"I've seen people like this in my home city. But now, it doesn't have much to do with paganism. Joanna thought for a moment and said.

"But it's still about crime." Guo Kang pointed out: "Moreover, we have really had relevant experiences in the past, leaving a lot of psychological shadows. ”

"In ancient times, the Seris also did not like tattoos, seeing them as a punishment for prisoners. However, in the Tang and Song dynasties, people didn't care more and more. Many people in the market have begun to get tattoos, forming a custom. By the time of the Song Dynasty, this trend had reached its peak. Not only the citizens like it, but even the generals and even the royal family have tattoos. ”

But on the other hand, from the end of the Tang Dynasty, the habit of tattooing soldiers on their faces was formed to prevent them from fleeing. This kind of behavior, even in an era when many people like tattoos, is a great insult. ”

"During the Northern Song Dynasty, the militia in the countryside was one of the important parts of the armed forces of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the northwest, for example, militias are often organized to supplement the front. Because it is to defend the township, the militia can sometimes exert a high combat effectiveness. ”

"Unlike the regular army, the militia doesn't need to tattoo their faces, which is what they value. But later, the government deceived them and forcibly tattooed a group of militia members who had been organized to prepare for battle. This incident led to a mass exodus of the militia, which was eventually uncontrollable. ”

"Is this important?" Joanna was a little puzzled: "Why would the government take such a big risk and forcibly tattoo it?" Is it any good for them? ”

"How do I know, I'm not an official." Guo Kang himself didn't understand, so he had to avoid the question.

"In short, from these things, you can see the attitude of the people at that time."

"And, most importantly, it's not just the social customs of the time, but their actual performance." He added: "The quality of these soldiers in the Song Dynasty was very worrisome, and the people looked down on them and called them 'thieves with troops'. ”

"When he arrived in the Southern Song Dynasty, the general Zhang Jun also organized an army, and many of them were simply scoundrels. The soldiers had large tattoos on their arms and legs. On weekdays, he doesn't train or fight, he just wears short clothes every day to swagger through the market, or he runs his own business and builds a mansion for Zhang Jun. However, as scary as it may seem, this army has little combat effectiveness. The allusion of 'flower fist embroidered legs' in later generations came from this. ”

After such a toss, future generations have a psychological shadow, and it has gradually declined since the Yuan Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty was first founded, Zhu Hongwu Hehan ordered a number of activities to be banned, including tattoos, kicking football, and so on. The trend is gone. ”

"I'm afraid it's hard for us outsiders to understand such a big psychological shadow." Joanna sighed with emotion, and wondered: "What's the deal with playing football?" Why is it banned from playing football together? ”

"It was also the Song Dynasty that began to change, and the cultural meaning of playing football also changed. From a movement in the army, it has become a symbol of the scoundrels in the market. Guo Kang said: "In literary works, you can see this typical cultural symbol - if there is a character who plays football every day, there is a high probability that he is not a serious person." ”

It is said that when he and Zhang Shicheng were at war, Zhang Shicheng's younger brother took a group of prostitutes and played football in the barracks. That's all there is to ...... It clearly left a deep impression on both warring sides. So, later it was simply banned along with this. ”

"I see." Joanna nodded: "Then I still have a question, do you think that it is the behavior of tattoos that causes soldiers to be discriminated against, or is it because of the low status of soldiers that tattoos spread and even form a trend?" ”

"There is a clear record of this, and the status of the soldier was lowered much earlier." Guo Kang said: "In the early Tang Dynasty, there was this trend. ”

"The general Liu Renliang led the army to attack Baekje and the Wa Kingdom, and found that the soldiers stationed there were all old and weak, and even their clothes were very thin. I don't have any fighting spirit, and I think about going home every day. Liu Renliang felt strange and visited the soldiers to investigate. ”

The soldiers said that this was because the government's policies had changed, so people's hearts had changed. During the Zhenguan and Yonghui years, the officers and soldiers who died in the war had bereavement pensions and condolences, but it was canceled after five years of Xianqing. The merits of the attack on Baekje and Pyongyang were no longer recognized by the imperial court, and even the promised rewards were no longer issued. ”

"Not only was the treatment suddenly reduced, but the supplies were also greatly reduced. In the past five years, only one year of supplies was distributed, and the soldiers suffered unspeakably for this. ”

"During the Han Dynasty, four counties were already set up in the local area, which was regarded as a local operation, which shows that there are such material conditions in the local area. Therefore, Liu Renliang originally hoped that he could 'flatten the Liaohai, promulgate the country's righteousness, and make the customs obey'. But the state of the army was so bad that it could no longer be maintained, so it had to give up. ”

"This incident is a well-known sign, the beginning of a significant decline in the status of soldiers. After that, people who were capable, strong, or wealthy refused to apply. The officials did not have enough people, so they forcibly requisitioned the old and weak soldiers and sent them to the front line to replenish their numbers. The combat effectiveness of the army, of course, has declined with it. ”

"It doesn't seem complicated to look at it this way......" Joanna seemed to understand directly.

"yes, there's a peculiarity on Ceris's side. Their basic organizational ability and combat effectiveness are already very high, and because of the traditions of civilization, the potential for their combat effectiveness to rise is also very great. So most of the time, it is how much the government is willing to pay, and how much combat effectiveness the army can play. Guo Kang said.

"Basically, as long as the military salary is enough, it is enough to fight all over the world. If the imperial court can increase more investment and conduct more professional training, it is simply not the same world as other armies. This kind of example has also existed in all dynasties. ”

"It's actually a rare feature." He scratched his head: "After all, the vast majority of civilizations can't fight even if they give enough money, and they will even become a ...... that specializes in sending loot to the other party."

"In addition, most of the soldiers on the expedition at that time were recruits. In the Seris tradition, these people who are recruited with additional money are the most elite. They are more proficient in combat, willing to serve for long periods of time, and regard fighting as a profession. Compared with the 'righteous conscription' who brought their own weapons to supply the army, and ordinary soldiers, they are generally more willing to fight and have a higher quality. ”

"The combat effectiveness of these people has nothing to do with things like land annexation and gate valve replacement. The quality of recruiting soldiers has declined rapidly, and even from elite to strong, in fact, there are not so many influencing factors. It's simply that the court doesn't give money and bullies veterans. In this case, of course, there will be no combat effectiveness. ”

"In this way, a vicious circle is formed. The soldiers are poorly paid, and serious people are not willing to join the army, which leads to a decline in the combat effectiveness of the army; The army's combat effectiveness has declined, and the army's combat performance has deteriorated, making the people and even the government more distrustful of the army and further discriminating against them; The discrimination against the army and soldiers has further affected the effectiveness of the armed forces, which has made those who can afford it more reluctant to participate or even avoided it...... If the cycle continues, there will be a situation where you are talking about low status and discrimination, and the two are mutually reinforcing. ”

"This cycle is developing very quickly. More than thirty years later, in the first year of Long Live Tongtian, the Wuzhou army was defeated by the Khitan, and in order to replenish the soldiers, it had begun to draw people from prisoners to serve as soldiers. Although there was some period of improvement after that, the gradual decline of the soldier's status has become irreversible, and the 'thief with the army' has begun. ”

"But in that case, the beginning of the whole thing seems very strange." Joanna wondered: "What happened in the fifth year of Xianqing?" ”

"Well, it's just that there is a person who can't fight, but is good at dealing with veterans, and he is officially in power." Guo Kang shrugged: "However, this is the story of another psychological shadow of the Serisians......"

"That's not it, why cut the treatment of soldiers first? Doesn't this man know that the army is the most important thing? Joanna was surprised, "I thought that the rulers of Seris were at least smarter than the city councilors on our side." ”

"How do I know, I'm not an official." Guo Kang didn't know how to answer, so he had to avoid it again.

(End of chapter)