A few days later, on the south gate of the Hot Spring Palace, Jiang Tian lay lazily on the girl's lap, basking in the early spring sun; letting her use a fine-toothed comb to comb the shiny hair back and forth. Fluffy fur; occasionally shares a snack she carries in a basket.
On the large polo field outside the city gate building, a lively and noisy polo match is going on; horses with bells and necklaces, and splendid robes, controlled by knights in narrow-sleeved colorful robes, rush left and right. , galloping back and forth; competing to be the first, shouting, waving the moon-shaped painted staff to beat them away.
The hollow carved bamboo-covered huts were swatted and kicked away all over the place, which also startled the crowd in the palace who were watching. There were waves of ups and downs, especially those who were young or young. Some of the palace officials and female historians shouted hoarsely and their faces turned red.
Especially when the women's polo teams with tied men's hair began to compete in separate teams, they even revealed their longing and yearning, wishing they could replace them with their own bodies. This is also the entertainment and competition that Prince Li Hong added for these East Palace subordinates and ministers after he returned to the palace.
Therefore, there are more than a dozen polo teams organized. The teams from the previous dynasty include Youchunfang, Zhanshifu, and Shilifu guards, etc.; and the teams from the inner court also include Prince Neifang, Prince Edward, etc. A team of eunuchs and female officials composed of the eunuchs of the family temple and the female historians of the Mingfuyuan.
Therefore, even in the coldest winter days, there are constant drills every now and then; and on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, there are even more intense confrontations and fierce competitions between different teams, or special events to show off various tricks. Batting skills, group or individual performance.
Prince Li Hong would even reward the best among them with horses, swords, bows and arrows, or personal treasures, or even special support as close followers; it seems to be the same as most of the powerful officials, nobles and nobles in Beijing. The popular polo teams raised by other prominent houses are no different.
But only Jiang Tian knew a little bit about it. He finally listened to some of the advice about palace changes and being changed by others; and these various close people were successively selected through legitimate polo matches. , as an important part of preparing for a rainy day to some extent.
After all, secretly cultivating dead soldiers in the name of the East Palace and hiding them for a long time to ensure that no news will leak out; it is nothing short of a fantasy. However, on the pretext of being passionate about and promoting polo, he gathered a group of athletes to follow him around, and he was able to respond to emergencies at critical moments.
However, it is a rare opportunity to get rid of the previous stage of study and part-time work. Taking advantage of watching the polo match, the girl who hides in the corner to catch fish or play with the cat to relax is not entirely focused on the polo field below the city; Talking about the communication with that special pen pal in Dongdu.
"Taiping just received another letter... She seems to be particularly diligent in writing in handwriting this month. There are more than ten messengers who have made a special trip... It seems that she encountered confusion and problems during her practice; even the senior female attendants Guanya can't solve the problem... Sir, do you have any suggestions?"
"..." Jiang Tian opened his mouth and swallowed a piece of venison meat that he was feeding, and then said: "Did she say that she always felt uneasy and easily attracted and disturbed by foreign objects? This is also one of the sequelae of being assassinated and seeing blood. But it is considered a relatively mild stage, as long as we continue to provide guidance.”
"At least the insomnia and panic attacks that I had at the beginning have basically stopped recurring." The girl also nodded and recalled, "According to what she said, except for the need for someone to stay at night and stay with me in bed, my daily life is no different. The chanting and visualization methods that my husband asked me to teach her were very effective."
"We can't take it lightly yet. Changing the environment and avoiding all kinds of eyes and attitudes is only the first step." Jiang Tian swallowed a piece of deer breast again and said: "After purifying, the deep psychological trauma will be revealed. It will be revealed in a relatively safe environment.”
"Then, this is also a chronic process of reshaping inner personality and external cognition, especially the empathetic encouragement and guidance from peers, while learning and accepting more new things; transforming the lack of security and emotional emptiness into , fill it up a little bit."
"So, you can continue to communicate with her about cat-raising experiences, trivial and interesting things in life, and maintain the character of your only confidant and best friend. In this way, there is a chance that she will not make the same mistake again; become pitiful and hateful, and eventually drown to death. In the whirlpool of power and desire created by oneself.”
"Her tragedy is that she was born into an imperial family and received the greatest honor in the world, but she did not have the character to match it. This is something that the two saints as parents cannot give or change. Therefore, the prince has his own prayers for this. and painstaking efforts; but it will also be one of the ways out and turning point for you in the future.”
"It can be regarded as your two-way rush." When Jiang Tian said this, he suddenly saw a group of messengers running towards the land in the distance where the ice and snow had not melted for a long time; almost shouting something loudly, they passed through the south gate. Outside the stadium, they rushed into the Hot Spring Palace without stopping.
Then, the stadium, which was originally a lively atmosphere, became commotion and boiling; even the polo drivers who were chasing after each other stopped one after another; they looked towards Miyagi as if looking forward to it. Immediately, Jiang Tian saw the impromptu court meeting in Chonghua Hall.
Prince Li Hong, whose face was slightly excited and excited, also announced the whole story in public, and began to issue orders and assign follow-up tasks. But it was Gaozong who was located in the Eastern Capital and had just issued the "Edict to Raise Warriors" to the world to recruit aspiring athletes nationwide.
In particular, warriors with strong physiques and skillful bows and horses were selected from the auditions to be recruited into the army to prepare for the conquest of Tibet. This was also a major event in the history of the Tang Dynasty. It represented an important turning point in the evolution of the imperial army system at the founding of the early Tang Dynasty to the recruitment system; and the "Edict to Raise Warriors" was the beginning.
But there is a deeper origin behind it, that is, the military system established by Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong began to gradually disintegrate with the development of society, and this gradual process will even continue the Anshi Rebellion; the reason is very simple, the land during the Taiping Period Mergers are intensifying.
As a military system inherited from the Northern Dynasties and Sui Dynasty, it was designed from the very beginning to maintain a semi-full-time reserve force. Therefore, the Fubing family, which is based on homesteaders/small landowners with land granted by the state, does not need to bear taxes and corvee in peacetime, and can only practice martial arts.
Then, take two or three months every year to take turns serving and performing duty at a designated location; it is called Shangban. When the country is in trouble, it can quickly recruit an army on the spot and prepare its own army of bows, horses and swords in case it is needed; and the country can only bear their food, clothing, salt and vegetables in time of war.
Therefore, in a series of battles in the early Tang Dynasty to expand territory and conquer all directions, these soldiers played an extremely important role as a source of reserve military service under the Sixteenth Guards of the Chinese Army. But everything is ideal at the beginning of design, but it needs to be tested by reality over time.
The government military system is no exception. As the country enters the peaceful years, land annexation by various powerful eunuchs and wealthy families naturally arises. Therefore, those who lose their land are not only the homesteaders who were originally granted land allocations according to the Bandian Law; There are also Fu soldiers who are the cornerstone of national military service.
Because when this system was designed, subsequent redundancy and upper limits were not taken into consideration. When the soldiers were serving abroad, not only did their families lack a major labor force; they were also prone to mortgage and sell off their land due to illness, accidents, and even widespread disasters that made it difficult to make ends meet.
However, although the land was sold for emergency purposes, the previous roster in the military service account was still there; it was still necessary to prepare one's own weapons to serve. So after going back and forth several times, the Fubing family, which was still relatively well-off, would fall into poverty and poverty, and would even be unable to undertake military service and flee.
Therefore, by the first year of Longshuo (661) when Prince Li Hong began to supervise the country, although the military system of the government had not been completely destroyed like it was in the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years, a clear division between the border and the inland had already emerged; There were even people fleeing in Guanzhong and Gyeonggi.
Especially the severe drought that persisted in Guanzhong in the past few years also caused many local families of soldiers to fall into poverty and even extreme poverty. The young prince Li Hong, who was still young at the time, was ordered to inspect the soldiers in Guanzhong and was very sympathetic to the situation in the East Palace. Please be exempted from the penalty of postponement of military service if you want to Tibet to provide relief.
Later, he met Jiang Tian and made the East Palace's finances greatly enriched. Prince Li Hong also tried to do more things for these soldiers. For example, on the grounds of research on medical trauma treatment, many almshouses and medicine gardens were set up in the farms directly under the jurisdiction of the East Palace to accommodate the disabled, sick and elderly.
In addition, according to the suggestions and plans provided by Jiang Tian, in the factories and workshops established along the Jingwei River, as many as possible were accepted by the families of the soldiers who had difficulties in making a living or fell into extreme poverty; although it was impossible to provide decent treatment, At least it provides a mouthful of food to keep you from starving to death.
Although showing kindness to these old, weak, sick and disabled people will not enhance the strength of Donggong, but will take part of the profits of production and operation; however, the demonstrative effect produced among the active guards and soldiers, and even the soldiers in the Guannei Prefecture , but it has an immeasurable and far-reaching influence.
Many people were so grateful that they secretly and spontaneously supported and followed this trend. Even though Prince Li Hong's current abilities and positions are limited, he can only affect a dozen military offices in Gyeonggi Province and surrounding areas. But it also undoubtedly gave others some hope.
Therefore, when the Imperial Palace was selecting and replenishing the Ten Rate Guards, it was easy to select a group of loyal people who were grateful and had relatively reliable backgrounds. Having said that, the "Edict to Raise Warriors" itself represents another practical dilemma, which is the temporary shortage of middle- and lower-level generals.
With the amount of resources and the size of the household registration of the Tang Dynasty, even if it lasted for more than ten years before its demise, it did not lack the ability to mobilize and recruit soldiers; therefore, not long before the peasant uprising of Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi, there was still room for power in Hunan, Jiangxi troops recovered occupied Annan.
But at the moment, because Emperor Gaozong has continued the national policies and legacy of the Taizong Dynasty since he ascended the throne, he continues to attack and divide the Turkic tribes; and in one fell swoop, Goguryeo, which was wiped out by civil strife, must maintain the occupation of its homeland and fight against the newly rising Tubo. , due to the long-term multi-front war.
Various experienced generals and veterans were actually severely depleted; coupled with the chronic disintegration of the military system, the base of reserve military personnel who had received military training was continuing to shrink; therefore, the first Great Feichuan defeat , also went into battle in a rather hasty manner.
It was just to save and support the remnants of Tuyuhun that would be annexed by Tubo; and to punish this emerging force by the way. Therefore, Xue Rengui's general manager of the Luosuo Road march is more like a black humor with unknown enemy situation, because the Luosuo River where the Tubo royal court is located is more than thousands of miles away?
But he was still ordered to go up in one go, and then he lost at least tens of thousands of well-trained elite soldiers who were severely weakened by the plateau's geography and climate. Although he finally reached an armistice with the Tubo people and retreated while maintaining some of his institutions, but along the way The losses were also considerable.
