Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 347 Preparations for War
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Sorry..."

At the end of August, when the shouts of killing and the neighing of horses rang out on the plateau, the west side of the mirror-like clear water of Qinghai Lake also gradually became lively.

Fuqi City, the royal capital built by the Tuyuhun people in the past, has now become a garrison for the Longyou Protectorate.

The city is where soldiers live on a daily basis, and many herdsmen from the Tuhun tribe also come here to trade, making it very lively.

Outside the city is an endless grassland where thousands of herdsmen affiliated with the Protectorate are grazing. Looking from afar, one can see herds of cattle and sheep and melodious pastoral songs.

If you block out all the sounds and just look at the scenery, this place looks peaceful and like a paradise.

However, the constant shouting and screaming coming from the military camp in the distance meant that this place was not as peaceful as it seemed.

"Damn it, what are these Qiekou tribes thinking? They only have a few hundred soldiers in their tribe and they dare to attack our herdsmen?!"

A team of elite cavalry emerged from the western mountains and headed towards the military camp outside Fuqi City.

There were some unruly children herding sheep on the road who waved at them, and many people in the team also waved back.

The children who received the response were very excited, while the soldiers in the team had smiles on their faces but kept cursing.

They were not scolding the children, but the Tuhun tribe that attacked them.

Since the internal strife in Tubo, the Tuyuhun area has returned to its original state.

In this place where the strong prey on the weak, no one will let you go just because you are all from the same country. Instead, no one will bully you by relying on their big fists.

The chaos in the area lasted for a long time until the beginning of spring, when the Longyou Tuhun punitive army began to recapture Fuxi City, and then the area gradually became orderly.

Chen Jingchong issued a proclamation to all tribes, stating that the Tuhun area was under the jurisdiction of the Longyou Protectorate, and that all tribes could send people to Fuqi City to receive a gold medal as their identity for future trade.

In addition, it is strictly forbidden for any tribe to harass the tribes under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate, and violators will be sent troops to destroy them.

For many weak Tuhun tribes, the arrival of the Longyou Army did bring peace and stability to the Tuyuhun region.

Small tribes continued to move closer to Fuqi City, while large tribes moved, but not too far away from Fuqi City.

After all, they need supplies, and Fuqi City, which is capable of trade, is undoubtedly a place that can meet their needs.

However, the Tuyuhun area had been closed for too long, so many tribes did not know what the Longyou Protectorate represented.

Even though the Longyou Army has been stationed in Fuqi City for more than half a year, there are still some ignorant tribes that will plunder at will.

Chen Jingchong showed no mercy to them. He would often lead hundreds or thousands of elite cavalry or cavalry infantry to attack and destroy them.

The dozens of elite cavalrymen on the road now are the troops who went to defeat the other tribe and returned victoriously.

They were just Tangqi of the army, but their identities were very special, simply because they were the first batch of students of Linzhou University.

Li Yangchun, Ma Yi, Gao Shu, Gao Huai and others were chatting about the battle on horseback.

After more than half a year of fighting on the plateau, they are no longer the rookies they were when they first joined the army.

At present, they have basically figured out the organization of the army and the basic knowledge of marching, deployment, camping, etc.

If they were allowed to lead the troops, these dozens of people could at least lead hundreds of people.

"Military bugle call!"

"The Third Brigade, Third Regiment, Third Team of the Ninth Fushi Army of Tuhun Town, Captain Gao Qian, is following the order of the Third Regiment Captain Wang Xianjun to deliver the military disc to the Fushi Army's Yamen!"

While everyone was chatting, the team had already arrived at the west gate of the military camp outside Fuqi City.

The team reined in their horses, and captain Gao Qian introduced himself and took out his military disc to signal.

A captain stepped out from the 300-odd soldiers stationed at the gate to check the military disc. After confirming that there was no problem with the mark on the sealing wax on the disc, he immediately chose to let it go.

More than 50 riders entered the military camp. Gao Qian turned around and ordered, "I and Deputy Captain Zhang will go to the Yamen to hand over the military disc. You follow Captain Liu to the camp. Don't run around!"

"Follow orders!!"

Everyone shouted loudly, and then Gao Qian and the others left one after another.

At the same time, Li Yangchun and his ordinary soldiers also followed several team leaders to the base.

There are earthen houses in the military camp, basically one house for each group, a small block for each team, and a large block for each regiment. The block has walls and gates, just like a small city.

Li Yangchun and his team returned to the team's base. The first thing everyone did after dismounting was to sit down and rest, wipe off the sweat, take off their armor, and take off the saddles for their horses.

The next step is to comb the hair of their own horses, check their hooves and feed them.

After taking good care of the horse and making sure there were no problems, he handed it over to the team's groom to take it to the stable.

These grooms are all local Tuhun people, who are responsible for taking care of the army's horses.

Only after taking good care of the military horses and riding horses did Li Yangchun and his men have the opportunity to take care of themselves.

Because it is on a plateau, there are few trees and it is not easy to transport coal, so taking a bath is still a luxury here.

They took off their armor and simply wiped their bodies with the warm water in the iron kettle that was heated by the sun, then combed their hair with a comb and then continued to comb it with a rake.

"Damn it, Ma Yi, look at you, you flea..."

"roll roll roll!"

Gao Shu teased Ma Yi, while Ma Yi cursed him impatiently.

After more than half a year of exposure to wind and sun, their skin color has become darker than before. If they were thrown into the Central Plains, they might be mistaken for Kunlun slaves from the south.

The twelve grown men were busy in the dormitory when suddenly a wooden whistle sounded outside the dormitory.

"Beep——"

"gather!!"

"Damn it! Aye has only been lying down for less than a quarter of an hour!"

Everyone was cursing, but they were quick to act, and walked out with their swords in hand.

More than 50 people quickly assembled. Gao Qian and Deputy Captain Zhang nodded with satisfaction when they returned, and then said:

"I have issued a military order. The Third Regiment of the Ninth Fushi Army of Tuhun Town will have a holiday on August 25th and will assemble at the military camp outside Yile County, Minzhou before New Year's Day... Is this clear?!"

"As you command——"

When the news of the holiday came, everyone was extremely excited, but they still suppressed their excitement and answered Gao Qian first.

"Disband!"

As Gao Qian's voice fell, everyone cheered immediately, but Gao Qian interrupted:
"Don't be too happy too soon. This holiday may not be a good thing."

He didn't say it too obviously, but for everyone who had seen blood, they quickly understood the purpose of this holiday.

"Damn it, is there going to be a war in the south?"

"Of course it is. Otherwise, why would you ask us to go to Minzhou?"

"If you ask me, it should have been fought long ago!"

"Yes, we have more than 50,000 elite soldiers and 30,000 to 40,000 militiamen. We should have fought back long ago."

"Do you think we can take Chengdu this time?"

"Damn it, no matter if we fight or not, after this battle, I'm afraid both you and I can be promoted to team leaders! Haha..."

Although they had seen blood, the battles they fought in the Tuyuhun area were all for security. These young people did not understand the horror of large-scale combat.

They chatted and laughed, and many of them were even radical enough to want to break into Chengdu Prefecture.

Others are eager to achieve success and be promoted to higher positions.

Not only them, but even the team leader, Gao Qian, and Deputy Captain Zhang were all smiling.

They are naturally afraid of death, but they are more afraid of stopping there.

According to military rules, anyone who has not been promoted to general by the age of 45 will retire at the age of 45.

Although they could get a considerable amount of money and food after retirement, as well as work in the local government maintaining public order, the salary for such work was not high.

"Captain Gao, are you sure you can be promoted to captain this time?"

Ma Yi walked up to Gao Qian with a smile and asked tentatively.

Gao Qian smiled and shook his head when he heard this, saying, "It's good enough that I can accumulate merits and be promoted to brigade commander this time. With the military rank of brigade commander, I can stay in the county and work after I retire in a few years, and I don't have to go outside the county."

"What is the post of a retired brigade commander?" Li Yangchun came over to ask. Gao Qian smiled and explained:
"There are rules for demobilization in the military. You guys must not have read the military register carefully."

"After serving their term, soldiers and captains without ranks basically receive a salary of 100 kan and retire."

"If the captain and deputy captain of the ninth rank retire, they can choose to retire with 100 strings of cash and 20 mu of permanent farmland, or they can choose to retire with 20 mu of permanent farmland and transfer to become a township official, receiving an annual salary of 15 strings of cash."

"After retiring, an eighth-rank brigade commander can choose to retire with 200 guan and 50 mu of permanent farmland, or take 50 mu of permanent farmland and transfer to become a captain of the state soldiers (city guards), or a recorder in the six departments of the county government, with an annual salary of about 30 guan."

"After retiring, a seventh-rank lieutenant can choose to retire with 500 strings of cash or 100 mu of permanent farmland, or take 100 mu of permanent farmland and become a brigade commander, county lieutenant, chief clerk, county magistrate, etc. "There is no more, but some people say that it has not been determined yet, and it will have to be clearly stipulated in the future."

After hearing this, several people couldn't help but exclaimed: "After retiring, the lieutenants can only serve as commanders of state troops and brigades or recorders of the six departments of the county government..."

"Haha, if they are all occupied by people in the army, what will you students do after graduation?"

Gao Qian smiled and continued, "I heard from people who went to Chang'an that the towns didn't care about these things. Ordinary people would just join the army and get paid and then they would be gone."

"They don't have land for enlistment, nor do they have permanent land for retirement, let alone transfer to civilian jobs."

"You are living in a blessed situation but don't know how to appreciate it. You will understand in the future..."

Li Yangchun and the others laughed dryly after hearing this, and then Gao Qian waved his hand and said:

"Everyone, go back. We don't think our Ninth Army will go out to fight again. When the day comes, you can go home together and have a good rest for a while."

"Yes……"

At Gao Qian's call, Li Yangchun and others returned to the dormitory one after another.

Half a month later, eleven of the fourteen armies stationed in Fuqi City withdrew, leaving only three armies and five hundred state soldiers to garrison Fuqi City.

The fourteen armies removed the names of Tuhun Town and Fuqi Army, changed back to their original military names, and set out on the journey back home.

At the same time, the garrison soldiers in various towns began to take turns to take holidays, and more and more people in the city returned home wearing their war jackets.

Even the civilians in Longyou noticed that something was wrong.

Many people were talking about the recent changes on the streets. They all believed that there would be a war and were very excited.

Years of peace have made many people forget the horrors of war.

The young and strong men talked about the upcoming war and even complained that the Protectorate had recruited too few soldiers.

"If you ask me, the Protectorate should recruit 100,000 soldiers so that we can have something to do."

"What kind of work? Don't you have dozens of acres of land at home?"

"But there are seven people in my family. In two years, my wife and I will have a baby, and then this little land will not be enough for farming."

"Farming is not as comfortable as being a soldier. I would rather be a soldier than farming!"

"Alas, we will graduate at the end of the year, and I don't know what we will do after graduation. We can't study for so many years and then go home to farm..."

In Linzhoufang, Didao City, seven or eight young men in their early twenties were sitting at a stall, eating Hu Bing, discussing the changing situation and worrying about their future.

Soon, they finished their meal and left the stall. Liu Jilong, who was sitting in the corner, wiped his mouth, stood up and walked out with Chen Ying and Gao Jinda.

The money was left on the table, and the three of them walked towards the Protectorate. On the way, they could hear a lot of discussions, most of which were about the recent changes in the Protectorate and the army.

After the three of them entered the Protectorate, Gao Jinda spoke up, "It seems these young gentlemen have a high opinion of themselves."

Liu Jilong smiled when he heard this and said, "After all, I have studied for eight years. If I don't have a job after graduation, I will have to go back to farming. Naturally, I can't accept that."

"Not to mention them, even you can't accept it, so it's normal for you to complain."

"By the way, Chen Ying, how many students graduated from universities in each state this year?"

Being called out suddenly, Chen Ying pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly: "It should be more than 6,000?"

"More than 6,000..." Liu Jilong sighed, "If these 6,000 students were handed over to the various towns, I'm afraid the governors of each town would be very happy."

"It's just that all industries in Longyou are saturated, and they can only become officials or pass exams to become teachers."

"Although we will be sending troops to the south next year and will inevitably have many official positions vacant after we capture the six states, the rules cannot be changed."

The rules he was talking about were the rules for serving as an official and teaching that were set at the beginning.

Graduates who want to become officials must accept the task of reclaiming wasteland in the countryside, join the army, and finally serve as officials.

If you want to be a teacher, you need to participate in land reclamation for two years and then serve in the army for one year.

However, the Protectorate would not let them work for nothing. They would receive their military pay as usual, and during the period of land reclamation, they would be paid at the rate of 300 coins per month.

"General..." Seeing Liu Jilong mention this, Gao Jinda also spoke:

“Is the two-year standard for land reclamation too long?”

"How about reducing it to one year of land reclamation and one year of military service?"

"If we follow the original rules, these 6,000 students will have to wait four years before they can enter the government to serve. This is taking a long time."

"In total, during the two years of land reclamation, we had to spend more than 20,000 strings of cash on labor alone. In addition, as the number of graduates gradually increased, the army could no longer accommodate so many students."

Gao Jinda raised the current problem, but Liu Jilong did not answer directly. Instead, he asked:
"Now, in the Protectorate and the county offices, in addition to the officials and officials that each office already has, how many additional reserve officials and officials are there?"

"No less than two thousand people..." Gao Jinda answered without thinking.

"Can you be responsible for the government affairs of the six states after they are recovered?" Liu Jilong continued to ask.

"Of course..." Gao Jinda understood what Liu Jilong meant, and Liu Jilong nodded:

"Since you are competent, there is no such great need for officials and straightforwardness."

"On the contrary, after they complete the two-year reclamation, they can directly organize into four armies to increase the number of troops stationed in these six states."

"When their military service is over, it will be around the end of the ninth year of Xiantong, or the beginning of the tenth year, before they can serve as the governors of the various prefectures and counties."

Liu Jilong made a simple calculation and brought the topic to five years later.

Five years later was the tenth year of Xiantong. Historically, Pang Xun had been in rebellion for more than half a year, and there were frequent floods and droughts in the Yellow River and Huai River regions.

But now, Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi were beaten by Wang Shi and fled to Lushan and Dabie Mountains respectively. It is another matter whether they can raise the flag again.

It seems that everything is peaceful, but in reality it is not.

The rebellion of Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi not only destroyed the economy of the twelve states in the Hehuai region, but also caused a larger number of refugees.

From the current perspective, the imperial court has no plans for disaster relief at all, and even cut the rewards for the troops in various towns by one third, leaving the military governors of various towns to solve the problem themselves.

Such practices also caused the military governors of various towns to become disappointed with the imperial court in advance, and it was very likely that the various towns would not put in enough effort to suppress bandits in the future.

In addition, what is more important is the war that Liu Jilian will ignite in the southwest.

If war breaks out, given the current financial situation of the Tang Dynasty, the only option is to increase taxes.

If the Tang Dynasty were to increase taxes, there would be more and more refugees and bandits in various places.

Even if Wang Xianzhi and Pang Xun would die at the hands of Wang Shi, there would still be Li Xianzhi, Zhao Xianzhi, and Zhang Xianzhi emerging in the world...

Perhaps the Tang Dynasty would have perished at the hands of Li Yi three generations earlier, but no one knew how.

Starting from this year, thousands of college students will graduate every year, and they will become the iron hammer for Liu Jilong to break the monopoly of knowledge and power by the aristocratic families.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilian and his companions also walked into the main hall of the Protectorate.

Liu Jilong sat back in the main seat and flipped through the documents on the table. After finding no changes, he looked at Gao Jinda:
"The reserve officials and Zhibai can almost all be transferred to Dangzhou, Wuzhou, and Songzhou after the autumn harvest."

"Yes!" Gao Jinda nodded in agreement, and Liu Jilong looked at Chen Ying: "How is the situation with Cao Mao?"

"The progress is slow. Why not transfer him to Longnan first to finalize the affairs of the six prefectures of Xichuan..."

Chen Ying tried to suggest, but Liu Jilong shook his head: "No need."

"The six states of Xichuan are important, but the four states of Shuofang are equally important."

"In addition, we should also pay a little attention to Hexi. After all, the Khitans have agreed to join forces with Hexi to drive out the remaining Uighurs in the Western Regions."

"It would be best if we could drive the remaining Uighurs to Mengchi (Aral Sea) within the next two years."

"Yes..." Gao Jinda nodded in agreement, then took out the document and said:
"In the past two years, the Imperial College's expenditure has continued to increase. Currently, there are more than 63,000 students in the elementary schools responsible for elementary education, and no less than 26,000 in the universities."

"The population of Longyou is only 930,000, and there are nearly 90,000 students. If they all pass the imperial examinations and become officials, they will be enough to govern half of the world..."

Gao Jinda's words were very tactful, but Liu Jilong knew what he meant. It was the same as what he had said before.

But for Liu Jilian, it would take at least twelve years for this group of people to be fully committed to the world.

Although there seem to be a lot of students now, they will be insufficient in the future once the war machine of Longyou is started.

“It’s a lot now, but in a few years, you’ll feel it’s less…”

Liu Jilong and Gao Jinda said this while looking at each other. Gao Jinda immediately understood Liu Jilong's determination and time to go east.

However, he did not know that Liu Jilian not only had to go east, but also had to solve the problem of aristocratic and powerful families controlling the imperial examinations and viewing them as a tool for aristocratic and common people.

He wanted to sweep the Tang and Song dynasties' system of hereditary privileges and the revived recommendation system in the early Ming Dynasty into the dustbin of history, so he needed a group of people to lay the foundation for the system established by Liu Jilian.

Only in this way can the imperial examination serve the people of the world fairly, and these people are the students without background in Longyou...

(End of this chapter)