Xiongzhou Houya, Ma Huaide and Zhang Qi sat and drank. Both of them are military generals, and they have been in contact these days, have similar tempers, and often gossip.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Ma Huaide said: "The Privy Council has moved the text to talk about the matter with the Khitan, and will no longer talk to the Khitan envoys in the capital." Just let me negotiate with the Khitan as a pacifying envoy. Look at the New Year, this year is not peaceful. ”

Zhang Qi said: "In this fight with the Khitan, in my opinion, its military strength is not necessarily very strong. Slowly speaking, the current army is different, even the former forbidden army, which is not worse than them. The Khitans are so tough, I don't know why! ”

Ma Huaide said with a smile: "Tai Lieutenant, the Khitans rely on cavalry, and they are a large number of cavalry. The Khitan army is naturally the main force of the palace soldiers and horses around its lord. There were more than 100,000 people, all cavalry, very elite. Therefore, the Khitan battle, the war has always been fought by the lord of the country, and the rest of the generals cannot command the soldiers and horses of the palace. The rest of the divisions, once assembled, could still have hundreds of thousands of people, and they were also cavalry. Only in the land of Yanyun can there be infantry. Hundreds of thousands of cavalry come and go, marching fast, how to stop? ”

Zhang Qi said: "As long as you know the route of the Khitans, you can send troops and horses to intercept them in advance." ”

Ma Huaide shook his head: "I don't know if I can do it now." If it had been before, it would not have been possible. The Khitans entered the Kou, and their rangers rode to Jingdong Road, and the imperial court did not know where their main force was. Often, in a matter of days, hundreds of miles have been crossed, and the end is not erratic. At that time, the imperial court did not have as many cavalry as it does now, so it could only hold on to important places and let the Khitans enter a no-man's land. ”

Zhang Qi thought for a while, nodded and said: "Also, when Taiwei Du didn't take the river meandering road, the court had no horses, so it was really difficult to deal with." However, now it is different, there is no shortage of horses in the imperial court, and there are enough cavalry, and it is difficult for the Khitans to do so. ”

Ma Huaide said: "The words are good, but the Khitans may not be able to accept these for a while." Even if I know that this is not the past, but subconsciously, I still think that this dynasty is the country that lacked horses and did not have strong troops. What's the point of being defeated for a while? If they can provoke sex, as long as they raise a large army, they will be able to cross the Central Plains. You say, how could the Khitan be soft? ”

Zhang Qi said: "But over the years, the two Khitan emperors have fought each other, and their attitude towards this dynasty is quite deferential." ”

Ma Huaide said with a smile: "When the two emperors were fighting, Chongyuan and Hongji were both recruited soldiers and horses from Yunzhou and Youzhou, and all the Khitan departments were watching from the side. Even the palace tribes were brought to Shangjing by Yeluren first, and did not participate in the war. Now that the overall situation of Hongji has been decided, and the whole country is in the palm of his hand, how can it be compared with that time? Moreover, at that time, the Khitan was submissive, and the dynasty also intended not to provoke the Khitan, of course, it was a group of harmony. ”

Zhang Qi is a native of Fuzhou, and when he joined the army, he was fighting against the party, and his military career was basically fighting against the party. It wasn't until Du Zhongxiao arrived at Hequ Road that he took over Dou Shunqing's department, and he was not familiar with the Khitan army. On that day, when Yelu Buddha was annihilated, I felt that the Khitan army was not very good. His own infantry rushed forward and faced the Khitan cavalry, still maintaining an intact formation. But he didn't know that his department was the foundation of Du Zhongxiao's military training in Suizhou back then, although after the whole training, the backbone of the army was mainly the elderly, not comparable to other armies.

The current Zhang Qi has been leading this army for several years, and his vision is no longer comparable to that of the past. In his eyes, the Khitan army was not a strong army at all, and it was far from his own department.

Ma Huaide has known Xiongzhou for several years and has a deep understanding of the Khitan army, so he naturally will not be the same as Zhang Qi.

After gossiping for a while, Ma Huaide said: "The imperial court decrees that the original forbidden army on Hebei Road must go to Hejian Mansion for training. A few days ago, I and all the other people made arrangements to meet with Taiwei Liu, who said that the number of non-governmental applicants in the military academy was too small, and he asked us to recruit more people. However, Xiongzhou is a border state, there are not many scholars, and there are many losers under the rule, where can I recruit people? ”

Zhang Qi said: "Now that the two losers don't give to the Khitana, aren't they still the people of this dynasty?" They should be fine if they join the army. ”

Ma Huaide said: "The captain said that the two losers can also enter the military academy." But do you think, these two losers were guarded by the imperial court and the Khitan before, and their study is useless at all, so what can they recruit? If it is like before, the test is the martial arts of archery and horses, but it can recruit people. Now when I enter the military academy, I have to make a policy, and there are few people who are literate, which one will do what policy! ”

Zhang Qi nodded. Of course, he understood that he was promoted before leading this army, and if he was in Du Zhongxiao's army, he would not be able to do it today with this level of education. I brought this army with me, and it took me a few days to learn before I slowly got used to it. Here in Xiongzhou, there are not many literate people, where can they recruit people to military schools. That policy, you must have some knowledgeable readers.

Seeing Ma Huaide sighing there, Zhang Qi said: "Zhizhou, it's nothing more than doing everything to obey the destiny of heaven." Since there are few scholars under the rule, it is better to give more generous conditions and see if you can recruit people. If not, then it is unthinkable. ”

Ma Huaide said: "If you learn it in the military academy, you can enter the army as an officer, and the conditions are not good?" ”

Zhang Qi laughed when he heard it: "What if you can't learn it?" Although it is now a slack farm, there is a railway being built in Xiongzhou, and many things are done, and there is money every day. A trip to Hejian Mansion, I'm afraid it will take ten days to go back and forth? Do the math, a lot of money. ”

Ma Huaide was stunned for a moment, but he forgot about this section. At the construction site, the scholars can write and keep accounts, they are not tired of work, and they have a lot of money, even if there are a few scholars, how can they put the money in hand and go to what military school? Even if the government doesn't need to pay for the journey, a trip to Hejian Mansion will cost these people nearly ten days less wages.

After thinking for a while, Ma Huaide said: "How much money can I earn a day by working on the construction site?" ”

Zhang Qi said: "I heard that the Chinese book is urging the railway to be tight, and the salary has risen again recently. Those who do heavy work, and those who write and keep accounts, are paid more than others, and they have 150 wen a day. If you do light work, you can also write a hundred times a day. Of course, in addition to wages, the construction site also takes care of their food and housing. ”

Ma Huaide nodded: "It costs one hundred and fifty wen a day, and if you go to Hejian Mansion for ten days, you will have to have five hundred foot wen." This is not a small amount of money, there are few people, there are hundreds of people, you have to go out for hundreds of dollars. ”

Zhang Qi smiled when he heard this: "Zhizhou, Xiongzhou, this place, are there hundreds of people who can read and write?" ”

Ma Huaide smiled: "Not really." As far as I know, in addition to those who work in the yamen, there are also a few shopkeepers in the state city, and there are not many scholars in the whole state. Don't say a few hundred, there are dozens, and you can also give an account to Taiwei Liu. ”

Speaking of this, he clapped his hands and said: "Mrs. Liu is really urging hard, but it really can't be done, spend a hundred and ten dollars, and recruit some people to forget it." Taiwei Liu didn't recruit enough people there, so he forced us to be in a hurry and sent people away, what else could he say. ”

Zhang Qi smiled: "That's the truth. In the huge Xiongzhou, I can't come up with a hundred or ten dollars. ”

Ma Huaide shook his head. 100 yuan is really not a small amount for Xiongzhou. It is said that it is a state, and there are only two counties under its rule, and these two counties also govern Xiongzhou City, and there is only one county governor and one county governor. The households under the rule were exempted from taxes when Emperor Taizong was in charge, so how could there be any money in the state? Fortunately, there are many garrisons, and some of them are taken out of their military spending, and they are used for military schools anyway, which is not a waste of money.

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