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

Chapter 539: The Battle between Land and Sea and the Fake Emperor

After the New Year, Li Shang seemed to have found a way to use Xu Aimin, and asked him to do some things related to the departments. The tax inspector was equivalent to the Ministry of Finance of the Han Dynasty, and every government office in the Han Dynasty had to deal with them. That day, General Ding He, the director of the Logistics Department under the Taiwei Mansion, found Xu Aimin again, and he also came to increase the budget.

Xu Aimin was stunned and said, "My Han Dynasty has not had any major military actions in the past few years. Why are you, the Taiwei Mansion, increasing the budget?"

The Han Dynasty had been at peace for nearly 20 years, and military spending had remained very stable.

General Ding He said: "This is not for the official camp pilot. Now Jiujiang County and Hengshan County recruit 4 infrastructure soldiers every year. The Taiwei Mansion is responsible for training these soldiers and taking care of their food, clothing, housing and transportation. Military expenditures will inevitably increase. The Taiwei Mansion wants to include this expense in the regular military expenditures."

After reading Ding He's budget, Xu Aimin was shocked to find that the soldiers who were engaged in infrastructure construction in Hengshan County and Jiujiang County were fleecing the imperial court. Although the imperial court did not need to deal with the resettlement of the soldiers after retirement, they would place these well-trained soldiers in the rapidly expanding industries in the two counties.

But this does not mean that the Han Dynasty's expenses have been reduced. The annual food expenses for these 4 soldiers alone are more than million coins, and the remaining expenses for food, clothing, housing and transportation are no less than million coins.

For the Taiwei Mansion of the Han Dynasty, they were also happy to see such a thing. 4 infrastructure soldiers needed 16 captain-level officers, 16 colonel-level officers, and two lieutenant generals to form a temporary general's mansion. For the Han Army, this was the largest expansion of the army in the past 10 years.

This could ease their internal dissatisfaction a little, because the Han Dynasty's increased personnel in recent years were all in the navy, and the conflicts between the Han Dynasty's navy and land were already very serious.

The Han Dynasty has been recuperating for nearly 20 years. Although Xu Fan has not relaxed the construction of the army and the military expenditure has increased every year, it is a peacetime after all. In addition, the Han Dynasty has no rivals for the time being, so the increase in the Han Dynasty's military expenditure is limited. It is mainly used to replace weapons and equipment and build military infrastructure.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the weapons and equipment were swords, spears, longbows, crossbows, iron armor and steel armor. During these 20 years, swords, spears, swords and halberds were gradually replaced by flintlock rifles, longbows and crossbows were replaced by various types of artillery, and heavy armor was lightened to become a breastplate that only defended the chest. The Han army changed from a cold weapon to a firearms unit.

But the Han military was still not satisfied, or rather, the Han army was still not satisfied, because most of the court's military expenditures in the past 20 years were spent on the navy.

The Han Dynasty's northern and southern fleets have expanded three times since their inception, and the number of naval soldiers has reached half of the army. If it were just that, it would be nothing, but the key is that the navy burns money much faster than the army.

An ordinary warship costs hundreds of millions of dollars, and the navy spends 5 to 6 million dollars every year to build warships. The key is that this warship is not a one-time expense, and the maintenance cost is also extremely high, accounting for almost 6 to 7% of the cost of building a warship. In recent years, to % of the Han Dynasty's military expenditure has been consumed by the navy. As the warships are built, the number of naval soldiers will naturally expand.

The navy was not satisfied with this. They wanted to build the largest and strongest warship in the Han Dynasty, with an unprecedented tonnage of 10 shi. The cost of building such a warship was 4 million yuan. It had 150 decks and heavy artillery pieces could be placed on both sides of the ship. It required thousands of naval soldiers to operate this behemoth.

They planned to build four such battleships in a row, naming them after the four hegemonic countries of the Spring and Autumn Period, namely Jin, Qi, Qin and Chu, and they were called hegemonic-class battleships.

According to General Luan Bu, the sea area controlled by the Han Navy has expanded more than 20 times compared to 10 years ago. The original two fleets can no longer help the Han Dynasty rule the world. The Han Navy will be expanded into four fleets. On the basis of the original two fleets, the Yinzhou Fleet and the Yanzhou Fleet will be added. The Overlord-class battleships will be built to become the flagships of the four fleets.

Luan Bu said with great pride that these four warships were the face of the Han Dynasty. Any country's appearance along the coast of these four warships would surely make these countries surrender to the powerful strength of the Han Dynasty. This was the so-called conquering the enemy without fighting.

This made the Han army furious. One of his warships cost more than 200 million yuan. How could he still take their big brother the army seriously?

What is more crucial is that in order to find an excuse to increase naval spending, Luan Bu published a military book called On Sea Power last year.

The book uses the silver mines, saltpeter mines, and tobacco leaves of the New World, the gold and silver mines of Japan, the various spices of Southeast Asia, the various precious woods of South China, the gems, spices, and cotton of India to discuss the importance of overseas colonies and vassal states to the Han Dynasty. Maritime trade can bring 500 billion in wealth and tens of billions in tax profits to the Han Dynasty every year.

These interests are then extended to illustrate the importance of sea power to the Han Dynasty. Without sea power, the settlements of these vassal states would surely be out of the Han Dynasty's control, and the Han Dynasty's global hegemony would surely collapse.

Finally, he concluded that the foundation of the Han Dynasty's century-long history lies in its maritime power, and the navy will be the Han Dynasty's sharpest external sword.

There was nothing wrong with Luan Bu's theory of sea power, but his theory angered other generals and officers of the Han army.

The navy wanted to turn the tables on the Tian Gang and ride on their heads. Who was Luan Bu? He just joined the Han Dynasty in the middle of the Yellow River War. The emperor gave him a captain because he thought he was useful. When the Han Dynasty was founded, he didn't even have the title of earl. His position in the Han military was ranked outside the top 100. Now he actually wanted to bully them. Many generals of the Han Dynasty complained to Ji Xin.

"Brother, you have to manage the Taiwei Mansion well. Suppress those youngsters who need to be suppressed and restrict those who need to be restricted. Otherwise, they will ride on our heads."

Ji Xin was helpless in the face of this situation. He could not tell his old brother that he was one of the largest maritime merchants in the Han Dynasty and that his merchant ships had already gone to the Yanzhou Continent to sell goods.

When Luan Bu was considering the location of the Yanzhou Fleet, he even proposed to place the naval base on Kunlun Island (Madagascar), but Luan Bu considered that Kunlun Island was too far away from the Han mainland and logistics could not keep up, so he placed the fleet headquarters on Baoshi Island. The expansion of the Han Navy is in the interests of both the Han and him.

He could only talk about the overseas vassal states, saying that developing the navy was the general trend of the Han Dynasty. Even the emperor agreed with Luan Bu's opinion, not to mention the Taiwei Mansion and Peng Yue, Luan Bu's superior. He had no other choice.

Ji Xin's ineffective performance made the army generals extremely disappointed, but at the same time, the reality of the Han Dynasty also made them helpless. They had destroyed all of the Han Dynasty's external enemies 20 years ago.

Han Xin, the Duke of Mobei, could only clear out the savages outside the Great Wall every year. Although the territory of his principality was getting larger and larger, everyone knew that most of his territory was on the ice field, where there were not even a few savages. The generals of the Han Dynasty could only sigh that Han Xin's military talents were wasted on these savages.

Being invincible is the nightmare of all warriors. Many generals of the Han Dynasty sighed and wondered why they didn't leave a few enemies behind in the beginning. As a result, they had no enemies to test their artillery and muskets.

But five years ago, the government camp was expanded on a trial basis. Zheng Qi and his team came up with the idea of ​​the garrison soldiers system because they lacked qualified labor. They created infrastructure soldiers. The two counties recruited 4 soldiers in the first year. Although the number was reduced in the second year, there were still 2 soldiers. The third year was also 2, which means 8 infrastructure soldiers. This created the largest increase in soldiers in the Han Dynasty in the past decade. In particular, the Han military imagined that if the other counties of the Han Dynasty did not expand by 8, no, even if it was , the Han Dynasty would have to increase more than soldiers, so that the army could completely suppress the navy.

Ding He said with a smile: "Prince, the model of Jiujiang County is very good. Our Han Dynasty already has a conscription system. His Majesty has always told me that the Han army is a melting pot. Even scrap iron can be forged into steel. Look at the tens of thousands of infrastructure soldiers in Jiujiang County and other places. They have built highways, railways, docks, expanded canals, and built new markets over the years. The court only pays a monthly allowance of 100 coins. This model consumes very little. Now, if you hire a civilian without 700 or 800 coins, who would be willing to do such heavy work?"

"I think this model can completely replace the corvée labor of our Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty has 60 infrastructure soldiers, then the Han Dynasty will have more railways, highways, docks, ports, and canals than it has now."

Coming here to ask for a budget is one thing. If the prince supports it, the Han army can start an era of great expansion. Although Xu Aimin was also moved by such a scene, he shook his head and said, "General Ding, please don't fool me. The money from the court allowance is saved, but the soldiers' food, clothing, housing and transportation are 10 times higher than those of civilians. More importantly, when these soldiers retire, the court must find a way to train them and give them a stable job. There are 20 retired soldiers every year. Where can you let the court find 20 jobs that can allow them to live a decent life? Even now, the court retires to soldiers every year, and the Prime Minister's Office has tried every possible way. If you want to transfer these infrastructure soldiers to the standing army of the sea, you should propose it at the Sages Conference."

Xu Aimin was no military novice, he knew that it was extremely expensive to maintain a standing army, and his father had always placed high hopes on the Han army. He gave them the most generous treatment, the food, clothing, housing and transportation in the army were all above the middle class, and after they retired, they would also be given a good job.

According to the standards of the Warring States Period, the Han Dynasty raised these soldiers according to the standards of raising scholars. Therefore, since its establishment, the morale of the Han army has been extremely high, the combat effectiveness is extremely strong, and the military discipline is strict. It is even called the king's army. The soldiers of the Han army have a very high sense of honor.

The Han army had to take care of everything from food, clothing, housing and transportation to their post-retirement duties, which cost a huge amount of manpower, material and financial resources. Otherwise, the Han Dynasty would not have been able to support a standing army of more than 100,000. The court would definitely go bankrupt if it supported such a large army of several hundred thousand.

Ding Yue returned feeling a little disappointed.

That night, Xu Aimin told Xu Fan that Ding Yue wanted to incorporate the infrastructure troops into the standing army.

Xu Fan sighed and said, “In recent years, the Han army has indeed made many concessions for the development of the court, but this is the trend of the times.

If the people want to live a prosperous life and the court wants to increase tax revenue, they must invest a lot of resources in developing industry. At the same time, in order to develop industry and expand the market, they must build infrastructure such as railways and docks. I want to build infrastructure, but the cost is so high. One mile of track costs 500 million coins. The Han Dynasty needs more than 3 miles of track. "

"The development of Southeast Asia, the Indian market, and the New World also requires investment of resources. If the Han Dynasty wants to control these three markets, it must invest its limited resources in the navy. Luan Bu's theory of sea power makes sense. You should read this book more when you have time. The Han Dynasty needed sea power for external expansion. When it first began to attach importance to sea power, it meant that the Han Dynasty was in decline and could no longer control the overseas princes, or that a powerful land power country had emerged around the Han Dynasty."

Speaking of land power countries, Xu Fan had a flash of inspiration as if a fog had suddenly been cleared. He suddenly felt a little bit amused. The current Han Dynasty was actually somewhat similar to the Hope Country in later generations. The strategy used by the Hope Country could actually work for the Han Dynasty. Although the geographical structure was different, they all did not want a land power country to emerge. To achieve this, they had to shatter the central corner of the World Island to prevent the emergence of a land power country.

Thinking of this, Xu Fan suddenly realized that his support for the Xiongnu Kingdom was a serious threat to the hegemony of the Han Dynasty.

Now the Xiongnu Kingdom with a population of several million could only bow down to the Han Dynasty. But if they annexed the Parthian Empire and the powerful countries along the Mediterranean coast, or even think more deeply, the Xiongnu people really accomplished the great feat that even the Mongols had not accomplished, and fought all the way to the Atlantic coast, a powerful empire spanning three continents would appear around the Han Dynasty. If this situation really happened, the Xiongnu people would certainly not submit to the Han Dynasty again. The Han Dynasty did not want to conflict with the Xiongnu. Even if they could not share the hegemony of the world, they would share the hegemony of the Chinese continent.

He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "No wonder so many heroes find it difficult to keep their original aspirations. More than a decade ago, I wanted the Xiongnu to be the sword of the Han Dynasty, but now I have to break this sword with my own hands for the sake of the Han Dynasty's hegemony."

The 30th year of the Han calendar, March 3, Law School.

"When it came to the First Emperor, he brought out the remaining strength of the six generations, wielded the long strategy and ruled the world, swallowed up the two Zhou dynasties and destroyed the princes, assumed the supreme position and controlled the world, held the whip and scourged the world, and his power shook the four seas~~."

The students around Xu Aimin and Zhang Pijiang read this article from time to time. They were especially excited when reading this paragraph. They couldn't help but recite it aloud and even led many students to sing along.

Xu Aimin smiled and said, "Jia Yi's On the Qin Dynasty is in great demand in Chang'an. You can hear this article everywhere, especially this passage which is very exciting. I really wish I could be in the era of the First Emperor to see how he swallowed up the six kingdoms and dominated the world."

After the New Year, Jia Yi of the Legalist school began to gain fame, and his On the Qin Dynasty spread to more than a dozen universities in the Han Dynasty, occupying the Han Dynasty's hot list for more than a month.

Zhang Pijiang said: "Your Majesty was a commoner under the rule of the First Emperor. These are the tools of the First Emperor, but they are also a disaster for the common people. The people of the world still prefer to live under your Majesty's rule."

Xu Aimin said: "My father also said that the First Emperor was too impatient and formed a path dependence. He did not know how to change the system according to the current situation. My father said that there is no system that will never change. There is only a system that is suitable for the present. The Han Dynasty must continue to change according to the development of the times."

Zhang Pijiang said: "Being pragmatic is the reason why your majesty was able to defeat the First Emperor."

Zhang Pijiang thought for a moment and said, "Didn't His Majesty agree to your setting up the Crown Prince's Mansion?"

It has been nearly half a year since Xu Aimin was canonized as the crown prince, but there are only two people who can be considered his subordinates, one is Zhang Pijiang and the other is Liu Chang.

Xu Aimin smiled bitterly and said, "I have also asked my father about this question. My father said that the position of crown prince is not a specific position, or rather, the specific position is to wait to become the emperor of the Han Dynasty. I can recruit talents, but the court will not assign specific positions to me. My current position in the Han Dynasty is the right commander of the tax bureau. If there is a need for an errand, I can assign a driver and a chief clerk."

Zhang Pijiang was confused. What was the point of being a crown prince? He didn't even have subordinates. He couldn't even assign positions to his confidants. How could he build a team of confidants?

You should know that in history, the crown prince of the Western Han Dynasty basically had a core team, a complete backup court that could seamlessly take over the government affairs of the Han Dynasty, and there were even more than a dozen counties that could be used as fiefdoms for the crown prince to directly manage.

Xu Aimin said: "In my father's mind, even the emperor is a position, and the prince is a fake emperor. After my father retires, he can directly take over. The three dukes and nine ministers of the court are the prince's subordinates."

Yes, Xu Fan had basically no idea what rights the prince in the feudal era should have, but he was clear about what rights the vice president in modern society had. The prince was the emperor's successor, and in his view, the three dukes and nine ministers of the court were his subordinates, and there was no need for another overlapping set of institutions. Xu Fan regarded the position of prince as a fake emperor.

Zhang Pijiang didn't know what to say for a moment. Why did His Majesty always have such strange ideas?

He advised: "Prince, without an office for the Crown Prince and an official, how can you take over the government affairs of the court? The court is now full of Han officials. Officials are your best helpers in handling government affairs."

Xu Aimin said, "But my father asked me to go to all the government offices of the nine ministers, saying that he wanted me to understand the operation mode of the court. It is impossible for me to go to any government office and bring a group of officials with me."

Zhang Pijiang thought for a moment and said, "Then the prince asks His Majesty to let you be the Neishi Ling. Neishi is not only the largest and richest county in our Han Dynasty, but also a small court within it. By governing Neishi, you can not only be familiar with the court affairs, but also do not need to leave Chang'an City, while maintaining a certain influence on the court."

Xu Aimin thought for a moment and nodded, "I will tell my father that the second government office to be inspected is the Internal History Office."

(End of this chapter)