What does the emperor mean?
So what does Lao Zhu mean by letting a frail scholar like himself be the commander of the damn Shanzi Camp?
Han Du looked at Li Wenzhong hoping to get the answer from him, but obviously Li Wenzhong didn't know either.
Li Wenzhong showed a helpless look, spread his hands, and said: "The Ministry of War has given an order, and you can only do it first. If you really have questions, maybe you can go to the emperor to clarify your doubts yourself."
That’s all.
Han Du had no choice but to nod and give the order first. As for Lao Zhu, Han Du must ask clearly.
Seeing Han Du nodding and accepting, Li Wenzhong waved his hand, and Xu Chengfei quickly organized the Shanzi camp to set up camp.
The number of soldiers in Han Dujian's Shanzi camp was not large, probably more than a thousand. And more importantly, there are relatively few young soldiers, and most of them are elderly men.
Frowning, Han Du couldn't bear it anymore when he saw the tenth gray-haired old man passing in front of him. He turned around and asked Li Wenzhong, "My lord, are the soldiers in Shanzi camp a little too old? Why, at a glance, they are all old men and not even a few young people are seen?"
Li Wenzhong looked at the Shanzi Camp soldiers busy with a smile. Hearing Han Du's words, he quickly turned around and explained: "I am taking care of you. Think about it, you are just guarding here, and They won't go to the battlefield. So young soldiers are of little use to you, but it is these experienced veterans that you urgently need. Is this the truth? Don't worry, I won't let you suffer. "
Listening to you brag about my good, why do you always feel like something is wrong?
But Han Du just felt it and had no evidence, so he had to put it down for the time being. Then he asked: "How many people are there in this Shanzi camp?"
"Five thousand people."
"Five thousand?" Han Du exclaimed and pointed fiercely at Shanziying with a wave of his arm. He asked: "With just a few people, how can there be five thousand?"
It’s okay to give yourself a bunch of old, weak, sick, disabled and pregnant women. Now even the number of people is so different. What exactly does Li Wenzhong want to do?
"Why are you shouting so loudly? Although this is not a secret, but you are yelling everywhere like this, so you should try not to do this." Li Wenzhong quickly comforted Han Du.
Do you still know about convergence? Of the quota of 5,000 people, you have only managed to get more than 1,000 people. This is too much to eat on an empty salary.
"I'm doing this for your own good. If I give you a Shanzi camp with five thousand people, can you afford to support it? A month's salary for one soldier is just enough for them to eat. If I give you five thousand men, Man, what should you do with the other horses, ordnance, and armor? These things can't be picked up for free. Which of the entire Ming Dynasty's army can be fully staffed? Isn't it possible to rely on empty pay? Can it be maintained?"
Although Li Wenzhong was a little scornful of Han Du's petty opinions. However, considering Han Du's appetite, he still patiently explained.
So that’s the case. No wonder ancient wars often involved hundreds of thousands of people. Maybe it wasn’t just the name, but there really were that many personnel. It's just because the money is empty and the actual amount is not enough.
Seeing that Han Du still had a serious look on his face, Li Wenzhong had no choice but to lean over and whisper in Han Du's ear: "The emperor also knows about this."
Lao Zhu also knows?
But Lao Zhu didn't react at all to this. Does this mean that Lao Zhu also acquiesced? Unexpectedly, the Hongwu Dynasty had to pay empty wages as if it were an unspoken rule.
Perhaps Lao Zhu was too poor and could not afford to raise soldiers, so he set the soldiers' food and wages extremely low. He had to let go and let the generals use their free money to support their troops. In this way, at least the literal figures look very glorious.
However, emptiness is emptiness and reality is reality. No matter how beautiful the literal numbers are, they are of no use. When it comes time to use the army for a day, you still have to fight hard to see the real results.
Han Du couldn't understand why the smart Lao Zhu would do such self-deception. He could only think that it was because Lao Zhu was a little too happy about his success.
Of course, there is another possibility. That is, Lao Zhu deliberately left this gap. Considering that Lao Zhu massacred military generals in his later years, who can guarantee that this was not done intentionally by Lao Zhu? You must know that taking empty pay is a serious crime and is extremely resented by the soldiers.
When the time is right, Lao Zhu only needs to have someone reveal the general's empty pay. When the time comes, people will be furious, and then Lao Zhu will arrest the general, accuse him of various crimes, and even kill him with a knife. Not only did the soldiers not riot, they even sent letters to thank the emperor for helping them get rid of those who were eating their free wages.
With the big killer weapon of empty pay in hand, Lao Zhu can say that he can remove the military power of anyone he wants to, without any future troubles.
Han Du couldn't help but frown. No matter what the situation was, no matter how you looked at it, the hidden dangers were huge.
The hidden dangers are great not only for the commander-in-chief, but also for Lao Zhu.
Once the bad habit of eating empty pay becomes common, the combat effectiveness of the army will definitely take a sharp turn. The army has no fighting capacity, and Lao Zhu is still acting like a shitty emperor.
Why was it that in the last years of the dynasty, the regular army of the imperial court was unable to defeat the ragged rebel armies? Isn't it because the army's combat effectiveness has long been gone?
Han Du raised his eyes and looked at the soldiers who were busy setting up camp in front of him, hiding his deep worries in his eyes.
"What are you doing over there?" Li Wenzhong pointed towards the banknote bureau.
Han Du responded and took a look and explained: "Oh, that's because the official is planning to build a high wall to surround this place. The official thinks that it will be easier to guard this place after enclosing it like this."
After hearing this, Li Wenzhong looked at Han Du deeply.
Han Du looked a little confused and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Li Wenzhong smiled and shook his head. Seeing that Han Du still looked confused, he couldn't help but sigh: "When you said you didn't know how to lead troops, I was doubtful. According to common sense, that scholar doesn't want to be able to settle the world by himself. , can dismounting bring peace?"
"When you said just now that you didn't know how to lead troops, I thought you were being polite and condescending on the surface, but in fact, you were already ecstatic in your heart. I didn't expect that you really don't know how to lead soldiers."
Han Du suppressed his words after hearing this. If you can, you will, if you don't, you won't. Han Du never plays half-heartedly with others.
