In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 266 The soldiers and horses are not moved, the food and grass go first

Winter turns to spring, and after the first lunar month, the whole of Datong presents a vibrant scene.

There are no more exorbitant taxes and heavy corvee. In addition, the Chinese state has completely separated ordinary people from the gentry and officials, so that the local emperors who controlled the life and death of the people in the past can no longer exploit the people as they please.

This caused the entire spirit of the two million civilians in the three counties to change, and they were full of hope for the future. As soon as spring began, every household began to busy packing farm tools, and everyone was impatient.

All the people in the production team were extremely excited when they thought that from now on, they would only have to pay twenty or thirty kilograms of grain rent to the court for each acre of land, and all the remaining grain would be their own.

Everyone knows that after this year's autumn harvest, the three counties will usher in unprecedented prosperity.

This made Hong Chengchou and other officials responsible for the governance of the country feel a sense of accomplishment.

After all, everyone is sensible. No matter how long this system lasts, at least it is really implemented.

And it has really come into effect, which is unprecedented in all dynasties.

All the wise and powerful emperors in the past dynasties and those in the peaceful and prosperous times were unable to achieve the current stage of China.

Some far-sighted scholars have already woken up. As long as China's policy persists for ten years, a truly prosperous age of great harmony will be realized.

Obviously, the scholars who could be selected by Hong Chengchou to stay in the center were basically ambitious scholars who wanted to do something practical.

Compared with Hong Chengchou and others, Lin Rui is not that optimistic, because he knows that it is not difficult to implement any new policy. As long as you have determination, courage, and strong force to support it, it can basically be achieved, but what is really difficult is It keeps it from getting stale.

Although it seems that he has removed several big mountains that are weighing on the people's heads, in fact, he is only treating the symptoms but not the root cause. Over time, those landlords and officials will reappear, and the agricultural officers, judicial officers and military officers of various production teams will It will also change the taste.

Those people still have countless ways to exploit the people when they join forces. Even if he lets those ladies manage the production team, it can only temporarily solve the problem.

Because poverty is not the root cause, ignorance is the root cause, and there is only one way to truly prevent the resurgence of the landlords and gentry, and that is to open up the people's wisdom and make all people literate and have certain insights and understanding abilities. Only in this way can we solve the problem once and for all. .

Once the people's wisdom is opened and everyone knows how to read and write, even if the dynasty changes, it is impossible for the people to be truly ignorant.

But Lin Rui knew that it was almost impossible to teach everyone to read and write. Even teaching culture to teenagers and children under the age of 20 would be extremely difficult.

And as spring plowing is approaching, news from the capital is coming one after another, making Lin Rui no longer interested in education.

"Is Lu Xiangsheng really training his army outside the city every day?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'm afraid there will be an army of 20 men, all of whom are [-] years old and strong. Their training methods are similar to ours."

"How are their equipment? Have you found out about their daily food and salary?"

Lin Rui frowned, already regretting giving Ming Chao a chance to breathe.

He didn't expect that Lu Xiangsheng could make such a big noise.

If he hadn't traveled through time, without the Chinese army, and with Lu Xiangsheng's [-] new troops, it would have been very difficult for the Ming Dynasty to fall.

"Back to your Majesty, only half of them have swords and guns, and less than [-]% of them are wearing armor. The military pay for ordinary soldiers is two taels per person per month, and they have three meals a day, so they can basically eat enough."

"Fuck, where did Chongzhen get so much money and food for him to throw around? Damn it, where are the corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty?"

Lin Rui heard that 10 people could have enough to eat and military pay. He also felt tremendous pressure and couldn't help but curse.

Because in ancient times, as long as an army had enough to eat every day, it would be great and it would definitely be able to fight.

If you can still get military pay, you can fight tough battles. If the rewards and punishments are fair, and you practice diligently, you will already have the embryo of a peerless powerful army.

Originally he thought that as long as Hong Chengchou and the more than [-] frontier troops commanded by him were eliminated, the Ming Dynasty would basically pose no threat to him. But now it seems that he was completely wrong. The biggest threat turned out to be Lu Xiangsheng.

If this continues, if Lu Xiangsheng is given more time, he may really be the one to overturn the situation.

At this moment, Lin Rui also truly understood that Hong, Lu, Sun, Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun Chuanting were probably the real saviors. Although Hong Chengchou was not weaker than the two in ability, his personality determined that he could not save the Ming Dynasty.

In history, the reason why Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting failed to retain the Ming Dynasty was probably not because they were incompetent, but because they were never able to truly gain the trust and support of Emperor Chongzhen.

Historically, Lu Xiangsheng died in battle as early as the 11th year of Chongzhen, and at that time, Emperor Chongzhen trusted and supported Yang Sichang.And Sun Chuanting was imprisoned from the 12th year of Chongzhen to the 15th year of Chongzhen before he was released to take charge of the overall situation in the northwest, wasting the most important three years.

These three years were also the period when the anti-bandits were growing crazily.

Now that Emperor Chongzhen had no one to use, he had to reuse Lu Xiangsheng. As a result, such a big commotion was caused.

"Rui Lang, we can't give Ming Chao another chance to train his troops." Na Muzhong said with a worried look.

"It is true that I underestimated Chongzhen and Lu Xiangsheng this time. Unfortunately, it was too late for Emperor Chongzhen to wake up. Lu Xiangsheng had been allowed to observe mourning at home for more than a year in vain. Don't worry, I won't give them a chance."

Lin Rui waved his hand. Even if Lu Xiangsheng's [-] new troops were trained according to Qi Jiguang's training methods, after all, they were recruits who had never been on the battlefield. As long as they were not given a chance to grow and adapt, they would not be able to defeat him. of one hundred thousand infantry.

"Mrs. Luo, how much food and grass have been stockpiled at Zijingguan?"

Before the soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first. This time is different from the past. To truly destroy the Ming Dynasty, food and grass must be sufficient.

"Back to your Majesty, 20 stones of grain and grass have been transported so far." Mrs. Luo, who is in charge of army logistics, quickly replied.

"It's not enough, it's far from enough. If we continue to transport it, it will cost at least 100 million shi. Sister Xiuying, how much grain does the Ministry of Household Affairs have left?"

"Including those sealed in various places, there are still 180 million stones." Zhang Xiuying also quickly replied.

"After 80 shi of these grains are transported to Zijingguan, the remaining 100 million shi will not be touched for the time being. In addition, let the Ministry of Commerce purchase another 100 million shi of grain from gentry and landlords in various places for later use."

Lin Rui thought about it and said, 300 million stones of grain, even if transported thousands of miles, is enough to feed the 20 horse infantry until this winter. Therefore, in terms of grain and grass, China can now be said to be foolproof.

"Yes!"

The three women all replied quickly.

"Wang Gou, Bai Guangen, Ma Ke!"

"The end is here!"

"I order your troops to be the vanguard and lead the fourth legion out of Zijingguan today, and then choose a place to set up a camp in Baoding Prefecture for the purpose of storing food. Remember not to act without authorization!"

"The last general takes orders!"

Wang Gouwa and the other three replied excitedly.

The other corps commanders and deputy corps commanders were also enthusiastic.

"I know that everyone is eager to fight, and I am more anxious than you, but no matter what, we have to wait until the spring plowing before the army can move. After returning home, all armies and battalions must actively prepare for war, practice diligently, and must not slack off. Do you understand?"

Lin Rui naturally saw everyone's eagerness to make contributions, but spring plowing must not be delayed, so he warned.

Although he does not plan to recruit reserves and garrison troops to participate in the war this time, once the field army leaves Datong, the defense of various places will have to be handed over to the garrison troops and reserves.

With so much food, if we want to transport it all out of Zijingguan via mountain roads, the logistics department's chariots and horses alone will definitely not be enough. We will definitely have to add a large number of young and strong laborers to help escort the food and grass, so we want to use troops on a large scale. , we have to wait until the spring plowing is over.

After the military meeting, the commanders of each army returned to their respective stations without stopping.

The main force of the Fourth Army was stationed in Guangchang.

After Wang Gouwa, Bai Guangen, and Ma Ke returned to Guangchang, they only prepared for three days before the army continued to move towards the mountains, then climbed over the steep Taihang Mountain Road and arrived at the North China Plain.

For a time, the entire Baoding Prefecture was in a trembling state, and all the cities and forts closed their gates immediately.

The news of the Chinese army's departure from Zijin Pass was sent back to the capital that night, catching both Lu Xiangsheng and Emperor Chongzhen off guard.

Because the food from the south of the Yangtze River has not yet been transported, Lu Xiangsheng's [-] troops, horses and weapons have not yet been fully purchased.

(End of this chapter)