Only then did Xu Shu speak. The cement required a large number of people to collect lime. It also needed to be processed in the industrial park. Currently, the industrial park had not been established yet.
"Ziyang, the renovation of the industrial park will be handed over to you!" Liu Mang pointed to Liu Ye and said. Liu Ye's talent was not much lower than Xu Shu's. However, the two of them had different focuses. Liu Ye focused more on military strategy and machinery, while Xu Shu was better at military strategy and internal affairs. Therefore, Xu Shu was in charge of the overall situation while Liu Ye was in charge of the industrial park. "Ziyang, you can get all the money needed for the industrial park from Yuanzhi!" In Shouchun, Yang Hong had mentioned that Liu Mang's father-in-law, Yuan Shu, had accumulated over many years. Money was not a problem.
"Liu Ye accepts the order!" Liu Ye stepped forward and cupped his fist to Liu Mang.
"My lord, there are millions of people in the city. Although there is a supply of food, it will not be a problem in the long run!" Xu Shu pointed out one of the biggest problems in Shouchun. The basic necessities of the commoners had been solved. Another problem was that the commoners had nothing to do. It wasn't the busy season right now, and the time for reclamation had already passed. If the commoners had nothing to do, then they would have trouble. In the past, the rulers of ancient times had set high taxes, not only because they wanted to have more food and fodder to conquer the world, but also because they wanted to keep the commoners busy. This way, they wouldn't become refugees. Once people were too idle, they would naturally think too much. They wouldn't be able to vent their energy, and this would lead to trouble. Therefore, there were more than a dozen fights in the city in the past few days.
"I want to discuss this matter with Yuanzhi and everyone!" Liu Mang also nodded. Although the people now had land because of the household registration system, they could not cultivate it because of the wrong season. It was no different from the unemployed in modern society. There were millions of unemployed people. Except for those who were soldiers, the unemployment rate was basically 90%. It would be strange if there was no unrest.
"Yuanzhi, among the millions of people, there are 700,000 able-bodied people." Among the 700,000, there were 200,000 women of suitable age and the remaining 500,000 able-bodied people between the ages of 15 to 40. In this chaotic world, there were very few old and sick people who could run to Shouchun. After all, the old and the weak would not travel long distances. Even if they did, they would die on the way. "Transfer 300,000 able-bodied people! I am going to form an army! "
Liu Mang's words caused everyone to turn pale with fright. Stealing 300,000 soldiers was a terrifying expansion. Even if Yuan Shao used all the land in Hebei, he would only be able to raise 100,000 soldiers. Even if Yuan Shao used all the land in Hebei, he would only be able to raise 300,000 soldiers. One must know that the expansion of the army was not only about the consumption of food but also the military equipment. Even if Yangzhou was emptied, it would still be impossible. Moreover, Liu Mang still needed to form the White Horse Cavalry and the Yi Yang Cavalry. These soldiers and horses needed armor and weapons. Right now, Shouchun was using Lujiang's treasury to equip these soldiers and horses. How could they have any extra weapons and armor for the other armies? Expanding the army by 300,000 soldiers was simply a waste of military resources. Even Nanyang Zhang Xiu would not dare to do this.
Moreover, the most important point was that the people were willing to join the army! Since ancient times, there was a saying that a good man would not be a soldier. A good iron would not be a nail. Could it be that you can use a sword to force people to join the army?
"My Lord, please reconsider! This must not be done. Since ancient times, militarism has been a path to disaster! " As the head of the civil officials, Xu Shu immediately objected to Liu Mang's suggestion. Liu Ye also knelt down and said, "300,000 soldiers, including what we have now, is almost 400,000! Where would we find the people to train the soldiers and horses?
Although the number of people is an advantage in war, but if it is a motley crew without armor, what use would they be? They would just be wasting food for no reason! Liu Ye and Xu Shu were afraid that Liu Mang had been attacked by the alliance of Liu Bei, Zhang Xiu, and the other two families. Because of the lack of soldiers, he could only passively defend. That was why he decided to expand the army in a fit of anger. Furthermore, he expanded the army by so much. He was completely blinded by hatred.
The only one who did not speak out to dissuade him was Jia Xu. He was also shocked by the idea of expanding the army by 300,000 soldiers. Recklessly expanding the army was a path to disaster. The Yellow Turban Army had millions of soldiers and horses! But in the end, the three Zhang brothers were all dead and the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled. All that was left were some of the former Yellow Turban Generals. Jia Xu did not speak out because he saw that Liu Mang did not seem like a person who would get angry out of shame. His demeanor was normal and it was impossible that he did it on a whim. Also, since Liu Mang had brought it out, it meant that he wanted to brainstorm. Jia Xu calmly watched the development of the situation. He was also trying to see what his new lord was planning.
Liu Mang shook his head when he heard Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's dissuasion. How could it be possible? Although Liu Mang had regretted that he did not have enough soldiers in Yangzhou, Liu Mang had won the war. Liu Bei and Big Eared Liu had lost their White Eared Heavy Armor, General Chen Dao had died, and Zhang Xiu had died. It was still unknown who was more ashamed and angry. "Does it mean that if I don't build this army, I won't need to spend money on rations?" Liu Mang asked directly. Xu Shu and Liu Ye were stunned.
When they heard that Liu Mang wanted to expand the army by 300,000 soldiers, their first reaction was to oppose it. However, they had subconsciously forgotten that even if they did not expand the army, these 300,000 soldiers would still need to be fed at Shouchun. There were even more than that. There were 1.12 million people and they were all eating Liu Mang's rations.
"Young Lord!" Another general stood up. This person called Liu Mang 'Young Lord'. Only Zhang Liao was present. After all, Zhang Liao was Lü Bu's subordinate, and Liu Mang was only Lü Bu's son-in-law. Although he still listened to Liu Mang's orders, he did not change the way he addressed him.
"Young Lord! Where will the weapons for these 300,000 soldiers come from? " Since he wanted to expand the army, he naturally needed weapons. He could not let these soldiers go to the battlefield empty-handed.
These soldiers really didn't need any weapons! "Weapons and military equipment can be obtained anywhere outside the city!" Liu Mang casually answered Zhang Liao's question. Zhang Liao did not understand, so Liu Mang pointed it out. "These 300,000 soldiers do not need weapons. Give them tree barks as armor and wooden sticks as weapons."
"How can such an army go to the battlefield?" Zhang Liao frowned and was about to object. Zhang Liao's position in the Lvbu's Army was higher than Liu Mang, so he did not care whether he offended Liu Mang or not. If Liu Mang did not listen, then it would be fine. If he did not listen, then it would be best if he sent a letter to Zhang Liao to transfer back to Lujiang. He had to stay in Shouchun to train the Xiliang Cavalry. "Young Lord, don't learn from that Zhao Kuo 'er!" Zhang Liao's words were not polite, they were completely provocative.
What was Zhao Kuo 'er? Wasn't he Zhao Kuo? Wasn't he pointing at Liu Mang's nose and scolding Liu Mang for being an armchair strategist?
"How dare you! You dare to speak to the Lord like that? Who do you think you are? "Xu Sheng and Huang Xu on the side could not bear it anymore, but they were stopped by their respective commanders, Chengyu, Wang Wei, and Zhao Yun.
Although Zhao Yun was also very dissatisfied with Zhang Liao, he knew that he could not use violence in the main hall. Chengyu and Zhang Liao already knew each other, and Wang Wei was also a good person. No matter who was right or wrong, once they made a move, it would be difficult to deal with them.
The state of the generals under his command made Liu Mang feel a little helpless. Originally, there was only Liu Mang's faction. That was still fine as everyone had the same lord and could take care of each other. But now, there were two more factions. One was the newly joined Xiliang Cavalry, which was Ge Jun and Zhang Hu. Although the two of them were new, they did not speak because they were surrendered generals. The remaining faction was Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao was a veteran of the Lvbu's Army, even Liu Mang had to give him face. He wanted to return to Lü Bu and command his Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry instead of staying in Yangzhou.
"Don't quarrel!" Liu Mang pressed his hand to stop the group of martial artists from arguing. "General Wen Yuan, you are right. It is difficult for this kind of army to go to the battlefield. But now, this King wants these soldiers to go to the battlefield!" Liu Mang knew that Zhang Liao was angry.
After all, half of his troops had died in the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. His brother, Zhang Liao, had also died in battle. Now, he had to stay in Yangzhou and leave the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry as the main general of the Xiliang Cavalry. Naturally, he was not in a good mood. Liu Mang gave in to him, but that did not mean that he could let Zhang Liao walk all over him and talk to him like that in the main hall.
Therefore, Liu Mang addressed him as' This King '. This was a form of alienation and also a form of warning. No matter how much of a general Zhang Liao was Lü Bu's main general, he was just a vassal. On the other hand, he was Lü Bu's son-in-law and had the title of King Of Shu. How could a vassal shout at his own master?
Zhang Liao did not say anything. He also knew the difference in status. Furthermore, Zhang Liao could be considered a loyal person. He respected Lü Bu, so naturally, he also respected Liu Mang. Previously, he was depressed, but now, he felt much better.
"This army of three hundred thousand! It is not for the battlefield! These soldiers are to be used as engineers, as reserves! During wartime, they are to replenish the frontline troops. During wartime, other than daily training, they are also required to build various irrigation works, build cities, and even maintain the security of the entire Yangzhou! " Liu Mang said to the civil and military officials below.
"This three hundred thousand is just an estimate. As long as the men are of suitable age, they will need to enter the reserves. The best will be selected for the three hundred thousand! The rest will be used as the third line troops! " Liu Mang could not directly expand the army by a few hundred thousand. Once these few hundred thousand came out, they would not be of any use other than being a burden. Furthermore, the entire Yangzhou was in need of manpower. How could Liu Mang be militaristic?
However, Liu Mang had to organize these people for the stability of Shouchun and use them to reconstruct the entire Yangzhou system.
If it was the reserves or the engineers, it would be equivalent to stationing troops. Therefore, the civil and military officials of Yangzhou settled down a little. At this time, Jia Xu finally said, "Milord, stationing troops is good. The reserves can ensure that our army has an endless supply of soldiers!" "Liu Mang's Army Farming Policy not only gives the common people something to do but also allows for overall planning. Another good thing is that it can quickly replenish soldiers. Some of the troops that were crippled were replaced by farmers. They have been working in the fields all their lives. If you want them to pick up swords and risk their lives, they would need to train for a long time. However, these reserve soldiers are different. Although they are also new recruits, they have undergone training. This way, the crippled frontline troops will be able to recover their combat strength faster." Liu Mang continued.
"But Milord!" Jia Xu grasped a flaw in Liu Mang's plan. Milord's strategy of stationing troops also required soldiers to be stationed, but what if these people were not willing to send their children into the reserves? "Good men don't become soldiers, and good iron don't hammer nails. This has become a law. In ancient times, there were only two kinds of people who entered the army. The first kind was from a military family. This kind of people could only obtain fame and fortune in the army. The second kind was the people who could not survive! These people couldn't survive at home because they didn't have enough food in their homes. As the saying goes, a young man can eat his old man to death. This was referring to the increase in people's appetite when they were young. These people couldn't eat their fill and couldn't eat their fill. In order to survive, they could only join the army. Although there were deaths in the army, they could at least eat their fill!
Now, the people in the city had the provisions provided by Liu Mang. In addition to Liu Mang's household registration system, everyone had a field. As long as they could survive this, they would naturally have enough food and clothing. Who would be stupid enough to send their children to the army? People would die in war.
Liu Mang frowned. This was really a problem. "Now that Shouchun's provisions are unified, if someone refuses to join the army, there is no need to provide them with rations!" Liu Mang said to his subordinates. He did not want to raise freeloaders. If someone did not join the army, then they should prepare to starve to death.
"Milord, you can't!" As soon as Liu Mang's words fell, Xu Shu also stood up and objected. He wanted to cut off the people's rations. Only Liu Mang could think of this. Originally, why did they come to Shouchun? Wasn't it for the land of Shouchun? It was also for a way to survive. Previously, Xu Shu had reduced the rations because of Zhao Yun's decision. This had almost caused a mutiny in Shouchun. If Liu Mang did this again, they would die if they did not get any rations. Once the people rebelled, then Liu Bei and Sun Ce would die of laughter. Because when they attacked Yangzhou, they allowed the common people to do as they pleased. Wasn't it to let the common people rebel? Not to mention that among the millions of people, there were more than 200,000 Shanyue people. These Shanyue people were very disgusted with the idea of joining the army. They thought that the Han people were deliberately sending them to their deaths. These Shanyue people were a big problem for Sun Ce. If he could get them to join the army, Sun Ce would have done so long ago.
"Then are we not going to do it?" Liu Mang was a little angry. Feeding millions of people was not his style. Moreover, Liu Mang's reserve force system was to prepare for the struggle for hegemony in the future. His territory was small, only Yangzhou. In the north, Lao Cao was about to unify Hebei. In the south, Jiangdong and Jingzhou were much richer than Liu Mang's army. He did not have the Yangtze River as a natural barrier to stop the enemy. The entire Yangzhou could be said to be a flat land bordered by Xuzhou and Yanzhou. Once Cao Cao was free, the first unlucky one would be Liu Mang.
Liu Mang's Yangzhou was much worse than these old feudal lords. However, Liu Mang's Yangzhou had something these feudal lords did not have, and that was a small number of nobles. Without the complicated relationships, the entire Shouchun of Yangzhou only had millions of people. The original nobles in Shouchun either moved to Jiangdong or were eliminated. Therefore, Shouchun was an ownerless land. Even the nobles in Lujiang, such as the Zhou Family, were slaughtered by Liu Mang. It could be said that the current Yangzhou could be said to be under Liu Mang's control.
Originally, he thought that without these complicated relationships, his policies would be more reasonable. However, who knew that there was still the threshold of the people.
The civil and military officials were all speechless. Righteousness was a big thing, but it could not be compared to three years of a magistrate's ten years of hard work. Since ancient times, this was the standard of government officials. Why would they care about the people's righteousness? If the people's righteousness was small, then once it was big enough, for example, if Liu Mang really threatened to cut off food rations, it could lead to the officials forcing the people to rebel. The whole of Shouchun and Yangzhou would be in turmoil. At that time, Liu Mang's strategy of conscription and Yangzhou would be finished. Let Liu Bei come and pick the peach. Although Liu Bei was scared and was beaten up by the Lvbu's Army, Liu Mang believed that once Yangzhou was in chaos, Liu Bei would definitely come back.
"Yuanzhi Ziyang, is there no other way?" Xu Shu and Liu Ye also fell into deep thought. Conscription was a difficult thing to do. If they used force, the commoners might rebel. Even if they did not rebel, would they dare to use these soldiers who were unwilling to do so? It would be good if they did not stab you with a knife on the battlefield. There was no need to use force. The people had land and food, so why would they fight with you? Therefore, since ancient times, the Han people were a docile people. As long as they were not pushed to a dead end, they would not rebel. They would adapt to the environment and not change it. This was the reason why the Han people were able to withstand the invasions of other races.
Xu Shu and Liu Ye were deep in thought. The people behind them did not have a good plan. Only Jia Xu was calm. His small eyes were squinted as if he was taking a nap.
"Jia Xu!" Liu Mang had forgotten about this old fox! After so many years, this old fox had held quite a number of official positions. He was definitely more experienced than the two youths, Xu Shu and Liu Ye.
"Mr. Wen He is discussing military affairs, but Mr. Wen He has closed his eyes to rest. Mr. Wen He must have a card up his sleeve. I wonder if you have any good ideas to teach me!" Liu Mang looked at Jia Xu with sparkling eyes. This problem was raised by Jia Xu. It was also Jia Xu who saw that the most difficult part of conscription was not the food or equipment, but the people's hearts. If everyone was not willing to join the army, how could you do it? If Jia Xu had a way, then Liu Mang could naturally implement the policy of stationing troops. If not, this Jia Xu closing his eyes to rest during military affairs would be seen as looking down on his Lord. Liu Mang would definitely teach this old fox a lesson. How could he close his eyes to rest during military affairs? This was mocking this military policy! Liu Mang was unhappy. Naturally, he would not let the old fox be happy.
"Eh!" Jia Xu was completely a person who would get shot while lying down. He originally did not want to get involved in this military affairs. After all, he had just joined Liu Mang's Army. Whether he was right or wrong in military affairs, he would offend people. If he was right, it would give others the impression that he had stolen the limelight, especially when Xu Shu and Liu Ye were around. If he said that the two of them had not thought of it, then what would it be if Jia Xu said it? It would be considered a provocation! Jia Xu's ability was stronger than ours? If he was wrong, then he would inevitably be mocked for not having the ability. Now that Jia Xu's life was guaranteed, he naturally needed to obtain glory and wealth. Since this was his first military policy, he would offend people regardless of whether he was right or wrong, so he might as well not say anything.
However, while Jia Xu wanted to escape, Liu Mang would not let him go! Jia Xu smiled bitterly in his heart as he shook his head. He could only stand up. If he did not answer, with his new Lord's personality, he would really be punished. This Lord had never acted according to common sense.
Being forced into a corner, Jia Xu could only stand up. As expected, Jia Xu did not disappoint Liu Mang. "My Lord, the Lord's strategy of stationing troops is feasible, but forcing the people is not advisable!" “
Hearing Jia Xu's first sentence, Liu Mang rolled his eyes. How could anyone present not know if they were idiots or not! Wasn't this just pure nonsense!?
"If forcing the people to rebel can be done, then why should our army force the people to rebel!?" Jia Xu said another line of nonsense. If we did not force the people, would the people be willing to send their sons and husbands to join the army?
"The people are not afraid of death, so why use death to scare them?" This came from Laozi's 71st chapter. It meant that if the people were not afraid of death, why should they use death to force the people? Liu Mang's coercion of the people was directly forcing the people onto the path of death. In order to survive, the people would naturally rebel. Anyway, they would die anyway.
What was Jia Xu trying to do with these words? Was he trying to criticize Liu Mang's mistakes? Was he trying to mock Liu Mang? If that was the case, then Jia Xu's goal had been achieved. Just as Liu Mang was getting angry, Jia Xu continued, "But Taishi Gong also said that the world is bustling for profit, and the world is bustling for profit! No matter if it is the people or the nobles, living in troubled times is nothing more than fighting for profit. If my Lord wants the people to actively join the army, he only needs to give them profit! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
