After Li Wei said "learn the art of war from Yan Zhengqing", he was waiting proudly for Yan Zhengqing to be 'overjoyed', but he didn't expect Yan Zhengqing to ask him so calmly. He was a little unhappy, "I want to see Marshal Yan's ability to lead troops in person. In addition, I also want to ask Marshal Yan to come over; this war is crucial and failure is not allowed, so I want to ask Marshal Yan to give me some advice. I wonder if Marshal Yan is willing to come over?"
After hearing this, Yan Zhengqing really didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Your Highness, you are not only borrowing money and weapons, but now you are also borrowing your commander. I wonder if you can't return it?"
"Ha, if Marshal Yan is willing, I will go talk to you and ask him to release them."
Didn't you hear that I was mocking him? Yan Zhengqing finally saw Li Wei's self-awareness. He could only sigh, "Your Highness, it is my duty to assist you. It is also my honor. When the war is over, you are welcome to visit Anyang (I still have to go back to Anyang)."
"Okay, okay." Li Wei didn't know if he had heard the hidden meaning in Yan Zhengqing's words, "We have prepared 200,000 elite soldiers, and another 200,000 civilians. Among the 200,000 elite soldiers, 50,000 are in the foundation-building stage, all of whom have practiced the Ten Thousand Swords Formation and the Eight Desolate Six Combinations Heavenly Gang Formation. And everyone is equipped with a magic weapon-level flying sword. The remaining 150,000 are all above the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage. All the armies are not short of weapons and ammunition. The 200,000 civilians..."
"Get rid of the 200,000 civilians. The war situation has changed." Yan Zhengqing interrupted Li Wei directly without any mercy. Yan Zhengqing, who had entered the "Marshal State", only had military affairs in his eyes.
Li Wei asked seriously this time: "How can we transport supplies without laborers?"
"Merchants!" Yan Zhengqing's eyes lit up. "After all, civilians were conscripted, and they were not willing. But it would be different if merchants were put in charge. Merchants' material transportation speed and ability are definitely better than civilians', because it is profitable. At the same time, the spoils of war obtained on the battlefield can be dealt with on the spot by merchants to reduce the burden on the army. If a soldier carries one or two less gold, he can carry three or five more bullets. Don't underestimate the ability of merchants, Anyang has the most say in this regard."
Li Wei frowned slightly, "In this case, we must give concessions to the merchants."
"No, no, no, Your Highness has not calculated it clearly. What is the greatest benefit of the army? Is it spoils of war? No! The greatest benefit of the army is victory and conquering cities! As long as the State of Cai is conquered, the little profit given to the merchants is really a drop in the bucket! Besides, soldiers don't need to carry spoils of war with them, so they can carry more weapons, ammunition, elixirs, etc. to increase their combat capabilities. Cooperating with merchants is much better than conscripting civilians. Moreover, once the national material reserves are in urgent need, they can buy directly from merchants. Can you do this by using civilians? Moreover, without the burden of civilians, the marching speed will be faster, and they can even appear and disappear at will."
"But in this case, wouldn't the army have to carry a lot of gold and silver with them?"
Yan Zhengqing smiled and took out a piece of fine paper from his pocket. "This is a Jiaozi issued by Anyang Bank. This light Jiaozi is worth 10,000 taels of gold, a fixed amount."
Li Wei rolled his eyes. "Why do I feel like this is a trap? Okay, okay, the war situation has indeed changed. I will go back and dismiss the laborers and let the merchants take over. Fortunately, the war has just begun, so it's not too late."