I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

"What? Guan Kuang's son really wants to join the army?" Zhang San asked.

"Can I still lie to you?" Guan Er said with a glare, "I also made a lot of money last year. I originally wanted to spend money to find someone to guard the army, so I don't have to join the army."

"I didn't know that this Zhuzi was so unfilial. As soon as the edict to recruit soldiers was posted a few days ago, this Zhuzi became very lively and started to make noises about joining the army with a few rascals of the same age."

"Tell me, these people are avoiding this matter. How can anyone rush to die on their own? This is because they have too much food, so they have such wild thoughts!"

Guan Er said sadly that for most ordinary people in the Han Dynasty, surrendering to the army was always a dangerous thing and was not the first choice of the Hengchan people.

Not to mention taking the initiative to join the army, there are also not a few people who are willing to pay for the garrison.

Zhang San already understood a little bit after hearing this.

Five days ago, as soon as the edict on the recruitment system and military merit and title system was announced, it caused quite a stir in Chang'an City.

It has become a new topic of discussion in the streets.

"Then the new military merit title system will grant land and houses again. Guan Kuang not only wants to earn his own future, but also wants to make the old Guan family prosper again..."

"This guy has a filial heart and great ambitions. He is different from those homeless scoundrels. I shouldn't be angry, but should be happy!"

Zhang San continued to persuade him step by step, and praised Guan Kuang a lot, which finally made Guan Er's face look kinder.

"Although my Guan family is not a big family, we can still make a good living. One day, when you and I are old, he and the rest of your family will make a living by selling wine..."

"Is it possible that you are still hungry? Why do you need to do that thing of licking blood with the tip of a knife? Become a knight for meritorious service? How can ordinary people like us get involved in this?"

"You and I also spent a year guarding the beacons at the frontier fortress. Those windy and sun-drenched days were nothing like a human life."

"Hei Fu's old father who went to guard the border with us was eaten alive by wolves, and only a leg bone was left!"

"And our eldest brother, who was a clan member of the distant branch of the Liu family, was the village chief. He fell off the beacon when he got up and died on the spot."

Guan Er's anger had long since dissipated. He frowned and counted the old almanacs, causing Zhang San to sigh again and again.

How could he not know Guan Kuang's thoughts, but as an old father, how could he watch his only son join the army.

Zhang San listened for a long time, and after Guan Er finished talking about all the pain in his heart, he thought about the purpose of his coming here today, and then slowly spoke.

"Brother Guan, I have a few words. Maybe you don't like to hear them, but I still want to say them."

"Third brother, you and I are as close as brothers. If you have anything to say, just say it without covering it up." Guan Er said.

"Do you know why I came here today?" Zhang San asked.

"Why?"

"The engagement between your second daughter and the boy from the Meng family."

This is another thing that Guan Erji is concerned about. His two daughters are already old and they must get married as soon as possible, otherwise they will not be able to find their in-laws.

The Meng family was a perfect choice. Although Meng Ban had been pushing back and forth, but with Zhang San's help, the other party finally let go a year ago.

Could it be that Meng Ban asked Zhang San to propose marriage today?

But Guan Er quickly remembered that Zhang San came with roast duck today, and there was no joy on his face at this moment, so he immediately felt that something was wrong.

"What? Meng Ban is unwilling again?" Guan Er asked.

Zhang San sighed and nodded calmly.

"Does this old thief Meng Ban really think that no one wants the daughter of my Guan family?" Guan Er's face, which had just turned pale, suddenly turned red again.

"Second brother Guan, do you know why Meng Ban is unwilling?"

"Why else? It's just that he looks down on my Guan family!" Guan Er said bitterly.

"The second brother is only half right. Meng Ban wants his boy to take the imperial examination. He said that if he doesn't pass the examination, he won't let Meng Xing get married!"

Meng Xing's son wants to take the imperial examination?

Guan Er's eyes suddenly shrank, a little surprised.

He didn't expect that the plain-looking Meng Ban would have such far-sightedness.

After the first month of the year, new policies were implemented one after another.

The most profound impact on ordinary people was the imperial examination system, the education system and the military recruitment system.

If nothing else, it at least left a new way out for many families like the Meng family and the Guan family.

In the past, for families like the Meng family and Guanjia, who had "permanent assets" but had a household income of less than 100,000 yuan, there were not many opportunities for their children and nephews.

It's not their turn to be filial and honest, it's not their turn to serve as an official, and it's hard for them to prosper in business - which wealthy family is not related to a wealthy family?

Nowadays, not only are there more ways to take the imperial examination, but there are also ways to join the army - if you are lucky, if you become the commander of the camp and the leader of the team, you can be regarded as a high-ranking envoy.

Whether it is an official with two hundred stones or a village chief in charge of dozens of people, it is the starting point for becoming an official.

With this starting point, you can slowly climb up, and you can see hope in your career.

"Then Mr. Meng Ban really wants Meng Xing to take the imperial examination? Although he knows a few words, how can he pass the examination?" Guan Er asked in disbelief.

"How can't it be possible? He is going to take the exam for [Metalworking and Woodworking], and half of the points are for craftsmanship..." Zhang San thought for a while, then remembered the word: "Half of the points."

"The other half of the score is to take the test of the Holy Scriptures. I heard that Meng Xing now goes to Zhou Chushou, the prisoner, to study the scriptures every night. Meng Ban even bought a slave horse for this purpose."

"But...how can he read the scriptures better than those Confucian scholars..." Guan Er's mind still didn't turn around for a while.

"Second Brother Guan is thinking differently now. When it comes to reading scriptures, of course Meng Xing can't read those Confucian scholars, but don't those Confucian scholars also want to learn our craft?"

"Besides, this is not a subject of [Xianliang Literature]. The additional subject of [Ming Jing] does not have many twists and turns. It relies on rote memorization..."

"Meng Xing can memorize various patterns of wooden utensils. Is it possible that he can't memorize the words in the Hadith Sutra? Isn't he illiterate?"

Zhang San, who had a dark face and a beard, looked rough, but in fact he was as careful as a hair. After such a logical analysis, Guan Er was gradually convinced.

It’s hard to say who is more difficult to learn, the literate carpenter memorizing Confucian scriptures or the Confucian scholar who can’t work, learning crafts.

"So, is it really possible for that boy Meng Xing to pass the exam?"

"At least it's not just a dream. If the Meng family is lucky and the ancestral graves grow, they will be able to have an envoy after nine months."

"It's no wonder that old guy Meng Ban is so picky..." Guan Er said to himself through gritted teeth, "It's a pity that Guan Kuang is illiterate, otherwise he could have taken the exam..."

At that time, Guan Er felt that literacy was useless and reading scriptures was hard, so he did not let Guan Kuang study.

I also thought that it would be useless for a painter to study. How could he have imagined that it would be of such great use today?

"I think Guan Kuang saw that other people's children had found a way out, so he had the idea of ​​joining the army, which shows that he is very ambitious!" Zhang San observed Guan Er's expression while continuing to speak carefully. plan.

"To be honest with you, second brother, my boy Zhang Yi is also clamoring to join the army, and I have already agreed."

Zhang San originally just wanted to comfort Guan Er, but what he didn't expect was that after Guan Er thought for a moment, he suddenly stood up from the couch and made a decision.

"In this case, how can the Guan family be looked down upon by others? Just let Guan Kuang and your Zhang Yi join the army!"

"Ah? Guan Kuang is the second brother's only son. If..." Zhang San did not dare to continue.

"I'm not afraid of this. I still have two daughters. The worst I can do is recruit two honest sons-in-law..."

"The third assistant lacks everything except honest farmers. There is no problem at all in recruiting a few sons-in-law!"

"I have also saved a lot of money for the family, can I just give the Meng family an advantage?"

"Both Guan Kuang and Shu Zi have great ambitions, and Meng Xing and Shu Zi all want to be envoys. Are you and I, who have been eating rice for decades more, not as good as them?"

Guan Er's words were so loud that they made the tiles on the roof rustle.

"Brother Guan Er is courageous. Brother Yu admires it!" Zhang San breathed a sigh of relief. Today's affairs are finally settled and Guan Er is not allowed to knock on Meng's door.

"Third brother, do you know where is the best place to surrender to the army?"

"No need to ask, we are all from Changyi, so of course we will vote for Changyi Lang!"

"Okay, okay, have lunch with me first, and then take them to Changyilang!"

"So good!"

When Guan Er and Zhang San decided to send their two sons to join the army, many ordinary families in Chang'an City also made the same decision.

They all planned to send their "excess" children and nephews to join the army.

……

After Liu He issued an edict to implement the "recruitment system and the new military merit and title system", Sima Mansion, who was responsible for recruiting soldiers, issued an order to open "recruitment rooms" in Chang'an City, Sanfu area and the first county of each county, and appointed special recruiters.

As a result, the recruitment room became the busiest place in each city, with an endless stream of people coming to apply.

Not only new recruits came to apply, but many regular soldiers who were serving directly asked to be recruited.

In just half a month, 30,000 new soldiers were recruited in Chang'an City and Sanfu area.

Coupled with the recruits transferred from the old Southern and Northern armies, as well as the recruits transferred from the Guandong County one after another, as soon as February ended, the twenty-four captains and 60,000 people were all recruited.

After the recruitment is over, it is natural to train the troops.

Starting from early March, Chang'an City once again became a huge military camp, and the sound of fighting and iron horses could be heard all day long.

This scene is somewhat similar to the scene where soldiers from all over the country gathered in Chang'an City half a year ago, but there are many differences.

In addition to the practice of ordinary formations and the use of ordinary weapons, soldiers in each battalion also need to practice formation, a required course for future generations of armies.

This was restored by Liu He after digging out the memories of several military trainings in his previous life and pinching them.

He first trained the Changyi Lang who were closest to him, and then these Changyi Lang trained a group of captains.

Then from the captain to the military lord, then from the military lord to the team leader, and then from the team leader to the camp commander... all the way to the lowest level of ordinary soldiers.

Although the actions and standards are somewhat distorted as they are passed down from level to level, the essence of "orders and prohibitions" has been preserved.

In order to make this new Han army different from the old Han army, Liu He also formulated regulations such as "Internal Affairs Regulations", "Combat Training Regulations", "Military Discipline Regulations", and "Battlefield Regulations".

And require all school captains to strictly abide by and implement it.

At the beginning, many captains and military princes could not understand and thought these regulations were useless and always violated them.

Of course, Liu He would not condone it, and would make frequent surprise inspections. If anything that was not in compliance with the "regulations" was encountered in the camp, he would order to deal with it on the spot.

In the first ten days of March alone, five captains were dismissed, seventeen military princes were dismissed, and as many as one hundred captains and commanders were implicated.

Not only did Liu He have very strict requirements for training, he was also particularly concerned about corruption in the military.

Under his instruction, Dai Zong secretly sent embroidered messengers to each camp and song. Once any embezzlement of military pay and food was discovered, he would report it immediately.

Then it will be handed over to the Yushi Mansion and Sima Mansion to send special personnel to investigate and determine the sentence.

According to the rules stipulated in the "Military Discipline Regulations", those who embezzle less than 2,000 yuan from Mexican military pay will be dismissed from their posts, those who embezzle more than 2,000 yuan from Mexican military pay will be sentenced to flogging, those who embezzle more than 5,000 yuan from Mexican military pay will be sentenced to imprisonment, and those who embezzle more than 10,000 yuan from Mexican military pay will be punished.

Under the day and night inspections of the army's embroidered messengers, many officers who had embezzled military pay and food were dug out, and there were more than 20 ringleaders alone.

In order to shock Xiaoxiao, all the severed heads must be circulated among the three armies and permanently preserved in each camp for posterity.

When the flogging was carried out, people from each battalion would also be sent to observe the execution; observing the Gestalt was not enough, everyone had to say what was on their mind.

In addition, every ten days, the people of each village must vote secretly to decide the merits of the village chief.

Under these tricks, before March was over, the 60,000 New Han troops had an elite aura.

Although it is still far away from the octagonal hat-wearing army of later generations, given time, its combat power will definitely sweep away the armies of the same era.

When Liu He personally trained the Han army, Zhang Anshi and others did not stop.

Under the control of the cabinet, each government office performed its duties, and the country's state machine was running again.

The Sima Mansion mobilized war horses, the workers and officers forged weapons and equipment that were made of hundreds of steel, and the Grand Sinong and the Shaofu raised military rations...

Although Dahan was "newly defeated" last year, the foundation he has cultivated for more than ten years is still there.

War horses, iron tools and corn were piled up in the warehouse, enough to support another big war.

Just when the city of Chang'an was in full swing, Chang Hui, who had returned to the Han Dynasty, took a delegation from Chang'an and returned to Wusun Kingdom along the way before passing Yumen Pass.

His mission was to persuade King Wusun to reorganize his army, flank the Han army, and launch a new round of attack on the Huns huddled on the edge of Mobei.

……

In the spring of the first year of reform and opening up, Chang'an City spent its time in such a tense atmosphere.

In addition to "military affairs", some other things also happened in Chang'an City. (End of chapter)