Chen Wang's expression turned dark. He finally understood why Hanzhong Wei's guards couldn't defeat Zhang Yuan despite so many people.
It's true that most of the people are even temporary recruits, old and weak, and there are only a few regular soldiers in the guard.
Like other guards, Hanzhong Guard actually had only half of its regular soldiers before the rogues invaded.
The rest of the troops were occupied, and these free wages were naturally divided up by the commanders, Qianhu, and Baihu.
Originally, the enrollment was almost full, but now there are only three to four thousand on enrollment. It is because of the continuous wars that it was difficult to replace the troops for a while.
If we give people like Tan Yingfeng a little more time, Hanzhong Wei will have another five to six thousand regular troops on paper.
"Besides these regular soldiers, how many people are there who can be used in the guard?"
Chen Wang calmed down. Anyway, he didn't really place his hope of fighting in the hands of the Guards.
He has about 6,300 main and auxiliary soldiers under his command, and they are fairly well-equipped and can be said to have strong armor and sharp blades.
Most of them have followed him and fought against rogue bandits many times, and those newly recruited soldiers from the ranks of rogue bandits have also gained experience in the city defense battles in Xing'an. It is not that they have never seen blood. Recruits who have never been in battle.
During the Battle of Xing'an, Gao Yingxiang used Xing'an City to train his troops, and Chen Wang also used the Chuang Army to train his troops.
Moreover, Zhang Xianzhong, Liu Guoneng and others are currently fighting fiercely in the Yunxiang area, and they have no idea of going west to enter Hanzhong Mansion.
If the original process remains unchanged, because Lu Xiangsheng was transferred north, the defensive strength of the Ming army in Yunxiang and other places can be said to be at its weakest now.
Facing the fierce attacks from Zhang Xianzhong, Liu Guoneng and other troops, it was impossible to block them.
Near the end of the year, Zhang Xianzhong will break through the encirclement net set by Lu Xiangsheng, lead his troops eastward along the river, join forces with Ge Liyan He Yilong of the 5th Battalion of Ge Zuo, and King He Jin of Zuo Jin, and will The beacon fire was lit in Huaiyang area.
From the second half of the ninth year of Chongzhen to the first half of the tenth year of Chongzhen, there were basically no military disasters or banditry in Hanzhong Mansion.
"Weinei..."
Wang Yuankang looked embarrassed and his eyes flickered. He glanced left and right, and finally said bravely.
"There are about seven or eight thousand people in the Wei who can be used..."
Wang Yuankang used a little bit of insight here. Wang Yuankang knew what Chen Wang meant by a useful person.
They are people who can be used as manpower, people who can farm or join the army, not the old and the weak.
But Wang Yuankang included many women.
Even if we look deeper, it actually makes sense. It is said that ancient China was a society where men farmed and women weaved. Many people misunderstood that women only needed to weave, wash, cook and handle household chores.
But in fact, many women also need to work in the fields. Compared with men, they may be somewhat deficient in physical fitness, but their workload is not small.
Chen Wang looked at Wang Yuankang's eyes, and he had a pretty good guess about Wang Yuankang's little thoughts.
After he asked the question, he knew that he had not asked the question well.
In this era, most ordinary people, whether they are old people or children, women or men, are struggling hard on the poverty line.
Where can they rest and where can they relax? As long as the elderly can still move, they will need to do what they can to support their families.
As long as children become more sensible and have some strength, they have to help in the fields and do things at home.
Chen Wang flipped through the document in his hand. The things in this document can only be used as a reference. After all, this is official information. In fact, many things are very different.
One regular soldier represented one household. If one household had about five people, the number of people in a fully-staffed thousand-household household would be about five thousand.
Hanzhong Guard has five guard posts under its jurisdiction. If they are fully staffed, the number of the entire guard should be about 25,000.
But in fact, there are so many manpower in Hanzhong Guard.
As time goes by, the Wei Institute system continues to
After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, military households fled seriously, and the total population of Hanzhong Wei had basically dropped to 20,000.
After years of turmoil and war, the Hanzhong Guards suffered defeats one after another, losing troops and generals. Many hundreds of households were captured and many military households in the guard were massacred.
Now the total number of Hanzhong Guards has dropped to more than 11,000, and the attrition is extremely serious.
According to the ancestral system, each military household in the Ming Dynasty could be allocated about fifty acres of military land.
At the same time, cattle, tools, seeds, etc. were allotted so that the military households could cultivate crops and concentrate on preparing for war.
But now, everyone knows what the situation of the Guards is.
In the Ming Dynasty, one hundred acres of land was equivalent to one hectare, which meant that a hundred households needed to cultivate approximately fifty hectares of land.
A thousand households need to cultivate more than 500 hectares of land.
There are five thousand-household settlements in Hanzhongwei. Based on the calculation, Hanzhongwei should have 2,800 hectares of land, a full 280,000 acres.
But how could Hanzhongwei own so much land now?
The original Hanzhong Guards only had three thousand-household stations, and the two later ones were added. In fact, the number of people was never full, let alone the land allocated.
After two hundred years, no matter how solid the ancestral system is, it cannot withstand the ravages of time.
Nowadays, most of the military fields owned by ordinary guardsmen in Hanzhongwei have been occupied over the years by guards officers at all levels in Hanzhongwei.
They are still guards in name, but privately they have already become tenants of various officers.
The land rent of military households was much heavier than that of ordinary civilian households.
Very little of the harvest in a year belongs to military households, and if they can get 30% to 40% of the harvest, it is already a sign of mercy from the Shangguan.
The Ming Dynasty itself was also very aware of the collapse of the Wei system.
It's not like they haven't thought about how to prevent the collapse of the Wei system.
In the middle and late period, in order to change the situation of officials and generals from various places invading the land of military households, the Ming Dynasty gave each military general a certain amount of land to support and cultivate integrity according to the size of his official position.
However, the granting of Yangliantian actually had little effect, and officers of the guards from various places continued to exploit them.
In addition to being exploited by officers, many military fields are also bullied by rich and powerful people.
The status of the guards was low, so many of the guard's fields were occupied, and there was no way to even appeal.
Originally, Hanzhong Wei still had more than 1,800 hectares of farmland, because the fields in Hanzhong Mansion were relatively wealthy, and his life was not too bad.
But since King Rui was sealed off, most of the fields in Hanzhong Mansion belong to King Rui.
When a vassal king becomes a vassal, the court will not only give a large amount of money, but also cut off a large amount of land from the local area and use it as the vassal king's property.
Many of Hanzhongwei's military fields have been transferred to King Rui's name. Now, there are only more than 1,300 hectares of land left under the name of Hanzhongwei.
Chen Wang estimated that even including some hidden fields, there should only be about 1,400 hectares of fields.
Among these fields, the good ones should basically have been occupied, and most of the remaining fields should be middle and lower fields.
Natural disasters have occurred continuously in recent years, although Hanzhong Prefecture has not suffered many disasters.
However, the land was reduced and the Hanzhong Mansion was subject to repeated turmoil. The Hanzhong Guards not only had to perform military service, but also had to pay a heavy rent.
Military pay has been delayed, and there is not much compensation even if someone dies in battle. Most of the military households are no longer able to live in Hukou.
"How many men are there who are over fifteen and under forty-five?"
Chen Wang closed the book in his hand and asked again.
Wang Yuankang was startled for a moment, and then his expression suddenly darkened. After a moment of silence, he said leisurely.
"Excluding the main army, there are only about two thousand people left..."
Hanzhongwei's current situation is extremely poor. Most of the men have died on the battlefield, leaving mostly old, weak, women and children.
In the past few years, every household in the health centers in various places has often worn mourning and linen. Whenever there is a war, there are even more cries and cries in the health centers.
As military households, they have no right to refuse the imperial conscription...
All they can do is accept all this, then pick up crude weapons and go to the battlefield, waiting for their own destiny.
"I roughly understand the situation."
Chen Wang's sharp gaze swept across everyone in the hall, and everyone felt a little frightened.
"You can't see a lot of things from the official document. I want to go to health clinics in various places to see the specific situation."
Tan Yingfeng, who had been looking for an opportunity to sit far away, was on pins and needles, with his hair standing on end.
Chen Wang's eyes made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Who among you has time to go with me?"
After Chen Wang finished speaking, Tan Yingfeng, Li Shiqi, and Yang Mingcai subconsciously focused their attention on Wang Yuankang.
"Wang Qianshi used to be responsible for farming, ordnance, military inspections and other matters. Since Mr. Chen wants to go down for inspection, it would be best to have Wang Qianshi accompany him."
Tan Yingfeng didn't even think about it, she moved directly to Chen Wang's side and sold it to Wang Yuankang with a low eyebrow.
The corner of Wang Yuankang's mouth couldn't help but twitch. Tan San was stunned and had never done many good things.
Every time something difficult happens, he takes the blame.
Wang Yuankang cursed loudly in his heart, but he knew that he would probably not be able to escape these things.
"In my humble position, I have dealt with most of the official duties in the guard, and only a little can be put aside temporarily."
"Your Majesty would like to know about the affairs within the Guard, so I can accompany you there."
Wang Yuankang lowered his head respectfully and saluted with his hands clasped in fists.
We have to go anyway, so why not be more proactive and sell more or less well.
Chen Wang could clearly see the birds hovering in the sky, and the eye contact between the few people was naturally not hidden from Chen Wang.
As early as when he came, Chen Wang had done some homework and learned the general details of Hanzhong Wei from Guan Qilin, Du Wugang, and several Qianhu who followed Zhou Yumao.
Tan Yingfeng basically only cares about some important and lucrative things. He is timid and rarely goes into battle.
However, he did an excellent job in officialdom, so not only did he have nothing to do, but he also received several rewards for the merits earned by his subordinates.
The commander-in-chief, Yang Mingcai, basically stayed at the rear because he was in charge of preparing for the defense, sending out sentries, and entering the guard.
Li Shiqi, a fellow commander, had been in battle several times. Although he lost more than he won, he at least had the courage to go into battle.
Wang Yuankang is in a marginal position among several people. The affairs he is responsible for seem important and the salary is very rich.
But it's all just looks.
If these things are placed in peacetime, they will naturally be lucrative positions.
Being in charge of farmland means that you can divide the land under your own name, and there is a lot of room for manipulation.
The military inspection can determine the number of regular soldiers, and naturally you can accept money.
He is in charge of the direct production of ordnance, and he can enrich his own pockets and deduct money from it.
But the current season is not a peaceful one.
In this season, these things are all things that the enemy needs to do.
Every time it was time to turn in food and ordnance, Wang Yuankang would inevitably be scolded severely, and it was even more torture during the military inspection.
When the imperial court recruits guards, it has to do everything possible to get a limited number of people, otherwise it will be impossible for a small commander like him to withstand the punishment.
"Since Wang Qianshi doesn't have much else to do, let's go first."
Chen Wang stood up. He already roughly understood what he wanted to know.
I also have a general understanding of Tan Yingfeng and others, and I have a plan to deal with them, and I am no longer planning to stay in the guard any longer.
"Congratulations, Mr. Chen."
Tan Yingfeng stood up first and bowed, looking extremely respectful.
Then Li Shiqi and Yang Mingcai also stood up and saw each other off together.
Wang Yuankang was a little slower and was the last one to stand up.
"There's no need to send it off anymore. The governor has ordered me to organize the fielding, camp operations, ordnance and other support matters. Your responsibilities will remain unchanged for the time being. As for me, I will separate the matter with Wang Qian."
Chen Wang was escorted by several people to the gate of the official office and waved his hand.
"There is a shortage of sergeants in the guard, and the soldiers have fled and suffered serious casualties. I have already made a plan for this matter. I will report to the governor and ask for help from the army to fill it."
After hearing what Chen Wang said, Tan Yingfeng finally showed a smile on his face.
Although he felt that if Chen Wang came to take care of these things, it might affect some of his interests.
But Chen Wang is the deputy commander-in-chief of the guard in Hanzhong Town. After these things are taken care of by Chen Wang, they will not need to work hard to train the soldiers.
Moreover, Chen Wang also mentioned ordnance. The Ordnance Bureau in Weizhong is a hot potato. A lot of ordnance must be handed over to Xi'an Mansion at certain intervals.
"Just follow your orders."
Tan Yingfeng lowered her eyebrows and bowed her head, looking extremely respectful.
Chen Wang no longer focused on Tan Yingfeng, but stepped onto the war horse brought by his guards in just one step.
All the personal guards also found their own horses and got on them one after another. For a while, the entire guard commander's office was filled with people neighing.
"Wang Qianshi, mount your horse."
Chen Wang glanced at Wang Yuankang condescendingly, pointed at another war horse that the guards had moved to the side, and gave Wang Yuankang instructions.
Wang Yuankang responded and got on the horse. However, looking at the way he rode, it was clear that he was not good at riding and probably did not have much experience.
Chen Wang's eyes passed over the people standing in front of the official office, and then he raised his head and glanced at the desolate Hanzhong Acropolis in front of him.
Hundreds of years pass quietly, and everything is changing. New things will eventually replace old things, and now is the time for innovation and progress.
