I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 626 The new army is a show?

The 15 new troops cost [-] taels just for the equipment, not counting the monthly salary of two taels of silver for each of them, and the rations they need to consume in a year.

Calculated in this way, only the 50 new troops will consume about [-] to [-] taels a year.

If you look at the expenses of ordinary Ming soldiers today, the money is enough to feed 3 to [-] people, and if it is replaced by military households who do not need salaries, it will be even more.

Now only [-] new troops have been raised. Although the fighting power of the new army is not comparable to that of ordinary soldiers, one-to-three may be the limit, so it is still a loss.

He couldn't help telling Li Tian this idea.

"Your Majesty, the equipment of the new army is so luxurious, isn't it a little too much? After all, no matter how powerful the new army is, the number of people is limited after all. I always feel that such a large investment may not be worth the candle!"

Li Tian was slightly taken aback when he heard Zhang Fu's words, but he was very happy in his heart, because finally someone had something to say.

But before Li Tian explained to him, Zhu Yong said to Zhang Fu first,

"Old Zhang, are you confused or something is wrong, the new army that His Majesty spent so much effort on building, how could it become a waste when it comes to your mouth!"

His face was flushed with anxiety, and he gave him winks as he spoke, as if trying to dissuade him from continuing.

In fact, how could Zhang Fu not understand what Zhu Yong really wanted to express.

Ming's army has always been poor, and they can save as much as they can. The court can spend less money, and never spend more.

Take the Weisuo system as an example, it is actually a product of Daming saving money to the limit.

The military households in the guards are farmers when they are not fighting. When they are fighting, they have to prepare their own armor and weapons, and the food they eat is grown by themselves.

Going to the battlefield and fighting the enemy desperately, not only do you not get paid, even if you get the most military merit, you still have to count it on the head of the officer.

Even if the generals wanted to squeeze out the bitterness, they couldn't squeeze out a little bit of oil.

At this time, Li Tian is willing to spend a lot of money in the army, which is a great thing for generals.

Regardless of whether the money was worth it, the more the court was willing to spend more money, the more benefits it would eventually fall into the hands of the generals.

He really couldn't figure out why Zhang Fu would say such words so bluntly.

In fact, why didn't Zhang Fu want to just keep fooling around like this, who would dislike having too much money if he could earn more.

But although he is also a nobleman, he is also a die-hard royalist and a conscientious general who really knows how to pay for the country and the people.

Based on his own conscience, he didn't want to see Li Tian waste so much money on so-called face projects, so he risked offending other nobles and told his true thoughts.

In fact, he hadn't thought about it that way before.

The previous new army only had an extra matchlock gun per person, which was not much different from the previous Shenji Battalion, and the cost was actually not much more than other soldiers, and the court could barely accept it.

However, Li Tian prepared so many good things for the new army today. A soldier is worth far more than ordinary soldiers, which makes him worthless.

Seeing that Zhang Fu seemed to continue to say something, Zhu Yong hurriedly widened his eyes and stepped forward to stop him.

Li Tian was amused by the children's playfulness of the two of them.

He laughed loudly and said,

"Mr. Cheng, you don't have to stop Mr. Ying. Let him say what he wants to say..."

At the same time, he glanced at Liu Baohe, and Liu Baohe nodded to him tacitly, expressing that everything was ready and reassuring him.

Regardless of Zhu Yong's obstruction, Zhang Fu continued,

"Your Majesty, I think that no matter how strong the new army is, it is at most three to five times stronger than ordinary sergeants, but their expenditure is more than ten times. With the same money, Daming can support more soldiers. This much money is spent on the new army!"

Seeing that he still said this, Zhu Yong covered his forehead helplessly and sighed, but there was nothing he could do.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, let me tell you what's good about you!"

I thought that Zhang Fu's outspoken words would make Li Tian angry.

Unexpectedly, after hearing what he said, Li Tian not only didn't feel any displeasure, but instead said with a smile,

"Have you finished your sentence? That's all?"

Looking at Li Tian's expression, Zhang Fu felt a little strange in his heart, but he couldn't explain why, so he reluctantly nodded and said,

"Well, that's what I mean! Your Majesty, please think twice."

At this time, Li Tian didn't hold back anymore, and said directly with a smile,

"You guys, do you really think that I put so much effort into building a new army just to have fun and look good? If it's just like this, you underestimate me too!"

"My lord, you said that a fully armed new army is at most better than three or five ordinary soldiers, but if I tell you that my new army can fight ten at a time, I don't know if you will think, This is a waste of my money."

As soon as these words came out, not only Zhang Fu showed an expression of disbelief, but even Zhu Yong also showed disbelief.

"Your Majesty, what I said is justified, not empty talk."

Li Tian nodded slightly,
"I believe in your judgment, the British Lord. Judging from the current equipment, the new army is indeed only capable of one against three or five ordinary soldiers.

But when did I say that they only have this little equipment!

Next, I will let you see what is the confidence of the new army to be able to fight one against ten or even one against a hundred. "

After speaking, Li Tian nodded to Liu Baohe, and after receiving the hint, Liu Baohe turned around and made a gesture of invitation to several people.

The two dukes looked at each other, thinking to themselves,
"Why are there still good things? What is it? Could it be a baby that is more powerful than an arquebus? This is terrible and hasty."

Along the way, Li Tian didn't speak, and his expression was very leisurely, which made the two of them feel more and more misguided.

After several people passed through the checkpoints, they came to a very secret warehouse.

This warehouse is not big, and there are very few things in it. There is only one thing in the middle that is covered by a bright red silk cloth.

Under the expectant and suspicious eyes of the two, Li Tian stepped forward and grabbed a corner of the silk cloth, and then pulled it hard, before the things inside revealed their true colors.

He said out loud,

"The two princes are optimistic. This is what I call a secret weapon, and it is also the reliance of the new Ming army to rule the world in the future!"

After a soft clatter, a dark gun barrel, about one meter long and twenty centimeters thick, firmly fixed on a frame with two wheels appeared in front of the two of them.

(End of this chapter)