Chapter 5020: Recruiting Soldiers

Chapter 5020: Recruiting Soldiers
In the imperial study room.

Li Chengqian drank his tea slowly with his eyelids drooping, and ignored Pei Huaijie who was standing respectfully below him. He did not feel close to him because of Liu Li's personal recommendation.

He was indeed dissatisfied with Pei Huaijie, who had served as the governor of Henan in Luoyang for many years. He had messed up the entire fertile land of Henan, with agricultural output being poor, land annexation being serious, and the people's lives being extremely difficult. Although the situation had not yet reached the point of "people's livelihood being in misery", it was almost there.

Considering that he was a meritorious official during the Zhenguan period, he was allowed to return to Chang'an.

However, his performance after returning to Chang'an was still unsatisfactory, which led to his infiltration into the "Military Reform Committee". As a result, he did not get much inside information, and even failed to discover in advance that Fang Jun and Li Ji were colluding with each other. Like Zheng Rentai, he was completely useless.

Thinking of Zheng Rentai, Li Chengqian was so angry that his liver hurt...

Liu Li observed his expression and frowned slightly, but since things had come to this, he could only bite the bullet and say: "With the return of the Grand Marshal to the Council of State, evil winds have suddenly arisen and people's minds have been disturbed. Colleagues no longer take the interests of the empire as their own responsibility, but instead pay more attention to their own interests. If this continues, the harm will be far-reaching! Pei Pushe is very worried about this. I only hope that I can be your Majesty's vanguard and devote myself to the interests of the empire!"

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea and said calmly: "How can I serve as a vanguard and devote myself to the cause?"

Pei Huaijie said: "Minister of War Cui Dunli has always followed the lead of the Grand Marshal. He always agrees with the Grand Marshal's opinions, regardless of whether it harms the interests of the empire. The Minister of the Court Ma Zhou and the Minister of the Supreme Court Dai Zhou also have many biases. These three are in collusion with each other. They only care about their own interests and not Your Majesty! I am an incompetent official, but I am willing to do my best for Your Majesty's holy power!"

Li Chengqian did not comment on this, but looked at Liu Li and asked, "So, there are seven prime ministers in the Political Affairs Hall, and the Grand Marshal has occupied four of them. Is the important affairs of the court controlled by this one person?"

Liu Li blushed and bowed his head, saying, "I am incompetent and have failed your majesty's trust."

This is not only that Fang Jun has covered up everything and undermined the imperial power, but also that Liu Li is completely useless...

Li Chengqian sighed. He naturally knew Liu Li's intention of bringing Pei Huaijie to the audience. Although he looked down on this Shangshu You Pushe who returned to the capital in a mess from Luoyang, he had to give him something back, so he comforted him, "Pei Aiqing is in the government hall, so he should assist the Zhongshu Ling in handling official business. Everything should be based on the interests of the empire, and he must not slack off."

Pei Huaijie was slightly excited: "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my best and will die for you!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "The Political Affairs Hall is not a dangerous place. How can you say 'die before yourself'? Just work diligently and conscientiously. I will keep it in mind."

Previously, Pei Huaijie suddenly turned against him and stabbed Liu Li in the back, so Li Chengqian no longer thought highly of him. It was common for people in the court to switch sides for the sake of interests. Such a person could not be said to be wrong, but he had no moral integrity, so how could he be entrusted with important tasks?

Yesterday he backstabbed Liu Li for his own benefit, today he backstabbed Fang Jun for his own benefit, and tomorrow he will definitely backstab him, the emperor, for his own benefit.

How could he take such a "traitor" seriously?
It was just to give Liu Li a face so that he would not be suppressed by Fang Jun in the Council of State.

In fact, he never thought that Liu Li was better than Fang Jun in handling miscellaneous affairs. As long as Fang Jun and Li Ji parted ways, the military was no longer united and the imperial power was no longer hollowed out, he would rather let Fang Jun control the entire political affairs hall and assist him in handling government affairs.

The mountain of paperwork almost drained all his energy...

Pei Huaijie was very excited: "I will obey the emperor's order!"

Although Your Majesty has granted Liu Li the status of "civil servant leader" and has high hopes for him to take control of the government hall, serving Liu Li is naturally completely different from serving Your Majesty.

Li Chengqian nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "In recent times, the 'Ministry of Rites Test' has been of utmost importance. My dear minister, please help the Minister of the Central Secretariat to worry more about this matter, and work with the Ministry of Rites to ensure that the 'Ministry of Rites Test' goes smoothly, and absolutely no accidents can occur."

Pei Huaijie became more and more excited and bowed in response: "Yes!"

At present, the imperial examination is the most important thing in the court. Whoever can participate in it will have his political status improved. At the same time, the aristocratic families in the world also attach great importance to the imperial examination. Whoever can become one of the "examiners" will naturally be praised and relied upon by the aristocratic families, and his reputation and status will rise.

*****
The Ministry of War Yamen.

At the meeting of the "Committee", a group of military giants who arrived one after another congratulated Fang Jun. Pei Huaijie asked with a smile: "I wonder when the banquet for relatives and friends will be held? The gifts are already prepared. I must go and ask for a glass of wine."

Fang Jun smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's close to the 'Ministry of Rites Test'. Chang'an City is overcrowded and the public security is poor, so we won't hold a big event. We can choose a day to invite three or five friends to our humble home for a small gathering. Otherwise, if every child is born, it will be difficult for you to give small gifts, wouldn't it make our already poor life even worse?"

Everyone laughed. This was of course a joke. No matter how generous the gift was, they could afford it...

When Li Ji arrived, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became serious and the meeting officially began.

……

Li Ji was serious and pointed to a document issued by the "committee" some time ago, and asked Fang Jun: "Duke Yue expounded on the various drawbacks of the Fubing system in this document. I think it is true, but I also want to remind Duke Yue that although the Fubing system has various shortcomings, it also created the Wei, Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties. The military power was the best in the world, and it may not be as bad as you say. If you abandon it all at once and deny it completely, it would be too radical."

The current "committee" is almost polarized over what kind of military system the empire should adopt. Some, like Li Ji, believe that the "Fubing System" was once glorious and created several dynasties, and that its advantages naturally outweigh its disadvantages and should be inherited, even if there are some disadvantages that can be slightly modified; some completely deny the "Fubing System", believing that it is completely behind the times and that the "Muslim System" is a better answer.

Fang Junzhi's view is naturally the latter.

"There are no perfect rules or systems in the world. We can only adapt to the times or go against the trend. When the empire was first established, the treasury was empty and manpower was scarce. The 'Fubing System' could greatly reduce the pressure on the treasury. Farming in peacetime and serving as soldiers in wartime were actually a last resort, but its shortcomings have never been covered up. The root of the 'Fubing System' lies in the 'Equal Field System'. As land annexation became more and more serious, the land that could be rewarded became increasingly scarce. Even measuring the land was a drop in the bucket and could not be sustained at all."

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and continued, "What's more important is that the empire now has a vast territory. It often takes several months for the government soldiers to go to the border to guard the border. If there is a war, they often have to confront each other for several months or fight for several months... This means that each government soldier will be in the army for at least ten months. In wartime, they are soldiers, and in peacetime, they work as farmers. This is the system of government soldiers. However, such a long time in the army will inevitably delay the farming season. Planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, if there is no time to plant in spring, there will be no harvest in autumn. The government soldiers also have to bear the cost of weapons, armor, and war horses themselves. If this continues, the farmland will be abandoned. Who will be willing to join the army and defend the border?"

The advantages and disadvantages of the "Fubing System" are equally obvious.

Seeing everyone in deep thought, Fang Jun continued, "The most important point is that the 'Fubing System' has led to soldiers being controlled by the local government. The central government has little control over them, which can easily lead to the consequence of 'weak trunk and strong branch'. In addition, the local government has previously intercepted financial revenues, and the hidden danger of 'warlords' is extremely huge."

This is the important reason why the "Fubing System" was eventually replaced by the "Mubing System".

As the national situation stabilized and financial revenues increased by leaps and bounds, the phenomenon of local governments intercepting money and grain became common. With money, grain and soldiers, local power continued to expand. Once a crisis occurred in the center, the local governments took the opportunity to grow stronger, and the situation of "Anshi Rebellion" would immediately form.

No regime can remain stable forever. There may not be an "An Lushan Rebellion", but there will definitely be some other chaos.

When the central government loses control of the army, the "Jiedushi" will inevitably come into being, and the huge empire will immediately fall apart...

Li Ji frowned, "What you said is true, but is the 'recruitment system' all advantages? Let's not talk about other things for now, the consumption of the national treasury alone is an unbearable burden. The empire has a vast territory, and there are many important towns on the border, with millions of soldiers guarding the Anxi, Hanhai, Andong and other protectorates. If the 'recruitment system' is adopted for all of them, armor, military rations, war horses, and weapons will all come from the national treasury, and military salaries will have to be issued... The military expenditure consumed is simply appalling."

What is the biggest advantage of the "Fubing System"?
save money.

The soldiers going to the battlefield had to provide their own weapons, horses, and armor, and the imperial court only needed to supply them with food. In this way, the money and food needed to recruit an army was reduced to the lowest level, making it easy to recruit hundreds of thousands of troops.

But once it becomes a "professional army", everything it needs has to be supplied by the court, and the logistical pressure suddenly increases.

There is no need to fight a war. Just guarding the border regularly will cost an astronomical amount of money and food every year. Once there is one or two wars on the border, the money and food consumed will be like a mountain and sea, countless...

Fang Junqi said: "The reforms we are discussing here are only related to the military system. We are discussing how to return military power to the central government and how to improve the combat effectiveness of the army. As for whether it consumes too much money and food, that is the responsibility of the Minister of Civil Affairs or the Minister of War. What does it have to do with us? Moreover, with the current national strength, it may not be impossible to afford the consumption of a million-strong army."

Li Ji was somewhat dissatisfied: "Duke Yue is wrong. If the military reforms we have discussed are completely impossible to implement, then what is the use of them even if they are excellent and perfect?" Li Jing, who was standing aside, was drinking tea calmly, turning a deaf ear to the argument and staying out of it.

The rest of the people had no chance to get a word in during the argument between the two. Only Fang Jun and Li Ji spoke in the entire hall, while the rest of the people kept silent and said nothing...