In the early days, the Great Heng Kingdom relied on the combined system of Fubing (militia system) and Juntian (equal-field system), which yielded astonishing combat power. However, due to severe land annexation, it was eventually forced to adopt a conscription system.
To address this issue, Liang Xiao first proposed increasing the treatment and stipends for soldiers, thereby boosting their enthusiasm for training and enlistment.
Yet, this alone could not completely resolve the drawbacks of the conscription system.
If Xiao Qing were to use the treasure's gold to buy back land, even if the Fubing system were re-established with so much farmland, the land would still be continuously lost due to annexation in the future, repeating the crisis of the previous dynasty.
With improved military treatment, the purpose of soldiers enlisting would gradually shift from defending their homes and country to earning money.
In Liang Xiao's view, the Song Dynasty served as a cautionary tale.
At that time, the imperial guards' annual stipends could reach as high as a hundred strings of cash, which, when converted by grain prices, amounted to seventy-five thousand yuan!
This unprecedentedly high salary led to the most intractable problem among the Song Dynasty's "three redundancies"—the "redundancy of soldiers."
The military pay under the conscription system was issued by the central government, but how much the soldiers actually received was determined by the generals directly managing the troops.
The "Jiedushi" (military governors) of the late Tang Dynasty, who became overly powerful, were the direct beneficiaries of the conscription system.
Furthermore, due to corrupt governance and lax military discipline, the conscription system fostered phenomena like ghost soldiers and exploitation. A large number of soldiers were registered on the military roster and received stipends but did not actually participate in combat, purely occupying positions without contributing.
This ultimately led to the Song Dynasty, which boasted eighty thousand troops, being unable to resist sixty thousand Jurchen soldiers marching south. The capital, Tokyo Bianliang, nominally garrisoned by two hundred thousand troops, had an actual total force of less than eighty thousand, with only about thirty thousand combat-ready imperial guards.
Even the Jurchens were bewildered: "We heard the Southern Dynasty had eight hundred thousand troops, where are they now? Why do they not meet the enemy?"
The Jurchens were unaware that the Song Dynasty's nominal troop strength exceeded eight hundred thousand, but most of them were ghost soldiers. In such a corrupt late Northern Song Dynasty, its survival would have been a miracle.
Using history as a mirror can help one understand the past and future.
Liang Xiao deeply understood that if the Great Qian Kingdom could not reform its military system, it would sooner or later follow the path of the Song Dynasty. After all, the aristocratic families of the Song Dynasty had already declined significantly, even becoming nominal, yet the phenomenon of land annexation remained unchanged.
However, the Great Qian Kingdom had a trump card!
Liang Xiao and the Shadow Guards!
Loyal only to the Son of Heaven and unafraid of offending anyone, the Shadow Guards were dispatched to various parts of the country to supervise generals, with the authority to seize military power and control generals and their families at any time. This maximized the assurance that the kingdom's generals would not dare to amass power or even launch rebellions.
For instance, Gongsun Ye and Lü Yi, as two Grand Marshals, had hundreds of Shadow Guards disguised as household retainers, ostensibly for protection but in reality for supervision.
For these two loyal marshals, this was not a major issue; they even proactively requested supervision to silence their political enemies.
However, for some regional garrison commanders, this was a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, ready to strike down any rebel at any moment.
Nearly ten Shadow Guards were responsible for supervising the various garrison commanders. If they discovered any commander attempting to bribe them, these Shadow Guards would immediately report it to the court. It was almost impossible for a garrison commander to bribe all of them simultaneously.
This move also gave Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing the confidence to improve the soldiers' treatment while maintaining the Shadow Guard's operational tradition and the conscription system.
Concurrently, Liang Xiao implemented a new merit system in the army, combined with a system of elimination.
Those who shirked their duties and feared death in battle would be reprimanded and stripped of their military status and benefits, allowing those who dared to fight to take their place!
Simultaneously, the army utilized newspapers to promote the spirit of the Great Qian military, making both soldiers and civilians understand that soldiers enlisted to defend their homes and country, not just for money.
After a soldier's death, the state would provide generous compensation to their relatives, relieving them of future worries.
The combination of these multiple measures led to the unprecedented combat effectiveness of the Yan Prefecture garrison, with the Great Qian Iron Guards, White Robe Soldiers, and Sky-Holding Guard being particularly outstanding!
This was also the reason why Lü Yi admired Liang Xiao to the point of near worship.
A skilled warrior achieves no great fame!
This does not mean that those who are good at fighting have no world-shattering achievements; Liang Xiao himself achieved the great merit of beheading seventeen thousand enemies.
Rather, it means that truly outstanding commanders often possess a clear understanding of military training and political affairs. Even before soldiers engage in battle, they can cultivate astonishing combat power, either by subduing the enemy without fighting or by being invincible in every battle.
Liang Xiao was profoundly practicing this principle.
Consider Li Jing of the early Tang Dynasty, comparable to the "God of War" Han Xin. Yet, watching Li Jing fight was like tasting blandness, utterly boring, because Li Jing's battles were simply invincible and straightforward, with no suspense.
Take Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms. Although his Northern Expeditions were unsuccessful, he is unanimously recognized by later generations, including modern military strategists, as the most representative military strategist of the Three Kingdoms, alongside Cao Cao. Even Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and the God of War, Duke of Wei, Li Jing, held Zhuge Liang's military capabilities in high regard. Li Jing even used Zhuge Liang's Eight Formations as a basis to develop the historically renowned Six-Flower Formations.
The reason was that Zhuge Liang integrated military and political affairs, possessed astonishing training capabilities, and combined various factors like the Eight Formations, repeating crossbows, and wooden oxen and flowing horses. Even when retreating from the Northern Expeditions, he did not shake the foundation of the state, enabling him to reorganize for further expeditions, causing "Yong and Liang to never lower their armor, and the Central Plains to never relax their saddles." The Wei Kingdom was in constant turmoil. Sima Yi, despite holding a numerical advantage, chose to defend his position after losing the Battle of Luzhong and relied on his longevity to outlast Zhuge Liang.
Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing had done all they could and were systematically resolving the problems.
However, beyond external threats, the Great Qian Kingdom also faced the issue of warlords in the southwestern regions and Jiaozhou. These warlords emerged inadvertently ten years prior after the Great Qian's defeat at Helan Mountain. Donghai Dugu Ling, before being killed by Liang Xiao, was already developing into a warlord.
Warlords also existed in the southwest and south of Xichuan. These warlords were truly entrenched and needed to be resolved gradually.
Currently, the situation in the Great Qian Kingdom was stable, and these warlords did not dare to reveal any signs of disloyalty. However, once the barbarians successfully invaded the Central Plains and chaos erupted, the consequences could be dire.
This was why Liang Xiao urgently needed to cultivate talented generals and commanders. Liang Xiao, Lü Yi, and Gongsun Ye, the three Grand Marshals, were stretched thin. Gongsun Ye was advanced in age and excelled at defense rather than offense, necessitating more talent to conquer and secure the four corners of the realm.
At this moment, the training grounds in the Yun Prefecture military camp were filled with flying dust. The soldiers trained with utmost determination, fearing that they would be eliminated due to lagging behind or laziness, thus losing the stipends they had finally earned.
As news of the great victory in Yan Prefecture spread, the enthusiasm for military enlistment among young men nationwide reached unprecedented levels. After Liang Xiao's propaganda, they understood: if they didn't work hard, there were plenty of others to replace them!
Returning home to farm was exhausting, and the money earned was less than what they received in the army, which also provided food and lodging. Now, enlisting offered a chance to bring honor to one's ancestors, while farming offered no future.
Liang Xiao had shown the common people hope for advancement and distinction through military achievements. Now, people in various parts of the Great Qian Kingdom raised their sons with great hardship, hoping that they would join the army in the future, achieve merit, and change the destiny of their families!
The most significant change was that military recruitment across the Great Qian Kingdom was gradually shifting from prioritizing quantity to prioritizing quality. Those responsible for registration were overwhelmed and had to increase manpower...
While Tianjiang waited for further freezing, training and selection in Yun Prefecture were in full swing.
Meanwhile, among the barbarians in Helan Mountain, upon learning that Liang Xiao and Lü Yi had joined forces in Yan Prefecture, they were all deeply shaken!
The Left Virtuous King and his former subordinates trembled in their military tents.
The current Barbarian Marshal, the Right Virtuous King, and his direct subordinates watched the Left Virtuous King's reaction with a mixture of annoyance and helplessness.
A messenger ran in and reported in a low voice: "Your Excellencies, envoys from the Cloud Country seek an audience, and they have brought envoys from the Guishuang Dynasty and the Tianri Tribe!"
"Tianri Tribe?!" The Left Virtuous King, his teeth chattering, finally calmed down, his aged eyes brightening.