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

Chapter 573, Desert Situation

July 34, the 4th year of the Han calendar, at the Desert Governor's Office, a recruit training camp.

It is called a camp, but in fact it is just an area of ​​tents. The boundless grassland outside the tents is their training ground. After the Han Dynasty was stabilized, the size of the Desert Governor's Office has been restricted. There are only two battalions with 1 troops, mainly soldiers from the major princes of the Han Dynasty. They provide manpower for the Governor's Office in the form of rotation training. Their main task is to maintain the stability of the desert and clear out the rampant wild beasts and some lawless horse thieves.

After these orders to march west were issued, the entire desert was in an uproar. Han Xin originally wanted to lead 1 troops to the Western Regions, but the princes living in the desert did not agree.

They have lived in the desert for twenty years. After decades of development, the situation of the territories of the princes in various parts of the Han Dynasty has been divided into rich and poor. They know whose territory is good and whose territory is bad.

After comparison at the princes' meeting, the princes of the Han Dynasty found that the princes in Jiangnan were the best. As long as they reclaimed the land, whether it was planting sugarcane, tea, silkworms, or spices, rubber, which was the most valuable in recent years, could make the princes in Jiangnan rich. Even if they were just farming, the rice in Jiangnan could have a production capacity of 5 stones. Farming could make people rich. This was not a legend in Jiangnan. So in recent years, the land of fish and rice began to replace the land of abundance and became the representative term for wealth.

Then there are the princes of Southeast Asia. They have tropical fruits that can be canned, and their cash crops include palm oil, rubber, spices, and various valuable sandalwoods. Even in recent years, the Han Dynasty's maritime trade routes have become wider and wider. Even if they become a trading port and develop the service industry, they can make a lot of money.

The next is the princes of Liaodong. Although it is cold there, they have black soil. Liaodong rice grown in Liaodong is the best rice in the whole Han Dynasty with high quality and the largest output. The Han Dynasty has become more and more prosperous in the past two years, and the taste of ordinary citizens has become higher and higher. Liaodong rice can be regarded as meeting the needs of these wealthy people. The price of one stone sold to Guanzhong is 200 coins. Where can they go to seek justice?

Not to mention that Liaodong also has a whale industry. This industry alone can feed millions of people in Liaodong. The canned fish industry is an industrial chain that feeds millions of people. There are also the ginseng, deer antler, and animal fur coat industries, each one is more profitable than the other.

Even their former brothers in distress, the princes of the Western Regions, have made a fortune from the oil industry and the cotton plantation industry. The Western Regions may look as desolate as a desert, but they are not short of water. In recent years, after the old brothers in the Western Regions became rich, they have built water conservancy facilities. As long as the karez are repaired, the most important water resource for development can be solved. In the past two years, they have imported a large number of tractors. The number of fields in the Western Regions has begun to skyrocket, and the number of economic plantations has skyrocketed. Now it has become the raw material center for the entire Guanzhong textile industry, as well as the luxury agate and jade industries. The princes of the Western Regions have been serving the Guanzhong masters, and they are all envious of the money they make.

Let alone the New World lords. The old lords discussed how many cash crop plantations and pastures they had, and how many cows they had. The nouveau riche only said that they had found a gold mine in their territory, that the price of silver had dropped a little, and that they had earned 100 million less than last year.

"Fuck!" They were full of the stench of nouveau riche, and many people didn't want to pay attention to them. For a long time, the princes of Mobei were unwilling to go to the princes' meeting in Chang'an City, because at this time they had discovered that choosing the desert as their territory was indeed an extremely huge mistake.

The princes in various places had their own specialties, and they became rich by relying on these specialties. However, with the extensive use of steam engines, the market demand for cattle, sheep and horses in the desert began to decline.

This time the imperial court formed a western expedition army to teach the Huns a lesson, which immediately aroused the interest of many princes. On the one hand, they wanted to establish their own achievements, and it would be best if they could replace the vassal state with a better one.

The second reason was to make some money from the war. They knew how wealthy the Han Dynasty had been in recent years. If they had made meritorious service, they would get a lot of rewards, not to mention the exchange for vassal territories, but also a lot of money. Moreover, after a westward expedition, the imperial court would need a lot of war horses, cattle and sheep for logistics. It was impossible for the imperial court to allocate food from the Central Plains during the desert war. Buying war horses, cattle and sheep in their hands was also a considerable fortune.

So the princes of the desert continued to lead their troops to join Han Xin's Western Expedition. Originally, Han Xin only needed 1 soldiers, but these princes brought 3 people. Even so, Han Xin still found a way to limit the number of people. Each prince could only lead a maximum of 1000 soldiers.

Faced with this situation, Han Xin had no choice but to report to the court, and Xu Fan was also troubled by such a problem. The princes of the Han Dynasty were concerned about the government, and he did not want to disappoint them, so he could only reallocate arms from the arsenal and expand the war force to a scale of 30,000 people.

Jing Tao led a team of more than 5,000 people and said, "I am already 50 years old this year. Are you young and strong guys not as good as me? You are really the worst batch of soldiers I have ever led."

It has been more than 20 years since Jing Tao established the vassal state in Mobei, but he has not lived a life of luxury in these 20 years. He has to build cities in Mobei, set up fixed pastures, encircle and suppress wolves in the desert, and lead his people's livestock to sell to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, he has remained healthy all these years and can still ride a horse and shoot a gun.

When the new recruits heard this, they sped up. Jing Tao could still keep up at first, but he was old after all, so after running a lap, he could only rest in one place.

While taking a break, he said, "I am old after all. Ten years ago, I could have run the horse to death."

After running five kilometers, the recruits began to walk slowly to rest.

Jing Tao said: "You will start shooting training later. The court has used new rifles. If you can't shoot five bullets in one minute, you will not be qualified."

"We can shoot guns now!" Many soldiers cheered quietly. The Han Dynasty had not fought a large-scale war for 20 years. These soldiers had very limited military experience, and had never touched a musket. For people of this age, being able to shoot guns was an extremely exciting thing.

Mobei Shooting Range!

Han Xin, Jing Tao, Li Zuoche, Yu Long and other Han princes watched these new recruits practicing shooting.

"Bang bang bang!"

Then the target reporter 100 meters away kept shaking the flagpole, and only the one shaking horizontally was a 10-ring, which proved that the soldier's shooting was extremely accurate.

At the same time, the shooting time is limited to one minute. Firing 5 shots within one minute is qualified, 6 shots are good, and 7 shots are excellent. After all, in this era of queuing for execution, a musket must not only be accurate, but also fast.

Li Zuoche smiled and said, "My people in the desert are really good at riding and shooting. They are also good at using spears. I saw several new soldiers shoot 70 rings. The new spears of the imperial court are good at shooting fast and accurately."

Jing Tao sighed, "The court's weapons are updated too quickly. Twenty years ago, we were given matchlock rifles, ten years ago we were given flintlock rifles, and now we have the Type 31 rifle, which has a firing rate more than twice that of the flintlock rifle. Our 30,000-man army can exert the combat effectiveness of an army of 60,000 or 70,000. The emperor is right. In the future, technology will change wars, and we will no longer fight with knives."

Yu Long was unconvinced and said, "Hand-to-hand combat will always be used. Even the Type 31 rifle has a bayonet. When the Huns attacked Parthia, although artillery and muskets played an important role, the Parthians also had a lot of muskets and artillery. In several important battles, the Huns relied on bayonets to defeat Parthia."

The military reports about the Huns brought by Zhou Yafu and his men have reached the Western Expedition Army. Although the Huns were defeated by them, these veteran generals still attached great importance to the fighting effectiveness of the Huns.

Han Xin said with a serious face: "The fighting power of the Xiongnu people is stronger than before. Their fighting will and organizational ability are incomparable with those during the Maodun period. Ji Zhou was able to pull the Xiongnu people out of the danger of extinction. His ability is even greater than that of Maodun. We cannot underestimate the Xiongnu people.

We still need to practice more. Each recruit will fire 300 rounds of ammunition in these three months. We also need to strengthen their shooting and formation training on a daily basis. In the era of firearms, firing one more shot may determine the victory of a war. After the Huns went to the Western Regions, they fought almost every year. They have rich experience. But the Han people have had more than years of peace. This generation has not experienced war. Most of these recruits have never even touched a musket. We can only train them strictly before the war. "

Yu Long said: "Don't worry, General. There are very few of my people in the desert who can change their fate. They will seize this opportunity." Looking at the soldiers who were shooting seriously, Han Xin nodded.

Han Xin believed this. The Han Dynasty had ruled the desert for 20 years, and the lives of the people in the desert had been getting better and better. Hunger in the desert had been completely eliminated a long time ago, which was something that countless leaders in the desert had failed to do over the past thousands of years. They could only take the people in the desert to rob the people in the Central Plains when they could not survive.

Now, there are deaths in the desert, such as accidental deaths, deaths in revenge killings, deaths from freezing to death in the snow, and deaths from illness, but no one dies of hunger anymore. This alone has won the hearts of the desert people. After all, no hero is more important than one's own stomach. The first generation of herdsmen who surrendered to the Han Dynasty really regarded Xu Fan as a god, because Xu Fan solved the problem of hunger that had plagued them for half their lives.

But times are moving forward. This generation of desert herders has lived in an era of material abundance since childhood. It is difficult for them to understand the days of hunger if you tell them about them. One stone of grain is only fifty coins. Selling a sheep can exchange for two or three stone of grain, and selling a cow can exchange for 10 stone of grain. Grain is everywhere in the world. Our ancestors back then were too stupid. They didn't even know how to trade. They only knew how to fight and kill. They had no idea about the ways of the world and how to build relationships with relatives in the Central Plains. The grain would have come to the desert.

But they also have their own troubles. The world is becoming more and more prosperous, and there are more and more good things, but it is difficult to increase the money they can earn.

Twenty years ago, their family had 1 acres of grassland, and they could make tens of thousands of dollars by raising cattle and sheep. At that time, even among the Han people, they were considered wealthy.

Twenty years later, they couldn't even earn 20,000 yuan from raising cattle and sheep, which made them the ones who hindered the Han Dynasty's well-off governance.

And if they only stayed in the desert, they would not have so many ideas, but this group of herdsmen were more knowledgeable than their ancestors. Although they had not read thousands of books, they were very convenient to travel thousands of miles. They could take the train from Jiuyuan County and reach Chang'an City in two days. They had witnessed the wealth of Guanzhong and the prosperity of Chang'an.

But there is no place for them in such a city, they can only go there to work, make money and then return to their poor hometown. They also want a better life and better welfare, but the harsh geographical conditions of the desert cannot meet the material and spiritual needs of the people in the desert.

In the new era, herders have few opportunities to turn their lives around. The hardest but also the fairest one is the high school entrance examination. The desert has preferential treatment in the high school entrance examination because of its uniqueness in protecting the frontier. The number of places for their high school entrance examination is increasing every year, and in recent years it has usually been above 5000.

As long as one is admitted to a university, one can join the various schools of thought, stand out, and become an elite of the Han Dynasty.

Students graduating from second-rate institutions would also be assigned positions by the court. They would become Han officials or be arranged to work as managers in the factories of the Shaofu. They would eat the emperor's food, have a stable job, and be able to live a middle-class or above life in the city. This could be considered a class leap. Every year, there would be such successful young people in the desert. They would take their families away from the desert, become residents of Chang'an, and become the envy of everyone.

But this road is too difficult. 5000 places may seem like a lot, but if they are divided among hundreds of thousands of young people in the desert, it means that dozens or even hundreds of people are competing for one place. Only the smartest and most hardworking herdsmen can grab these places.

The second thing is to find a stable job in Central China and gain a foothold in the cities of Central China. Although this is difficult, it is much easier than the high school entrance examination.

In recent years, the Han Dynasty has introduced many policies to support the desert, especially the emergence of trains and tractors, which have greatly reduced the use of cattle and horses.

However, these large livestock are the main source of income for millions of herdsmen in the desert. If the desert is to be stable, the income of the herdsmen must be guaranteed. This is the political task of the Han Dynasty court.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty court launched a policy to promote milk among primary and secondary school students, which required the establishment of pastures in various counties of the Han Dynasty. Herding was the specialty of the herdsmen, and with such a job, they could stay in the wealthy Central Plains.

The imperial court also set up slaughterhouses, canning factories, and meat processing plants in the desert to turn the livestock in the desert into food for the Han people and increase the income of the herdsmen. Every year, tens of thousands of herdsmen entered the Central Plains for these tasks.

These quotas are far from meeting the needs of the herdsmen, but the court has no other choice. The degree of industrialization of the Han Dynasty is limited, and the population that the industry can accommodate is also limited. If these herdsmen are allowed to enter Guanzhong and Chang'an City without any jobs, it will only create a huge slum and disrupt the salary structure of the entire Han Dynasty industry.

Think about the hatred of foreign populations in later immigrant countries. If they only let people in but didn't find jobs for them, it would only exacerbate the conflict between the local and foreign populations. If the conflict intensified too seriously, it would even affect the Han Dynasty's rule over the desert. Therefore, the Han Dynasty could only restrict the population from entering the Central Plains.

In addition, there is an easier way, which is to go to the New World. This is encouraged by the court. As long as they go to the New World, they can obtain 5 acres of grassland and can also get loans to buy Yinzhou cattle. After working hard for a few years, they can achieve a well-off life in one step. After all, the difference between the cattle and sheep that can be raised on 1 acres of grassland and 5 acres of grassland is not very large. Directly providing means of production is the most convenient way to increase wealth.

The Han Dynasty recruited people to go to the New World. The desert was the area with the largest number of people, with more than 3 people leaving every year. The harsh environment of the Han Dynasty determined its population carrying capacity. After the Han Dynasty solved the hunger in the desert, it had to face the problem of the desert's rapidly increasing population.

The world situation that the Han Dynasty is facing now is too good. The Han court can give too many choices to the desert herdsmen. Not much else. If they go to the New World, they will be given 5 acres of grassland. This condition is so good that even the Han Dynasty with a history of years can only encounter such good conditions in the past hundred years, not to mention the current Han Dynasty.

Of course, being able to join the army is a better treatment than going to the New World. If they go to war and make meritorious contributions, they have a chance to stay in Chang'an City, and a high probability to stay in Guanzhong. In the entire Han Dynasty, Guanzhong is a wealthy area. The herdsmen tease the masters of Guanzhong, but it is not just a joke, but also envy of the wealthy life in Guanzhong. In the eyes of the herdsmen in the desert, Guanzhong even has a hint of holiness, and it is a kingdom of God within their reach.

Every year, a large number of desert nomads enter Guanzhong and Chang'an City as short-term laborers. This is the time when they are closest to the Kingdom of God.

West Camp,

After the target shooting, it was a rest day. The soldiers, who had undergone several days of rigorous training, got a short rest.

The soldiers chatted with each other and talked about things in their hometowns.

"Tuoba Hui, your family has opened a shop in Jiuyuan County, why did you come to join the army?"

After more than a month of getting to know each other, they knew that Tuoba Hui's family had a barbecue restaurant in Jiuyuan County. The store was not small and had three floors. Because of the real ingredients and fresh meat, it was very popular in Jiuyuan County. It was a bit exaggerated to say that he made a fortune every day, but if he could make 20 yuan a year, he would be considered wealthy anywhere. Especially compared with their comrades, it was not an exaggeration to say that Tuoba Hui was a second-generation rich.

Tuoba Hui said: "My father and I have been to Chang'an City. It was the first time I knew there was such a prosperous city in the world. You can get everything you want there. Jiuyuan County is too small. I don't want to stay in a small city like Jiuyuan County all my life. I want to go to Guanzhong, to Chang'an, and become a resident of Chang'an."

"Chang'an City!" The soldiers around showed envious expressions. They had heard of Chang'an City and knew that it was their capital, the most prosperous and richest city in the world.

It’s a pity that they have never been to Chang’an City, and there was no television system in that era. They could only know about Chang’an City, the world’s number one divine capital, through word of mouth.

(End of this chapter)