Under the instructions of Emperor Liu, the reform of the military system must still abide by the principle of slow progress and proceed with caution. Emperor Liu directly and strictly prohibits the reduction of military forces in large-scale combat. To maintain the stability of the Han Dynasty and ensure the security of national defense, we must always let go. in the first place.
Therefore, even if Zhao Pu, Wang Zhu, Shen Yilun and other ministers were eager to reduce the number of regular soldiers in the court, they had to follow Emperor Liu's wishes and adopt a more prudent method to complete the process of upgrading the army. .
At least, Emperor Liu's unshakable attitude has completely relaxed. With a start, we can expect a good result.
The strategy was drawn up by Zhao Pu, Cao Bin and other important civil and military ministers, and after the review and approval of Emperor Liu, the military reform of the Han Dynasty was officially launched on July 15, the 13th year of the Han Dynasty.
According to the reform plan, the internal and external armies of the Han Dynasty will be gradually reduced over a ten-year period, with the aim of maintaining the number of active troops of the Han Dynasty, including the Forbidden Army, at 400,000 by ten years.
Among them, there are 150,000 forbidden troops, 150,000 border troops, and 100,000 local troops. Of course, this is only a rough goal. The specifics will depend on the final disarmament results.
No matter what, if we strive to achieve this goal, judging from the current size of the army, the court needs to abolish at least half of the army. This is definitely not an easy task. This is a systematic and major project. If you want to make the policy peaceful, Smooth implementation takes time and also requires financial support.
According to the plan drawn up by the Privy Council, starting from the thirteenth year, the army inside and outside the Han Dynasty will be reduced to 50,000 to 60,000 people every year. At the same time, the number of newly recruited soldiers will be controlled every year to achieve the goal of reducing the size of the army. Purpose.
In fact, in the Privy Council's normal management of the country's military administration, elimination and recruitment are also maintained, but that is normal military and political operation. After all, soldiers will also grow old, and those older soldiers in the army also need to be replaced by younger and stronger people. It is a healthy and virtuous cycle.
In the past ten years or so, the number of newly recruited soldiers has basically been far greater than the number of retired soldiers. The rapid expansion of the Han army was also formed in those more than ten years.
After all, as the land area becomes larger, the pressure on national defense and security is also increasing. The army is needed to station everywhere, to maintain law and order, and to suppress rebellions. In addition, several external expansion wars required the replenishment of soldiers and horses, and the Northern Expedition of Kaibao allowed the Han Dynasty to carry out the most crazy violent troops. After the war, although some were abolished, most of them were retained and became permanent residents. Soldier.
It was not until recent years that the entry and exit of the military entered a relatively slow rhythm. The number of retirees and new recruits every year has remained at a low level of about 10,000 people and maintained a balance.
Disarmament and recruitment go hand in hand, and are still the main policies for army size management, but in the context of disarmament, the former plays a larger role. Moreover, the requirements for newly recruited soldiers are also higher. They must have a clean background, no criminal record, and better physical fitness. It is best to be from a good family.
According to the reform plan, in the remaining half of the 13th year, the disarmament action will be officially launched. The scale will not be too large at one time, and it is not required to be fully rolled out. It may even be regarded as a pilot project, and the target will be selected in the Gyeonggi region. of forbidden soldiers.
Up to now, around the two capitals of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court has stationed more than 150,000 forbidden troops all year round. If we include those in important cities, strategic passes and border guards across the country, the total strength of the forbidden troops will be more than 200,000. .
Based on the current situation of the Han Dynasty and the authority of the central government, the security of Gyeonggi is completely guaranteed, and there is really no need to maintain such a large-scale forbidden army. Among them, in order to avoid external stress and internal weakness, resulting in an imbalance of military power, this is a very important reason.
When the decision is made to disarmament, it will naturally be done both internally and externally. If the central military strength decreases, the side armies and local armies will naturally be reduced accordingly. And once you really take this step, there is no room for regret.
Originally, Zhao Pu and other ministers planned to start rectification from the border army, and chose Liaodong as the first place, but Emperor Liu refused. In terms of national defense security and internal and external balance, Emperor Liu chose the former.
Obviously, Emperor Liu was more prudent in dealing with the border troops than the reform of the mainland Daozhou army. For the sake of national defense security and border tranquility, Emperor Liu would rather postpone it temporarily and directly ask the Privy Council to deal with the border troops in the future. The military’s disarmament plan must be more detailed.
Reducing the number of registered officers and soldiers in the imperial court will certainly greatly reduce the financial burden on the imperial court and will be beneficial in the long run. But this process is not simply about reducing the number of troops and retiring soldiers.
In order to reduce long-term financial pressure, it will face a heavier burden in a short period of time. The reduction of troops is not free. At least, tens of thousands of troops retire every year. How to arrange these officers and soldiers, the court needs to pay a certain price to appease and take care of them. Emotions, otherwise it will cause dissatisfaction among the troops and turmoil in the hearts of the people, which will cause big problems.
Those who have been laid off are all professional soldiers. In the army, in addition to receiving education on loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, they are also trained in military skills and war training. Tens of thousands of people are transferred to civilian jobs in waves. If they are not handled properly, it will have serious consequences for social security. threaten.
In the early years, the court basically made arrangements for the reduction of officers and soldiers. In addition to giving money and land, they could also try to arrange a position in the local area, either as an auxiliary soldier with a lower salary, or to return to their hometown.
But now it’s no longer possible. The official team of the Han Dynasty is already large enough, and there are not so many positions. At the same time, the scale of the reduction of troops is also large. Calculated at 400,000 people, even if there is a ten-year buffer, even if it is only the lowest position. It is impossible to free up 400,000 positions in official affairs.
Therefore, the current treatment for retired officers and soldiers of the Han Dynasty is far worse than before, and in order to appease people's hearts, they can only think of financial solutions.
To this end, Emperor Liu asked the Financial Secretary to allocate two million yuan each year, which was managed by the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Household Affairs dispatched by special officials to specifically deal with the retirement of officers and soldiers, and to compensate them according to their military positions. This was considered severance pay.
In order to relieve the pressure on the Financial Secretary, Emperor Liu agreed to borrow money from internal funds. The original loan has not been paid back in full after several years, which means Emperor Liu does not charge interest.
But this time, Emperor Liu was more proactive and didn't talk much. He focused on military affairs. Although two million dollars a year is not too much for the court, the cost of disarmament for the court is more than just a "severance pay."
Most of the people of the Han Dynasty are still very simple. The same goes for the army. They have been trained and strictly disciplined. They may have some complaints when faced with the abolition, but direct resistance is unlikely. Of course, the premise is that they are given The treatment is adequate and you must show sufficient sincerity.
However, for another group of people, we cannot simply rely on money to appease them. In the Han army system, if captains and above are considered officers, then the scale of layoffs of 50,000 people means that thousands of officers will be "unemployed" every year.
Naturally, we cannot demand that they go home and farm like ordinary soldiers. The higher the military rank, the more so. In addition to money, power must also be given. Transferring local government officials to officials is the best way to deal with it.
This not only continued to strengthen the court's control over local areas, but also because those who could serve as officers in the army could be regarded as talents of the Han Dynasty. It was also a loss for the court to abandon so many talents with management capabilities.
Of course, this also brought a new test to the court's administrative management, that is, the court had to secure more than a thousand additional official positions every year to meet the arrangements for retired officers.
This may be a bit troublesome, but it is only a small trouble after all. Zhao Pu almost patted his chest and assured Emperor Liu that the matter could be solved. The solution Zhao Pu planned to adopt was to conduct a purge of local officials to free up enough positions.
In Zhao Pu's words, the military's affairs are not just the military's affairs. The reform of the military also requires nationwide coordination and support. The army has begun to carry out reforms and upgrading, and the bureaucracy should also follow suit and make adjustments to those who are old, corrupt, and those who have nothing to do with their bodies. This is the consistent requirement of the imperial government, and it is also In line with the principle of official governance.
Of course, no matter how beautiful the words are, the fundamental reason is to cooperate with the reform of the military system and facilitate and properly arrange retired officers. Emperor Liu agreed very much with this, and felt that Zhao Pu was worthy of being a prime minister because he took the overall situation into consideration and was determined to reform.
Emperor Liu was also experienced in this regard. In his early years, in order to gather power and cultivate the imperial party, he used various reasons to remove some veteran ministers and nobles from the imperial court to make room for young and promising people. And it is easy for latecomers to appoint and control.
