Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3043 Old changes in the new troubled times

In the eighth year of Taixing, winter is December.

In Longyou, Jiang Ji received some guests.

In other words, guest troops.

The leader is Guo Huan, a native of Xiping and a wealthy local family.

Following Guo Huan were two well-known handsome men in Xiping, Tian Le and Yang Kui.

Tian Le and Yang Kui have some Qiang ancestry. Although their names are similar to Han names, it can actually be seen that they have more or less Qiang appearance. This is normal in Longyou, Longxi, Xiping and Xiliang.

In comparison, Guo Huan looks more like a pure Han Chinese, so it is Guo Huan who mainly communicates and communicates with Jiang Ji.

Guo Huan brought a letter of introduction from Yang Fu, and the three of them brought a total of 2,500 troops, including about 600 to 700 armored soldiers, and the rest were Qiang cavalry.

After Zhang Liao quelled the Qiang rebellion and occupied the snowy area, Yang Fu, as his successor, has been working hard in the Xiping area, and now he has gained a little. Under the guidance of Yang Fu, Guo Huan and others took their troops to Chang'an, preparing to find Fei Qian to surrender.

There are more than two thousand people, neither too many nor too few. The journey from Xiping consumes a lot of food and clothing. Therefore, after arriving at Longyou, they also want to ask Jiang Ji for some food and grass support... …

During this period of time, the Xiping area has gradually calmed down due to the communication and trade between the Han people, the Qiang people, and the Tibetan people. Most of the Hu people have begun to get used to and accept the existence of the Han people, and they also like the Han people's business. Every time a Han caravan arrived at their tribe, the Hu people would hold a bonfire party. A group of people would gather around the bonfire to sing and dance, just like a grand festival.

Well, the Hu people also have their own customs and festivals.

As Xiping gets better and better and develops steadily under Yang Fu's governance, the people of Xiping gradually feel pressure.

This pressure is invisible.

If they want to eat and die, then Guo Huan and others don't need to leave Xiping at all. Because as long as you cooperate with Yang Fu obediently, you will slowly die in the warm water.

Xiping's education has been carried out quietly, even extending to the snow area. The appearance of pilgrims in Chang'an can already illustrate this point. More and more Hu people know how good the Han people are, so how can they have anything to do with the local surnames?

And how did the local surnames get their money? It was obtained by exploiting the Han people and the barbarians!

Is it like those local surnames claim that their ancestors did good deeds every day and year after year, persisted in charity, built bridges and roads, and built water conservancy projects, so they have money?

You can deceive barbarians, but you can't deceive Yang Fu.

Yang Fu is in Xiping. The official shops have better quality and more reasonable prices, and the same is true for the caravans. So the local surnames can either return to their roots honestly and find some snacks in the gaps between Yang Fu's fingers, or they must Find another way...

rebel?

Those who dare not, and no Hu people are willing to listen to them. It was impossible to survive back then, so the Hu people rebelled. Now their lives are getting better day by day, so why do they want to rebel?

Therefore, the only way left for the local surnames is to find ways to obtain military honors. Otherwise, the taxes they have to pay on their fields will be like boiling frogs in warm water, and they will eventually be boiled to death in the pot. After all, the current local tycoons and large landowners in the Han Dynasty do not have the endless tax avoidance methods that will emerge in later generations.

The government's taxation model is actually very rough, but these big local households are even rougher!

Yang Fu had no reason to stop the local big businessmen who were interested in "progressing", and in terms of civil politics, it could be regarded as one of Yang Fu's achievements. Therefore, after confirming that Guo Huan and others had indeed defected to Feiqian, After Fei Qian expressed his willingness to serve under Fei Qian's tent, he issued a letter of introduction and also provided a wave of food and grass for them to come all the way to Longxi.

However, when Guo Huan and others arrived in Longxi, they heard the "bad news" that Cao Cao had sent troops to attack Guanzhong!

this……

Before Guo Huan and the others came to visit Jiang Ji, they had been secretly discussing it for some time. They heard that Cao Cao had summoned an army of one million, and that Chen Bing was in Heluo and Taihang areas, and that he was very determined to invade Guanzhong, so when they appeared in Longyou now, they couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

It’s not about advancing, it’s even less about retreating.

"Thief Cao sent out troops here. Although they look huge, they actually have less than 100,000 soldiers to fight." The thief Cao just wants to revive his own reputation and establish his prestige so that he can rule the land of Shandong... Think about it, if the thief Cao really has millions of soldiers, then why is the land of Shandong still struggling all day long? Outside of Yuzhou and Yanzhou, they are relatively obedient to the Cao thieves. In other prefectures and counties, the Cao thieves are not easy to manage! In the land of Youbei, between Qingxu and south of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, hahaha... one million, one million farmers are almost enough! 』

Jiang Ji laughed heartily, not caring, and did not shy away from discussing the matter in front of Guo Huan and others.

Guo Huan and the other three looked at each other, "This... one hundred thousand is quite a lot..."

"Well, Beigong also said that there were tens of thousands of warriors who dared to fight..." Jiang Ji waved his hand and said, "There are many differences between soldiers and soldiers." Let’s take a simple matter as an example: the brave men under your command...forget it, this is all empty talk...go and call a few of your men who are good at shooting, well, call five of them..."

Facts speak louder than words, and Jiang Ji is ready to teach Guo Huan and others a lesson.

Qiang and Hu people are all good at shooting, so there is no problem.

Guo Huan quickly called five people, and then followed Jiang Ji and his party to the Wuwei school grounds.

Jiang Ji took Guo Huan and the others to sit on the general stage, and then casually said to the instructor in the school: "Set up ten human targets, equipped with wooden shields, set with leather armor, use armor-piercing arrows, and shoot this Ji Liang." The archers will be assessed for top, middle, middle, middle, and bottom, and each of those who are waiting to retreat will come..."

The instructor hesitated and said, "Captain, there is no one to retire this season..."

"Then there will be one more middle-class person!" "Jiang Jiong didn't insist on a certain percentage.

Soon, ten people stood under the school field.

The military academy on the side was reaffirming the rules of the game.

Fifty steps, step shot.

A human-shaped grass target, covered with leather armor, with a round wooden shield standing slightly in front of the target, covering half of the target's body.

Twenty armor-piercing heavy arrows per person.

rapid fire.

If the arrow hits the body, it scores two points. If it hits the shield but does not penetrate the shield, it scores no points. If the arrow penetrates the shield, it scores one point.

The person who shoots all the arrows the fastest will get ten points.

Five points will be added to the second place, and no points will be added to the rest.

If the arrow misses the target, two points will be deducted.

The rules are not complicated, and even Guo Huan's good shooter, who participated in such a competition close to actual combat for the first time, expressed his eagerness to try and clearly understood.

The military academy looked up at Jiang Ji, who was on the general stage. Jiang Ji nodded. The military academy shouted and prepared, then took out a copper whistle from his arms and held it in his mouth, "Beep——"

Almost at the same time, ten people in the arena fired arrows at the same time!

For a moment, all I could hear was the sound of bowstrings and the whistling of arrows!

In the first few rounds, the speed of the ten people was about the same, and most of them could hit the target, whether it was the torso or the shield of the grass target, but as time went by, it became obvious that they were higher. .

The soldier at the top of the ranking seemed to be a ruthless arrow-shooting machine. He fired two arrows in one breath. Then he took a slow breath, grabbed two arrows, put one on the bow, and used his little finger and ring finger to shoot the other. Hold it and hang it by your side. After shooting an arrow, you immediately turn your fingers to put the arrow on the bow, then shoot the second arrow, take another slow breath, and grab two more arrows...

The soldiers at the middle and lower levels shoot arrows meticulously, shooting an arrow with one breath, grabbing the arrow, and shooting another arrow with another breath...

Everyone's breathing rate and shooting frequency are somewhat different, which results in the speed of shooting. However, Jiang Ji's soldiers are generally relatively stable. Twenty arrows can be fired between twenty and forty breaths. They all finished shooting in a short time, and among the other half of Guo Huan's men, the fastest could only keep up with the speed of Jiang Ji's soldiers. Others only shot half of the arrows, and several of them failed to go out. !

Jiang Ji smiled and said nothing.

Guo Huan and others communicated with each other with their eyes.

The results speak for themselves.

The good archers under Guo Huan were indeed not bad. One man shot more than ten arrows into the head of the target in succession, almost piercing the head of the target, and the rest of the arrows landed on the target. However, He spent too much time aiming, and his speed was not as fast as the average men under Jiang Ji.

"This is the person who is good at fighting..." Guo Huan said with emotion, "On the battlefield, if the arrow hits the vital point, it will be injured if it does not kill you. The faster you shoot, the better you will be in life or death..."

Tian Le on the side asked, "I wonder how many good archers there are...?" 』

Jiang Ji smiled and said, "It's not how many, it's all of them!" There is an assessment every quarter. Those who meet the standards can be called good bows, and those who fail are removed! Those with the title of Good Bow can receive extra food and wine according to their level, and their military pay is also different. In addition, there are also some men who are not good at shooting by nature, so these people compete for crossbows, giant axes, and halberdiers, all with different rewards. 』

Yang Kui's eyes widened, "So, everyone under the general's command is... I wonder what the test for this giant axe-wizard is?" 』

Jiang Jiu looked at the burly Yang Kui and guessed that he probably used a tomahawk, and he was not good at bow shooting. He didn't point out anything, but smiled and said: "Easy, chop wood!" The firewood used in the army for a season is all chopped during the examination of the giant axemen..."

"Chopping firewood..." Yang Kui muttered and repeated, then remained silent.

Killing people is like chopping firewood, which is not a joke.

Wood has joints and tumors, big and small, just like the joints of human limbs.

Most people who think that chopping firewood is easy have never actually used a hatchet or an ax to chop firewood. If they don’t know the texture of the wood and have the wrong strength and angle, they will be exhausted and unable to chop a few sticks!

After walking around the school grounds for such a long time, the arrogance of Guo Huan and others disappeared without a trace, just like the lingering snow under the scorching sun. Both his words and demeanor were much more humble.

"It's good that you are willing to surrender to the army, but you have also seen..." Jiang Ji said with a smile, "There are still some gaps between your soldiers... So, there are two ways. One is to use your soldiers and the next one." Years of recruits will enter the camp for training together. However, after the recruit camp, they may be assigned to different places according to the needs of each county. Not all of them may still be under your command... The three of you will go to the Chang'an Martial Arts Hall. After you study and pass the assessment at the military school level, corresponding soldiers will be assigned to you...the expenses for these trainings are all paid for by the lord..."

"If you don't want to be separated from your men, then another way is to take your people and take a detour to Shangjun to Yinshan Mountain. Only in the Yinshan Mountains can there be large training camps for reorganized troops. You can receive training together with your soldiers, and then you can be with your soldiers, but you have to pay for this training yourself... …』

Unknowingly, Guo Huan's worries about Cao Cao's attack seemed to disappear.

Who has heard that during a war, the troops who come to serve must be trained before they can go to the battlefield?

Anyway, Guo Huan had never heard of it before.

"Could it be said that... this Cao... well, Cao's thieves invaded, and the general in Longyou doesn't need to send troops to support Guanzhong?" ” Guo Huan couldn’t help but ask.

Jiang Ji smiled and said: "These things... well, they will become common sense after joining the training camp... It doesn't hurt to talk about it first." Under the lord, soldiers are divided into three categories: main combat soldiers, mobilized soldiers, and reserve soldiers. On weekdays, the soldiers in the prefectures and counties are the main combat soldiers. When there is an incident in the county and the main combat soldiers cannot deal with it, mobilization troops are recruited. Generally speaking, the mobilization troops are two or three times the main combat soldiers, which is enough to deal with ordinary situations. fighting. If the mobilization troops are still insufficient, the reserve troops should be recruited, and the main combat troops from surrounding counties should be mobilized to support... Now, haha, Chang'an's third auxiliary company has not yet ordered the mobilization of troops... I am just sending some food, grass and baggage to Chang'an. That’s all…』

This three-level military system cannot be established just because it is established.

Not to mention the main combat soldiers, they are basically equivalent to the soldiers currently in the army, while the mobilization soldiers are the veterans who have been retired from the army to the local areas since Feiqian came to power, except for some If they are physically disabled and unable to continue fighting, most of them will have a name in the local area and receive an extra portion of money and food during the New Year and holidays. When encountering special circumstances, these veterans will immediately respond to the local call-up. , participate in the battle temporarily. During the battle, the money, food and military pay are the same as those of the main battle soldiers, but there are no additional honorary rewards such as good archers and giant axe-slayers.

The reserve army recruits soldiers every year. Those who cannot join the army due to age, physical fitness, or the number of recruits are full, etc., will join the local reserve army after asking about their personal wishes. Participate in short-term training during the off-season, and the main combat soldiers will serve as instructors for training. When recruiting soldiers for the next time, you have the right to select the best to join the army. On weekdays, it is managed by local inspections. Sometimes, when thieves are caught, the inspections will also call in reserve soldiers...

This new military system is not being implemented in all places. Instead, it starts from Guanzhong in the north, and then slowly expands to Longyou, Longxi, and Hanzhong. The next step is the more remote western Sichuan Snow Region. Northern Territory and other areas.

Needless to say, the advantages of this kind of military system are obvious, but the disadvantages are also obvious. If you don't have three to five years of hard work, you can't even think about mobilizing troops and reserve troops. At the same time, you have to spend a lot more money and food in peacetime...

In addition to additional expenses such as money and food, a strong grassroots organizational force is also needed. Patrol inspections that are independent of civil affairs have grown from scratch, from small to large, from simple street patrols to responsible for the security of an entire rural neighborhood. , criminal cases all require the accumulation of knowledge and the advancement of personnel.

The division of agricultural, engineering, and inspection positions may become redundant in a few decades or a hundred years, but in the current era of the Han Dynasty, it is conducive to the refinement of social division of labor and fills the gap. Areas that were originally out of reach of the central government made the originally chaotic, simplistic, and even ignorant local clan control orderly, promoting the development of productivity.

Take the recruitment of soldiers as an example. Originally, it might just be that the clan leader felt that there was no labor force in the village, or that the benefits should be reserved for his own family, and people with other surnames could not participate, etc., so he refused to let people join the army without saying a word. But now The patriarch’s words don’t carry that much weight…

These veterans who returned from joining the army became a new local support point, helping local officials to compete with the original local powerhouses, breaking the Han Dynasty's three to four hundred years of practice in which local governors had to negotiate with local powerful officials wherever they went. In turn, it forced local powerful people and local surnames to participate in this new round of local power division.

It's like even though the three-level military system has not been officially launched in Xiping County, the successive inspections of veterans in Xiping and snow areas have made Guo Huan and others who originally had a surname in Xiping feel uneasy, and also prompted Guo Huan and others arrived.

Following Jiang Ji's explanation, Guo Huan and the others generally understood.

Guo Huan did look inside Long You, and there seemed to be no atmosphere of tense war. For this reason, he was still uneasy before...

This world... is really different!

Suddenly, he felt a little embarrassed.

Before he came to Jiang Jiong, he thought that Cao Cao would win no matter what. Cao Cao has the emperor's righteousness at hand, and his morale must be high. In addition, Cao Cao has conquered many states and counties in all directions. His achievements are there. He also has clear goals and capable subordinates. On the other hand, Fei Qian here has many subordinates. There is no tension, and there are no decent countermeasures. There is not even a curfew in Longyou, so how can we fight?

How can war be such a child's play?

Just before meeting Jiang Ji, Guo Huan was still hesitating whether to join this battle. Even Guo Huan thought that if Jiang Ji could listen to the advice, then after he met, he would have to give some good advice to make Jiang Ji realize that the current situation was dangerous and extremely dangerous, and then he might move to Longyou. Protect yourself, or help Fei dive into the fire and water, and act according to the situation. The result is like this...

What else does this point to?

What else can you give me?

The troops in Longyou are already so elite, but what about Guanzhong?

And what is the Yinshan training camp that Jiang Ji mentioned, and what is it like?

Guo Huan couldn't help but feel a little shaken. Presumably, most of the people in Shandong who sit in a well and look at the sky are just like his previous thoughts, deceived by what they see and think they can just get it!

Cao's millions of soldiers?

ha!

Although Jiang Ji did not say how many main combat troops, mobilization troops, and reserve troops were in Chang'an, Guo Huan felt that he could get a glimpse of it just by looking at the strength of the soldiers displayed by Jiang Ji...

"A certain person led his troops to Yinshan Mountain for training!" Guo Huan made up his mind, "I have 800 soldiers under my name. They are all old acquaintances for many years and cannot bear to be separated. There are also more than 800 stragglers. They were newly recruited and will not be taken to Yinshan... Excuse me, Lieutenant Jiang." Take the trouble...』

Tian An and Yang Kui also hurriedly expressed that they had the same choice as Guo Huan, but there were fewer soldiers they could bring or were willing to bring to Yinshan for training at their own expense. They were less than a hundred soldiers, and the rest were recruited temporarily. , and all of them were thrown to Jiang Ji in one breath.

No matter it is a troubled time or a prosperous time, only if you can learn true skills, you may have real benefits!

Those who are incompetent may still be able to make a living in prosperous times, but they will definitely be the first to be abandoned in troubled times!

Guo Huan decided to learn more skills in Yinshan, so as to ensure that his status in Xiping was maintained...

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