Needless to say, the position of Minister of War was very important. It was not easy to fight for this position, but the position of Minister of the Six Ministries represented more than just one Minister of the Six Ministries, but a series of changes in officials.
Wang Chonggu's retirement was only a matter of time. The Emperor had decreed for Wang Chonggu to retire and gave him the treatment he deserved. It could be said that his efforts were complete.
The problem now was who would be promoted. The person who would be promoted would affect the hearts of countless people.
Soon, the recommended candidate from the cabinet was out. Ceng Shengwu, the Left Assistant Minister of War. Although he was promoted, everyone was not optimistic about him because he did not have enough experience.
However, Ceng Shengwu was a direct descendant of Zhang Juzheng, so no one dared to look down on him.
Zhang Juzheng could make an exception and promote someone like Zhang Han to the Minister of Personnel, let alone Ceng Shengwu.
Zhu Yijun flipped through Ceng Shengwu's information and couldn't help but gasp when he reached the end.
As expected, Zhang Juzheng only appointed capable people. This Ceng Shengwu was not simple. He was now the Left Assistant Minister of War and had been promoted because he had pacified the Barbarian Governor.
Looking at the Barbarian Governor, Zhu Yijun thought of Liu Xian. Did this mean that different people had different fates?
Ceng Shengwu was the Military Governor. After pacifying the Barbarian Governor, he was promoted to the Left Assistant Minister of War. Not only did he return to the capital, but he was also promoted.
What about Liu Xian?
Before pacifying the Barbarian Governor, he was still the commander-in-chief.
Liu Xian wanted to retire and go home, but the court did not allow it. He was still working hard in Yungui.
Sighing, Zhu Yijun had a helpless expression. It was impossible for the civil officials to put the credit on the generals.
If they won, it was the civil officials who planned and took credit. If they lost, it was the generals who took the blame. This was the Daming situation!
The status of the generals was low. If this problem was not solved, there was no way to talk about loyalty.
Perhaps some generals served the country and family, but what about the soldiers at the bottom?
Why did people become soldiers? Most of them did it to make a living.
Soldiers ate rations and risked their lives, so forget it!
Such people could only become soldiers. Don't think about relying on them to fight.
Only in order to fight for a future, when there was hope, then there would be fighting power.
When there was no hope, who would risk their lives?
What was the reason why the Qin army was so strong and could fight against the well-equipped elite Wei soldiers with cloth armor?
One must know that the Wei Wu Soldiers were well-equipped heavy infantry. The Qin army was able to win, other than the fact that they could endure tough battles, the most important reason was that they were conferred nobility due to their military achievements.
Back then, Great Qin still had many slaves, but that did not matter. As long as one had enough military merits, not only would they be able to leave their slave status, but they would also be able to become nobles.
Those who couldn't afford to eat would fight with their lives on the line with knives.
What did they do it for? Wasn't it for a good background? How could the combat power of such an army not be high?
The whole Qin State is like a huge war machine, the lower class pushes the upper class to fight, and it can't stop even if it wants to.
Military merits represented nobility, money, houses, and beautiful women. The entire Qin State was filled with the idea of immediately seeking the title of marquis.
That was how the mighty Qin army was able to sweep across the land, and the spirit of the 'Valiant Old Qin' was born.
Zhu Yijun put Ceng Shengwu's information aside, and once again realized that reform is not something that can be done in a day.
If he were to change the system from top to bottom, not to mention the difficulty, the effect might not be good either.
New army!
Zhu Yijun could not help but look at Shanxi and Shaanxi. These two places are the key!
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi and Shaanxi are always inseparable. Perhaps they can be the first experiment of his military reform.
Since ancient times, the Qin army has been able to endure tough battles. Be it the Qin Dynasty or the Han and Tang Dynasties, the 800-kilometer Qin River nurtured a powerful army that can shake the world.
Putting Ceng Shengwu's information aside, Zhu Yijun picked up another document. This was the Datong Governor-General, Fang Fengshi, recommended by Wang Chonggu.
It was hard to say how good Fang Fengshi was at fighting, but he was obviously a strategist.
When he was the Shanxi Inspector-General, he cooperated with Wang Chonggu to do many things. After Wang Chonggu left, he also did a good job.
Building the castle, training the soldiers, promoting the tribute of Anda Khan, his strategy and vision are all good.
He is also steady in his work. At the same time, he has worked his way up from being a county magistrate. He has experience at the bottom and is a very suitable candidate.
Zhu Yijun put Fang Fengshi's information aside and picked up the last document.
This document belongs to Liang Menglong, the Governor-General of Jiliao. He is also a very qualified person.
Before Liang Menglong became the Governor-General of Jiliao, he was already the Left Assistant Minister of War. This makes him more qualified than Ceng Shengwu. At the same time, he did a good job as the Governor-General of Jiliao and was qualified to compete for the position of Minister of War.
However, what interested Zhu Yijun is not this, but Liang Menglong's experience in Longqing.
The Grand Canal is the main road connecting the north and south of the Daming economy. With the development of the commodity economy in the Daming society, a large number of civilian merchant ships came and went on the Grand Canal, which often caused the canal to be congested.
As time went by, there were many abuses in the canal transportation.
The biggest worry for the canal transportation was the breach of the Yellow River. Once it happened, the canal would be blocked.
In view of the abuses in the canal transportation and the breach of the Yellow River, there were endless requests for rectification and reform. Some of them advocated for the resumption of sea transportation.
Among these people, Liang Menglong, who was then the Inspector-General of Shandong, was a representative.
He believed, "The river seems safe, but there is much labor. The sea seems dangerous, but it is convenient. Let the labor be done, let the convenience be done." The sea transportation should be the wings of the canal transportation.
This plan received the support of the First Assistant Scholar of the Cabinet, Gao Gong. After receiving the order, Liang Menglong sent Wang Weijing and the others to conduct many trials of sea transportation and to carry out visits and surveys.
In addition, Liang Menglong ordered that in coastal areas, regardless of military or civilian, anyone who was willing to buy their own or buy miscellaneous grain, use their own ships to carry it from the Jiaozhou estuary to Tianjin and sell it would be given a license.
If they were good citizens, they would be heavily rewarded. If they were guilty, they would be allowed to atone for their crimes through trial sea transportation.
Under Liang Menglong's encouragement, many people took the initiative to try sea transportation, and the survey of the sea lanes proceeded smoothly.
Due to Liang Menglong's active efforts, they finally had a great understanding of the ports, schedules, and mileage of the sea lanes.
Zhu Yijun was interested in this. From this, it could be seen that Liang Menglong was not a rotten scholar. He was someone who really did things.
In particular, the policy of forgiving crimes by sea transportation. It could be said that it immediately poked Zhu Yijun's heart. After all, the sea was very dangerous. Additionally, there was the homesickness of the Daming people. Not many people were willing to risk their lives on the sea.