After a day of debate in the Annan court, Lord Zheng could only stop playing. Although his hatred for Gao Heng and the overseas Chinese had reached its peak, he understood that what Chen Zhong and others said was not unreasonable. If he still wanted to sit still With this chair under your butt, you can’t go too far.
Ever since the Zheng family seized the power of Emperor Li and coerced the emperor to order the princes, there has been almost no day of peace in Annan. The dispute between Zheng and Ruan has lasted for decades. Both sides have already invested a lot of manpower and material resources. This is a war A long-term war of attrition. Originally, the people of Annan were already a tight bowstring, but now Gao Heng appeared out of thin air, causing the Annan army to lose 20,000 troops in vain. If they continue to expand the army and fight, I am afraid that the strings on the people will be broken. When the time comes, it will not end well.
Although the objective conditions did not allow it, Lord Zheng did not intend to let Gao Heng go. He gave the imperial army a death order. Within half a year, he must train a troop of dead soldiers who could carry out the assassination mission, go to Tuo County, and assassinate Gao Heng. balance.
On the other hand, Gao Heng's side, because of this great victory, the Survival Brigade seized a large amount of supplies, which not only solved his immediate needs, but also put the matter of army expansion on the agenda.
In the Tuo County Military Office, all civil servants and military generals gathered together, and everyone's face was filled with joyful smiles. These days, they are counting supplies and allocating prisoners. Speaking of prisoners, they are of great use. Of course, Gao Heng will not keep thousands of prisoners in vain. If they are just released, he will feel very unhappy. No matter what, He said that they should also be punished as they deserve.
Think about later generations. During World War II, the northern powers took their young prisoners of war to dig potatoes in Siberia. This method was quite good. So many Annan laborers were not used in vain. They happened to be reclaiming wasteland and repairing camps. This labor force was not readily available. coming. If you don’t work, you won’t have food. This truth is simple and easy to understand. I believe that prisoners of war should have this consciousness.
Not only that, Gao Heng recently made a big discovery. Northern Annan is rich in minerals. According to an officer among the prisoners of war, there is an iron mine to the west, toward Shangwen Prefecture. This made Gao Heng extremely happy. What they lack most in making weapons is raw materials. If there is iron ore, then there will be a source of raw materials. Now that he has thousands of prisoners, he can just allocate some of them to mine iron ore.
Population is the foundation for everything. In the past, Gao Heng could not make any big moves or expand his industry. After all, there was a shortage of people everywhere. But now, Gao Heng has no shortage of population for the time being, at least in the territory Gao Heng controls. It seems that the population is enough. With the population, the survival brigade can do more things.
"The general is here!" Fan Yu shouted, everyone's discussion stopped, and the main hall immediately became quiet. Gao Heng strode in, and everyone stood up with a roar, "See General."
Gao Heng pressed his hand to indicate that everyone could sit down, and then everyone sat down one after another. Since the scale of the city continues to expand, military regulations and disciplines must be put on the agenda. The Qihuo Brigade is a force formed by expatriates. In order to distinguish it from the old army, Gao Heng deliberately abolished the kneeling ceremony and asked the entire army to use new etiquette. , For example, now, when the superior officer arrives, the subordinates only need to stand up and stand at attention.
Everyone sat down, and Cheng Zilong sat on the left hand side of Gao Heng. Gao Heng smiled and said: "You will be well fed in these two days." After returning from Laohu Valley, Gao Heng gave two It was a holiday, and they had indeed worked hard. Two thousand soldiers from the survival brigade were taken out, but only 1,200 people came back. More than 700 people died in the battle, and dozens of people died of serious injuries. The remaining 1,200 people Among those who returned alive, nearly a hundred people were disabled and could no longer enter military camps or front-line units.
All the military plaques of the war dead have been collected, and craftsmen rushed overnight to make the memorial tablets and place them in the Zhongyi Temple to enjoy incense and worship. The families of those who died in battle also received pensions. The standard of pension for the survival brigade was very high. According to the system of the late Ming Dynasty, the death pension for ordinary soldiers of the Ming army was only a mere three to five taels of silver. For this three to five taels of silver, they often If you are deducted by the superior, in some places you will simply not be issued. If you die, you will die. You are unlucky.
When he was in the military academy, Gao Heng specifically read historical materials from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. There was a saying that the Ming army was invincible if it was not satisfied with its pay, but it was invincible if it was fully paid. What I mean is that the combat effectiveness of the Ming army is actually not very bad. Except for the poorly trained guards, the Ming Dynasty's border troops or the troops directly under the generals and servants have considerable combat effectiveness. However, once the military pay is not paid, , the soldiers no longer had the will to fight.
This is a very simple and easy-to-understand truth. If you work for others, you will get no benefits and no salary, so it’s nothing. This is why the Ming army that surrendered to the Qing army immediately became a tiger and wolf army. The rulers of the early Qing Dynasty were also well aware of this truth. In many cases, the maximum pension for those who died in the surrendered Ming Dynasty border troops could reach 70 taels for horsemen and 50 taels for infantry. With such a high pension, no wonder the surrendered Ming army fought so hard on the battlefield.
Of course, the death pension of the Survival Brigade is not fifty taels. Although Gao Heng now has a lot of gold and silver on hand, he cannot be as exaggerated as fifty taels. The soldier's pension is set at twenty taels. However, these twenty taels can be given to their families in real terms without any deductions. In this way, the soldiers will be free from worries. Even if they are killed in battle, their families can live a good life, and of course they will sacrifice their lives on the battlefield. .
When Gao Heng asked, everyone immediately scratched their heads and laughed: "Get some rest, hehe, hehe."
Gao Heng nodded, his face suddenly serious and said: "Now that we have a rest, we are going to get down to business. We have called everyone here today to discuss three major issues with you, three major issues related to our future and destiny."
Everyone's expressions were straight, and they pricked up their ears to listen to Gao Heng's words.
"The first is the army. The army is the foundation of our existence. Without the army, we will achieve nothing and we will not have a stable living environment. The Annan people are afraid of power but not moral. If we hadn't defeated them several times in succession , we may not be able to survive for a day, so since our population has increased significantly, if we want to have a world of our own, we must vigorously strengthen the construction of the army, and I have decided to expand the army."
"Expand the army? Expand the army?" Everyone immediately started whispering, and there was a buzz in the lobby.
Gao Heng affirmed: "Yes, we will expand the army. Military advisor, please introduce our population situation."
Cheng Zilong cleared his throat and said: "Everyone, the population under my rule was initially ten thousand. After many exchanges with the Annan court and the defection of some expatriates from neighboring areas, we now have a population of fifty thousand taels. There are 1,346 people, approximately 10,000 households, and there are 6,000 prisoners of war serving as coolies. The total population is close to 60,000, which is twice the original population of Tuo County."
"Ouch! So many." Everyone exclaimed. These military generals don't care much about population, or they are not very sensitive to numbers. If the population of 60,000 is placed in the Ming Dynasty, of course it is nothing. A population in the Ming Dynasty is slightly smaller. Counties of this size are estimated to have more than 60,000 people, but in northern Annan, nearly 60,000 people gathered at once, which is already a very large number.
"Everyone should hear it clearly. As a result, our army must expand. The army is our basic base, with a population of 60,000. Prisoners of war are also part of the labor force. These prisoners of war will not be recruited into the army. Yes, but they can free up a lot of young and strong men, so our army should be expanded to 6,000 men." Gao Heng said firmly.
"Six thousand people?" Everyone was surprised by this number. The original survival brigade had always only had two thousand people, but six thousand people had been expanded three times. Originally, according to the ancient system, a brigade had three thousand people, although they were called The Survival Brigade has never been full, but now it has recruited 6,000 people at once, which is equivalent to the strength of two brigades.
In fact, this number was also carefully considered by Gao Heng and Cheng Zilong. The productivity in ancient times was different from that in later generations, and the standards of soldiers were not as high as those in later generations. Take several time periods in China as examples, such as the Warring States Period. It is generally believed that the ratio of military to civilians was ten to one, that is, there was one soldier among ten people.
In later generations, China's population continued to expand, and the military ratio dropped. For example, the Ming Dynasty had more than one million soldiers. According to calculations by later historians, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, China had a population of hundreds of millions. From this point of view, the military-civilian ratio was Eighty to ninety to one, but in fact, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the heroes were divided and all kinds of melees continued. For example, Li Zicheng could pull out a million troops at every turn, so the actual ratio of military to civilians would be higher.
The survival brigade and the expatriates live in an environment surrounded by powerful enemies. Annan is a hostile party. They have obtained the land of Annan, and the Annan people will certainly not be able to bear it. What everyone doesn't know, but Gao Heng knows, is that in a few years, China will change hands and the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed. The situation will be even more chaotic. If you want to protect yourself in troubled times, you will definitely not be able to do it without one-tenth of the troops. .
The Soviet Union conscripted more than 20 million people during World War II, accounting for 15% of the population. If the war continued to develop, they could still recruit troops. According to later theories, under extreme mobilization, the total population could be reduced Of course, 30% would be brought to the battlefield. Of course, that would be an exaggeration. A ratio of 10% would be more in line with the situation of the survival brigade.
If conditions improve in the future, it will not be too late to lower the proportion of the army.
"Yes, even with 6,000 people, the name of the Survival Brigade can be changed." Gao Heng added. Everyone was even more surprised. The name "Survival Brigade" has been used for several months and everyone is used to it. Is it going to be changed so soon?
Gao Heng stood up and said: "There is no rule without rules. From now on, we will no longer be a temporary armed force, but will establish a regular army. Our people are all expatriates, including Han, Miao, Yi, Zhuang people, but no matter what, we are all members of China, and we are all people who once lived in the hot land of China. Therefore, when we are overseas, we must also aim to prosper China. Our army is called the Xinghua Army. .”
"Xinghua Army. What a good name." Wu Rong was the first to agree. Wang Qi, Song Zhi and others also nodded. Wang Qi said: "General, this name is grand. Although I have no education, I still think it is a good name."
Seeing that everyone agreed, Gao Heng said again: "Since the Xinghua Army has been established, we must also determine the military system. Six thousand people are divided into two brigades, one thousand people per battalion, two hundred people per company, fifty people per platoon, and ten people per platoon." One team. After this battle, we gained a lot. We captured hundreds of war horses and fifty war elephants. We thought we would set up a cavalry battalion first. It will include 800 cavalry and 200 elephant soldiers."
"In addition, the firecrackers seized this time are useless. Together with the firecrackers we originally equipped, two firecrackers battalions can be established. In addition, there are more than 40 large and small artillery pieces in total, including three general cannons, which can be established An artillery battalion. Of course, there must be more people in the artillery battalion now, but it doesn't matter. We can still capture artillery in subsequent wars, or if conditions permit in the future, we can also cast our own artillery and train the artillery first. The artillery can be equipped directly."
Everyone was extremely surprised. They didn't expect that they already had such strength. If they had just come to Tuoxian County, no one would have dared to think of it. The cavalry battalions were all set up. You know, the whole country of Annan is not close. Thousands of cavalrymen, this small Tuo County organized a cavalry battalion of a thousand men. If Lord Zheng knew about it, he would be very angry. He had sent the horses and equipment to form the cavalry battalion.
"For the remaining two thousand people, our equipment is not complete. If we follow the general's vision, in the future we should abolish cold weapons such as bows, arrows, knives and guns, replace all members with firearms, and form an army as simple as the Shenji Battalion. However, Conditions are now limited, so a crossbow battalion and a spear battalion were set up to fill the vacancies of gunmen and close combat. All soldiers' military pay is uniformly paid by the military government. Each soldier is paid two taels of silver per month, which is paid in full. Officers are paid according to Double the level.”
Gao Heng paused and then said: "The last is the sentinel team. The scale of the sentinel team should be further expanded. Lu Tao, you can select talents from the entire army. I will also hand over all my original fifty guards to you to form a two-man team." The sentry company of a hundred people will be commanded by you. The military pay will be twice that of ordinary soldiers."
Fan Yu pursed her lips and said, "General, what about your guards?"
Gao Heng said: "The matter of the guard is not important for the time being. I am nothing compared to the whole army. Let's go according to the scale of fifty people. The military pay will be the same as that of the sentry company."
"Yes." Fan Yu cupped his hands. Cheng Zilong wanted to give a warning, but looking at Gao Heng's appearance, he swallowed his words as soon as they came to his lips. Gao Heng probably didn't want to be too high-profile. Giving himself so many guards would make him appear grand. Now it's the start-up of Xinghua Army. He could understand what Gao Heng did.
