Knowing that the harm outweighs the benefits, yet insisting on doing it, is a matter of necessity.
The same goes for the Prime Minister.
"As Zijin said, how can I not know the evil?"
After being silent for a long time, the Prime Minister said sadly, "However, it would be a shame to abandon a temporary advantage so that our soldiers can concentrate on military exercises and prepare for war! Zijin is good at planning military battles, and he must know that if you defend for a long time, you will lose. Instead of this,
It is better to defend passively against Wei's attack than to attack instead of defend and control the battle situation in the hands of our army."
I see!
After Zheng Pu heard this, he suddenly realized.
The prime minister gave up the huge profits from the war horse trade not only to tide over the difficult times, but also to prepare for the future invasion of Guanzhong.
With the number of troops and horses garrisoned in various parts of the Han Dynasty today, there is no need to worry about resisting the counter-Wei attack, but if you want to attack Guanzhong, you must recruit tens of thousands more soldiers. The defense line from Hexi to Hanzhong is too long, and you must leave it behind before going out for the expedition.
Many soldiers guarded the place.
And if enough labor can be introduced from Jiaozhou to provide grain and fodder for the Li Shu people in the fields and ensure the livelihood of the people in counties and counties, then troops can be recruited from Longyou and Hexi.
As for attacking instead of defending, the prime minister intended to lead 300,000 to 50,000 troops out of Xiaoguan or into the middle of the pass.
Use yourself as bait to lure the Ni Wei army to encircle them, and transfer the war to Ni Wei's territory, so that the lands of Longyou and Hexi can rest and recuperate in peace.
Furthermore, Sanfu in Guanzhong is the location of the old capital of the Han Dynasty, which is of great significance.
The story of Emperor Guangwu precedes him. Once the Han Dynasty returns to its old capital, the saying "The Han Dynasty has not yet ceased" will be heard all over the world!
Let Wei Chenghan's theory of destiny be rejected!
As far as the Wei State was concerned, even if the military commander Jizhou was forced to dry up the lake and fish, and he ignored Sun Wu's threat and transferred troops from the Huaiyou and Jingxiang fronts, he would not allow Guanzhong to be lost.
In other words, the Han Dynasty seemed to have finally "returned the old capital", but in fact, it still had a long way to go.
Therefore, when the Prime Minister planned to march, he also had the vague intention of training troops before the battle: since the disadvantage of the huge disparity in military strength cannot be changed, let's take advantage of the elite troops.
To transform from an ordinary soldier to a powerful soldier requires a complete transformation on the battlefield.
Fighting for the rest of your life is for the elite.
Within an affordable price, training soldiers through frequent battles can be regarded as a different kind of martial arts performance.
It may seem cruel, but this is the interpretation of "Compassion does not control soldiers" - if you pity a few people, you will ignore the majority.
However, Zheng Pu, who had realized something, still felt a little strange in his heart.
The prime minister's current plan of preparation is almost the same as what he had in mind when he was patrolling the fields for spring plowing.
"Prime Minister, Pu had previously thought of using offense instead of defense."
Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Zheng Pu raised his hands and said, "However, Shi Pu did not think about bringing in labor from Jiaozhou, so he thought of recruiting troops and hiding troops among the people."
Hiding troops from the people?
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister raised his eyebrows slightly, thoughtfully.
Because of the "Du Shi" system in the Pre-Han Dynasty, it was to hide troops among the people.
Under the pre-Han system, all Li Shu men aged twenty-three and above had to serve in the military for one year in the county and receive training in archery, battle formations, etc.; and every August or September, the county magistrate had to take the "Du Examination"
The purpose of talking about martial arts is to strengthen local military preparedness.
However, this system can also lead to excessive powers of the prefect.
For example, when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, Zhai Yi, the prefect of Dongjun, used the opportunity of the capital examination to gather troops to rebel against Mang. Guangwu Liu Xiu also planned to seize military power and cause trouble during the capital examination. Therefore, after Guangwu restored the Han Dynasty, in order to prevent local armaments from being
If someone is interested in using it to induce unrest, they will just try it out.
If this system is repeated now, it will shorten the time for recruiting troops and performing military exercises in the future, which will be of great benefit to the current situation.
In addition, the capital examination system was also a manifestation of the heroic Han style, which was conducive to stimulating Li Shu's ambition to achieve military success and to seek the title of feudal lord.
Naturally, it is inevitable that this move will give rise to the prefect having too much power.
But with the Prime Minister's wisdom, it is easy to avoid this trouble in advance.
As long as the central government dispatches people who are responsible for the examination every year and does not grant the authority to the prefect of the county, most of the hidden dangers can be eliminated!
The prime minister, who understood for a moment, couldn't help but smile with his palms raised, and asked with approval in his eyes, "Is Zijin's intention to restore the system of the former Han Dynasty?"
But Zheng Pu shook his head slightly and said, "Hui Prime Minister, it is similar to the Duexin system."
After saying this, without waiting for the Prime Minister to continue urging him, he went on to explain in detail what he was thinking.
He wanted to exempt certain taxes and allow the counties in the Hexi Corridor to establish bow and arrow societies that "were armed with bows for hoeing, swords for woodcutting, armor and pommel horses, and always prepared for raids"! Regardless of the family's wealth, every household had only one person.
; Those who have their own family assets and whose martial arts are admired by the public will be the head of the society, the deputy of the society, recorder of affairs, etc., and they will prepare their own weapons, armor, saddles and horses for the purpose of public security and border preparation.
Hexi is located on the border and it is difficult to get food, so people are easily moved and restless, and they are bold and careless about life and death.
Coupled with the fact that the Qiang and Hu people live there and there are many thieves and bandits, all the men have the ability to use swords, spears, bows and arrows after they reach adulthood. This is also a big headache for county and county officials to maintain public security.
In other words, the Lishu people in Hexi Province were also an excellent source of soldiers, and they were also the first choice for the Han Dynasty to expand its recruitment of soldiers in the future.
But the prerequisite is to eliminate the long-standing banditry in Hexi and make them abide by the law and prohibit their words and deeds.
Therefore, based on this consideration, Zheng Pu planned to use a small tax reduction as an inducement to first promote a semi-civilian "bow and arrow society" and use military regulations and laws to familiarize the common people with the taboos in the army in preparation for subsequent recruitment.
Moreover, if the bow and arrow society, whose purpose is to "organize a society to defend oneself and protect the countryside," can be formed, it will greatly alleviate the pressure on local public security and reduce the number of soldiers and horses stationed by the imperial court in the local area, which can be diverted to the Guanzhong campaign.
It just so happened that the left and right tribes of the Southern Xiongnu and the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei were sent to Hexi by the Wei Dynasty. The imperial court promoted the bow and arrow society as a good policy to protect the country and the people. Once the edict was issued, there was bound to be a response, and there was no need to worry about the common people not participating enthusiastically.
As for the need to reduce or reduce taxes when the Han Dynasty was in dire financial and food supply situations?
For the Han Dynasty, the greatest significance of regaining the land west of Hexi was to obtain the land for horse herding and to use the benefits of Silk Road trade to lure the Bashu nobles to support the Northern Expedition. Moreover, the livelihood of the common people in Hexi counties depended on both farming and animal husbandry.
The government's method of counting people and levying taxes on acres of land cannot collect much grain into the national treasury, so it does no harm to exempt a little.
Naturally, measures to prevent problems before they occur are also indispensable.
In order to prevent the Bow and Arrow Society from being exploited by careerists in the future, Zheng Pu advised that all those in power such as "the head of the society, the deputy of the society, and the recorder" should be given official positions and included in the imperial military attache system, under the supervision of military law.
Zheng Pu, whose mouth was dry for a while, finally finished speaking, spoke loudly.
"Prime Minister, this move is of great benefit to the current situation of the imperial court compared with the previous trial in Han Dynasty! If it can be implemented, it can firstly calm the hearts of the people and eliminate bandits; secondly, it can reduce the imperial garrison and alleviate the shortage of food in Hexi; thirdly,
Then we can prepare for future troops to enter the pass and hide troops among the people! Pu boldly asserted that due to the courageous nature of the Li people in Hexi, there will be no less than 20,000 people recruited by the Bow and Arrow Society to join the army in the future!"
