Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 36: Becoming an Army (Special thanks to book friend Beichen Xingkong for his monthly ticket!)

At the army formation ceremony on May 1, the first year of Kaixi, Emperor Chai Zongxun visited the "Longxiang Army" camp in person. On the high platform, he encouraged the 150,000 sergeants and all other orphans in the audience, and sow the message of loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and loyalty to the emperor. The seed of thought is to train hard and only obey the orders of Emperor Chai Zongxun.

Chai Zongxun handed over the "Longxiang Army" to Han Hui for daily training, and handed over the "Longxiang Guard" to Zhang Yong. He often visited the military camps, spoke to the sergeants of the two armies, and gave rewards from time to time.

Since the orphans are all underage, it is only necessary to ensure that they have enough to eat twice a day.

In order to enable the sergeants to have a strong body in the future, under the imperial edict of Chai Zongxun, the young sergeants of the two armies were provided with vegetables for the first time in the Zhou army, and each person was rationed three taels of pork or mutton for two days. It will be increased after the national treasury gradually becomes richer.

These orphans were struggling with hunger and precarious conditions in various parts of the Zhou Dynasty. At this moment, Emperor Chai Zongxun rescued them from the danger of life and death, and they were all extremely grateful to Chai Zongxun.

The young sergeants of the "Longxiang Army" and "Longxiang Guard" armies saw that the food provided by the army was so good, and they were all unwilling to die for Emperor Chai Zongxun.

After a few days of recuperation, the young sergeants of the two armies began basic military training under the leadership of officers such as Han Hui and Zhang Yong.

The first step that Chai Zongxun emphasized was the cultivation of military discipline and rules, followed by the cultivation of sergeants' physical fitness and martial arts.

After several days of consideration, Chai Zongxun felt that the system of military officers such as Xiaowei and Duyuhou in the Zhou Dynasty was too complicated and confusing, with overlapping powers, so he redefined the military system of "Longxiang Army" and "Longxiang Guard". What was the purpose? Long, one hundred households, all the way to ten thousand households system.

As for the number of households above 10,000, the "Longxiang Army" consists of an army of 30,000 people with a military commander; the three armies form a corps with a corps commander;
"Long Xiangwei" has more than 10,000 households as the governor, and the highest commander is the commander.

In order to prevent the army from becoming the private army of the generals, Chai Zongxun deliberately added the eunuch military system starting from the thousand-man team level based on the military regulations of the Great Zhou Dynasty. From then on, the monthly salary of the sergeants was paid by the military supervisor. , no longer received and distributed by the generals who command the troops.

These eunuchs who supervise the army are all selected from the confidants of Emperor Chai Zongxun in the palace. In addition to being responsible for the actual salary of each sergeant, they are also responsible for the ideological education of the sergeants and pay close attention to instilling the spirit of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

In order to supervise these eunuchs and prevent them from stealing from themselves, Chai Zongxun created his own "gendarme system" in the second army. Any corruption and injustice in the army could be reported directly to Emperor Chai Zongxun.

There are five military police officers in each thousand-man team, and they are secretly elected by the sergeants. They are elected every three years, and their terms are the same as the rotation cycle of senior officers.

A few days later, more than ten Jiedu envoys from various places in the Great Zhou Dynasty received the imperial edict from the imperial court.

Seeing that the imperial edict reduced the taxes paid to the imperial court, all the governors were overjoyed and thought:
"The Queen Mother and the young emperor are indeed wise! It's not in vain that I fully support the Imperial Army's move to collect orphans!

No wonder the Queen Mother and the young emperor were able to kill Zhao Ni's party, which was extremely powerful and had many soldiers at the time. "

Wang Yan, the governor of Jinzhou Jiedu, was overjoyed when he saw that the imperial edict exempted 10% of the tax of his Jiedu government:

"It seems that I made the right choice! This 10% tax reduction saves nearly 20,000 taels of silver that the Jiedu Mansion pays to the court every year. This deal to please the Queen Mother and the young emperor is really the right thing to do!"

A few days later, Wang Yan learned from the palace staff that the imperial court's tax reduction and exemption for each Jiedu government was based on the contribution of each Jiedu government when the imperial army collected orphans.

Among the more than ten Jiedu mansions in the Great Zhou Dynasty, my own Jinzhou Jiedu mansion ranked third in the tax reduction ratio. This was for the sake of the stunning Fifth Chaolu, who contributed to the city and the country, and I couldn't help but regret in my heart:
"I didn't expect that what Zhang Yong said that day, "Your Majesty will definitely reward you" was indeed true.

If I had known that the Queen Mother and the Little Emperor were so wise, I should have provided the orphans with the most supplies, and I should have doubled the amount of jewelry given to the Queen Mother and the Little Emperor!

In this way, with a 20% reduction now, I can make a lot more money even if I am not an official!
Alas, it seems that Zhang Yong is a confidant of the little emperor, and he knows all the inside stories.

If I find an opportunity in the future, I have to form an alliance with Zhang Yonghou. "

On May 12, the first year of Kaixi, the first imperial examination of Emperor Chai Zongxun’s court will be held as scheduled. Since around the Chinese New Year, more than 6,000 civil servants and more than 3,000 military civil servants from all over the country have received the decree issued by the imperial court that "the imperial examination will be changed from one subject every five years to one subject every three years. In May of the first year of Kaixi, the first imperial examination of the new emperor will be held." "After the announcement, they all began to study hard or practice martial arts and familiarize themselves with the art of war in their hometown.

By April, people from state capitals far away from Bianjing began to travel together or alone to come to the capital.

By the beginning of May, almost all candidates from all over the Zhou Dynasty had arrived in Bianjing.

There were also a very small number of people with weak constitutions who died of illness during long journeys.

For a time, there were many faces from outside the city on the streets of Bianjing, and almost every one of the dozens of inns was full.

At noon on May 15th, at the "Rugui Inn", which occupies a large area in the east of Bianjing City, a shabby boy of fifteen or sixteen years old walked in.

The young man looked at the almost full guests in the lobby, approached the counter and said:
"Sir, do you have any guest rooms here? What are their prices?"

The shopkeeper, who was in his thirties, was a bit dark and fat. He looked at the young man's body and said casually:

"My guest, are you coming to the capital to take the exam? But you are a bit young.

There are only two guest rooms in our hotel now. Which one do you want to stay in?

A sky-sized one costs 30 cents a day, including lunch;
A herringbone room costs ten cents a day, net room fee. "

When the young man heard this, he frowned slightly and asked:

"Sir, are there any cheaper rooms? As long as I can sleep peacefully."

The shopkeeper curled his lips and said louder:
"Cheaper? Our "Rugui Inn" is already the cheapest inn in Beijing!

Nowadays, there are so many candidates from all over the country rushing to take the exam. Our inn is considered good and the price has not increased. Other inns, such as the "Yelai Inn" in the west end of the city and the "Sihai Inn" in the south of the city, have all increased their prices by 10%! "

Hearing the shopkeeper's words, many people in the lobby who were sitting at the wooden tables drinking tea and chatting all looked towards the counter.

The young man's face turned red, and he wanted to find a roof on the long street and sleep on the street, but he was afraid that the cold would affect the imperial examination that would start tomorrow, which would ruin his future.

The young man said softly:
"Shopkeeper, I came from Luoyang to take part in the imperial examination.

Indeed, as you said, other inns in the city have increased their prices. I hope that the shopkeeper will do well. For the sake of poor people, I can stay at the next cheap price. I, Lu Mengzheng, won the Jinshi. I will never forget the shopkeeper's words. Grace! "

The shopkeeper became impatient, waved his hand to Lu Mengzheng and scolded:

“I hear words like this ten to eight times every day in the store!
If I believed you, our inn would be completely ruined!
If all the people who come to stay at our inn ask for something cheap like you, will they be rewarded if they win the Jinshi, and let us drink the northwest wind? !

Go, go, if you don’t have money and can’t afford to stay in an inn, just get out! Don't delay my business! "

(End of this chapter)