Chapter 291 The Enlightened Army

For Liu Bei, the irrational Emperor Li Zhi had an army of 300,000, which was not something he envied.

After all, Kong Ming had told him more than once that commanding an army of more than 100,000 was never difficult for people.

Logistics, communication between superiors and subordinates, how to effectively convey orders, how to command the troops as if they were in a fight, etc., were all difficulties.

But these difficulties were not insurmountable.

Cultivating officials, making officers literate, formulating standards to convey orders with flags and drums, recruiting more military advisers, etc., were all ideas that came up during the casual talk.

The command of a large army can be cultivated and replicated.

But the victories of those famous generals cannot be replicated.

For example, the Champion Marquis went deep behind enemy lines without getting lost, and was able to fight bravely and continuously.

For example, Li Jing rushed to the Saw Plow Courtyard on a snowy night, and was able to predict that the enemy would hit.

At this moment, Liu Bei's words to future generations that the meaning of famous generals is to speed up the progress of history became clearer.

Ten thousand people can achieve your goal of 300,000 people, and it takes less time, consumes less food and grass, and achieves the goal better.

[The decline in the combat effectiveness of the Tang army during the reign of Emperor Tianhuang Li Zhi is visible to the naked eye.

Some people attribute it to the gradual collapse of the Fubing system, and say that the strength of the Tang Dynasty during the reign of Li Shimin was due to the complete Fubing system.

But in fact, in the late Li Shimin period, the Fubing system had already failed to keep up with the times. The most typical example is Xue Rengui.

Xue Rengui was not a Fubing, but a recruited soldier, who was called a conscript in the Tang Dynasty.

"The Records of Emperor Taizong" wrote very clearly: Send out the world's armored soldiers, recruit 100,000 people, and march to Pyongyang to attack Goryeo.

Why do this? Because the Fubing is not enough.

The Fubing system is similar to the integration of military and farming. They are soldiers in wartime and farmers in leisure time. They are exempt from taxes, but they need to serve a corresponding number of days each year.

For example, within 500 miles of Hulao Pass, there is a military mansion with 1,000 people. According to the regulations of the Tang Dynasty's military mansion, this military mansion with 1,000 people needs to be divided into five teams of 200 people to serve in rotation once every five months, that is, five shifts.

After the Tang Dynasty began to expand, such a military mansion system was completely insufficient.

The rapid expansion of territory resulted in the military mansion serving in places thousands of miles away from the military mansion, and each service might take a year or more.

Moreover, there were frequent wars during the Zhenguan period, and it was often possible that a military mansion soldier would finish his one-year military service, and another war would start, and the military mansion soldier would have to rush to another battlefield, making the rotation calculation extremely complicated.

Secondly, in the case of military merit during the Zhenguan period, the military mansion actually limited the scale of the troops.

Taking the five shifts as an example, in the tenth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin set up 634 military mansions throughout the country, and the military mansions were divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower. The upper military mansion had 1,200 people, the middle military mansion had 1,000 people, and the lower military mansion had 800 people.

From this, we can vaguely calculate that there were 600,000 soldiers in the tenth year of Zhenguan. According to the five-shift rotation service regulations, the maximum number of soldiers that can be mobilized in the tenth year of Zhenguan is 120,000.

These 120,000 soldiers have to guard the border and the capital, and the number of people who can be mobilized to fight is about 40,000 to 50,000.

If we take into account the time the soldiers spend on the road and the regulations on taking turns to rest, if there are continuous battles, the number of soldiers that can be mobilized can even be reduced to about 30,000.

That is why Erfeng started recruiting soldiers when he fought Goguryeo, and finally drew the golden card Xue Rengui.

"All those who are willing to go are selected. Ten recruits get a hundred, and a hundred recruits get a thousand. Those who cannot join the army are all angry and sigh in Yuyi."

This is a record of recruiting soldiers, which shows that the effect is very good. After all, for the people of the Tang Dynasty, joining the army does not care about your trifles. Everyone is rushing for military merit.

And during the Battle of Liaodong, the combat effectiveness of this group of recruits was also obvious to all.

Xue Rengui, the God of Killing, is the best spokesperson for recruiting soldiers.

A typical example is the Battle of Baiyan City. The city lord surrendered and rebelled again, which made Li Shimin very angry. He immediately ordered that after the city was broken, he would not take any captives and treasures, but reward them all to the soldiers.

Under this incentive, Baiyan City was conquered in three days. During this period, Qibi Heli even led only 800 people to repel the 10,000 reinforcements of Wugu City, which shows the combat effectiveness of recruiting soldiers.

After the battle of Goguryeo ended temporarily, although the two battlefields were very close, Li Shimin still issued an edict that those who had participated in the battle of Goguryeo were prohibited from participating in the battle of Xueyantuo.

This edict can be said to be for the people's livelihood, or it can be said that it was to let the soldiers at home who were eager to eat meat.

But the tossing and turning in the middle is enough to show that it is not so much that the system of soldiers gradually collapsed.

It is better to say that the system of soldiers has gradually failed to meet the national conditions of the Tang Dynasty, which often needed to cross thousands of miles to fight. 】

Although he had not yet issued an edict to integrate the military offices of the world, Li Shimin had to admit:

"The conflict here is indeed a worry."

"Most military offices are located in Henan, Hebei, Hedong, Guannei and other places. If it is like the expedition to Jie Li last year, it is not bad, the journey is only a thousand miles away."

"If the military officers from Huainan Road are recruited to enter the Western Regions, it may take a year to go back and forth."

But you can't completely ignore the military officers of Huainan Road.

Because if the Western Regions are conquered only by the military officers from the nearby Guannei Road, after the Western Regions are pacified, the Guannei Road is estimated to have several military merits per person, and the military officers from Huainan Road and Hebei Road are probably jealous.

Therefore, in this case, Du Ruhui was quite curious:

"I wonder what the military system will be like in the future?"

Li Shimin has been immersed in battle for many years, but he is not very concerned about this:

"No matter what kind of military system, in the end it is just to ask the soldiers to dare to fight."

"The military officers of Zhenguan are strong, and that is also because those who have merits will be rewarded and those who have mistakes will be punished, and the generals dare to take the lead and sacrifice themselves for the country."

"Anyone who can do this will be a strong soldier regardless of whether he is recruiting soldiers."

"If you can't do it, a military government will be useless."

It is not only an answer to Du Ruhui, but also Li Shimin's own question and answer.

At this time, Li Shimin remembered that the soldiers of later generations were named in front of the people, and that this army of later generations could march against natural disasters.

He vaguely understood something, and even remembered a question he asked himself a long time ago:

"What is a strong army?"

Li Shimin asked and answered himself:

"The Taoist makes the people agree, so they can die with them and live with them without fear of danger."

Li Jing knew Sun Tzu's Art of War by heart. At this time, Su Dingfang, who was confused, explained:

"Sun Tzu said that there are five ways to strengthen an army and achieve victory. The first is strict laws and regulations; the second is that the general is wise and courageous; the third is that he knows the location; and the fourth is that he can get the right time."

"None of these four are difficult. Your Majesty said it was the fifth one."

As soon as Li Jing opened his mouth, Su Dingfang wanted to roll his eyes. Isn't this difficult?

Okay, it may not be difficult for you.

Su Dingfang also remembered that these were the opening words of Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Because it is the beginning, it is often ignored by people, who focus on studying the subsequent attacks, military strength, actual situation, military struggles, etc.

Sun Tzu said it simply, but Su Dingfang also understood:

"How difficult it is to attain enlightenment in these five days. Who can do it?"

The people agree, that is, the soldiers, the people and the monarch have the same will, so that the army can live and die without fear.

According to Guangmu, the imperial soldiers during the Zhenguan period were only fighting for military merit, and were far from being enlightened.

Du Ruhui also thought of the people's army that charged against the natural disaster, and sighed softly:

"The army of future generations will be the army of enlightenment."

Su Dingfang and Li Shi couldn't believe it.

Li Shimin smiled and expressed understanding.

[Therefore, the decline in the combat effectiveness of the Tang army has less to do with the lack of government troops and more to do with Li Zhi.

When Li Zhi saw that his father was recruiting troops very effectively, he also imitated him.

But the difference is that the combat effectiveness of Li Zhi's recruits is getting worse and worse, and there are fewer and fewer strong recruits. In the later period, even the old and weak were dissatisfied with the recruitment, which is in sharp contrast to the Li Shimin period.

Later, Liu Rengui couldn't stand it any longer, so he gave Li Zhi a yin and yang in the memorial, and he summarized a key point in time.

The fifth year of Xianqing, that is, 660 AD.

This year, Su Dingping defeated the Three Kingdoms of Congling, and his master returned to the court. Later, when giving the reward, Li Zhi did something not very authentic:

Soldiers who died in the expeditionary force will no longer be awarded merits or asked about.

One of the reasons why soldiers dared to die in the Zhenguan period was that even if they died, as long as they performed meritorious service, the credit would be passed on to their families. During Li Shimin's period, special envoys would be sent to visit the families of the deceased and pay homage to the spirits of the fallen soldiers.

Li Zhi canceled all these benefits.

Later, when it came time to pacify Baekje and besiege Pyongyang, Li Zhi intensified his efforts. Not only were there no rewards for those who died in battle, but military merits were withheld from those who were still alive.

Therefore, after 660 years, the situation of every conscription in the Tang Dynasty was reversed from that in the Li Shimin period:

People who are strong, have plenty of money at home, and have connections in the government will work hard to hide in Tibet, just to avoid being drafted.

People who had no money and connections, even the old and the weak, were forcibly recruited into the army.

How could the Tang army's combat effectiveness not decline under such circumstances?

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, he had to recruit troops for every battle, and more and more troops were recruited. For example, after the defeat of Dafeichuan, Li Zhi probably learned from the painful experience:

I haven't recruited enough soldiers!

So they collectively raised 300,000 people and handed them over to Pei Xingjian, just because they were afraid of losing.

That is to say, Pei Xingjian was really capable at that time and arranged the 300,000 troops in an orderly manner.

Otherwise, if it were someone else, this group of Tang troops with varying qualities might have destroyed the logistics before they started fighting the Turks.

And why did Li Zhi suddenly become so stingy? Because he keeps the money for great use:

He wants to be granted Zen status on behalf of his father.

Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu began preparations for the grand ceremony of conferring Zen in 664, and it was not until the beginning of 666 that the official conferral was officially granted.

This trip can be called the most massive face-saving project since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Only one month after being granted Zen status, Li Zhi, who directly destroyed the treasury, officially ordered:

Make new money and waste old money.

He is going to steal money from the people of Tang Dynasty. 】