Sophie was politely invited into the council room of the Gunte House by the captain of Char's bodyguard, and Junker was also accompanied by him. Although Char's order was to invite Sophie alone, at Sophie's insistence, the captain of the guards could only agree to bring Junker in together.
As a warrior from the strong cavalry battalion, the captain of the personal guard of Xia Ya is not a talkative person, but when Xia Ya sent him here, he specially instructed: Be polite.
In the council chamber, the mad dog Green has already left.
For the experienced Green, the old mad dog was a little disapproving of Char's sending someone to invite such a little girl to discuss such an important matter - she was just a young girl, what could she understand? Even if she is a close disciple of the famous Cavie Hill, even if Cavie Hill praises her highly, but Mad Dog Green doesn't really think that a little girl can help him solve these important military affairs in front of him. problem.
He even thought that it was a bit of a joke for Xia Ya to find such a little girl to discuss military affairs.
However, Green remained silent.
One thing that needs to be pointed out is that since Char defeated the army of Odin Chixue, recovered the entire territory of Syltan County, and conquered the Corsica region, he has achieved an unprecedented and huge victory - up and down the army, Char has established His lofty personal prestige, especially the cavalry troops, is even more respectful to this brave and miraculous coach. Furthermore, the composition of Char's cavalry unit was partly Rodriguez cavalry and partly from Nene's gang of horse thieves. The rest were recruited from the armies in a very small percentage.
For the Roderian cavalry, Char was their former colleague, and the same background made it easy for them to identify with Char.
Not to mention those horse thieves - didn't you hear what they called Xi Ya behind their backs? "Uncle"! It's just like family.
Therefore, in the group under Charya's command, the loyalty of the cavalry unit to Charya has always been high. On the contrary, he doesn't really value Green, a veteran of the empire. Although respect is enough, he may not be willing to give up his effectiveness.
Green's prestige is mainly in the infantry units - most of the infantry units are from the original 6th and 7th corps. Those officers and soldiers who were born in the regular Central Army prefer to pay attention to "birth", compared to Char, who was born in a wild way. Guys, before the war, he was just a local garrison officer. Green is different. Green is from the eagle family, a disciple of the old Duke of Minas, a senior officer of the Imperial Military Academy, and he has also served as the commander of the regular army. This kind of background makes it easier to get the recognition of the officers and soldiers of the infantry unit. .
Of course, these were before the Sirtain County War.
In the war in Syltan County, Green led the infantry troops to attract the main force of Manninger, Charya commanded the cavalry to travel thousands of miles, miraculously conquered the new city, then completed the strategic encirclement of Manninger, and finally defeated the Odins...
During the entire war, almost all of Char Ya was guiding the trend of the war.
After the war, even those veterans of the 6th and 7th Corps who might not have been convinced by Charya had to admit that if it wasn't for Charya's outstanding performance, they would not have been able to win this battle at all. down.
As for the lower-level officers and soldiers, Char's cavalry miraculously moved thousands of miles, conquered powerful enemies, and even killed several enemy generals, including Manninger's eldest son Morka... This kind of achievement is enough to make The lower-ranking officers and soldiers had a sense of admiration for this commander-in-chief.
The prestige in the army, the balance has gradually turned to Xi Ya as the core.
And from Green's point of view, Xi Ya himself has undergone a lot of changes.
The bright, carefree, young man with a bright smile in the past seemed to have gradually disappeared from him. With the increasing prestige of meritorious service, Xia Ya also showed more and more decision of a leader or even... Arbitrary!
In the past, Xia Ya would be willing to leave most things to Green, and he was very happy, but as he gradually adapted to the role of "leader", it seemed that some potential things in his temperament were gradually stimulated. came out.
He is getting more and more used to the position of leader. Although he still maintains enough respect and trust for Green and many other subordinates, he will never obey Green's opinions as before, but prefer to keep the overall situation in his own hands. In the hand - as long as he decides something, he will never change it easily!
To cite the tiniest detail - in the past, when discussing a matter, when Xi Ya asked his subordinates, he would usually say, "What do you think should be done?"
But now, Xia Ya's tone has become the standard tone of a superior asking a subordinate: "What advice do you have?"
The same question, but the words are different, the mood is naturally very different.
Green is very clear, in fact, Xi Ya is a very strong person from the bottom of his heart.
The old mad dog never meant to compete with Xia Ya, and even he was willing to watch Xia Ya gradually transform into an excellent leader, leading the group of the Northern Army to greater achievements.
Therefore, after watching Xia Ya gradually transform step by step, Green carefully restrained his brilliance, and even deliberately cooperated with all Xia Ya's actions.
Even when his opinion differs from that of Char Ya, he tries his best to obey Char Ya's will and help Char Ya consolidate his leadership authority.
From this point of view, how lucky is Xia Ya to have a partner like Green who is willing to act as his deputy.
Therefore, when Xia Ya decided to invite a young girl like Sophie to discuss important matters of the military, although Green thought it was too child's play, he still wisely kept silent and made a concession.
…
When Sophie walked into the conference hall, Char was standing by the window in a daze.
He looked out the window, the setting sun seemed to have smeared a layer of blood on the sky, and the afterglow shone on the earth, which was very poignant and beautiful.
Xia Ya's body armor has been taken off, but she has just returned but has not had time to wash away the dust. When Sophie approached Xia Ya, she smelled the strong sweat on this guy's body - to be honest, after riding for a few days, Running around for days, this smell is really not very good.
Xia Ya stood upright, with broad shoulders, a tall and straight body, and was extremely heroic. At a young age, he was at his most energetic and exuberant. But at this moment, standing by her side, Sophie saw the faint tiredness in the eyebrows of the young commander.
Turning around, Xiaya glanced at Sophie, then looked at Junker who was standing behind Sophie, and said lightly, "Come here? Please take a seat."
No politeness, no greetings, Xiaya just raised his hand, and the captain of the guard walked out and closed the door outside.
"I have something, and I want to hear your opinion." Xia Ya's tone was calm and steady, as if it didn't have the slightest emotion: "Right now, I have a few issues that need to be carefully dealt with, it's like this... "
Very short opening remarks, simple and even a little too short.
However, Sophie's face did not show the slightest surprise, with a peaceful smile on her face, her eyes were full of calm, and she listened carefully to what Xia Ya said.
During Xia Ya's speech, Sophie didn't say a word, she just listened quietly. There didn't seem to be any reaction on her delicate face, and she didn't even raise her brows.
Finally, when Xia Ya finished speaking, Xia Ya let out a long breath, and after talking for a long time, her mouth was dry, she stood up, walked to the side, poured three glasses of water with her own hands and put it on the table.
Xiaya sat down gently, and after drinking a glass of water, looked at the girl in front of him: "Is there any solution?"
Sophie finally smiled, raised her eyelids to look at Xiaya, picked up the cup in front of her and took a sip, her delicate face, in those bright eyes, her smile even more. It was a bit funny: "Sir General, military affairs and government affairs are not child's play, but there is no way to cure the disease. The problems you just mentioned are all accumulated drawbacks, and you can't come up with a solution right away while talking and laughing. eradicated."
Xia Ya was not disappointed when she heard it, and smiled: "I don't have that much hope of eradicating me. I know that these things are very troublesome, and I don't expect them to be solved in three or two times, but at least I have to think of a way first. get over the difficult times ahead.”
After a pause, he sighed: "First of all, it's a matter of money... Soldiers follow me to fight to the death, defend against foreign enemies, recover their country, and fight to the death. If the victims can't get good pensions, they can't let the living get Good treatment, I am really ashamed of them."
After saying this, Sophie was not doing well, and Junker next to him just nodded. Juncker, who was born in the military, naturally agreed with what Char Ya said. As a general, if you don't love your soldiers and soldiers, you won't be able to achieve great things.
Looking at Xia Ya's eyes, Sophie's heart moved slightly, and then she smiled and said: "Okay, there is no way to eradicate the problem... After all, the general's problem now is one word: money! Money is nothing more than that. Open source and reduce expenditure.”
After a pause, her calm eyes gradually revealed a calm self-confidence: "Open source matters need to be discussed in the long term, and new sources of money must be developed. It can't be solved in a day or two, is this something? , in the future, we can take a long-term view. Now to overcome the current difficulties, we can only start from throttling."
When Xia Ya heard this, she frowned: "Throttling? Military spending must not be reduced. I have already said that I cannot treat these soldiers who are born and die with me badly."
Sophie smiled lightly: "The general misunderstood what I meant. I didn't ask you to treat the soldiers harshly, but... there are differences."
After a pause, she used a calm look to stop Xia Ya from asking, and said slowly: "First of all, it is necessary to praise and reward the soldiers who have made meritorious deeds after the end of the last war. These expenses must not be Reduction, in my opinion, not only can't reduce, but also increase the reward. I mean, increase the reward you set before the war by about 30%, and double the pension for the fallen soldiers! "
Xia Ya's expression remained unmoved: "rich rewards and pensions..."
"The question of money, I heard that General Xia Ya, you went to the imperial capital this time, but made a lot of windfall."
Xia Ya smiled bitterly: "Yes, I got some... But the money is not too much. If such a small amount of money is on one person's head, it is a huge wealth, but if it is distributed to tens of thousands of soldiers, it is not much."
"Well, but if it is only used to comfort the dead and wounded soldiers, and reward those who have made meritorious deeds, it should be enough, right?"
Xia Ya sighed: "Enough is enough, but in this way, there is not much money left... In the next military system reform, the treatment needs to be upgraded to the level of the Central Army, but it is not enough. All the money is spent. Front, back I can't always..."
"My idea is to base itself on the reform of the military system."
Sophie raised Su's hand slightly and looked at Xia Ya: "Lord General, please listen to my detailed analysis for you."
"You claim to have tens of thousands of soldiers under your command. This number seems to be quite a lot. Judging from the time when you started and the territory you occupied, it is really commendable to have such a large fortune in a short period of time. But to be honest , With the territory and population in your hands, it is really difficult to support so many troops.
Before you were in trouble both at home and abroad, and there was a threat from a powerful enemy outside, the whole army focused on resisting the foreign enemy. The army, with the treatment of the local garrison, would not say anything. But now once the military is upgraded, the military spending alone will bankrupt your finances. You must have noticed this problem by now. "
"Nonsense... If not, what would I ask you to do?" Xia Ya whispered.
"Actually, General, you are wrong."
Sophie suddenly raised her voice a bit, waved her hand, and her words were full of confidence.
"wrong?"
"wrong!"
The girl's eyes were calm: "In my opinion, after the army is restructured, the military expenditure may not necessarily increase by much. If it operates properly, it may save another sum of money!"
"… what?!"
Xia Ya was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes immediately lit up!
"What do you think!"
…
"My idea, to put it bluntly, is very simple, it just falls on the 'grading'!
Your Northern Army now consists of three infantry regiments and a separate cavalry regiment. Needless to say about the cavalry regiment, I heard that you are using cavalry, General, and this battle in Syltan County also used cavalry to win a great victory unseen in a century! Therefore, the treatment of the cavalry is naturally unnecessary. Even if you want to think about it, you cannot start with the cavalry.
In addition to the three infantry corps, the first corps is composed of the remnants of the 6th and 7th corps of the former imperial central army. There are two corps, so it seems that the first corps is the main battle force in your hands. In terms of treatment, the veterans of the sixth and seventh corps used to receive the treatment of the central army. Now the army is restructured, naturally To improve their treatment, this one does not need to be considered.
I mean, start with the 2nd and 3rd Corps.
Your Second Corps is mainly composed of a small number of veterans as backbone officers, and most of them are newly recruited recruits. In terms of combat strength... I'm not being too harsh, in fact, such an army is only afraid of the empire. The garrison is not as good. In my opinion, it is only a little stronger than the civilian army. To be honest, I even think that the military salaries you gave to such an army at the imperial level of the local garrison were too high!
To be honest, I think your previous approach was a bit inappropriate... It is a bit high to let the new army of the Kanbi militia be given the same treatment as the main battle army like the First Corps. In my opinion, the treatment of such recruits is not suitable to be raised too high as soon as they come up.
In addition, there is the Third Corps. The Third Corps is a new army mainly composed of the surrendered troops of the former Corsican military region after the defeat of the Odins this time. Those Corsicans who surrendered to the Odins had been cows and horses before. In this war, they did not make much effort, and it is really impossible to say credit. However, in my opinion, the importance of this army is higher than that of the Second Corps. In any case, they were also regular troops before, not a new army like the Second Corps. As long as they were rectified, their combat effectiveness would be above the Second Corps.
The general composition of the army under your command is like this. If you want to save money, you might as well take advantage of this change in the military system and make some changes in the army!
According to my assumption, it should be like this after the reform: the original cavalry independent regiment was treated as first-class, and the cavalry's military pay and treatment have always been higher than that of the infantry, which is needless to say. The treatment standard of the Central Army is raised by one level, plus 10% of the army's salary. This is the existence of the ace main battle force in your hand.
Because the First Corps is composed of the regular army of the original Sixth and Seventh Corps, it can fully enjoy the treatment of the Central Army of the Empire.
As for the 2nd and 3rd Corps... I mean..."
Speaking of this, Sophie, the girl, slowly spit out a word, which made Xi Ya's heart burst!
"disarmament!"
"disarmament?!"
…
After being silent for a while, looking at the doubts in Xia Ya's eyes, Sophie said lightly: "It's too hard to support three corps in the territory you currently command, and, based on my analysis, from now on , From the perspective of the overall situation, it has entered the stage of strategic stalemate. At present, there is no enemy in front of you that urgently needs to be defeated and defeated... After the annihilation of the Chixue Army, there is no deadly enemy, so there is no need to keep the number too large. The army... Besides, to be honest, there are as many recruits as the Second Corps really fights. Apart from being able to do security work in the rear, it really doesn't play a role.
In the short term, your top priority is to develop your own strength and restore vitality within the territory. There is no need to launch any large-scale war for the time being. To the south of us, the Bestars are not our enemies, and they will not pose a threat to us for the time being. And to the north is Wildfire... We don't have to worry about those goblins attacking us on Wildfire, right
As for the two sides, on our left are two weak Tema military districts, in addition to a part of the land occupied by Odin's Thundercloud Legion, but the Odins seem to have no intention of expanding, even from the information I have , they seem to be content with the land they have taken, and this Odinian army and the armies of the other Tema military districts are mutually restrained and will not pose too much threat to us.
Your concern, the only threat, comes from our right. Hastings, County Notts.
The Black Flag Army is famous all over the world for its fighting power. However, since Hastings occupied Nods County, they have never come close, but the troops are just standing there. Even when you attacked the Red Snow Army south, they did not Any action, obviously their target is not you, at least, in the short term, they have no intention of being hostile to you.
Although there are different forces on the left and right flanks, we only need to retain the main battle force of one corps, plus the cavalry troops in your hands. If something really happens, if these forces are only used for defense and small-scale counterattacks, is enough. As long as you don't start a big war, these troops are enough to defend our territory.
So, I mean, massive disarmament of the 2nd and 3rd corps that you now have under your command! You might as well cut off half of them and keep the remaining ones to form a corps under the name of the 'Northern Army Guard Corps'. With the name of the 'Guard Corps', you can distinguish them from your regular army. This garrison corps still enjoys the treatment of the imperial local garrison level! There is no reason for them to be dissatisfied with this kind of treatment... After all, they are under your command, and this unit has not made any military exploits, nor has it played any role in the previous war. This established garrison regiment is mainly composed of the descendants of the Corsican military region, supplemented by a small number of new recruits-those descendants of the Corsican army, who were oxen and horses under the Odins, now under your hands, can If you have a bite to eat, you will be grateful to Dade, and if you are dissatisfied with the treatment of the local garrison, then you don't have to be polite to these surrendering people. "
These remarks were eloquent, but Xia Ya was a little dazed when he heard it.
It seems that this girl makes a lot of sense... Before myself, no, even Greene had entered a wrong mindset in thinking: the army can only go on the path of expansion.
After all, it is already a chaotic world, and in a chaotic world, whoever has the strongest army is the strong one. Soldiers and generals have become the only channel for self-protection.
However, they did not expect that an army with too many troops may not be able to play a real role.
"But... these troops that were finally pulled up... even those recruits, who have been in the army for several months, have also received preliminary military training, and now let them all go back, the previous investment will be wasted. Moreover, I'm afraid that many soldiers may not be willing to leave..."
"Sir." Sophie smiled lightly: "When I say disarmament, I don't mean to let them take off their military uniforms and go back to be farmers! What I mean is... transfer these laid-off soldiers to the reserve."
"Reserve?!"
When Xia Ya heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up!
"We in Byzantium have no reserve force. Our country has always implemented the peasant-military system, but from the perspective of the country's past century, this peasant-military system is really a drawback. The peasant-military system of the Tema military district system has become an empire. A cancer on your body. I think when the time is right, you can completely abolish this system in your jurisdiction first. And in my opinion, the time has come.
You have just won an unprecedented victory. Your prestige in the army and among the people is unprecedentedly high, but the center of the empire is weak and you have no control over you. , to abolish this system first.
Abolish the peasant-military system and switch to the reserve system!
The previous peasant-military system was operated by the local government. The local government owned official land and recruited farmers to cultivate and conduct military training at the same time. In wartime, it was transferred to the combat sequence. It's a good idea, but over the course of a century, this system has become ill-conceived.
First of all, the land cultivated by the peasants and soldiers is not their own, so they do not have sufficient enthusiasm when working. If the output of the land is too small, the output of the land is too small, then the income obtained will be reduced, and it will not be enough to provide the peasants and soldiers with the salaries. In this way, a vicious circle is formed. The treatment of peasants and soldiers is reduced, so whether it is farming or fighting, they are unwilling to contribute.
This has become a ridiculous situation: the Byzantine Empire has a vast territory, and has exercised a hundred-year-old peasant-military system. There are millions of peasants and soldiers registered in various places! But when the empire encountered war, apart from a few central corps and a small number of local garrison troops, the empire had almost no troops available! ! Those peasants and soldiers are unwilling to leave their homeland to fight, and their treatment is low, which cannot inspire their will to fight. The lack of training also makes their combat effectiveness not worth mentioning at all.
So, I think, switching to the reserve system is the most appropriate strategy at the moment.
The reserve system, in fact, has been implemented nationwide by the Lantis people early on.
This system seems to have great similarities with the peasant-military system, but in fact there are essential differences!
First of all, soldiers in the reserve can get the land allocated by the government. The ownership of such land has been directly given to individual reserve soldiers! not belong to the country! Because it is their own land, when they are cultivating, they will try their best to work and not slack off. At the same time, reservists enjoy preferential treatment from the government in terms of taxation. Compared with the agricultural tax paid by other farmers, the reservist soldiers only need to pay half the tax. While enjoying the low tax, all they need to pay is that they must spend a certain amount of time every year to enter the army for military training! This kind of military training, time is placed in the slack season of farming, will not delay the cultivation of the land, and at the same time can ensure that they receive sufficient military training, so that they will not be abandoned and transformed into thorough farmers. Such reservists, once faced with war, can be directly recruited into the army, and as long as they are rectified a little, they can be converted into combat power immediately.
Moreover, soldiers in the reserve can also receive military pay when they receive military training every year. Of course, this military salary does not need to be too high. Taking the Landis Empire as an example, their reservists can receive military subsidized military salaries during training. The standard of military salaries is half of the local garrison army.
Under your command, the counties of More, Syltan, and the Corsica region have just experienced a large-scale war, the population has dropped sharply, and large-scale unowned lands have appeared, which are very sparsely populated. At that time, a large amount of unowned land, rather than abandoning it, it is better to take the opportunity to implement the policy of the reserve force and grant these large amounts of unowned land to the reserve personnel!
For you, once, after disarmament, a lot of military expenses have been saved! Second, after those lands are cultivated by the reservists, they can also provide new tax revenue when they are harvested! After all, we still make money! "
Xia Ya was stunned when he heard it, and then carefully thought about it...
If you follow Sophie's plan, her military expenditure will be reduced, and her financial income will also increase!
Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the army has not decreased!
Looking at the girl in front of her, after she finished speaking, she picked up the cup and took a sip. After putting down the cup, she put her hands on her knees calmly, her smile was calm, and there was no trace of waves in her eyes... Such a calm demeanor, let Xia Ya couldn't help but feel a little dazed for a moment.
It seems that the person sitting in front of him is not a young girl, but the dead and world-famous wise man Cavie Hill!
Suddenly, Dora's long sigh came from Xia Ya's mind.
"The so-called national scholar is nothing more than that..."
…
Xia is excited! He stood up abruptly and walked back and forth in the room for a few times. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Sophie's plan was a wonderful solution.
Moreover, the implementation is also very feasible!
"I think there seems to be some things that can be added." Xia Ya rolled his eyes: "This time, the awards for meritorious soldiers may not be rewarded with money or other physical objects, but they can be awarded with equivalent land. Anyway, Laozi is now under his command. There is nothing else, just a lot of land! Damn, the damn Manninger Red Snow Army, the population of Syltan County has dropped by a full 50%! The Corsica area is slightly better, but the population has also decreased 30%! The population of More County is less than 70% of the pre-war population! Greene implemented spring farming a few days ago, and he already felt that now we have a vast land and a large area of land, but no one is farming! Land, as a reward for meritorious soldiers, awarded to them!"
"It's a good idea." Sophie smiled slightly and looked at Xiaya with some approval in her eyes: "Your Excellency is really smart, and you deserve to be the teacher's disciple. If you do this... When these lands are distributed to the hands of those who have meritorious service. Li - don't forget, most of the soldiers of the 6th and 7th Corps under your command were originally from the Central Army, not locals. Although they are serving with you now, many of their family members are in other countries. As long as they have land, they will naturally write letters to their family members and move their families to you! You don't pay a penny, and you will have a lot of people! When the soldiers serve in your army, their families Cultivate the land, and after a year, your territory will be strong, the army will be strong, and the food will be abundant, even if you are fully recovered!"