Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

Yang Ling pointed at the envelope on the table and said, "Send someone to deliver it to the East City military camp immediately and give it to Liu Chuang, the military commander. Remember, be careful and don't let anyone see the contents of the envelope."

"I obey your command." Zhou Huaian agreed.

"Well, go and do your work."

"Yes."

After watching Zhou Huaian leave, Yang Ling ordered again: "Prepare the car, I want to leave the house."

The Yang Mansion is located in the Dongcheng District of the capital, covering a vast area and occupying extremely spacious land.

Yang Ling quickly arrived at the mansion in a sedan chair, then he brought his personal guards to the study, took out paper and pen from the drawer, and began to grind.

"The news of recruiting new soldiers today has spread throughout the capital. I hope to keep the news as low as possible. Therefore, it is best to choose the time to recruit new soldiers in the evening or late at night."

Yang Ling wrote a plan for recruiting new soldiers, stamped it with his seal, then called the butler and asked him to take it to the post station and give it to Liu Chuang.

After the butler left, Yang Ling began to think carefully again.

Recruiting soldiers is to prepare for the war against the Japanese invaders, but how to do it specifically? Although Yang Ling has rich combat experience, he is not a jack of all trades. More importantly, he lacks a think tank who can handle the overall situation. Because if Yang Ling deviates slightly, it will lead to the failure of recruiting new soldiers, so recruiting new soldiers must be cautious.

"Someone come here!" Yang Ling suddenly shouted.

The guard at the door hurried in.

"Order the commanders of all military camps to come to Yang Mansion to see me immediately!"

"As ordered."

The guard walked away quickly. Not long after, more than a dozen tall and handsome men came to the lobby of Yang's house.

Everyone clasped their fists and said in unison: "We greet the Marshal."

These are the Jiangningwei military academy, including Zhao Hu, Li Gui and Chen Xiao.

Yang Ling looked around at everyone and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work. Please take a seat."

After everyone sat down, Yang Ling pondered for a long time before saying, "I know that you are all brave and good at fighting, but you all know the current situation of the court. The treasury is empty. Therefore, recruiting soldiers must be strictly controlled and no unqualified people can be recruited! Otherwise, how can we defeat the Liao bandits? You are all highly skilled in martial arts. If unqualified people are recruited, I am afraid that our tens of thousands of soldiers may not be able to defeat 80,000 Liao bandits!"

Zhao Hu clasped his fists and said, "General, I am willing to lead the troops to fight and wipe out the Liao bandits."

Chen Xiao said: "General, I am also willing to lead the troops to kill the Hu!"

Li Gui and Zhao Hu echoed in unison.

Yang Ling waved his hands and said, "You all misunderstood me! I want you to form an army, not just to fight a decisive battle with the Liao bandits!"

"Not having a decisive battle with the Liao bandits?" Everyone looked puzzled after hearing this.

"Yes, we will not fight a decisive battle with the Liao bandits."

Suddenly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So we are not going to have a decisive battle with the Liao bandits. We are so scared."

"General, since we are not going to fight a decisive battle with the Liao bandits, why are we organizing a recruitment?"

"Well." Yang Ling paused for a moment, then continued, "In fact, our organization's recruitment of new soldiers is fake. The real purpose is to take the opportunity to absorb the exiled people into the army."

"Absorbing exiled civilians into the army?"

Everyone looked surprised and looked at Yang Ling for an explanation.

Yang Ling said: "Since ancient times, whether it was the Sui and Tang Dynasties or the late Qing Dynasty, the exiled people were the most difficult group under the rule of the court. Every year, countless people fled famine and wandered, and even fell into prostitution. In the early years of our Ming Dynasty, many people who fled famine poured into the interior of the country, but as time went by, those refugees gradually turned into farmers. These farmers are mostly Han immigrants. Because of their poor lives, they dare not return to their hometowns, because they are afraid of being taxed, and because they are frightened, they stay in the interior of the country. If we absorb this group of refugees into the army, we can get a steady supply of reinforcements. At the same time, our strength will gradually increase, and eventually form enough strength. When we have enough strength, we will not be afraid of the invasion of Liao thieves!"

As soon as Yang Ling finished speaking, Li Gui immediately said, "General, you are wise!"

His face was filled with fanatical admiration, and he obviously felt that Yang Ling's proposal was in line with his expectations.

Zhao Hu also said excitedly: "Marshal, can we use this opportunity to recruit new soldiers to recruit refugees into the army and then train them?"

Yang Ling nodded when he heard this, "You are right, that is, if. We do need these people, but we cannot absorb them directly, because they are not friendly forces to us.

So, I plan to adopt the strategy of 'recruiting talents'."

Recruiting talents, as the name suggests, is the action of attracting talents.

This strategy has been tried and tested in later generations, especially in the rapid development of Western culture, which has made Westerners more aware of etiquette and shame. Westerners value "high morals" and "benevolent and righteous teachers", so it is difficult for them to feel disgusted with Yang Ling's abuse of power for personal gain.

Of course, in later generations, this kind of behavior has been considered "evil".

But this era requires exactly this kind of strategy.

Yang Ling said: "In addition to recruiting new soldiers, I plan to set up a recruitment office to be responsible for recruiting new soldiers, collecting grain, collecting rent and other matters, and at the same time organize a school to teach the new soldiers drill manuals and battle formations.

The recruitment office was under the command of Deputy General Wang Yanbi.

My intention is to achieve all three.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Yanbi quickly stood up, bowed respectfully and said, "I will do my best to help you, the commander-in-chief."

Yang Ling nodded and said, "Brother Yanbi will be in charge of this matter. As for the cost of recruiting new soldiers, you can raise it."

"Here."

Yang Ling raised his head and looked at everyone, "Do you have any questions?"

Chen Xiao said: "Marshal, after recruiting new soldiers, how should we train them?"

Yang Ling said calmly: "I have already considered opening up an armory and forming a craftsman department after recruiting new soldiers."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on and quickly stood up to express their gratitude.

Yang Ling continued: "After recruiting new soldiers, we will first conduct drills, and then we can train the new soldiers and set up a craftsman department at the same time.

Before recruiting craftsmen, we should first train the new soldiers. Once the training is completed, we can send them to the border to participate in the battle to defend against Liao bandits."

Everyone nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Yang Ling's arrangement.

Yang Ling continued, "In addition to recruiting new soldiers, I will also train young and strong people in the military farms. After the new soldiers are trained, we will immediately form a military farm corps." Everyone's eyes lit up and they expressed their support.

"Also, let's follow this plan for the time being to form an army."

"Marshal, what is your mission?"

Yang Ling said: "My main task is to repair the water fort and prepare for our resistance against the Liao bandits' attack."

Everyone nodded to express their understanding.

Yang Ling added: "I have something else to announce."

Everyone became solemn.

Yang Ling said, "I have already contacted the court, and Emperor Taizong has agreed that the court can allocate military expenses from the capital when my army marches north, a total of 25 million strings of money."

Everyone was overjoyed.

Yang Ling glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Twenty-five million strings of cash is not a small number!"

Everyone couldn't help swallowing their saliva. Zhao Hu shouted: "As long as we occupy the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, we will be the richest man in the world!" Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling very excited.

Yang Ling laughed and scolded: "Stinky boy!"

Chen Xiao said: "I guess the court will probably give us subsidies."

Zhao Hu said: "That's for sure!"

Chen Xiao frowned and said, "Although I know that these 20 million is not a small amount, we can't spend so much money at all. We can only store it in a bank or warehouse." Yang Ling nodded and said, "That's true."

Chen Xiao pondered, "It would be much easier if I could get a lot of money houses. I could just find a few financial oligarchs to cooperate with me and make them pay out the money. Unfortunately, this is impossible."

Yang Ling said: "No matter what, this is 25 million strings of cash, it is definitely a hidden danger that must be guarded against!"

Everyone showed a look of worry, but Chen Xiao said, "Don't worry, take your time!" He then looked at everyone and ordered, "Go and raise the money on your own." Everyone agreed and left the tent.

Wang Yanbi walked out of the camp and ran into Li Chengliang. Li Chengliang saw Wang Yanbi's sad face and asked, "Why are you so sad?"

Wang Yanbi shook his head and sighed, "Our military budget is stretched to its limits!"

Li Chengliang asked curiously, "Aren't your salaries and military funds quite high?"

Wang Yanbi pointed at his colleagues and said, "Look, they are even worse off than me!"

Li Chengliang looked at the military officers and generals around him and found that many of them were dejected. Li Chengliang couldn't help but feel puzzled, "What's wrong with you?"

Zhang Qing said angrily: "The commander-in-chief ordered that only 20 kilograms of rice be supplied every day!"

Li Chengliang said in surprise: "So few?" Then he looked at everyone and said: "What about you?" Everyone shook their heads and sighed.

Wang Yanbi said indignantly: "The Marshal is trying to force us to death!" Li Chengliang frowned and thought to himself: "Governor Yang's methods are really vicious! He actually used rice to force his soldiers to fight to the death!" Then he couldn't help but feel infinite sadness in his heart, and murmured: "Those guys in the court dared to put my brother in danger. It's simply unreasonable. Sooner or later, they will be in trouble!" The murderous intent in his heart surged up, and he seemed to have seen the scene of those guys being destroyed by Governor Yang. However, he did not express the hatred in his heart. He knew that he had to stay calm. If he lost his temper and got angry, he would fall into Governor Yang's evil plan; if he wanted to avenge his father, he had to stay calm!

After a moment, Li Chengliang regained his composure, suppressed the hatred in his heart, and said to everyone: "Since big brother wants to recruit new soldiers, we should work hard to raise money. We must collect 25 million strings of money within half a year, otherwise we will not be able to maintain the daily expenses of the army." Suddenly, everyone became serious.

Li Chengliang said: "The most urgent task is to recruit new soldiers, followed by repairing the water fort, and finally raising money and food.

"Tonight, we will hold a meeting of all the soldiers to discuss plans for raising money and food, recruiting new soldiers, and repairing the water fort." Everyone clasped their fists in agreement.

The next morning, Yang Ling led the military council to the military camp. Everyone arrived at the camp one after another and lined up on the parade ground.

Yang Ling climbed onto the platform, glanced at everyone, and said loudly: "Everyone, I called you all here because I want to tell you that I have decided to expand the army."

Everyone was very excited. The generals looked at each other and shouted, "Expand the army! Expand the army! Expand the army!" Yang Ling said loudly, "This time we will increase the size of the army to ensure the armament needs during war. I plan to recruit 25 million guan of soldiers in Yanyun and recruit 400,000 elite soldiers!"

Everyone was stunned. Yang Xiong's eyes widened and he shouted, "Marshal, where do we get so much money?"

Yang Ling smiled and said, "We don't have that much money, but the court does!"

Everyone suddenly understood and showed expressions of envy and jealousy.

Yang Xiong said: "If this news spreads to Bianliang, it will definitely cause an uproar!"

Yang Ling smiled and said, "The court will help us get the money."

Li Chengliang suddenly asked: "What is the Marshal going to do?"

Yang Ling laughed and said, "I thought about it carefully last night. First of all, we have to pay back the money the court owes us."

Yang Xiong frowned and said, "But it is said that the court has paid off the debt, and now the court has no money." Yang Ling smiled and said, "Then we can think of another way. The court can't keep owing debts forever. I believe the day will come when it will be paid off! We must expand the army as soon as possible, wait for the opportunity, and strive to have enough troops before next year!" The generals nodded in agreement.

Yang Xiong clasped his fists and asked, "What about recruiting new soldiers?"

Yang Ling frowned and said, "I'm not responsible for the money to recruit new soldiers. You can go talk to Han Shizhong."

Yang Xiong nodded and said, "Yes."

Yang Ling said: "You should immediately start to carry out the three things I just mentioned!" All the generals responded in unison.

Yang Ling looked around at everyone and said, "I hope everyone can work together and not do anything small, otherwise don't blame me for not cherishing our friendship!" Everyone was shocked and bowed in agreement. Yang Ling nodded and said, "Okay, let's adjourn the meeting." Everyone agreed and left the military tent.

Yang Ling turned and left, and went straight to the backyard to find Chen Xiao. Chen Xiao was very surprised to hear that Yang Ling wanted to expand the army, and asked: "Why do you want to expand the army?"

Yang Ling said: "If we rely only on the Xixia and Khitan people as originally planned, we can only maintain an army of more than 5 million at most. I plan to recruit 20 million new soldiers with 20 million strings of money."

Chen Xiao nodded and said, "This is a wise move. I remember that when we first recruited migrant workers, we used a price of three strings of coins per household per person. Now we can hire 20 million new soldiers with 20 million strings of coins. Although it is not as efficient as when we first recruited migrant workers, it is not much different."

Yang Ling nodded and said, "That's exactly what I think."

Chen Xiao thought for a moment and said, "These 20 million strings of money can be used to recruit new soldiers, but we can't give too much, otherwise the common people will become greedy."

Yang Ling frowned and said, "If we don't give it, I'm afraid it will be difficult to win the hearts of the people."

Chen Xiao pondered for a moment and said, "Give them a discount of 5 million guan. But they must enforce military discipline and never forcefully conscript men. Those who violate the rules will be executed!" (End of this chapter)