Li Shimin came, naturally he couldn't eat with the idle people, and Li Mu didn't want Bai Qiaoqiao to toss, so he prepared a small pot and came to the study with Li Shimin. Li Mu invited Gao Gonggong to sit down, Gao Gonggong insisted that he didn't dare to resign, he was not reluctant, and when he left later, he would bring some, and it would be the same if he had time to eat something at night. In terms of eating, Li Mu is still very generous.

"I came to ask about the military academy, I have fought for many years, and I have read many military books, but I have never heard of the word 'military academy', in my opinion, generals are trained in battle, and those who talk about soldiers in the workplace such as Zhao Kuo are not enough to apply, but I believe that you will not say it at will, so I came to you, hoping that you can convince me that if it is only for the cultivation of the prince, I will not make such a big move. The cost of running a school is too great, and the imperial court is not rich, so I don't have this spare money. ”

Li Shimin went straight to the point, Li Mu didn't beat around the bush, he guessed that Li Shimin would come, but he didn't guess that he was in such a hurry.

"Your Majesty, this idea of the minister is by no means a whim." Li Mu stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and said in a serious way: "During the last land reform, some people retorted that the land system of the Tang Dynasty and the government and soldiers were complementary to each other. It moves the whole body with one hair, so it can't be easily changed. Although the minister refuted this remark at the time and vigorously pushed for the reform of the field system, the minister also seriously thought about it later, in fact, this is not unreasonable. ”

Li Shimin was stunned, he looked at Li Mu in a daze, and said, "Tell me yourself, are you talking like a human being?" You were the one who refuted it at the beginning, and now it's you who thinks it makes sense, what did you do earlier? If there is a problem with your land system, do you know that it is the national foundation that will be shaken? ”

"But," Li Mu swallowed the beef and said, "There is no problem with the field system proposed by the minister, and His Majesty has also seen the implementation of this year, and the feedback is good." Therefore, there is no problem with the field system, and the military system should be the problem. ”

"Stop!" Li Shimin raised his hand to interrupt Li Mu and said, "Needless to say, I can mess around with you about anything, but the military system can't be left to you, needless to say, I don't want to hear it." As he spoke, Li Mu grabbed him and said, "Oh, Your Majesty, you are too, it is you who want to listen, and you are the one who doesn't listen, I didn't want to say it, but you let me say half of it, how uncomfortable it is to hold back like this, you see that this meal is not finished, give the minister a chance, let the minister vomit quickly, okay?" ”

When the slices of meat in the pot were churning, it was really delicious, Li Shimin thought about it, sat down again, and said: "It's just the time of a pot of meat, and I'll leave when I'm full." ”

"Okay, that's it."

Li Mu poured all the slices of meat into the pot, Li Shimin gave him a blank look, but he didn't say anything, picked up the meat and ate it.

"The government military system has been inherited for hundreds of years, and naturally there is a certain truth to it. At present, the government soldier system is also the best way for Datang to recruit troops. But what about later? Li Mu threw out a question, Li Shimin glanced at him, did not speak, his eyes seemed to say: Do you tell me, or do I tell you, who do you ask?

Li Mu continued: "Just like the field system, the minister thinks that what was good hundreds of years ago may not be applicable to hundreds of years later, and it should be adjusted in time to keep pace with the times. Your Majesty, you also said that the most important thing in Datang at present is to recuperate. Then a question arises, if manpower is regarded as a resource, then this kind of resource, will His Majesty invest in the people's livelihood or in the military? ”

The concept of resources, Li Mu talked about it before, and Li Shimin understood what it meant. But when he heard Li Mu mention it, he was still a little confused, and he didn't understand what Li Mu's intentions were, Li Shimin frowned and said, "What's the difference?" The government soldiers don't use them as soldiers all the time, and when they are fine, they can still farm. ”

"Your Majesty, can this be the same? It's like if a farmer goes into business and sells things, he can sell things, but is he a businessman? No, he's a farmer. It's just that he looks like a businessman, and so does the government soldier. When the minister was in Dingxiang, he saw the 50,000 forbidden army led by General Hou Junji and found a problem. Although they are all government soldiers, there are great differences between different soldiers. Some soldiers are strong and powerful, while others are weak. The general has a good plan, so that the burly and powerful ones can be used for the Mo Dao team, one can be used for two, and the weak ones will be used to transport grain and grass, and two will not be used for one. ”

Why is this happening? The minister studied it, and the general reason was that when the local government soldiers were recruited, they really didn't have enough manpower, so even such weak soldiers were also recruited, according to the current government military system, this is understandable. But please think about it, this weak soldier can't fight, and he can't transport grain and grass, but he can't see that he can't eat military rations. ”

"It's the same fifteen hundred, if all of them are burly and powerful, how is the combat power? But what if 500 of them are weak? They consume the same grain! ”

Li Shimin is a general who led the army to fight, what Li Mu said is indeed a real problem, but the system is like this, what can be done? The number of troops in the war is the benchmark, and you can't just stop because the soldiers are weak, and if there are no people, what kind of war will you fight?

"Say whatever you want, just say it, don't beat around the bush!"

Li Mu poured a glass of wine for Li Shimin, poured a glass himself, drank it, and said: "What the minister means is that these weak soldiers, it may not be possible to fight, but they can farm the land, it is better to let them farm, the grain they grow from the land, whether it is collected by the court or the people, can become a resource, play a positive role, and they play a negative role on the battlefield." ”

Li Shimin snorted: "Say you don't understand, you really don't understand." Li Mu, the most important thing in fighting a war is a soldier. Haven't you heard of Han Xin's soldiers, the more the merrier? ”

Li Mu shook his head and said, "The minister thinks that the generals are not brave in their plans, and the soldiers are not expensive. ”

"Will the general be brave or not, and the soldiers are not expensive?" Li Shimin was stunned, this was the first time he had heard of this.

This sentence, which is familiar to later generations, gives people a subconscious feeling, as if it has been there for a long time. But in actual history, it was not recorded until the Ming Dynasty. In the earlier days, the war was fought by people, and the side with fewer people, although there were times when it was possible to win, but most of the time it was won by more people, otherwise there would not be the idiom of 'winning more with less' that makes people feel surprised.

"The minister thinks that the streamlining of soldiers can not only save a lot of expenses for the imperial court, reduce the beginning of military spending, but also release a large number of labor to the people for recuperation, if it is done well, not only will not reduce much combat effectiveness, but because of the sufficiency of logistics, greatly enhance combat effectiveness!"