Seeing the mental outlook of the rural soldiers in these camps, Sun Tu's four people all frowned deeply. Not to mention compared with the Western Army and the Forbidden Army, these people were the rural soldiers from Yuncheng County and the soldiers that Sun Tu had seen. The police officers in Tokyo are much better than them.
Wu Huan and Zhu Lin seemed to feel that this was too disrespectful, and walked over and scolded them loudly, so that the soldiers who were standing in a mess were arranged into several lines, but these people still moved slowly. Yes, even if they stand in several rows, they are still swaying, which makes people feel uncomfortable.
Sun Tu didn't get angry because of this, he just watched coldly and let the two men do whatever they wanted until they thought they could give an explanation. Then he glanced at the soldiers with a cold face and asked Wu Huan, "Wu Dutou, what are you doing?" I know that there are five hundred rural soldiers in this state, but why are there only a hundred or so old and weak soldiers here? Has all the money allocated by the imperial court been swallowed up by you two? "
Upon hearing this, Wu Huan and the two men immediately shouted to Qu Lai: "You are wronged by Tuan Lian. No matter how courageous you are in your humble position, you would not dare to do something that devours money, food and military pay. Otherwise, Tuan Lian will not be held accountable. These brothers can kill both of us."
"Did the other soldiers and horses be killed while fighting the bandits on the Xunyang River?" Sun Tu asked, still showing disbelief.
"That's not true, although we did lose many brothers in that battle." Zhu Lin said with a sad face, and then replied: "Actually, there are 420 people in our Jiazi Camp, but now they are not Instead of being in the camp, they all went to work in the city to support themselves and their families. Those who remain in the camp now are all old and frail and unable to support their families... "
"Huh?" Sun Tu didn't expect this to be the case. Just as he was about to continue asking, Yang Zhi had already stepped forward and whispered into his ear, telling him what he knew about the situation in the military.
It turns out that these rural soldiers are different from the border troops of the Forbidden Army. Their status is first as civilians and then as soldiers. This is not only reflected in their combat effectiveness, but also in their daily performance. In addition to training for a few days every month, they mostly cultivate the fields to support themselves and their families.
The Song Dynasty has always had the habit of setting up flags to recruit troops when a natural disaster occurs somewhere, and recruiting young people who have lost their homes into the army, so as to prevent these people from becoming refugees or even bandits causing trouble to all directions. This is the so-called raising a recruiting flag, which has its origin in the saying of food eaters.
Among these newly recruited soldiers every year, only a very small number of elites will be selected to join the Xiang Army, thereby having a better future, while the others will be incorporated into the rural soldiers. And at that time, the government could not give them free money and food to support them, so it became their job to cultivate the fields and pay for the government.
Originally, this situation has improved after the Xining Reform. At least the rural soldiers have been allocated a small piece of land belonging to their own families from the government. Although they may not be rich, they rely on the output of the fields, and it does not count. A lot of money can help the family have enough food and clothing.
But with the death of Emperor Shenzong, all the previous laws and regulations were once again violated. Now there is almost no rural soldier in any state in the world who can actually keep his own land intact, and even the meager salary
They may not be able to get it on time and in quantity, and in the end they can only rely on work to support themselves.
After understanding this, Sun Tu's expression changed again: "So now we, the soldiers from Jiangzhou, also have no farmland of our own?"
"Not only is there no farmland, but because the Xunyang River was harassed by bandits, the government tax revenue dropped sharply. Even the money we should have had has not been paid to us for three months. In order to support our families, the brothers had no choice but to leave the camp. I'm going to work in the city, and I hope Tuanlian will forgive me." As they spoke, Wu Huan and Zhu Lin turned to Sun Tu with bitter faces and repeatedly begged, and then the other soldiers knelt down and said, "Please Sun Tuanlian makes the decision for us..." Some people even kowtowed to them.
Facing such a group of weak and weak soldiers, Sun Tu really had nowhere to vent his anger. He couldn't really punish these old and weak soldiers just to establish his authority, right? Even though Wu and Zhu had obvious reservations in front of him, and even deliberately threw the problem in front of him, he could not delve into their culpability at this time.
To be honest, before coming to the military camp, Sun Tu had actually been mentally prepared. He knew that Yuan Wang would not easily let him take control of the local soldiers, but he thought that someone would give him a showdown, and even had a confrontation with the military. The thought of a battle between soldiers, but he did not expect that what was in front of him would be such a mess.
Seeing that he was a little confused, Wu Huan and Zhu Lin's eyes flashed with pride. Sure enough, as long as they exposed this problem, it was enough to make the so-called regiment training sent by the imperial court helpless. This man only relied on flattery to become a regimental trainer in the city at a young age, but flattery alone cannot really make the sergeants obey orders.
However, as Sun Tu turned his attention to them again and asked questions, both of them put on a helpless expression: "Didn't you go to the state government office to ask for money? As far as I know, Yuan Tuiguan I have always loved the people and protected the soldiers, so I won’t see you in such hardship, right?”
"Sun Tuanlian, you don't know something. In fact, in the early years, our situation was still good. But since Cai Taishou came to office, because he handed over the supply of money and food to Qigong Gou, our salary has been repeatedly affected. Withholding, until three months ago, he could no longer receive money and food. He only said that there was a shortage of food in the city, so he could only provide for the Xiang army first, while we rural soldiers had to think of our own solutions." Zhu Lin said with an angry look on his face.
Sun Tu's heart skipped a beat, and then he realized how serious the problem he was facing now was. No wonder Yuan Wang would be so happy to have someone take him to the military camp today. It turned out that a hole had been dug here waiting for him to jump down.
Even Ruda looked worried at this time, knowing that his family was in big trouble.
Before coming here, Sun Tu promised to Yuan Wang that he would train the rural soldiers as soon as possible. The latter even took the opportunity to propose that certain results should be seen within two or three months. This is equivalent to A military order was issued in front of my superior.
To achieve this, the most important thing now is to boost the morale of the rural soldiers, at least let them get money and food. However, the official in charge of money and food in the city happened to be a member of Cai Dezhang. Apparently Cai Dezhang had spent a lot of time trying to seize a certain amount of power from Yuan Wang.
But after these local petty officials gained backers,
The first thing to do is to satisfy your own selfish desires. It is naturally most appropriate to start with the money and food of the rural soldiers who are least valued. But he didn't expect that Sun Tu would now become the commander-in-chief of the village soldiers. This caused conflicts between him and Qi Gong Gou, whom he had never met before, and even other officials behind him.
It's really a good idea to use one's spear to attack the other's shield. With just one arrangement from Yuan Wang, Sun Tu was put in a dilemma. Or risk offending city officials, or even Cai Dezhang, to seize money and food from them. Although he can establish prestige in the army, he will inevitably become a public enemy in officialdom. Or simply do nothing, but he also issued a military order in front of Yuan Wang. If he fails to produce results after three months, he will definitely be severely punished.
Under the gaze of more than a hundred pairs of eyes, Sun Tu breathed out slowly: "I know, you have indeed suffered. I can assure you here that I will get what you deserve within a few days. Money and food. But I have to tell the ugly story to the front. At that time, you all have to cheer up and train with me, otherwise you will be severely punished. "
This was what Wu Huan and the others were waiting for, and he immediately said: "As long as the regiment training can pay all the money and food owed so that we don't have to worry about the future, the low-ranking people will definitely obey the orders." The other soldiers also responded unevenly. Expressed his willingness to obey Sun Tu's orders.
However, when hearing these replies, Sun Tu was not happy at all. How should he deal with this dilemma
￥￥￥￥￥
"Sun Tu should already know what kind of difficulties he will face at this time, right?" Yuan Wang said with a sneer: "Tell me, what choice will he make?"
In front of him was a middle-aged man with a somewhat vulgar appearance, a sharp mouth, monkey cheeks and triangular eyes. He was Xu Chong, the most trustworthy aide around Yuan Wang. Although this person failed in the imperial examinations many times, he was full of conspiracy and calculations and helped Yuan Wang come up with many ideas over the years.
This time, Yuan Tuiguan originally planned to let Wu Huan and the others cause some trouble in the military camp and come out to show off to Sun Tu, but he stopped him and then set up such a dilemma in a targeted manner, because he had already learned from Sun Tu. From his various performances in Tokyo before the journey, it can be inferred that there should be powerful people around him to help him, and Wu Huan alone may not be able to suppress him with a few big soldiers.
Xu Chong thought for a while and then said: "Based on my understanding of Sun Tu, he is an ambitious and capable person. Since he is faced with a problem, he will definitely find a way to solve it. And in his opinion, Xiang Cai, Governor It shouldn’t be too difficult to ask for money and food, I’m already thinking about it now.”
"Ha... This is exactly what I want to see. Cai Dezhang has spent a lot of effort to win over those local officials this year, and he often turns a blind eye to what they do. I want to see it. What choice will he make between Sun Tu and those officials? There is not only one Qi Kun here, but there are too many Jiangzhou officials and even gentry who are tied to him."
In this game, Sun Tu is not the only one who is about to face a dilemma. When he makes this choice, even Cai Dezhang, the governor of Jiangzhou, will face the same dilemma!
This is the key to Xu Chong's plan being readily accepted by Yuan Wang!