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In Yinchuan City, the work of selecting soldiers for the Western Expedition was carried out in full swing. Only sons in the family were not accepted, and people from the south who were not accustomed to the cold weather in the north were not accepted. In the end, only 2,500 people were selected out of the 20,000 Qin troops.
Every soldier who went on the Western Expedition would immediately receive a resettlement allowance of ten dragon coins. If they did not want money, five mu of good farmland would be allocated to their families.
Two thousand five hundred men, all equipped with Type 69 flintlock rifles, two hundred rounds of ammunition each, one hundred rocket launchers, one thousand rocket shells, and three war horses each.
As for the 50,000 Mongolian soldiers, they still used traditional sabers and bows and arrows as weapons.
Qin Mu then issued another decree, transferring Aobai to be the deputy commander of the Western Expedition army.
Before making the decision to march west, Qin Mu did not consult with any ministers. This kind of thing would be a waste of time if you discuss it over and over again.
Anyway, the resettlement fee of more than 20,000 dragon coins is not a large sum. If the officials in the court use this as an excuse, Qin Mu can just pay for it himself. Qin Mu can still afford this amount of money.
Before the expedition, Qin Mu called Li Ding over and pointed to the map and said, "The Tsarist Russia relies on the Cossacks. The Cossacks are very brave and ruthless. They like to use spears as weapons. They are excellent light cavalry. It is they who have become the most important force for the Tsarist Russia to expand eastward.
But one thing is that they are undisciplined and unwilling to dismount to fight, so we can only be on guard against their attacks. They are nothing to be afraid of in the face of flintlock rifles and rockets.
If you can, wipe this race out of this world. Without the support of the Cossack cavalry, Tsarist Russia would have no power to expand eastward. "
Li Ding immediately clasped his fists and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Aobai is a rare brave general. I hope you two can work closely together, but you must always remember that these 2,500 well-equipped soldiers are the basis for you to control the 500 Mongolian soldiers. You must always keep them in your hands, and even Aobai cannot be allowed to get involved. If it is not necessary, try to send them to charge as little as possible to save ammunition."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand."
"General Li, you must remember that kindness does not lead to victory in war. No matter who stands in front of you, he has only one identity. That is the enemy. This is one of the secrets to the success of the Mongol invasion of the west. I have asked someone to prepare some historical materials about the Mongol invasion of the west for you. Please read them on the way and see what experiences are worth learning. I earnestly hope that you can accomplish this unprecedented feat and erect a boundary monument for the Qin Dynasty on the Wula Mountains."
Li Ding was deeply moved by Qin Mu's earnest instructions. He bowed solemnly and kowtowed, saying, "I am leaving now. I don't know when I will be able to see Your Majesty again. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health. When I return, I will present you with thousands of miles of territory in person."
Li Ding kowtowed again and again. His eyes were slightly red. The journey was a long way to go, with mountains and rivers everywhere, and the road ahead was endless. The difficulties and dangers were too numerous to count, and he didn't even know if he could come back.
Qin Mu was also very touched. He stood up and patted his shoulder. Then he asked someone to fetch his Juque sword and said, "General Li, I don't have anything more to give you. This Juque sword has been with me since I was born in Huichang. I have always kept it with me. Now I will temporarily give it to you..."
"No, no, no, this sword belongs to your majesty and is of extraordinary significance. I dare not accept it."
"General Li, take it. Let it accompany you on the Western Expedition on my behalf. When General Li returns triumphantly, return it to me."
"I... thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty. I will repay your majesty's kindness with all my heart and soul. I bow again. Your Majesty, take care."
The next day, Li Ding led 2,500 Qin soldiers on the long journey to the west. Qin Mu personally saw them off for 200 miles and held a banquet at Keyi Gate for a grand farewell.
Flags fluttered, thousands of horses neighed, warriors set out, thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, to the edge of the sea. I don't know how many of them returned, and I don't know when they will return. The smoke of war was endless, the shadows of blood and the flashes of knives were so tragic.
But a country and a nation need such unswerving pioneers.
The emperor personally escorted the soldiers on the expedition for two hundred miles, which moved them deeply. They drank the strong liquor prepared by the emperor at the Keyi Gate, then bid farewell to the emperor, sang the war songs of the Qin Dynasty, and officially embarked on the long journey.
The old Qin is strong and will recover our land.
The war will not stop until the blood is shed and the people die.
How can there be peace when the world is in turmoil
Qin has sharp warriors and their swords are sharp.
Wearing black clothes and dark armor, he swept across the world.
On the day of triumphant return, congratulate our emperor again.
Mandated by Heaven, may you live long and prosper forever.
Outside the Keyi Gate, thousands of troops, with loud war songs, galloped away with a determined attitude, raising billowing smoke and dust, like a yellow dragon heading north. They will meet up with 50,000 Mongolian troops in Wuqihai City, and then cross the Yinshan Mountains, cross the vast sea, go out of the northern desert, and cross the North Sea, embarking on a magnificent expedition that is destined to go down in history.
In March of the Qin Yuan Period, 1870, the whip of God was swung once again!
When Qin Mu returned to Yinchuan City, he immediately summoned ministers such as Sima An and Gu Junen to redeploy the garrison of the northwest border troops and appropriately reduce the garrison on the border. At the same time, he transferred important generals such as Ma Yongzhen and Meng Ke back to the court, and implemented a modified version of the garrison rotation system.
All garrison commanders will be rotated regularly to prevent them from becoming too powerful and threatening national stability.
As the Type 69 flintlock rifles began to be gradually equipped to various armies, the Qin army's combat mode was very different from the cold weapon era. The problem of soldiers not knowing their generals and generals not knowing their soldiers caused by the garrison replacement method would not have a great impact on the combat effectiveness of the Qin army. This is also the reason why Qin Mu dared to change his generals regularly.
The Song Dynasty's garrison rotation system required that garrisons in various places be rotated at irregular intervals, which was extremely costly.
The current garrison rotation system of the Qin Dynasty mainly involves rotating generals.
As for the garrisons in various places, only the garrisons guarding the capital are rotated with the border troops every three years, and the number of troops rotating each time is 30,000.
This is mainly to ensure that there are at least 30,000 tough and combat-ready troops among the garrison guarding the capital.
To avoid the phenomenon that occurred in the middle and late Song and Ming dynasties, there were 100,000 or 200,000 troops stationed in the capital, but in reality they were all in a state of decay. Once the border troops were defeated, the troops stationed in the capital would be completely useless and would collapse at the first touch.
Ma Yongzhen, Meng Ke and other major generals of the Qin army had originally wanted to avoid suspicion. After all, in all dynasties, the founding generals had to hand over their military power after the country was stabilized.
If anyone does not hand over the military power, even if the emperor does not say anything, the officials in the court will not feel at ease, and the censors will not let you go. By then, the gossip of all people will be enough to make you suffer a bad ending.
Therefore, the implementation of the garrison rotation law encountered little resistance. After receiving the order, Meng Ke, Ma Yongzhen and others immediately surrendered their military power and prepared to return to Nanjing to become dukes.
How to arrange the generals of the garrisons in various places was mainly done by Gu Junen, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, who drafted a list and submitted it to Qin Mu and the cabinet ministers for discussion and implementation. This matter will not be elaborated on here.
Ningxia Province returned to Daqin, and due to the destruction caused by war, it was urgently necessary to appoint officials to govern it.
After Qin Mu discussed with Sima An and others, he immediately appointed Mo Qingyuan, the former prefect of Yan'an, as the governor of Ningxia, the former co-magistrate of Fuzhou as the censor, and ordered Lieutenant General Qu Nan as the commander-in-chief to guard Hetao.
As for the herdsmen whose livestock were eaten by the army, they moved inland to northern Shaanxi and Guanzhong to change their farming, and some were directly resettled in Yinchuan.
Only after arranging the chief officer did Qin Mu return to Chang'an.
When passing through Suide, Qin Mu unexpectedly heard that the tomb of Meng Tian, a great general of the pre-Qin Dynasty, was on the banks of the Dali River west of the county seat. So he stopped his carriage and went to the tomb of Meng Tian to offer sacrifices in person. He also wrote "Tomb of Meng Tian, General of the Qin State" by hand and ordered people to carve a stele and erect it in front of the tomb. He also planted six green pines beside the tomb by hand.
After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the world, he sent Meng Tian to lead 300,000 troops and the military supervisor Fusu to garrison Shangjun. They repaired straight roads, built the Great Wall, and drove out the Huns, making outstanding military achievements.
But Qin Mu was the Son of Heaven after all, and he sacrificed to a pre-Qin general with such fanfare. Some people did not understand the meaning at first. But when they saw the eyes of the soldiers returning from the battle, they understood the emperor's deep meaning.
The emperor's action was not only a commemoration of the pre-Qin generals, but also a formal vindication of the unjustly killed Meng Tian, and an encouragement to the current Qin army officers and soldiers.
The subtext is that the emperor treated the pre-Qin generals so well. If the generals have made contributions, will the emperor treat you unfairly
In addition, Qin Mu also took the opportunity to improve the status of military generals in disguise. After the Song and Ming dynasties, the status of military generals was extremely low, and Qin Mu hoped to change this phenomenon. The sacrifice to Meng Tian was to release this meaning.
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.(To be continued..)
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