Chapter 1077
Military Academy
Chapter 1077 Military Academy
"Move?" Pan Yu's eyes widened in surprise: "How do you move it?"
Pan Yun grinned at him: "Can't you just move it with your hands?"
Pan Yu was speechless. He finally understood why the two artificial mountains were sold so cheaply.
Taihu stones are considered the finest among artificial mountains, but they are not very valuable in their place of origin.
What's truly valuable is luck!
Some artificial mountains, when unearthed, are only worth a thousand or ten thousand taels of silver, but when transported to the capital, they are worth hundreds of thousands or even millions.
What makes it valuable?
It's on the way!
Pan Yun moved the artificial mountain from the palace into the buyer's home with a single palm strike, and the price naturally came down.
Pan Yu felt heartbroken and resentful, feeling that her younger sister had been taken advantage of by the King of Qin and Hu San.
But he didn't want to say anything to his delighted younger sister, lest he spoil her mood.
He could only vent his anger on the soil, hoeing the ground with all his might.
Pan Yun sat down beside him and talked about his border patrol, asking, "During your journey, have you found any useful people?"
Pan Yu: "Available?"
Pan Yun nodded: "Currently, military power is monopolized by nobles. The cabinet is urging the emperor to appoint civil officials to supervise the army. The emperor, drawing inferences from this, thinks that since the army is going to be supervised anyway, it would be better to use eunuchs whom he trusts more than civil officials."
Pan Yu was startled: "Use eunuchs? Wouldn't that mean we'll end up with another Wang Zhen?"
Pan Jun smiled and said, "I think this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. It would be better to promote lower-ranking military officers. In fact, whether it's civil or military officials, the best way to ensure stability and development is to maintain a clear path for promotion and to select talent as fairly as possible."
Whether civil or military, as long as they have reasonable promotion channels and are not monopolized by a certain group or class, everyone has hope for advancement, then the whole country and society will move forward and no major problems will occur.
Pan Yun also discussed this issue with the emperor and Yu Qian.
Of course, this is the general direction. In terms of details, the cabinet wants to be more involved in the military and is sending military supervisors under the pretext of anti-corruption.
The emperor also wanted to take control of the military, so he wanted to replace the military supervisor with a eunuch. For Pan Yun, these were all minor details.
What she wants is a smooth career advancement path and for professionals to handle specialized tasks.
Pan Yun used Wang Zhen as an example to tell the emperor and Yu Qian how dangerous it was for those who did not understand military affairs and did not know how dangerous it was for them to supervise the army and control military power.
Of course, if they persist, there's nothing she can do.
After surviving the tribulation, Pan Yun gained a more open-minded perspective: do your best and leave the rest to fate.
Pan Yu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Li Song, the General of Liaodong, is quite formidable..."
Next, Pan Yuhua spent a quarter of an hour introducing Li Song and several of his officers and lieutenants.
“Liaodong, ah…” Pan Jun laughed, “A military academy could be set up there.”
"Military academy?"
“Yes,” Pan Yun said, “There is the imperial examination for civil service and the military examination for military service. Civil service has the Imperial Academy, and military service should also have an academy to match it.”
“But most of the soldiers in the army are recruited from military households…” Pan Yu paused here.
Children of military households could generally attend school, at the very least for three years of elementary education, after which they would rely on their own abilities.
Promotion in the military is mainly based on military merit, but there are sons of noble families above and hereditary military officers below, making it difficult for ordinary military families' children to get ahead.
Even those fortunate enough to achieve merit on the battlefield are rewarded first to their superiors, with the individual receiving the reward last. Some meritorious soldiers don't even have their names appear on the military merit register, remaining at the bottom of the list for their entire lives.
This was the case for the vast majority of military households.
This is one of the reasons why the number of deserters has been increasing in recent years.
The military households saw no future.
Pan Yu transitioned from a civil to a military background, having passed the military examination and been appointed as a military officer. He was not a military household member, and these two points alone put him far ahead of military households.
Therefore, Pan Yun's military academy was opened for military households.
Sure enough, Pan Yun said, "It's similar to the Imperial Academy, only accepting martial arts students between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four. Besides martial arts, it also teaches military strategy, astronomy, geography, farming..."
"Do we need to teach how to farm?"
“Of course,” Pan Jun said, “Our Great Ming Dynasty has a military-agricultural system. If a general does not know the farming season, how can he manage the military affairs of a region? Moreover, a major reason for corruption in the army is that they have forgotten where they came from and have been detached from the lower-ranking soldiers for too long.”
Pan Yu pondered, "Wouldn't it be inappropriate to place such a military academy in Liaodong?"
“Originally, I planned to open one in Beijing and one in Nanjing, but the Korean War broke out, so I changed my mind,” Pan Yun said. “Currently, there is no more suitable place for the Northern Military Academy than Liaodong.”
Pan Yu recalled the emperor's words to him, and a thought struck him: "You want to take over the Nurgan Commandery?"
Pan Jun's lips curled slightly: "Nurgan Regional Military Commission was originally a tributary prefecture of the Ming Dynasty. It is not difficult to take it back into direct control. The difficulty lies in governing and protecting this land."
She said, “To the west are the Oirats, to the north are the Russians, and inside there are various Jurchen tribes. It’s not easy to manage this area. This is a good opportunity for you military officers to practice your skills.”
Pan Yun said meaningfully, "The emperor has given you this opportunity. Whether you can seize it and open up this channel for millions of ordinary military households depends on you."
Pan Yu agreed with a serious expression.
Li Song also came from a military family. His grandfather was a commander of a thousand households and his father was a commander of a hundred households. He inherited his father's position as a commander of a hundred households and entered officialdom. He was a middle-to-lower-level military officer. He had not been promoted before because he was overshadowed by a general from a noble family.
In fact, if Pan Yu and others hadn't gone to the north to inspect, even if the former Liaodong General had left, he wouldn't have become a general, as his military achievements and family background were insufficient.
Once the former commander-in-chief leaves, the Five Military Commissions will send another general to take over the position.
In a letter from Pan Yu to Pan Jun, he wrote about Li Song, describing how Li Song led soldiers to cultivate farmland, which not only preserved production but also training.
The troops under his command trained up to 70% of their troops during their free time, making them outstanding not only in the north but also far ahead of the rest of the Ming Dynasty.
In the Jiangnan region, where there is a large population but limited land, the highest training rate is only 38%.
This shows how remarkable his 70% achievement is.
In addition, according to Pan Yu's investigation, in the past five years, there have been more than ten recorded conflicts between the Liaodong Commandery and the Oirat Mongols. Li Song led the troops in defense and attack, killing more than 790 enemies. These achievements were reported by the former commander-in-chief, but he was not even qualified to have his name on the report. On the contrary, several of his adjutant generals, because of their good backgrounds, were on the battle reports.
Pan Yun was straightforward and directly sent someone to deliver the letter home to Yu Qian.
Therefore, after the former commander-in-chief of Liaodong was dismissed, Yu Qian refused the position of candidate for the Five Military Commissions and strongly recommended Li Song to the emperor.
The emperor naturally knew that Li Song was a talent recommended by the imperial advisor.
Both of his most important people recommended Li Song, and the emperor promoted Li Song without hesitation.
Given Li Song's background, Pan Yu believed that he could fulfill the court's mandate and accomplish Pan Yun's vision.
At least for now, he hasn't changed.
(End of this chapter)