"Dad, that's not it!" Perhaps he felt that Emperor Liu's statement of "using a knife" was a bit serious, Liu D said: "The volunteer bravery of the rural soldiers was originally an auxiliary and supplement to the Han army. Now it is just to strengthen the construction of rural bravery in the frontier fortress. It is used to alleviate the increasingly high military expenses of the border troops and to ensure the security of border defense. It kills two birds with one stone, and the military system of the Han Dynasty has not changed!"
Emperor Liu noticed Liu D's puzzled look, fell silent for a moment, and said: "With this opening, how will it develop and change in the future? Will there be further reductions in regular soldiers due to financial problems in the future?
In my opinion, this is a hole in the Han Dynasty's national defense and military embankment, a gap that may trigger drastic changes or even collapse of the Han Dynasty's military system.
After all, auxiliaries are just auxiliaries. No matter how brave and brave the local soldiers are, can they replace the imperial court in organizing regular soldiers? Can the rural warriors who are half peasants and half soldiers be compared with the professional army?
The integration of soldiers and farmers is a government-military system. Without the equalization of land, even the historical path will be unstable. It is inappropriate, it is really inappropriate..."
After listening to Emperor Liu's words, Liu D also frowned and looked at him several times in succession. Liu D's expression also showed a little depression, and his confusion became stronger.
If Emperor Liu had to use one word to describe him at this time, it would be stubborn, and his sense of worry was too strong. At present, the court should make some changes, both in terms of finance and military affairs. Even Liu The emperor himself knew it.
However, the excessive worrying about gains and losses is really puzzling, and when conveyed to others, especially those who are familiar with him like Liu D, they feel that Emperor Liu seems to be particularly anxious.
Is Emperor Liu's rhetoric convincing? There wasn't much, it was just a concern that Emperor Liu often had. It seemed excessive and inexplicable. If he hadn't been Emperor Liu, Liu D would have refuted it long ago.
When Liu D was thinking about how to broach the matter without angering Emperor Liu, Emperor Liu reacted: "This matter has been put on hold for the time being. Such a major matter cannot be discussed by the three of us in this pavilion." The decision needs to be discussed and discussed with the central ministers, and I also need to think about it again..."
Not long ago, in Qionglin Garden, it was also on the edge of this waterside pavilion that the father and son made a decision on the century-old plan to develop and consolidate the Northeast. At that time, Emperor Liu was very determined and had no intention of discussing with the ministers.
Obviously, the focus still lies on that last sentence, which needs to be considered again.
"Your Majesty, if you want to reduce the wastage of military expenditures, besides military strength, there is another way that may be reduced!" Seeing that Emperor Liu still did not accept his proposal, which of course was not a complete rejection, Li Jilong hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to speak. .
"Say!" Emperor Liu's attitude towards his son-in-law was still gentle.
Li Jilong: "Take Shanyang Monan as an example. 30% of the local frontier garrison's annual military supplies and supplies come from Shanyang. Except for a few camps, most of them are sent from the clouds. About 50% are sent from Taiyuan, and the rest are sent from Taiyuan. Some even need to be transported from Xijing to the border every year.
His Majesty also said that the transportation of carriages, horses, grain and grass to feed the border troops every year accounts for a large part of the overall cost. Starting from Yunzhong to transfer military supplies to the fortress along the border, the distance traveled could be as short as two hundred miles or as long as thousands of miles, during which a large amount of supplies was lost. As for the transportation from the capital to the border areas, the unnecessary losses in the process are even more serious.
For border areas, the cost of military supplies is not only due to long distances, but also due to poor transportation and lack of manpower. During busy farming seasons, the government recruits civilians to transport military supplies, and even half-grown teenagers need to be organized. Participating in transportation not only maintains the delivery of military supplies, but also allows every household to ensure their work and not miss the farming season.
Therefore, I believe that if the loss during the transportation of military supplies can be reduced, a large amount of military expenditure can be saved..."
After listening to what he said, Emperor Liu still did not express his position. After watching Li Jilong ponder for a while, he said: "As for the transshipment loss, the imperial court has not thought of ways to do it, whether it is to increase the number of vehicles, ships and animal power, or to build roads and clear roads, but the border traffic The reality of the conditions is that even if it is not as convenient and accessible as the Central Plains, and the country is too big, it is impossible to be as connected and smooth as the mainland, and some transshipment losses are necessary and unavoidable!"
Li Jilong: "In the past, the imperial court has built official warehouses in various prefectures to prepare for emergencies, and the results have been remarkable. I think that several military warehouses can be built in important places along the border to store grain, rice, flour, and ordnance. , bedding, uniforms and other military supplies. In this way, we can not only prepare for war, but also dispatch supplies closer on weekdays, achieving timely and convenient operation!”
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liu shook his head and said: "After building these military warehouses, in order to fill them up, materials still need to be transported from other places. The transshipment losses in this process are still inevitable. So , what is saved and convenient is only the supply of military supplies to the frontiers, and other places are transporting them to the frontiers..."
At this point, Emperor Liu suddenly paused, his eyes narrowed subconsciously, and he looked at Li Jilong with amusement: "Tyranny, you are not suggesting that I make rectifications to the military supply system of the Han Dynasty!"
Li Jilong was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "I have no intention of doing so. I am just making this suggestion regarding the current transfer of military supplies in Northern Xinjiang. If there are any omissions, please forgive me!"
Hearing what Li Jilong said, Emperor Liu smiled faintly. He felt that this was what his son-in-law meant, so he said meaningfully: "You are a border general, and you are considering this for military affairs. If you want to improve, it is indeed within your duty. It is blameless, but it is still very important to abide by one's duties. There are some things and some problems that the court cannot see, but the court has its own comprehensive considerations!"
From Emperor Liu's words, Li Jilong heard a hint of warning. Li Jilong's body tensed up, and he quickly stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty is teaching you that I am talking too much!"
Emperor Liu shook his head, motioned for him to sit down, and fell into meditation again.
The fundamental reason why the imperial court's logistics supply to the border army was divided into batches and made so complicated was to firmly control the border army's logistics in the hands of the imperial court and to ensure control of the army.
But it also caused a problem, that is, a lot of losses in supply. Li Jilong's words are correct. In this process, a lot of losses are unnecessary and can be avoided. As long as the principle of dispatching to the nearest place is adopted.
In the early years, when the Han Dynasty had not yet unified the world and the territory had not expanded to such a vast area, even dispatching military supplies from the capital was enough to support it and did not seem so wasteful.
But things are obviously different now. The loss and expenditure on transportation will be painful for a big man. Take Yunnan and Annan in the southwest, it would be unrealistic if all military supplies were allocated from the capital.
The imperial court had already taken these into consideration. In addition to the two Northern Expeditions and several external expansions, it had already made major adjustments to the logistics supply and carried out material storage and transfer in Daozhou, which was close to the border.
For example, for the frontline army in Shanyang, half of the supplies are allocated from Taiyuan, and only a small part are actually directly supplied by Shanyang Road.
However, these changes are not fundamental in nature, because many of Taiyuan's military supplies warehouses are transferred from the two Beijings.
The root cause lies in the Han Dynasty's fiscal and tax transfer system. In the early years, due to the separatist rule of the vassal towns, in order to flatten the local hills and consolidate power in the central government, Emperor Liu once used a knife on the local area, military and financial power were the most ruthless.
From the beginning, the annual retained money and grain taxes were continuously reduced from 50% to 30%, to 20%, and finally all were turned over, and then the court uniformly distributed them and made overall arrangements.
I have to say that this is indeed an overcorrection. As a result, the imperial court firmly controlled the country's financial power and achieved local control. However, in the process of entering and exiting, a lot of unnecessary losses were caused. produced.
Moreover, all the local reserves were turned over to the court, which did not last long. Within two years, they were abandoned, and the court began to relax restrictions and loosen the ropes again.
Nowadays, it has become customary for local governments to retain 20% of their annual fiscal and tax revenue for local construction, administrative operations, and daily expenses. This was still the case when all royal taxes were transferred to copper coins.
At the beginning, even grain, silk, and cloth had to be handed over in full. The waste produced at that time was staggering. The entire country was mobilized to support the city of Kaifeng, which was the current situation at that time.
However, no matter how the financial and tax distribution system between the central government and local governments changes, there has never been a fundamental change in the supply of military supplies. Even fifteen years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of War still takes the lead in coordinating military logistics across the country. According to the dispatching arrangements, a large amount of food and weapons were indeed sent from the two capitals. This is the most powerful and effective way for the court to control the army, especially when the frontier army is large in scale.
Li Jilong's suggestion is not unreasonable. At least according to the principle of nearby deployment, some seemingly wasteful practices can be avoided. For example, military rations in Hebei do not need to be transported to the capital first, then sent from the capital to Taiyuan, and finally transferred to Shanyang, and then distributed to various armies and garrison forts. Instead, they can be transported directly from Hebei to Taiyuan and Shanyang. Within it, there's plenty of room for improvement.
As for the construction of military supplies warehouses in the border areas, first of all, there must be a big question mark with Emperor Liu. Not to mention other things, when the border troops can get food and ordnance nearby, if something happens one day and they rebel, wouldn't it be more convenient? As long as those warehouses are breached, they can obtain the rebel military supplies...
In view of this, Emperor Liu would rather thank the losses in the process of providing gifts than relax control. Taking the frontline army in Shanyang as an example, it is enough to have two major logistics bases in Yunzhong and Taiyuan for supply and maintenance, and there is no need to build other military warehouses.
This night conversation between father, son, and father-in-law lasted for a long time, and it ended almost at midnight. Three bottles of wine were consumed, five plates of appetizers were consumed, and the night view of the lake was fully appreciated.
From the vigorously unfolding tribal policies in the border areas, to the security issues in northern Xinjiang, it extends to military strength, garrison, and then to the military supply and logistics system.
Suddenly, he discovered that his Han Empire seemed to be full of problems, as if adjustments and reforms were needed everywhere to cope with the development in the new era. This made Emperor Liu depressed and puzzled, but at the same time he had to cheer up.
It is difficult to conquer the world, but it is even more difficult to defend the world. Emperor Liu had a deeper feeling, and the more peace comes, the more careful he needs to be. After all, in times of peace, many dangers and contradictions are hidden under the peaceful surface, which is too confusing and makes people easy to relax their vigilance.
