"Forty-seven thousand taels..."
Chen Wang frowned slightly and glanced at Chen Gong standing in the tent.
The money and food obtained from breaking through Zhang Yuan's camp was far less than he expected.
"All the prisoners in the old camp of the rogue bandits were pulled out and tortured. The camp was also searched three times. Many holes were dug to look for gold and silver that might be hidden, but none were found. These gold and silver should be Zhang Yuan's. All the belongings left behind.”
Chen Gong held a document in his hand and stood at the bottom reporting the harvest to Chen Wang.
"More than 16,000 stones of food were also found in the camp. Vehicles have been arranged to transport it. It is expected that it will all be transported back to our military camp before dusk tomorrow."
"Except for gold, silver, grain and grass, there aren't many valuable things in the camp."
"There are many old, weak, women and children among the bandits who stayed at the old camp in Xixiang. They have all been handed over to the magistrate of Xixiang this morning."
Chen Wang nodded slightly. More than 47,000 taels of silver was actually a lot, but the previous harvests made his desire a little inflated.
Rogue bandits always fight when they can be beaten, and run away when they can't be beaten. They rarely do anything to the death.
Generally speaking, they carry gold, silver, soft goods and other things with them. When fighting, they can just run away if the situation is not good, and they have no worries.
Because of this, it is not always possible to capture large amounts of money when fighting bandits.
Speaking of which, Chen Wang was actually very lucky to be able to snatch back so much gold and silver from the bandits one after another.
Li Zicheng had just plundered three or four big cities, so he was still wealthy after giving out a large amount of money as rewards.
Li Yangchun and Lin Shengquan were trapped and died in Ningqiang Prefecture, and the gold and silver they carried became trophies.
Zhang Principle had been in Hanzhong Mansion for a long time and had established a camp. He had the idea of separating one side, so there was not only food but also gold and silver in the camp.
Although the gold and silver harvest from this battle was far less than the harvest at Chunhua, there were still nearly 80,000 taels of silver, and a large amount of grain and grass was also harvested.
Nowadays, famines occur frequently in various places. Suhu, Henan and other places are affected by rogue bandits, which leads to a decrease in food and an increase in food prices year by year.
Hanzhong Prefecture did not suffer a major famine, but food prices more than doubled, and one stone of rice cost two taels of silver.
In many places in Shaanxi, the price of rice has reached three or four times the price.
In some food-deficient places in Xi'an Prefecture, the price has now even risen to more than ten taels and one stone, which is nearly ten times the normal price.
This time the rogue bandits entered Shaanxi and not only recruited a large number of people into the army, but also robbed a large amount of food and grass.
The harvest outside Hanzhong City, plus the clearing of Chenggu County, and the grain and grass confiscated from the old camp of the rogue bandits in Xixiang, add up to more than 40,000 shi of grain. According to the current prices in Hanzhong Prefecture, all of it can be exchanged for about eighty-nine dollars in silver. Ten thousand taels.
Calculated in this way, the harvest this time is actually similar to the harvest in the Battle of Chunhua.
Moreover, we are in troubled times now, the price of rice is getting more and more expensive, and food is hard-to-find goods no matter where it goes. The harvest this time is actually greater than the harvest in the Chunhua War.
"All the grain will be placed in the original grain storage area of the rogue bandits, and the 1st and 2nd Infantry Division will be sent to guard it. It must be strictly guarded and there will be no mistakes."
Chen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly and ordered in a deep voice.
Food will only get more expensive, so naturally he won't sell all of it now.
In troubled times, money and food come first.
Only with money and food can we support an army and survive troubled times.
After several battles and several replacements, Chen Wang now has more than 4,200 men under his command, including 2,000 mules and horses.
A human's daily eclipse is one liter, and a horse's daily eclipse is three liters.
If you want to eat and drink enough, you will consume about one hundred stones of food a day.
More than 40,000 shi of food can be used for more than 400 days, which is more than a year.
After Chen Gong responded, he stood at the bottom and continued to report.
"A total of 729 pieces of cloth armor, 370 pieces of mail armor, 820 pieces of cotton armor, 371 pieces of arm coverings, and other various types of weapons were collected during the pursuit along the road. "
"The captured weapons and broken armor have been loaded onto trucks and sent to Hanzhong Acropolis for repair or recasting."
Chen Wang frowned and thought slightly.
"Seven hundred and twenty-nine pieces of cloth face armor, three hundred and seventy pieces of mail armor..."
The mail armors seized were the least, the cotton armors and cloth armors were about the same, and there were not many arm coverings.
Originally, there were more than 2,500 pieces of cloth face armor in the army, and more than 900 pieces of mail armor and cotton armor, all of which were issued to the army.
The three types of armor add up to a total of 4,500 pieces, which can be used by everyone.
However, in fact, the current armor rate in the army is only 70%.
Now Chen Wang has one cavalry and seven infantry under his command, totaling more than 4,300 people.
There are more than 900 cavalrymen. All cavalrymen wear high-topped helmets with covered arms, cloth face armor on the outside, chainmail armor on the inside, and double armor.
The 1st Infantry Division was fully staffed with 900 men and had almost the same configuration as the 1st Cavalry Division. Both had covered arms, high-topped helmets, and double armor.
However, it is not a cloth armor on the outside and chain mail on the inside, but a cotton armor on the outside, a cloth armor on the inside, and the cotton armor on top of the cloth armor.
The reason why cavalry wear cloth armor and mail armor is because mail armor is relatively light and flexible.
The infantrymen wore cloth face armor and iron armor, which focused more on protection. This kind of armor equipment was not imagined by Chen Wang.
According to "Records of Manchuria", the "Battle of Hunhe Bridge" records that the Ming army of Chen Ce's department, composed of Sichuan soldiers and Zhejiang soldiers, carried bamboo poles, spears, broadswords and sharp swords. In addition to iron helmets, there were cotton helmets, and in addition to iron armors, there were cotton armors. , difficult to penetrate with swords and guns.
The remaining cloth-faced armor and cotton-padded armor are given priority to military schools, front-line soldiers and gun soldiers.
Except for the first cavalry department and the first infantry department, the rest of the armor was divided equally.
"Deploy elites from other departments, fill up the number of the Second Infantry Department, gather cloth face armor and cotton armor, and equip everyone with double armor and arm coverings. The remaining armor will be added to each army according to the situation. There is no need for arsenal Leave it on."
Chen Wang knocked on the table, pondered for a moment, and then continued to order.
Except for the first cavalry department and the first infantry department, which are full strength, the remaining six infantry departments are not full strength. Each department now has only four to five hundred people, which is still less than half of the full strength.
"The expansion of generals can also be put on the agenda. You can send people to the captive camps to recruit new soldiers on the grounds of recruiting auxiliary troops."
"Abolish the 7th Infantry Department, retain the 1st to 6th Infantry Departments, and break up the original 7th Infantry Department into other departments."
"The first and second infantry departments will not recruit new soldiers, and the remaining four infantry departments will all be recruited to full strength."
Chen Wang paused and continued,
"The original 1st, 3rd and 4th Infantry Departments were organized into one battalion and designated as the 1st Infantry Battalion."
"The original 2nd, 5th and 6th Infantry Departments were organized into another battalion and designated as the 2nd Infantry Battalion."
There are a total of six infantry divisions and two battalions of infantry, with a full strength of 5,400 people.
Including more than 900 independent cavalry, the total number is 6,300.
This number is slightly too much, but it is not a big problem.
At this time, the so-called auxiliary soldiers under Zuo Liangyu's command plus the 70 regular soldiers under his command have exceeded 10,000 people. He Renlong also has more than 3,000 to 4,000 auxiliary soldiers under his command. There are also many so-called auxiliary soldiers under Zuo Liangyu's command. Auxiliary soldiers.
Most of the so-called auxiliary troops they raised were rogue cavalry and horse troops who had been recruited and surrendered. The governors in various places knew about these things, and the court also knew about them. In fact, they had tacitly approved of them.
As long as you don't need to pay, you just turn a blind eye.
But the difference is that most of the generals and auxiliary soldiers are used as cannon fodder and consumables.
Chen Wang, on the other hand, really regarded it as a training exercise for soldiers, and paid military pay regularly, which was completely like a regular soldier's treatment.
However, Chen Wang couldn't explain how others could see the clues and pay attention to these things.
Hong Chengchou would not care about these things, and now it is the same for governors everywhere. As long as their generals are obedient and know how to fight, it is enough.
However, Chen Wang pondered for a moment and chose to postpone it a little.
"Let's make the selection first. Don't rush for now. Wait until the seal of my general is sent to the army, and then expand the army."
Anyway, the matter is not urgent. If you can do it without attracting attention, it is better to make less trouble.
When the rank of general is achieved and the number of soldiers in his own camp increases, it will be more reasonable to recruit more auxiliary soldiers.
After receiving Chen Gong's answer, Chen Wang picked up the report on the table that Tang Shiping had submitted not long ago.
What is recorded in the report is the money and food left in the army today.
After counting the grain, there were more than 40,000 dan, and only 1,000 taels of gold were left. When Chen Wang was in Hanzhong City, he asked Tang Shiping to exchange all the excess gold for silver.
The silver in the original warehouse, including this seizure, has exceeded 190,000 taels.
Even though Chen Wang was well informed now, when he saw the nearly 200,000 taels of silver balance on the books, his mind still couldn't help but wander.
Now there are more than 4,000 people under his command, and the full monthly salary is about 6,000 taels.
Nearly 200,000 taels of silver can be used for thirty-two months if only the salary is paid, which is two years and eight months.
However, now the imperial court will distribute salary and silver. Although it is not paid in full, it should be four thousand taels per month, but the actual amount received per month is only three thousand taels.
In the past few months, Chen Wang had been collecting the silver salary directly from the treasury. Chen Wang would regularly preside over the payment of salary every month, making sure that the salary was paid in full to every soldier.
Anyone who dares to deduct wages, whether it is a penny or a penny, will be punished by beheading.
Chen Wang was very clear about the history of the Ming Dynasty.
The biggest reason why the Ming army's combat effectiveness was not strong was actually the lack of pay.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it had become the norm for armies in various places to be in arrears with pay. It was difficult to pay the troops, but they were deducted from top to bottom, and exploited at all levels. There was not much left in the hands of ordinary soldiers.
There is a saying that has been widely circulated on the Internet in later generations - "The Ming army is not satisfied with its pay, but it is invincible if it is fully paid."
In fact, this sentence is really good.
In the late Ming Dynasty, arrears of wages had become the norm.
In the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign, Lu Xiangsheng was appointed governor of Xuanda. After going to review the army, he wrote a memorial in which he wrote:
"Nowadays, the wages are getting more and more, and hunger and cold are forcing the body. I borrowed money from him to make bows, arrows, guns and knives, and I still pawn and sell them."
"Many soldiers are arrayed on the battlefield, and the golden wind is like an arrow. Those who are discouraged and sick, and those who are stiff and servants are reporting to them one after another."
"Every time a soldier is ordered, there are some who are wearing single clothes, some who have no hakama, and some who have few shoes and socks. When I see them, I burst into tears."
"The land is extremely congested, the wind blows, and the snow blows, which pierces the heart. The humble ministers wear heavy coats on their horses, but their lusts are unbearable. They serve with the patrolmen, and some of them are stiff and fall off their horses."
"This generation has been guarding the country for many years. They have no clothes to wear, but they have enough food every day."
"The troops under my jurisdiction have not received any pay and silver since November and February last year."
"Although the soldiers are standing on the wall and riding on horseback, they are humanoid and have no life at all."
In the coldest month of winter, they were actually wearing single clothes, and some people even had no shoes or socks.
After years of arrears of wages, it is even difficult to maintain their livelihood.
But even so, they have not yet rebelled. Even when the Qing army and Mongolia entered the pass, they were still resisting.
Chen Wang's eyes narrowed slightly, and memories of the past came to mind. The situation in Liaodong was much better than that in Shanxi Town, but there was still the problem of unpaid wages.
After Cao Wenzhao made meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, he was transferred to Datong Town as the commander-in-chief. Datong Town and Shanxi Town are not far apart and are both in Shanxi Province.
The situation reported by Lu Xiangsheng is actually an extremely common situation.
Most of the guards had only single clothes, and it was normal to be short of food and clothing.
Dun Jun was a little better, he had some shabby winter clothes, and he still had a little food every day.
Even as a soldier, you are not guaranteed to wear winter clothes, and the treatment is only slightly better than that of the Dunjun.
It has reached this level, and the Ming army was able to hold most of the defense lines of the Great Wall without large-scale surrenders or large-scale rebellions.
To be honest, Chen Wang feels that this can no longer be explained by common sense. Perhaps it is Zhu Yuanzhang who drove the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty to the north and rebuilt China. Yu Ze left behind is still looking after his descendants.
Chen Wang put down the report in his hand. With payment arrears and corruption rampant, how could the army still have combat effectiveness?
Now the most loyal to him in the army are neither the Liao cavalry nor the refugees recruited in Pizhou, but the remnants of Liu Guozhen and Ai Wannian's former soldiers.
They never had enough to eat every day, and they never received sufficient wages every month.
Because of this, these are the people who are the most violent in fighting in the army now.
At first, Chen Wang was worried that these veterans would bring the ruffianism from the original army into the army, but later he found that this worry was completely unnecessary, and their energy and spirit were actually the best among all the tribes.
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Liaodong Economic Strategy Xiong Tingbi:
"Liaodong buys a bow and two taels, and a arrow costs five or six points, and there is no place to buy it."
"As for clothes, armor, bags, saddles, bridles, leather ropes and other items, they are dressed every day."
"Chasing all the time, mending the cracks, everything is priceless."
"Every time I see a soldier giving away his utensils and selling his luggage, with no clothes on his body, naked and wearing armor, my heart feels like a knife piercing my heart, and I wish I could use my body to replace him."
"The cotton armor is a hundred layers thick and cannot be penetrated by arrows and cannons. Each soldier has three or four horses. In winter, they use mats to catch their hooves."
The cotton armor is made of seven pounds of cotton, sewn with cloth like a jacket, with the arms five inches past the shoulders, and the lower part covering the knees. Thick threads are made horizontally and vertically, sewed tightly, soaked in water, picked up, spread on the floor, and kicked firmly with feet to prevent When the fat is swollen, dry it in the sun and use it. Seeing that the rain is not heavy, the mildew is not rotten, and the bird's gun cannot cause serious damage.
