Farmer of Shu Han

Chapter 1354: military system, military affairs

Chapter 1354 Military System, Military Affairs

In the early Han Dynasty, the main implementation was the conscription system, that is, the whole country had soldiers.

Especially the military exercises (military exercises) hosted by the prefect every autumn, which made the military literacy of the people of the former Han Dynasty far superior to that of most dynasties in later generations.

This system laid a solid foundation for the powerful martial arts of the Early Han Dynasty.

But similarly, the Duxuan system also allowed the prefect to combine military and political affairs and become the actual ruler of a county.

The armed force controlled by the prefect made it possible for local governments to use it against the central government.

For example, after Wang Mang revealed his intention to usurp the throne, Zhai Yi, the prefect of Dongjun, killed "Guan Ling" during the capital examination, and then hijacked the soldiers and civilians of Dongjun to rebel against Mang. It didn't take long for the number to reach 100,000.

Although it failed later, it triggered a wave of rebellion.

When Emperor Guangwu raised his troops, he also thought of using the capital of Nanyang County to seize the command of the county troops.

It is precisely because of this that after Emperor Guangwu re-established the Han Dynasty, he felt that the local governors had too much power, so he implemented a policy of withdrawing troops.

From the sixth year of Jianwu (AD 30) to the twenty-third year of Jianwu, the provincial, prefecture and national soldiers were struck down five times, and a military service system based on recruitment was implemented at the same time.

The recruitment system strengthened the central government's suppression of local governments and weakened the possibility of local governments recruiting troops to cause rebellion.

But another problem has arisen: the supply of soldiers is not only insufficient, but also good and bad. The combat effectiveness of the army continues to decline, and the decline rate is alarming.

It is not without reason that the martial arts of the Later Han Dynasty was far inferior to that of the Early Han Dynasty.

Especially in the middle and late period, the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou lasted for a hundred years, causing serious blood loss to the Later Han Dynasty - Liangzhou was an inherent territory conquered by the Former Han Dynasty.

This incident alone shows the decline in the combat effectiveness of the army in the middle and late Han Dynasty.

As for the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the court's serious shortage of military resources and strength greatly shook the foundation of the rule of the Later Han Dynasty.

In the end, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty had no choice but to adopt Liu Yan's suggestion and "abolish the history and establish animal husbandry", that is, abolish the governor and appoint the state pastoral minister.

The Zhou Mu holds the military and political power of a state. This is simply an enhanced version of the prefectural examination system of the former Han Dynasty - and that is to put it mildly.

History goes round and round, but it eventually comes back.

Not long after the implementation of the state pastoral system, the already declining Later Han Dynasty was no longer able to control local areas and fell apart almost instantly.

At the same time, many state pastoralists became the first batch of local separatist warlords.

Then, Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty arose from the Yan and Dai dynasties. He was the ruler of Yu and Jing, Wu and Yue relied on him, looked out for allies, and crossed Shu with Ba in his arms. The mediocre Han Dynasty merged with him. In the end, the world was restored to order, and the ancestors worshiped Wei Ning.

At that time, the emperor was gifted with benevolence and philanthropy, and with his clever appearance, he waited for the past.

Dahan Sanxing was looking at. In addition to the people's hearts, the people of benevolence used their lives, and they also depended on the soldiers to sweep the thief.

Throughout the two and three rises of the Han Dynasty, its martial arts, rise and fall, and military system all played an extremely important role.

After so many years of continuous adjustment and improvement, Ji Han now implements a military service system that combines the conscription system and the recruitment system.

Conscripted soldiers serve for four years, stay in the county for one year, and receive formal military training at the same time. This is the county soldier - this is more radical than the capital examination of the former Han Dynasty.

As for the remaining three years, he will be transferred to the Central Army to participate in foreign operations.

These four years were compulsory and part of the corvée.

Four years later, if the best are selected to join the guards, the family will be exempted from part of the taxes or corvee.

If you achieve military merit and receive military land, then your life will be considered worthwhile.

Just from ancient times to the present, there has never been a perfect policy, only a policy that is suitable for the current situation.

Ji Han’s military service naturally had its gains and losses.

The advantage is that while ensuring sufficient troop supply, it can also maintain a high military quality.

The disadvantage is that the burden on the people is heavier and the financial expenditure is higher.

That is to say, with the continuous in-depth implementation of various new policies and the vigorous development of the workshop industry, Dahan's tax sources have been greatly expanded.

This allowed the Han Dynasty's finances to be sufficient to support the current military service system.

But in addition to the financial aspect, there is another biggest hidden danger that is the same as that of the former Han Dynasty: too much military power was given to the localities.

County soldiers receive formal military training locally, and it lasts only one year. If they are really determined, it will be enough for the prefect to control a considerable military force.

In other words, all the central armies are now equipped with tiger and wolf divisions, and their combat effectiveness is off the charts, so this small problem can be ignored.

But as the saying goes, if you don’t plan for the whole world, you can’t plan for a moment; if you don’t plan for the overall situation, you can’t plan for a region.

Let alone who are the Prime Minister and the Ghost King?

There is no need to leave problems to future generations that can be solved by the present generation.

The establishment of the unified military government, to put it bluntly, is to implement the separation of military and political affairs.

The prefect specializes in political affairs, and the duwei (i.e., the general who unified the military government) specializes in military affairs.

The governor of a state is responsible for supervising the prefects and captains - supervising the local area is the original duty of the governor.

It feels a bit like separation of powers.

Of course, in addition to this, there are also plans to avoid having the combat effectiveness of the army decline too quickly like the Later Han Dynasty did:

In this era, the cultural level of the military is too low. If the soldiers do not know the generals, they will not be specialized in the soldiers, which will probably make the soldiers distrust each other.

If you trust your superiors and subordinates, you will be easily taken advantage of. Once you encounter difficulties, your military morale will be shaken and you will eventually be defeated ("Dasang" curses and exits the group chat).

However, if we use dedicated generals and dedicated troops, there will be hidden dangers associated with having soldiers as generals.

Although given the current situation of the Han Dynasty, there is no need to be too unreasonable, but the system is far more reliable than the people's hearts.

So the Tongjun Mansion made a compromise plan based on the experience and lessons of the military system of the Han Dynasty and the actual situation of Ji Han.

On weekdays, the captains and generals of the Tongjun Mansion are responsible for training the soldiers and leading them into battle when they are recruited.

Captains and special generals with a certain cultural foundation can play a linking role in wartime and ensure the smooth flow of military orders.

At the same time, with proper planning, the military strength of a single unified military government can be controlled within a certain range.

ˆIt will not affect local production as much as possible, and there will be no worries about big problems.

The Tongjunfu, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, can also cut off the foundation of local powerful rightists to have private soldiers.

This can be regarded as another major measure to send imperial power to the countryside.

Of course, it is not the turn of people like Lao Wei to worry about such major decisions that will affect the Han Dynasty in the next decades or even hundreds of years.

What they are worried about is what impact the establishment of the Tongjunfu will have on them.

Lao Feng is now a person who can lead an army and defend a side. He can't come here specifically to talk to these old brothers about these things because he is too busy.

Lao Feng poured himself another bowl of wine, took a sip, glanced at everyone again, and saw that all eyes were on him, then he said:

“To establish a Tongjunfu, in addition to the captains and other generals leading the troops, and to train the soldiers on weekdays, they also need to be assisted by instructors. This instructor..."

At this point, Old Feng paused again.

“Of course this instructor can’t be taken care of casually. He is the best candidate if he understands the affairs of the army.”

Hearing this, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up.

This job sounds like it’s quite suitable for old guys like me, right?

Looking at all the people present, they all have some kind of physical problem, and they will definitely not be able to fight in the battle.

But with the experience of fighting on the battlefield, they really dare to say that they are not inferior to anyone.

These days, among those who can retire from the army alive, which one has a living?

“We will serve as instructors in the Tongjun Mansion. If the imperial court recruits us in the future, should we also go together?”

Someone raised this question.

"What are you thinking about?" Old Feng curled his lips, "Even if the captain agrees, are the people sent by the imperial court blind?"

“Even if the people sent here are blind, do you really think that the generals in the army have no temper?”

How can serious matters in the army be trivial?

If something happens in front of the battle one day, no one from the entire military command office to the imperial court will be able to escape.

Governing the country strictly by law is a rule left by the Prime Minister.

This strict law refers not only to governing the people and officials, but also to governing the army.

How about not saying that even figures like Feng Da Sima were beaten with military sticks by the Prime Minister back then?

Glancing at the crowd, Old Feng knew that the gimmick of being a coach alone might not be enough to attract these veterans.

Even though he is a military general now.

But when it comes to talking about one's origin, everyone here should discuss it one by one, and no one should laugh at anyone.

The difference is that Lao Feng has actively responded to Feng Junhou's call and studied hard in the military over the years.

In addition, he may be smarter than these big bosses in front of him, so he can learn a little more knowledge.

He also has better luck and a little more military merit.

But he knew exactly what these old guys were thinking.

Having been fighting for half their lives in front of the battle, even though they have retreated, some people still have itchy hands and feet and cannot rest.

But there are also people who can calm down and want to live a good life without having to worry too much.

After all, after following a prince in the past, the first thought of most people was to have enough to eat.

Now, if your family has a house, a field, a kang, a wife, children and a daughter, what else do you want?

These are the things you paid for by risking your life in front of the battle, why can't you enjoy them?

Lao Feng, who had a similar background, knew these veterans very well, so he was ready to tell a shocking "insider news":

“Over the past few years, those children from aristocratic families have finally put aside their status and participated in the imperial examinations.”

Old Feng shook his head and sighed, "I think back then, the imperial examination system was a path specially opened for us by the kings and princes. It's not like it is now..."

At this point, someone just "tsk", and then sighed again.

Over the years, more and more people have taken part in the imperial examination.

The more people there are, the greater the competition.

Unlike before, as long as you are willing to learn, there will be people rushing to get it after you leave the school.

Although now that I have graduated from school, I don’t have to worry about making a living. But if you want to go further to study at the Royal Academy, it is not as easy as it was at Nanxiang Academy.

Think about those children from aristocratic families in the past who were willing to lift up their robes and go down to the fields and let the mud and water dirty their feet. It was outrageous for his mother!

What about pride?

Where is the pride of the children of the rich family?

But no matter how much you scold, you can’t change this trend.

How can Cangtou Qianshou compete with those children from aristocratic families about studying? !

"But," Old Feng said with a mysterious look on his face, "the prince will still be interested in us Nanxiang children after all. No, the Tongjun Mansion is actually looking for another way out for our children."

These words finally attracted everyone:

“Tell me! Tell me carefully, what’s going on?”

If it were anyone else, these veterans would definitely not be able to believe it easily.

But if it were replaced by "Junhou" or "Nanxiang children", it would be different.

The children of Nanxiang are the direct descendants of the monarch. At least in the hearts of Lao Feng's generation, this is eternal.

"The imperial court is about to hold a military examination," Lao Feng did not give in, but explained directly, "Later, suitable men who are capable, daring and good at fighting will be selected from the Tongjun Mansion to serve as generals at all levels in the army."

A thousand troops are easy to get, but a general is hard to find.

What is even more difficult to find is the grassroots backbone of the military with firm beliefs.

The children of Nanxiang followed the monarch for 20 years, the death, the disability, the old.

For those who can still be active in the military, their promotion routes are basically the same as those of Lao Feng.

As for whether to be a soldier or a captain, it all depends on personal circumstances.

After the restructuring in the past few years, the Nanxiang children who were not suitable to stay in the army all retired.

The rest were snatched away by military leaders on the pretext of restructuring.

These days, those who can understand 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 90, and pronounce Jia, B, C, D, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Rengui, will be wasting their natural resources as ordinary soldiers in the army.

Even Feng Junhou... must think about the future of his direct descendants, and cannot delay their future.

Otherwise, it is harm, not love.

With the descendants of Nanxiang filling the grassroots generals of each army, the Han army after the restructuring is really at the peak of its combat power.

Even a new army can quickly become an elite division after experiencing one or two **** battles.

But again, if you don’t plan for a lifetime, it’s not enough to plan for a temporary period.

As the leader of the Han army, Feng also had to consider the possible fault lines that might arise in ten years.

So the martial arts examination was created for this purpose—how many generals does the Military Academy produce in a year?

It's not enough to fill the teeth of the Han army.

Enrollment expansion is imminent!

There is the imperial examination ahead, and the military examination only needs a brief explanation, and everyone will understand it all at once, and they will immediately become excited.

“Old Feng, you are saying that in the future our children will be able to do martial arts even if they are not as good at studying as those from wealthy families. How can we do martial arts and get royal food?”

“If you really pass the martial arts examination, you will have to go to the martial arts lecture hall in Chang’an City to learn the art of war. What will you do if you don’t eat the imperial food?”

“The martial arts hall? Tell me clearly, which martial arts hall!”

That is a place where you can become a general in the army!

In the past, in addition to being recommended by military generals, you could only get into the Royal Academy.

Now that I heard that there is such a way to get in, why don't these veterans' eyes light up?

“Besides the one in Chang’an, what other martial arts school is there in the world?”

“Is there such a good thing?”

“What if it’s not that the Lord has been thinking about us old brothers from Nanxiang?”

Amidst the excitement of the crowd, there was another commotion.

"That's true. If you can't compete with the disciples of the rich clans in your studies, is it possible that you can't compete with them in fighting skills?"

I heard Lao Feng say that this martial arts competition is nothing more than a test of the skills used before the formation:

Army weapons such as horse shooting, infantry shooting, flat shooting, carbine, weight-bearing, wrestling, long-distance running, swords, halberds, hooks and forks.

I heard that there may be skills such as organizing small groups to rush into battle and fight.

If you don’t want to take a military exam, you must first enter the Tongjun Mansion.

How could ordinary people have such weapons?

Let alone practice.

These veterans have special skills in using these weapons.

They are all earned by struggling between life and death.

Pass it on, it must be passed on!

Even the old guy who had planned to enjoy life and let his wife enjoy life was so excited that his face turned red.

If we don’t fight now, when will we wait?

I have fought for half my life to earn such a life, and I definitely did not do it just for my son to lie down and enjoy it.

Sons also have sons of their own, and they have to fight for their wives and children. Otherwise, how can we call it planning for future generations?

With the atmosphere in place, there was naturally no shortage of wine to drink.

He probably drank too much bad wine, and someone out of his mind asked, "What should I do if I fail the martial arts exam?"

As soon as these words came out, Lao Feng was so angry that he drank his wine bowl and cursed:

“If you can’t pass the imperial examination and can’t pass the military examination, then why are you still thinking so much?”

“Either you become a soldier in the army and risk your life to gain military glory, or you just eat in the fields obediently, what else do you want?”

Nothing can compare to others, and you still have so many thoughts. What is a bad person if not a bad person?

A bad person will naturally have a bad life.

Looking at the excitement among the crowd, Old Feng took advantage of the opportunity of raising a bowl to drink, with a successful smile on his lips.

It seems that the leader of this house has finally been found.

Just when Lao Feng was gathering his old brothers on the east bank of Wugong River, he was preparing for his appointment as the captain of Tongjunfu.

Another old Feng was also standing at Wuzhangyuan on the west bank of Wugong River, looking down at the waterway where cars and boats were like dragons.

Even though I had read the data on paper, seeing it in person still made Feng feel proud:

This is the greatest confidence that I, oh, and the Prime Minister, have accumulated for twenty years.

Upon learning that Da Sima had arrived at Wuzhangyuan, Shangshu Ling Fei Yi, who was inspecting the waterway, trotted over under the scorching sun:

“Yi, I have met Da Sima.”

Jiang Wan, the previous minister, recorded ministerial affairs with Da Sima, and also served as a general. With his seniority, he could be on an equal footing with Feng Da Sima.

Although Fei Yi was Jiang Wan's successor, he had no qualifications in front of Feng Da Sima.

Feng Dashima, who was looking down with his hands behind his back, waved with a smile on his face:

“Fei Shangshu, come here.”

Fei Yi then continued to step forward, stood behind Feng Da Sima, and asked in a low voice:

“Where did Da Sima come from?”

“I came here to take a look at the supplies shipped from Shu.” Feng Da Sima lowered his gaze again and asked, “Fei Shangshu thinks the supplies shipped from Shu this year are enough?”

"Enough! How can it be insufficient?" Fei Yi also looked down, his face stretched, "Not only has the treasury been replenished, but there is also some leftover."

“Is there a lot of surplus?”

The Shangshutai was the great steward of the Han Dynasty. Although Mr. Feng recorded the affairs of the Shangshutai, it was usually the secretariat that connected with the Shangshutai.

He only needs to know the big things that he needs to know.

As for whether it is necessary to repair water conservancy, open up wasteland, or relocate refugees, that is a trivial matter. I believe that the First Secretary will give a proper reply to the Chancellery.

Let alone the amount of receipts and expenditures in the treasury, is that something that the Grand Sima should remember?

Fei Yi had already said half a word of "duo", but as he was thoughtful, when his eyes fell back on Feng Da Sima, he had already changed his words:

“How much is too much? There is money everywhere.”

Hearing this, Feng also looked back at Fei Yi, smiled and nodded:

"Fei Shangshu's words are quite interesting."

Feeling Feng Da Sima’s meaningful gaze, Fei Yi’s heart moved:

“What arrangements does Da Sima have?”

Feng nodded:

“Does Fei Shangshu know about the affairs of Tongjun Mansion?”

“Da Sima, don’t worry, this expense has already been arranged.”

“There is still the end of the year, and troops may be needed.”

"At the end of the year..." Fei Yi's tone suddenly rose up, and then suddenly fell down again, "Use troops?"