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Gan Dashou quickly said, "I dare not, it's just that I have a better memory."

After some chatting, Zhao Han got important news.

Due to the resurgence of the army, the rebels seemed to have signs of attacking Nanchang, and the gentry in the counties of Nanchang finally became impatient.

These gentry are mainly divided into three categories:

The first category is the scholars in front of them who take the initiative to come here on behalf of the family.

The second category is to be a coward and to accept everything.It seems difficult to understand, but there are quite a few such gentry.

The third category is to recruit soldiers to help the government fight wars.

You recruit dozens of soldiers, I recruit hundreds of soldiers, add up the odds and ends, plus the strength of other magistrates, it is very likely that there will be tens of thousands of soldiers before the New Year!

Among them, there were those who fled to Nanchang with money, and their hometown was under the rule of Zhao Han.For example, Liu Tongsheng, a native of Jishui, fled to Nanchang. He originally wanted to study in peace and take the Jinshi exam, but now he also plans to spend his money to recruit soldiers.

Zhao Han obviously pushed these people into a hurry. Once Nanchang is captured, it will be a matter of time before the entire Jiangxi is captured.

"Mr. Zhao, please take Nanchang quickly!" Yuan Bingkun suddenly clasped his fists and shouted.

"Mr. Zhao, please take Nanchang quickly!" The rest of the scholars followed suit.

Zhao Han said with a smile: "Nanchang City is high and deep, so it's hard to get it quickly, and we need to plan in the long run."

These guys all lived in Nanchang and Fengcheng. Only when Zhao Han captured Nanchang City would they truly feel at ease.If the war is dragged on for several years, not only will the people have to work hard, but they, the gentry, will also have to continue to bleed. The war needs money and food, and after the ordinary people have no room to exploit it, the governor and the third secretary will definitely seek the big family to persuade them to donate.

In particular, the great clan in Nanchang experienced the Ningwang Rebellion a hundred years ago, and the memory of the losses they suffered at that time is still fresh.

King Ning did not make things difficult for them, nor did Wang Yangming.The military general Xu Tai who came after the incident killed Nanchang so that his corpses blocked the streets in the name of investigating the remnants of King Ning's party.

Yu Shiqin cupped his hands and said: "We all know Mr. Zhao's intention. It is nothing more than building a high wall and slowing down the kingship. He is afraid that after the capture of Nanchang, the imperial court will attract heavy troops to encircle and suppress it. But Mr. Zhao has never thought about it. Even if Nanchang is not attacked, the imperial court will not Do you pay attention? The imperial court has not sent a large army so far. It is not willing to listen to it, but it cannot. The imperial court is short of money and food. .”

Tu Tingying also persuaded: "Nanchang is an important town in Jiangxi, a place where all kinds of energy gather, and it can be the foundation for seizing the world!"

Zhao Han could only say: "Within a year, I will take Nanchang."

From a military point of view, only Taihe County and Wan'an County are the must-take places today.After taking these two counties, the officers and soldiers in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian in the south can be blocked, and only the navy can be sent to block the officers and soldiers in the south.

As for the north, to be honest, Zhao Han didn't even want to keep the newly captured Fengcheng County in his hands, because that dilapidated place was not conducive to defense.

But so many scholars took the initiative to defect, and more than half of them were from Fengcheng, Zhao Han had to, otherwise he would disappoint these scholars.Wang Tingshi, who is doing a high-level internal response, will also feel disappointed, feeling that he is not valued by Zhao Han.

Seeing that the scholars were not in high spirits, Zhao Han said with a smile: "Fengcheng County, I will occupy it. Fengcheng County is less than a hundred miles away from Nanchang Fucheng. After I consolidate Fengcheng's territory, I will harvest it next autumn at the latest After that, immediately send troops to attack Nanchang!"

This promise finally reassured the scholars in front of them that they could still afford to wait for a year.

Fourteen juren and scholars were sent to Bailuzhou Academy by Zhao Han to attend lectures. Presumably Wang Diaoding and them had a common language.

A few days later, Fei Ruhe returned with the prisoners.

"Over 3000 captives were captured," Fei Ruhe said. "They all committed crimes in Yongfeng County, and sent them all to iron mines?"

Zhao Han said: "Anyone with civilian blood on their hands will be sent to mines!"

"That's okay," Fei Ruhe said with a smile, "there are hundreds of Ehu soldiers, and I was recognized by them, what should I do with them?"

Zhao Han asked, "Didn't they kill people indiscriminately?"

Fei Ruhe sighed and said: "It's very complicated to say. These Eunuch soldiers were originally recruited and trained by the eunuch Wang Heng to destroy the religious bandits in Shanglu Town. Wang Heng's army was not strict, and soldiers killed indiscriminately in Shanglu Town. However, Wang Heng was called back to Beijing by the emperor, and Ehu soldiers returned home to farm, and were later recruited by the magistrate Zhang Yinggao. The elite are relatively obedient. They must have plundered, but luckily they didn’t kill anyone or rape women.”

"Only looting, not killing, do you believe it?" Zhao Han sneered.

Fei Ruhe was a little embarrassed: "At least not many kills, only those who want to resist."

"Tell me, do those Ehu soldiers have a lot of acquaintances?" Zhao Han directly exposed them.

Fei Ruhe said: "There is a brother who has not passed the fifth service, and there are more than a dozen relatives who have not passed the fifth service. The rest are all from good families near the E Lake. They are really elite. Facing the siege and ambush, they did not When they surrendered, they gathered around Guangxin Zhifu. They have been trained for more than two years and have seen blood in actual combat! Moreover, they didn’t kill many civilians, at least not many compared with other soldiers.”

Zhao Han thought carefully and said, "I'm going to expand my army and prepare for war if I break up and join the regular army!"

Taihe County was devastated by the thief leader Sai Lubu. The landlords were almost killed, and the lives of the people were even more difficult.And because of the war, a large number of people died or fled. Zhao Han can move some farmers there to alleviate the shortage of cultivated land in the existing land.

Moreover, only by taking Taihe County can the gap in the terrain to the south be blocked, and he is not afraid of more officers and soldiers.

Chapter 183 [Tiger General]

Ji'an City, Military Academy.

The scope of powers and responsibilities of the Military Academy includes: recruiting soldiers, organizing and training the army, managing military registration, leading troops in battle, evaluating military achievements, promoting officers, and selecting generals.

Compared with the eunuched Mansion of the Five Armies of the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Han's Military Academy has more power!

Today, Fei Ruhe is the head of the Military Academy.

Zhao Han decided to expand the army to prepare for war, how many soldiers to expand, how many new troops to form, Fei Ruhe could not make the decision, that was within the purview of the Military Affairs Department (Li Banghua).

However, Fei Ruhe can select a few soldiers first, and then assign them to the troops directly under him - the current system is not perfect, and after the territory grows, the chief officer of the military academy will definitely not be able to personally command the troops.Even if you want to command the troops, you have to temporarily resign from the daily duties of the Military Academy.

"Bring the list of prisoners." Fei Ruhe ordered.

His secretary directly handed over a list and said, "Headmaster, the general town asked me to give it to you."

Fei Ruhe was furious when he saw it, and agreed to break up the Ehu soldiers and organize them into various units.But Zhao Han identified eight people in advance and sent them to mine directly without discussing with Fei Ruhe at all.

Of the eight Ehu officers who were sent to mine, five of them had the surname Fei!

Fei Ruhe completely lost his mind, left the Military Academy, and went straight to the yamen of the General Military Mansion.

"Zhao Bingyuan, the general town is discussing matters, you can't go in...Zhao Bingyuan...General Zhao..." The guard hurriedly stopped.

"Go away!"

Fei Ruhe forcibly pushed the guard away and kicked open the door of the conference room.

Pang Chunlai, Li Banghua, Chen Maosheng, Xiao Huan and others all turned their heads to look, feeling a little puzzled.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "Sit down."

Fei Ruhe didn't sit down, but asked: "This is the land of two prefectures and eight counties, are you going to kill the donkey?"

"It's a matter of business," Zhao Han explained, "I don't need to pursue all those Ehu soldiers, but the officers who lead the troops must be brought to justice."

Fei Ruhe sneered: "Out of eight officers, there are actually five with the surname Fei?"

Zhao Han asked back: "Can the officer of the Ehu army not be named Fei?"

This is the truth, as long as Zhao Han severely punishes the officers, the ones surnamed Fei must be the majority.

"Why didn't you discuss it with me first?" Fei Ruhe asked.

Zhao Han asked, "Will you agree?"

Of course he won't agree, Fei Ruhe is a person with a lot of affection in his bones, it is impossible to send his family members to mine because of this kind of thing.Although mining is defined as reform through labor, and you can be free after five years, even if you come out alive, you will be sick.

Fei Ruhe didn't admit it, and said stubbornly: "You discussed it with me, and I will definitely agree!"

Zhao Han slowed down his tone and said soothingly, "Sit down and talk slowly."

"I won't sit!" Fei Ruhe stood and glared at Zhao Han.

Zhao Han sighed and said, "Oh, you should go home."

"Sure enough, all the birds are hiding." Fei Ruhe sneered.

Zhao Han could only explain: "There must be spies from the government in the counties under our rule. Your identity and mine will be passed on to the governor of Jiangxi at a delay of a year or a half, or at the earliest in two or three months. Bring your family? I will reserve the seat of the Military Academy for you first, and you go home to calm down. Think about it, and continue to come back to do things. If you can’t figure it out, you don’t have to come back.”

Hundreds of Ehu soldiers were scattered among various units, and Fei Ruhe's identity would be known sooner or later.

Fei Yinghuan's official position in Fujian is not stable, so he must send someone to notify him as soon as possible.

Zhao Han is really not afraid that the Fei family is powerful, Zhao Han is not Liu Bang, and the Fei family is not the Lu family.

Liu Bang and Lu belong to the entrepreneurial partners, and the shares are very close, not to mention that the system at the end of Qin can be compared with that at the end of Ming Dynasty?The Lu family has private soldiers, and the proportion is very large!

"Continue the meeting!" Zhao Han ignored Fei Ruhe and didn't let him go out.

Chen Maosheng said: "The truth is like this. The mission group and the government at all levels think that there are too many towns in each county. In the early stage of land division, there are many things to do, and the officials are naturally very busy. But after one or two years after the land division , it appears that the township officials are redundant. Village affairs, with the assistance of the village head and the peasant association, many township officials have nothing to do."

"I agree with the reduction of one town in each county," Pang Chunlai echoed. "The expenditure on officials' salaries is too high."

Zuo Xiaoliang said: "At least two towns should be reduced. Take Luling County as an example, six towns are enough. I went back to my hometown during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and my cousin was an official in the town. He said that except for summer and autumn I am very busy collecting grain and encountering drought and floods, and other times I am too busy to catch lice.”

Everyone spoke one after another, Zhao Han was completely unable to refute.

In ancient times, the imperial power did not come down to the county, so Zhao Hansheng created a town-level organization in order to penetrate the grassroots for power.

But now it seems that it is a bit out of touch with reality.

Zuo Xiaoliang's hometown is on the other side of Wuxing Town, which was ruled by Zhao Han very early on.The fields that should be divided have been divided, the promotional crops have also been promoted, the land reclamation has been opened, the canals have also been repaired, and several new canals have been dug.

Then, the officials in the town couldn't find anything to do, so they went to the yamen to dawdle all day long.Only when taxes are collected in summer and autumn, or when floods and droughts occur, they become temporarily busy.

Even Chen Maosheng, who always believed that the grassroots should be controlled, felt that the township yamen should be reduced through feedback from the missionary mission.

Zhao Han thought about it carefully, and suddenly smiled: "That's how it should be. When we are starting a business, we will definitely make mistakes in many things. If we make mistakes, we should correct them. If there are still mistakes like this in the future, I hope you can speak freely. How about this, every county Two towns were reduced, and the subordinate officials were transferred to Fengcheng County, Taihe County, Wan'an County and Longquan County respectively."

Fei Ruhe, who was sulking, suddenly asked, "Are you going to attack Taihe County?"

"Why, are you interested?" Zhao Han asked with a smile.

Fei Ruhe said angrily, "I'm holding back my anger, and I just want to vent my anger on the bandits in Taihe County."

Zhao Han asked, "Who will pick up your mother?"

Fei Ruhe said: "I'll send some confidantes back, as long as the people from Jing Xingyuan are picked up, grandfather, grandmother, second uncle, and third uncle can all be left alone. The magistrates would not dare to do it lightly."

Li Banghua said: "Since Zhao Bingyuan (Fei Ruhe) has come, let's discuss the military affairs together. I think, including the soldiers in the main town, the number of regular soldiers should be expanded to 2000, of which [-] are sailors. Yongfeng County in the east should also be taken down, so as to increase the depth and strengthen the defense of the eastern territory."

"I agree!" Fei Ruhe immediately agreed. As the person in charge of soldiers, he naturally hoped that the more soldiers the better.

Zhao Han asked Pang Chunlai and Chen Maosheng: "If we take Yongfeng County, will there be enough officials and missionaries?"

Pang Chunlai said: "If two towns are withdrawn from each county, there will be sixteen more town officials. It will definitely be enough to promote some more."

Chen Maosheng said: "There are enough missionary officers. This year's development is very fast. Most of them are house slaves, prostitutes, and poor scholars."

"That's good," Zhao Han reminded, "Maosheng, let the missionary officers read more "Mencius" at ordinary times. The Four Books and Five Classics are also very important. Your missionary department is equivalent to the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty, so you can't be looked down upon by those scholars. .”

Chen Maosheng said with a smile: "I'm reading "Mencius". Mencius's book is really good. The people are the most precious, the society is second, and the king is the least. That's why the people of the hills are the son of heaven, the son of heaven is the prince, and the emperor is the son of heaven. The key point of this passage, I think, is 'get the people of Qiu', which is the same as our theory of Datong, which is to make decisions for the common people."

Mencius's "the people are the most precious" does not only refer to the gentry and nobles, but to the "people of Qiudian", including hard-working farmers, and even more emphasis on farmers.

Zhao Han added: "Also, let them learn more arithmetic, which is the Thai and Western arithmetic that children have to learn now."

"I'll let them learn when I get back." Chen Maosheng said.

That's how it was decided, the land of the two prefectures and eight counties will now expand to five counties: Taihe County, Wan'an County, Longquan County, Yongfeng County, and Fengcheng County.

Try to complete all the field work before next year's spring plowing. By then, Zhao Han will be the big traitor who will actually control the thirteen counties.

The regular soldiers were expanded to 8000, the army to [-], and the navy to [-].

The water army accounts for a very large proportion, but in Jiangxi, it is necessary to vigorously develop the water army.

After the meeting adjourned, Zhao Han received the news on the same day: the magistrate of Yongfeng County died of illness, and the master book and Dianshi obeyed his will to dedicate the city to him, and there were thousands of elite township braves.

Fei Ruhe was simmering with resentment in his heart, and vented his anger on Zhao Han, but he didn't want to really lose his face because of this, so he raised his troops and went to fight Taihe County on the third day.

Just looking for people to vent their anger.

When he arrived outside Taihe City by boat, the county had already been surrounded, and it was the brothers Fang Shengchang and Fang Shenghong who raised troops in Longquan.

Hearing that Fei Ruhe had brought troops here, the Fang brothers rushed to see him, "I pay my respects to Zhao Bingyuan."

"You two brothers don't need to be formal," Fei Ruhe asked, "How is the battle here?"

Fang Shengchang said: "The rebels entrenched in the villages and towns have been wiped out, and the rest have hid in the county. My two brothers originally planned to present the three counties to the general town as a gift during the Chinese New Year."

Fei Ruhe asked: "How many troops does your army have? How many bandits are there in the city?"

Fang Shengchang said: "Our army has more than [-] troops, but the elite is only [-] or [-]. As for the bandits in the city, they are just mobs. Every time they fight outside the city, they are defeated by one blow. They are not as good as the bandits in the mountains of Longquan County. .”

Fei Ruhe still had another task, and said: "General Zhao plans to take over the three counties in the south. I don't know if the two brothers want to be civil servants or military officials in the future."

Fang Shenghong asked: "How about the civil servants, how about the military officers?"

Fei Ruhe said: "There are rules on our side, I think the two of you are already aware of them. But the two of you have made great achievements in offering soil. If you are a civil servant, you can start from the county magistrate. If you are a military commander, you can start from the general who commands 500 troops. start."

"I'm a civil servant."

"I'm also a civil servant."

The Fang brothers who started the rebellion, conquered Longquan and Wan'an counties, and soon seized Taihe county, chose to be civil servants with one voice.

Because they are scholars!