia emperor would have been about to implement reforms soon.

Upon arriving in Dajing, as members of the startup group, they no longer resisted but actively adopted Chinese localization in order to gain a higher status.

The three "Golden Consorts" in Chen Shao's harem are the best example.

His Majesty the Emperor has a fastidiousness about bloodlines, a fact that has become an open secret. Over the years, no matter how many beauties were presented by foreign lands, none of them have ever been able to become the Emperor's concubines.

There isn't even a single talented person.

Not to mention giving birth to royalty.

The fact that His Majesty the Emperor was able to bring three "Golden Consorts" into the palace, all of whom held high positions and bore him two princes and two princesses, speaks volumes.

As for the theory of the common origin of Han and Bai people, which was heavily promoted during the annexation of Dali, it was completely reversed.

Nowadays, it is the Bai ethnic leaders who were once very resistant to the idea that the Han and Bai people share the same origin and are constantly going to the Central Plains to claim their ancestry.

A bond of shared interests is more effective than a thousand lectures.

A group of people discussed things in the Privy Council for a long time before looking up and realizing it was almost dark.

Chen Shao said with a smile, "It's so late, let's just go to someone's house for a meal."

Han Shizhong quickly replied, "I have recently hired a cook in my household. He comes from Shandong and is an excellent cook."

"Let's go to his house for a drink."

Chen Shao made a decisive decision.

Han Shizhong is someone you can ignore in other aspects, but when it comes to things like eating, drinking, and having fun, he's an expert.

The others, who were obviously aware of this as well, happily got up to go to the Prince of Qi's residence.

The network of relationships within the Privy Council was actually far more complex than that within the Lecture Hall, but everyone treated each other like colleagues, and their relationships were fairly harmonious.

Because civil officials were divided into factions, and those factions were truly divided, with each faction having its own lineage, region, and lineage of a particular official. There were countless intricacies involved.

Military generals, on the other hand, can get to know each other after having a drink together, but there will be no conflict of interest.

Because of the troop movements, everyone's subordinates are now intertwined, and they have all become nobles, sharing both glory and shame.

When Chen Shao returned to the palace, he was drunk. It seemed like someone had asked him something, but it also seemed like no one had.

Anyway, he arrived at Li Shishi's palace.

Surprisingly, they actually have hangover soup here.

After finishing his drink, Chen Shao's mind cleared up a bit. He wondered if any of his predecessors had a good relationship with Shishi and would report his whereabouts for the day.

Then he wanted to laugh. Being an emperor for too long makes one suspicious and paranoid, always suspecting that someone wants to harm him.

Even Shishi is starting to scheme.

Li Shishi was feeding him with a soup spoon in her hand. She was wearing a white silk undergarment and looked just like a ripe peach.

Her skin was fair with a rosy glow, and her already shapely figure had become slightly fuller, with a well-proportioned figure and a strong feminine charm.

Chen Shao then realized that he hadn't been coming here much lately.

But that's just how she is. She doesn't compete or fight, she's not jealous, and she doesn't act coquettish. Whenever I come, she's all smiles.

Chen Shao gently pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her small waist, letting her full, rounded softness naturally sit on his lap. He inhaled the pleasant, orchid-like fragrance emanating from her body, while his large hands crumpled the white fabric into wrinkles.

"I did something big for our family today."

"Wow, that's amazing." Li Shishi chimed in with a smile, as if she were coaxing a child, which made Chen Shao tighten his grip on her hand in frustration.

The two nestled together quietly, and she didn't mind the smell of alcohol on him. (End of Chapter)