I, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, have risen since I destroyed the Turks

Chapter 542 Planning
"I will never let the emperor down."

"If after the troops arrive, the eunuchs cannot form a fighting force in half a year, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Li Kan knelt down and signed the military order.

"I believe you." Li Zheng nodded with satisfaction.

Wait for the navy to take shape.

The first country to be dealt with is Japan.

After everything was explained.

Li Zheng also immediately ordered Wang De to convey his imperial edict to the Ministry of War, drafting a rough outline of the navy, and issued an imperial decree to appoint Li Kan as the commander-in-chief of the navy, sending him to Jingzhou Prefecture to train the navy.

Just wait for the navy to take shape.

The Tang Dynasty will launch another expedition.

Returned to the Council Hall.

Qin Jiansheng, Chu Suiliang, Zheng Xuan and Kaiji were already waiting.

"See the Emperor."

Seeing Li Zheng coming back, the four of them immediately stood up and paid their respects.

"No need."

Li Zheng waved his hand and sat directly on the dragon chair, then motioned for the minister to take a seat, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Qin Jiansheng, Chu Suiliang and three others sat down immediately.

These are the things that Li Zheng has to deal with now that he has ascended the throne. He is simply too busy to finish them all day long.

But helpless.

His father has already retired and is not going to help Li Zheng handle state affairs. After all, the old man is very smart and knows clearly what Li Zheng's role as prime minister is. Once Li Zheng no longer has to handle state affairs, he will definitely go out to fight, and he will go in person.

The old man doesn't want to worry about his son going to the battlefield anymore.

and.

In order to prevent Li Zheng from finding a way to escape, the old man also kept a close eye on Li Xian, for fear that he would be taken to the Council Hall to be taught and dealt with by Li Zheng, his unreliable father.

Li Zheng also felt helpless.

The old man is very bad.

and so.

By now, Li Zheng also understood one thing. If he wanted to go on the expedition, he had to wake up his elder brother. With him handling the affairs of state, Li Zheng could be truly free.

otherwise.

You will be locked up in this council hall forever.

"Qin Qing also said in the court today that the national treasury is abundant and there is enough money and grain, right?" Li Zheng said in a deep voice.

"As the Emperor has said, the treasury is abundant."

"I don't know what the emperor wants to do, but the national treasury can spend money." Qin Jiansheng said immediately.

"The Ministry of War will need to remove the old and weak soldiers and recruit young and strong new soldiers. This will require a lot of expenses. You should contact Zheng Xuan to ensure that they are properly placed."

Li said to Qin Jiansheng.

"I understand." Qin Jiansheng nodded.

"Zheng Qing."

"The Tang army is distributed in important border towns all over the country, and there are also garrisons, Yulin troops, and imperial guards guarding the capital."

"No matter which army it is, they must strictly follow my will, remove the old and weak, and get rid of all those who are eating empty noises." You were eating and solemnly instructed Zheng Xuan.

In the court.

Regarding the matter of the handling of the Tang army mentioned by Zheng Xuan, Li Zheng gave a warning and then passed it over.

The reason why there is no clear and detailed explanation is because there are huge interests involved.

In the court.

Many people were involved.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured."

After the court was dismissed today, I have already sent all the officials of the Ministry of War out. I will be directly involved in this matter to ensure that the army is streamlined and has strong combat power. "

"But I have one more matter that I would like to ask the Emperor for his decision."

"After this military streamlining, I estimate that it is equivalent to cutting more than hundreds of thousands of soldiers, or even up to 200,000." "Should we recruit new soldiers to fill these troop vacancies?"

"Also, the emperor has issued an order to form a navy of 100,000 people. Should the Ministry of War directly transfer these navy from the existing army, or recruit them all from scratch?" Zheng Xuan asked respectfully.

Hear the words.

Li Zheng's face also showed a look of deep thought.

In today's Tang Dynasty territory, there are a total of nearly two million troops.

to be frank.

With the current national strength of the Tang Dynasty, it is indeed possible to support so many soldiers.

But since there is no war for the time being and there is no need for such defense in the inland, these troops are indeed a bit excessive.

The vast majority of soldiers do not have much to do in the barracks, except during the spring ploughing time and the autumn harvest time.

"Counting all the soldiers of our Tang Dynasty, the total strength of our Tang Dynasty is nearly two million. This number is indeed a bit too much." Li Zheng said slowly.

The meaning conveyed by this is obviously very clear.

"How many naval forces does our Tang Dynasty have stationed in the waters of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River?" Li Zheng asked.

"Return to the Emperor."

"There are 20,000 naval forces in the Yellow River area, and 40,000 naval forces mainly in Jingzhou Prefecture on the Yangtze River." Zheng Xuan said immediately.

As the Minister of War, he was naturally very clear about these situations.

"In this case, we will remove the old and weak ones from the 40,000 naval forces of Jingzhou Prefecture, and then mobilize soldiers who are familiar with water from various prefectures in the southern border to make up a total of 100,000 troops. As for the naval forces in the Yellow River area, they do not need to be mobilized after being streamlined and can remain stationed where they are." Li Zheng said.

The purposes of the naval forces guarding the two waters are different.

The Yellow River waters are to prevent the Yellow River from bursting its banks and to rescue people after a flood if it actually bursts its banks.

The Yangtze River waters are where the real army is designed to deal with naval battles.

I accept your order." Zheng Xuan said respectfully.

He naturally understood the meaning and decided not to recruit soldiers from the public for the time being.

The current military strength is sufficient.

"I am organizing a naval force of 100,000 to prepare for an expedition to the Western Ocean."

"Regarding the warships needed by the navy, how are the preparations going?" Li Zheng looked at Kaiji again.

Navy warships, warships, troop transports.

These were all told by Li Zheng a few years ago.

At that time, Li Zheng had already built up his ambition to conquer the world and was preparing for the conquest.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"Only 30% of the fleet that sailed to the West was built by the Ministry of Works. The remaining 70% was in the navy of Jingzhou Prefecture. The Ministry of Works is still working hard to build it now."

"The craftsmanship level of a troop transport ship, a common warship, has long been mastered by our Tang Dynasty. Moreover, there were many in the past. I have already sent craftsmen from the Ministry of Works to make improvements."

"The really difficult thing to build is the giant warship given by the Emperor."

"The Ministry of Works has tried its best, and including the one that went to the West, we have only built three ships so far." Kaiji said helplessly.

Kaiji personally supervised the construction of those huge warships. Such behemoths were simply powerful weapons for the country. If possible, he would like to build more for the Tang Dynasty.

But there is no way. The larger the warship, the more manpower it requires and the more complex its structure.

"For now, that's enough."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Build more troop transports, and the same goes for gunboats."

"There's no need to build too many giant battleships. I'll be satisfied if I can build one a year." Li Zheng said with a smile.

"I understand." Kaiji nodded.

"Mr. Chu." Li Zheng looked at Chu Suiliang again.

"Your Majesty, please give your orders." Chu Suiliang said immediately.

"The Ministry of War has reduced its military, and some of the old and weak who left have official positions, while others do not. I hope the Ministry of Personnel can make proper arrangements for them."

"Those who have military posts can be assigned to local government offices, and those who do not have military posts can be given more pensions by the Ministry of Revenue."

Li Zheng instructed.

(End of this chapter)