unclear

Chapter 508 Smart Student
But compared with being a soldier, studying, doing business, learning crafts, and farming are much more cost-effective. When encountering war, soldiers have to put their heads up and risk their lives. If they are injured or die, their pensions are almost negligible, and sometimes they are not even available.

Even if they win the battle, those who serve as officials can receive rewards and promotions, but most of those who serve as soldiers are still empty-handed and their gains are close to zero. This kind of work, where you win a hundred times and lose once, it's all over, is not cost-effective at all.

Normal people would not do it if they had the chance. They had no choice but to avoid it. They would just do it all day long, scolding their bosses while doing it, and wishing that their bosses, court ministers, and the emperor would all be struck to death by lightning. How could they have the energy to resist? Foreign barbarians, maybe life will be better when the foreign barbarians come, and one can imagine their fighting power.

Wanting soldiers to fight bravely is actually no different from asking farmers to farm the land and workers to work hard. It only needs to do one thing well, and the cost-effectiveness of being a soldier is no less than that of most jobs in society.

However, improving the status of military personnel is easier said than done. It involves many issues such as system, culture, and cost. But no matter how difficult it is, you must find a way to do it, otherwise all the efforts made in the early stage and all the results obtained will be like a castle on the beach and disappear without a trace in a wave.

Hong Tao's method is very simple and vulgar, just like the implementation of the New Deal. First, there is no large-scale debate on whether it is good or bad, and no study on feasibility. Let's conduct a pilot project, whether it is a mule or a horse, to fully demonstrate its advantages and disadvantages, and then Then decide if it is feasible. If the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, expand it; if the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, stop it.

The navy and army are the Guangdong and Fujian of military reform. These tens of thousands of soldiers will use their own experience to explain the pros and cons of being a soldier to the world, and also show managers the feasibility. If it's suitable, just copy it, if not, stop, or modify it and continue testing.

Now Wang Datou's waist badge has five more characters than ordinary soldiers, namely staff officer and armed cavalry officer. The former represents his position, and the latter shows his rank. According to Hong Tao's idea, in the future, waist tags will be gradually replaced by hang tags, from hanging on the belt to hanging around the neck. This can reduce weight and volume, and is safer, reducing the chance of losing it due to rolling around.

"Reporting to Long Live Lord, yes and no... I discovered another major situation while tracing the whereabouts of the artillery. The Jurchens were secretly colluding with the Koreans!" Zhu Sanliu licked his lips and restrained himself with all his strength. With excitement and longing in his heart, he took out a small paper roll from the compartment of his belt.

"Read it, I'm too lazy to wash my hands again." Hong Tao didn't reach out to take it. The paper roll was a little dirty. It looked like it had been tossed around a lot and was almost black.

"Recorder, Zhu 207. Today, a North Korean sailing ship was captured off the coast of Shenmi Island, with a total of six people. During the capture, a fight broke out. Two of the other party died and two were seriously injured. The interrogation record is as follows..." Zhu Thirty-Six He carefully opened the scroll, leaned next to the oil lamp and read softly.

Since receiving the emperor's permission, the team of the Statistics Department led by him, with the cooperation of the Navy and Shipping Yamen, conducted a long-term follow-up investigation on the people and routes of smuggling artillery, and made some gains.

In order to find the ultimate source, at the beginning of the year, he took people on an armed cargo ship from the Maritime Administration, pretending to be a smuggling merchant ship, and approached North Korea's Pi Island and Shemi Island. He tried to go ashore and approach the ironworks of Tieshan City. However, due to the tight security of the North Korean army, they were unable to find the final source. succeed.

They were not discouraged. They couldn't get to the shore so they cruised in the nearby waters, looking for suspicious ships and preparing to arrest Tongue for interrogation. After nearly two months of searching for a needle in a haystack, I really encountered a dead rat and encountered a Korean sailing ship that sneaked out of Tieshan Port at night.

After a short pursuit and exchange of fire, the opponent was quickly subdued, and the people and the ship were brought back to the Ocean Island base for a secret interrogation. This trial discovered another big problem. There were four North Koreans and two Han Chinese on board.

Unfortunately, both Han Chinese were shot by bullets in the exchange of fire. One died and the other was seriously injured, and they could not be interrogated in a short time. The three Koreans who could speak were navy soldiers stationed at Tieshan Shipyard. They only knew that taking the two Han people across the sea to Ningbo Port was an order from Shangfeng, and the rest did not know anything about it. However, the North Korean sailors provided some interesting details. When the two Han men talked quietly in the cabin, they spoke not Chinese but Jurchen. Moreover, when they were chased by an armed cargo ship, they immediately threw most of their luggage into the sea, but the throwing was not complete, leaving two boxes.

Although there were no identifying words in the box, it was filled with wild ginseng, animal skins, and a bag of sand gold. This time it was almost like he was not asking for trouble. The goods must have been produced in Liaodong, he could speak the Jurchen dialect, and he was ordered to be escorted by the North Korean general at Tieshan Port. The truth is worth investigating.

"When you came back, did you go to the Naval Staff to ask about the situation in Liaodong?" Hong Tao thought so too, but he couldn't be completely sure and had to refer to more information.

"Thirty-six questions have been asked. The war situation has remained the same in the past three months. Both sides are unable to move forward and are still fighting near the border wall."

"Will North Korea increase its troops in the near future?" Hong Tao seemed not satisfied with this answer, and continued to ask with a frown.

"Thirty-six has also asked, and there has been no increase in troops. However, the number of soldiers, arrows and crossbows sent to the front line from Tieshan Ironworks has increased by 30%." Zhu Sanliu shook his big head and answered all questions, but basically did not do anything. hesitate.

"Tell me, what might have happened?" Hearing this, Hong Tao pressed his body forward, gave up the power to summarize, and pricked up his ears with expectation.

"I thought the Koreans were covering up. After the Jurchens withdrew their troops from Shanhaiguan, they had only two choices, to go west or to the south. To the west is to annex the various Jurchen tribes in Haixi to strengthen their power, and to the south is to oppress the Koreans and strive to regain Kuan. Build Liubao to avoid being attacked from both sides.

According to the intelligence analysis of the Naval Staff, the Jurchens should have implemented both options. Last summer, more troops were sent south, numbering more than 3,000. The leader was Daishan, the second son of the Jianlu leader.

The King of Joseon only sent less than a thousand additional troops, most of whom were stationed in Uiju, but the front line was still impregnable. This is difficult to explain. Even with the assistance of armor and crossbows, the North Korean army cannot defeat more with less in a short period of time, which is not in line with the strength comparison between the two sides.

Two conclusions can be drawn from this. The Jurchens did not launch a large-scale attack, or the two parties reached some kind of tacit understanding, and even contacted in private and acted together for Long Live Lord.

The Naval Staff had previously had doubts about the development of the frontline war, but due to Long Live Lord's order, the Marines could not really get close to Kuandian Sixth Fort, so they could only make conjectures. The smuggling boat caught this time further confirmed their suspicions that North Korea may have committed the same problem again. "

Talk freely in front of the emperor, say whatever you think, without any concern about right or wrong. Except for Kaitoji, even the Cuju team can't do it. No matter how much training eunuchs receive, they cannot escape their nature as slaves of the emperor, and they are born with a sense of fear towards their masters.

(End of this chapter)