The Hall of Martial Valor.
Xu Huizu entered the hall, performed the full ceremonial obeisance, and respectfully said to Zhu Yunwen, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Gaoyang won a golden saber."
The Prince of Gaoyang, Zhu Gaoxu.
Zhu Di's second son.
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly. "It seems Fourth Uncle's son truly is formidable. He has something of his father's flair. But surely a Merit-Nobles Contest isn't worth a personal visit to the palace, Duke?"
Xu Huizu lowered his head, hesitated, then knelt and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I have seen the Prince of Yan's Three Guards. These troops, established and maintained by the court, have effectively become the Prince of Yan's private army, obeying his every command. This has troubled me day and night. Moreover, all three of his sons have their strengths, with Zhu Gaoxu particularly skilled in warfare."
"I believe that with the imperial princes stationed far afield and holding powerful armies, the court's decrees can hardly reach all corners of the realm. This is detrimental to the court. I beseech Your Majesty to pursue the policy of Abolition of the Fiefdoms and bring peace to the realm."
Zhu Yunwen looked at Xu Huizu with a slight frown.
It seemed his order last night summoning the Prince of Yan to the capital had led Xu Huizu to believe he intended to detain the prince there and pursue the Abolition of the Fiefdoms.
That was why Xu Huizu had hurried over first to petition for the Abolition of the Fiefdoms.
First, it was a declaration of loyalty. Look closely. I, old Xu, am your man, Jianwen Emperor. You must trust me.
Second, it established his position. Don't you want the Abolition of the Fiefdoms? I'm with you.
Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng had repeatedly urged the Abolition of the Fiefdoms. Although these discussions were confidential, no amount of secrecy could keep them entirely from the Five Army Commandery.
"The Abolition of the Fiefdoms? Heh. Why should I pursue the Abolition of the Fiefdoms?"
Zhu Yunwen stood and looked at the astonished Xu Huizu. "You're overthinking this. I still trust my uncles."
Xu Huizu stared at Zhu Yunwen in disbelief, unsure whether the emperor had changed his mind or simply did not trust him.
Understanding what was on Xu Huizu's mind, Zhu Yunwen said kindly, "Governing an empire means ensuring that the people prosper, the country grows rich, and peace prevails beneath heaven. My uncles guard our frontiers. Their contributions cannot be denied."
Xu Huizu was somewhat bewildered.
Zhu Yunwen offered no further explanation. "Let us set aside the matter of the Abolition of the Fiefdoms for now. I intend to implement a new military training policy, and there are some ideas I wish to discuss with you."
"A new military training policy?"
Xu Huizu looked at Zhu Yunwen and promptly declared, "Whatever Your Majesty commands, I dare not disobey."
Zhu Yunwen shook his head slightly. "How many soldiers are currently in the Capital Garrison?"
Xu Huizu hastily reported, "The Capital Garrison currently has five hundred thousand soldiers. Does Your Majesty intend to expand the army? I recommend transferring troops from Liangguang, the northwest, Shandong, and other regions. The soldiers there are brave and skilled in battle. They could be put to great use!"
Xu Huizu's thinking was simple. If Zhu Yunwen did not intend to pursue the Abolition of the Fiefdoms, his only option was to strengthen the capital's army until it could crush any prince's forces. The threat posed by the princes would naturally diminish.
Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly. Five hundred thousand? Where did all these men come from?
During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, military development had already been considered, and a system had been adopted to "establish large and small training grounds within and without, separately training the soldiers of the Forty-Eight Guards."
Each guard had a full complement of 5,600 men, bringing the authorized strength at the time to nearly three hundred thousand.
But as time passed, with several northern campaigns during the Hongwu era, the Capital Garrison had grown to five hundred thousand by the time Jianwen ascended the throne. Meanwhile, the frontier princes in the north commanded another three hundred thousand or more troops.
After considering the matter at length, Zhu Yunwen instructed an attendant beside him, "Go to the Central Army Commandery and fetch some military muster rolls."
The attendant acknowledged the order and hurried away.
Xu Huizu looked at Zhu Yunwen in confusion. "Is Your Majesty looking for a particular general?"
Zhu Yunwen waved a hand. "Wait a little, Duke of Wei."
About a quarter of an hour later, the attendant returned with more than a dozen muster rolls.
Zhu Yunwen examined them closely, made some silent calculations, then continued reading. Only after a long while did he look up and say solemnly to Xu Huizu, "What do you think of reducing the army by one hundred thousand?"
Xu Huizu promptly replied, "Transfer one hundred thousand elite troops to defend... Huh? Reduce the army?"
Having assumed the emperor meant to redeploy troops, Xu Huizu was suddenly alarmed. Not strengthening their forces at a time like this was one thing, but how could they cut troops and weaken themselves?
If any prince made a move, how would they respond?
Zhu Yunwen was not joking. With utter seriousness, he said, "You know the state of the army better than I do. I do not want the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Some soldiers in these muster rolls are already sixty-seven. Do you intend to send them charging into battle, Duke of Wei, or have the court support them in their old age?"
Xu Huizu trembled uncontrollably.
Zhu Yunwen said in a low, firm voice, "I want an army that can fight, an army of elite troops! Not the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled!"
You hold a spear and dare call yourself an elite soldier?
Have you even looked at your age? The grave's yellow earth is already up to your neck.
You put down your name and think that makes you a soldier?
Who doesn't know you're some noble's slave or some military officer's household servant?
Cold sweat poured down Xu Huizu's back. He suddenly understood. The emperor intended to investigate the drawing of pay for nonexistent soldiers, remove the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, along with those merely registered on the rolls, and pursue an elite army.
"I give you one month to put the army in order. In one month, I will inspect it! Remember to make a great stir."
Zhu Yunwen issued his order.
Xu Huizu acknowledged it loudly, bowed, and left the Hall of Martial Valor.
Back at the Five Army Commandery, Xu Huizu remained unsettled and uncertain. He summoned his two younger brothers, Xu Yingxu, assistant commissioner of the Central Army Commandery, and Xu Zengshou, left commissioner-in-chief of the Right Army Commandery, and told them that the emperor intended to reduce the army by one hundred thousand.
Both were likewise shocked and caught completely off guard.
Looking calmly at them, Xu Huizu remarked, "This move of His Majesty's is truly formidable."
Xu Yingxu asked in confusion, "Elder Brother, why do you say that?"
Xu Huizu took a sip of tea to steady his nerves. "First, His Majesty is putting the army in order. Second, he is warning the nobles and generals. Third, he is telling the frontier princes that he has no intention of moving against them and hopes they will remain peacefully in their fiefs."
"Perhaps His Majesty has another intention as well, and perhaps it is the most important one."
Looking at his brothers, Xu Zengshou said slowly, "His Majesty is telling the frontier princes that he can take action against the Capital Garrison. If, someday, he takes action against the regular troops under their command, that too will be perfectly reasonable. When that time comes, even if the frontier princes wish to object, they will have no grounds."
Xu Huizu gave Xu Zengshou an approving look, but steered away from this sensitive subject. "His Majesty's thoughts are difficult to fathom now, but the reduction of one hundred thousand troops must go ahead."
With peace prevailing, the generals, nobles, local magnates, imperial relatives, and others all wanted to grow rich. If they had relied solely on the meager stipends fixed by Zhu Yuanzhang, they would all have starved long ago.
For these people, the best path to riches was to siphon off military pay. Slip a servant into the army today, add a few entries to the muster rolls tomorrow, and the money would come rolling in.
Zhu Yunwen's order to reduce the army by one hundred thousand appeared drastic, cutting away one-fifth of its strength in a single stroke. In reality, that was not the case.
By Xu Huizu's rough estimate, although the nominal reduction was one hundred thousand, no more than forty thousand actual soldiers would be discharged. It would certainly not undermine the foundation of the capital's army. As for the other sixty thousand, they were either fictitious names entered to draw pay or nobles' servants registered with the Capital Garrison for free food and an easy living.
For the bloated capital army, discharging tens of thousands of old and weak men would not only ease the Revenue Ministry's burden. From a purely military perspective, it would also help raise morale, enforce discipline, and strengthen the soldiers' overall fighting ability.
Dismiss the old and weak, make the young and strong its backbone, water the horses and brandish the spears, ride freely across the battlefield-that was what the capital's army should truly look like!
From this troop-reduction policy alone, Xu Huizu could glimpse the extraordinary resolve and clear understanding of Zhu Yunwen, the young emperor. As he pondered it, a powerful intuition suddenly arose within him. He felt that this young emperor could lead the Great Ming Dynasty into a truly prosperous age of national strength!
Reducing the army was the first step toward strengthening it, and he himself would be Zhu Yunwen's vanguard!
The feeling came suddenly, but it arose, genuine and true, from the deepest reaches of Xu Huizu's heart...
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