We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Military Supervision Department?

Zhuge Zhe looked solemn.

The military supervisor is not a good thing. It is used by the emperor to restrain the generals leading troops outside and to consolidate their power.

Since ancient times, armies with military supervisors have always been restricted, which is a typical case of an amateur giving instructions to the experts.

If the military supervisor is ignorant of military affairs and gives orders blindly, the combat effectiveness may drop by half.

"This... Your Highness, this isn't necessary, is it?" Zhuge Zhe whispered. "The soldiers in the army all follow Your Highness's orders. Sending a supervisor to control them would probably chill everyone's spirits."

Generals Yue Yun and Yang Xuan also looked grim upon hearing this.

The military supervision system is a product of the policy of emphasizing civil officials over military officials, and is extremely unfriendly to military generals like them.

Li Che shook his head: "Military Supervisor is not appropriate, it's better to say... Political Commissar!"

"Political Commissar?" Zhuge Zhe heard a new word from Li Che's mouth and said he didn't understand it.

"That's right. Political commissars, as the name suggests, are responsible for unifying the political thinking of the soldiers. Unlike military supervisors, they are not allowed to interfere in military affairs and are only responsible for ideological work."

Since ancient times, the fundamental reason why soldiers followed generals in rebellion was that they did not understand who they were fighting for.

In this land of China, any military action must have a legitimate reason.

Even if they were to rebel, they would use the pretext of "clearing the court officials".

The soldiers had very low literacy and almost no thoughts, so they could only blindly follow the orders of their generals.

The power struggle among the upper class required the blood of the grassroots soldiers to pay for it. In the end, countless soldiers on both sides were killed and wounded, but they all thought that what they were doing was just.

The An-Shi Rebellion, which destroyed the Tang Dynasty's fortune, is a typical example.

Li Che wanted to put an end to this situation, and the only way was to correct the soldiers' minds and make them clear about why they were fighting.

The trained political commissars were sent to battalions, teams, and groups to promote the ideas of loyalty to the emperor (Li Che), patriotism (Ninggu County), and love for the people.

If all goes well, even if the Ninggu Army cannot be transformed into the people's army of the previous generation, at least it can be prevented from becoming military bandits who kill innocent people and seek credit for their achievements.

"If you don't interfere in military affairs, I think it's feasible." Zhuge Zhe nodded. "Select some literate and sensible people and let Your Highness personally teach them. I'm afraid these people will join the army and affect its combat effectiveness."

Li Che smiled and said, "Ziyuan, you don't know that in an army with true faith, the most capable fighter is the political commissar."

The death rate of Soviet political commissars in World War II was as high as 78%. They dared to charge forward with benches even after their weapons were confiscated.

Do you really think scholars are weak?

Scholars only know how to read, but they are not weak at all. Those who know why they are fighting are the most fearless warriors.

The political commissar system was also Li Che's first attempt to reform the ancient military system.

At present, the military system of Ninggu Army is still the military system of Daqing. It is too backward and the command effect is poor. Li Che has long been unable to bear it.

If the political commissar system can achieve initial success, Li Che also plans to introduce other modern military systems.

For example: military positions in the army, division, brigade, regiment, battalion, company and platoon, modern military ranks, the compulsory conscription system, etc.

An army composed of the people must naturally have the demeanor of the people's soldiers and be respected and loved by the people, rather than being a bandit army at the bottom of society.

Li Che continued walking along the street while chatting with a few people about military reform.

When you walk out of the inner city gate and into the outer city, what you see is completely different.

When the spring breeze blows, there is a sense of prosperity, but what you see everywhere is a scene of withering.

Dilapidated wooden huts stood in a row without any planning, sewage was everywhere on the muddy and dirty ground, and the stench was overwhelming.

There were passers-by with pale faces and ragged clothes walking back and forth. Some of them wore clothes that were washed white and full of patches, while others wore the shabby and smelly fur clothes of the barbarians.

Chaoyang City has a complete sewage system called Qihuodong, but it only serves the inner city and does not cover the outer city.

Although Li Che looted a batch of clothes from the barbarians and sold them to the people at a very low price, there were still many people who could not even afford it.

There are also vendors doing business on the street, selling nuts, fruits and wild vegetables picked from the mountains.

A handful of wild fruits costs one penny, which is not expensive, but there are still many people who cannot afford copper coins and can only choose to barter.

Ninggu County did not have its own copper coins and was still using Daqing coins. However, the imperial court had regulations prohibiting the outflow of Daqing coins from Shanhaiguan.

This policy was intended to limit the flow of copper coins into the hands of barbarians, and now it also restricts the development of Ninggu County.

This caused the monetary system of Ninggu County to be close to zero. The money that Li Che lent to the people for medical treatment, food, and clothes might have exceeded the total number of copper coins in the entire city.

Most of the copper coins circulating in the hands of the people were the wages Li Che paid them in the past few days.

This is an unhealthy economic situation, and the primitive trading method makes Li Che frown.

This is no longer a question of poverty. When everyone in a country is poor, it becomes a question of the country's survival.

There are too many poor people, and temporary aid alone cannot save them. Only reform can save the majority.

"Master Qian, we need to have our own currency." Li Che said silently.

Qian Bin's body trembled, and he quickly whispered, "Your Highness, be careful with your words. Privately minting coins is a crime."

Li Che said indifferently: "As a vassal king, seeing the people under your rule living in poverty, yet remaining indifferent, is an unforgivable crime!"

Qian Bin looked at Li Che silently and stopped talking.

Forget it, if it’s illegal, then it’s illegal. Hasn’t our prince done enough illegal things?

Several barefoot children ran past Li Che, their feet stepping into the cold mud and water, but the children didn't feel anything.

Li Che sighed slightly and asked Qian Bin: "Where are the bedding and clothes that Xue Zhen sent?"

“It’s all stored in the warehouse.”

"Give it to the people." Li Che thought for a moment and added, "Just treat it as a benefit for spring plowing. Every citizen who participates in spring plowing can get a share."

"Your Highness has mercy."

"Are there still people starving to death in the city today?"

Qian Bin replied: "There are no people who starved to death, but there are many who died from long-term illnesses that were difficult to treat."

Li Che nodded and said firmly: "From today on, no one under my rule can starve to death. This is the bottom line!"

"Yes."

"Let's go back." Li Che said solemnly, "Today I know that the road ahead is long and difficult."