Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2143 Intensive Training of New Recruits, The Great Battle Begins Again

"Next year will be the second imperial examination of our great Han Dynasty. It is already the dead of winter. The Ministry of Rites must make sure to do a good job in arranging the students' accommodations!"

"All needs will be allocated from the national treasury!"

"The Censorate and the Net of Justice, take charge of the supervision!" After seeing off the envoy from the plateau, Wang Yu addressed the court officials below.

The first year of the Yuanshi era marked the first imperial examination of the Han Dynasty.

The imperial examination is held every three years, and it is now the end of the third year of the Yuanshi era. We are about to enter the fourth year of the Yuanshi era, and the second imperial examination will be held soon.

Although we haven't entered the fourth year of the Yuanshi era yet, students have already started arriving in the capital six months ago. It's quite normal for those who travel from afar to arrive six months or even a year in advance.

Some even went so far as to say that if someone failed the imperial examination the first time, they might simply live in the capital and wait there for the second examination.

Among the candidates in the imperial examinations, there were also many students from ordinary families. After arriving in the capital, these people could not afford to stay in inns every day, let alone rent a small room.

Some of those impoverished students are struggling to even eat, and whether they can survive the winter is a real headache for the government.

If they were left unattended, dozens of them would freeze or starve to death the year before the imperial examinations. It's undeniable that some students lacked basic life skills.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we will not let a single student suffer from cold or hunger!" Minister of Rites Kuai En declared in public.

In fact, the government often hires these students to do some things to help them solve some problems.

For example, when the government needs to run schools, or needs temporary clerks, or even build houses, the government doesn't mind selecting some of these people to work for.

The other party solved their food problem, while the government gained a group of cheap laborers, which can be considered a win-win situation.

In fact, some officials in the imperial court and some prominent families in the capital were already making arrangements for these candidates for the imperial examinations. Many officials had selected a few students they found suitable and taken them home to arrange their future.

Nothing more than earning a token of goodwill!

If these students could pass the imperial examinations with flying colors, they could easily recruit them into their political factions. They could even take them on as disciples.

If by sheer luck one of the students they sponsors becomes truly talented and eventually rises to the top, the return on investment will be phenomenal!
Many high-ranking officials already know or have guessed that there will be big moves next year.

Once new territory is acquired, a large number of local officials will be needed.

Even without acquiring new territory, Henan, Qingbei, and Guangyin have already largely employed officials from the previous dynasty. When the time is right, some of them will inevitably be replaced.

Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, next year will be the second imperial examination of the Han Dynasty in the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty. This is actually very favorable for the students participating in this year's examination.

The number of people admitted in this imperial examination will definitely far exceed that of the previous first examinations.

If the number of students admitted here increases, the probability of getting into high school will naturally increase.

"And this winter, we must intensify the various training programs for the new recruits to ensure the combat effectiveness of our soldiers. If anyone fails to perform, don't blame me for sending him to the Imperial Stables to raise horses!"

The army's combat effectiveness has always been a matter of great concern to Wang Yu.

This year in particular, a large number of soldiers have enlisted.

The other armies were relatively well-off, as they were replenished by prisoners of war from the Southern Expedition, after all, they had taken hundreds of thousands of prisoners during that campaign.

However, the Central Imperial Guard was indeed filled with a large number of new recruits.

Given the anticipated major moves next year, Wang Yu must squeeze them dry this winter.

"Your subject will certainly do everything in his power to achieve this!"

Xue Rengui, one of the two leading generals of the Central Imperial Guard, stepped forward.

He was also well aware that among all the armies, their Central Imperial Guard had the largest number of new recruits.

At this time, Huli Guang, one of the two leading generals of the Central Imperial Guard, was still with Su Dingfang. He even took away all the veteran soldiers of the Central Imperial Guard, leaving only new recruits for him.

Similarly, the task of training new recruits naturally fell on his shoulders.

Their Han Dynasty began its southern campaign in May of the second year of Yuanshi, and it is only the end of the third year of Yuanshi now. How long have they had to recuperate, excluding the time spent fighting?
In fact, the victory in the Southern Expedition was also due to Meng Tian's ability to essentially wipe out Dongcang in just about two months, which allowed them to concentrate their forces on dealing with Zhongcang!
If Meng Tian hadn't taken Dongcang in a short time, who knows how long this southern campaign would have taken!
Logically speaking, this shouldn't have escalated into another major conflict so quickly.

However, plans can't keep up with changes!

The great victory in the southern campaign greatly increased the strength of the Han Dynasty. However, with the strategic shift of Temujin and the Gallic Kingdom, the external threat from the Great Wu in the west was also reduced, and the Han Dynasty entered a period of recuperation in the third year of the Yuanshi era.

Given the expectation that the Great Wu would interfere with the expansion of their Great Han, the Great Han naturally had to bring forward this battle.

After all, if the Great Wu wants to interfere with the power they can use now, is it the same as the power they can use after they have recuperated for a year or two?
In fact, the Great Wu had already entered a state of recuperation and development since the third year of the Yuan Shi era, and could no longer afford to delay.

Even Su Dingfang's western expedition was only one of the goals of those two dynasties, or even a secondary goal. The most fundamental goal was to test the Great Wu.

The fact that Da Wu is obstructing Su Dingfang's military actions shows that they are more wary of the expansion of the Han Dynasty and are more likely to intervene in the future.

Therefore, even though the fourth year of the Yuanshi era was a little early, time was of the essence.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Huang's Great Yan, although also victorious in the Han's southern campaign, captured half of Qingnan Road and part of Heyang Road, taking over all of Dongcang's territory south of the Yellow River.

Today, the Great Yan Kingdom possesses four regions: Heyang, Qingnan, Donghai, and Guangyang.

The same was true of Zhao Kuangyin's Song Dynasty. After winning the Battle of Hexi, it took only two months to bring Yangxi Road in the south under its control.

The Song Dynasty today also occupies four strategic locations: Guandong, Guanxi, Hexi, and Yangxi.

As for Yangdong Road, where Zhennan Army was located, it was situated south of Henan Road, between Yangxi Road and Guangyang Road, and was surrounded by the three. The Great Han had indeed only recently conquered these three roads, and its ranks included many new recruits this year.

But weren't the Great Yan Dynasty of Emperor Xuanyuan Huang and the Great Song Dynasty of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin in the same situation?

Therefore, it's not entirely impossible to start a major war ahead of schedule.

"Your Majesty, we must greatly strengthen the training of our soldiers. Should we consider providing them with some meat as well?" Zhuge Liang, the magistrate of Henan, stepped forward and asked.

Zhuge Liang was not only a politician, but also a military strategist, and one of the Ten Philosophers of the Temple of Martial Arts. He had his own insights into all aspects of military training.

Normally, the training of soldiers should proceed step by step.

However, if the soldiers' training is to be significantly intensified in the final months, it will inevitably mean that the soldiers will suffer greater exhaustion.

Especially in winter, the body needs to expend more energy to maintain its balance.

Under these circumstances, the more intense the training, the more important it is to ensure adequate food supplies.

After all, if the soldiers were to be fed according to their original food standards, it would probably not be enough to sustain their energy expenditure.

Therefore, if we follow Wang Yu's approach, it is inevitable that we will raise the food standards for the soldiers in the next few months, at least until spring.

Moreover, improving the food standards can also boost the soldiers' enthusiasm for training.

"Meat!" Many court officials began to whisper among themselves.

Indeed, these two words sound simple, but they are very difficult to put into practice.

To supply meat for such a large army, the daily consumption would be astronomical!
It is easy to imagine the enormous pressure this would place on the national treasury.

No dynasty could withstand such treatment!
Basically, among the major dynasties, including the Han Dynasty, the better ones allowed their soldiers to eat meat once every half month, while the worse ones might only be able to eat meat once every twenty days or so.

For the emperor's personal guards, such as the Central Imperial Guard, the treatment was probably better. In practice, they were rewarded every ten days with one pound of pork and one pound of yellow wine per person. Of course, sometimes they would also choose to give the meat in cash.

There are soldiers who can eat meat every day, but those are all elite troops.

Why are elite nutrition soldiers so expensive? It's because their treatment in every aspect, from food and clothing to housing and transportation, is far superior to that of ordinary soldiers.

According to Zhuge Liang, the soldiers' food standards should be raised to the level of elite troops. Although it will only last for a few months, it will cost so much money to achieve this. Will we still be able to fight next year?
After all, if the soldiers were truly to be fed meat, it wouldn't just be the new recruits; the veterans should be given meat too. Who among those present wouldn't understand the principle that the problem isn't scarcity but inequality?
"The Central Imperial Guards receive a daily reward of half a pound of meat!"

"The rest of the troops, excluding the government troops, will be rewarded with half a catty of meat every three days for a period of three months."

"Prioritize the supply of the Imperial Guard!"

"The money needed should not be taken from the national treasury, but from my private treasury!" Wang Yu said after some consideration.

"Your Majesty, how can we possibly use the imperial treasury?"

"I am willing to devote all my family's wealth to rewarding the army!" Zhao Anling, as the head of all officials, was the first to express his opinion.

Even if it's only three months, it's still a huge hole, and relying solely on Wang Yu's personal coffers won't be enough to fill it!

In fact, when Wang Yu mentioned the term "Inner Treasury," he was implicitly hinting at it to his ministers.

Huangfu Wuyou also understood the implied meaning at this moment. He was originally somewhat tempted, as he could improve his chances of winning over both the emperor and the army. However, he was scared back by a look from Guan Zhong.

Guan Zhong was the Crown Prince's tutor, and in this respect, he and Huangfu Wuyou were on the same side.

Therefore, he couldn't let this old guy act rashly.

Zhuge Liang was the one who proposed this matter, yet he didn't step forward at this time. So why are they in such a hurry?
Once Huangfu Wuyou opens his mouth, Guan Zhong knows without a doubt that with his family's wealth, it will be an astronomical sum!

After all, even if the old man didn't have the strength himself, he would definitely bring along the rest of the Huangfu family.

Being the first to jump out and spending so much money, it's uncertain whether you can boost the emperor's favorability, but you'll most likely boost the army's favorability.

The emperor's son is doing this; isn't he just pissing the emperor off?

An emperor may not care about winning over civil officials, but if he tries to win over military generals, he will likely become wary immediately.

Throughout history, in the struggle for succession, princes were not incapable of winning over powerful generals, but these princes often harbored rebellious intentions. Take, for example, Wang Yu's uncle, the former emperor of Da Cang.

Princes who are not prepared or do not dare to do so will not easily try to win over the army.

At least in the generation of Huangfu Mingzhao of Da Cang, not a single prince dared to touch a military general. They even went so far as to deliberately offend them and distance themselves from them. After all, their fathers had seized power by force!
To try and seize power by force from someone who seized power through force—are they afraid of not dying soon enough?
They could wait until the other ministers had expressed their opinions before they infiltrated the group.

At this moment, the other ministers below began to curse Zhuge Liang and Zhao Anling in their hearts, wondering why they had to bring up such opinions.
However, the emperor had taken the initiative to open the imperial treasury, and the prime minister, who was the head of all officials, had also made his move. What could they do at this time?
It's bound to cost us some money!
Therefore, even if they were unwilling, they had no choice but to reluctantly express their opinions.

"Lord Shangqiu!" Wang Yu looked at one of his ministers below.

"Your subject is here!" The Director of the Commerce Department stepped forward as ordered.

"Your company is to manage merchants in various regions and expedite the purchase of all kinds of livestock to meet the army's needs!"

The imperial court couldn't conjure up so much meat; they could only pool their money and buy it.

This task should naturally be assigned to the business department; otherwise, what would be the point of setting up this department?
The targets of the purchases were naturally the pig and chicken farmers in the countryside, as well as the Northern Di! The three families north of Tianlang Pass and the Golden Horde Royal Court.

Although the Northern Di must be happy about such a large transaction, there are priorities.

Ensuring the soldiers' training over the next few months, so as not to delay next year's plans, is the most urgent task at present. As for other matters, they can be postponed for the time being.