gnovel Chapter 23 Building Your Own Team
Chapter 23 Building Your Own Team
After hearing these words, Yu Qingli remained silent for a long time.
She wasn't the kind of monarch who couldn't stand the truth; quite the opposite, it was precisely because she wanted to hear the truth so much that she felt so angry when faced with these shocking figures.
Those ministers who spout benevolence and morality on ordinary days but secretly line their own pockets dare to deceive her so brazenly precisely because they know she is newly enthroned and her power base is not yet secure.
"You're right." Yu Qingli finally spoke, her voice regaining the composure befitting an emperor: "The hole in the national treasury can never be filled, but I cannot stop trying just because it can't be filled. The famine victims in the three northern prefectures cannot wait, nor can the soldiers on the border."
She paused, her gaze falling on Lin Mo: "But since you dare to ask me for five or six hundred thousand taels, you must already have a plan in mind. Speak, what else do you want to say?"
Lin Mo raised his head, his gaze clear and frank: "Your Majesty, what I am about to say may be somewhat presumptuous. But as the royal henchman, even if my words are harsh, they are spoken with utmost loyalty."
"I forgive you for your guilt."
"In my opinion, what Your Majesty lacks most right now is not silver, but people." Lin Mo's voice was not loud, but every word was clear: "Why did Liu Kaishan dare to embezzle three million taels? Why did Guo Liang dare to collude with the Tatars? Why did those civil and military officials in the court dare to cry poverty in front of Your Majesty, and then turn around and stuff silver into their own pockets? In the final analysis, it is because they think Your Majesty is easy to bully."
Yu Qingli tapped her fingers lightly on the dragon table, saying nothing, but her eyes had already turned cold.
"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the court structure remains largely the same as that of the late Emperor. Of the four Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, three were recommended by noble families. Half of the Ministers of the Six Ministries are related to the Marquis of Guanyun. Not to mention the military; although Guo Liang has been dismissed and stripped of his title, he still has at least a hundred of his former subordinates in the border troops. These people are outwardly obedient to Your Majesty, but behind the scenes they are all plotting their own agendas."
Lin Mo paused briefly, and seeing that Yu Qingli did not intend to interrupt him, he continued, "If Your Majesty wishes to no longer have to be mindful of their opinions, you need a group of people who are completely loyal to Your Majesty. Not loyal to the Cabinet, not loyal to Xun Gui, and not loyal to the Empress Dowager, but only loyal to Your Majesty."
Yu Qingli narrowed her eyes slightly: "Where did these people you're talking about come from?"
"Two paths." Lin Mo held up two fingers: "The first path, Encore."
"A special imperial examination?" Yu Qingli raised an eyebrow, her face full of confusion. "The imperial examinations are held every three years. Next year is the year of the regular imperial examinations, so why add a special imperial examination?"
Lin Mo shook his head and explained to Yu Qingli.
"Your Majesty, the quotas for the regular imperial examinations have long been snapped up by those powerful figures in the court."
"Which examiner doesn't favor his own students and friends? Which grader doesn't favor his fellow townsmen and classmates? Even if a poor student studies hard for ten years, he may not be able to compete with those from wealthy families who have connections and powerful backers."
"But the special imperial examination is different. The special imperial examination is held by special decree of His Majesty, the examiners are personally appointed by His Majesty, and the admission standards are personally determined by His Majesty. As long as His Majesty chooses the right examiners, all those selected in this examination will be His Majesty's disciples."
Yu Qingli's eyes lit up slightly.
Lin Mo continued, "More importantly, the imperial examination selects scholars based on talent rather than family background, and all the scholars from humble backgrounds across the land will be grateful for His Majesty's benevolence."
"These people have no background or powerful connections. Once they enter officialdom, their only reliance is His Majesty. They will be more loyal than anyone else because their future depends entirely on His Majesty's decision."
Yu Qingli stood up and slowly paced a few steps in the imperial study.
The crabapple trees in the courtyard were in full bloom, and sunlight filtered through the gauze window, falling on the blue brick floor and casting dappled patterns of light.
She stopped at the boundary between light and shadow and turned around.
"The first path is Enko, but what about the second path?"
"A military examination," Lin Mo replied without hesitation. "And it should be a grand military examination, surpassing the scale and standards of all previous dynasties."
Yu Qingli frowned slightly: "The martial arts examination has always existed, why is it necessary to open a new one?"
"Your Majesty may not know this, but promotions in the military have always relied on two paths. One is military merit, and the other is recommendation by nobles. The path of military merit is relatively straightforward; merit earned through actual combat cannot be denied by anyone. However, the path of recommendation by nobles is where Guo Liang and Liu Kaishan make their money. A fifth-rank commander of a thousand men is priced at three thousand taels, and a fourth-rank deputy commander of the guards is priced at eight thousand taels—this is not something I made up; it is written in black and white on Sun Zhengming's confession."
Yu Qingli's face darkened.
"The truly capable and valiant soldiers and officers in the army, lacking connections and funds, have fought tooth and nail on the frontier for over a decade without rising through the ranks. Meanwhile, those spoiled brats who have spent money, barely able to wield a sword, can become commanders of a thousand men. How can such an army be expected to defend the borders for His Majesty?"
"Therefore, I suggest that Your Majesty hold a grand military examination, so that all martial arts practitioners in the world will know that Your Majesty is selecting those with real skills, not those with noble family backgrounds."
"Those selected through the military examinations will be directly assigned to the capital garrison and border armies, starting as junior officers and rising through the ranks step by step. In this way, within a few years, the army will have a group of generals personally promoted by His Majesty."
Lin Mo suddenly changed the subject: "However, passing the martial arts exam alone is not enough."
Yu Qingli's gaze sharpened: "What else?"
"Military academy." When Lin Mo said those two words, his tone carried an unusual solemnity.
"Your Majesty, I dare to suggest that you establish a military academy in the capital. Select the most outstanding young talents from the military examinations to study there, learning military strategy, horsemanship, archery, and the way to serve the country. The course will last two years, and upon graduation, students will be directly appointed to military positions. Your Majesty will personally serve as the honorary headmaster of this academy, and all graduates will be disciples of the Emperor."
Yu Qingli was truly moved by the suggestion from the Military Academy.
Whether it's the imperial examination or the military examination, emperors throughout history have used both, so it's nothing new.
However, this kind of school specifically for training soldiers was something completely new.
Moreover, the more Yu Qingli thought about the military academy's idea, the more reasonable it seemed.
Those old hands in the military are too difficult to deal with; they are deeply entrenched, and moving one of them can have far-reaching consequences.
If we can train another batch of new people and gradually add them to the ranks, the structure of the military will be very different in just a few years.
Upon realizing this, Yu Qingli's gaze towards Lin Mo instantly changed.
No wonder her father held her hand and gave her countless instructions before he passed away.
Make her listen to Lin Mo.
So Lin Mo was the regent left to her by her father!
Thinking of this, Yu Qingli slowly asked, "How long have you been pondering these things?"
"Your Majesty, I have been pondering this ever since I took over the Eastern Depot."
Lin Mo looked calm and sighed, "The Eastern Depot has spies in the border army. Of all the news I've received over the years, what worries me most is not the embezzlement of military pay or the buying and selling of military positions, but the fact that the border army's combat strength is declining year by year."
"Back when Emperor Taizu was conquering the world, the Great Liang cavalry was unparalleled, and the Mongols and Tatars fled at the mere sight of them. But what about now? The 30,000 troops stationed in Jizhou cannot even muster 3,000 horses. On the artillery platform in Xuanfu, six out of ten cannons are mute. The cabinet knows these things, and the Ministry of War knows them too, but neither of them is willing to expose them."
Yu Qingli's expression had turned completely cold.
She knew about the corruption within the border troops.
However, every time Yu Qingli brought up the matter of reorganizing military affairs in court, the cabinet would use the excuse of an empty national treasury to brush her off.
Looking back now, it's true that the national treasury was empty, but the more important reason was probably that those people didn't want her to touch the pie in the military.