Although Xia Ji knew that in the Spring and Autumn Period, women could not discuss state affairs, but because the imminent invasion of Chu and Chen was related to her own safety, she had to learn some military affairs from Uncle Xia Yu in order to make her own judgment.

"Xianggong, I didn't care much about the military before, but a few days ago, I heard Jiang Lu say that in addition to guarding the soldiers of the courtyard, our Xia Mansion is also in a clan army, is that so?"

"That's true. These clan forces are in a special barracks not far away, and I will take my wife to inspect them when it is convenient for me. With Madame's knowledge, she should have known about some military affairs, but because she was really busy some time ago, she didn't discuss these things with Madame. ”

"The concubine is just curious, the princess bears the burden of humiliation for state affairs, and the concubine understands it very well, so if the concubine pours some bitter water on the concubine, the concubine will gladly accept it."

"Let me first introduce some common sense of the military system to Madame, so that Madame can understand. According to the current military system, the mode of combat between countries is mainly vehicle warfare, and vehicle soldiers are the main branch of troops, and the strength of the troop is often measured by the number of chariots. Each chariot was driven by four horses, and was usually accompanied by ten armorers. ”

"That is, the number of chariots determines the strength of the national army?"

"Yes. In the past, the Great Zhou Dynasty had regulations that the vassal states generally did not exceed one thousand times, the so-called country of a thousand times; And the ministers and doctors of various countries can also establish their own clan armies, but the rule is that there are no more than 100 multipliers, the so-called 100 multiplier families. Although these clan forces are not subject to the constraints of the state, they must also fight for the country when the country is in trouble. ”

"Oh, so our family's clan armament also has seventy times. So how many times does Chen Guo have? If it was a military secret, this question would be treated as a concubine and not asked. ”

"Our Chen State is not strong enough, although the chariot claims to have 1,000 rides, in fact it is only more than 800 rides. However, the powerful Chu State simply ignored Zhou Tianzi's regulations, and had more than 5,000 chariots. ”

"Shouldn't there be a little infantry besides chariots?" Natsuhime remembers that the ancient wars in the TV series were dominated by infantry.

"The infantry you are talking about is called apprentices to be precise, and each chariot is equipped with twenty apprentices. The army consisted of soldiers and peasants, and the soldiers took the practice of martial arts and fighting as their main ministry, and served as armor soldiers during battles, driving chariots and acting as the main force; Farmers are common people, farming in peacetime, serving as soldiers in wartime, and serving as apprentices. ”

"What about slaves? They can't serve in the military? "Xia Ji grew up in modern society and was used to a society where everyone was equal, but now she is in the Spring and Autumn period of slavery, so she has always complained about slavery.

"Slaves are not qualified to serve as armor and apprentices, and can only serve with the army for miscellaneous labor, that is, as porters, building roads, etc."

"Now that Chen Guo's army is insufficient, why not use these slaves to replenish it? If slaves who had made meritorious contributions to war were allowed to become commoners, it would be a great incentive for them. However, the concubine body doesn't know if this idea is too bold, it's just a little immature idea. Natsuhime said.

"Madame's idea is a bit bold, but if you think about it, it can be a way to solve the shortage of soldiers. After a while, I will think about it again for my husband, write a recital, and tomorrow morning I will play the royal meeting. ”

"Xianggong, the concubine still has some savings, and she is willing to take out some clan weapons to strengthen my Xia Mansion." As she spoke, Xia Ji took out two cloth bags from the inner room and handed them to Uncle Xia Yu, who opened them and saw that there were thirty catties of gold inside.

"Madame has really solved the urgent need of being a husband, and this is what she needs most now."

The next day, the topic of the early dynasty revolved around the military threat of the Chu state.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it has been reported that after the Chu State succeeded in attacking the Zheng State, the next target is our country, I don't know what your Aiqing will do." Chen Gonggong said to the ministers worriedly.

"Your Majesty, now that Zheng has been surrendered by Chu, and Chen is under the attack of Chu and Zheng, if you resist desperately, with our country's weak forces, you will fail. He thought that he should take the initiative to make peace with the state of Chu in order to preserve the integrity of the territory. Guan Kui, one of the secretaries of state, said.

"That's not what you say. Although the state of Chu is strong and vigorous, it also depends on how many troops he divides to attack our country, coupled with the fact that the Chu army is on an expedition of labor, and the soldiers are tired, and our army is static and waiting for work, so it may not be that our country has no possibility of victory. Easily speaking of peace will inevitably shake the morale of the army and fuel the arrogance of the Chu army. Speaking of taking the initiative to seek peace, how to keep the territory intact? Do you think Chu Jun is here to play a game of housekeeping? "Lord Sima, Uncle Xia Yu, was furious when he heard someone say peace.

"Lord Sima, don't get excited, Lord Guan just wants everyone to face up to the reality, and everyone must know how much Zheng Guo has paid this time. Zheng's national power was far above Chen's, and its territory was several times that of Chen. If there is a large-scale war with the Chu State, the Chen State will be in danger of extinction. Therefore, how to stop the war is the most important thing. In order to stop the war and avoid the danger of losing the country, it is better to offer two cities to take the initiative to sue for peace, and the strong man breaks his wrist to seek the peace of the country. Another secretary of state, Fan Rui, said.

"Master Fan, such a traitorous act is due to what you said. If you don't resist, you bow down and take the initiative to sacrifice the city, which will only fuel the greed of Chu and make Chen's national strength even weaker. I believe that only by not being afraid of war can we stop it from happening. Although Chen Guo is weak, as long as he works together, he will definitely be able to defeat a strong enemy. ”

"Lord Sima, it's easy to shout slogans, but shouting slogans can't resist the enemy. I don't know if Lord Sima has any specific strategies to defend against the enemy? Fan Rui glanced at Uncle Xia Yu with sarcastic eyes.

"Your Majesty, the subordinate ministers think that the clans of the ministers and doctors of various countries should be unified and commanded, so that together with all the thousand-rider armies of my Chen State, a powerful chariot army can be formed; To make up for the shortcomings of apprentices, slaves should be allowed to fill the army, and slaves who have made meritorious contributions in war should be allowed to be promoted to concubines, so as to form a great incentive mechanism for them. Uncle Xia Yu asked.

"Lord Sima, how can the rules of the ancestors be changed without authorization? What kind of system did slaves become? Fan Rui said.

"Your Majesty, I think Master Fan is reasonable, fighting against the Chu State is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. However, as Lord Sima said, if you bow down and become a vassal without resistance, it will inevitably make the Chu State gain an inch and destroy the Chen State. Therefore, the minister thought that peace should be sought by war, that is, there is no need to resist desperately, but there must be a posture of resistance, and one hand to prepare for war and the other hand to seek peace, so as to turn danger into relief. Lord Han Zhe said.

"I didn't expect Lord Han to be proficient in the way of peace and mud, if according to what you said, the officers and men of our army will never have the belief that they will win, and they may flee before the enemy comes. Since there is a war, it is necessary to have the conviction of fighting to the death, and no army will win with the mentality of fear of war. "Lord Sima is very dissatisfied with the courtship of Lord Yushi.

"Soldiers should have the mentality of victory, but generals must have a strategic vision, so that they can flexibly control a strong army to avoid losing ground." Lord Yushi sneered at each other.

At this time, Chen Gonggong interrupted their argument and said: "Everyone knows what Aiqing means, let the widow think carefully, and everyone Aiqing should step back first." ”

Chen Gonggong was reluctant to make a decision immediately, first, he had to consider and familiarize himself with the opinions of the ministers, and second, he did not want to give those who disagreed with him in front of everyone who could not step down.

After the early dynasty, Chen Gonggong decided to partially adopt the suggestions of Sima Lord Xia Yushu and Yushi Han Zhe, let go of slaves to fill the army, and allowed slaves who had made military merits to be promoted to concubines, strengthen war preparedness, and seek peace through war.