The arrival of Xu Huang's letter interrupted the topic they had just discussed. Liu Xin took the opportunity to change the subject and said: "Nowadays, Cao Cao has hijacked the puppet emperor Liu Xie and occupied parts of Qingzhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Yuan Shao
After occupying Jizhou and merging the states, they will soon defeat the Duke.
Sun Zan annexed the entire Youzhou. The other princes such as Tao Qian, Yuan Shu, Liu Yao and others each dominated one side. Although the war against Dong Zhuo was successful, it also suffered huge losses. Now it is only appropriate to appease the people, exterminate the remaining bandits, and rest. I
I want to order Gongming to withdraw his troops temporarily, what do you think?"
Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Kuai Yue all nodded their heads, and they had no objections to the strategy of temporarily stopping the troops.
Liu Xin raised the letter in his hand and said in a deep voice: "This war has taught us extremely profound lessons. Take the army as an example. In the past, I have always emphasized the strategy of elite troops, overemphasized the quality of the army and ignored the quantity.
As for the situation of often being stretched in the use of troops, if we have enough troops, we can take advantage of it.
With Cao Cao's new defeat, we captured Yuzhou in one fell swoop and even invaded Yanzhou. However, we cannot do this now. The battle line is stretched too long. Many places say that there will be a lack of troops and the enemy will take advantage of it. Even Xiangyang was attacked twice.
The enemy's surprise attack. Although Xiangyang was finally defended, the people along the way would inevitably suffer disasters from swords and soldiers, and their hearts would inevitably be shaken."
In the era of cold weapons, the combat effectiveness of the same arms was almost the same, and the outcome of the war mainly depended on the generals' martial arts and wisdom. Liu Xin's policy of elite troops actually brought the combat effectiveness of his army to a new level, but in the absence of effective
Under the premise of information transmission and strong mobility, this improvement in combat effectiveness
This kind of improvement still cannot guarantee that oneself will be invincible. There is an element of luck in defending Xiangyang twice. Seeing that Liu Xin can take the initiative to recognize his mistakes, Cheng Yu and others are secretly pleased. They have long thought
It is proposed to expand the size of the army, and with Xiangyang's strength, it can fully afford the huge military expenditure.
Cheng Yu is currently the Minister of War, and it is his responsibility to recruit and organize the army. When he heard Liu Xin's words implying the expansion of the army, he quickly stood up and said: "To inform my lord, I think that the area under my lord's jurisdiction is getting wider and wider now."
, the strength of the troops is indeed insufficient, and it is necessary to recruit new soldiers in time. The first, second, and fifth legions are currently incomplete, and last year's recruits can be replenished into these three legions first to meet the urgent need."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said flatly: "No! This time, the new recruits who were able to defend Xiangyang not only performed well, but also paid a great price. The rest are warriors who have been reborn from blood. I want to separate them
Form a new legion, temporarily designated as the Sixth Legion. In these battles against Dong Zhuo, many war horses were captured. The Sixth Legion will be composed entirely of cavalry, with a strength of 50,000. It can be supplemented by outstanding horsemen selected from each major legion.
Enter the queue."
A group of new soldiers formed a separate legion, and they were all cavalry. It was enough to show that Liu Xin was very satisfied with their performance in the defense of Xiangyang, and it was also the greatest recognition of their contribution.
Kuai Yue lived in Xiangyang for a long time and followed Liu Xin for many years. He knew that war horses were a scarce resource in the south. He never thought that one day he could form an independent cavalry regiment. He couldn't help but get excited. He raised his hands and said, "My lord, if you have such a cavalry regiment,
If we help each other, why worry about failure to achieve hegemony? I just don’t know who the lord wants to appoint as the commander of this cavalry regiment?"
Liu Xin pondered and said: "When it comes to charging, killing and galloping, both Yide and Zilong can take on this important task. This cavalry will be of great use in the future. Zilong is a careful person, so I think it is more appropriate to hand it over to Zilong."
Cheng Yu smiled and said, "I'm afraid that if this happens, General Yide will have some objections."
Liu Xin said disapprovingly: "Back then, I became sworn friends with Gongming, Yide and the others. Zilong was the youngest, so it was natural for the elder brother to give way to his younger brother. Besides, I am also prepared to strengthen the five major legions with all the troops.
To increase the number to 100,000, the first and second legions will each have 20,000 cavalry, and the third, fourth and fifth legions will each have 10,000 cavalry. Thinking of this arrangement, Yide should have nothing to say."
Everyone laughed. Guo Jia raised his hands and asked, "General Zilong was transferred to the position of commander of the Sixth Army, and his subordinates recommended Zhang Liao to be the commander of the Fourth Army."
Liu Xin nodded and said: "Wen Yuan is a loyal man and is talented enough to take on this responsibility. However, he has other important tasks in Xuzhou and I am afraid that he will not be able to do anything for a while."
Cheng Yu stood up and said, "What's the problem? Zhang Liao should be appointed as the commander of the fourth army, and Gao Shun should be appointed as the deputy commander to temporarily lead the army."
According to the original division of labor when the six ministries were established, the rest of the officials, including the prefects of each county, were appointed and removed by Tian Feng, the Minister of Civil Affairs. Only the army generals had to be appointed by Liu Xin personally, so he discussed with everyone here the matters of leading the major armies.
After this expansion, the total strength of Liu Xin's regular army will exceed 500,000. After two or three years, if they can be trained into elite soldiers like before, it can be said that sweeping the world is just around the corner. I think it won't be long before that.
To unify the world, Cheng Yu and others are very excited. Because everyone understands that if one day, the world is peaceful, Liu Xin will be the emperor, and they will become the great contributors to the revival of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Xin saw that a military expansion made them feel uneasy. He couldn't help but shook his head, smiled lightly, and said: "Not only that, I also plan to expand the navy. Now Jiangling Shipyard has built many large warships, and some
One battleship can carry more than 3,000 warriors.
Including sailors and archers, the number can exceed 5,000, but the size of the navy has always been maintained at 30,000, which is obviously insufficient. Therefore, I plan to expand the navy and divide it into two fleets, each with a strength of five.
Ten thousand people. The first fleet will still be commanded by Gan Ning, and the second fleet will be handed over to Sun Ce."
Guo Jia asked in confusion: "My lord, I have something unclear to you. As far as I know, our Han Dynasty originally had two naval armies, namely the Yangzhou Navy and the Jingzhou Navy, each numbering around 10,000 people."
, now the Yangzhou Navy exists in name only, and the Jingzhou Navy is under the command of the Lord.
However, it has grown to 30,000 people, and the number of warships has also expanded many times. Looking at the entire river, it is no longer invincible. And under the rule of the Lord, the government is well-organized and people-friendly. Even the mountain bandits have disappeared, let alone the water bandits. Lord,
Why do we need to form such a huge navy army?"
Liu Xin smiled and said: "Fengxiao, you have traveled far and wide, but have you ever seen the sea?"
Guo Jia replied without thinking: "Of course I have seen the sea before. It is vast, blue, beautiful and spectacular. When the huge lang comes, it is shocking and inexplicable. Why does the lord ask about the sea?"
Suddenly, the expression on Guo Jia's face changed drastically, and he asked in shock: "Does the Lord want to learn the story of Emperor Qin and also send boys and girls to search for the magic of immortality in overseas fairy mountains? These are all tricks used by alchemists to deceive people.
, My lord, you must never believe it!”
Liu Xin was stunned after hearing this. She didn't expect Guo Jia to think of it up there. She couldn't help laughing at herself: "How dare I ask for immortality? If I can live to the age of seventy, I will be satisfied. Do you know that close to the shore?
The sea is the sea, and the ocean becomes the ocean if you travel farther. This ocean contains infinite wealth and is the hope of the future of our Han nation! I want to build the Han navy into a real navy that can sail in the boundless
On top of the ocean!”
Cheng Yu said anxiously: "My subordinates have heard that the sea is changing rapidly and the winds are ruthless. Even the fishermen in the offshore dare not sail far. If we want the navy's ships to sail on the sea, we will probably need to invest a huge amount of money.
My lord just wanted to expand the five armies, and now he has to expand the navy and go on an expedition to the sea. I am afraid that the burden on the people will become heavier day by day. Please think again, lord."
Liu Xin said without any doubt: "As long as life lasts, if we can't accomplish a few major things in our lifetime, wouldn't it be a waste of time for us to live in this world? Don't worry, I will do my best and will not do anything militaristic."
That’s all. Whether it’s expanding the army or establishing a naval force, it’s currently just about increasing personnel and strengthening training. As for equipment, it can be gradually allocated, and it must be within the scope of financial resources.”
Guo Jia and others breathed a sigh of relief at the same time and said in unison: "My lord is wise."
Liu Xin waved his hand and said: "This time I am determined to carry out a major reorganization of the army. The barbarian army fought bravely and skillfully in resisting the attack of the four central and southern counties. Their names should be rectified. I am going to reorganize them into the seventh army."
Legion, specializing in mountain and jungle warfare
, the number is tentatively set at 20,000. Also, in the defense of Xiangyang, the engineering team also played a big role. This engineering team has been implementing semi-military management. I want to reorganize them into a regular army, so
It’s called the Engineering Corps, and its military pay and treatment are the same as those of the regular Corps.”
Every year when recruiting soldiers, many common people enthusiastically apply. They don’t go there just for the money. After all, people in Jing and Yizhou have no difficulty in supporting their families. Of course, it’s not because they can often eat meat as soldiers.
Although everyone is used to living a frugal life, it is no longer the case
In the past, people could only eat a piece of meat during the Chinese New Year. In the past, the four classes were scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, and these four classes belonged to the class of good people, while traffickers and foot soldiers were often looked down upon by people. But under Liu Xin's rule, soldiers can enter openly and honestly.
It is a class of good people and a very respectable profession.
All this stems from the policy of one family between the military and civilians implemented by Liu Xin. The soldiers no longer dare to harass the villagers at will. Not only that, during the busy farming season, the soldiers will also go into the fields organizedly or spontaneously,
Help the people cultivate the land, sow seeds, and harvest crops. Because
Soldiers often help the common people with their voluntary work, so the common people regard the soldiers as their own relatives. When the soldiers are respected, they become more moved and proud, and more common people are willing to join the army. A good man should not be a soldier.
The history of has become a thing of the past here.
Most of this engineering team is composed of prisoners from previous wars, and now they can also join the ranks of the regular army. If they can know this news, they will be overjoyed. At the same time, after such a reorganization, the engineering team can, when necessary,
When the time comes, you can definitely step up and take on some combat tasks to make up for the lack of troops.
Kuai Yue thought for a while and understood Liu Xin's intention, and said repeatedly: "My lord, this move can be said to have added a hundred thousand new troops, which can play a big role at critical times. After this military expansion and reorganization, how can the princes of the world do anything about it!"
Liu Xin waved her hand and said, "That's not all!"