Chapter 856 The Heart of the Pavilion Elder (Medium)

On the way out of Yulin and towards Yijin Holo, there was more free time for silence. Zhong Jin knew that at the end of the trip, no matter what the result was, it was unlikely that he would have such an opportunity to consult the other party anytime and anywhere. So she seized all the time and asked Shen Mo to answer her questions.

So on the way to the march, she was often seen following behind Shen Mo's saddle horse, asking him one question after another, and Shen Mo patiently answered them one by one.

"Why do nomads and agrarians fight for generations?" Jong Kim asked.

"This problem itself is problematic, usually it is you nomads who start the war, and we are the defending side that is attacked," Shen Mo rode on his horse, looking at the blue sky from afar: "Even if there are several great victories in history, it is just a revenge with the strength of the whole country after being hurt." ”

"Why?" Zhong Jin had already read Zizhi Tongjian roughly, and for the history after the Southern Song Dynasty, she had listened to her father talk about it again and again as early as her childhood, so she knew that Shen Mo was right: "Is it caused by the cruelty of the grassland people?" ”

"The reasons are complicated. But you must know that war is a continuation of politics, and politics is the concentrated expression of economic problems. Shen Mo carefully taught: "Any war has an economic mission. The same is true for the steppe peoples. After a pause, he said: "Compared with our Central Plains, you Mongolian people live as nomads, do not engage in farming, and all the life of the tribe depends on the cattle, horses, and sheep they raise. As a result, the Mongolian people are too weak to resist natural disasters, and severe famine will occur in the event of severe cold or drought. At the same time, the Mongolian people do not have a developed handicraft industry, and they cannot even produce pots and pans, and at the same time, they are heavily dependent on the Central Plains in production and life, but they cannot guarantee a stable surplus of products to invest in the mutual market. ”

"In the Central Plains, on the other hand, production has been stable and self-sufficient for thousands of years, although there is also a demand for livestock products and high-quality livestock in the grasslands, but it is not necessary. This has determined that the Central Plains will have the initiative in economic and trade affairs. Therefore, the Central Plains did not necessarily regard northern trade as a necessity, but usually as a gift or a means to arbitrate the development of the strength of the various parts of the steppe. The silent explanation was simple and to the essence, which was suitable for teaching this intelligent and young disciple: "This asymmetry of dependence will inevitably lead to the passivity of the nomads in trade, and once the trade between the north and the south shrinks due to natural disasters and wars, the nomads will inevitably fall into difficulties." But this does not mean that there will be war. ”

"It depends on the strength of both sides?" Zhong Jin realized.

"Yes. When their strength was insufficient, the nomads often adopted the title of minister and tribute, or formed a subordinate relationship with the Central Plains, just to get the opportunity to communicate with each other. He said silently: "But when the nomads encounter a famine, they are unable to carry out mutual markets; Or when the balance of power between the north and the south is broken, and the nomads find that the Central Plains is weak and can be bullied, they will use war to obtain materials that are more beneficial to them. ”

"Since the Central Plains has always been richer and stronger than the nomads, why is it that in the war, there are more defeats and fewer victories?" Jong Kim asks a grand question, and although she knows Shen Mo's erudition, she doesn't believe he can give a perfect answer.

"There are three inevitable reasons why the nomads win more and lose less," Shen Mo picked up the water bag hanging on the horse, took a sip and said: "One is the strategic advantage of the geographical environment, the production and life of the nomads are mobile, so that they can roam the vast grassland desert as a whole, so that the nomads have the strategic depth of advancing and retreating freely, and they cannot be eradicated but can make a comeback." However, the Central Plains is dominated by agricultural production and has to work intensively in fixed locations for a long time, so it is in a position of being passively beaten. The logistical pressure was catastrophic, and once the supply line was too long, the entire country would be dragged down, and the combination of these factors led to the fact that the farming people could only choose passive defense and be subject to the active guerrilla attacks of the nomads. ”

"What are the other two reasons?" Jong Kim's heart was pounding, and the joy of knowing the mystery was like shooting his prey for the first time as a child.

"Second, although the Central Plains ethnic group has the advantages of a large population, advanced production methods, and sufficient materials, there is also a social division of labor between these factors and the war situation, and the social division of labor restricts the play of these advantages, because this will lead to a negligible proportion of war mobilization. In fact, the more complex the social structure and the more detailed the division of labor, the greater the population, bound to the land for production, and only a few people can be drafted or enlisted as a standing army...... Moreover, the transition from civilian to military is costly, time-consuming, and produces serious war-weariness. On the other hand, nomads, because all the people are soldiers and the military and the people are integrated, the military mobilization efficiency is extremely high. Moreover, the members of the tribe have been familiar with bow horses since childhood, and their military quality is very good, so they offset the numerical advantage of the Central Plains people. ”

In addition, the complex social division of labor inevitably corresponds to a more complex superstructure, which makes the generals of the Central Plains suffer from constraints, worries and ridicule when fighting, and think too much about things outside the battlefield. Moreover, the supply of the army is often completed through a complex process, and even needs to be deployed across the country, which has caused great losses due to administrative backwardness, the saturation of officials, and the inconvenience of logistics......" Speaking of this, he sighed silently and sadly: "Most of my soldiers in the Central Plains actually died from military disadvantage, not from war. Therefore, if the Central Plains Dynasty wants to make a difference in border affairs, the premise must be political clarity. The paramilitary nomads in their daily lives have a simple social structure, which is convenient for information transmission and military command, and they do not have a series of problems caused by the failure of the superstructure to fall away, but are blessed with backwardness. In addition, the purpose of producing munitions is directly related to the use value, and the degree of goose plucking is not worth mentioning compared with the south, which can often offset the financial advantages of the Central Plains. These factors made it impossible for the Central Plains to give full play to its advantages, and it is not surprising that it failed. ”

"And the last reason?" A pious look appeared on Zhong Jin's face, she was completely impressed by her silent knowledge, and she really regarded the other party as a mentor, not a cheap master like Xiao Qin.

"Third, from the point of view of people's customs, morale, and armaments, the agrarian society is not dominant." The corners of Shen Mo's mouth hung up and he said with a wry smile: "Chengping's wealth can most strain people's fighting spirit." The martial spirit of ancient China always weakened with the passage of peace and the expansion of agricultural land......"

"I understand the previous one," Zhong Jin asked puzzled, "why does the expansion of farming also have an impact?" ”

"This is the inevitability of the mode of production that determines social psychology." Shen Mo said lightly: "The Central Plains takes agriculture and handicrafts as the main industry, and the laborers live with skill and experience, so patience and finesse are regarded as good qualities; Brave and fierce, he was ostracized because he was contrary to the requirements of social production, and was regarded as a factor of instability by the dynasty. Therefore, in the Central Plains Dynasty, martial arts was a marginal culture outside the mainstream, and the evaluation was very low. In contrast, the economic activity of the bow horse as a tool of labor, the living conditions against the ferocious beasts of the harsh climate, and the habitual conflicts between the tribes contributed to the nomadic people's appreciation of courage and brutality. Therefore, the difference in folk customs made the army of the Central Plains less brave than the nomadic army. ”

"In terms of morale, since the main purpose of the nomadic wars is to plunder, everyone is exposed to the distribution of the spoils, which keeps the collective action and individual interests closely linked, so that morale can be kept high. Most of the soldiers in the Central Plains were passive obedient to the military service of the dynasty, and they had no interest in the war, and even military supplies were often deducted...... Moreover, nationalism and patriotism, which can effectively mobilize the spirit, are far from reaching the point where they can infect ordinary soldiers. On the contrary, it is the local concept derived from the small peasant economy, which greatly affects the mood of the soldiers who are far away, and if they do not protect their families, they have no motivation to defend the country, so they often cannot be compared with the nomads in morale, which is very fatal in the era of cold weapons. ”

"Finally, in terms of armament, cavalry, by virtue of its mobility, was the pride of war until it was completely suppressed by firearms in the future. However, after the Central Plains lost the land for raising horses, the breeding of military horses became a heavy burden on society, and the quality could not be compared with the grassland peoples who turned to nomadism. This made the Central Plains inferior to the steppe peoples in terms of the quality and quantity of cavalry, and could only rely on infantry. Moreover, because the cavalry relied on mobility, it could avoid a lot of complicated training; However, the combat effectiveness of the infantry depends on the perfection of the entire system, and the equipment needs to be replaced in a timely manner, the formation needs to be strictly drilled, and the attrition needs to be replaced in a timely manner. This 'system behind the scenes' is precisely the weakness of the inconsistency of all agrarian peoples. Therefore, we are accustomed to seeing the ugliness of the Central Plains Dynasty's strong military strength at its peak, and the indiscriminate use of militia and light equipment when it declined. The confrontation with it is a nomadic army with stable combat output, which is naturally superior. ”

"Then the strong performance of the Han army this time, does it mean that the Central Plains has entered a stage of political clarity?" Jong Kim came to his senses.

"Not bad." Shen Mo nodded slowly and said: "After the fall of Yan Song, especially since the new emperor ascended the throne, I have refreshed politics and worked hard to ......."

"But I heard that your court infighting is very strong, and the first assistant has stepped down one after another." Jong Kim didn't believe it.

"Isn't that a kind of survival of the fittest? Besides, the winner has been decided, and no one can challenge the current elders. Shen Mo glanced at her, and said with a faint smile: "The so-called outside must first be inside, I have already settled inside, so naturally it will be the turn of the top and bottom to work together to solve the side troubles." ”

"But as you said, we can't destroy it." Zhong Jin said hatefully, she couldn't maintain respect for Shen Mo when she thought of her homeland being destroyed and her people being killed.

"Who said they were going to destroy you?" Silent smiled: "We just want to reconstruct the destroyed defense line so that the people will not be invaded by you, and at the same time, reduce the heavy pressure on military spending. ”

"You said that the Han people spent a lot of money to fight, how can they save money?" Zhong Jin was puzzled.

"We won the East Victory...... That is, your Jinong City can shorten the defense line by thousands of miles, and reduce military spending by one million taels per year. Shen Mo settled the account for her: "Actually, this Dongsheng was moved from within the Yongle period, and the real Dongshengwei is on the north bank of the Yellow River, south of your Tuoketuo." Our ultimate goal is to rebuild the East Victory there, and then build two more cities four hundred miles to the west. In this way, the entire Hetao can be guarded without the need for side walls...... There is a saying that 'the Yellow River in the world is rich in the Hetao', as long as the safety can be guaranteed, the people of Shanxi who have suffered from the barrenness of the land are very happy to move to the Hetao to settle down......" He seemed to see a bright future, and said slightly intoxicated: "After the Hetao becomes a granary, it can not only afford the military needs of the three castles, but also support Xuanda in the east. ”

He was talking happily here, but Zhong Jin over there was pale. If someone else said it, she would laugh at the other party's daydreaming, but when the words came out of the mouth of the man in front of her, she believed that the other party could do it......

"I knew there was a way to stop this." Zhong Jin gritted his silver teeth and said, "But I won't say? ”

"Assassinate me?" With a silent and contemptuous glance, he stared at her and said, "Not to mention that you don't have that ability, even if you really kill me, what can you stop it?" ”

"......" Zhong Jin was silent, yes, she saw with her own eyes, this master of the Inspector can be described as an idler...... Wang Chonggu is deployed in the army, and Qi Jiguang is fully responsible for the front-line operations, and he doesn't seem to have anything to do. I think back to the last time I saw him, he stayed in the temple all day and talked about the scriptures and the Dharma with the living Buddha; This meeting was even more excessive, and he became his full-time teacher, is this the performance of a war commander? The idol collapsed suddenly, and Zhong Jin glared at him angrily and said, "Then aren't you a corpse vegetarian?" ”

"This idiom is used well, and your understanding is indeed very good." Shen silently slapped his palm, and then said seriously: "I am the minister of the Qin mission, representing the imperial court, and in the past, eunuchs came to do this errand, but His Majesty the Emperor prevented eunuchs from interfering in politics, and the strategy was formulated by me, so I was sent as a teacher." He said helplessly: "The teacher is a scholar who has been a civil official all his life, and now he throws me here." We Han people are senior, and my rank is the highest among everyone, so I can only be the coach. But people are self-aware, and I can't make trouble for them, and the corpse vegetarian meal will be inevitable......"

After speaking, Shen Mo also felt quite faceless, and coughed dryly: "Today's class, let's go here, class is over." ”

Zhong Jin was completely speechless, nodded, and left his side with a blank pick. The few guards who had been following closely behind the two also lowered their arms that had been flat.

partition

I was scolded miserably again, I can't bear the blow, but I can still encourage the Lord, dear, come, give a few, and comfort my injured little heart.

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