Chapter 89                                                             �

You have to pass the test from Xu Jie.

First of all, we need to know what kind of person Xu Jie is.

Xu Jie was a conservative, rigorous and traditional scholar with sufficient political wisdom.

For a person like Xu Jie, what he cares about most is never about Datong, what he cares about is about the world?

Even though Xu Jie has not yet ascended the throne of the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty and has not yet fully controlled the state's power, he has enough thoughts on the current situation and future of the country. Xu Jie seems to have done nothing in his position as prime minister in history. That is Xu Jie's political positioning of himself.

He believed that after Yan Song's chaos, what the court needed was to rectify the chaos and to be fully aware of Yan Song's remaining poison.

Xu Jie thought of this and did this. He made outstanding contributions to quelling the political chaos left by Yan Song, re-simplifying the relationship between the cabinet and the emperor, and other political structures. It was also Xu Jie who laid the foundation for Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

Of course, this is also related to Xu Jie's conservative and cautious side in his heart. In terms of reform, he cannot let go. But it does not mean that Xu Jie has never thought about such things from beginning to end, and it can even be said that Xu Jie has thought about it a lot.

If Zhou Mengchen limited the problem to Datong, Xu Jie would not be too interested in Zhou Mengchen's actions. However, if Zhou Mengchen regards all the changes in Datong as the forefront of the reform of the Ming military system, then Xu Jie would have to weigh Zhou Mengchen's problems from a more profound and macro dimension and always judge whether he should intervene.

Of course, what Zhou Mengchen said was not all lies.

After Zhou Mengchen walked around the border, he had already confirmed that the Ming Dynasty would not carry out reforms in the military system, and that the country would still be devastated in the future. Even after Zhou Mengchen promoted the development of science and technology, it was even more promising.

The reason is nothing special. With Zhou Mengchen's efforts, many new technologies are either in formation or in brewing. However, it can be foreseen that in the future, with the maturity of Zhou Mengchen's disciples, there will definitely be an explosion period, and then the impact of new weapons on the battlefield will be faced with completely different cold weapons.

However, the logic of the battlefield and the logic of war will change greatly.

Can the Ming army seize this change?

It is impossible. Even if some Ming officers feel this change and participate in this change, the completely dead Ming military system will prevent this change. In other words, it is very likely that for a foreign enemy or an uprising army, they first grasped the context of this military revolution, and destroyed the Ming Dynasty faster than before.

This is not what Zhou Mengchen wanted to see.

Therefore, Zhou Mengchen was also planning military system reform in his heart, but now this plan can only be the first version of the draft, far from reaching the perfection in Zhou Mengchen's heart.

Xu Jie said: "Mr. Zhou is serious. However, your affairs may not be unsolvable."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen felt relieved. He knew that Xu Jie finally let go.

Zhou Mengchen never felt that this problem was unsolvable. However, it was necessary to solve it. Letting him hold the emperor's thigh and let the emperor come forward will also consume the relationship with the emperor. Accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger. Zhou Mengchen will never dare to forget this sentence.

He knew that Xu Jie had a solution from the beginning.

Zhou Mengchen immediately said, "Please give me some advice."

Xu Jie sighed slightly in his heart. He actually knew that he was being held back by Zhou Mengchen. But there was no way. He was not satisfied with Zhou Mengchen's plan, but he calculated the candidate for the Ming Dynasty to preside over military reform.

First, the generals are excluded.

Before the civil servants died, it was impossible for military generals to take charge of this matter. This is also the reason why Qi Jiguang wanted to carry out military reforms in Jizhou Town and was suppressed by civil servants. The power of military reforms must not be given to others. Even if Qi Jiguang and Zhang Juzheng have a close relationship, it is not possible.

Secondly, civil servants who have not been on the battlefield or have no significant results are also excluded.

This excludes 99% of civil officials. There are only three or two big cats and kittens in Xu Jie's hands. Zhou Mengchen, Tang Shunzhi, Yang Bo, Zhang Jing and others, in Xu Jie's opinion, there are no more than ten.

After many years, those who do not gain the emperor's trust were excluded.

Military affairs are extremely important things. If you don’t gain the trust of the emperor, this thing will never be done. This is also very mysterious. Perhaps someone may suddenly be appreciated by the emperor in the future. But now, Zhou Mengchen is the most suitable one just for the saints.

Then from another perspective, does the Ming Dynasty need reform in military affairs?

It's too needed.

Needless to mention the border affairs, Zhou Mengchen Bai Deng's battle can alleviate the critical state of border affairs, but it still cannot change the fact that seven or eight out of ten of the Ming Dynasty's finances must support the army. The most serious thing in the Ming Dynasty is the financial problem. However, if you analyze it carefully and look at the direction of the Ming Dynasty's finances, you will know that the financial problem is a secondary problem derived from the Ming Dynasty's military problems.

It should be noted that one town in Datong is one million taels a year, and there are nine border towns in the Ming Dynasty. In addition to border towns, the Jingying and the southwest all require money to fight rebellion.

Military expenditure has drunk the blood of the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Jie is now subject to Yan Song. Even if he is in charge of the Ministry of War, he is only repairing and cannot take action on the framework. Moreover, Xu Jie understands even more that even if he wants to take action, he doesn't have the prestige in the army, and he doesn't know how to take action.

Just by looking at Xu Jie's resume, you can tell that he is actually not an expert in military issues.

Xu Jie also understands this.

Therefore, in Xu Jie's policy plan, there was no military reform at the beginning. It was not that it was not important, it was too important. And I didn't know where to start, so I removed it.

When facing Zhou Mengchen, who is almost the only candidate now, Xu Jie inevitably has the upper hand in his heart to cherish talent for the country. He said: "In fact, with your holy relatives, this storm will not hurt you, and it is likely that it will be an opportunity for your promotion."

This is also one of the reasons why Xu Jie didn't want to take action. Zhou Mengchen had his previous military achievements and moved to another place. Perhaps he was transferred openly and secretly, but there would not be too much punishment. Xu Jie felt that it was not bad to let Zhou Mengchen suffer. However, after hearing what Zhou Mengchen said, he naturally could not do this.

Zhou Mengchen was stunned when he heard this and said, "Gei Master, you know that now I will never be able to leave Datong. Otherwise, all my previous efforts will be wasted."

Xu Jie said lightly: "Then let others come to Datong." He looked at Zhou Mengchen and said: "You know, what is the most wrong thing you are in Datong?"

Zhou Mengchen said, "The lower officials are stupid."

Xu Jie said: "Forty-three generals and officials have made great efforts to kill. Although the rectification of the garrison office has caused a lot of resentment, you have taken the title of righteousness. Are you rectifying the garrison office? I wonder how many old ministers want to do it, but they are not as quick and easy as you do. Although they have mixed praises and criticisms, it is definitely not the main reason why so many people impeach you now. The most important reason is that you broke the rules."

Zhou Mengchen said: "Rules, what rules?"

Xu Jie said: "The big and small are in harmony."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen suddenly realized.

The Ming Dynasty was full of ubiquitous checks and balances. The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet had checks and balances in the inner court, and checks and balances in the six ministries. Now, after Jiajing raised the cabinet status, it evolved into checks and balances within the cabinet, which was Jiajing's balance technique.

As the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Song was still in front of him, Xu Jie, who was full of annoying eyes.

In order to be efficient in Datong, Zhou Mengchen made drastic moves and sorted out all his capable subordinates back to occupy a key position. The upper and lower parts were as if they were one, which was an important factor in his victory over the Tartars.

It is true that the Battle of Bai Deng was a bit lucky, but without the Datong Town that was united into a whole under Zhou Mengchen, even if it was favored by heaven, Zhou Mengchen would not have seized the opportunity.

This is why Zhou Mengchen was favored by Jiajing. With a long-term agreement before, there was still a news of transfer. It was because Zhou Mengchen turned Datong into a one-man show, and he was obeyed by him. He also had the official position of the Censorate. In Datong, the Censor, was also his subordinate, and it was impossible for him to have a supervisory role.
Chapter completed!