My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 477 Winter is coming
In the Battle of Gaoque, Liu Rong's plan was naturally to keep it secret.

But no matter how hard you try to hide it, it is really difficult to keep it secret.

——In response to the troop budget proposed by Zhidu, the vanguard officer of this battle, of '30,000 vanguard soldiers approaching Gaoque', as well as the troop demand obtained after the court's calculations, the Shaofu also conducted a precise calculation.

In the end, the combat organization participating in the Battle of Gaoque was compressed to the maximum number of 100,000 people.

Among them, the vanguard troops were led by Yanmen County's former general Zhidu, with a strength of 35,000 troops.

In order to ensure that at least 30,000 of the 35,000 men could maintain their combat effectiveness after crossing the river, the Shaofu consumed almost all the furs in stock and urgently produced 50,000 sets of cold-resistant supplies.

Each set of cold-resistant equipment consists of a pair of wool socks, a pair of fur shoes, a pair of gloves, a fur hat, and a mink cloak.

According to Shaofu's inference, with such a set of all-round, no-dead-angle fur cold-proof suit, unless one is infected with a cold, one can withstand the cold and wind for two to three hours in the harsh winter outside the Great Wall.

As for two to three hours later? ?

——The width of the river between Gaoque and Bowang is only two miles when fully attacked, which is only 800 meters in later generations!

Even if you crawl, the distance of 800 meters will only take an hour or so at most.

When we got to the other side of the river, although we still couldn't make a fire, we could at least find a place sheltered from the wind and the cold - if that didn't work, we could just dig a hole, cover ourselves with a thick blanket and crawl into it to avoid the cold!
After a few more sips of wine, my body started to warm up.

Yes, that's right.

In addition to the high cost of these 50,000 sets of mink and fur suits, which were so expensive that an ordinary soldier could not even afford one set with the money they earned in their entire lifetime, the logistical supplies that the Shaofu needed to supply for this battle also included wine.

It’s an interesting story.

——Eight years ago, when the Wu-Chu Seven Kingdoms Rebellion was about to break out, Liu Rong got the opportunity to contact the Shaofu.

At that time, the first thing Liu Rong thought of was medical alcohol.

In Liu Rong's opinion, given the almost zero medical technology of this era, disinfection of wounds on the battlefield would inevitably be a big problem.

With medical alcohol - which is actually just liquor with a higher alcohol content, many people who would have died from infection or inflammation will definitely be saved.

It’s just that Liu Rong’s ideals are very hopeless, but the reality is very skinny.

This plan was first directly rejected by Emperor Xiaojing Liu Qi, and then led to Liu Rong being scolded by Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace.

The reason is simple: wine is the essence of grains.

In this era, more than 90% of people cannot guarantee a full stomach every day, and more than 70% of people have never experienced the feeling of being "full" in their entire lives.

There is not enough food to eat, especially with a big war approaching, military rations are flowing out like river water, and there is no hope for a harvest in the coming year.

In this context, Liu Rong said he wanted to use grain to make alcohol, but it was still unknown whether its ultimate use would be successful: to disinfect wounds and treat patients?
Stop making trouble~
Not to mention that doing so is simply wasting food and taking away the food rations, or the way of survival, of the lower class people.

Even if it has nothing to do with food, doing so is not cost-effective.

This is because on the battlefield, soldiers rarely have even a shallow scratch or a minor abrasion on their hands.

If you are lucky, the arrow will hit non-vital parts of your body and will penetrate you without injuring your bones or muscles.

If their luck is bad, a low-level soldier can be killed by either stray arrows or sharp close-combat weapons.

Halberds, spears, halberds, and even swords were rarely used for slashing, but mostly for stabbing.

Since it is a thorn, unless the thorn bites, it will definitely be a fatal penetrating wound.

Your chest has been stabbed, and you're still counting on alcohol to save you?
Even the goblin can’t save us!

Therefore, before the Wu-Chu Rebellion broke out, the "medical alcohol" plan proposed by Liu Rong was completely and completely rejected by Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace and Emperor Qi of the Western Palace, from theory to practice.

Later, when the Wu-Chu rebellion was quelled and grain prices in Guanzhong soared, Liu Rong used tough measures to stabilize grain prices and included wheat in the category of "staple food" of the Han Dynasty.

Two years later, Emperor Xiaojing passed away and Liu Rong succeeded to the throne, and the project was finally launched.

——Even after becoming emperor, Liu Rong still spent a lot of effort to promote this project!

The two empress dowagers of the Eastern Palace and ministers inside and outside the court were still constantly persuading Liu Rong: Don't do such a stupid thing as wasting food - and using the state machinery to waste food on a large scale.

No matter how he was persuaded or talked out of it, Liu Rong finally gave up.

He never mentioned the medical alcohol again, but just said that he wanted to drink some and asked the Shaofu to brew some for backup.

I thought this desperate move would inevitably lead to even stronger opposition, but unexpectedly, as soon as Liu Rong made his statement, the world suddenly became quiet.

It was just that Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace sent someone to the Weiyang Palace to remind Liu Rong tactfully: Although good wine is delicious, don't drink too much.

Don’t forget the lesson that Emperor Xiaohui Liu Ying was addicted to alcohol and sex and died in his early twenties…

It was a long time later that Liu Rong realized belatedly: the reason for this was that "medical alcohol" and "edible alcohol" had completely different meanings to the Han Dynasty today.

The consumption of alcohol has existed since the Xia Dynasty.

Although successive dynasties have intermittently banned the brewing and drinking of alcohol over the past thousands of years, the general public's acceptance of alcohol is actually still very high.

Although the Han Dynasty still theoretically prohibits private alcohol brewing, since Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, it no longer has a one-size-fits-all ban on drinking.

Firstly, at the level of social status – officials with a salary of 100 dan or more, and those with the eighth rank of nobility: Gongcheng or above, are allowed to drink in private.

Those who do not meet the above registration requirements for position or title are only prohibited from drinking privately in principle.

Since it is not possible "in principle", there is naturally room for default in actual operation.

——In the dead of night, if you secretly have a few drinks in your bed, your partner will not report you to the government, and the police will not have the time to arrest you in your bed and charge you with "illegal drinking".

Those with an official rank of 600 shi or above, and those with a title of the fifteenth rank or above, can attend banquets unconditionally!
The reason why it is called "unconditional banquet" is that ordinary people can also invite banquets and drinking parties conditionally under some special circumstances.

Such as getting married, taking a concubine, children’s full moon and other happy events.

In fact, at the beginning, Emperor Taizong did not allow high-ranking officials and nobles to drink together unconditionally.

Unexpectedly, this group of people actually began to take advantage of the situation - taking a concubine every few days, holding banquets for their children every ten days or half a month, and they didn't even bother to act!

For a period of time, the human trafficking industry even saw a booming market where the price of female slaves surpassed that of male slaves!

The reason is that these wealthy families or powerful people want to use the people who take concubines as an excuse to treat their guests to drinks.

In order to have such a feast, they didn't even care whether their concubines were ugly, healthy, or young. In the streets of Chang'an, there are still interesting anecdotes circulating about those years when some nobles took in a concubine in her 40s or 50s as a concubine in order to have a feast...

Later, in order to control this chaos and at the same time show favor to the aristocratic class, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen had no choice but to make a patch: those with certain official positions or titles no longer needed to drink together in the name of wedding banquets.

Later, the ban on alcohol became increasingly relaxed - from banning brewing and drinking, to banning brewing but not drinking, and by the time of the previous emperor, even brewing alcohol was no longer completely non-negotiable.

At the beginning, it was the Shaofu who brewed wine under the order of the emperor and sold it in the market for profit.

Then, gradually, nobles and officials also began to brew and sell tea secretly.

Finding that the central government seemed unwilling to take care of it, the nobles were even too lazy to do it themselves - they simply handed the winemaking task over to their own white gloves, that is, the businessmen.

To this day, Liu Rongyi.

If you shout on the street: I saw people buying alcohol at such and such place, or someone or someone is brewing illegal liquor, then everyone will just think you are an idiot.

The authorities may have to come to your home for questioning, but they will also curse your ancestors for eighteen generations in secret.

But if you act like a normal person, neither ostentatious nor overly low-key, walk to some dead end alleys, quietly buy some wine to drink at home, then no one will care about you at all.

In the words of later generations, in the Han Dynasty today, the brewing industry cannot be considered a black industry in the true sense, but at most a gray industry.

But there is no doubt that alcohol has been attractive to the Chinese nation, especially to the Chinese military, from ancient times to the present.

Without mentioning the distant past, let’s just talk about General Li Guang, who made great achievements in the defense of Suiyang before and after the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, and was later highly valued by Empress Dowager Dou of the Eastern Palace.

According to legend, Li Guang not only could not enjoy life without wine while dining, but even in the gaps between meals, he had to drink wine as if it were water.

If he didn't drink for an hour or so, at best he would lose his temper and beat and scold those around him, or at worst he would go berserk on the spot and want to hit anyone he saw.

As a high-ranking general in the army, he could see the emperor and the empress dowager every now and then - especially he was a brave general praised by Emperor Taizong as "if he was born in the founding period, he could be granted a title of marquis". If Li Guang was like this, it is easy to imagine what the other people in the army were like.

What is Cheng Buzhi best known for?
Conservative fighting style?

Strict military discipline?

neither.

——In the current Han Dynasty, Cheng Buzhi is most famous and well-known for the fact that he never drinks alcohol.

Not only did he not drink a drop of alcohol himself, he also resolutely refused to allow his officers and soldiers to drink during war or in the army.

Otherwise, where did Cheng Buzhi get the reputation of being "too strict in military management" and causing his soldiers to complain bitterly?

It's just that you are not allowed to drink...

From the above, it is not difficult to understand the importance and fatal attraction of alcohol to the army in the Han Dynasty and even in most eras of China.

In particular, alcohol's inherent ability to soothe and calm the mind has made it a sought-after food by armies in China and even in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.

This battle was not only the first time that Liu Rong openly ordered the addition of high-proof liquor to the logistical support materials, but it was also the first time since the Han Dynasty - and even throughout history - that the Chinese government supplied alcohol to the frontline soldiers at the official level through official documents and formal orders.

The reason is self-evident - alcohol, in addition to disinfecting, paralyzing nerves and soothing emotions, can also warm the body.

Although it is a physical warm-up, it is better than nothing.

Another thing is that compared to water, the freezing point of wine is relatively lower and it is less likely to freeze.

When they arrived outside the Great Wall and the water in the flasks was frozen into ice under the ice and snow, a sip of strong liquor could be a water supplement for the soldiers on the front line, which was better than nothing.

As for earlier, when Liu Rong said he wanted to make medical alcohol, everyone inside and outside the court was outraged and tried their best to stop him. But when Liu Rong said he wanted to make edible alcohol, everyone ignored it, and it was also for similar reasons.

——Drinking, almost everyone in the world drinks!
Not only men, but even women from high-class noble families, as long as they can afford it, most of them like it!
Liu Rong didn't quite understand why. Perhaps it was the deep yearning for concentrated grains in his soul, or perhaps it was the lack of entertainment in this era that made people only able to obtain spiritual comfort through alcohol.

So when Liu Rong wanted to brew wine to drink, no one would think there was anything wrong with it - everyone was drinking it anyway, so it didn't matter if there was just one more emperor like you.

Besides, over the past few years, the Han Dynasty's prohibition on alcohol has been relaxed little by little, from being non-negotiable at the beginning to the point where people can basically drink alcohol as they please and even brew alcohol secretly. It's not easy!

In the past, when Liu Rong was the crown prince, he would always leave early from banquets invited by officials and nobles, on the pretext of "not being able to drink much".

Everyone had been worried for a long time, fearing that Liu Rong would tighten the prohibition again if he disagreed with them.

After waiting for a long time, Liu Rong took the initiative to ask the Shaofu to brew wine for him. How could anyone stop him?
But alcohol is different.

——From the perspective of family and country, this thing is almost equivalent to using the blood of the lower-class people to exchange for a way to survive for the big guys when necessary!
Although it is indeed a bit tempting, who dares to take on such a big reputation, and who can afford it?

Besides, although the ministers in the court still barely retain the political rule of "only a marquis can be a prime minister" at the level of the Three Dukes, or even that only a marquis can be one of the Three Dukes, the level of the Nine Ministers is actually no longer the reserved place for the meritorious marquises.

Even the dukes and ministers who held the title of Marquis Che were no longer mainly based on their military merits.

For example, the prime minister who just retired: Tao Hou Liu She - Guiyi Hou, and the second generation Guiyi Hou;

Li Cang, the chief marquis of Longli, was granted the title of marquis by his maternal relatives.

The current Prime Minister Dou Ying's title of Marquis of Weiqi was awarded half for military merit and half for favor from relatives by marriage!
I think that in a few decades, the Han Dynasty will have a prime minister who is a relative of the emperor granted the title purely by grace, or even a "commoner prime minister" without the title of marquis.

To put it bluntly, there are not many military people left in the central government.

Especially in the past year, Liu Rong also reformed the court system and completely withdrew the military from the court.

None of us are from the military, so how could we flatter Liu Rong for the sake of alcohol, which is good for soldiers but will bring disgrace to all the officials in the court?

As a result, everyone reacted quite strongly, and at the same time they were expecting Liu Rong to find a way out - either give up the idea, or do it secretly, and not make the matter public, making everyone embarrassed.

Just at this moment, Liu Rong changed his mind and said that he wanted to brew some wine?

ok!

That's it!

Your Majesty is brewing wine!

What alcohol?
Those are the imperial wines bestowed by His Majesty to the soldiers in the army!

what?
Their imperial wine for applying to wounds?
So what?
Your Majesty has granted it, so they can do whatever they want.

As long as they don't use the imperial wine as foot washing water or mouthwash, they can do whatever they want...

(End of this chapter)