Chapter 11 The Struggle for Troops

To be honest, Zhang Xuan felt that the biggest problem with the number of troops was the Yunnan Army, or the Great Western Army, the headquarters of the Yunnan Army, plus the temporarily recruited Tusi soldiers, there were probably more than 200,000 horses.

These more than 200,000 horses, specifically tens of thousands, Zhang Xuan can't say clearly, as for Li Dingguo, he may not be able to say clearly. Previously, Li Dingguo's subordinates were all local support in Yunnan, and the Privy Council probably did not have the roster of the Yunnan army. To tell the truth, don't want the central government to pay the army, even if he reports a million troops, Zhang Xuan doesn't care, because Yunnan and Guizhou are poor places. Pampering can scrape out some oil and water. But congenitally, Zhang Xuan believed that in these two places, it was impossible to raise more soldiers, and now it is the same, the amount of troops raised by the Yunnan army is definitely impossible to match the number of 18 taels a year for the Xia army. Even if Xia Jun himself, the salary of eighteen taels a year can be obtained by elite soldiers. After all, Li Dingguo has not always been in the Great Western Army, and in order to gain the support of many generals, many things will be turned a blind eye and one eye will be closed. Therefore, among them, there are vacancies, shortages, and messy things, which are probably the most among all the armies of the Xia army.

Zhang Xuan didn't want to push too hard. But giving him 300,000 soldiers for the border army has actually secretly restricted the Dian army. The Dian army will inevitably be reduced, but how much it will be reduced is the problem.

In his opinion, the Qing army is now unable to attack. The Xia army is the same, although the two sides can't say that they will strike the troops and truce, they don't need to put so many soldiers on the front line. It is only necessary to have more firearms on the front line. It's enough to stick to it for a while.

And this number is not much different from the number of troops left in the current northern defense line.

And between the mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou, in fact, there are not so many people and horses. However, it is unlikely that too many people will be laid off, and many things should be taken into account not only military but also political factors.

"Your Majesty, there should be as many as 250,000 troops in the various divisions of the Dian Army, and even if it is halved, there will be as much as 120,000. If Xiangyang Town wants 100,000 horses, then there will be a shortage on the minister's side. Sure enough, as Zhang Xuan expected. Li Dingguo spoke.

"According to the meaning of the King of Dian, how many people should be kept in the Yungui Governor's Mansion?" Zhang Xuan said.

"At least 120,000 horses." Li Dingguo said firmly.

The army building policy of the Great Western Army is different from that of the Xia Army, Zhang Xuan is an elite soldier policy, but Zhang Xuan has gone all the way, and what can be called an elite soldier is only the people of the Southern Expeditionary Army headquarters that he brought at the beginning, and most of them have been transferred to the current forbidden army. The other border armies, although not elite, are also directly confronted by the Qing army, and can also be said to be able to fight.

But the Great Western Army was different.

When Sun Kewang entered Yunnan, it was only tens of thousands of horses, and within a few years, one

There are hundreds of thousands of people, and there are certainly places for bluffing. But it can also be seen that Sun Kewang is looking to build an army.

It seems that except for the original Great Western Army, his army can't fight a tough battle, and you can also see a little bit from the confrontation between Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang.

Moreover, Yunnan is a barren land, and it is also a feeling of being overwhelmed by the fact that so many people are sent to join the army. Therefore, he is still in favor of tidying up the army and eliminating the old and weak.

Zhang Xuan asked He Hutou again and said, "Hutou, how many soldiers do you think Chongqing should have?" ”

He Hutou said: "If you only defend Chongqing, 20,000 soldiers are enough. But there must be a capable sailor, and the land master alone is afraid that he will be controlled by others. ”

I'm afraid this calculation is not enough.

"The minister has a plan." Li Dingguo said.

"King of Dian, please speak." Zhang Xuan said.

"Please set up a general army in Yungui, and the general commander of the Tuntian soldiers. Yungui is originally a large number of Yi people and few Han people. Therefore, the Tusi has repeatedly made trouble, and the former Ming Dynasty has been pacified many times, and it cannot be suppressed for a long time, which is where the root knot lies. His Majesty dismissed the soldiers, rather than letting them go back to the interior of the Tuntian, it is better to let them be on the spot Tuntian, he will be returned to the county one day, and he can also be a long-term town Yungui. And the road of Yunnan and Guizhou is difficult to travel, from Hunan to transport grain into Yunnan and Guizhou, the loss is too much, and one stone of grain is produced locally, which is to save two stones of grain. Li Dingguo said.

Zhang Xuan's heart was slightly moved, he understood that this was also one of Li Dingguo's actions to show his heart.

Zhang Xuan said: "Okay, so the Yunnan-Guizhou Governor's Mansion has 100,000 soldiers, and there are Guizhou Governors, Yunnan Governors, Guizhou Commanders, and Yunnan Commanders, who are in charge of conscription and Tuntian. As for the quota of the Tuntian soldiers, it will be reported to me after the arrival of the officials. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Dingguo said.

When fighting, the Tuntian soldiers were also soldiers. Zhang Xuan just wanted to take back the rights step by step, and there was no need to think about it, the governors and chief military officers sent by Zhang Xuan must be his own people, and these Tuntian soldiers received the Privy Council. It can also be regarded as the first step to intervene in Yunnan.

However, Zhang Xuan still has a lot to say in his heart to Li Dingguo. It's just that now is not the time.

Zhang Xuan said: "I gave Chongqing Town 50,000 soldiers, and then sent a fleet from the Yangtze River Naval Division to garrison Chongqing. And Xiangyang Town has 80,000 soldiers. ”

For a while, many people smelled a smell, that is, the smell of mobilizing troops against Sichuan.

That's right, Zhang Xuan is an intended. Not to mention that Sichuan is in the upper reaches, which can pose a threat to Wuchang at any time, and not to mention that Sichuan Province has entered the territory and brought financial support to the Xia Dynasty. It is simply said that if Sichuan is recovered, Hanzhong and Longxi can be used as borders, so that there will be no need to fortify thousands of miles, and the border army will not only not need to be increased, but can also be reduced.

There are two other reasons why Zhang Xuan has to take Sichuan as his main target. The first is a horse.

Xia Jun lacks horses,

It's a universal fact. This is not the biggest problem, the biggest problem is that the Xia army has no place to replenish war horses. Only Yunnan can buy some Yunnan horses.

But the Dian horse cannot be used as a war horse. And war horses also have a lifespan, a war horse can be used for up to fifteen years, and after fifteen years, it will enter its twilight years.

That is to say, there is no need to even fight, just after seven or eight years, the only remaining formed cavalry of the Xia army will face the point of having no horses to ride.

The capital of the Xia army was slightly inferior to the Qing army in cavalry, but once it was delayed to that time, the Xia army was a pure infantry expedition to the north, and the result may not be better.

Therefore, the problem of horses is quite urgent.

As long as Sichuan is taken, there will be a source of war horses, and this source of war horses may not be cared about in the high-level of the Qing army, but in the Xia Dynasty, it is very important.

The second reason is salt.

Lianghuai produces salt, which is supplied to many provinces in the country, although the coastal provinces produce salt to a greater or lesser extent. However, the output of Lianghuai is the highest. Now that the two Huai salt are cut off, the price of salt has risen in various places.

Zhang Xuan has tried to increase the production of salt in various places, but this is a slow solution. And Sichuan's well salt is also very famous. If the output of Sichuan well salt can be used by Zhang Xuan, it can also save Zhang Xuan's work.

Not to mention, in the case of the Northern Expedition, under the situation of a shortage of cavalry in the thousands of miles of plains, it will be controlled everywhere. And if it is not good, it will not be able to control the scale of the operation.

And Sichuan is a closed battlefield, and the number of troops invested by both sides can also be limited, so that they will not be defeated, unable to hold their positions, and repeat Luo Yulong's mistakes.

And Wu Sangui is almost semi-independent in Sichuan, it is too far away from Beijing, once the Qing army starts a war, even if you want to increase the army, it will take a few months to go from Beijing to Sichuan, but the forbidden army of Daxia will go upstream, and it won't take long to enter Sichuan. This speed of increase is also advantageous.

After weighing all aspects, Zhang Xuan felt that if the conditions were not ripe, it would be fine, and he would be at peace with the Qing army first, but once the imperial court had the strength to fight, then attacking Sichuan was the best choice.

Everyone here was a core minister of Great Xia, so Zhang Xuan had no intention of keeping it a secret from them. It's almost explicit. It's just that now it's just preparations, and the real start of the fight depends on the financial situation of Great Xia. Zhang Xuan is just a foreshadowing now.

Zhang Xuan said: "And the affairs of the Privy Council are complicated, and an important minister is needed, but I don't know that the general is willing to return to Beijing to take charge of the Privy Council and help me?" ”

Zhang Xuan said as he looked at Cao Zongyu. The implication couldn't be more obvious.

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