Xiao Ruxun had many ways to prevent the army from slacking off. In addition to the fun mode of sports competition, there were also more severe and cruel modes, such as confrontation exercises.
The army could not forget to exercise, nor could it forget to fight when there was no military war. Otherwise, the fighting power would decline rapidly. The reason why the Han army could maintain a considerable fighting power during the Western Han Dynasty was not only because of the threat of the Xiongnu, but also because of the long-term continuous military exercises.
The Han army's emphasis on fighting power was no less than that of the Qin Army.
In the Han Dynasty, China's population was not as large as it is now. Facing the pressure of the powerful Xiongnu, the Han army's military service system was close to compulsory military service. The Han inherited the Qin system. At that time, regardless of their status, men had to register at the government office at the age of 20. According to the principle of three years of farming and one year of storage, they would officially serve from the age of 23 until they were 56.
During this period, in addition to the annual training during the slack season, everyone had to serve twice in their life, one for a year. Once in the local area, they were called "regular soldiers", and the other time in the border or the capital, they were called "garrison soldiers" or "guards". Once there was a war and the military was insufficient, the trained farmers had to immediately gather in Chang 'an and prepare to fight.
Because of the continuous training during the slack season, even the reserve soldiers who were not in the service period had strong fighting power. Using the strong source of soldiers provided by this method, Emperor Wu of Han finally defeated the Xiongnu and established the absolute hegemony of the Han regime in East Asia.
This military service system was also a good reference in modern times, but it gradually became impossible to implement later.
In addition to the problems on the policy level, the biggest reason was the decline of centralized power. Local land and farmers were controlled by local tyrants. The country had no land and no farmers, so the military system gradually deteriorated.
The decline of central control over local areas was the reason why the military system could not continue to be implemented. Of course, the rise of local power was also accompanied by the rise of the imperial examination system. The rise of the tax exemption bureaucrats was also accompanied by the decline of the country's military power.
Therefore, Xiao Ruxun planned to destroy the tax exemption bureaucrats in one fell swoop after eliminating the bastards left by the Former Ming Dynasty. He would not allow the bureaucrats to be exempted from taxes in any sense. Being an official was not a reason to be exempted from taxes. They had to pay taxes. He would do what Yongzheng could not do.
The government of Daqin was a big government. The beautiful life envisioned by some people would be gone forever. Xiao Ruxun would firmly grasp the local power and would never give the local tyrants the possibility of rebirth.
In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to establish a military service system. Therefore, Xiao Ruxun had already issued a notice to all the provinces under his complete control, implementing a military service system similar to that of the Han Dynasty.
Men over the age of twenty, regardless of their status, had to register with the authorities. Each man had to serve in the military twice, one year each. The rest of the time, they were on standby as reserve soldiers.
Farmers had to undergo military training when they were not farming. They could not be rusty with military skills. The three classes of scholars, merchants, and merchants were no exception.
However, due to the high mobility of scholars, businessmen, and businessmen, there was no concept of idleness. Although they still needed to register, if they could not serve in the military, they were allowed to pay the government to exempt them from serving in the military twice in their lifetime. However, they were still reserve soldiers. Once the country needed them, they would still have to enlist in the army.
In order to encourage people to enlist in the army and improve the status of soldiers, Xiao Ruxun also made a rule that prisoners were not allowed to be exiled to the army. The army was honorable. Only clean families could enlist in the army. Prisoners were only fit to be coolies.
Moreover, if a person served in the army for a year, his whole family could be exempted from labor and taxes for a year. After the end of the military service, soldiers could go home and receive a considerable amount of money. If they made meritorious service during the military service, they could receive additional rewards.
If they were willing to stay in the army and develop as a professional soldier until they retired at the age of fifty-six, their families would become military families. Unlike ordinary households, they would receive special treatment for taxes, labor, and so on. Every year, they could receive grain, oil, and rice given by the country. Professional soldiers were allowed to visit their families twice a year.
In addition, Xiao Ruxun also made a rule that only under one circumstance could an individual have the qualification to be exempted from land tax. That was to join the army and make a first-class meritorious service. First-class meritorious service, the family of the person and the family of the person could be exempted from land tax forever. However, it could not be passed on to the descendants. If the person and the parents passed away, the descendants would no longer have such treatment.
As for other taxes, there was no possibility of exemption, especially commercial taxes. Once this loophole was opened, it was unknown how many loopholes would be exploited in the future.
Sometimes, improving the status of a soldier was as simple and fast as Song Taizong suppressing the status of a soldier. As long as people could see the tangible benefits, the social status of a certain profession could be quickly improved. Tax exemption was the best way.
Such a policy could also quickly increase people's enthusiasm for reproduction. If there were more children in the family, it would not hurt to send one out to be a soldier.
Xiao Ruxun felt that the population of Daqin was still too small. It could barely develop the country, and there were too few people going out to explore the world. Therefore, while carrying out such a step, it was also necessary to encourage reproduction. He gave money, grain, and oil to the families who worked hard to have children, telling them the attitude of the country to encourage reproduction.
Under such a push, the settled provinces had already begun to flourish.
And other things were also carried out in an orderly manner under the push of Xiao Ruxun.
Under such a background, Xiao Ruxun announced the joint military maneuver between Azure Dragon Camp and Vermillion Bird Camp. The location would be the Shijingshan area in the northwest of the capital. There would be fifty thousand people participating.
A large number of White Tiger Camp had been dispatched to Liaodong and could not participate in the maneuver. Black Turtle Camp was mainly stationed in the three southeastern provinces, responsible for maintaining public security and land reform, and could not participate. Therefore, Azure Dragon Camp and Vermillion Bird Camp could only organize this military maneuver.
This maneuver was multi-faceted. There were the confrontation between spearmen and shield soldiers, the confrontation between cannon soldiers, the confrontation between cavalry, the confrontation between gunners, the confrontation between soldiers, the confrontation between physical strength, and so on. There were more than a dozen confrontation events.
Under the guise of Azure Dragon Camp fighting against Vermillion Bird Camp, almost all the generals and officers of the Daqin army were attracted.
This could be regarded as the largest military confrontation in half a year. It was said that the winner would receive extremely generous rewards, and the loser would be punished and even ridiculed by the winner.
Therefore, Azure Dragon Camp and Vermillion Bird Camp were full of energy. Ma Wei and Zhao Hu had been glaring at each other for a few months.
Zhao Hu and Ma Wei were the two generals who had made the most contributions in the previous northern expedition. One led the main force to conquer Jiangnan and the Central Plains as the main force, and the other went north on the western road. After occupying Sichuan, they reversed the northern expedition, successfully occupied the northwest, and incorporated the strongest army of the Ming court.
Azure Dragon Camp and Vermillion Bird Camp were also at each other's throats because of this confrontation. Both of them disliked each other, and everyone said that this confrontation would determine which army the Qin First Army was. The winner would naturally earn a lot, and the loser would probably curse their mothers.
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