As Su Wei spoke out a few questions, not to mention Duan Wenzhen who was asked by him, even others were a little troubled. The imperial court can solve everything now, even the military can use fishermen and young people close to big rivers and lakes. In addition, there is no time to waste in the long training process, and judging from the current situation between the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo, the Sui Dynasty cannot afford to wait.
Yang Guang was at his wits' end for a moment. He glanced at Yang Ji subconsciously and asked, "King Wei, can you solve the problem of military strength?"
Yang Ji replied: "As far as I know, after the results of the competition between the A and B martial arts competitions held this year, the imperial court asked the warriors from the two rankings to compete in riding, infantry and cavalry combat, and infantry and cavalry shooting. The result was that the B rankings were completely defeated. They defeated the A-list. The B-list warriors were all commoner warriors from all over the world. They actually completely defeated the A-list, which was mainly composed of noble children. This shows that there are still a lot of talents in the civilian population that need to be tapped. I think the problem of the northern navy's insufficient strength is , can still be contested from the private sector.”
Many civil and military officers present felt very uncomfortable and frowned when they heard that Yang Ji said that they were selected from among the people, and explicitly or implicitly accused the aristocratic children of being useless. Zhang Jin caught the opportunity and said with an expression and tone asking for advice: "After listening to King Wei's words, can the general understand that the children of the nobles are not as good as the children of the common people, and that the children of the nobles are useless?"
"General Zhang, you think that the children of the nobility are inferior to the children of the common people. The children of the nobility are trash and have nothing to do with me. You are talking nonsense, so don't implicate me." Zhang Jin's words hit everyone present. For this Yang Ji didn't want to bear the sudden heavy hat; after throwing it back, Yang Ji continued: "Why did the children of the common people comprehensively win the first class, which was dominated by the children of the nobles? I think there are two reasons: First, the common people The population is large, and those who stand out after layers of selection are all outstanding people selected from a thousand or ten thousand. Their ability to participate in martial arts is proof of their strength. Second, compared with the difficulty of studying and becoming an official, the cold Children of common people, many children of dignitaries and aristocratic families are content with the status quo, living in a dream, lacking the spirit of hard work, hard work, and no sense of crisis. Therefore, even if many children of aristocrats have good living capital, educational resources, and learning conditions, in the end they will not be able to survive. He can only be regarded as a mediocre person with mediocre intelligence and a son of a tiger father. He cannot become the great talent needed by the court and the people, and he cannot compete with a humble boy who is one in a million."
Everyone was silent after hearing this. The kind of people Yang Ji said can be found in their families. It is said among the people that some aristocratic families are inferior to each other, have no successors, and cannot be rich for more than three generations. This means that the children of aristocratic families have lost their ancestors and strive to move up. The fighting spirit and courage of the fighting men all sank into comfort, eventually leading to the collapse of each family. This is what Mencius said, "Be born in sorrow and die in happiness."
Seeing that everyone was speechless, Yang Ji took advantage of the situation and said, "The saints held martial arts and imperial examinations to allow ordinary people to enter the military and political affairs of the Sui Dynasty. On the one hand, they recruited good talents for the country. But the most important aspect, I think, is For the sake of dignitaries and noble children; in order to correct the wrong thinking of some noble children who relied on their parents and elders, who could solve everything, the saint let the children of the common people enter the military and political affairs, so that the children of the nobles were under pressure and worked hard under pressure. Learn civil and martial arts. I don’t know if the children of the princes have changed, but the dandy children I have come into contact with have undergone earth-shaking changes due to pressure. It can be seen that the saints have achieved the deep meaning of holding military examinations and imperial examinations, and these dandy children and their parents Elders, you must be grateful to the saint at this moment, and wish you could enshrine him as a god."
When the aloof Yang Guang heard this, he couldn't help but froze for a moment, but he soon put on an air of inscrutability, which was indeed the case.
But what about reality? The one of recruiting good talents for the country is true, but the latter one is completely opposite. Since all levels of military and political positions in the Sui Dynasty were monopolized by the children of aristocratic families, in order to break this rule and his over-reliance on the aristocratic families, he Inviting the descendants of common people to come and seize the throne, in order to dilute the power of the family and expand it excessively. As for the family being inferior to the previous generation, having no successors, or being rich for only three generations, he would not like it. It's just that Yang Ji now said that he was so benevolent, well-intentioned, and dedicated to serving his ministers. Of course, he would not tear down Yang Ji's stage or ruin his own situation, so he nodded slightly with a solemn expression to express his approval of Yang Ji. explanation of.
"Sages and princes, although they say that they have learned civil and military skills and repay the emperor's family, our dynasty has more military and imperial examinations to recruit people.
Talent, but from ancient times to the present, there have been a large number of talented generals among the people who have no desire to serve the country and whose talents have not been recognized. This is why we have such sayings as "talented people have been born among the people since ancient times" and "there have been many masters among the people since ancient times." In previous dynasties and local government periods, it was always said that there was no talent available. However, in troubled times, why did so many private heroes achieve hegemony and become famous ministers and generals? In the final analysis, no Bole discovered and used them during peacetime. If the court had discovered and used them well in advance, how could there be the famous ministers and generals who rebelled against the king, became heroes, and created a new dynasty? So..." When Yang Ji said this, he used his "Horse Theory" written at Liangzhou University to summarize: "There are Bole in the world, and then there are thousand-mile horses. Thousand-mile horses always exist, but Bole does not always exist. So although There is a famous horse, but it was humiliated at the hands of slaves and died in a stall, and it is not called a thousand-mile horse... Is there really no horse? I really don’t know horses!"
Yang Guang listened thoughtfully. He glanced at Yang Ji and asked in a solemn voice: "This time it is mainly to replenish the navy. King Wei means to recruit warriors with strong martial arts and proficient water skills from the people to serve as the imperial court." Used?"
The ministers were silent after hearing this, but their expressions softened a lot. They could all hear two meanings from Yang Guang's seemingly casual words: first, the court was recruiting ordinary soldiers this time, not generals; There is no position worthy of your fighting for; if your children are willing to start from the bottom, you can sign up. However, the weather at sea is unpredictable, the wind and waves are huge, and there are dangers. The survival and combat conditions are far more difficult and harsh than those of the land army. You are willing to Do you want your children to take such a huge risk?
If you are willing, I am happy and will not stop you. But if you don't want to, don't come and cause trouble to our system and hold back the Northern Navy. Otherwise, don't blame me for turning against you.
Second, the folk warriors are mainly a group of ordinary warriors from all over the world without organization and discipline. In terms of personal bravery, they may be better than the children of the nobles, but they neither understand the way of marching and fighting, nor have the ability and experience to command the army. , although I want to promote them, but the Northern Navy, which is about to start from scratch, does not have time to let me "work slowly and carefully, and it will take a long time to achieve success"! Therefore, the generals of the Northern Navy are still your children, clansmen, disciples, old friends, and factions. If you want to fight, you can fight after you go down, and don't bother me here.
"Of course civilian warriors can participate, but what I mean is that the world's heroes are not limited to civilians, such as soldiers in the army and county soldiers. If they feel that they are more suitable for fighting on the water, they can also apply to be transferred to the navy to join the army. "Yang Ji had already laid the groundwork before. He paused for a moment and said to Yang Guang as though he was seeing a dagger in the picture: "Sage, among the great rivers and lakes in various parts of the Sui Dynasty, there are many people who have died due to various reasons. The water thieves who have gathered together as thieves for some reason have rich combat experience. They usually come out to do evil. When they see the army attacking, they quickly escape into the mountains, forests or deep lakes, causing the local generals and people to be annoyed and unable to suppress them. I think The imperial court can implement a policy of recruiting them. If they correct their evil ways and join the army, the imperial court can ignore their past and make great achievements in the future. The imperial court will still grant corresponding rewards just like ordinary soldiers. In this way, it can reduce the number of people in various places. It can destabilize bandits, pacify local areas, replenish troops, and at the same time reduce the pressure on local generals and soldiers. It can be said to serve multiple purposes."
Yang Ji had been an official in Liangzhou for so long, and he knew that some water thieves did kill a lot of people, committed many evil deeds, and deserved no punishment; but most of them did not kill or hurt anyone, just because they were nearby. Thieves are related to the nearby people and have inextricable relationships; if they are not heinous and vicious, who would wield the butcher knife against his fellow villagers? Therefore, their purpose is to seek money, mainly to rob passers-by. As long as their purpose is achieved, they will let passers-by go.
It is true that they are all crimes and should be caught and punished according to law, but the problem is that given the conditions of this era, the court has no way, no ability, manpower and material resources to wipe out all the thieves and bandits in the world. In this case, rather than letting them continue to cause harm to the place, it would be better for the court to use them for their own purposes.
Gao Jiong, who was next to him, thought for a while and said to Yang Guang: "Sage, when the late emperor was in the fifth year of the founding of the emperor, he actually also recruited troops in Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Many of the current generals of the Southern Navy were former water thieves. After they joined the army, , changed their appearance one after another, worked diligently and diligently, and finally became a qualified general, and made great contributions to the court's pacification and the suppression of the rebellion in the south. "
"That's true!" Yang Guang nodded when he heard this. This is indeed a good plan, and he also has a deep understanding of it: when he was ordered to build a navy in Jiangdu, he recruited many water thieves, many of whom were chaotic. The bandit leaders were once low-level officers of Chen's army. They joined the anti-Chen tide because they had no chance to stand out, because their superior generals oppressed or took away their merits, and because Chen's army was unfairly rewarded and punished. The corrupt court of the Chen Dynasty not only provided a large talent base for the Sui Dynasty navy, but also indirectly provided the Sui Dynasty with the general trend of annihilating the Chen Dynasty and unifying the world.
Although the Sui Dynasty had already completed the great cause of unifying the world, and had been advocating cleanliness and fighting corruption since the founding of the country, Yang Guang knew that the great vision of clean government and no corrupt officials was just a distant dream that could never be realized. And the difference between beautiful dreams is just that there are more and less corrupt officials.
Among the current bandit leaders, he believed that many of them were from the military or county generals, and the reasons why they abandoned their positions to become thieves must be exactly the same as those of the low-level officers of the Chen Dynasty.
Duan Wenzhen, Minister of the Ministry of War, had just been speechless by Su Wei's question. When he heard this, he immediately stood up and walked out of the queue. He bowed deeply to Yang Guang and said in a deep voice: "Sage, the King of Wei has already told the King of Wei about all the benefits of recruitment." , there is no need to go into details; and the Southern Navy, built in October of the fifth year of Kaihuang's reign, is the best and most successful example. I believe that the imperial court might as well follow the example of the late emperor and adopt a policy of recruiting peace to the land and water bandits all over the world. .”
Yang Guang had already been moved by Yang Ji's words, and when he saw that Gao Jiong and Duan Wenzhen came out to support without making any objections, he immediately made up his mind. He glanced at the ministers and asked symbolically: "Masters, what do you think?" how?"
"I have no objection!"
"The general will have no objections!"
When the civil and military ministers saw that the recruitment of thieves as soldiers did not harm their own interests, and that recruitment did have many benefits, they naturally had no reason to object. If he blindly opposes it but cannot solve the urgent problem of manpower resources for the emperor and the Northern Navy, the emperor will definitely fall out with him.
Upon seeing this, Yang Guang ordered Duan Wenzhen: "Duan Qing, this matter will be handled by the Ministry of War in all states and counties. The recruitment of people into the army and the recruitment must be implemented as quickly as possible."
"I obey!" Duan Wenzhen accepted the order with his hands raised.
Yang Guang signaled Duan Wenzhen to take a seat, and said slowly to Zhou Fashang, who had been appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Navy: "Qing Zhou, you are now the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Navy in the Sui Dynasty. However, it does not matter that the Northern Navy is completely blank. It's too much, but you have to build the most powerful and elite maritime army in the shortest possible time. I can understand the great pressure and heavy burden you have. If you have any needs, feel free to Dao Lai..." Yang Guang glanced at the ministers and then said to Zhou Fa Shang: "I and the princes and ministers here will do our best to satisfy you."
Zhou Fashang was brave, courageous, both civil and military, and made many military exploits for the Sui Dynasty. He defeated the three rebel barbarians and repelled the invading Chen Dynasty army. When the Sui Dynasty defeated Chen Dynasty, they defeated and captured Xiong Menchao, the governor of Chengzhou of Chen Dynasty. After the fall of the Chen Dynasty, he was ordered to pacify Lingnan, causing Qian Jiqing, the former governor of Guizhou in the Chen Dynasty, and others to surrender to the Sui Dynasty. Later, he sent troops to quell the rebellion of Li Guangshi, the leader of the Li tribe in Guizhou (Shi'an County), the Li people in Suizhou (Suining), and the Wuman people in Xizhou (Yuexun), and defeated the Yi people in Qianzhou (Qian'an), which can be said to be a great military exploit.
At the same time, Zhou Fashang was brave enough to take on important tasks, and he was very good at life. Before Yang Guang appointed him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Navy, he was the Minister of Internal History of the Internal History Province, and he could give good opinions and advice on previous decisions. It was suggested, but after he was appointed, he immediately assumed the role of the Northern Navy Commander, consciously no longer participated in the central decision-making, and sat in as a foreign general.
He knew that he had a great responsibility. Seeing that the two major areas of money, food and soldiers had been solved by Yang Ji, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, he heard that Yang Guang treated him so kindly, and he was extremely moved. After hearing this, he immediately stood up and said : "Reporting to the sage, there are rivers and lakes in the south. In many places, boats are indispensable for going out and doing things. Over time, the people have many excellent shipbuilding craftsmen and many excellent craftsmen who maintain boats. I hope that the imperial court will recruit folk warriors who are proficient in water-based skills in the south. When the time comes, recruit more craftsmen.”
Yang Guang nodded: "It's accurate! I will ask King Cai to search for good craftsmen in the counties of Yangzhou."
"Thank you, saint!" Zhou Fashang bowed and asked Yang Guang for orders: "Sage, without further delay, I plan to go to Donglai County tomorrow to find a good land suitable for building a military port."
Although Yang Guang knew that Zhou Fashang was a very responsible person, his performance at this time still surprised him. However, such ministers were always favored by emperors, so he immediately said: "That's right!"
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