Cars rattled, horses rustled, and pedestrians carried bows and arrows at their waists!
Starting from the sixth day of the first lunar month in the first year of Hongwu in the Song Dynasty, the scene described by the great poet Du Fu in "The Troops of Troops" appeared on the official roads leading from various parts of Shaanxi to Chang'an Prefecture.
Of course, "crying soaring to the sky" is not enough, but the scene of soldiers and family members "holding their clothes and stamping their feet to block the road and cry" can still be seen often.
On an official road by the Huluchuan River that had not yet thawed, Wu Jie, the 11th general of the Jingyuan Army, and his brother Wu Lin, who was also a general in his unit, were also saying goodbye to their families.
These two brothers and the officers and soldiers of the 11th General of Jingyuan under their command were almost all from the Huaide Guards of Jingyuan Military Mansion. The Shaanxi Fifth Route Army Mansion was very large, so between the Military Mansion and Zhechong Mansion, there were The "Yingtian Guard" level unit was established.
A military mansion has several or a dozen camp guards under its jurisdiction (the Jingyuan Army has eight guards). Under one camp field guard, there are usually several Zhechong mansions, and one Zhechong mansion has about 1,500 households. If the military household is fully mobilized, it will be a fully staffed department. If a camp field guard is fully mobilized, it will have one to two generals.
The Huaide Guard is a frontline camp field guard located on the border between Song and Xia. It owns almost all the cultivated land in the Huaide Army (the Huaide Army and the Huaide Guard are actually one), and all the landowners and camp archers in the Huaide Army. , and the strong men of the Fan tribe were all included in the military rolls and became government soldiers under the jurisdiction of Huaidewei.
Therefore, one Huaidewei can mobilize up to two generals, with a total of seven to eight thousand people!
These two generals are named the 11th General of Jingyuan and the 12th General of Jingyuan respectively. They are both "hybrid generals" who are a mixture of foot and cavalry, and they are enough to stand alone.
Because troops must be left to defend against the Western bandits, only the eleventh general, the unit under which Wu Jie serves as general, has been dispatched.
Because of Zhao Kai's efforts after the Song Dynasty reopened - efforts to govern did not necessarily include developing industry and commerce or reclaiming land, clearing land and inspecting land, rebuilding the military system and the military merit system, and using the method of "competition to recruit relatives" to bring the five generals with Zhao Song The royal family's deep bundling and other measures are also a kind of hard work, and the results are much faster than slowly "farming".
So after the troop order was issued this time, although the family members of the soldiers who saw them off cried fiercely, the soldiers who were listed in the military register basically arrived on time. Even if I could not come due to various reasons, I would send my son-in-law or son-in-law to take my place.
Moreover, all the soldiers who were recruited were equipped with straight knives, long spears, iron whips (maces, hammers), side cards, crossbows, arrowheads, uniforms, dry food, mules and horses, and some even brought their own Armor - According to the original laws of the Song Dynasty, private possession of armor was strictly prohibited!
However, Zhao Kai partially lifted this ban under the advice of Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun and others, allowing the government military strategists to collect a certain amount of iron armor and leather armor, and allowed the civilian government to collect paper armor.
The reason for this is that Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun and others all know that in Shaanxi Fifth Road, which has been in war for many years, many powerful families and even ordinary people have hidden life-saving armors.
If Zhao Kai's court can relax the ban and provide some subsidies to generals who prepare their own armor for war, it should be able to greatly alleviate the shortage of armor supply.
Zhao Kai now has as many as 300,000 soldiers under his command, but the military and court arsenals store only more than 30,000 iron armors and more than 20,000 leather armors...the two combined , which can only allow Zhao Kai's army to have an armor armor rate of more than ten percent (referring to iron armor, leather armor, paper armor is easy to make, and can still be obtained by one person).
Therefore, it is really a last resort to let the generals prepare their own armor.
In addition to allowing military households to "own armor", the ban on possessing military crossbows has also been lifted - crossbows are not as difficult to use as bows, and ordinary crossbows (not divine arm bows) are not complicated to make and do not require too much effort. The high-end materials can be mass-produced so that everyone can have a crossbow!
If everyone in the Song Dynasty had a crossbow and wore armor (paper armor), then it would be difficult for the invading gold thieves to thresh the grains. A serious gold thieves could wear two layers of heavy armor and go into battle, but Ali Xi, who threshed the grass valley, did not have this This condition... Shooting more Alixi to death can also greatly weaken the golden thief's power!
After saying goodbye to his son Wu Gong and his wife and two concubines, Wu Jie began to inspect the equipment of the recruited soldiers with his brother Wu Lin. Wu Lin held a folded book, which was handed over by the Zhechong Mansion below. In addition to the list of hometowns of the soldiers who were recruited, it also recorded the mules, horses, equipment, and equipment that the soldiers were equipped with. These can all be "folded"! And you can take it home after you use it. Even if it is damaged, you can replenish it from the trophies. You can fold it again when you take it back next time.
Because they could "fold silk" and get corresponding supplements from the spoils of war, the soldiers all took out the good stuff at home!
The Wu brothers themselves were no exception. Both of them took out the Qingtang Armor that they had ripped off the dead Western thief! Moreover, the pro-Binglang Party was equipped with superior heart-covering armor.
In addition, the Wu brothers and their pro-soldiers also prepared their own fine Hequ horses - these horses can also fold silk, and if they die, they can take one back from the captured war horses, which is considered a private horse.
While taking the roll call and counting the mules, horses, and equipment, Wu Jie also did not forget to chat with the soldiers and generals below and say some words of encouragement.
"Wang Erlang, your armor is pretty good! Is it passed down from your ancestors? Are you going to wear it this time to earn credit?"
"Hey, Li Sanlang, your horse is pretty good. With its coat color and shoulder height... it can break at least ten pieces of silk!"
"Hua Dalang... why is your chin so bare? Are you shaving it with a knife every day? Why do you look like a girl? You're not a man disguised as a woman, are you?"
"Who is a girl? I am a six-foot tall man... If you don't believe it, I will take off my clothes and let the general have a look!"
"Hahaha......"
A rather good-looking young man was teased by Wu Jie because he had no hair on his mouth, which even caused a burst of laughter.
The atmosphere that was originally a bit sad suddenly became much more relaxed and cheerful. Wu Jie also took the opportunity to open his throat and encouraged: "Brothers, the imperial edict given to us by the officials said... The good land around Kaifeng Mansion has no owner now. Once the gold thieves are driven away, they will be given to us." Let’s divide the fields based on merit! That’s a good field that’s as flat as the tabletop!”
Wu Lin added from the side: "In addition to fields, there are also titles and officials...kill thieves well, and with merit, he will be able to become an official, and he will enjoy endless wealth in the future. !”
"That's right! Once you become an official, you can eat white flour steamed buns every day!"
“Not only are the steamed buns made with white flour, they can also be stuffed with meat!”
"Also, little lady, if you have an aunt in Mizhi, and then become the most powerful county magistrate, that will be a fairy-like happiness!"
Morale has really been boosted!
What's the point of fighting? Isn’t it just to get promoted and make a fortune? This is the simplest and most popular truth for working people who know how to kill people! Telling them this is much more effective than telling them about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism!
In fact, the Golden Thief, and later the Mongols, and even later the Manchus also relied on this set of simple principles to unite people's hearts and inspire fighting spirit.
...
At the same time, in the water town outside Lingquan Palace in Chang'an, the official Zhao Kai was also bringing Cai Wei, the Minister of Rites, Mi Youren, the Minister of Rites, and others to cordially express condolences to Guan Long Juzi who was about to travel with the army.
There are more than a thousand Guanlong candidates preparing to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to take the exam! Including their entourage, the total number was almost three thousand. They are all wearing paper armor, long swords on their waists, and crossbows on their backs... Well, they all look very knowledgeable!
The very knowledgeable armed men formed a loose square formation beside the water. Each one of them looked loyal and courageous, waiting for the official's condolences and encouragement.
Zhao Kai, Cai Chi, and Mi Youren were buddies when they were in Kaifeng Mansion. They were all artists... and they were all the most welcome guests of the oiran ladies in Kaifeng Mansion!
So when Kaifeng Mansion fell, Cai Chi fled to Luoyang with Zhao Jinfu, the concubine of Emperor Maode, and wrote a letter to Zhao Kai who was far away in Hedong at that time to persuade him to join!
Mi Youren is Mi Fu's son, about the same age as Zhao Ji. He has always been Zhao Kai's mentor in the art of calligraphy and painting. When Kaifeng Mansion fell, he also ran to Luoyang and wrote a letter to persuade Cai Ji to join him.
Zhao Kai did not forget these two good buddies. After arriving in Chang'an, he sent someone to Luoyang to pick them up. After they arrived at Chang'an Mansion, they were made Minister of Rites and Minister of Rites... and asked to prepare for the imperial examination!
In addition, in addition to being responsible for the examination, the two of them also have another role, which is to write a testament for Zhao Ji... It is just an oral edict that is not formal, there must be a testament!
Cai Chi and Mi Youren are both great artists with superb calligraphy skills, especially Mi Youren, who is a master of forgery in calligraphy and painting works! The fakes produced by him will be admitted to the Palace Museum in future generations!
With the combined efforts of the two of them, Zhao Ji's edict has been prepared, and Zhao Kai is going to take it to Luoyang and let the high-ranking officials and relatives in Luoyang come to identify it...
"Lu Xiucai, this crossbow is good. Where did you buy it?" Zhao Kai was holding a well-made crossbow and asked a young Guanzhong Juzi. This Juzi's surname was Lu and he was a descendant of the Lu family in Lantian. So Zhao Kai called him Lu Xiucai.
"So that the officials will know that this crossbow was bought by a student in Chang'an City..." Lu Xiucai said clearly, "Although it is not as good as the Divine Arm Bow, it can penetrate armor within thirty steps! "
"Thirty steps is enough!" Zhao Kai nodded, "But can you measure the pace? When shooting with a crossbow, the difficulty lies in measuring the range. If you are far away, you will not be able to shoot through, and you will not be accurate. If you are close, you can only shoot one arrow. Got it!"
"Students know how to measure steps, and students have also learned to bow, but they can't shoot accurately." Of course Lu Xiucai has martial arts! He originally wanted to take the martial arts exam, but now Zhao Kai's requirements for the martial arts exam have increased and he couldn't pass, so he took the civil exam instead.
"What if you can't shoot accurately?" Zhao Kai shook his head with a wry smile, "If you can't shoot accurately... you won't be able to pass the exam this time! There is archery among the six arts of the gentleman, and this time the imperial examination will be tested, you are on your way Let’s practice hard!”
