After leaving the riverside restaurant, Wang Xiaolie looked back, as if he was in another world. When I first came to Xiangyang, it was still a colorful building with two rows of female prostitutes outside. But within a year and a half, it seemed like everything had changed.
In fact, not just the riverside restaurants, the entire Xiangyang city is completely different from before.
Starting from Jingkang, the Jin army continued to invade the south, and the Song people suffered humiliation. Wang Xiaolie garrisoned Xiangyang, and everything was improving. Especially this year, Shaanzhou was saved in the first month, and Jingmen Army was saved a few months later. After two consecutive big wins, the people's mentality has undergone tremendous changes. From being afraid of golden people like tigers to now treating them like pigs and dogs, the whole society has become angry.
Wang Xiaolie's reputation is now very different from before. In the eyes of the people, it is like a god descending to earth, telling various stories. Wang Xiaolie's personal preferences quickly became popular in urban and rural areas, and people followed suit.
Return to the Yamen and have a rest. In the evening, Wang Xiaolie called several important officials to discuss matters under the shade of the trees in the courtyard.
After a few people sat down, Wang Xiaolie said: "I was listening to the cavalry in the restaurant today, and I suddenly realized that we are very different from before. After I came back, I thought about it. There are now more than 40,000 troops, occupying the Eight Prefectures Army. With good governance and good people, we can be considered a big force."
Wang Ruohai said: "Nowadays, apart from Privy Zhang of Shaanxi and his subordinate Qu Duan, no other general has such strength. Observing the world, it can be regarded as playing a decisive role!"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head with a smile: "An army of more than 40,000 people sounds scary, and it can be fought alone. But we know that if we can't deeply control the following states, we will end up in a mirror. Since the Jingkang period, a few months have passed. How many forces are there that claim to have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and are running rampant across several states? How many people are left now? A big army is not because we have so many people, but because we can really afford it. If there are fewer soldiers, we can quickly In addition, I can usually have enough food and clothing. When I go out to fight, there will be no shortage of food and grass."
Speaking of this, Wang Xiaolie said with emotion: "I have been raising a large army in Xiangyang for a year and a half, and I have seen a lot of things clearly. In the past, some people always said that rogue bandits are not to be feared, and they thought it was wrong. But now I know that it is right. For an army, how important the base area is. Without eight state capitals under its control, what can an army of only 40,000 to 50,000 people do? Winning a battle and capturing it will be fine. Fighting a few defeats , then there will be no food to eat. Without food, why are the soldiers following you? They will disappear in an instant."
Chen Yuyi said: "Why did Kuan suddenly say these words?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Because today I realized that we have reached such a point. In the state capital under our control, extensive management is no longer possible. Everything must be carefully managed. I have calculated the households under my control. At most We can only support 50,000 to 60,000 troops. If we want more troops, we can’t do it anyway. In other words, our army has reached the upper limit now——"
Niu Gao said: "We can't say that from observation. In the past year, many people have moved in from other places, and there are many young people inside. We check the young people and join the army, and it will not be difficult to add tens of thousands more!"
Wang Xiaoxing said: "Du Fu has a poem called "Shi Hao Li". Have you ever heard of it?"
Niu Gao scratched his head: "I only know a few words, how can I read poetry?"
Wang Xiaoxing said: "After you go back, read it. Du Fu also has a poem "The Troops and Chariots", which contains these lines. "People passing by the road asked pedestrians, but they were confused. Or from the fifteenth north After guarding against the river, we arrived at the Forty West Camp. When we left, we were wearing headbands, but when we came back, we were guarding the border with white hair. 'What do you mean? At the age of fifteen, before reaching the prime of life, he joined the army. After decades of traveling from north to west, he arrived at With white hair on his head, he is still guarding the border. What does the house look like? "Even if there is a healthy woman with a hoe and a plow, the grass grows on the long acres and there is nothing." The army is not just recruiting people, but inserting swords and guns into it becomes an army. An army. We must understand where soldiers come from, why they fight, and what will happen if they don’t fight? Think more about these controls."
After hearing Wang Xiaolie's words, everyone was silent for a moment.
Wang Xiaolie said: "I just said that the foundation of the army is the people. Many people just can't understand what this sentence means. Some people even have their ears pricked by it, and they don't understand why it is like this. There are always people Think, I have a large army in my hand, and as long as I am sure to win every battle, who else in the world can stop me? There are countless generals who think this way. I don’t know how many scholars in future generations will think this way!"
Niu Gao said: "As long as you win every battle, you will be unstoppable. What's wrong with that?"
"Why do you have to win every battle?" Wang Xiaolie shook his head helplessly. "You can think that you will win every battle. Why don't you want the enemy to fall to the ground and die as soon as he comes in front of you? Why don't you want to blow your breath and the enemy will bow to you? Since you want it, then use your imagination and imagine it better. Some! Do you have horns on your head, or are you a god from heaven? What kind of power can guarantee you victory in every battle?"
Wang Ruohai on the side was thoughtful: "I somewhat understand the meaning of observation. The current army is actually not reliable. Tens of thousands of troops are actually exhausted in a few battles. If you want to be invincible, you must It’s fundamental.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes, it is the base area I mentioned. With the base area, even if the army has setbacks, it will recover quickly. If there is no base area, after a few defeats, no matter how many armies there are, they will be wiped out!"
Of course, the role of the base area goes beyond these, but these are the things that Wang Xiaolie needs to do most now. Without more than a year of experience, Wang Xiaolie would not have realized how important a base area is to an army. I learned it in class and after class in my previous life. I don’t know how many times I have learned it, but I still can’t really understand why the army needs to have a base. I always feel that if we have an army, we can fight the war, but protecting the base is a drag. Now I finally understand that an army without a base is like duckweed without roots.
Wang Xiaolie said: "With the weather in June now, the army has begun to reorganize. I estimate that there will be two or three months of peace. While the army is reorganizing, political affairs cannot be idle. Now that the economy has basically recovered, we must Make bigger plans.”
Chen Qiudao said: "Now that Huizi has been established and a bank has been established, the market is extremely prosperous. It is better not to make too many changes in political affairs and let the people do business in a stable manner. Ordinary people are most afraid of the changes in the rules of the yamen."
Wang Xiaolie said: "What has been done cannot be changed of course. I mean, there are still many things that need to be done by the Yamen. In addition to the academic promotion matters mentioned the day before yesterday, there are many things. For example, today's talk about Iron Cavalry, Yamen There should be someone dedicated to take care of this. But, for the moment, no one is taking care of it."
Wang Ruohai nodded: "It takes more than a year, and there are so many things to do in observation, so of course there is a shortage of people."
Wang Xiaolie said: "If you say there is a shortage, there is actually not a shortage. Xiangyang is located on the main road between the north and the south, and there are many scholars living here. If we can select people to educate them for a period of time, they can be appointed. Also, there is a need to govern the households. There are so many, where will there be a shortage of people? It’s just that it’s too difficult to select.”
Chen Qiu said: "What do you want from the observation? Please make it clear. We will do it as ordered."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Cultivating talents by yourself is always slow and slow. You guys, it's best to recommend some people."
