The morning sun was rising and the steam was rising. On the large campus in the east of Jinling City, the soldiers were buzzing with people, creating a sea of excitement.
Those practicing spear-thrusting, running, practicing in formation, and some practicing throwing grenades, roars and trumpets, one after another, give people throbbing and strength.
"One two one, one two one, one two three four!"
Accompanied by the instructor's chants, the uniform shouts were inspiring. Sweat continued to fall from their faces and bodies. Under the sweat, the sergeants were bare-chested and marched in unison, running hard under the rising sun.
"Stab! Hold back! Stab!"
In front of the queue, the instructors looked dark and shouted loudly. The sergeants were bare-chested and their bodies were shiny and dark. Many of them had obvious abdominal muscles and strong muscles. The spears in their hands shone with cold light. They stabbed and retracted in a neat and uniform manner, which was frightening.
Outside the teaching venue, many people were lying on the wall, watching curiously.
This kind of training day after day, regardless of rain or shine, is it a whim or a three-minute passion?
On the public notice board at the entrance of the training ground, the military regulations are clear and eye-catching, which is particularly eye-catching.
“1. Anyone who disobeys military orders will be killed.
2. Anyone who pretends to be sick before battle will be executed.
3. Anyone who abandons his weapons in battle shall be beheaded.
4. Anyone who shrinks from battle shall be beheaded.
5. If you disobey the superior officer and fail to comply with orders, if you continue to be banned, you will be beheaded.
6. Those who kill good people and take credit for their merits should be beheaded.
7. Anyone who abuses women shall be killed.
………”
The military regulations are awe-inspiring. The banners hanging around the teaching field have the words "Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime" and "Protect the family, defend the country, sacrifice and contribute" are equally impressive.
Like the Jinling Martial Arts Lecture Hall, at the entrance of the main campus, a sign reading "Soldiers are sacred and inviolable" stands upright, attracting the attention of passers-by and also heralding the improvement of the status of soldiers.
Zhao Hong stood on the sidelines, watching the military training, sweating profusely and excited in his heart.
Jiangnan East Road implements the New Deal, and military training is also one of the New Deals, a top priority.
His "father" Zhao Kuo was finally buried before the heat. He reigned for 30 years at the age of 57. His posthumous title was Emperor Renwenzhewu Gongxiao, and his temple name was Ningzong. In May of the first year of Xingqing, he was buried in Yongmao Mausoleum in Kuaiji.
Ning Zong, it is appropriate to be quiet.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, he returned to Lin'an City. The court was calm, and the ministers were also quiet, with nothing unusual at all.
In the absence of the emperor, there are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkey is called the king. These ministers are happy to be free and quiet.
If they knew that the next step of the imperial court was to clarify the official administration and implement various new policies in Liangzhe Road, I wonder if they would still be happy?
"Why are you late?"
A recruit hurried over and the instructor asked with a dark face.
"Report to the instructor that I'm late because I went to the toilet!"
The recruits trembled inwardly when they saw the instructor's serious black face.
"No one is late, you are the only one, who can believe it?"
The instructor said coldly, turned his head and looked at the formation in front of him.
"Which team is this from?"
"Report to the instructor, this is team C, and I am the captain Liu Zhi!"
The captain groaned secretly, raised his head and raised his chest to report.
This recruit is spoiled and careless. I knew he would have problems, but he finally came.
"The new recruits are late and cannot escape the responsibility of captain. Get out of the queue and run around the training field three times. Let's start!"
The instructor gave the order, and team leader Liu Zhi stepped out of the queue and started running.
"Instructor, it's my fault, please let me run instead of the captain!"
The recruit blushed and plucked up the courage to speak.
"You can't escape either! Follow me!"
The instructor's face was stern, and the recruit quickly followed his captain and started running in circles.
Zhao Hong couldn't help but feel happy. Everyone has a face. With this kind of punishment, this recruit will probably not be late in the future.
This black-faced instructor turned out to be Cao Youwen who was transferred from the Martial Arts Hall.
This boy is really good at running the army and is worthy of being a famous general in history.
Compared with the Northern Song Dynasty, the military system of the Southern Song Dynasty was chaotic and complicated. Generally speaking, the generals of an army usually have the commander-in-chief as the commander-in-chief of the army, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief as commander-in-chief, and then the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief, and then the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief.
Under the army, there are "generals" in the order of first and second. Usually, a general, a deputy general, and a reserve general are each appointed as commanders.
There will be teams, each with 50 people, including support team, escort team, flag leader, etc. Between generals and teams, some also have "departments" and generals.
The trained recruits were only slightly adjusted. There are five people in a team, 10 people in each team, 50 people in each team, 200 people in each unit, 1,000 people in each general, and about 3,000 people in each army.
Training basically adopts a five-to-five system, which is also to ensure that from training to the army, the organization is basically the same, so that both generals and ordinary soldiers can quickly integrate.
"Your Majesty, there are a total of 50,000 people in the Jiangnan East Road Forbidden Army Xiang Army, and there is a vacancy of more than 8,000 people. After excluding the 9,000 old, weak, sick and disabled people, plus the more than 10,000 people transferred back to Jiankang Prefecture by the Palace Secretary, there are 42,000 people. Thousands of people are here now.”
Wang Gang's answer made Zhao Hong nodded slightly.
There are only less than 40,000 soldiers out of a total of 66,000 troops. After the training is completed, it is estimated that two to three thousand will be eliminated, and it is already good to have 40,000.
This is true for Jiangnan East Road, and it is probably the same for other roads. Just be afraid, and the same is true for Jinghu Road, Lianghuai Road, and border areas such as Sichuan.
"How are the eliminated sergeants arranged?"
Zhao Hong frowned.
The stubborn problem of "redundant soldiers" was not solved until the end of the Song Dynasty.
In order to alleviate the disaster and banditry, the Song Dynasty recruited bandits from the disaster victims as soldiers, resulting in more and more soldiers. Soldiers could not retire until they were 60 years old. The army was raised but not allowed to fight, but only to maintain local peace. As a result, the army was crippled and military expenditures were consumed hugely.
Redundant troops, redundant expenses, a vicious cycle that cannot be eliminated.
"Back to Your Majesty, Jiangnan East Road implemented the demarcation method, and many idle and abandoned fields were cleared. In particular, the uncultivated fields under the names of powerful officials amounted to more than 600,000 acres, which was more than enough to be distributed to the more than 20,000 eliminated soldiers. The rest is used as official land to prepare for the unexpected needs of the army."
Wang Gang said softly with a smile on his face.
Jiangnan East Road implemented the boundary law, which was a great success. Among the households that evaded hidden taxes, the number of hidden fields discovered by Jiankang Prefecture alone amounted to more than 3 million acres. The people cheered and cheered, government taxes increased, and the benefits of the new policy benefited the country and the future.
This was an unexpected surprise and gain, and it also allowed him to see the benefits of implementing the New Deal on Jiangnan East Road.
"Wang Qing, you've done a great job! One lifetime is all about grass and trees. If you can really leave a "good" word in the hearts of the people, it will be a hundred times better than any kind of fame and fortune!"
Wang Gang was smiling all over his face, and Zhao Hong was also excited.
A health prefecture alone has an official area of 4.3 million acres. After the boundary law was completed, the area reached 7.7 million acres, a difference of 3.4 million acres. The disadvantages of land annexation and hidden taxes in the Song Dynasty were indeed numerous. Once eliminated, the energy it brings is full of energy.
The back taxes paid on Jiangnan East Road alone amounted to more than 20 million yuan, which was enough to cover various expenses such as military training, the construction of the Jiangnan weapons manufacturing branch, the expansion of Jinling University, and road construction.
"Your Majesty's teachings, I will take them to heart."
Wang Gang was smiling and respectful.
"Your Majesty, all the retired sergeants do not need to be farmed. Nowadays, various industries are being developed on Jiangnan East Road, such as iron factories, cement factories, soap factories, etc., which require a lot of labor. I discussed with Duke Wei and Duke Hu and decided to arrange them in the army. More than 5,000 people were dispatched and placed in various places. In this way, possible mutiny by the sergeants was avoided."
From coal washing and coking to the transportation of various materials such as ore and coke, a lot of labor is required. Wang Gang's move was indeed thoughtful.
"Wouldn't the rest of the sergeants have any objections to the placement of more than 5,000 people?"
Zhao Hong was not only appreciative, but also a little worried.
Chinese people do not worry about scarcity but about inequality. It's okay if they all farm, but if they treat one differently, people will inevitably feel uneasy.
"Your Majesty, you don't know that the relationship between relatives in the army is complicated. Some fathers and sons join the army, some brothers join the army, and some fathers, sons and brothers are both in the army. There are basically candidates for each family or surname, and the soldiers can probably accept them. Besides, those who are older The soldiers had land to farm and were exempted from taxes for three years, so many of them returned to their hometowns."
The eliminated soldiers, veterans aged from 40 to 60 years old, accounted for six to seven thousand people. Most of these people returned to their hometowns to work in farming. Therefore, the selection and elimination of soldiers did not cause much sensation.
The fundamentals are: first, there is land to cultivate, and there is no tax for three years; second, the development of various industries provides employment opportunities for five to six thousand retired sergeants, achieving multiple benefits with one stone.
"Your Majesty promotes the law of the world, prospers all industries, and can also organize military equipment, train generals and troops, and complement each other. It is really a wonderful move!"
Wang Gang said sincerely.
"Wang Qing, in the final analysis, we still have to implement the New Deal. Otherwise, the chronic problems of redundant troops and waste will not be eradicated."
Zhao Hong did not mention "redundant officials". In fact, there were only 40,000 officials in the entire Song Dynasty, which was not too many. The key is to let them "make the best use of everything", eliminate the scum, and prevent the kind-hearted people from entering official positions. I believe that solving the problem of "redundant officials" is not a problem.
For the Song Dynasty, it was unable to break through economically, and of course it was powerless militarily. What he did was to break this curse and revive the economy.
