Chapter 128 The Disadvantages of Wu Qing Mansion

It took Li Xiang about an hour to arrive at the school grounds of Wu Qing Mansion. Looking at the sallow-looking soldiers in front of him, Li Xiang had a preliminary understanding of the situation here.

The Zhenguan period was an era when the national power of the Tang Dynasty was rising. After Li Xiang came, he also saw that the people of the Tang Dynasty were living well, but only around Chang'an. If it were in a poor place like the southwest border, the lives of the people could be imagined.

Many people here don't know what dry food tastes like since they were born. They can only eat two meals of porridge every day from childhood to now, so their bodies are so skinny that if there is any high-intensity labor, they may collapse directly. I went down, because I didn’t eat well and my resistance was not very good. After I fell down, I had no chance to stand up again.

When he came, Li Xiang also read some information. The average life span of people here is only thirty-eight years old. You must know that in the 21st century, thirty-eight years old is a person's prime age. All careers have just begun, but in this At least half of the people there have been buried.

Insufficient food is also a reason why the population cannot grow. At this age, you have become a burden to society, and you need young people to support you. How can you promote the development of local society?

"I've met Mr. Fu Wei."

Seeing these people's sparse salutes, Li Xiang could only let them get up first. Before, he had thought that the people here had no fighting power, but he did not expect that they would be so weak.

"All the soldiers from the three palaces are here?"

Li Xiang frowned and said, according to the imperial court's establishment, there are a total of 3,600 people in the three Zhechong mansions, but can there be 360 ​​people in front of them?

"Sir, they are all here."

An old man should be the secretary here. He placed a booklet in front of Li Xiang. Since the sixth year of Zhenguan, the number of soldiers here has never been full. It's not that the local officials don't work hard, but this There are too few qualified people around, and most of them have become refugees.

To be honest, during the Zhenguan period, you could not become a soldier if you wanted to. Being a soldier was actually a good job, and the superiors would allocate you a certain amount of land, so soldiers everywhere lived a pretty good life.

But the natural environment here is relatively harsh, and the food produced in the fields cannot feed people at all. Therefore, every household here does not have many children. Even if they have more children, they will be sold directly by traffickers. It's much better than staying here and suffering.

Over time, the local military resources were insufficient, and there was no way for the superiors to mobilize young and healthy people from other places, so the gap here became wider and wider. If the Tuyuhun army had not invaded the border, perhaps no one would have known about this matter.

"Have you had a physical fitness screening?"

Li San came here before Li Xiang, and Li Xiang asked him to do a physical screening first. Those who are really weak should just go home, so as not to affect our combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

"Except for the twelve people over there, no one else can pass the physical fitness test."

Li San pointed at the dozen or so people standing in the distance. They looked quite strong. Li Xiang really didn't know what to say. In the entire Sanfu land, only a dozen useful people were picked out, and the remaining Those who are below are not up to par in terms of physical fitness.

No wonder the emperor has to mobilize troops from Chang'an if something happens. If we rely exclusively on the troops from these places, I am afraid that the southwestern gate of the country will not be preserved.

"Don't those people look pretty strong? Why didn't they join the army?"

Li Xiang saw some people climbing mountains in the distance, and he could tell from their appearance that they were much stronger than the people under his command.

"Sir, those people are the children of wealthy businessmen and bureaucrats. Every year when the soldiers are selected, they give them gifts early..."

The old man said with some embarrassment that those who serve in the army are naturally children from poor families. How could the children of rich people and officials come? Although these people must be drafted according to the law, there are various ways for people to escape from conscription.

"It's simply unreasonable. The imperial court stipulates that those with meritorious service do not need to be soldiers. Do they all have meritorious service?"

Li Xiang sneered. He originally wanted to let the local wealthy businessmen have someone to help them with money. Now that we have such a good excuse, don't blame us for being careless. You don't care about the local military situation. If people from Tuyuhun come over, will your property be able to be saved?

"Sir, if you have any friction with the local squires when you first arrive here, how can we get them to help us when the war is about to begin?"

The old man's name has been forgotten. Everyone calls him Old Man Zhao, who is regarded as a secretary of the local army.

"Even if I have a good relationship with them, do you think these people can come to help me? They have long ignored themselves and think that fighting the enemy is a matter for the court and has nothing to do with them. If that's the case , How can I save face for them? Go and bring those people over, I want to see, since you are so strong, why don’t you come to serve the country?”

Old man Zhao knew that what Li Xiang said was right, but old man Zhao did not know Li Xiang's identity. He only knew that they had a new Captain Zhechong. You must know that in the past year, they had not even There is no captain.

Li San rushed over with dozens of cavalry under his command. These people under his command were dumbfounded. They had not seen such elite cavalry for a long time. They could not get their hands on those tall horses. It seems that we will have more in the future. Good times have passed, at least this little general doesn't procrastinate in doing things.

"You bastards, where did you come from? Don't you know who I am? My uncle is the county magistrate here. Let me go quickly, otherwise I will kill you."

When Li San brought these people back, they had run such a long way, and all of them were still very high-spirited. They looked very good at first glance. Isn't it a waste of energy for such people to climb mountains? Of course you have to join the army and serve your country.

"Let them all learn to behave."

Li Xiang was too lazy to talk nonsense with these people. After he finished saying this, Li San and others immediately pulled out the whips in their hands. Before these guys understood what was going on, they were already beaten. When they wanted to curse loudly, they immediately shut their mouths because Li San and the others raised their hands again. If you speak again, our whips will follow...