My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 631 The Correct Use of Arrogant and Fierce Generals!

Li Banghua continued:

"The orders for troop deployment, training, and inspection issued by the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commissions have been met with procrastination and haggling by certain military garrisons and generals! They invariably claim that 'the brothers have just finished fighting and need rest,' or 'the imperial rewards have not yet arrived, and morale is low.' Even more arrogant are those who secretly collude and dare to disobey the orders of governors and military supervisors, acting arbitrarily! Your Majesty, what kind of state is this? This is a harbinger of the regional warlordism of the late Tang Dynasty and the arrogant and unruly generals of the Song Dynasty!"

He abruptly stood up, bowed deeply to Zhu Cilang, and said almost hoarsely:

"Your Majesty! This old minister has served in the Ministry of War for many years and knows well that weapons are instruments of violence, which even sages use only as a last resort. When used properly, they become the bulwark of the nation; when used improperly, they become a major threat to the state! Soldiers who risk their lives and make contributions should be rewarded—this is a matter of course! However, after rewarding them, it is essential to constantly remind them, strictly enforce military discipline, and instill in them a sense of awe and respect for rules. This is the way to raise and use an army!"

"Now, with military discipline lax and order broken, I fear that if this continues, it will destroy the foundation upon which our Great Ming has built its army over a century, ultimately becoming too powerful to control and turning against the court! At that time, even a million-strong army will not be a blessing for the nation, but rather a source of chaos!"

He raised his head, and tears welled up in his old eyes. His voice was filled with utmost earnestness and gravity:

"Your Majesty! This old minister is not jealous of talent or envious of ability, nor is he exaggerating! This trend must not be allowed to continue, and this scourge must not be allowed to remain! I beg Your Majesty with tears in my eyes to issue an edict immediately to strictly rectify this situation and severely punish the army as a warning to others! Otherwise... I will die with my eyes open in disgrace!"

His words, like a machine gun, mixed with immense indignation, anxiety, and loyalty, echoed in the warm pavilion.

Li Banghua's chest heaved violently, and his white beard trembled incessantly. Clearly, these words had been bottled up in his heart for a long time, and today he could no longer hold back and poured them out all at once.

Inside the warm pavilion, only Li Banghua's heavy breathing and the seemingly endless, annoying chirping of cicadas outside the window remained.

Zhu Cilang listened quietly, without interrupting at all.

His expression shifted from initial calmness to focused listening, and then to a slight furrowing of his brow when Li Banghua became emotional.

Only after Li Banghua finished speaking and bowed deeply again, awaiting his verdict, did he slowly sigh.

"What Minister Li said..."

Zhu Cilang finally spoke, his voice steady, even carrying a hint of understanding and empathy.

“How could I not know? Of the memorials I read every day, three or four out of ten are related to military affairs. What they say is largely the same as what Minister Li said.”

He paused, gazing out the window as if in recollection:

"The snow of Liaodong, the mountains of Korea, the beacon fires of Shengjing... Soldiers sacrificed their lives and shed their blood to create this rare period of peace for the Ming Dynasty. Many of them crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and many of their comrades were left forever beyond the Great Wall."

Now that the war is over and peace has returned, they're a bit more arrogant, and their actions... a bit more flamboyant, even a little outrageous. Li Qing, tell me, isn't this... just human nature?

Li Banghua suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief!

He expected the emperor to be furious and immediately order a crackdown, but to his utter surprise, he received words that were almost "understanding" or even "considerate"! A chill instantly ran from his feet to the top of his head! His Majesty... Has His Majesty been blinded by these military achievements? Is he going to condone evil?!

"His Majesty!"

Li Banghua's voice changed due to extreme disappointment and fear, and even sounded like he was about to cry.

"Your Majesty! This is not human nature; it is a path to disaster! Throughout history, countless founding armies have been destroyed by this very arrogance and pride! If we tolerate or even indulge them because of their merits, military discipline will collapse and laws will be ignored! Today they dare to demand rewards and land; tomorrow they will dare to disobey orders! The day after tomorrow… the day after tomorrow they will dare…"

Your Majesty! This cannot be tolerated, absolutely cannot be tolerated! If this trend is set in motion, the consequences will be endless! Your Majesty, please think it over!

He was so anxious he almost stomped his feet; his face had turned from flushed to pale, and his eyes were filled with heartache and despair.

He seemed to already see that, because of the emperor's "tolerance," those arrogant and unruly soldiers became increasingly reckless, eventually causing an uncontrollable disaster.

Seeing Li Banghua's anxious and tearful expression, Zhu Cilang's "understanding" look suddenly disappeared.

Instead of getting angry, he... laughed.

"Li Qing, please calm down."

Zhu Cilang's voice remained steady, but it carried an indescribable strength.

"I said I understand them and am considerate of them, but I didn't say... that I would allow them to stay in the country and continue to be lawless, harming the local areas and threatening the court."

"Uh?"

Li Banghua was immersed in immense disappointment and anxiety when he was taken aback by the emperor's sudden smile and turn of events. His grief and indignation were stuck in his throat, and he didn't know how to respond. He just stared wide-eyed at Zhu Cilang in a daze.

"Your Majesty... what is Your Majesty's intention?"

Zhu Cilang suppressed his smile, but the light in his eyes became even sharper, like a sword drawn from its sheath.

He stood up, walked around the imperial desk, and strolled to the huge world map. With his back to Li Banghua, his voice was not loud, but every word clearly reached Li Banghua's ears:

"Minister Li, you just said that these arrogant and fierce soldiers are full of energy and difficult to control. Keeping them in the country would indeed be a disaster. This is exactly what I think."

He turned around, his gaze sharp as lightning, and shot towards Li Banghua:

"But has Li Qing ever considered what would happen if these so-called 'troubles,' this excess energy, this unruly and even undisciplined spirit, were... in a different place?"

"Change...change the location?"

Li Banghua repeated it subconsciously, his mind a complete mess.

"Yes, let's go somewhere else."

Zhu Cilang's finger pointed heavily at the marked overseas regions on the map—South America, North America, Southeast Asia, Africa…

"Put them here, in these uncivilized lands, these barbaric wildernesses, that need swords and blood to explore and conquer! Li Qing, what do you think?"

Li Banghua was completely stunned. His mouth was slightly open as he looked at the emperor, then at the map, unable to comprehend this abrupt shift in thought.

Zhu Cilang stopped keeping him in suspense. He walked back to his desk, but instead of sitting down, he placed his hands on the edge of the desk, leaned forward slightly, and stared intently at Li Banghua. His gaze was filled with confidence that he had everything under control and an unquestionable decisiveness.

"Minister Li, I might as well be frank with you."

Zhu Cilang's voice carried a deep, revealing quality and power.

"After the great victories in Liaodong and Korea, I anticipated that there would be such arrogance in the army. This is human nature and common sense. However, the reason I have not taken drastic measures to rectify this is not out of leniency or fear, but because... I have a great use for them!"

"Great use?"

Li Banghua murmured, his shock growing stronger with each passing moment.

"Exactly!"

Zhu Cilang said resolutely, "I recently discussed the matter of vassal kings taking up their fiefdoms overseas with Ni Yuanlu, and we have already decided on a 'compensation' policy. The vassal kings need troops, weapons, and ships to expand their fiefdoms. And here I am..."

He pointed to his heart, then to the outside of the hall, as if pointing to the entire Ming army.

"There is a group of ready-made, blood-soaked, fearless, and even somewhat lawless arrogant and fierce soldiers who urgently need to be 'dealt with'!"

He began to elaborate, speaking slowly but with exceptional clarity, each word like a nail driven into Li Banghua's heart:

"First, we must eliminate the threat of arrogant and unruly soldiers. Let them follow the King of Chu, the King of Zhou, the King of Shu... and all the other vassal kings to seize territory overseas! Their ferocity, their adventurous spirit, and their wildness that disregards the rules of the Central Plains are a scourge and a malignant tumor in the Central Plains."

But overseas, facing indigenous tribes, Western outposts, and savage wild beasts, these very traits become the sharpest and most effective weapons for expansion! Let them fight and struggle, unleashing their excess energy, ferocity, and even violence on the cause of expanding the territory of our Great Ming! This is called guiding rather than dredging, and releasing rather than blocking!

"second."

A shrewd, calculating glint flashed in Zhu Cilang's eyes.

"It can also relieve the military expenditure pressure that Ni Yuanlu complained to me about. The princes have to pay money to 'hire' these troops! And at a high price!"

He counted on his fingers for Li Banghua:

"Is it unreasonable for the court to 'rent' a soldier in his prime, well-trained, and battle-hardened to a prince, charging him a 'commission' of one hundred taels of silver a year? This is the court's guarantee for his service and to maintain his basic living conditions. When soldiers go overseas, their fate is uncertain, so giving their families left behind in the Ming Dynasty one hundred taels of 'settlement allowance' to comfort them is not expensive, is it?"

Furthermore, all expenses for these soldiers' pay, provisions, clothing, and medicine while they were overseas were covered by the vassal kings who hired them! The imperial court did not spend a single penny!

He looked at Li Banghua's widening eyes and sneered:

"In this way, the court will not only save money on maintaining these soldiers, but can also collect money from them! Ni Yuanlu is worried about the military expenditure exceeding the budget? Very well, I will open up a new source of revenue for him! Use the money from the vassal kings and their arrogant and fierce generals to maintain the court's army, and even replenish the national treasury! Minister Li, what do you think of this plan?"

Li Banghua's breathing became heavy, as if he were seeing a strange scene:

Those soldiers who had given him so much trouble were transformed into walking, fighting "silver ingots," which the imperial court could "rent out" and bring back a steady stream of revenue...

"third."

Zhu Cilang's voice pulled Li Banghua back from his shock.

"This will also maximize the recovery of the real gold and silver held by the vassal kings, allowing this enormous wealth to remain within the country!"

"As for whether these people will become meritorious figures in expanding territories and be ennobled as marquises and generals, or perish in the belly of fish and be buried in foreign lands, or collude with vassal kings and become too powerful to control... that depends on their own abilities and fate. The court has already done more than enough by providing opportunities, arming them, and receiving compensation. Let their fate be decided by the storms and swords overseas."

"Even if they return to the Ming Dynasty in the future, they will be too old and unable to cause any more trouble!"

After he finished speaking, the warm pavilion fell into a long, deathly silence.

Li Banghua stood there, motionless, like a statue struck by lightning.

His expression was extremely complex. The initial anger, anxiety, and disappointment had long since vanished, replaced by extreme shock, bewilderment, and a slowly rising, indescribable admiration and...fear.

He stared blankly at the young emperor behind the imperial desk.

The emperor's face was still young, even with a touch of youthful handsomeness, but his eyes were now as deep as a cold pool, calm and still, yet seemingly able to reflect the deepest part of people's hearts and see through the turbulent waves thousands of miles away.

With effortless ease, he manipulated three thorny problems that could have destabilized the court—the assets of the vassal kings, the arrogant and unruly soldiers, and the pressure of military expenditures—like playing with chess pieces. He seamlessly intertwined these issues, creating a perfect solution that was mutually reinforcing, mutually remedyable, and beneficial to the court in every way.

This is no longer just the art of emperors; it is the pinnacle of strategy, which involves understanding human nature, manipulating the times, and using others' strengths against them!

They cleverly transformed domestic "liabilities" and "troubles" into "weapons" and "sources of wealth" for expanding overseas!

Just moments ago, he was heartbroken over the lax military discipline and wished he could immediately draw upon the imperial sword, but the emperor had already seen three steps ahead and was preparing to divert these "troubles" elsewhere and extract the greatest value from them!

Cold sweat had soaked Li Banghua's back without him even realizing it.

He felt a slight dizziness, partly because the boldness and ingenuity of the plan exceeded his imagination, and partly because, for the first time, he truly felt that the young emperor's depth of thought, ruthlessness of methods, and far-reaching vision far surpassed ordinary people, and even... far surpassed his father, the Chongzhen Emperor.

For a long, long time.

Li Banghua seemed to wake up from a long dream.

He staggered to regain his balance, then made a gesture that made Ma Bao, who was standing nearby, twitch.

He lifted the front of his scarlet official robe, then, as if pushing down a mountain of gold and a jade pillar, he knelt down on both knees and touched the ground with his head to the ground in front of Zhu Cilang behind the imperial desk.

"His Majesty……"

His voice was hoarse, filled with immense tremor and unprecedented respect.

"His wisdom is profound, his strategies are innate, he understands the subtle and hidden, and his control is divine!"

He spoke each word slowly and deliberately, as if he had used all his strength to enunciate them:

"This old minister...this old minister was foolish and presumptuous in trying to guess Your Majesty's intentions, like someone trying to see the sky through a pipe or the sea with a gourd. I am truly...ashamed beyond measure! Your Majesty's strategy is far-sighted, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop, turning harm into benefit, and waste into treasure! It not only solves the three major problems of the court, but also lays an unshakable foundation for our Great Ming Dynasty to establish an overseas empire that will last for ten thousand generations! This is a blessing for the country, a fortune for the army, and a hope for all the people!"

He raised his head, his old eyes no longer glistening with tears, but only with a clear admiration and unwavering resolve:

"This old minister is utterly convinced and sincerely submits! I am willing to follow Your Majesty's lead, and do my utmost to ensure that this plan is implemented smoothly and successfully!"

Zhu Cilang looked at Li Banghua, who was kneeling on the ground and whose attitude had completely changed, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

"Please rise, Li Qing."

Zhu Cilang personally rose from his seat, took two steps forward, and offered a gesture of support.

"This matter still requires Minister Li and his colleagues in the Ministry of War to carefully plan and draft regulations. Which military towns and units are suitable for 'external deployment', how to select them, how to price them, how to liaise with the princes, and how to ensure the court's ultimate control over this 'external' force... There are countless things to consider, and Minister Li needs to put in his effort."

"Your subject would gladly die a thousand deaths!"

Li Banghua rose to his feet with the emperor's apparent support, his back ramrod straight, his eyes burning with excitement and determination to participate in a great cause.

Watching Li Banghua leave the warm pavilion with a refreshed spirit, Zhu Cilang slowly sat back down in his chair, picked up the cup of tea that had long since gone cold, and drank it all in one gulp.

The herbal tea, upon entering the throat, brings a refreshing bitterness, which quickly transforms into a subtle sweet aftertaste.

The cicadas outside the window seemed less noisy now. (End of Chapter)