Notices for the restoration of the twenty-level military merit system are plastered all over the noticeboards outside the county town in all areas currently controlled by the imperial court.
The Eastern Han Dynasty implemented a conscription system, and the court recruited some soldiers to participate in the war.
The so-called recruitment is actually compulsory recruitment into the army.
Everyone knows the consequences of this situation. Many people are unwilling to serve as soldiers, and their enthusiasm will be greatly reduced, and the combat effectiveness of soldiers will not be too high.
So in the Tang Dynasty, the conscription system was replaced by the conscription system. The court recruited soldiers and allowed them to join the army on their own initiative, which made the soldiers more motivated.
However, the disadvantages of the conscription system are also obvious. In the conscription system, the court forces you to serve as a soldier, and the military pay is very small or even non-existent.
The recruitment system requires military pay, which greatly increases military expenditures.
Therefore, in the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, there was actually only one army that had a recruitment system, and that was the Five Schools of the Northern Army, with a total of only thirty to forty thousand people.
Although the cost of raising them was very high, their combat effectiveness was also very obvious. Lu Zhi led more than 30,000 Northern Army soldiers and defeated the two to three hundred thousand Yellow Turban Army. Huangfu Song relied on this army to put down Zhangjiao.
During the Cao Wei period, the court changed to a conscription system plus a field system, forcing soldiers to fight in wars, and also let soldiers work in the fields, half farmers and half soldiers. Therefore, even though Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of troops in the Battle of Chibi were intimidating, most of them
It's really a mob, with very few elites.
Qingzhou had previously changed the conscription system, changing the original conscription system to a recruitment system. At the same time, it also eliminated a large number of exorbitant taxes and property donations that wasted money on the people. The government paid for the construction of water conservancy projects and provided work in lieu of relief, which promoted civilian prosperity.
It's just that Qingzhou's total military strength has reached 120,000. If all soldiers are recruited, the financial burden will be very heavy. The soldiers' salary alone is an astronomical figure every year, so the number of real professional soldiers is very small.
Only the Xuanjia heavy cavalry, the trapped army, the Qingzhou cavalry and about 30,000 people from Liu Bei's headquarters belong to the standing army.
The rest of the troops, including the Wansheng Army, are temporary recruits and will be paid, but the time for military service is limited, usually between three and ten years.
But even so, Qingzhou's army was extremely powerful, with strict military discipline and high fighting will. It could not fail to compete head-on with Yuan Shao's army of more than 200,000, and finally cooperated with Luoyang and Youzhou troops to wipe out Yuan Shao in one fell swoop.
Currently, only Qingzhou is a conscription system in the Han Dynasty. The other places like Jizhou, Youzhou, Sili, and Guanzhong still retain the conscription system. Therefore, it will be completely changed to a conscription system, which will be another round of military system reform.
Moreover, Chen Mu said that he was promoting the recruitment system in an all-round way, but that did not mean that the recruitment system would completely replace the conscription system. Instead, it was a two-pronged approach, taking the road of professionalization of part of the army, while conscription was still the main focus for the rest.
In other words, at the recruitment office, the soldiers who come to apply will be given two choices. One is to serve as a soldier for life and the army is professional. The other is to serve for three to ten years, and they will be automatically discharged at the end of the term.
Although after the twenty-level military merit system is restored, countless people will enthusiastically join the army to earn a future.
But if nothing else goes wrong, more than 90% of them will choose the second path. After serving as a soldier for three to ten years, achieving military exploits, receiving titles and rewards, they will retire and go home to cultivate the fields and enjoy a normal life.
Therefore, the comprehensive promotion of the recruitment system is only to expand the current number of standing armies, but not to turn all the nearly 400,000 troops currently owned by the imperial court into professional soldiers. This would be too expensive.
Even if the imperial court now embraces Japan's Sado Gold Mountain and Iwami Silver Mine, which account for one-third of the world's silver and gold mining, they may not be able to afford it.
After all, Japan is indeed rich in mineral reserves, but the mining technology of the Han Dynasty is just like this. What can be dug out now are open-pit minerals. The Japanese in the tribal Bronze Age do not know how to smelt at all, and silver and gold mines are thrown everywhere.
Let the big guy take advantage.
If you want to continue to collect wool, once the hundreds of tons of minerals on the ground are collected, the thousands of tons of gold and silver underground will basically just be looked at. Therefore, even if you are sitting on a mountain of gold and silver, you cannot waste it like this.
.
Therefore, the conscription system is only prepared for a small number of people who want to be professional soldiers and make a difference in the army. Most people still rely on the conscription system.
Fortunately, this situation is very common in Qingzhou. Officials from Qingzhou Academy are already familiar with the process. After the government order is issued, the army and recruitment offices in various places proceed in an orderly manner.
The military system has already been reformed once in the last round. In the past few years, it has been reformed for the second time. Under the coordination of the Military Division Headquarters, the military affairs department has quickly launched a new reorganization.
It turns out that many conscription soldiers are willing to stay in the army, and they will continue to stay, and they will be encouraged and given full military pay. If they are not willing to stay, they will be given retirement pay, resettled with fields, and let them go back to organize production. Those with outstanding abilities will
, you can also work as a police officer and other civil servants.
So under the new round of restructuring, from the time Chen Mu announced a large number of reform details in January of the third year of Zhangwu to May, in nearly half a year, the entire army underwent earth-shaking changes.
The last reform was to rejuvenate the army, because after the defeat of Yuan Shao, the imperial court had more than 300,000 troops, more than half of which were veterans between the ages of thirty and fifty. The overall trend was between aging and
War weariness is relatively high.
For example, in addition to the original 20,000 elite Qingzhou Army, the main sources of the composition of the Luoyang Army were the Baibo Army and the Black Mountain Army.
These people have been around since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. They followed Zhang Jiao's uprising in their twenties and thirties. Over the past twenty years, they have become older and have become veterans of the army. Naturally, their fighting will is not as good as that of the passionate young people.
Therefore, the first reform is to eliminate the old and weak, and it will be handled by the Ministry of Military Affairs. All soldiers will be asked for their opinions. Those who are willing to retire will be given demobilization pay, and those who are willing to stay will be trained well to maintain combat effectiveness.
The second reform is to enhance the elite level of soldiers, give them room for advancement, and give them the motivation to fight, train, and desire to fight.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As Ai Gong later said, it is very sad for a nation without a martial spirit.
The reason why the Roman Empire was powerful was that it advocated force and conquered and plundered everywhere to strengthen itself. The world's first professional army originated from the ancient Roman Empire.
What Chen Mu has to do now is to prepare a central standing army of at least 80,000 Han men.
This 80,000-strong Central Standing Army continues the previous Han Dynasty's two-army system of the North and the South, with all military management and the path of professional soldiers.
The Northern Army is Liu Bei's personal army, totaling 30,000 people, led by Dian Wei, and can only be mobilized by the emperor.
The Southern Army was led separately by Zhao Yun, totaling 50,000. To be mobilized, it was necessary to have the emperor's edict and the general Hu Fu's transfer order.
In other words, in the entire Han Dynasty, only Liu Bei could mobilize the Northern Army. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Chen Mu could mobilize the Southern Army. Even the commanders Dian Wei, Zhao Yun and Qian Zhao could not command.
This is to ensure that Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen have absolute control over the elite troops.
Then the number of non-prepared troops reached at least 200,000.
Moreover, previously retired soldiers still have military status and belong to the reserve force. They usually work in agriculture, and the governments of various counties and townships will still organize training every now and then.
This means that at present, the Han Dynasty only controls Qingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, Guanzhong and Nanyang Basin, with a total population of about 20 million. The army that can be mobilized in a short period of time reaches more than 500,000.
In the middle of the third year of Zhangwu's reign, the imperial court was mobilizing for war, and the entire Han Dynasty was undercurrent. Everyone could feel that the imperial court had broken away from the decadent era and moved to a new level.
The surrounding princes can feel this change in the imperial court. Since the twenty-level military merit system was released at the beginning of the year, the news has spread all over the country, making many princes frightened and uneasy.
Yangzhou, Jiujiang County, Shouchun.
Sun Ce, who was named General Fenwei by the imperial court, had almost replaced his father as Yuzhou Mu and controlled the military and political power of Yuzhou.
After Sun Jian was transferred to Luoyang as a guard, Wu Guotai, his two younger brothers Sun Kuang, Sun Lang, and two younger sisters followed their father to Luoyang, leaving only Sun Quan and Sun Yi.
When Zhou Yu and Lu Su proposed a plan to divide the world, Sun Ce was full of confidence and prepared to fight.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao fell so quickly, and Cao Cao and he had the same idea. They both wanted to take advantage of the war in the north to capture the south. The two sides were similar in strength, but they did not dare to go to full-scale war. They checked and balanced each other, which ultimately led to no one being able to develop.
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At this moment, Zhou Yu and Lu Su finally understood the reason why Chen Mu asked Sun Jian to be the shepherd of Yuzhou instead of letting him return to Jiangdong. The plan was to let Sun Cao weigh the restrictions.
The trap that was laid out more than ten years ago is still in effect today, which makes them feel a tremor coming from the depths of their souls.
That man is so terrible.
"My master's strategy is unfathomable. I only studied with him for a few years, but that experience has benefited me a lot. More than ten years ago, there were Tao Qian, Yuan Shu and others in Henan, but he asked Sun Shi
You stayed in Yuzhou because you probably know that Tao Qian and Yuan Shu are definitely no match for Cao Cao."
In the hall of Sun's mansion, an elegant young man about 20 years old, well-dressed, wearing a turban and a white robe, sat cross-legged on the banquet. He looked at the people around him, smiling and talking.
.
By his side, there are 28-year-old Sun Ce Zhou Yu, 21-year-old Sun Quan, 19-year-old Sun Yi, and 31-year-old Lu Su.
He may be only one year older than Sun Yi, but this person is like the center of everyone. Everyone's eyes are looking at him, expecting him to show everyone a way out.
"Is that why the Han Prime Minister asked Sun Shijun to stay in Yuzhou to contain Cao Cao?"
Zhou Yu asked.
The young man nodded and said: "Yes, Shijun knows that Henan has returned to Sun Cao and they are keeping each other in check. He doesn't have to worry about you and can concentrate on dealing with Yuan Shao. After Yuan Shao is eliminated, the land of Henan is his next target. Because of this
At that time, there will definitely be no winner between Sun Shijun and Cao Cao."
"A divided Henan will definitely be easier to deal with than a unified Henan. Even today, more than ten years ago, the conspiracy of ghosts and gods is nothing more than this."
Zhou Yu sighed.
Even though he had vaguely guessed it in his heart, the gentleman's apprentice still made him feel frustrated when he said it himself.
Seeing that Zhou Yu was a little lonely, Sun Ce quickly comforted him and said, "Don't be discouraged, Gong Jin. Mr. Chen is a human being, not a god. Even if he has superior intelligence, he will always make mistakes. Now it is no longer possible to divide the world into two parts. The top priority is to find
Find a way out."
Lu Su said in a deep voice: "Now we are on the verge of riding a tiger. After the failure of the plan to divide the world into two, we have only two choices left, either to completely fall to the imperial court, or to form an alliance with Cao Cao and Liu Biao."
"Ah."
Zhou Yu sneered: "In an alliance, no one can trust the other. Can you guarantee that Cao Cao will not surrender to the imperial court and stab us in the back? Similarly, Cao Cao cannot guarantee that we will not surrender to the imperial court and stab him in the back. As for Liu Biao, we have already
If you stabbed Cao Cao once, you won't be gullible the second time."
Lu Su sighed: "This is the crux of the problem. Alas, this Chen Zigui is really a man of scheming. Who would have thought that he could do this when Liu Bei had just established his foothold in Qingzhou and there were Wang Wenzu and Yuan Benchu in the north.
How about setting up a strategy in the south early?"
"The world is divided into two parts...the world is divided into two parts..."
Zhou Yu murmured to himself: "Perhaps the strategy we discussed to seize the south and confront the imperial court from the north to the south may be as ridiculous as the thoughts of a child in the eyes of others."
Everyone looked at each other, speechless.
The core of the two-part world strategy is that they must quickly capture Yangzhou and then attack Jingzhou in the west. In this way, the land of Yuzhou, Yangzhou and Jingzhou will be connected together, and the territory will be equivalent to one-fourth of the southeastern corner of China in later generations, including Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu.
, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, and Guangdong nine provinces.
If these places can be captured, the Sun family might be able to accomplish something.
But Chen Mu's strategy disrupted their plan.
Because before they agreed on a plan to divide the world into two parts, Cao Cao was isolated in Yanzhou.
To the east is Lu Bu, to the north is Yuan Liu, to the west is Luoyang, and to the south is Sun Jian.
With Cao Cao's power, except for Lu Bu who could bully him and Sun Jian who could fight to a draw, no other power could offend him.
So at that time, Zhou Yu and Lu Su planned to kill Yuan Shu first and then capture Jingzhou when Cao Cao was imprisoned and their tentacles could extend south to Yangzhou, so that they could have a large territory.
But no one expected that Lu Bu suddenly left Xuzhou, which caused a vacancy in Xuzhou, and Cao Cao took advantage of it and occupied Guangling Xiapi and other Huaibei areas.
These places are connected to Jiangdong. Although there is a natural cut of the Yangtze River, it can be used as the junction of Xuzhou and Yangzhou. There are countless ferries where you can cross the river.
They wanted Yangzhou, and Cao Cao also wanted it. The result was that they continued to check and balance each other, and in the end no one swallowed Yangzhou.
Now it seems that when the imperial court suddenly transferred Lu Bu to Bingzhou, Chen Mu's shadow was probably there to control it.
Even if we look into it more carefully, we can see Liu Bei's move south, the Qingzhou Army suddenly raided Xuzhou, Lu Bu almost captured Yanzhou, Yuan Shu was supposed to die several times, but in the end he survived...
In all of this, there seems to be a black hand shrouding the land of Henan behind the scenes, preventing the emergence of a unified and powerful princes in Henan!
And the black hand behind the scenes is probably in Luoyang, overlooking the world, showing an indescribable smile.