Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 156 Army Expansion
The soldiers' origins, to a certain extent, represent their interests and are a major issue concerning the army's combat effectiveness.

Langdu's betrayal stemmed from the fact that he was once a wandering warrior who had become a bandit and had no connections in Wucheng. Although he later married, had children, and settled down, he did not share his village with other members of his tribe, and his ties to Wucheng were not deep.

In this case, relying solely on the collective punishment of relatives is no longer enough to restrain him. Once tempted by huge profits, he may betray at any time.

Although this is just an isolated case, it represents the situation of a considerable number of people. Even if this situation is expanded to the national level, there is no shortage of betrayal.

In history, the Shang Dynasty was betrayed in Muye because of the background of its soldiers, which led to its demise.

At the time, the main force of the Shang army was on an eastern expedition, leaving the capital unguarded. Unable to defend themselves, the Shang capital was suddenly attacked by Ji Fa's army. Unable to resist, the Shang had no choice but to recruit slaves from the vicinity of Chaoge. However, these slaves were inherently hostile to their owners, and their hasty recruitment, coupled with a lack of control from their owners, weakened their fear. Consequently, they defected to the Shang Dynasty under external pressure, leading to its downfall.

Therefore, since the Battle of Muye, rulers of various countries have attached great importance to the selection of military personnel.

Previously, Yan Yi had not screened his soldiers' backgrounds due to a limited area of ​​control and a lack of sufficient candidates for conscription. Now that he directly or indirectly controlled four cities, his army had expanded significantly, and it became necessary to screen his soldiers' backgrounds.

He was still thinking about this question until he returned to the mansion.

Fan Yan and the others were already waiting in the hearing hall in the front yard of the mansion. Since Qiantang had just been established and matters were numerous, Yan Yi would convene a meeting every morning and afternoon to discuss matters that needed urgent attention.

He walked into the hall and sat down on the upper couch. Seeing that the desk, which had been empty, was filled with bamboo slips again, he could not help but sigh and picked up a scroll to read.

To facilitate his reading, each volume of bamboo slips was classified.

Yan Yi was looking through the latest collection of documents from the Qiantang Treasury. Each document was top secret, and Fan Yan and the others only knew part of it.

After reading the letter, he put it down calmly. He felt happy and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Qiantang treasury had ample reserves, enough for him to launch a new round of military expansion.

Before conquering Qiantang, he was worried that Zhu Zhi would squander the Qiantang treasury, but it turned out that his worries were unnecessary.

Zhu Zhi's expansion of the army did indeed consume a large amount of military funds, almost taking up 40% of Qiantang's money and grain reserves. Fortunately, he led his troops south in time, interrupting Zhu Zhi's second round of military expansion.

What surprised Yan Yi the most was that Zhu Zhi did not touch a single cent from the extremely important Qiantang Port Treasury.

In Qiantang's financial system, the tax revenue from Qiantang Port accounted for 40%, and all of this tax revenue was stored in the Qiantang Port Treasury.

It was thanks to the intactness of the Qiantang Port Treasury that Yan Yi's post-war gains were effectively ensured.

Speaking of this matter, I have to thank Shen family very much.

The official in charge of the Qiantang Port treasury was nominally the Ministry of Revenue, but in reality it was Shen Rui, the Captain of the Ships. It was Shen Rui's strenuous efforts to prevent Zhu Zhi, whose treasury was still running low, from touching the Qiantang Port treasury to avoid conflict with the Shen family. This ultimately benefited Yan Yi.

According to preliminary statistics from the various Qiantang treasuries, the official treasury currently holds 60 million yuan and 170,000 dan of grain, with other supplies also plentiful. As for the private treasuries of officials and various ethnic groups within the city, the figures are even more astronomical. Yan Yi ordered his men to conduct open and secret investigations, and he already had a rough idea. He would wait until Qiantang was stabilized before he could seize this piece of lucrative meat.

At the moment, he was in high spirits, full of confidence, like a nouveau riche who had struck gold. He waved his hand and said, "Today, let's discuss the expansion of the army first!"

As before, he still planned to devote most of his resources to military affairs.

The generals were not surprised at all by the military expansion, and all of them were excited. This matter involved their direct interests, so they naturally paid special attention to it.

Fan Yan asked respectfully, "I wonder how many troops the young master plans to expand?"

With the rise of generals like Xu Sheng, Chen Gan, Fan Yi, and Li Chou, the pressure on him grew. Xu Sheng, in particular, had gradually revealed abilities and potential that surpassed his own. This made him less casual in front of Yan Yi and more respectful.

Yan Yi had already considered and decided on this issue, and immediately said, "Add another 10,000 troops! Priority will be given to recruiting the sons of self-cultivating farmers from the four cities. In addition, I will allocate a special amount of money for the training of rural civilians as a reserve army."

The generals clearly noticed the changes in this military expansion. It was no longer a wide-ranging campaign, but a narrowing of the scope of conscription.

Fan Yan thought about it for a moment and then understood.

Self-cultivating farmers from good families are indeed the best source of soldiers at present.

Especially those self-cultivating farmers and good families who lived in clans, they not only had property, land, relatives and clansmen in the local area, but also had lived there for generations, and had developed a deep sense of belonging to the place where they lived. Once they were invaded or defeated by the strict will that had made them dependent on the place, they would become the most direct victims.

Such a group of people, on the battlefield, would naturally fight to the death. Add to that the rewards of military rank, money, food, land, and other aspects, and their fighting capacity and loyalty can be imagined.

Fan Yan's mind raced, and he sighed sincerely, "Young Master is so far-sighted and always able to anticipate events. This is truly a blessing for our army. I will immediately take care of this matter."

Everyone then began to discuss the details of the military expansion.

After the discussion was over, Xu Sheng stood up and said, "Young Master, our army lost many generals in the battle of Qiantang and is in urgent need of replacements. I would like to request that you promote meritorious officers to fill the vacancies as soon as possible."

Yan Yi nodded slightly and turned his gaze to Yin Li. "This matter is also urgent. We will do as Wen Xiang said. In addition, the Inspection Office also needs to expand its staff. Effective immediately, Yin Li will be promoted to Inspection Officer and officially separated from the Wucheng Inspection Office. You are allowed to select 300 elite soldiers from the army and transfer them to the Inspection Office!"

Yin Li was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

Ever since he left the Wucheng Procuratorate, he had been short of manpower. Whenever a war broke out, he would be stretched thin after dispersing his men. If not for this, Zhu Zhi wouldn't have been so easily assassinated. Yan Yi's words were a welcome relief.

They discussed for more than half an hour, and after they had finalized the rules of the matter, they dispersed.

Yan Yi handled official business for half an hour. Seeing that the sky was gradually getting dark, he stood up and stretched, then ordered people to prepare the carriage and drove towards Quanrou Mansion in a grand manner.

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(End of this chapter)