At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 456: Xiongnu Military Reform
June 15th, the seventeenth year of the Han calendar.

Although the military officials said goodbye to the emperor, their troops did not return all the way west to the Xiongnu Kingdom. Instead, they first took a train north to the desert, and then went to the major vassal states in the desert to recruit young and strong people to return.

Under the rule of the Han Dynasty, the desert opened up commercial channels. Livestock from the desert could come to the Han Dynasty, and goods from the Han Dynasty could also come to the desert. This significantly improved the lives of the desert herders, but the climatic conditions in the desert were like that. No matter how much their lives were improved, the herders could only get enough food and clothing at best. Of course, this was already an unprecedented good thing.

Therefore, the herdsmen in the desert did not miss their previous lives. So when Zhang Yuan and his team came to the desert to recruit warriors for the first time, even though he spoke highly of the current Xiongnu Kingdom, only a few thousand unstable elements followed them.

But Ji Zhou was also a great man of his generation. Facing these clansmen who had returned to join him, he entrusted them with important tasks and asked them to assist him in completing military reforms.

Since fleeing to the Western Regions, the Xiongnu Kingdom from top to bottom has been determined to begin learning the Han system. For them, the most urgent thing is the reform of the military system.

Just after the Xiongnu had gained a foothold in the Western Regions, Ji Zhou implemented the military-land system in the Xiongnu State. Each Xiongnu household (people from the Western Regions) could be divided into 100 mu of land. Every ten households formed a demi-god, with a demi-god leader who was usually a Xiongnu. Ten demi-gods formed a village, and a hundred captains were appointed. Eleven Xiongnu households could manage hundreds of people from the Western Regions. This was both an administrative unit and a military unit. When the Xiongnu State wanted to launch a war, each household had to send one male citizen to form a team of one hundred to follow the army into battle.

Those who did not have land became slaves, and soldiers who did not go to war cultivated the fields. If they wanted to change their status, they could join the army and change their status if they made contributions.

Ji Zhou even fully learned Xu Fan's civilization recognition system. Not only would Ji Zhou personally reward those soldiers who fought bravely and made great contributions, he would also give them the identity of Huns and regard them as his own. Therefore, in recent years, there have been many blond-haired and blue-eyed people in the Huns who also called themselves Hun warriors.

Lian Jizhou did not expect that his move, which was intended to expand the Huns' base, unexpectedly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Huns' army.

Compared with the Central Plains dynasty, the fighting spirit of the Xiongnu army was not very high. They were like organized horse thieves. They would rush in to take advantage when there was an opportunity, and would flee in all directions when there was no opportunity. They fought a superb guerrilla war.

The words "fearless and courageous" and "fighting to the death" have never belonged to the Huns. In terms of fighting willpower, they are not as civilized as the Han people unless they are forced into a desperate situation.

However, because Ji Zhou was clear about rewards and punishments, promoted talents in an unconventional way, learned the military merit system of the Han Dynasty, and truly implemented rewards to soldiers fighting on the front line, the fighting effectiveness of the Huns soared.

Ji Zhou was surprised to find that among the Huns there were also brave warriors who could defeat a thousand enemies with one horse and kill generals and seize flags, there were also brave warriors who could be the first to climb a city wall and capture a city, and there were also peerless generals who could defeat ten thousand enemies with a hundred horses.

The Huns were able to crush the Western Regions with great force, and these people who suddenly appeared played an indispensable role. It was only then that he realized that the Huns were not without extraordinary military talents, but they had not discovered the military system for such talents. Whether winning or losing the battle, the tribal leaders would get most of the benefits, so who would be willing to fight hard on the battlefield?

This discovery accelerated Ji Zhou's determination to fully assimilate to the Han nationality, which led to the subsequent comprehensive military reform. The Xiongnu headquarters had the highest status in the Xiongnu Kingdom. Economically, Ji Zhou gave them 3 acres of land, or tens of thousands of acres of grassland, and 5 to slaves. They occupied an advantageous position in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System economy. Politically, all positions in the Xiongnu Kingdom, big and small, were occupied by the Xiongnu. Their political status was slightly lower than that of the military nobles, but higher than that of ordinary people, a bit like the Eight Banners descendants in later generations. After being given a higher economic and political status, talents from other ethnic groups were allowed to join the Xiongnu and expand their base.

Therefore, in terms of economic status, the Huns living in the desert may be higher than those in the Huns, but their political status is far inferior, and their development prospects are also far inferior, because in the Huns one can be promoted to nobility based on military merit, while the Han Dynasty has not experienced war for nearly 10 years, so naturally they cannot improve their status without fighting.

In the second year, Zhang Yuan led a group of Huns back home in wealth and glory, which caused a sensation in the entire desert. That year he took away 2 young and strong Huns.

This year, Zhang Yuan and his men recruited another 30,000 young and strong men. These people rode on war horses, carried their meager possessions, crossed the desert and the Western Regions, and followed the military officials for more than half a year before arriving at the Xiongnu Kingdom.

Junchen and his entourage arrived at the capital of the Xiongnu, Shanyu City, which was originally the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom, Lanshi City. After the Xiongnu destroyed the Great Xia Kingdom, they occupied this city and transformed it into their own capital.

Junchen and his team encountered the victorious Hun army.

At this time, a leading general was riding a Ferghana horse, walking arrogantly in front of the army. This general was tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, and he was obviously a native of the Western Regions. What surprised the soldiers the most was that the person who was holding the horse for this warrior was actually his father Ji Zhou.

"This is the horse-riding parade of the Han Dynasty!" Junchen had lived in the Han Dynasty for two years, and in the capital of the Han Dynasty. Naturally, he was very familiar with the various systems of the Han Dynasty.

Although he had never seen a horse-riding parade, his name was well-known and all the Han generals were proud of it. It was a pity that when he arrived in the Han Dynasty, it no longer had any rivals and naturally had never seen such a grand spectacle.

Zhang Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "We have also persuaded the Chanyu to send Dugu Hou to lead the horses. The Chanyu is of noble status and should not do such a lowly thing. But the Chanyu said that if he wants to learn, he must learn the whole set. If the Han emperor can do it, he can do it too."

Junchen hesitated and asked, "Who is this former general?"

Zhang Yuan said: "His name is Xia Jie, a native of Dayuan in the Western Regions. When the Chanyu destroyed Dayuan, Xia Jie joined our Xiongnu army as a slave. In the first battle, he killed 33 people. Seeing that he was brave and good at fighting, the Chanyu not only exempted him from slavery, but also rewarded him with Xiongnu status, promoted him to centurion, and gave him the surname Xia."

"This is a horse bone worth a fortune!" Junchen said slowly.

You must know that after the Huns were driven out of the desert by the Han Dynasty, Ji Zhou, in order to maintain the stability of the Huns, brought out the Han emperor's rhetoric that the Han and the Huns were one family, and made high-profile propaganda that the ancestor of the Huns was Dayu, one of the Five Emperors, and that the first dynasty of the Han Dynasty, Daxia, was the dynasty founded by their ancestors. In terms of blood, they were nobler than the Han emperors.

Ji Zhou also changed his surname to Xia, so now Ji Zhou's full name is Xia Ji Zhou, and Junchen is called Xia Junchen.

The surname Xia became the name of the Xiongnu Wang family. A slave was able to obtain a royal surname. His father obviously wanted to use this as a model to inspire other Xiongnu people.

Zhang Yuan envied and said, "This Xia Jie is indeed very brave. Two years ago, when the Xiongnu surrounded Kangju, he led thousands of soldiers and was the first to attack the capital of Kangju. As a result, he was awarded the title of Guduhou (equivalent to the Duwei of the Han Dynasty) for his meritorious service. This time, it seems that he completely wiped out the remnants of Kangju, captured the King of Kangju, and completely destroyed the Kangju Kingdom. With this merit, it is estimated that Xia Jie can be awarded the title of Dadanghu (the rank of Xiaowei of the Han Dynasty, but the political status of Xiaowei is higher. There are few Xiongnu people, only 20 Dadanghu. Secondly, this position is a combination of military and political power, managing tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of villages)."

Both the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu established their countries through military merit. As long as one had military merit, wealth, status, women, and everything else, but without military merit, the path to promotion was very difficult. Take Zhang Yuan for example, he had been with the Xiongnu for more than ten years and had made great contributions and hard work. He traveled across the Western Regions three times a year, which was extremely hard. But without military merit, he was at most a soldier trusted by the Chanyu. It was impossible for him to become a high-ranking Xiongnu noble such as Gudu Hou or Da Danghu.

Seeing that this slave from a few years ago now had a higher status than him, Zhang Yuan was almost going crazy with jealousy.

Junchen said: "No wonder my father treated him like this. After destroying Kangju, our Xiongnu Kingdom has gained a firm foothold."

The Xiongnu extended their tentacles to the Western Regions and destroyed the powerful Wusun in the Western Regions. Then, when their power was weak, they destroyed Daxia. Now, even Kangju has been destroyed. It can be said that the three major powers in Central Asia have been destroyed by the Xiongnu. In this area of ​​Central Asia, the Xiongnu no longer have powerful enemies, so the military officials said that the Xiongnu State has established its foundation. Ji Zhou’s current reputation in the Western Regions is such that hearing his name can stop a child from crying at night.

Even the Dayuezhi people were a little afraid of Ji Ju. Originally, the fighting power of the Dayuezhi people and the Xiongnu people was evenly matched. When the two sides jointly attacked the Wusun Kingdom, the Dayuezhi people discovered that the fighting power of the Xiongnu people was slightly stronger than theirs.

But later the Yuezhi people found that the Xiongnu were on the verge of national extinction under the attack of the Han people. They worried that the Han people would take the opportunity to attack the Western Regions. They were worried that they would be unable to resist alone in Sindhu. Only then did they support the Xiongnu with some slaves and money and food with the care of their superiors.

But they never expected that Ji Zhou would be so good at fighting. He only had tens of thousands of tribesmen and more than 1 soldiers, which was the strength of a small country in the Western Regions. However, Ji Zhou managed to defeat them and turn them into the overlord of the Western Regions.

Daxia and Kangju were annexed by the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu Kingdom was the only country left in the north of Sindhu. They were really worried that Jizhou would turn his guns against them, after all, Sindhu was too rich. When they plunged into this fertile land, they found for the first time that there were such easy-to-rule tribes in the world, and they no longer wanted to leave this land.

So after Ji Zhou's victory, the Dayuezhi people immediately sent an envoy with a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry and beautiful women to congratulate the Xiongnu on their victory, and to discuss with Ji Zhou the matter of marriage between the two countries.

Starting from Maodun, the Xiongnu and the Dayuezhi started to intermarry. The reason why Jizhou was able to get the support of the Dayuezhi people had a lot to do with the fact that his wife was a princess of the Dayuezhi. Obviously, they wanted to continue to maintain this relationship and wanted to take the route of marriage to maintain the friendship between the two countries.

On the second day after the horse parade, Ji Zhou summoned the military official who had been studying abroad for more than two years.

He looked at the military officer who looked a little unfamiliar but had become more powerful and sighed, "Back then, when you were still young, you knew how to fight for the interests of the Xiongnu. I knew that there would be successors for the Xiongnu. Even after a hundred years, you can still lead the Xiongnu to continue to prosper."

Junchen said: "It was my father who created the present glory of the Xiongnu people. Now as long as the Xiongnu country does not provoke the Han Dynasty, it can have hundreds of years of national prosperity."

When Ji Zhou heard about the invincible enemy of the Han Dynasty, his face became serious and he asked, "You are the one who has stayed in the Han Dynasty the longest among all the Xiongnu people, and you know the Han Dynasty the best. Can you tell me whether the gap between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty is still big?"

Junchen said bitterly: "Father, although you have made brilliant military achievements, it is only because the Han Dynasty does not care about you and is unwilling to go on a long expedition thousands of miles away."

Although he did not say it explicitly, Junchen meant that the gap between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty not only did not narrow, but instead widened.

Ji Zhou felt that Junchen underestimated the Xiongnu Kingdom. He said, "Now our Xiongnu Kingdom has 20 elite troops and tens of millions of civilians. We can mobilize troops at most. Even if the Han people dare to come, they will never come back."

Junchen asked, "Father, can the Xiongnu make cannons?"

Ji Zhou shook his head. The Han Dynasty had very strict control over artillery. He had also written a letter to the emperor of the Han Dynasty, requesting him to provide him with artillery, but unfortunately he was rejected.

Jun Chen said, "Now the Han use extravagant hundred-fold steel to refine artillery. Their artillery is not only lighter than before, but also has a longer range and greater power. According to the information I got from the Han, the Han generals have also developed a small cannon that can be held in the hand. They have begun to change their tactics and said they want to destroy the enemy on the road of attack."

Ji Zhou said with disdain: "Nonsense! Even if the weapons are changed, hand-to-hand combat is indispensable in war. The Han army is corrupt and dares not even fight the enemy face to face."

Junchen smiled bitterly and said, "How could they be corrupt? Although the Han army hasn't fought a big battle in recent years, they have been suppressing small-scale rebellions and conquering tribes. You should know that the territorial expansion of the Han Dynasty has never stopped. They have already annexed the entire Liaodong to the north. It is said that the tribes in Liaodong that refused to submit to the Han Dynasty were either killed by them or driven onto the ice field.

There are more and more Han vassal states in the South Pacific Islands, and more and more islands are being discovered. These Han vassal states are veterans who have experienced many battles. They fight almost every year.

According to the news obtained from the Han newspapers, the casualties ratio between the Han army and their enemies exceeded thousands, which means that for every one Han soldier who died, thousands of Han enemies would die. With such a high exchange ratio, how could the Han army be corrupt? The only reason is that they are verifying such tactics. "

Junchen's intelligence gathering ability is not bad. After the large-scale war ended, the speed of updating Han's military products slowed down, but it was not without achievements. After the appearance of graphite crucible, the cost of steelmaking in the Han Dynasty was reduced exponentially. You can directly refine small steel cannons, which are far superior to iron cannons in terms of range, power and durability.

In addition to artillery, the weapon the Han Dynasty invested the most resources in was the flintlock rifle. With the support of various machine tools, the cost of the Han Dynasty's flintlock rifle was very low. At three thousand coins per rifle, it was slightly cheaper than a set of armor, but it could penetrate a piece of armor with one shot.

Now the imperial guards of the Han Dynasty were equipped with 5 flintlock rifles. Xu Fan began to popularize them to the major vassal states. Dukes like Ji Bu and Ying Bu could have a quota of flintlock rifles, and ordinary vassals could also have two to three hundred, making it convenient for them to develop vassal states at a very low cost.

Of course, in order to extend the advantage of the Han weapons as much as possible, Xu Fan kept the flintlock secret as much as possible, even though the artillery was known to the world. Therefore, in the years when the Han Monthly News reported on the anti-bandit wars in the major princes' territories, there would often be an extremely exaggerated ratio of one against a thousand. This was because the savages were facing an army composed of flintlocks, and the outside world could only know through bits and pieces of information that the Han army had a small cannon that could be operated by one person.

Junchen said, "Father, let me tell you a statistic. The Bashang Steel Plant where I work produces nearly 2 million catties of steel a year. There are more than a dozen such large steel plants in the Han Dynasty. It is said that their latest blast furnace can produce 50 catties of iron in one furnace. This blast furnace can produce tens of millions of catties of iron a year. Now the Han people can use steel to make machinery and carriages. There is even so much steel that it can be laid on the ground to build tracks. How much steel can the Xiongnu produce every year?"

Ji Zhou hesitated a little. In this era, steel also represented military strength. If his son's words were true, the amount of steel in the Han people was hundreds or even thousands of times that of the Xiongnu. The gap was so great that it made people despair. Now they could lay steel on the ground and make machines, but as long as the war started, it also meant that the Han people had endless weapons and armor. With such a powerful enemy as the enemy, his failure was inevitable. Fortunately, he did not want to be an enemy of the Han people, and he did not dare to say anything about fighting back to the desert.

He asked, "Did you learn how to make steel in a blast furnace during the two years you were in the Han Dynasty?"

Jun Chen said: "He has also brought over a dozen fellow apprentices. With their support, our Xiongnu country can also build its own blast furnace."

Ji Zhou was a little excited and asked, "You also learned how to build a 50-jin blast furnace?"

If the Xiongnu Kingdom could also build a 50-jin blast furnace, Ji Zhou couldn't even imagine the scene that would follow. He could arm 20 steel soldiers and lead this elite force westward to fight to the end of the world.

Junchen said awkwardly, "Father, that is the most advanced technology of the Han Dynasty. It took the Han people more than ten years and thousands of master craftsmen to develop such a blast furnace. With the current iron smelting foundation of the Xiongnu and the level of children, we should first build a blast furnace of 10,000 jin, and then gradually expand it."

But Junchen's face quickly became serious and he said, "We Xiongnu need to learn not only the military system and blast furnace technology of the Han people, but also the industrial system of the Han people. Now there is a machine called the steam engine, which is rapidly spreading in the Han people. Wherever it appears, there is a steady stream of wealth. The steam engine pushes the Han people, making them stronger and stronger. If we Xiongnu don't keep up, sooner or later the crisis of national extinction will once again loom over us Xiongnu."

(End of this chapter)