"Listening to the words of Mr. Ma, you must have a good strategy to defeat the enemy, right?" Ding Yuying asked again.
Ma Wanchun shook his head and said: "There is no good strategy. Dafeng Fort is a dangerous place. In the past, when my family controlled Shizhu Xuanwei Division, there were bandits there. They suppressed them for many years but could not be pacified. Later, the bandits of Dafeng Fort joined the group. Rogues, the dangerous area of Dafeng Castle has been occupied by rogues, and they have continued to build and expand it, reaching its current scale. Now thousands of rogues are entrenched in it, and it will probably take several years to eradicate them, and they will also have to manage the stone pillars and gain skills. Only then can it be effective.”
"What is the relationship between suppressing bandits and operating Shizhu?" Ding Yuying asked next.
Ma Wanchun said: "In the past, I, Shizhu Xuanwei, had strong soldiers and strong horses. I could send troops on expeditions and kill enemies for the country, but I couldn't defeat the bandits who were so close. Why is this?"
why?
Zhu Hexing and Ding Yuying both became interested and looked at Ma Wanchun.
Ma Wanchun asked himself and answered: "In the past, it was difficult to quell the bandits in Dafeng Castle because Shizhu was a poor place. There were always some people who were hungry and cold and had no way out. Therefore, people who could not survive continued to go up the mountain to join the bandits. Dafeng Castle was also It will be difficult to defeat it after a long attack. Even if it is temporarily defeated, someone will come up to the mountain and become a bandit soon."
Ding Yuying sighed: "I didn't expect that Shizhu has so many loyal people, but it is a poor place where the people are struggling to survive. It is really difficult for the officials of the Xuanwei Department."
Zhu Hexing said: "If it's not a poor place, where can the white-steed elites come from? Since ancient times, elite soldiers have been produced in remote areas! Aren't the guards soldiers I brought here raised by young people from the nine-sided bitter cold land? Made of it?"
Although Zhu Hexing didn't know how to govern a county or a government, let alone how to be a wise king, his military qualities were still acceptable. His test scores in the military courses in the Army Lecture Hall also illustrate this point!
So although what he said didn't sound good, it was also true. At that time, Qin Liangyu was able to continuously send troops from Shizhu because the people in Shizhu were poor, with many people and little land, poor transportation, and no way to develop industry and commerce. There were too many young people with no way out, so he was willing to join the army and risk his life in exchange for money.
The current Ming Army recruits troops from remote areas as much as possible. At the same time, the children of Yingtian's military aristocrats are the main source of professional officers, and the meritorious soldiers of the Guards are the secondary source of professional officers (officers from the Guards cannot serve as close soldiers). The officers of the Guards), and the young soldiers of the Guards are all from the Barrens.
Although Prince Zhu Hexing has never experienced the sentiments of the people, he has served as an intern in the army and has had contact with many soldiers from the barren land.
Zhu Hexing continued: "But now the bandits on Dafeng Fort are all Shaanxi military households. In the past, there were many Sichuan farmers who oppressed Shizhu. The Sichuan people in Shizhu shouldn't go up the mountain to join them, right?"
Ma Wanchun nodded and said: "Of course not for the time being, but if we can't firmly control the Sichuan farmers in Shizhu and give them a way out, it won't be a big deal whether there will be farmers who can't survive in the mountains and become bandits in the future. That’s easy to say.”
Zhu Hexing asked: "Then how can we firmly control the Sichuan farmers in Shizhu?"
Ma Wanchun stretched out two fingers and said: "There are three methods that are useful at the moment. The first is to open a subject to recruit scholars, and select the useful scholars from Shizhu first, and make them mine.
The second step is to clear out households and equalize land. We must check out all the land of each household, and then distribute it equally according to the fatness and thinness of the land... It is impossible to make the people of Shizhu live and work in peace and contentment, but we must make it Everyone in Shizhu has a stutter, so they have to be able to handle it.
Again, of course, it’s time to recruit Xiang Yong! With the available men and the equalization of land among the people, of course they have to help suppress the thieves! "
"Let Xiang Yong suppress the bandits?" Zhu Hexing frowned, "Can Xiang Yong defeat the rogue military households in the mountains?"
"Of course we can't beat them!" Ma Wanchun shook his head, "No matter how brave the villagers are, they are still farmers who have not practiced martial arts. Even the women and children of the military households of the rogue bandits have practiced martial arts for a long time. The military households who relied on the courage of the villagers to suppress the rogue bandits must have There will be heavy losses. But we still have to use Xiangyong!"
"Why?" Zhu Hexing didn't understand.
In his opinion, we still have to rely on the regular army to wipe out the rogue military households in Dafeng Fort! If you don't have enough troops, just move them in... To encircle and suppress the bandits on the mountain, you need at least several times the enemy's strength. You should be able to succeed by moving a division over. And using Xiang Yong to suppress thieves is basically giving away people's lives. Even if you can kill a few thieves, your casualties may be several times greater!
Ma Wanchun explained: "There are three advantages of using Xiangyong. First, it can last! The key to suppressing mountain bandits is not bravery, but persistence. And in Sichuan Shanda, even if 10,000 elite soldiers are mobilized and besieged on all sides, there will be huge consequences. The gap allowed the bandits to escape. It was very likely that they killed the old and the weak and escaped the strong.
Moreover, the consumption of 10,000 elite soldiers is not a small amount. The transportation of Shizhu is inconvenient, and it is a remote and remote place. It is very difficult to support 10,000 foreign troops for a long time. If the supply of guest troops is insufficient, it will inevitably disturb the people, and conflicts between the army and the people will give the bandits on the mountain an opportunity to take advantage of them!
Second, it can make the people of Shizhu and the thieves on the mountain become enemies of each other. The villagers will fight against the thieves. No matter where someone dies, they will treat the other party as an enemy bandit... This is the hatred of killing a father, brother, and son. Ah, this hatred is irreconcilable! If the common people and the bandits have a sworn hatred, the bandits will become street rats that everyone shouts to beat, and they will not dare to go down the mountain in small groups. If they go down the mountain in large groups, they will be easily attacked by our elite soldiers. If they never come down the mountain, how long can they last?
Third, it can give the poor people of Shizhu something to look forward to... Kill thieves and perform meritorious deeds, and receive rewards for meritorious service, whether it is money, land or officials, there is always hope! With hope, no matter how hard or tiring it is, it will be easier to endure it. If the people can survive, it will be easier for us to be officials. "
What a ruthless county magistrate!
After listening to Ma Wanchun's words, Ding Yuying already knew something in her heart - this parent official didn't care how many people died below, all he cared about was to wipe out the bandits on the mountain as soon as possible! But having said that, wiping out the bandits on the mountain would be really good for the people down the mountain. Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain!
Zhu Hexing nodded repeatedly, this Mazhi County is capable! His method is indeed more effective than mobilizing an army... If a division of the army is mobilized, it will consume a lot of things. The transportation in Shizhu is inconvenient, and the entire Dongchuan is short of food and grass, and there is not much supply at all, so the army's supplies will most likely have to rely on looting the Shizhu area.
In this case, the conflict between the military and the civilians is likely to intensify! Although most of the local Sichuan people in Shizhu hate the Shaanxi military landlords, there is no guarantee that some people will not benefit from following the Shaanxi military households... Once people's hearts are divided, it will be difficult to eliminate the thieves on the mountain.
"Mazhi County," Ding Yuying asked thoughtfully, "then how do we select useful people for Shizhu? What is a better test?"
Ma Wanchun said with a smile: "Of course you can't take the test on the Four Books, Five Classics, and Eight-Part Part Article."
Zhu Hexin said: You can’t take the French test either!
Ma Wanchun thought for a while and then said: "First of all, it is necessary to be able to read and write... You must also be able to write articles, otherwise you will not be able to be a people-friendly official.
The second step is to be proficient in farming. Food is the most important thing for the people. There are many people in Shizhu and the land is small, so farming is difficult. If you don't understand farming, you can't be an official.
The third is to be physically strong and good at practicing martial arts. It is easier for such people to organize rural warriors and lead them to the mountains to suppress bandits. "
"What does it mean to be good at practicing martial arts?" Zhu Hexing was a little confused, "How is this assessed?"
Ma Wanchun said: "Of course it is to test their spear skills. The spear is the king of weapons. It is easy to make and easy to use. If you can't master other weapons in a hurry, you can still learn to poke and hit people with a spear. This The men selected for a stone pillar must be able to quickly master the art of spearing. Only after they have mastered it can they teach the local warriors below."
"It makes sense!" Zhu Hexing nodded repeatedly, "Shizhu's country warriors are so anxious that they can't learn anything else, so they can only kill them with long guns... Ma Zhi County, how about we open up the subject as soon as possible to get scholars?" Let’s take out all the useful people in Shizhu Village, and then form Xiangyong as soon as possible.”
Ma Wanchun nodded and said with a smile: "Recruiting soldiers is easy to say but difficult to do... If I don't know how to come, I don't have any available personnel. Because most of the Xichuan soldiers under me are myself If you don't know how to read, how can you help recruit people? Even if there are a few people who can write and calculate, they are all so busy that they can't spare any time to do this.
The Guardsmen brought by Tongzhi are all educated and proficient in the art of spears, so it is up to Tongzhi to open up courses and get scholars! "
