Chapter 83: Broken House and Rotten Beams, Drawing on Collective Wisdom

Inspect the troops yourself... Zhu Yijun fell into deep thought.

It was not strange that Zhang Juzheng had this idea.

This Senior Grand Secretary was a true radical in terms of military preparedness.

Regarding border troubles, although he would actively propose policies of enfeoffment and tribute or *jimi* (loose rein) according to the situation, in his heart, he thought: "Currently, the defense seems to be somewhat prepared... but I think that the captives are like beasts; if they are not struck once, the trouble will not stop..."—although defense is sufficient now, if the bandits and captives are not beaten until they hurt, the border troubles cannot stop!

And facing the realistic problem of "my troops are not many, food is insufficient, and the commanders are not the right people," Zhang Juzheng believed that "these three are not worth worrying about."

The most fundamental problem still lay in the Emperor's determination.

As long as the Emperor could "rise up brilliantly and first set the holy will," then other problems could be gradually improved through the governance of unraveling the silk and peeling the cocoon.

As for the talk of inspecting troops, it was even less strange.

Because this was revisiting old matters.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng had once requested the late Emperor in the "Memorial on Six Matters": "Currently, the defense inside and outside the capital is weak... every year or every other year, during the slack farming season in winter, I respectfully request Your Majesty to personally inspect them."

Zhang Juzheng did not fear the Emperor touching military power; in fact, to strengthen military preparedness, he actively requested the Emperor to personally inspect them.

Just this point alone was enough to show his sincerity.

Zhang Juzheng waited quietly for the Emperor's reply.

There was no sound in the hall for a while.

After a long time.

Zhu Yijun shook his head slowly: "Let's discuss this matter during the slack farming season in winter."

He was only a little over 1.4 meters tall now.

Such a small pudding wanting to inspect an army of 100,000 would instead eliminate the filter of some soldiers and produce the opposite effect.

These ministers were respectful to him because they could see his temperament and determination from the classics lectures and audience responses.

But if there were a grand inspection, everyone would watch from afar, and they would only judge people by their appearance.

Of course, this was not the point; the point was that the Beijing Camp was too rotten, to the extent that there was no need to buy people's hearts or boost morale.

Ever since the Tatars approached the capital in the seventh month of the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing, the rotten inside of the Beijing Camp had been nakedly displayed before everyone's eyes.

Facing the foreign enemy knocking at the capital, the camp troops numbered less than 50,000 or 60,000; driven out of the city gate, they all shed tears and dared not advance, and the generals also looked at each other and changed color.

Afterward, they guarded the camp gate tightly, letting the Tatars burn and loot around the capital for eight days.

If you ask why it was so rotten?

Naturally, both the soldiers and the generals were rotten.

After this incident, Emperor Shizong was furious and ordered the reorganization of the Beijing Camp.

At that time, Wang Bangrui, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, submitted a memorial saying, "According to the register, there are only 140,000-plus... but those training in the camp are no more than 50,000 or 60,000. The Ministry of Revenue provides grain, but the Ministry of War has no one to dispatch."

140,000 on the books, but only 50,000 or 60,000 in reality.

When asking for money and grain, they were at full capacity of 140,000; when it was time to dispatch troops to fight, there were no people.

As for Wang Bangrui's request to "dispatch six wind-power officials to thoroughly investigate the Twelve Regiment Camps," it was not implemented in time, and the man was dismissed.

No one knew exactly how many people there were.

Eating empty pay to this extent, where was there any combat effectiveness?

At that time, Emperor Shizong reformed the Beijing Camp, intending to set the regular troops at 120,000 and the reserve troops at 140,000, totaling 260,000.

Yan Song said, "The regular troops are not enough now, let alone the reserve troops," directly saying it was not feasible.

Emperor Shizong was helpless and withdrew the grand blueprint of the 260,000-strong Beijing Camp army.

The following year, the reform was completed, and the Marquis of Fengcheng, Li Xi, submitted a memorial saying, "The regular and reserve troops of the Beijing Camp now total 120,000."

This was the quota for the new Beijing Camp, 120,000 people.

By using the names of newly established selected vanguards, standard soldiers, and strong men, they expanded to over 120,000 people and took the opportunity to investigate problems such as difference occupation and false pay.

They concluded that the actual available troops in the Beijing Camp were only 40,000.

It was not until the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing that Emperor Shizong and the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Gu Huan, truly expanded the soldiers to 90,000—the Beijing Camp had thirty small camps, "each small camp had 3,000 expeditionary soldiers."

But as Emperor Shizong let go and Gu Huan was transferred, the Beijing Camp during the Longqing period returned to the control of the Ministry of War.

At this time, it was not very clear how many available soldiers there were.

Apart from the number of soldiers, the incompetence of the generals was also an important reason for the decay of the Beijing Camp.

It was not that the generals of the Ming Dynasty were trash, but that under the current system, the Beijing Camp naturally had the function of screening and leaving behind trash.

First, the nobles and military officials of the Beijing Camp formed cliques and excluded outsiders.

The Beijing Camp initially had a system of only selecting from the nobles; over the years, it formed a mode of internal cross-breeding.

With a base of a dozen noble families, how many capable people could they produce? The conclusion was self-evident.

For this reason, in the tenth month of the first year of Longqing, the central government violated ancestral law and summoned the Fujian Regional Commander Qi Jiguang to assist in military affairs.

However, "the opinions of the court officials were not unified, and the ministry held two ends."

To put it bluntly, the resistance was too great, and they had no choice but to change it to Vice General of the Divine Machine Camp.

However, even as a Vice General, he only served for three months before being transferred—just because Qi Jiguang submitted a memorial stating that the soldiers of the Beijing Camp were all fostered by the rich and noble and were difficult to control.

Second, the regular salary of military officials was not high.

For example, the Regional Commanders of Xuanfu and Datong had hundreds of *qing* of land for nourishing integrity, which could bring in thousands of taels of silver every year.

But the Beijing Camp did not have this treatment.

Therefore, the Beijing Camp "had the thinnest salary," but the "various expenses for social obligations were heavy."

Third, the opportunities for promotion in the Beijing Camp were very few.

After the first year of Longqing, border generals who had no faults in three years of defense could be promoted in rank.

Afterward, the Beijing Camp wanted to "follow the example of border generals" to increase rank, but was rejected by the Ministry of War on the grounds that "the interests, labor, and ease are far apart."

Therefore, a situation gradually formed where military officials "valued the outside and slighted the inside, treating the Beijing Camp as a cold bureau," and "once a general entered this place, it was like being abandoned."

If border generals were selected by the Ministry of War to enter the Beijing Camp, they often asked the viceroys and governors to "consult to keep them or use excuses to avoid it."

The "number heads, middle army, thousand-household and hundred-household officials" in the camp tried every means to plan for external promotion; newly promoted Beijing Camp Vice Generals and other officials prayed to stay in external posts and refused to transfer internally.

Border generals were unwilling to be transferred to the Beijing Camp, and even if they were reluctantly transferred, they were not at ease in their positions.

There were many knowledgeable people in the Ministry of War, so they thought of a way—simply "using the inferior to fill the positions, such as so-and-so who tested in the lower grade, transfer to the Beijing Camp; or so-and-so who is not fit for external use, place in the Beijing Camp."

Simply put, those who were unqualified were transferred to the Beijing Camp as a punishment for military generals.

The Beijing Camp became a place for "the cowardly and inferior to enter the camp to fill the numbers and hope for promotion," so the slackness of the soldiers' training could be imagined.

In short, the Beijing Camp was truly rotten to the core.

These were basic diseases, not something that Zhu Yijun could save by inspecting the troops to boost morale.

Rather than making a big splash and attracting attention, it was better to wait until there were results before having an inspection.

Seeing the Emperor's expression, Zhang Juzheng knew he had a plan in mind and did not make any extra persuasion—the Emperor was much more attentive to the Beijing Camp than the late Emperor, so there was no need to urge him too much.

He pondered for a moment and reminded: "Your Majesty, if you want to reorganize the Beijing Camp, it is best to ask the Ministry of War before speaking."

Previously, transferring Gu Huan to govern the Beijing Camp was done by holding the Ministry of War's head to agree.

Fortunately, Gu Huan did not fight too much for power and responsibility afterward, which calmed the Ministry of War's dissatisfaction.

If there were major actions now, the Ministry of War would probably be in an uproar again.

This was reminding the Emperor that it was best to discuss and handle things.

Zhu Yijun nodded: "The Senior Grand Secretary's steady and prudent words, I understand."

After the imperial court negotiated peace with the right wing of the Tatars, the seven towns west of Xuanfu were relatively stable; however, the Jizhen and Liaodong still had to strictly guard against the various tribes of the left wing, and the pressure on the capital was only slightly reduced.

If they made things too unpleasant with the Ministry of War, they feared it would ruin the overall situation.

The few discussed other matters for a while, and Zhang Juzheng and Wang Guoguang bowed and retired.

Zhu Yijun stood up to see them off and suddenly remembered something.

He called out to Zhang Juzheng, who had already walked to the outside of the hall, stepped forward quickly, and said he wanted to see them off for a distance.

Walking out of Chengguang Hall, Zhu Yijun took the lead to see them off and then said: "Senior Grand Secretary, there is one more sum of money I forgot to mention earlier."

Zhang Juzheng's face darkened.

Turning to look at Wang Guoguang, both revealed helpless expressions.

Zhu Yijun ignored their expressions and said seriously: "It is for the field measurement in the future."

This matter was naturally not sensitive.

After Zhang Juzheng became Senior Grand Secretary, the things he wanted to do were almost blatantly placed in front of the hundred officials, just to attract knowledgeable people to gather.

Field measurement, although waiting for the *kaocheng* method, everyone knew it was a matter of time.

Hearing the Emperor's words, Zhang Juzheng was stunned, then revealed a look of emotion; the items for which the Emperor wanted money were much more serious than the late Emperor's.

Wang Guoguang cast a concerned look.

Zhu Yijun threw out a question: "Senior Grand Secretary, is the clearing and measuring of fields done by the locality itself, or does the central government send people to cooperate with the locality?"

Calling it cooperation was actually supervision and re-measurement.

Once Zhang Juzheng heard it was a serious matter, he collected his expression.

Thinking for a while, he answered seriously: "Naturally, the Ministry of Revenue sends various clearing officials to cooperate with the locality."

If the locality reported whatever they wanted, what was the point of clearing and measuring?

Zhu Yijun nodded and looked at Wang Guoguang: "Minister Wang, are all the officials of the clearing offices proficient in calculation?"

Wang Guoguang smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, the imperial examination is already enough to consume one's energy; there are really not many officials who can spare the energy for calculation."

"But the clerks, most of them are proficient."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Juzheng understood the Emperor's meaning.

He hesitated: "Your Majesty's meaning is to train another batch of officials proficient in calculation?"

Zhu Yijun shook his head and smiled: "Not just officials; inner court officials and the Embroidered Uniform Guard must also cultivate a portion. For things like field measurement, having a few more pairs of eyes is a good thing."

Immediately, he waved his hand: "Let's not talk about how much silver is needed for this for now; I will take the two ministers to see a good thing!"

Zhang Juzheng shook his head: "Your Majesty, there are still several things to discuss in the Grand Secretariat; I am truly busy today."

Zhu Yijun pouted, not forcing him to stay, and signaled that he could return to the Grand Secretariat first.

After Zhang Juzheng left, Zhu Yijun said to Wang Guoguang: "Minister Wang, wait a moment; let me change my clothes, and we will go to the New Academy."

The New Academy was located next to the Imperial Ancestral Temple outside the East Flowery Gate, adjacent to the Imperial Academy.

Of course, the scale was naturally much smaller.

Compared to the Imperial Academy, which occupied thirty *mu* and had three courtyards, the New Academy was not even half that size.

Last year, Zhu Heng said it would be completed in the eleventh month, but later Zhu Yijun raised some more silver, expanded the land to ten *mu*, and let Minister Zhu busy himself for another two months.

It was not completed until the end of last month.

Zhu Yijun greeted the two palaces, changed into casual clothes, and then walked out of the East Flowery Gate with Wang Guoguang.

The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard guarded the route and the New Academy in secret in advance to ensure safety.

Zhu Yijun let the accompanying attendants follow from a distance and talked to Wang Guoguang while walking.

Wang Guoguang asked curiously: "Your Majesty, why hasn't this New Academy been given a name?"

It stands to reason that a name should have been chosen before completion, otherwise it would be difficult to hang the plaque.

But until now, the Emperor still called it the New Academy.

Zhu Yijun smiled: "I haven't thought of a suitable one yet."

In his heart, it was best to give it meaning.

But if he were to force a name like "Academy of Sciences" now, it would lose this layer of connotation and be less beautiful.

It would be better to wait for a suitable opportunity for a suitable name to appear.

The two chatted casually, and before long, they arrived at the New Academy.

The academy gate faced south, with three rooms in width.

Four lacquered solid wood pillars supported the facade.

The plaque overhead and the couplets on the left and right were all empty, inevitably looking shabby.

Outside the gate, brick screen walls were built on the east and west, with the words "Seek Truth" and "Ask the Dao" written on them.

Zhu Yijun stepped on the blue stone bricks, looked at the two small saplings in front of the gate, and couldn't help shaking his head: "Minister Zhu is really frugal where he should be."

He reached out and stroked the saplings: "I don't know when they will grow into towering trees."

Leaving this sentence, he led Wang Guoguang inside.

At this time, Jiang Keqian took two steps ahead to warn the surroundings.

"Your Majesty!" Just at this time, Vice Mountain Chief Li Youzi greeted them with a panicked face.

Zhu Yijun signaled that he didn't need to salute and went straight to the point: "Where is Cheng Dawei?"

Li Youzi hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Cheng Dawei is currently teaching the students; I will go call him."

Zhu Yijun stopped him: "No need; I will go over, just in time to listen."

If the Emperor wants to walk a few more steps, everyone naturally has no choice but to follow.

Only then did Wang Guoguang have time to greet Li Youzi: "Why is Junior Minister Li not on duty at the Court of Judicial Review?"

Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Chen Dong had gone to Nanzhili; it stood to reason that he was short of hands, but the Left Junior Minister actually had time to run to the New Academy.

Li Youzi bowed toward the Imperial City: "The Empress Dowager Cisheng entrusted me to take care of the Prince of Lu and Princess Yongning when they leave the palace; as the Vice Mountain Chief, I have an inescapable duty."

Zhu Yijun turned his head and looked at him: "Are my younger brother and sister having class today?"

The Prince of Lu, Zhu Yiliu, and Princess Yongning, Zhu Yaoji, had also reached the age of enlightenment.

Afterward, they hired a teacher to enter the palace to teach.

Later, Zhu Yijun suggested that the two younger siblings could go to the New Academy to listen to classes.

It was inconvenient for women to go out to listen to classes, but the New Academy had just opened and had not yet started recruiting students, so it was not mixed and was relatively safe; furthermore, Empress Dowager Li was of commoner origin and relatively not so rigid, so she also held an approving attitude.

The Emperor and Empress showed grace; outsiders submitted memorials twice without any movement, so no one cared about this matter anymore.

Li Youzi hurriedly lowered his head and replied: "The academy teaches every three, six, and nine; the Prince of Lu and the Princess leave the palace for class every three."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

The place for teaching was in the main hall in the center of the academy.

The main hall was surrounded by corridors, with pool water circling outside; the hall had a double-eaved four-cornered pointed roof, covered with yellow glazed tiles.

Zhu Yijun looked up and down; the environment was not bad, it seemed the Ministry of Works had not embezzled too much.

He turned sideways and listened to the movement inside.

The group followed the Emperor, learned to imitate, and pricked up their ears.

They only heard movement inside.

"So, divide 56 taels of silver into seven parts; that is 56 divided by 7, how much is it?"

"It is eight!"

"Eight!"

A simple question led to a round of scrambling to answer.

Zhu Yijun also heard Li Chengming's voice inside.

The students of the New Academy were about the same as the Beijing Guard Military Academy; the nobles pondered the holy will and sent their half-grown boys in.

There were only 100 people in total, staggering different classes, and it was not bad to have a dozen people come every day.

Wang Guoguang cast a questioning look at Li Youzi, as if saying, is such a simple thing worth opening a New Academy?

Li Youzi didn't understand this at all, so he had to pretend not to see it.

The crowd waited for a while, and the sound inside gradually stopped.

Jiang Keqian pushed the door open and went in first to clear the field, so as not to startle the imperial carriage when the crowd rushed out.

When the door was pushed open, Wang Guoguang saw a polished stone hanging in the center of the classroom, with traces written in charcoal on it.

A pile of strange symbols on it made him look confused.

Knowing the Emperor had arrived, those without qualifications were all driven out through the side door.

Only Zhu Yiliu, Zhu Yaoji, and Li Chengming stepped forward to salute.

"Big Brother Emperor Majesty."

"Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun let the palace servants take the Prince of Lu to play on the side, and he pulled Zhu Yaoji into the classroom.

Seeing that there was no arrangement for him, Li Chengming followed silently.

Cheng Dawei hurriedly saluted: "Your Majesty."

Since entering the capital, he had received the Emperor's generous treatment and stayed at the New Academy to teach and handle affairs.

Usually, he would just do his own research and the things the Emperor ordered.

Only for this class, which was all prominent, did he come out to teach.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said gently: "Cheng Binqu, no need for formalities; I heard the book manuscript is finished?"

This matter had been ordered several months ago; previously two volumes were produced, but he was not very satisfied.

Now that he estimated it was about right, he simply called Wang Guoguang of the Ministry of Revenue to take a look together.

Hearing this, Cheng Dawei apologized, turned around, picked up a book from the desk, and said excitedly: "I ask Your Majesty to correct it!"

No one could refuse the big pie of writing books and establishing theories, let alone the Emperor's promise.

Zhu Yijun didn't take it, smiled and shook his head: "I am the one checking this book; reading it has no meaning. Only when others can understand it can it be considered to have passed."

He turned his head to look at Wang Guoguang: "Minister Wang, would you mind taking a look for me?"

Wang Guoguang didn't know what the Emperor had brought him to see.

He took the book with both hands with a curious attitude.

As soon as he got it in his hand, he saw the big characters on the cover: "Mathematics: Enlightenment 1."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 84 =====