The great hero of the Silk Road, starting from a farm farmer

Chapter 256: Conscript Sunan vassal people into the army?
The main force of Xiang's army has withdrawn, so there is no point in staying in the Jingyuan Fort area.At the beginning of the twelfth month of the seventh year of Jingli, Song Yingkui returned to Yungu with more than 2000 troops.

When returning, he did not take the original route, but went directly along the Yellow River to the foot of Wazhou City.After fighting such a huge battle, we must put down something tangible, otherwise wouldn't the troops be sent in vain?

Xiang Jun did not have many soldiers and horses left on the Wazhou front line. They did not have much hope in holding on to this area. Their idea was that if the Yungu Army had no intention of occupying the land, they would continue to stay. If the Yungu Army planned to occupy the area, they would They took advantage of the situation and abandoned the land, shrinking the available troops to the core area, and not wasting energy in areas with little production.

Anyway, the prosperous and populated areas in the Xisu abandoned land cannot be occupied, so it is not a good deal to insist on holding on to useless areas.

Like the Wazhou area, Song Yingkui had no interest in it before. Apart from the territory, there would be no benefit in occupying it in a short period of time.If it weren't for the convenience of water transportation, this place would really be unavailable.

As soon as the army arrived in Wazhou, Xiang Jun, who was defending the city, ran away with his troops and some important people without much effort, leaving only a dilapidated empty city for Yungu's army.

"During this period, I will lead the troops to station in Wazhou City. I will straighten out everything before returning to Taoyang City. Deputy Commander Yang, you will return to Taoyang to take charge of daily military affairs. In addition, I will send an order to the Administrative Office. They tried to send some of the refugees gathered in Taoyang and Wuying to Wazhou City to restore the vitality of the city." Wazhou has a small population, but it is a big city. Song Yingkui was afraid that others would not be able to complete the reconstruction work, so he had to He personally presides over it.

"Commander, due to the war this year, the demobilization of soldiers has been postponed. Now that our army has won Wazhou, it will definitely expand its troops. Otherwise, the demobilization of old soldiers this year will be stopped and resumed next year?" Yang Shunan was in charge of the dilapidated Xisu Army. In the hall of the mansion, while drinking tea, he told Song Yingkui his thoughts.

As an old Xisu native, I have an inexplicable feeling for Wazhou City and the Governor's Yamen.Now that the Yungu Army has returned to Wazhou, Yang Shunan naturally hopes to stay here for a long time.Doesn't this mean that Yun Gujun has truly become the master of Xisu Province?
If you want to stay in Wazhou City for a long time, you must have fewer soldiers. Yang Shunan then decided to suspend the demobilization and re-employment work in order to expand the army as quickly as possible.

"Demobilization is a system and cannot be interrupted. This is a plan that is trustworthy to the people. Any changes at will will break the trust of the people. However, the scale of demobilization this year can be moderately reduced, and it can be implemented at half of the normal number of demobilized troops.

Now that we have talked about the formation of the team, by the way, I would like to share my thoughts on the military reorganization to be implemented next.

The battalion-level establishment, as the conventional largest establishment, now seems to be insufficient.If we want to set up another level of regular establishment on top of the battalion-level establishment, let's make it a regiment-level establishment.Within two to three years, our army needs to establish three infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment. Each regiment is usually equipped with three integrated battalions, plus an artillery brigade, a baggage brigade, and other teams under the direct jurisdiction of the regiment. The total number of troops is one About five thousand.

In addition to these four main battle groups, there are five or six independent infantry battalions, three or four independent cavalry battalions, two to three independent artillery battalions, and about ten independent garrison brigades. The total strength of our army after reorganization Over ten thousand.

In terms of equipment, except for cavalry units and garrison units, all other armies must implement the use of firearms as breech-loading guns as their main battle weapons within three years.Uncle Yang, when you go back, ask the staff to work out a specific reorganization and implementation plan based on my ideas. After I confirm it, it will be issued to the entire army for step-by-step implementation. "After the Battle of Jingyuan Fort, the situation faced by the Yungu Army will inevitably change. It will be difficult to be regarded as a small and dispensable local force. Among the forces that influence the situation in the world, there will inevitably be Yungu. A place in the army.

The reputation is rising, but if you don't improve your strength accordingly, it will be easy to get bored.In order to match the existing reputation and influence, it is inevitable to expand the army and expand the territory.Song Yingkui didn't want to expand the army randomly here and there. He felt that since he wanted to expand the army, he should make an organized long-term plan and execute it according to the plan, in one step.

"More than [-] soldiers? Commander, our current civilian strength may not be able to support such a large stall! According to this number of soldiers, almost all qualified soldiers will be recruited into the team, and we still have a demobilization system , As a result, the people’s power is really not enough.”

The conditions for recruiting soldiers into the Yungu Army are healthy male soldiers between the ages of 40 and 267, and only one father and son from each household can serve.The current household size is only between [-] and [-], with a combined population of [-] million men, women, old and children.Ten thousand soldiers have almost exhausted all their potential. If you add in the demobilized and demobilized personnel, there will be no more soldiers to recruit in a few years.

"The vassals in Sunan Grassland are also under our rule. They also have the responsibility to perform military service. Give them two to three thousand troops to avoid temporarily borrowing troops from them in time of war. Another one is under our rule. The population is increasing year by year, and there are twenty to thirty thousand immigrants entering every year, and these people are also a source of soldiers. Based on this calculation, it is not difficult to maintain a standing army of ten thousand people! "

If only the registered population is counted, the standing army's scale of over [-] is indeed a bit large, but the potential under Yungu's rule is not limited to this registered population.

The total population of the Sunan vassal is estimated to be between [-] and [-]. Incorporating them into the military service system can not only enrich the army, but also strengthen the control over the vassal. More importantly, it can speed up the process of assimilating the vassal. It can achieve multiple goals with one stone. Don’t use it!

Furthermore, the current Yungu is attractive for immigrants. In recent years, tens of thousands of people have migrated to Yungu one after another.With the rise in influence, expansion of territory, and development of industry and commerce, it should not be difficult for an influx of 30 to [-] immigrants every year!Two or three years later, the number of registered citizens under Yungu's rule exceeded [-]. It was really not a big problem!

"Conquer the Sunan vassal people to join the army? They are very stupid, can they be used?" With the current strength of the Yungu Army, Yang Shunan did not think it would be difficult to forcefully recruit the strong men of the Sunan vassal to join the army.But now the Yungu Army is going to switch to a hot-weapon service. Unlike the army in the early years, which can only lift a sword, it requires high quality of individual soldiers. Yang Shunan is worried that the vassal soldiers who look like savages may not be able to use them.

"Be more selective when recruiting, and spend more time and energy when you get to the military camp, and it will still be useful. Recruiting from the vassal is not only to solve the problem of manpower in the army, but more importantly, to use the melting pot of the army to achieve the goal of The naturalization of the vassal tribe. Behind the two or three thousand vassal soldiers are tens of thousands of vassal people. After a long time, they will be able to return home."

"The commander and the vassal soldiers entered our military camp and learned our techniques. Will it be a disaster if they demobilize and return to their hometowns in the future? We have to be a little defensive about this!"

(End of this chapter)