In addition to the welfare benefits for the army, Yan Zhong also discovered that in addition to heavy military skills training, Liu Bei would also use cultural tutoring to enrich the army.
Liu Bei would organize illiterate soldiers who could not read and write, arrange for scribes to teach them, and make them specialize in learning reading and writing skills.
He found this kind of thing less in the army after Guangwu Zhongxing, because after Guangwu Zhongxing, the Eastern Han army mostly recruited troops and withdrew immediately after the task was completed, which was unnecessary.
But in the period before Guangwu and Zhongxing, such things did exist. The army at that time, especially the border army, had certain requirements for soldiers to master reading and writing skills. Therefore, the literacy rate of the army at that time was relatively high, and the court was willing to invest in it. .
This good tradition disappeared after the Guangwu Zhongxing, which I have to say is a bit of a pity.
Based on this, Yan Zhong believes that Liu Bei has the essence of the famous generals of the previous dynasty in running the army.
Not only that, Yan Zhong also discovered that Liu Bei had set up a special military law department in the army to take charge of the punishment of all military camp personnel who violated military law.
Anyone who violates military law will be called to the Military Law Office to accept punishment. Generally, the officers leading the troops have no direct power to deal with the soldiers. They can only report the behavior of soldiers who violate military law to the Military Law Office, which will then enforce the military law.
Yan Zhong didn't understand this process very well and asked Liu Bei. Liu Bei's explanation was that this was to make the army the country's army rather than the officers' private soldiers.
"When officers enforce military law, soldiers will fear officers and may become private soldiers of officers, and the problem of lynching cannot be avoided. If an open military law office publicly enforces military law and everything is fair and aboveboard, then soldiers will truly respect military law and become the country's public servants." rather than an officer’s soldier.”
Yan Zhong was greatly impressed by this, but at the same time he was puzzled. He wondered if any officers would be dissatisfied with this.
Liu Bei said no.
Because he had followed this rule from the very beginning when he led troops, and people who were familiar with him had long been accustomed to his rules. They had never had the authority to lynch soldiers, and all execution authority fell under military law.
Everyone is used to it.
The old man is used to it, and the new man doesn't dare to question it, and he soon gets used to it. In this way, anyone who follows Liu Bei in the war must accept this requirement. Is there anyone else who won't get used to it?
Is this okay?
Yan Zhong was very surprised.
After a whole day of training, in the evening, as long as it doesn't rain, Liu Bei will ask for a large-scale dinner party in the military camp.
All the soldiers were organized into groups and sat in front of a big pot to eat. Whenever Liu Bei was free, he would eat with the soldiers. He would walk among the soldiers with his rice bowl, and from time to time he would use his chopsticks to grab vegetables from the soldiers' pots. , quite a feeling of eating hundreds of meals.
During this process, Liu Bei will also communicate with the soldiers, talking with them about life in the military camp, their hometowns, their relatives, and their goals in joining the army.
After dinner and before the entire army rests, he will encourage soldiers who are good at singing to stand up and sing songs from their hometown for everyone, and then lead the entire army to sing in a chorus. Although the level is about the same as howling like ghosts and wolves, the feeling is very satisfying.
Yan Zhong followed Liu Bei with his rice bowl and watched Liu Bei happily eating from the soldiers' pots. He took a little from this pot and a little from that pot. This one patted his shoulder and that one kicked his butt. He was chatting and laughing with the soldiers. calm.
When soldiers see Liu Bei, they will show great respect and have smiles on their faces instead of fear.
Respect and fear are two different things. Yan Zhong can tell very well that the soldiers really respect Liu Bei instead of being afraid of Liu Bei.
Yan Zhong asked Liu Bei about the purpose of doing this, and Liu Bei said that there were two purposes.
The first is to check whether anyone is cutting corners and shoddy food in terms of military food. Because no one knows which pot he will eat, the person in charge of the food does not dare to mess around.
He does not completely trust his own methods. No matter how good the rules are, they still have to be implemented by others. Once people have selfish motives and want to make some small moves, it is easy to take advantage of loopholes.
Therefore, Liu Bei personally intervened in this link and used this method to supervise the work of the military's logistics department to achieve a deterrent effect.
This is a benefit.
The second benefit is that he wants to take this opportunity to get deep into the soldiers, understand what they are thinking, ask them about the difficulties and shortcomings of military life, and understand from the most direct way what else he has to do in running the army. insufficient.
"The regulations for running the army will ultimately fall on the soldiers. As a commander, if I can't know the soldiers' opinions and only get the answers from the officers, then I will be deceived. If I am willing to contact the soldiers directly, then I will be deceived." No one dares to blind me on important issues.
To put it bluntly, running an army means giving both kindness and power. Three meals a day is kindness, and military law is like a mountain, which is power. Everyone knows that it is necessary to give both kindness and power, but when it comes to implementation, how many people can implement it without making any mistakes? I think this is the problem with the lack of strong military in the world, so it starts with me to make a change. "
Seeing Liu Bei's serious expression, Yan Zhong was really impressed.
"Today, when we see the kings and princes running the army, we will know why the kings and princes can defeat the larger army with less. If the Han army was all managed by the princes, how could there be any rebellion between the Qiang and Hu?"
Liu Bei smiled.
"What can I do alone? My abilities alone are always limited, and there are many things I can't do. I need many like-minded people to move forward together, run the army together, and change the status quo together. Only in this way can it be possible to obtain The final victory, Yan Biejia, are you willing to go with me?"
Liu Bei extended his hand to Yan Zhong.
Yan Zhong looked at Liu Bei's sincere eyes and couldn't help but step forward and hold Liu Bei's hand tightly.
"It's my wish, but I don't dare to ask for my ear!"
So Yan Zhong tried his best to plan for Liu Bei. He took out all the dangerous terrain, climate, mountains and rivers, Qiang and Hu settlements in Liangzhou, and pointed at the map to teach Liu Bei everything Liu Bei wanted to know about Liangzhou. matter.
But there is nothing hidden about anything he knows. After talking about it, Liu Bei believed that Yan Zhong could be called the know-it-all in Liangzhou.
Subsequently, in the first phase of the Liangzhou pacification plan convened by Liu Bei, Liu Bei planned to launch a comprehensive military operation against the five counties of Wudu, Longxi, Jincheng, Beidi, and Anding, with the goal of quelling all armed rebellions in these five counties. Power, regardless of Hu and Han.
Gai Xun put forward some opinions on Liu Bei's action plan.
Gai Xun believed that Liu Bei's reputation for bravery had spread throughout Liangzhou. Almost everyone in Liangzhou already knew the "power" of this Xinzhou shepherd. There was no need to continue to fight to show Liu Bei's "power". In the short term, he only needed to lay a solid foundation. can.
There are indeed many independent and semi-independent armed groups in the five counties that are not subject to the control of the imperial court, but they are not a personal problem. Liu Bei should still focus on governance. If governance is done well, these rotten sweet potatoes and smelly bird eggs are just trivial matters. .
Just leave it to the local county governor to pacify it.
Moreover, Liangzhou has experienced wars for a long time, and now is the time to recuperate.
Liu Bei didn't think so.
"The prerequisite for governance is stability, and the prerequisite for stability is peace. Although I have performed military exploits in Liangzhou, there are many people in this world who will not shed tears even if they see the coffin. The scholars and powerful men of the Han people know my reputation and identity, and some If you beg me and be willing to obey my orders, what about others?
In addition to scholars and powerful people, there are hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in Liangzhou, as well as a larger number of over a million Qiang and Hu people. Do they know my reputation and identity? Do they want me to study with me and become an official in Luoyang? "
(End of chapter)
