Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 608
As the saying goes, "Soldiers and horses go before food and grass are mobilized." Today's Gao Ming is no longer a war rookie. Of course he understands this truth.

So when millions of troops gathered at the city of Luoyang, he sent people to rush back to Chang'an, mobilized 1000 dans of grain, and at the same time drew [-] million copper coins from the treasury to recruit civilians and buy grain and grass.

And when he set off from Luoyang with a large army, he also ordered people to buy grain and grass along the way, and at the same time ordered more than a dozen Zhechong prefectures, including Puzhou, Jingzhaofu, Longzhou, and Ningzhou, to recruit "volunteers."

The so-called "volunteers", as the name suggests, are not recruited forcibly like military service, but based on the other party's self-will.

For Gao Ming's "alternative" recruitment, whether it was Li Ji, who was appointed by him as the deputy commander, or Hou Junji and Ashnadur, who were the left and right generals, they all felt that it was not very reliable.

But they forgot one thing, that is, in the Tang Dynasty where all the soldiers were farmers, since Gao Ming promulgated the new tax law and exempted the agricultural tax, it can be said that the entire Tang Dynasty has become a supporter of Gao Ming.

In addition, Gao Ming treated the soldiers who conquered the Turks and the Liaodong Peninsula generously and continued to subsidize them every year. For the soldiers, where can they find such a good prince?
Therefore, when Zhechong Mansion ordered the recruitment of support troops, everyone knew that Gao Ming was recruiting troops, and when the army had already set out, all the states along the way were boiling.

"His Royal Highness is recruiting us!"

"The day to repay His Highness the Crown Prince's great kindness is now. If you don't go now, when will you wait?"

"Let's go together!"

All of a sudden, men from more than a dozen prefectures and counties flocked to Zhechong Mansion regardless of whether they had military membership or not, and they were all rushing to sign up, demanding to join Gao Ming's expedition team.

But Zhechong Mansion's armaments and weapons were not enough. Under such circumstances, the principals of each Zhechong Mansion had no choice but to send someone to report the matter to Gao Ming for him to make up his mind.

When Gao Ming received the news, he couldn't laugh or cry.

"If I remember correctly, the weapons of a dozen Zhechong Mansions can arm at least 20 soldiers and horses? How many people have applied to become volunteers?"

"Returning to Your Highness, there are about 60 people including those without military membership!"

"Uh……"

Hearing what the other party said, it was Gao Ming's turn to be shocked.

You must know that the Tang Dynasty can also be regarded as a military-powerful dynasty in history. At its peak, its conventional military strength reached more than 70.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty was truly powerful, and all nations came to court!
But now Gao Ming only conscripted soldiers in a dozen states and counties, and he actually recruited soldiers close to this number. How could he not be surprised?
But soon he came back to his senses, and then turned to look at his deputy commander Li Ji.

"Regarding this matter, what do you think of the British? Should we mobilize ordnance from other Zhechong prefectures?"

"Returning to His Royal Highness, we already have 60 troops, but only 50 civilians. If we add another 60 troops, the logistics may not be able to keep up!"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Ji immediately cupped his fists at him, and then expressed his thoughts.

"There are also those who have not joined the military. Without formal training, it is difficult to form a reliable combat force, but they need to consume food and grass just like normal soldiers. Please consider this point."

Li Ji actually meant that he disagreed, but he didn't say it directly, but let Gao Ming decide.

Gao Ming also understood what Li Ji meant, so he nodded immediately.

"I understand. The orderly listened to the order and immediately reported it to each Zhechong prefecture. Priority is given to recruiting those with military status to join the army. For those without military status, those who have elderly people who need support will not be recruited, and those who have young children who need to be taken care of will not be recruited. Those who are not recruited, after removing these three conditions, the remaining ones are recruited to become civilian husbands according to the merits, so let's pass the order!"

"promise!"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, the messenger immediately agreed, and then galloped away on his horse.

Seeing the messenger who quickly disappeared into the distance, Li Ji also smiled, and cupped his hands at Gao Ming again.

"What a 'three non-conquering', His Royal Highness is merciful!"

Hearing Li Ji's flattery, Gao Ming suddenly laughed, "Hahahaha, it's just human nature, why not worry about it and go!"

After speaking, he waved his horsewhip.

"drive!"

Following his low shout, the maroon horse neighed immediately, and then quickly ran forward.

Seeing this scene, Li Ji smiled again, whipped his horse and chased after him.

……

Under the leadership of Gao Ming, Li Ji and others, a million-strong army marched in the direction of Longyou.

The large force set out from Luoyang, the eastern capital, and arrived in Chang'an via Jingzhao Mansion, and the number reached 150 million.

After passing through Fenzhou, Ningzhou, Lanzhou, Longzhou and other places, and then entering Longyou through Yumen Pass, the number of soldiers and civilian husbands had already exceeded 200 million!

With so many people, plus war horses and animals consigning food, it will consume about 30 shi of food and grass in a day, which is 150 tons!

You must know that although the price of grain in Datang is not too high today, it is not cheap either. The price of one shi of grain is about 35 Wen, and 30 shi is almost [-] guan.

In other words, the troops he leads now, regardless of the rewards and salaries of the soldiers, will eat 30 guan in a month just for food!

There is no doubt that this is a staggering number.

But now all Gao Ming's thoughts are on revenge, so when the quartermaster reported this number to him, instead of feeling distressed, he waved his hand.

"30 guns a month is too little. The soldiers are working hard for me. I can't let them starve. I not only want to feed them, but also let them have meat every meal. The daily supplies are doubled. Who deducted the soldiers' money?" Shit, I want someone to die!"

Hearing Gao Ming's murderous words, Li Ji immediately gave the quartermaster a look, and shook his head slightly at him.

Li Ji knew Gao Ming's thoughts, so he hinted that the quartermaster should not touch his bad luck.

The quartermaster also understood Li Ji's meaning, so he immediately swallowed back what he was about to say, bowed to Gao Ming, then retreated, and began to increase the soldiers' supplies according to his orders.

The result of this is that the consumption on the road began to increase significantly, but the benefits are also obvious. After the food was improved, the marching speed of the soldiers increased significantly. It took only one month to cover the distance of two months. Kucha.

Facing the pressure of the Tang Dynasty's millions of troops, maybe it was frightened and confused, or maybe it was because there were ghosts in its heart. Kucha Kingdom didn't even send an envoy to ask about the situation, so it closed the city gate and set up checkpoints along the way. Tang Jun.

And because of Li Shimin's "death", Gao Ming had already regarded the 36 countries of the Western Regions as the murderer, and now seeing what the other party did, he immediately issued an order.

"Break the city for me, anyone who blocks, kill!"

"promise!"

　The author is learning to drive, and the new book is also being prepared, so the update speed will be relatively busy, please forgive me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)