Chapter 1022 Training Elite Soldiers

"Just put this thing away. We will all work next to His Highness from now on. This is not the first time you have encountered something like this. Please don't get me involved. If you need anything, go to the door and talk to Xiao Dezi. That's my apprentice, he's in charge of you people, you can wander around during the day, and try to stay in your own room at night."

Xiao Xiazi pointed at his apprentice and said, after this guy became the eunuch chief of the East Palace, everyone around him also looked up to him. It can be said that one person has achieved enlightenment, and chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. As for the good things that Zhang Jiuli brought out, Xiao Xiazi even Didn't even look at it.

The reason why I arranged a room for you is because His Highness treats you well. If you give gifts casually in private, it will really screw us all up. What does our Highness hate the most?

Zhang Jiuli pretended to be a little embarrassed. When he was in Sichuan and Nanzhao, he knew that people around Li Xiang did not accept gifts, but after arriving in Chang'an City, he felt that they might be different from the people who followed Li Xiang out, so I took it out to test it, but I didn't expect that Li Xiang was very strict with his family. No one dared to reach out, whether at home or in the army.

In fact, this is a habit. If everyone around you reaches out, then it is a bit unreasonable for you not to reach out. But if no one around you reaches out, then if you take the initiative to ask others for money, it is estimated that others will not. I'll give it to you. What Li Xiang has done over the years is to form a trend and let these people remember that gift-giving must be stopped.

While the imperial court was actively preparing, Li Xiang also began to train the Youwu Guards at the military camp south of Chang'an City.

Of course, this is what the court said. If we follow Li Xiang's statement, this is the rapid reaction force stationed in Chang'an City. All of them are equipped with three horses. In addition to requiring combat skills, these people must also be able to travel at starry night. .

Li Xiang knows the power of the rapid reaction force. As long as there is such a force, other armies can carry out large-scale layoffs. After all, they are not needed in normal times, and there is no need to gather a large number of labor forces in the army. , According to Li Xiang's plan, the entire Tang Empire only needs 250,000 people.

When Li Xiang proposed this, Li Shimin was also shocked by Li Xiang. You must know that in this era, the number of people is the most important. Population is also one of the important indicators of a country's comprehensive national strength. If the army in the Tang Dynasty is compared If it were reduced to 250,000, Li Shimin probably wouldn't be able to sleep either.

From the time Li Shimin raised his army to the present, he never dared to think that there were only 250,000 troops in the country. If this were the case, he could save at least 6 million yuan every year. Although this money is very tempting, if it causes If there is a national security crisis, Li Shimin will definitely not be willing to do so.

But Li Shimin was a money man, and there were so many things he could do with money, so he planned to let Li Xiang test it first.

The Youwu Guards were given to Li Xiang for testing. This army received training in Chang'an City and was then ordered to be stationed in Luoyang, the eastern capital. At that time, Li Shimin would withdraw all the troops from Luoyang, the eastern capital. Originally, the army around Luoyang, the eastern capital, was about Thirty-five thousand people. According to Li Xiang's request, this time it was these five thousand Youwu Guards who maintained law and order in Luoyang.

If Li Xiang's plan is feasible, then Li Shimin will reduce the current Tang army to 300,000 people and withdraw 350,000 people at once.

Of course, Li Shimin has not reported it yet, mainly because it will be too difficult to report it, and many people in the country will object. You have only removed 350,000 people at once. This is not just about ordinary soldiers, but also about teams. There are still many generals here. There are not that many armies anymore. Do we still need so many generals?

So at this stage, it is just for Li Xiang to make preparations. As for how to implement it in the future, it will take a long time. However, judging from the fact that Li Shimin asked Li Xiang to start the experiment, this old guy is already tempted. But I don’t know what the prospects are.

Of course, what Li Xiang is talking about is only within the territory of the Tang Dynasty. If it is in the newly occupied areas in the periphery, Li Xiang still dare not reduce the number of troops on a large scale for the time being. If something happens, even if he fights in those places, Even if he comes down, he cannot bear this responsibility.

There are now a large number of immigrants from the Tang Dynasty in these areas. At that time, the court said very well that they should ensure the safety of these people and ensure their income. After these two years of hard work, everyone's life has slowed down. It is slowly getting on the right track. If safety cannot be guaranteed at this time, then no matter what immigration policy Datang has in the future, it is estimated that the people will turn a deaf ear.

What a court fears most is that it has no credibility. When a court has no credibility, they are not far from destruction, so the first shot must be fired. At this moment, Li Xiang personally rode a war horse to the military camp south of Chang'an City.

"Your Highness, a thousand years old, a thousand years old!"

Of the first batch of 5,000 people, 1,500 were former veterans who came down from the Xueyantuo battlefield in the north. The other 3,500 were recruited around Chang'an City and passed through two After months of training, these people are like little tigers.

Listening to this powerful voice, Li Xiang still didn't have a satisfied look on his face. It's useless to just look at this. You must meet the standards in other achievements.

"It's time to start."

Li Xiang looked at Cheng Chuliang next to him. Cheng Chuliang was currently the commander-in-chief of this army, and Cheng Chuliang had told Li Xiang several times that their army could withstand any form of assessment.

Li Xiang's first assessment is naturally a physical assessment. Everyone must carry a load of five kilometers. Although the cavalry always rides on war horses, if your own physical strength is not used, then you Not qualified to join the Youwu Guards.

When Cheng Chuliang gave the order, all the soldiers dismounted from the right side in unison, tied up their horses as quickly as possible, and then put the things on the horses on their backs. Thirty-five people each The team started setting off one by one.

He ran from the south of the city to somewhere in the west of the city, which was exactly five kilometers. Li Xiang looked at the sun. In this era, he relied on this to tell the time. When these people arrived, the unqualified ones would be pulled out directly...