Volume 1, Entering the Tang Dynasty for the First Time
"This is the design drawing of horseshoes and stirrups. Can you understand it?" Lu Chen called the leader of the craftsmen to come closer and opened the drawings for them to see.
"Sir, do you need a mold for this?" Looking at the design drawn by Lu Chen, Liu Laosan, the leader of the blacksmith, asked. Liu Laosan is a middle-aged man in his thirties. Although he is in his thirties,
There are already traces of wind and frost on his face, and his temples are a little gray. He is wearing a white washed and patched short jacket, with his sleeves rolled up, and his two exposed bronze forearms are covered with burn scars and scars.
muscles.
"Molds are indeed needed. The stirrups can be made uniformly, but the horseshoes need to be modified according to the hoof shape of each horse. The most important thing is this!" Lu Chen pointed to the horseshoe nails on the drawing. The shape of the horseshoe nails is similar to
Large thumbtack, "This nail must not be longer than an inch and a quarter! Otherwise it will hurt the horse's shoe!" Lu Chen warned Liu Laosan solemnly.
"I understand, little man. Let's go back and prepare the molds. Let's try to make some first and ask the adults to take a look!" Liu Laosan bowed and saluted.
"Well! Go! I have to check on my big baby's injury!" Lu Chen signaled Liu Laosan to get ready. The craftsmen are not needed for the time being. They can only wait for the horseshoes, stirrups and horseshoe nails to be ready.
Okay, so Lu Chen is going to treat his white horse's injuries first.
The white horse's injury is actually not too serious, it's just a split hoof. As long as the split area is trimmed off, then medicine is applied, the hoof is bandaged, and the white horse is not allowed to exert force. After raising it for a period of time, it will be back to normal.
When the time comes, it is natural to shoe the white horse.
It will take some time for the blacksmith to build these harnesses. Although it is not a big piece and there are designs, time is still needed. It just so happened that Li Xiuning's inspection of the camp was not over yet, so Lu Chen accompanied Li Xiuning to inspect the military camp.
"Military advisor, do you have any suggestions for my army?" Li Xiuning asked Lu Chen with a smile on his face as he walked.
"The commander-in-chief's army is well-organized and the army is mighty, not bad!" Lu Chen watched all the way, thinking about the military system of the Tang Dynasty.
"Perfunctory!" Li Xiuning glared at Lu Chen directly, "I want to hear the truth! Not such flattery!"
"Then let me just talk about whatever I want. The commander-in-chief will listen to me. If there is anything wrong, I hope the commander-in-chief will forgive me!" Lu Chen took a precaution in advance, just in case Li Xiuning didn't want to listen to what he said.
There is room for maneuver.
"I am not someone who cannot listen to advice. Since I regard you as your military advisor, I can talk to you about anything!" Li Xiuning understood the meaning of Lu Chen's words and said directly with a smile.
"That would be embarrassing for me!" Lu Chen raised his hand and said, "Commander, as far as I know, our Datang adopts a military system, right?" Lu Chen looked at Li Xiuning and asked.
At this time, the two of them had already sat down in a tent. After all, they had been walking for a long time, and it was just a good time to take a rest and talk.
"That's right! This method of recruiting troops has been used since ancient times!" At this time, someone had brought tea to the two of them. Li Xiuning picked up the tea cup and took a sip, while Lu Chen asked someone to change him to a bowl of cold boiled water. It was really
This is the tea of this era that Lu Chen is not used to drinking.
To be honest, tea in the Tang Dynasty was all boiled tea. To put it simply, the tea leaves were boiled as soup, with salt, seasonings and milk added in. Anyway, it was a mess and the result was more like tea soup. It doesn’t look good at all.
Like the tea of later generations.
"So what was the status of the last military service of the previous dynasty?" Lu Chen took a sip of Liang Baikai and continued to ask.
"There are no soldiers available!" Li Xiuning thought for a moment and said with a confused expression.
"Why?" Lu Chen continued to guide Li Xiuning. If he wanted to change the government military system to the recruitment system, Li Xiuning was undoubtedly the best choice. First, Li Xiuning had military power in his hands. Second, Li Xiuning had a high position and had the right to speak.
At least half of the Tang Dynasty was conquered by Li Xiuning, so at this time, Li Xiuning can basically speak better than Prince Li Jiancheng and King Qin Li Shimin, because Li Xiuning will not threaten the seat under Li Yuan's butt.
"I don't know!" Li Xiuning tilted her head and thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out the reason. "I hope you can give me some advice!" Li Xiuning looked at Lu Chen sincerely.
"To put it bluntly, the military household system is a hereditary military household system. The premise of this system is that military households have land. Only with land can they have food and food. Only when people are full can they have the strength to fight. But with the establishment of the dynasty,
, there will be more and more land annexations..." At this point, Lu Chen secretly observed Li Xiuning's expression. Li Xiuning didn't seem angry, but rather thoughtful. Lu Chen continued after seeing this, "
A lot of land has been annexed, and taxes have been levied on military households and civilians. In this case, let alone conscription and fighting, it would be good if we can avoid rebellion!"
After Lu Chen finished speaking, he looked at Li Xiuning, who still looked thoughtful.
"I understand!" About two-quarters of an hour later, Li Xiuning said suddenly, startling Lu Chen who was drinking water at the side. How could Li Xiuning be so startled?
Because Lu Chen analyzed with Li Xiuning the reasons for the shortage of troops caused by the imperial army in the late dynasties. Li Xiuning was a very smart person. After considering the historical facts, wasn't it just like what Lu Chen said, the Li family's rebellion could be accomplished.
Isn't that the reason? The common people have been forced to have no way out, how can they not rebel?
"Sir, do you have a way to solve this problem?" Li Xiuning stood up and saluted Lu Chen respectfully and asked.
Li Xiuning was so frightened that Lu Chen jumped up from his chair and hid aside. Don't say that modern people are still afraid of giving gifts? Don't forget, this is the early Tang Dynasty, and the one who gave Lu Chen gifts was Princess Li Xiuning of Pingyang.
, what kind of person is this? A person who is inferior to one person and superior to tens of thousands of people. If this spreads out, Lu Chen will be charged with the crime of disrespect, and Li Yuan can directly order him to be killed!
"Your Highness, I am sorry!" Lu Chen dodged Li Xiuning's salute and hurriedly bowed in return.
"I hope Sir can teach me how to crack it! Protect my foundation of the Tang Dynasty!" Li Xiuning said in a very sincere tone.
"It's not that there are no ways to crack it, but it's just not suitable to use now. After all, the Tang Dynasty was just established, and the military system of this palace can still be used for a while, and the world is not yet settled. When the world is settled, it will be too late to crack it. If His Highness proposes to change the army at this moment,
Control would probably destabilize the court. What's more, the aristocratic families are also watching. Those aristocratic families don't care about this. As long as it hurts their interests, they dare to rebel. Now the Tang Dynasty still relies on these aristocratic families to stabilize the court.
Therefore, Your Highness still needs to wait patiently!" Lu Chen showed a strategizing look, just gave him a goose feather fan in his hand, and then shouted: "I am Zhuge Wuhou!"