Fuliang Prefecture, Leping Prefecture, Rao Prefecture...the number of civilians mobilized in these places alone exceeded 100,000. Almost two civilians assisted one Zhu family army. In addition, there were more than 10,000 livestock and thousands of boats. , formed a torrent and sent tens of thousands of Zhu's troops to the gates of Hongdu City.
The efficiency was so high that even Zhu Sheng was stunned. He traveled thousands of miles, and the roads were densely covered with water, making it difficult for vehicles and horses to move. A month, or even a month and a half, was normal.
But in fact, it only took the Zhu Jiajun less than twenty days, and even Hu Dahai's vanguard only took half a month to descend from the sky and appear outside Hongdu City.
At this point, Zhu Sheng fell into despair. He felt that the military tactics he had learned in his life would have to be rewritten.
The reason why the nomadic cavalry is powerful is that all the people are soldiers. Like the early Mongols, it was common for two cavalry to draw one, and three cavalry to draw one.
There are often tribes claiming to have tens of thousands of string control men. In fact, you can calculate the size of their tribe by multiplying it by two or three times. For example, Xixia, which is famous for being invincible, has a maximum mobilization of only 400,000 people. Considering that not all party members may be For herdsmen, the mobilization ratio is lower, and their total population is only two to three million.
It must be said that it is really ironic that such a small country could make the Song Dynasty, which had a population of tens of millions, become disgraced and embarrassed!
Needless to say, what Rusong said is that the mobilization ability of the farming people is indeed not good. One out of ten is already too much. With all the efforts of the whole country, only hundreds of thousands of people can be armed.
For example, the Northern Song Dynasty's five-pronged expedition to Xia resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of people. The vitality of the northwest was severely damaged, and it did not recover until the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Zhu Sheng was familiar with history and studied military books and tactics. He also had his own judgment on the troops mobilized by Zhu's army. In order not to hurt the people and not affect the farming... basically, twenty or thirty men were needed to support one soldier.
And this was after taking into account the implementation of farming and the adoption of the military household system.
A unified and peaceful Central Plains dynasty has a population of tens of millions and supports hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. The ratio is one hundred to one, seventy to eighty to one, and it has reached its limit.
If there are any more, it will become a militancy that wastes people and money.
The nine-character strategy was not something Zhu Sheng said casually. He made it based on repeated evaluations based on the territory, population, and grain output.
The land of Huaixi, plus the prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, are all under control. The total population is less than 10 million, and the number of soldiers and horses that can be supported is only about 300,000.
In order to restore people's livelihood, accumulate food, and practice internal strength, we can use troops externally. Is it possible to not follow the strategy of building walls high, accumulating food widely, and slowly becoming king?
In fact, in the Battle of Poyang Lake, which decided Zhu Yuanzhang's fate, Lao Zhu only mobilized 200,000 people.
If we include those who controlled the place and were on guard against Zhang Shicheng, the maximum strength of Zhu's army at that time was only 300,000.
After defeating Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng and starting the Northern Expedition, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun only had 250,000 troops under their command.
These figures actually show that under the conditions of the late Yuan Dynasty, it was possible to afford such a large-scale battle.
Like Chen Youliang, mobilizing 600,000 people at once and making a desperate move is the style of a rogue bandit, which damages the vitality. After failure, it quickly disintegrates and is hopeless.
But everything began to change completely with the granting of land and property rights to women.
In the past, women could not establish a household, and a man had to be present at home to ensure safety.
A very important reason why Hua Mulan joined the army in place of her father was to let her old father stay at home, support the family, and educate her underage brother.
If my father joins the army, the Hua family will be doomed.
The dangers of joining the army are even worse than staying at home.
When this was said, it would be difficult for future generations to believe it.
But I'm sorry, this was true in ancient times. For example, if Hua's father really went to join the army, and there were no adult men in the family, the fellow villagers would find ways to deprive the Hua family's mother and daughter of their land, and use clever means to plunder it, causing the Hua family to lose their livelihood.
.
In rural areas, many old women will be destitute if they lose their husbands and children... It can be said bluntly that you may not die if you go to the battlefield, but without the support of men at home, people around you will
Your bones have been swallowed to pieces.
Because of this, when there is a war, it is so difficult to recruit soldiers and husbands... Because the people captured are all adult men. They have wives and children who need care, and they dare not leave home.
There is no other way. In order to avoid conscription, some people smoked their eyes out with cigarettes, cut off the tendons of their thumbs, and became disabled. All these methods are unbelievable and helpless.
It was difficult to recruit soldiers, so they went everywhere to capture strong men. As a result, most of the captured people died on the road... This has been almost the case for thousands of years.
In troubled times, it is possible that due to continuous attacks, the population of the Central Plains could be reduced by 60% to 70%, or even more than 90%.
Of the tens of millions of lives lost, how many actually died on the battlefield?
What are the piles of bones behind natural and man-made disasters?
And most of all this misery has been resolved after women were granted land and treated as human beings... Women can establish a household, and their husbands can peacefully join the army and become civilian husbands.
Because Zhu Jiajun's law protects women, they cultivate fields at home, take care of the elderly, and raise children. No matter how much sweat they put in, they don't have to worry about plotting by those around them.
Zhu Jiajun will not agree to anyone who wants to seize their land and property!
When the family feels at ease, the men feel relieved as well. Even if the time is longer and they come back later, they don't have to be afraid... What's more, some strong women can even be seen among the teams transporting baggage for the Zhu family army.
people.
The united will is powerful and unstoppable.
Only those who are in it can feel the surging power of this force.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face was filled with pride and pride. He made the right move. He did not deny women's land ownership in a narrow-minded way. He also gave women the opportunity to enter school and become officials.
The endless teams and enthusiastic crowds in front of him are the greatest reward for him.
Treating everyone fairly, regardless of gender, is Zhu Jiajun's core concept. It is as important as restoring China and equalizing land rights!
In contrast, Zhu Sheng was even more shocked.
This old man's knowledge and knowledge are naturally far beyond ordinary people.
On the issue of expelling the Huru and restoring China, Zhu Sheng strongly supported Zhang Ximeng. The two of them can be called a model of friendship... But in recent times, many things have happened. Some of Zhu Sheng's overly idealistic measures towards Zhang Ximeng,
The old man cannot be recognized.
For example, he opposed praising Shi Mo Yisun, treated Miao soldiers equally, and allowed women to serve as officials in school... Zhu Sheng felt that all of these were worthy of discussion.
Even if it makes sense in theory, there is no need to challenge thousands of years of tradition. Instead of making people uneasy and arguing endlessly, it is better to develop honestly and accumulate strength steadily.
Even Zhu Sheng felt that Zhang Ximeng had gone too far. It was not a good thing for a young man to be too idealistic. He had to be severely beaten by society to stop being angry!
Although Zhu Sheng had no intention of competing with Zhang Ximeng, he also hoped that Zhang Ximeng could adjust and learn to be in harmony with others, learn to bow his eyebrows and surrender to reality.
After all, this is how they have been here their entire lives.
But until today, Zhu Sheng changed his mind. It seemed that he was the one who was wrong, not Zhang Ximeng!
He thinks he is old, has experienced a lot, and is wiser than young people. In fact, all he has is the wisdom of compromise and vulgar knowledge... People like him cannot really restore China and recreate it.
Qiankun's!
Even if they overthrew the Yuan Dynasty according to their ideas, the final result would be nothing more than the resurrection of the Song Dynasty!
How lucky you are to have young talents!
Zhu Sheng glanced at Zhang Ximeng subconsciously, his eyes filled with awe and admiration.
At this time, someone suddenly ran up from the front and said that there was a muddy road ahead and many grain trucks were blocked. Zhang Ximeng immediately urged his horse forward to check.
Zhu Sheng didn't hesitate and actually followed him.
Sure enough, the road ahead passed through a shallow river.
The water was not deep, but the soil was so soft that half of the wheel sank into it at once.
Soldiers, civilians, livestock, and vehicles were all stuck in it, making it a mess of mud and water.
"Go quickly, carry the planks from the back door and build a temporary pontoon!"
After Zhang Ximeng gave the order, someone rushed to make arrangements.
Although the pontoon bridge is easy to build, several carriages are still stuck in it and cannot extricate themselves.
"A few people came over, carried out the grain, and then pushed the cart out!"
Zhang Ximeng greeted the man, and he walked over, stepping on the muddy water.
When he arrived in front of the carriage, he found a little girl whose face was covered with mud and water. She was so anxious that she cried loudly. The flower coat on her body was stained with mud and water, and it lost its color.
It turned out that she didn't know the road well and drove her car in by herself, causing the car behind her to get stuck as well.
The little girl was so frightened that she covered her face and cried, fearing that she would be beheaded if she violated military law and missed her deadline.
"I, can I see my mother before I die?"
The little girl's words made Zhang Ximeng dumbfounded. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but he didn't know how to speak.
At this time, a kind old man came over with a smile, reached out and patted the little girl on the head.
"Girl, how old are you? Who did you learn to drive a cart from? Are you not afraid of cattle, horses, and other animals?"
The little girl rolled her eyelids and saw that it was a kind old man. She was not so afraid at last. She explained eagerly: "Old man, I, I can drive a cart. When I was eight years old, I could ride a horse... in the village.
,I, I made a great time, but, I just didn’t come out..."
Zhu Sheng smiled and stretched out his hand to pull her up, "I've never been out before, so there's nothing to be afraid of. Once you get used to it, you'll get familiar with it twice. It'll be fine next time."
The little girl was startled and said stupidly: "Yes, is there a next time?"
"Why not! You're stuck, just come out... Come on, let me help you!" Zhu Sheng said, turned around and said to Zhang Ximeng: "Prime Minister Zhang, come here and help me!"
Zhang Ximeng was naturally happy, and more than a dozen people worked together to lift out the stuck carriage... Zhu Sheng looked at the mud and water all over his body, panting, and he suddenly smiled again: "Xiang Zhang, we can be considered to be in the same boat through thick and thin.
Bar!"
Zhang Ximeng hesitated slightly and said: "Why do I think it is an old man who has returned from a young age?"
The two looked at each other for a moment and laughed loudly...