The sun is shining brightly today, making people feel warm. Xianyang city is full of people coming to receive food. Everyone had a smile on their face, called friends, and talked about how much each person had received from time to time.
The county towns at this time cannot be compared with the counties of later generations. Most of them only had the population size of towns. Food distribution to the people can only be done on a county basis. Guanzhong is a densely populated area. After the war, there were only a few thousand households, and the huge county was still somewhat empty.
Wang Zhongfu received the grain, ordered the villagers to return to the village, and wandered around the county town. When I arrived outside the Yamen, I saw that people living around were soldiers, so I walked around there to see if I could meet familiar Shi Liang and others.
At noon, after drinking a bowl of wontons on the street, Wang Zhongfu stood up in disappointment and prepared to go back to the village. At this moment, I saw a man coming out of the yamen, walking in a hurry. Take a closer look, who is it if it's not Shi Liang?
Wang Zhongfu walked forward quickly and gave a salute. Wang Zhongfu said: "I have seen Shi Observer. I went to the county to collect food today and came here to pay homage to Observer."
Shi Liang looked at Wang Zhongfu and said, "It turns out to be Sanlang. How much food have you received? Are you still satisfied?"
Wang Zhongfu said: "My family has a small population, so I can't receive much. The main reason is that there are many bankers in the village, so I can help them get it back together."
After saying that, seeing Shi Liang about to leave, Wang Zhongfu said: "Looking at the sky, it's almost noon. How about I please watch and drink two glasses of wine?"
Shi Liang said: "I have a lot to do during the day, so where can I have time to drink? I understand. It's getting late, so Sanlang should go back to his hometown quickly."
Wang Zhongfu said: "When I was in my village that day, I mentioned that the army has been recruiting people. I asked observation to ask if people like us can join the army. Do you still remember?"
Shi Liang said: "How can I forget? I am going out just for this matter. Guozhou has come to suppress Fujun's decree, and each army can recruit people from nearby to join the army. Every fifty people will be sent to Guozhou. Arrangements will be made by the Zhenfu Envoy Department. If Sanlang wants to join the army, he can go back to the village and ask. As long as he is young, healthy and qualified for the army, he can join the army."
Wang Zhongfu was overjoyed: "This is the best! At this time, a good man should go to the battlefield and make contributions!"
After saying that, he said goodbye to Shi Liang and left happily.
Looking at Wang Zhongfu's leaving figure, Shi Liang couldn't help but shake his head. This young village owner has been pampered since childhood. After joining the army, training new recruits is not easy. However, he is literate and will probably enter the military academy. If you learn well, you will be an officer when you come out, and you may be above yourself.
In Guozhou, Wang Xiaolie put down the official document in his hand. He said: "The official documents from Wei Yang in the past few days said that people in Jingzhao, Yaozhou, and Huazhou were recruiting people to join the army. There are more than 16,000 people. Guanzhong has experienced several years of war, and there are still so many people joining the army."
Li Yanxian said: "Shaanxi Road and Hedong Road have always been the sources of troops for the imperial army of this dynasty. The people have this tradition, and the Zhenfu Company has won several battles, so they naturally trust it. Recruiting troops on Shaanxi Road is comparable to Deng Xiaoping's There are a lot more states.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "I didn't think about this before. It seems that we should pay attention to this matter in the future and recruit more people here. In fact, raising soldiers is not that difficult. With the land of eight states, tens of thousands of soldiers will not go hungry. .”
Li Yanxian said: "Whether it is difficult or not depends on how to raise them. Nowadays, there are many heroes in Lianghuai and Jinghu who cannot even feed their subordinates."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Yes, we need to let the people grow food with peace of mind so that they won't go hungry. With food, there will be money."
This matter cannot be discussed further, and Wang Xiaolie cannot explain it clearly. But he knew that with more food, he could support more people who were separated from agriculture. If these people use it well, there will be more money. Everything will be fine as long as there is more food in hand.
Wang Ruohai said: "Under the current rule of the governor, there is enough food. Not to mention tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, two hundred thousand troops can also be fed. However, the territory is limited and the population is not large, so we cannot recruit troops."
Wang Xiaolie said with a smile: "This matter cannot be calculated simply like this. If you recruit too many soldiers, there will be no people to grow food, and there will not be enough food to eat. So how many soldiers to recruit is a big question. We must recruit more soldiers without affecting food production. With so many people, the right number is incredibly complex.”
It is not easy to find the appropriate ratio of raising troops. It is related to local land conditions, the condition of farmland, agricultural production conditions, agricultural production levels, and grain business conditions, among many other influencing conditions. With the same size of territory and the same number of people, some can support 100,000 soldiers, while others can hardly support 10,000.
In the past two years, Wang Xiaolie has paid attention to reducing agricultural taxes, encouraging the improvement of farmland conditions, and investing more money in rural areas. Grain production is growing steadily. However, the number of troops has been controlled, taking care not to affect agricultural production. The number of troops is not large compared to other places. For the military, more emphasis is placed on officer training, soldier training, and the establishment of a complete mobilization, training, and learning system. What Wang Xiaolie hopes is to improve basic conditions and prepare for military expansion through his efforts over the years.
Li Yanxian's territory has never been large. At first, there was only Shaanzhou, but now there are more Shangzhous. They are all mountainous areas with a small population. At its peak, the number of troops was less than 20,000, and their combat effectiveness was uneven.
Wang Ruohai said: "According to Fengxiang's news, Yinliduo is withdrawing from the mountainous area and concentrating his forces. Privy Zhang did not dare to send a large army to chase him, but just kept harassing him. According to speculation, in about half a month, Yinliduo will be We can draw out troops and attack Jingzhao Mansion. Although Privy Council Zhang repeatedly ordered Yang Zheng and Wu Jie brothers to hold off the Jin army, they can only gain ten days to half a month at most. I dare not say death yet."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "This battle will end in another month at most. Wei Yang transported the wealth he could transport away from Guanzhong and recruited more than 10,000 new soldiers. It was enough. The Jin Army Fuping Most of the results of the war fell into our hands. In Mianchi, the siege of Wushu for a month almost drove him crazy. Xue Cheng sent a letter saying that the Jin army's food road had been cut off and food supply began to run out. In another half month, it can be considered complete. .”
Li Yanxian said: "We had all the advantages, but it ended like this. I'm really not willing to accept it!"
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Our strength is so great that we can't think too much. In the current situation, it's lucky that we can surround Wu Shu with only two of our troops. It's impossible to achieve greater results." Unless it is absolutely necessary, we should not take risks in a war. It is better to withdraw to Dengzhou and find ways to expand the army. Only with enough troops can we have the capital to fight the Jin army decisively."
Wang Ruohai said: "We will withdraw to Dengzhou in mid-February, the time for spring plowing. Speaking of which, it is really not suitable for a long war."
Wang Xiaolie looked at Li Yanxian and said, "What are your plans for the post-war strategy? We want to evacuate Jingzhao Prefecture, and Shaanxi Province must also evacuate. Even Guozhou had better evacuate, don't create a target for the Jin Army here." . As long as Lushi County and Shangzhou are firmly guarded, the army can leave the pass at any time and provide sufficient deterrence to the Jin Army. If it is not provoked, it will give the Jin Army a headache. "
"I'll think about it again." Li Yanxian looked heavy.
In these days, Wang Xiaolie mentioned to Li Yanxian several times that the current situation would be better for the two armies to merge. Li Yanxian's small number of troops could not pose a sufficient threat to the Jin army, and would attract an encirclement and suppression by the Jin army. But for such a big matter, how easy is it for Li Yanxian to make a decision?
