Hearing Yu Qian's words, Zhu Qiyu couldn't help laughing.
Yu Tingyi, who is upright and upright, is particularly pleasant when he speaks of compliments.
but……
Shaking his head and suppressing his smile, Zhu Qiyu hit the nail on the head.
"Sir, you are just afraid. Now that the border is a little safer, I will start thinking about war again and want to take back my hometown in Hetao."
You must know that in Emperor Taizu's border strategy, the fertile pastures in the Hetao area were also an important part of the border army's self-sufficiency.
During the Hongwu period, the Ming Dynasty occupied Hetao, and its troops reached Cheche'er Mountain to the north of Daning.
Such a huge pasture cannot be left abandoned.
Therefore, except for the military camps, His Majesty Taizu, who pursued pragmatism, did not have any contempt for the so-called barbarians.
On the contrary, he strongly encouraged the nomadicization of the Northern Guard.
On the vast grassland of the Hetao, except for a few grain-producing areas, "let the herds, woodcutter and gather wood" emphasize that military households should also have herds and pastures, and organize grazing while taking on patrol tasks.
But unfortunately, with Taizong's reform of border policies, mainly because of his fear of King Sai, and in order to further strengthen his control over the border troops, the Ming Dynasty's defense lines gradually retreated during the Yongle Renxuan period.
It has to be said that it is a pity to abandon the huge grassland in the Hetao area while occupying a strategic advantage.
After seeing a hundred years of changes, Zhu Qiyu naturally knew that, especially after the Ming Dynasty established the capital as the capital, the loss of the Hetao directly threatened the safety of the capital.
This point is difficult to make up for even with the nine-sided strategy formulated by Yu Qian.
The nine-sided watch and help can greatly improve the defense of the border. Generally speaking, it is unlikely to be beaten to the Bauhinia Pass like the last time.
But you must know that no matter how strong the defense line is, no matter how complete the system is, various problems will arise as time goes by.
Zhu Qiyu must say that Yu Qian's vision is very accurate.
After the nine sides were built one after another in the previous life, the Ming Dynasty did gain peace for nearly a hundred years. It was not until the rise of Anda that it threatened the safety of the capital again.
But this also proves the shortcomings of Jiubian.
No matter how strong the defense is, there will always be unexpected circumstances that may cause it to be breached one day.
The capital is too close to the border, and the defense of only nine sides is simply not enough.
Only by taking back the Loop, extending the defense line to the north, and turning the nine sides into the second line of defense, can the capital gain greater security.
However, now is obviously not the time...
This is indeed what Yu Qian is worried about.
"Your Majesty forgives the offence. The matter of the old land of Hetao is very complicated. During the decades from Yongle to Zhengtong, as our border army's defense line retreated, grassland tribes have successively settled in the Hetao area. If you want to take back the Hetao, you will have to go through a big war. .”
"However, for the Ming Dynasty, after experiencing the Battle of Tumu and the Battle of Zijingguan, the people's strength was exhausted, and it would be difficult to fight another war for at least a few years."
"Besides, with all due respect, Taizu occupied the Hetao for the purpose of grazing and patrolling. It can be self-sufficient. This is a supplement to the military settlement."
"Furthermore, the system of frontier army rotation also hinders this. Therefore, even if the Hetao is taken back, without the support of the military camp, the disadvantages of rotation cannot be solved. The Hetao will only increase the consumption of the Ming Dynasty."
When talking about the Hetao, perhaps because he was afraid that the emperor would do something impulsively, Yu Qian couldn't help but feel less taboo when he spoke.
Of course, even so, there was one sentence he didn't say.
That is, the military villages are better. Even if people are replaced for farming, the land will still be there and cannot be moved away.
But herding is different. The cattle and sheep belong to the military households themselves. According to the current system of rotation of the Beijing army and frontier troops every few years, is it possible for the military households to take the cattle and sheep back to their hometowns during the rotation?
If rotation is given up, the court's control over the border troops will inevitably weaken in the long run.
Although the current system of the Ming Dynasty is relatively complete, with the general military officer, admiral ministers, and patrol censors checking and balancing each other, it is unlikely that there will be a separate military and political envoy like the late Tang Dynasty.
However, officers and soldiers who have been entrenched in one place for a long time can easily breed arrogant soldiers, which is also a big problem.
So, this is actually a dilemma.
If this problem cannot be solved institutionally, then even if the Ming Dynasty has the power to raise troops, it may not be able to pass the court meeting.
Even if it is passed and taken back, within a few years, it will be forced to give up again because it consumes too much energy to patrol the huge Hetao area.
Therefore, Yu Qian absolutely does not hope that the emperor will lose his head at this time and do anything to raise troops to collect the Loop.
Fortunately, the emperor is obviously wise.
Seeing Yu Qian's anxious look, Zhu Qiyu raised his hand to comfort him and said.
"Sir, there is no need to worry. As you said, Ming Dynasty must take advantage of the peace on the border to build the prototype of border defense first."
"What's more, although the grassland tribe's vitality has been severely damaged, the grassland is the opponent's home field after all. The issue of taking back the old land of Hetao is not suitable to be mentioned now, and it will not be suitable to be mentioned in a few years."
"So, sir, there is no need to worry about this matter."
Zhu Qiyu didn't say the rest.
If I remember correctly, within a few years, civil strife will break out in the grassland, the alliance between Oara and Tatar will completely break up, and many powerful tribes will gradually decline.
At that time, it was a good time to take advantage of the situation.
But Yu Qian obviously didn't know this.
Although the emperor's attitude towards the Loop was ambiguous, he still promised that he would not raise troops within a few years, which made Yu Qian's heart sink.
So, Yu Qian quickly changed the subject and said.
"Your Majesty is right. The military garrison plus Kaizhong will be enough to greatly reduce the waste of the border army. In this way, the silver allocated by the court can be used to build the nine borders."
After a brief pause, seeing that the emperor had no intention of interrupting him, Yu Qian continued.
"However, the matter of military settlements is very complicated. I have learned something before. With the deterioration of military discipline in various places, basically generals everywhere have more or less privately cultivated land and embezzled military land."
"In addition, many problems such as officers torturing soldiers, officers and soldiers fleeing, and being deprived of pay are also the reasons for the increase in military expenditures."
"So, if you want to rectify the military camp, you can say that one move can affect the whole body."
After decades of establishment of the Ming Dynasty, it is inevitable that there are many shortcomings in the army in border towns.
As the Minister of War, Yu Qian generally knew all these matters, but it was very troublesome to solve them.
All the problems are basically connected together, and this opportunity involves another.
And more importantly, most of the generals in the border army who were also military ministers were inextricably linked with the nobles in the court.
Although Yu Qian is the Minister of the Ministry of War, he is not strong enough to be able to go head-to-head with the huge system from nobles to local generals on his own.
Therefore, even he can only focus on the big and let go of the small, look at the overall situation, stabilize the situation on the entire border first, and then talk about the specific issues of the border army.
Seeing Yu Qian's worried look, Zhu Qiyu was calm. Looking into Yu Qian's eyes, Zhu Qiyu asked.
"So, because there are many ills and they are connected layer by layer, are you afraid, Sir?"
Yu Qian was stunned, then shook his head firmly and said.
"Your Majesty knows clearly that if it is beneficial to the country, even if it means death, I will happily leave without any hesitation!"
