The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 179
Chen Wang's expression darkened, he finally understood why the guards of Hanzhongwei couldn't beat Zhang Yuan with so many people.

Dare to feel that most of the people are even the strong men, the old and the weak brought in temporarily, and there were not many main troops in Weizhong.

Like other guards, before the bandits invaded, Hanzhongwei actually had only half of the regular soldiers.

The rest of the troops were encroached on, and the vacant salary was naturally divided up by the command envoy, thousands of households, and hundreds of households.

Originally, the registrations were almost full, but the reason why there are only three or four thousand registrations now is because of successive wars, it is difficult to replenish soldiers for a while.

Give Tan Yingfeng and others a little more time, and Han Zhongwei will have five or six thousand regular troops on paper.

"Except for these regular troops, how many people are available in Wei Nei?"

Chen Wang calmed down, anyway, he didn't really pin his hope of fighting in the hands of the guards.

There are about [-] main and auxiliary battalion soldiers under his command, and the armament is quite sufficient, which can be called a strong armor and sharp blade.

Most of them have fought against the bandits with him many times, and those battalions newly recruited from the ranks of the bandits and hungry soldiers have also gained experience in the defense of Xing'an. It's not that they haven't seen blood. New recruits who have never fought.

In the first battle of Xing'an, Gao Yingxiang used Xing'an City to train troops, and Chen Wang also used Chuangjun to train troops.

What's more, Zhang Xianzhong, Liu Guoneng and others are now fighting fiercely in the area of ​​Yunxiang, and they don't have the slightest idea of ​​going west to enter Hanzhong Mansion.

If the original process remains the same, because Lu Xiangsheng was transferred to the north, the defense forces of the Ming army in Yunxiang and other places are now at their weakest.

Facing the onslaught of Zhang Xianzhong, Liu Guoneng and other ministries, they couldn't stop them at all.

Towards the end of the year, Zhang Xianzhong will break through the encirclement net set by Lu Xiangsheng, lead the troops all the way eastward, and join forces with Ge Liyan He Yilong of Ge Zuo Fifth Battalion and Zuo Jin Wang He Jin to join forces. The beacon fire was lit in the Huaiyang area.

From the second half of the ninth year of Chongzhen to the first half of the tenth year of Chongzhen, there were basically no military or bandit disasters in Hanzhong Mansion.

"Wei Nei..."

Wang Yuankang looked embarrassed, his eyes flickered, he glanced to the left and right, and finally said bravely.

"There are about 8000 to [-] people available in Wei Nei..."

Here Wang Yuankang used a little bit of insight, Wang Yuankang knew what Chen Wang meant by the capable person.

It is people who can be used as manpower, who can farm or join the army, not the old and the weak.

But Wang Yuankang included many women.

Even if you study it deeply, it actually makes sense. It is said that ancient China was a society where men farmed and women weaved. Many people misunderstood that women only needed to weave, wash, cook, and handle chores at home.

But in fact, many women also need to work in the fields. Compared with men, they may be somewhat deficient in physical fitness, but their labor load is not small.

Chen Wang looked at Wang Yuankang's eyes, and he guessed very well about Wang Yuankang's little thoughts in his heart.

After he asked, he knew that he didn't ask the question very well.

In this era, no matter the elderly or children, women or men, as long as they are ordinary people, most of them are struggling on the poverty line.

Where can they rest, and where can they relax? As long as the elderly can still move, they will need to do what they can to subsidize their families.

And as long as children are a little more sensible and have a little strength, they have to go to the fields to help with work and do things at home.

Chen Wang flipped through the document in his hand. The things in this document can only be used as a reference. After all, this is an official thing. In fact, many things are very different.

A regular soldier represents a family, and based on the fact that there are almost five people in a family, the number of people in a full-staffed thousand households is about [-].

Hanzhongwei has five guards under its jurisdiction. If it is fully staffed, the number of guards in the whole guard should be about 5000.

But in fact, there is so much manpower in Hanzhongwei.

With the passage of time, the guard system continued to collapse, and military households fled seriously. The total population of Hanzhong Wei basically dropped to 2 people.

After years of turmoil and wars, the Hanzhong Guards suffered defeats one after another, lost troops and generals, many hundreds of households were captured, and many military households in the guard were slaughtered.

Now the total number of Hanzhongwei has dropped to more than [-] people, and the staff reduction is extremely serious.

According to the ancestral system, each military household in the Ming Dynasty was allocated about [-] mu of military land.

At the same time, cattle, tools, seeds, etc. were allocated, so that the military households could cultivate and feed, and concentrate on preparing for war.

But now, everyone knows what is going on with the guards.

In Ming Dynasty, [-] mu of land equaled [-] hectare, that is to say, [-] households needed to cultivate about [-] hectares of land.

A thousand households need to cultivate more than 500 hectares of land.

Hanzhongwei has five thousand households. Calculated according to the sufficiency, Hanzhongwei should have 28 hectares of land, a full [-] mu.

But how could Hanzhongwei own so much land now.

The original Hanzhong Guards only set up three thousand households, and the latter two guards were still added. In fact, the number of people has never been full, let alone the allocated fields.

After 200 years, no matter how strong the ancestral system is, it cannot withstand the ravages of age.

Nowadays, most of the military fields owned by ordinary guards in Hanzhongwei have been occupied by officers of the guards at all levels in Hanzhongwei for many years.

They are still guards in name, but in private they have already become tenants of various officers.

The land rent of military households is much heavier than that of ordinary civilian households.

Of the annual harvest, very few belonged to military households, and it was Shangguan's favor to get [-]% or [-]% of it.

The collapse of the Wei system was also very clear to the Ming Dynasty itself.

It's not that they haven't thought about how to prevent the collapse of the Wei system.

In the middle and late period, in order to change the situation that officials and generals from all over the country invaded the land of corrupt military households, the Ming court gave each general a certain amount of farmland according to the size of his official position.

But Yang Liantian was handed down, but in fact it had little effect, and the officers of the guards in various places continued to exploit them.

In addition to the exploitation of military officers, many military farms are also bullied by rich and powerful families.

The position of the guards is low, so many fields in the guards have been invaded, and there is no way to even ask for help.

Originally, Hanzhongwei still had more than 800 hectares of land, because the fields in Hanzhong Mansion were relatively rich, and their lives were not bad.

But since King Rui was confiscated, most of the fields in Hanzhong Mansion belonged to King Rui.

The vassal king is the vassal, and the court will not only give a lot of money, but also cut off a large amount of land from the local area and use it as the property of the vassal king.

A lot of military land in Hanzhongwei was assigned to the name of King Rui, and now there are only [-] hectares of land left under the name of Hanzhongwei.

Chen Wang estimated that even including some hidden fields, there should only be about [-] hectares of fields.

Among these fields, the good ones should basically be occupied, and most of the rest should be Zhongtian and Xiatian.

In recent years, there have been many natural disasters, although Hanzhong Prefecture has not suffered much disaster.

However, the fields were reduced, and the Hanzhong Mansion suffered repeated turmoil. The guards of Hanzhongwei not only had to perform military service, but also had to pay heavy rents.

The military pay has not been paid for a long time, and even if they die in battle, there are not many pensions. Most of the military households can no longer make ends meet.

"How many males are there over the age of 15 and under the age of 45?"

Chen Wang closed the document in his hand, and asked again.

Wang Yuankang was startled for a moment, then his expression suddenly darkened, and after a moment of silence, he spoke leisurely.

"Except for the main army, there are almost only more than 2000 people left..."

The situation of Hanzhongwei is extremely bad now, most of the men died on the battlefield, and most of the old and weak women and children left behind.

Over the past few years, every household in the guards in various places often wore filial piety and every household wore hemp, and every time there was a war, the crying and shouting in the guards became even more continuous.

As military households, they have no right to refuse the court's recruitment...

All they can do is to accept all this, and then pick up crude weapons and go to the battlefield, waiting for their own destiny.

"I have roughly figured out the situation."

Chen Wang's sharp gaze swept over everyone in the hall, and everyone felt a little terrified.

"I can't see a lot of things in the official file. I want to go to the guards in various places to see the specific situation."

Tan Yingfeng, who was looking for an opportunity to sit in the distance, felt like sitting on pins and needles, and her hairs stood on end.

The look in Chen Wang's eyes made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Whoever has time, accompany me on the trip?"

After Chen Wang finished speaking, Tan Yingfeng, Li Shiqi, and Yang Mingcai all subconsciously set their eyes on Wang Yuankang.

"Wang Qianshi has been in charge of farming, ordnance, and military inspections in the past. Since Mr. Chen wants to go down to inspect, it is best to have Wang Qianshi accompany him."

Tan Yingfeng didn't even think about it, she just moved to Chen Wang's side, and sold it to Wang Yuankang with a low eyebrow.

The corners of Wang Yuankang's mouth couldn't help twitching. Tan Sanleng, the idiot, hasn't done many good things.

Every time he encounters difficult things, he will come out and take the blame.

Wang Yuankang yelled in his heart, but the swearing was the same, he knew that he probably couldn't escape these things.

"Most of the official duties of the humble staff in Weizhong have been dealt with, and only a few can be temporarily put aside."

"My lord wants to know about Wei Nei's affairs, so I can accompany you there."

Wang Yuankang bowed his head respectfully, and saluted with fists in his hands.

Anyway, I'm going there, so it's better to take the initiative and sell more or less.

The birds hovering in the sky can be seen clearly by Chen Wang, and the eye contact between the few people naturally did not hide the slightest bit from Chen Wang.

When he came here, Chen Wang also did a little homework, and learned the general details of Hanzhong Wei from Guan Qilin, Du Wugang, and several thousand households under Zhou Yumao's command.

Tan Yingfeng basically only cares about some important and lucrative things, she is timid and rarely goes into battle.

However, he has done a very good job on the official side, so not only has nothing happened all the time, but he has also received several awards for the military exploits earned by his subordinates.

Yang Mingcai is the commander, because the supervisor of defense, sentry, and entry basically stays at the rear.

Li Shiqi, the commander and acquaintance, has fought several times. Although he lost more than he won, he at least had the courage to fight.

Wang Yuankang was in a marginal position among the few people. The affairs he was in charge of seemed to be important, and the oil and water were also very lucrative.

But all this is just a look.

If these few things are placed in peacetime, they will naturally be lucrative positions.

Being in charge of farmland means that you can divide the property under your own name, and there is a lot of room for manipulation.

And the military inspection can determine the number of regular troops, so it can naturally receive money.

Being in charge of the direct production of armaments can enrich one's own pockets and embezzle money.

But the present season is not the peace season.

These things in this season are all things that need to be done now.

Every time it was time to hand over the food and deliver the ordnance, Wang Yuankang would inevitably be severely scolded, and it was even more tortured during the military inspection.

When the imperial court enlisted the guards, they had to try their best to gather the limited number of people, otherwise, if they were punished, how could his small commander be able to withstand the pot.

"Since Wang Qian doesn't have too many other things to do, let's go first."

Chen Wang stood up, and he had roughly understood what he wanted to know.

I also have a general understanding of Tan Yingfeng and others in my heart, and I have a plan to deal with it, so I don't plan to stay in Wei Nei anymore.

"Congratulations to Mr. Chen."

Tan Yingfeng was the first to stand up, bowing and bowing, looking extremely respectful.

Then Li Shiqi and Yang Mingcai also stood up and saw each other off together.

Wang Yuankang slowed down a bit, and was the last to stand up.

"There is no need to send it away anymore. The governor ordered me to rectify the back-up matters such as garrison, camp operations, and ordnance. The responsibilities of the few of you will remain unchanged for the time being. As for me, I will discuss the matter with Wang Qian."

Chen Wang was escorted to the gate of the official office by several people, and he waved his hands.

"There is a shortage of sergeants in Weizhong, and there are serious casualties among military households fleeing. I have made a plan for this matter, and I will report to the governor to ask the Gou army to fill in."

Hearing what Chen Wang said, a smile finally appeared on Tan Yingfeng's face.

Although he felt that if Chen Wanglai took care of these things, it might affect some of his interests.

But Chen Wang is the deputy guard of Hanzhong Town. After these things are taken care of by Chen Wang, they don't need to work hard to train the soldiers.

Moreover, Chen Wang also mentioned ordnance, the Ordnance Bureau in Weizhong is a hot potato, and a lot of ordnance must be handed over to Xi'an Mansion at regular intervals.

"Follow your orders."

Tan Yingfeng lowered her eyebrows and bowed her head, looking extremely respectful.

Chen Wang didn't focus on Tan Yingfeng's body anymore, he just stepped on the horse led by his personal guards with one step.

All the personal guards also found their horses and stepped on one after another. For a while, the entire guard commander and envoys' office screamed and people erupted.

"Master Wang, get on your horse."

Chen Wang glanced at Wang Yuankang condescendingly, pointed to another war horse moved by his personal guards, and gave Wang Yuankang instructions.

Wang Yuankang responded, and got on the horse, but judging from the way he was riding the horse, he knew that he was not good at riding, and he probably didn't have much experience.

Chen Wang's eyes flicked past the people standing in front of the official office, and then raised his head to look at the desolate and cold Hanzhong Weicheng in front of him.

Hundreds of years have passed quietly, everything is changing, new things will eventually replace old things, and now is the time for innovation and progress.

　Today's update is a bit late, and there is another chapter during the day.

　　The guards at the end of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the military system, were really a mess, and I am also a mess now!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)