Sheng Hong could not misunderstand the meaning of Xie Mingxi's words, his eyes flickered: "You mean, let me secretly raise private soldiers?"
Since the founding of the Qi dynasty, the vassal kings have had the right to train and lead troops. In addition to the 1,000 vassal princes' personal guards, they can also recruit 5,000 soldiers to serve as garrison troops in the vassal area.
In other words, the vassal king can raise 6,000 soldiers openly. These military salaries are all provided by the court.
A few days after Sheng Hong settled down, he began to recruit soldiers openly. Within a month, he had recruited three to four thousand soldiers.
Raising and training soldiers is extremely expensive. In addition to military pay, you also need good horses and weapons. All in all, these are shocking figures.
Six thousand soldiers would cost at least 200,000 taels a year.
If you want to raise a private army, you have to pay for it yourself.
Of course, the imperial court does not allow the vassal king to raise private soldiers. However, as a vassal king, there is no reason not to raise private soldiers. Raising private soldiers may not necessarily mean rebellion, but more for self-protection.
No one wants to be the fish on the chopping board!
"Yes, we want to raise private soldiers." Xie Mingxi's eyes flashed, and her voice was calm and steady: "And the more, the better. Not counting the thousand personal guards of the King of Shu, there are only five thousand soldiers on the surface. If
There is really chaos and there is no way to protect ourselves.”
"The land of Shu is mountainous and the terrain is steep. It is a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If you want to defend Shu, you must have at least 50,000 soldiers."
Sheng Hong was not intimidated by this number. He thought for a while and said: "This matter cannot be done with a big fanfare. It must be done secretly. At the beginning, there is no need to rush to recruit too many soldiers. You don't need many soldiers."
"Give me three years, and I will be able to train 50,000 elite soldiers."
To govern the vassal territory, one needs to rely on Shu officials and his subordinates. However, when it comes to military training, one cannot rely on others. The military power must be firmly in one's own hands.
When it comes to military training, Sheng Hong is full of confidence and his dark eyes are full of flying spirit.
Xie Mingxi's heartstrings were also quietly touched, and a smile flashed in her eyes: "I believe you."
Sheng Hong slightly raised his eyebrows and grinned at Xie Mingxi: "It takes a huge amount of money to raise a private army. I have just come to Shu, and I haven't had time to make money yet. I have to eat soft food first and rely on the private house of the Princess of Shu.
.”
Xie Mingxi glanced at Sheng Hong and asked half-jokingly: "Oh? Then when do you plan to pay it back? What if you can't pay it back?"
Sheng Hongyi responded righteously: "I will never refuse to repay the debt I owe to the princess. If I really can't repay it, I will pay the debt with my body and compensate the princess with my whole life!"
After saying that, he came forward and asked Princess Shu to "inspect the goods" first.
I won’t go into details about the couple’s fun and the joy in the boudoir.
…
As Sheng Hong said, the recruitment of private soldiers must not be made public and can only be done in private. Even if some news is heard by others, as long as he does not admit it, no one can do anything to him.
Shu is already his territory.
Emperor Jian'an, the only one who could do anything to him, was sitting on the dragon throne in the Jinluan Hall in the capital.
Speaking of which, it is no wonder that Emperor Jian'an was so afraid of the feudal kings.
Raising private soldiers has become an unspoken practice among the vassals. As the emperor, he has supreme power in the court. However, it is hard to say how well the imperial edict will be implemented once it leaves the capital and reaches the counties.
This is even more true in the vassal land. It is common for the vassal king to violate the rules. The vassal king has been in charge of the vassal land for a long time, and he is no different from the local emperor. The people in the vassal land only know the vassal king and do not know the emperor in the capital.
Cutting down vassal vassals is something that emperors of all dynasties have wanted to do.
When Emperor Jianwen was still alive, he never stopped taking measures to reduce vassals. However, the effect was really very little.
Emperor Jian'an attacked Prince Ning not just because of personal grudges, but because he wanted to eliminate all hidden dangers in the capital. He also had the ambition to take back all the vassal lands.
It's a pity that Emperor Jian'an was too confident and arrogant. He thought that after becoming the emperor, he could do whatever he wanted to all living beings. He could rub the vassal kings as much as he wanted! He completely forgot that he had not yet sat firmly on the dragon throne. Not everyone ravaged the vassal kings.
The little cabbage who doesn't know how to resist.
Governing a big country is like cooking a small dish, you must be calm and patient. If you regard the feudal princes as cancer and rotten flesh, you will sharpen your knife and dig them out with your hands. How can the feudal princes not resist?
The seeds of chaos in the capital have been planted.
When conflicts evolve and become more and more intense, they will completely break out.
There are more than one or two people who can comprehend and understand the truth. However, Emperor Jian'an was quite stubborn and conceited and did not want to listen to objectionable words.
Mr. Lu Ge and Mr. Fang Ge made several private remonstrances, but they were ignored. They had no choice but to keep silent.
…
After this day, Sheng Hong became busy.
However, no matter how busy he is, Sheng Hong insists on getting up early every day to have breakfast with Xie Mingxi. He hugs his daughter once and kisses his beloved wife on the cheek before leaving the house. It is hard to say when he will be able to return.
It is common for people to return home in the middle of the night.
However, no matter how late it was, Sheng Hong refused to stay overnight in the military camp. He would rather go back to his hometown on horseback for an hour or two.
In the next more than a month, Master Gu Shanchang had not seen Sheng Hong, and he couldn't help but be secretly surprised. He couldn't help but ask Xie Mingxi: "Mingxi, why is Your Highness so busy recently?"
As the king of a local vassal, it is not difficult to live a free and easy life. As long as you use the right people.
Shu County is a bit poorer, but because of the good climate, food is relatively abundant. If the people don't starve, there will be no trouble. The officials in Shu County are also diligent and conscientious, and life is pretty good.
What on earth is Sheng Hong busy with?
Xie Mingxi took a deep look at Gu Shanchang and said meaningfully: "His Royal Highness is busy training troops."
Training?
Gu Shanchang is also a person with sharp thoughts. He didn't think much about it before. When Xie Mingxi saw it, he immediately reacted. He frowned slightly and lowered his voice and asked, "Are you training as a private soldier?"
Xie Mingxi didn't hide anything from Commander Gu, and responded in a low voice: "Not entirely. Five thousand soldiers have been recruited. He will be busy just to train these soldiers well."
He frankly admitted that he was training private soldiers.
Gu Shanchang was silent for a moment and then sighed: "I don't understand the matter of military training, and I can't comment on it. However, this is something that violates the emperor's taboo. You and your wife should be careful."
Xie Mingxi nodded in agreement.
Gu Shanchang thought for a while and felt uneasy, and then warned: "It's okay to tell the truth in front of me. If others ask, don't admit it. Even if Lin Weiwei asks, you can't tell."
Xie Mingxi relaxed her brows and smiled: "Master, you are worrying too much. Sister Lin is so smart and knowledgeable. Even if she noticed something strange, she would never ask me."
It's just raising private soldiers, which is normal for the vassal king.
Gu Shanchang was speechless for a moment, and couldn't help laughing at himself: "It seems that I made too much fuss."
"That's all, just do whatever you want to do. I'll just concentrate on running my academy and nursing home."
