Just as the Hexi Army's training competition kicked off, Yan Zhenqing found Guo Song.
At the side of the martial arts field, the two people walked slowly. In the distance, they could hear the high-pitched shouts of soldiers, one team shouting louder than the other.
"I came to see the envoy to discuss the military salary issue of the Hexi Army."
The salary of the Hexi Army has always been a serious concern for Guo Song. He now has 80,000 troops. If each person is paid three guans per month, it will be 240,000 guans a month and close to 3 million guans a year. Not to mention
Does he have so much money? Even if he does, how can Hexi have so many materials to support the purchasing power of three million dollars?
This is actually a problem that all armies have to face. During the Tianbao period, when the Tang Dynasty was at its strongest, more than half of the court's annual tax revenue was used for military expenses. By the Song Dynasty, the tax revenue of 100 million yuan a year was still not enough.
If you raise an army of millions, once civil strife occurs, the people will be in dire straits. The reason is the pressure of military expenditures. Warlords of all walks of life will use all their wealth to support the army.
But this problem has been half solved. Hexi has also adopted the military age system commonly used by warlords in various places. That is to say, the military salary received after one year as a soldier is different from that of three years as a soldier. However, the Hexi Army has also added a military merit system, participating in
The treatment for participating in one war and participating in ten wars is also different.
The ranks of soldiers are divided into ranks based on military service age and military merit, including first-class sergeants, second-class sergeants and third-class sergeants. First-class sergeants receive three guilders per month, second-class sergeants receive two guilders per month, and third-class sergeants receive one guillotine per month.
The current 50,000 recruits are all third-class sergeants, which greatly reduces the financial burden on Hexi. However, Hexi currently does not have second-class soldiers, only first-class soldiers and third-class soldiers. The previous veterans were paid three times a month, so it is impossible to reduce the financial burden.
their military pay.
But even so, it still costs 1.6 million yuan a year, and Hexi also bears a heavy burden.
"Does Mr. Yan have any good suggestions?" Guo Song asked.
Yan Zhenqing smiled and said: "The method I mentioned was implemented by Lord Guo back then to solve the problem of insufficient military salary, and the effect was quite good. That is to use military salary plus land to solve the problem."
"What's the meaning?"
"The reason is very simple. If a soldier gets two quid a month as a military salary, then give him 1 kilo to support his family in peacetime, and reserve the other kilo to repay it with land after the war is over."
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "One acre of farmland in Guanzhong costs ten guan. A soldier can save money for one year to buy one acre of land. After serving as a soldier for ten years, he can only farm ten acres. It seems a bit uneconomical. Besides, land is generally
It is used to reward military merit, and one acre of farmland will be rewarded for killing an enemy. This is the current regulation in Hexi."
"What if the land is doubled?"
Guo Song was stunned for a moment. He really had never thought about this. If he was only given a regular military salary a month and the rest was paid with land, even if it was doubled, after five or six years, it would only be more than a hundred acres of land at most. This is true.
It was a good solution, but what about its feasibility? Guo Song felt that this solution was difficult to operate and the soldiers would not agree easily.
"The method is good, but does Mr. Yan think it is feasible?"
Yan Zhenqing smiled slightly and said: "In the past few months, I have specially interviewed thousands of soldiers to conduct surveys, and it turned out that 95% of the soldiers were willing to accept this plan."
"I really didn't expect this. Ordinary soldiers don't seem to trust the government. What if the government breaks their promise? Or what if the soldiers die in battle and the government disowns their previous savings?"
"This is a good question. If Zhu Si or other vassal towns implement this plan, it will not succeed, but the Hexi Army can succeed. The reason is that the soldiers trust you. They believe that you will not break your promise and that you will bring them success.
Come to wealth."
"Mr. Yan suggested that I adopt this plan?" Guo Songxiao asked.
Yan Zhenqing nodded, "This is your best choice. The monthly burden is only 80,000 guan, which is only one million guan a year. It can greatly reduce the burden on Hexi."
Guo Song smiled bitterly and said, "But I owe a huge debt, which must be repaid with land."
Yan Zhenqing tilted his head and looked at Guo Song with a strange expression: "That's because you have too little confidence in yourself. You captured Anxi, Beiting and Suiye. The territory you occupied was more than ten thousand miles, and it was the largest in the world.
Landowner, you actually said that you don’t have the land to repay, isn’t that funny?”
"That's true!"
Guo Song scratched his head and couldn't help laughing, "Let's go! I'll treat Mr. Yan to a cup of tea, and I'll talk to him about the broken leaves."
The two of them turned around and walked toward the big tent.
........
Four months ago, Zhu Si's army launched the Battle of Xiangyang. An army of 200,000 people besieged Xiangyang. The military envoy Da Xibaohui of Xiangyang City killed Zhang Quan, the governor of Xiangzhou, and Kaicheng surrendered Zhu Si's army. Shannan Dao Jiedu envoy
The pious king Li Liang happened to be on an outing in the outskirts of Xiangyang with his family. When he heard that Xiangyang had been captured, he was so frightened that he disguised himself as a commoner and fled to Chengdu in panic overnight with his wife and children.
The fall of Xiangyang was of great significance, as it cut off the connection between the Tang Army in the Central Plains and the Chengdu court, and also cut off the logistics and food routes for the 30,000 Tang troops. In desperation, Liu Qia, Li Baozhen and Ma Sui had to abandon the Central Plains and retreat to the southeast.
Zhu Si's army occupied Bianzhou, Songzhou, Chenzhou and Yuzhou without a fight, and all the Tang Dynasty's lands in the Central Plains were lost.
On the plain east of Qiao County, Bozhou, Li Xilie led an army of 80,000 to be ready. The 30,000 Tang troops would inevitably pass through his territory when they retreated to the southeast. Li Xilie was planning to seize Yangzhou. If the 30,000 Tang troops retreated to Yangzhou, it would inevitably lead to him annexing Yangzhou.
His plan went bankrupt, and there was no way he could allow others to sleep soundly beside him. Li Xilie decided to annihilate this Tang army.
A mighty army finally appeared in the distance. Li Xilie narrowed his eyes. These guys really came to Bozhou. He thought they would go to Xuzhou!
Li Xilie suddenly became angry. He didn't believe that the other party didn't know that he was here. It was obvious that Tang Jun was here for him.
Li Xilie gritted his teeth secretly, since he wants to ask for trouble, then I will help you!
At this time, the 30,000 Tang troops also discovered Li Xilie's army. They stopped three miles away and quickly formed a large formation of flying geese. Liu Qiajun was the head of the geese, and Li Baozhen and Ma Suijun were the two wings. The three formations were the horns of each other and cooperated with each other.
.
Although the strength of the Tang Army was less than half of the Huaixi Army, they were well-equipped and well-trained, and more importantly, their chief generals were all famous generals of the Tang Army.
Three Tang armies formed a large formation. Li Xilie had five thousand cavalry. He waved his sword and shouted: "The cavalry is out, kill!"
"Kill--"
Five thousand Huaixi cavalry took the lead and launched like a sharp sword, heading straight towards the Tang army's formation three miles away. The 80,000 troops behind them shouted in unison and followed the cavalry towards the Tang army like a sea wave.
The 30,000 Tang troops raised their bows and nocked arrows together, aiming at the 5,000 cavalrymen who were galloping towards them...
With the sound of bangs, 30,000 arrows soared into the sky, towards a rapidly moving dark cloud, and like a storm, they shot densely into the group of cavalry.
The cavalry were all on their backs. Although they all had shields, the arrows were so dense that they could not withstand them. In an instant, more than 2,000 people were killed or injured. At this time, the Tang army fired a second round of arrows again. This time it was a flat shot, and there was another violent storm.
After strafing, a large number of cavalrymen fell to the ground seventy steps away. Some of the horses were hit by arrows, and some of the cavalrymen were shot. Two rounds of 60,000 arrows swept across them. Most of the 5,000 cavalrymen had been killed and wounded, and only five or six hundred people were left.
Li Xilie didn't expect that the Tang army's arrow array was so powerful. The five thousand cavalry army he had spent countless money and worked hard to build would be almost wiped out in a short period of time. His heart was as painful as a knife and he shouted: "Kill them!"
If you don’t accept surrender, kill the enemy!”
"Kill!" The Huaixi army a hundred steps away shouted like thunder, and they came overwhelmingly to kill.
The 30,000 Tang troops quickly retracted their bows and transformed into a spear army. With spears like a forest, they walked step by step towards the Huaixi Army.
A battle broke out between the two armies on the Bozhou Plain...
[Let me explain to you, Lao Gao has been typing for many years and has never rested. His back muscles have been strained. During this period, he has been updating three times in a row. His body is really unable to bear it. Let Lao Gao take a breath and temporarily change it to twice a day.
More, take a little rest, please understand and support!]