"What's wrong?" Shaodianshi said with displeasure on his face, "I think we can give it a try. Could it be that Shaodian's country can't even accommodate ten first-grade men?"
Excluding the dukes who defected to Shaodian Yong, there are indeed no ten first-rank dukes in the Senate.
Shao Dianzhang and Shao Dianhuang made eye contact, and finally Shao Dianzhang, who was more senior, said: "You should not be granted the title of a first-rank duke lightly. The Shaodian Kingdom has not granted a new first-grade duke for four thousand years.
At first, the Xiong Emperor's ancestors divided the land into ten states, enfeoffed ten first-rank dukes accordingly, fixed the positions of ten elders in the Senate, and established ten departments of courtiers in the Government Affairs Council and the Commander-in-Chief's Office. These were all fixed.
After many generations of ancestors' innovations, the current political situation was finally formed. Only the ten elders and ten first-rank officials are still preserved. This is the Shaodian family's unchanging ancestral system, a tradition respected by the royal family, and its existence is inevitable.
In the kingdom's more than 4,000 years of history, many families have emerged that have achieved more merit than the ten first-rank dukes, but they still have not been promoted to their titles. This is not only because the royal family follows the ancestral precepts, but also because of the suppression of those ten families, who are the top echelon of the kingdom.
The result of the combined forces.
Now, if you can be promoted to a first-class official just because of money, it will not only cause dissatisfaction among the big families, but also change the concept of the people in the country. The honor of the nobles will be gone, all because the nobles can exchange it with money.
Shaodian Kingdom can accommodate ten first-grade dukes. That was under the condition of national unity, but it is not the case now. Moreover, nobles can be promoted based on merit, but they must not be promoted because of money! Your Highness, please think twice!"
The system that Shaodian Kingdom has maintained for more than four thousand years is not that simple. There are many complex factors in it, including the generation of god-level power. This is a pool of water deeper than the ocean.
"Now the royal family is facing the most dangerous situation. We can no longer stick to the old ideas. The court only accepts donations from nobles and does not accept donations from common people. This will not affect the honor of the nobles. The nobles who can be promoted to the first rank must be
Duke, and so on, there is no problem that cannot be solved as long as we find a way."
When Shaodian was young, he grabbed a life-saving straw and refused to give up easily.
"Your Highness, the commander-in-chief has something to say. I would like to make it clear for him. This donation is for the reconstruction of the legion. It is mainly used for recruiting and training new soldiers, as well as military pay and equipment. On the surface, it has nothing to do with the middle and senior generals, but the problem is
It's on them.
If the donor makes a side request and recommends certain people to serve as mid-to-high-level generals or mid-level officers, will the people working below refuse? In the end, the rebuilt legion may fall into the hands of someone else. It would be better if they are loyal to the royal family, but if they are loyal to the rebels,
The party will be in big trouble."
Taiwei Shao Dianhuang said what Shao Dianzhang did not dare to say.
"The Zi family is willing to donate their property without any strings attached." Zi Pi knelt down in front of Shaodianshi on the spot.
He was the only one present who was not from the royal family, so Shao Dianzhang and Shao Dianhuang had some things that it was not convenient for them to say in front of him.
"Look, there are still many loyal ministers and righteous people in the kingdom. However, things must be handled carefully and not messed up. Let's discuss a charter between the Government Administration Council and the Commander-in-Chief's Office, and temporarily call on the barons and viscounts to donate money as appropriate.
He will be rewarded with promotion." Shaodian came up with what he thought was a compromise.
Jiang Li, who was far away in Zhongwangzhou, quickly received the news and immediately rushed back to Zhenjing City to visit the remaining elders of the Senate one by one.
Calls on nobles to donate money have appeared in history, usually for life-long nobles. Donating money is used to complete the Senate's assessment and successfully pass on the title to their children. For hereditary nobles, it is not so important.
"Hahaha, I was so sick that I rushed to the doctor!" Ding Kui was already in Tunchang County when he got the news.
The Magic Guild did not intervene in the dispute between the court and the eldest princess, and all the magicians in Tunchang County did not help the local government resist the attack of the New Twelve Legions.
The governor of the county, Pang Yao, did not accept Liang Chong's kindness and insisted on organizing his troops to confront the New Twelfth Army. He fought with the 111th Division in the county town.
The 111th Division is the most experienced of the New Twelfth Army. It has participated in the battle against the invasion of its own country. Although it does some soy sauce work, it has experienced actual combat.
Han Ruren set up an ambush, easily annihilated the county defenders, and then personally led the main force to storm the county governor's mansion.
When the gate of the Sheriff's Mansion was breached, Pang Hui rushed to the top of the wall and committed suicide in front of everyone.
The county town was defeated, and the cities below could not resist for long. They were divided and surrounded by ten divisions and were defeated one after another.
In early August, Gong Li, the son of Ziliu Bo Gong Wei, became the governor of the new Tunchang County, and Tunchang County was declared to be under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory State.
Within two days, the main force of the Twenty Legions forcibly entered the cities of Daling County, expelled several city lords and county guards who were unwilling to be loyal to the Supervisor State, and announced that they were waiting for the Supervisor State to send people to take over Daling County.
At this time, the five southernmost counties of Nanmao Prefecture fell into Ding Kui's hands.
A middle-aged man with a sallow complexion sat opposite Ding Kui and said with a smile: "Master Ding can publicly ennoble himself as a noble, congratulations, congratulations!"
"There is no one else here. Brother Kong, you can relax a little." Ding Kui cleared a confidential conference room in the governor's mansion.
The middle-aged man with a sallow complexion is Kong Ren. He specially changed his appearance and became the staff of the deputy commander-in-chief of the Military Command Department.
"It doesn't matter, just get used to it, so as not to make any slips of the tongue in the future." He was getting familiar with his new identity.
"The new Twelfth Army is not very good. Under such circumstances, hundreds of casualties occurred when attacking a county, but the old army still has combat effectiveness." Ding Kui pointed at the files on the desktop.
That was the battle report of the New Twelfth Army. The total number of city defense troops in Tunchang County was tens of thousands, and under the command of the local general, they caused a little trouble for the New Twelfth Army.
"Master Ding's requirements are too high. After all, this is a new army. The training time for new recruits is not very long. It should be the first time for most of the soldiers to see blood. The casualties of only a few hundred people are very good." Kong Ren said no. Agree with Ding Kui.
"It's a big problem that the new recruits haven't seen blood. We shouldn't release those prisoners of our own country. It would be better to leave tens of thousands of people to train the new recruits."
Ding Kui knew the feeling of hurting someone on the battlefield for the first time. It was more than ten years ago. His first time was not very heroic, and Ding Kun was asked to help him recover from the psychological trauma.
"The lives of our own people are not lives. Only demons can kill tens of thousands of people who cannot resist. Next, we have to face more enemies from our own country. We have more recruits, and casualties are difficult to avoid. You found out First-aid alcohol needs to be produced in large quantities.”
Kong Ren was a staff member, and almost all documents had to be reviewed by him, including the report on the assessment of alcohol in first aid.
"It's a small problem. Nanqiu County has put a lot of production into production. We must first ensure military use." Ding Kui left Liu Yu and Fei Ze in Nanqiu County. There were too many things to solve there.
"Now we can give Commander Xing a promise. If we capture Chongxi County, we can immediately confer him a viscount." Kong Ren pointed to a gap at the bottom of the state map.
News of Yi Sheng's occupation of Daling County has arrived. Counting Nanping County and Pingfu County, which surrendered voluntarily, only Chongxi County can unify the southern part of Nanmao Prefecture.
"Do you still want the New Twelve Legions to take action? My Red Army to protect the country is already hungry and thirsty." Ding Kui brought five regiments, one special battle regiment, two crossbow regiments, two infantry regiments, and 10,000
Auxiliary soldiers.
These auxiliary soldiers were newly recruited. Among them, the shortest training period was only one month, which meant they had completed basic physical training. However, at Ding Kui's request, they were brought to Tunchang County with a mixture of old and new soldiers.
The function of the auxiliary soldiers is to assist in combat. With preliminary training, there is no need to worry about them collapsing when they come to the battlefield unless there is adversity.
Currently, the Red Army's combat regiments are composed of 1,500 men, and the five regiments are 7,500 men. The main strength has been exhausted.
"The number of the First Division of the National Protective Red Army is too small. Although Chongxi County is not large, it has a strong will to resist. No one has contacted you so far. I am afraid they are planning to hold on." Kong Ren arrived in Nanqiu County at the end of June.
, and has been helping Ding Kui handle various affairs since then. His status is not lower than that of Liu Yu and Fei Ze, and he has the right to access relatively high-level secrets.
He was the representative of the Kong family, and Ding Kui would not refuse the goodwill of the Kong family. He originally wanted to arrange for him to serve as a county guard, but after Musen's persuasion, he arranged for him to be a personal aide.
"Don't underestimate my division. It won't be a problem to capture a county." Ding Kui was very confident.
"We need time. Chongxi County is stuck in the middle. If we don't take Pingfu County quickly, it will be inconvenient for us to openly surrender. And I'm worried that Nanjing City will support Chongxi County." Kong Ren drew an arc with his fingers, from Nanjing City to Chongxi County, deliberately
Avoid Juksan County.
"Okay, let Xing Bao's legion see more blood! Send the order, the 12th legion will wipe out Chongxi County, and the 75th Division will cooperate with the First Division of the Protecting Red Army to take Huashan County." Ding Kui began to take aim at the central region.
Kong Ren frowned and said: "It's too fast, don't you digest it for a while? The governor of Daling County has not yet decided, what about Chongxi County? If the rear position is not stable, trouble may easily occur.
I estimate that the imperial court is about to evacuate the Nanmazhou War Zone, take back the military power of Commander Jiang Xi, and may even replace the commander of the General Staff, and our country will not stand idly by."
"I need the concentrated iron ore in Huashan County, otherwise the railway cannot be built! I can't control what the court does. If my country dares to do something, Meng will do it. If it's later, they will realize the importance of the iron ore to me. Nanjing
If reinforcements from the city are stationed in Huashan County, that will be the biggest trouble."
Ding Kui is short of iron. He needs iron for railways, ordnance, warships, and steel bars. The refined iron ore stored in Huashan County may not be enough.
"Okay, I'll go and deliver the order right away." Kong Ren did not insist on his opinion.
After receiving the order, Xing Bao quickly gathered his troops, leaving only part of the troops to guard Tunchang County, and organized a main force of about 70,000 to march westward.
Ding Kui left with the Red Army to protect the country. His main target was Huashan County. Chongxi County was just a cover to attract the attention of Shao Dianxi.
Sure enough, Shao Dianxi did not expect that Ding Kui would invade Huashan County with only one division and private army, while a local regiment he had organized so hard was rushing to Chongxi County day and night.
The 111th Division was Xing Bao's vanguard and took the lead into Chongxi County. Unexpectedly, the first city they arrived at turned out to be an empty city.