That night, Yu Liang was invited to sit at the same table with the commander, and there was even wine.
After three rounds of drinking, the commander asked Yu Liang how many people he could find. Yu Liang couldn't answer, so he asked about some things about going into battle, but the commander couldn't answer either.
The commander said: We don’t care about the war.
Yu Liang was puzzled: The court did not recruit soldiers for war, why
The commander said: "Brother Yu is new here, so I don't know much. Lord Cao was ordered to set up the Five Military Command Office, which includes the Military Command, the Military Finance and Food Command, the Armor Command, and the Messenger Command, a total of five armies. We are the Military Command Army, and we are only responsible for recruiting people now, not fighting."
Yu Liang was a little confused and murmured: So that's it
The commander said: There are three levels of the Five Military Command Offices. The one in the capital is the Command Office. Ten to fifteen states have provinces, and there is a Command Office. The state capital has a Command Office branch. We are the Command Office branch of Kaifeng Prefecture, and now we only have the Command Army branch. The government office is in the city, and we will move there after it is repaired and everything is ready.
The commander laughed and said: "Brother Yu said before that he didn't know martial arts. To be honest, my martial arts skills are also very poor. I can only read. Anyway, the generals in our army don't fight.
Yu Liang thought to himself, no wonder this brother is so easy to talk to, it turns out he is here to recruit people. He immediately said politely: No, no, General, you are too modest.
The commander laughed and said, "I've really neglected it." He seemed to have seen through Yu Liang's thoughts, and said, "But we will deal with each other again in the future. When the troops of the mobilization army need to gather people for battle, we have to find them; when they are training, the mobilization army sends people to teach, and we are still the ones who take care of the brothers."
Yu Liang frowned and said: The person who led us into battle, doesn't he know
The commander pondered and said, "I definitely know who the name is, I just don't know him well. However, the people below the deputy commander are all the same; I don't know who the superior is, but the deputy commander and the ten generals below are all brothers I know. You don't care who the superior is. They are all officials of the messenger army who come to pass on military orders. The military orders of more than 100 people are all the responsibility of the messenger army. You go wherever you are told to go and fight however you are told to fight.
That's true, Yu Liang agreed, saying that he didn't know much about military affairs anyway.
The commander picked up the wine bowl, his face was already red from drinking, but he still spoke clearly. "There are some things I need to make clear to Brother Yu so that you can have a plan when you recruit people."
Yu Liang clasped his fists and said: I hope the general will tell you.
The commander said: There is no military pay. All the soldiers below the deputy commander have no military pay.
Yu Liang:
If there were military pay, the court would have simply expanded the imperial army. Why would it make so much trouble? The commander looked at him and said, "It's not without benefits. As long as you are registered, you don't have to do corvée, and your whole family doesn't have to do corvée, and you don't have to suffer. Even if someone pays someone to do corvée, they still have to spend money, right?"
Yu Liang frowned and said: That’s true.
He thought to himself: I'm not doing this just to save that little bit of money. Besides, I'm a student and don't have to do any corvée labor.
The commander said: "Usually, when we call the troops for training, their food and clothing are all paid for by the government. After the training, we will be given some grain, cloth, salt and other things to take home. Anyway, when we are not training, we can farm if we need to, do the work of craftsmen if we need to, and study if we need to, so it won't be a waste of time."
If there is a war, this is the big money. Before the troops are deployed, they will be given some resettlement allowances. After the battle, they will be rewarded according to their military merits. The money and food will be paid directly by the army, and it is clear and fair. It is entirely possible to buy land and property with this money.
If someone died or was disabled, there would be a pension, which would be paid from the emperor's inner treasury. If there was no money in the inner treasury, the emperor would use official land and farmland to pay it off.
For those who are afraid of poverty, doing this is a business that is guaranteed to make money as long as they are willing to sacrifice their lives.
Yu Liang was stunned.
The commander said kindly: Brother Yu is different from ordinary soldiers, you have a brighter future. Work hard, make contributions, and ask you for money or official position, you should choose official position. Once you break through the level of deputy commander, you will be able to eat the emperor's food for the rest of your life.
If you pass the imperial examination at the Ministry of Rites, you will be transferred to a civil servant. If you fail, you will stay at the Five Military Commandery. No matter which army you go to, you will be a military commander who receives a salary. People like me who command the army don't have to fight, just manage people. What's the difference between me and an official
Yu Liang nodded vigorously after hearing this. This was what he wanted, a way to progress.
It was already night in Jiangning Prefecture. An autumn rain was drizzling on the long street. The light of the lanterns became dim, giving off a cold and gloomy feeling.
Inside the headquarters of the Five Military Commanderies, Cao Bin was still reading files under the lamp.
He looked tired and hadn't slept well for many days.
A young man brought tea and whispered: Alang, you should rest for a while.
Hum. Cao Bin did not answer.
Although most of the local soldiers were not paid, Cao Bin roughly calculated that the emperor had invested a lot of money. If he failed, most of the emperor's property would be lost.
However, Cao Bin also found this to be a huge opportunity. Because the matter was of great importance, if he succeeded, as the first commander of the Five Military Commandery, he would probably be more glorious than the generals and prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty, and the prime minister would probably have to show courtesy to him.
The matter is of great importance and it is not as simple as setting up a military headquarters and a Jiangnan camp.
Cao Bin carefully pondered the various articles of the Military Order of the Privy Council under the lamp. This was a major strategy at the national policy level.
It is not just about forming a hundred thousand soldiers, the hundred thousand soldiers are just the first batch. The Privy Council means to expand the military resources on a large scale and implement a three-level strategy to tap the potential of war.
The first level is the registered local soldiers. The soldiers registered in the army can be directly recruited to form an army and fight.
The second level is the soldiers who have been deregistered. After three years of being deregistered, some people will be deregistered and return to civilian status. However, they have served in the army and fought in wars, so they can be gathered together and used. As long as the court has money, it can provide military pay and recruit soldiers to form an army when it lacks manpower.
The third level is the unregistered soldiers. The Five Military Commands will organize training for all men over the age of sixteen in the country, so that they can learn to use simple weapons, understand military law, and have experience in marching and deploying troops. In wartime, as long as money is given, they can be recruited and trained as soldiers.
Cao Bin thought this was a crazy national policy, and it was not an exaggeration for the civil officials to criticize it as a warmongering policy. Otherwise, how could it be called a military order
But once this national policy succeeds, Da Zhou will definitely become a powerful country. As long as there is money and food, the court can invest its wealth and national strength into military affairs. This is what Guo Shao occasionally mentioned. Is it a way to transform national strength
Cao Bin picked up another stack of papers, which were all the names of generals recommended by the Imperial Guards, Horse and Infantry Division, and the Palace Front Division. Most of them were generals from the lower camps who were sent to farm when the Imperial Guards were streamlined. These people would serve as generals of the Military Command Division.
Now Cao Bin wants to first establish the command offices of the provinces and prefectures.
Just now I thought of the seriousness of the matter, that is, even the government structure has changed for the military state order. The local system of previous dynasties mainly inherited the two-level system of prefectures and counties since the Qin Dynasty; the more important state-level government of the prefecture was called a prefecture, such as the two-level government of Kaifeng Prefecture and County.
Now there is an additional province directly under the central government, which belongs to the third level of government. Now there is only a provincial-level command and control office, but it is always higher than the prefecture and county agencies.
Cao Bin felt that it was somewhat similar to the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty, but with less power. The Duzhishisi only managed the troops and had only the power to command them; the power to mobilize troops, money, food, and armories were not in the local area. It had no right to interfere in local governance and taxation, because the Wujun Dudufu and the Zhengshitang Liubu belonged to two different government offices.
The messenger army of the Five Military Commandery is very special. It belongs to the Commandery, but the Commandery cannot manage it. The Privy Council should manage it. Cao Bin guessed that in addition to the general officials in office, there were also undercover spies from the Privy Council's Military Affairs Department. He had heard that the Military Affairs Department, a yamen that rarely shows up, was responsible for this job.
Before he knew it, it was late at night and Cao Bin fell asleep.
The waiter outside wanted to come in to see if the tea had cooled down, but he saw Cao Bin sleeping soundly on the table, so he found a blanket and covered him with it.
The next morning, Cao Bin washed up and rushed to the lobby to meet with the generals for a morning meeting.
The generals had arrived early and were waiting there. After a round of greeting, Cao Bin asked everyone to sit down on both sides. A general said: "There is a large military training ground outside the city, but there is not enough land. The officials of Jiangning Prefecture do not allow us to build it, and they also say that we are seizing the people's land. What should we do?"
After hearing this, the military generals started cursing. Cao Bin had two black lines on his forehead. These military men were indeed not as polite as the civil officials when doing things.
Someone shouted: "We conquered the Southern Tang Kingdom, and we are not allowed to build a camp. Whoever stands in our way will be killed."
Cao Bin said: If a civil uprising is provoked, who among you will come to put an end to it? Jiangnan is peaceful, so let's come here to fight a war to quell the rebellion first.
At this moment, there was finally a general who understood what was right and wrong. He clasped his fists and said: We can't control the officials of Jiangning Prefecture, but if Cao Gong goes to find Han Xizai, maybe it can help.
Immediately someone agreed and said: "Yes, Han Xizai is very prestigious in Jiangnan, and all officials respect him. Han Xizai has also received favors from the government, otherwise he would not have been able to be so successful as an official in Jiangnan that we occupy. Cao Gong is an imperial envoy, and Han Xizai should give him face."
After hearing this, everyone agreed.
Unexpectedly, Lu Duan, a Qianniu attendant who accompanied the expedition to the headquarters, said: It is better to find Chen Qiao than Han Xizai.
Hey, Cao Bin seemed to be thinking about something, and after thinking for a while, he asked again to find out the truth.
Lu Duan said: The scholars in Jiangnan respect Han Xizai, but Han Xizai also has to consider the opinions of the people in Jiangnan. If he were to come forward in this matter, he would be in a dilemma. Chen Qiao is different. He has a bad relationship in the officialdom in Jiangnan, but he is a local official in Jiangnan and works in Jiangning Prefecture. With his actions in protecting Lin Renzhao, as long as he is made aware of the public spirit and righteousness, he will help Cao Gong deal with this matter.
After hearing this, Cao Bin nodded in agreement and said, "Let's go see Chen Qiao first to find out the answer."