The two helmets and spears fell backwards, and the soldiers of the little red tassel were taken to the easternmost part of the sand table by Chen Mu, and the anchor had fallen in the repulse bay on the model of the Nantang ship.

He half-squatted on the edge of the sand table, raised two fingers and explained to the emperor: "Two guards, Beiyang can train two guards to recruit troops in a year, and the ministers sign a contract when recruiting them and serve the country for five years." ”

"In January, the first phase of recruitment began to drill, and in February, the recruiters set off for various places; In June, he led the recruits back, the second phase of the army was put into training, the recruiting officers set off in July, and the first phase of the recruitment of troops in September passed the land battle and was put into naval combat training; The first phase of the army was reorganized, and the third phase of recruits was put into training, and this will continue to be the case in the coming year. ”

"The training officers and recruiting officers are filled by the students of the North and South Lecture Martial Arts Hall. Their armor and horses and ships will be temporarily deployed by the Nanyang and the North and South Ordnance Bureaus, and they will be completely supplied from the Beiyang after two years. ”

Chen Mu nodded his finger and calculated to the emperor: "Beiyang has an ordnance bureau, a shipyard, a shipyard, and a share of military fields and local factories.

Listening to Chen Mu's general description of the operation of the Beiyang Military Government, Xiao Wanli Titi had not yet worn the breeches that he was used to, and he also half-squatted next to the sand table in a similar way, and said: "The North and South Lecture Martial Arts Hall teaches 800 generals a year, and Beiyang trains 10,000 soldiers a year, and after five years, the veterans will return to their hometowns one after another, and the imperial court can have 50,000 more available soldiers, Jinghai Bozhen is right?" ”

"Your Majesty is right, because the salary of the Beiyang Army is not a fixed amount, the military salary of ordinary recruits is twelve taels a year, and in the case of the best of all tactical subjects, the military salary and bonus are twenty-four taels, if they have made enough meritorious deeds overseas and survived, they can receive a maximum of forty-eight taels a year."

As Chen Mu spoke, he heard the little emperor squatting on the ground and muttering something secretly with his fingers, and hurriedly added: "In fact, the soldiers who can receive forty-eight taels of military pay and survive are one in a thousand, so if the veterans are good enough when they retire, they can choose to continue to stay in the army, after all, it is difficult for them to find something like this that pays well in the country." ”

Hearing that not everyone could receive forty-eight taels of military salaries, the little emperor's brows were relaxed-50,000 Beiyang troops would cost 2.4 million taels of silver a year, who could afford this?

Even so, Wanli still shook his head and whispered: "Five years, five years is too long, and next year I will reach the age where I can be in power." The teacher may not return to politics, but in three years, it will be my turn to be in charge, right? How can you do without soldiers, the Beijing camp looks far inferior to the Beiyang Army, and you still have to use people to go overseas...... What can I do? ”

This made Chen Mu hear, it sounded that the emperor had his own plan, and he asked, "What does Your Majesty plan to do with soldiers?" ”

"What do I do with soldiers, what else can I do if I want to use soldiers?" The little emperor spread his hands, picked up two terracotta warriors from the sand table and put them on the boat, picked and picked the location in Tianjin Beiyang, and left six terracotta warriors, and said: "Give you two more, the remaining 30,000 are mine, here is my head, there must be three." ”

As he spoke, the terracotta warriors symbolizing the Beiyang New Army were pinched up by small hands and placed in the position of the Korean king, and then pinched up another one and placed it in Jianzhou, and finally placed it in the hometown of Wuliang Ha Sanwei north of the Great Wall, and said happily: "Wear a helmet and don't be afraid of anything." ”

Chen Mu heard Qi Jiguang talk about the idea of recapturing the hometown of Wuliang Ha Sanwei outside the Saiwai to consolidate the border defense, but it seems that the young emperor's idea is not to consolidate the border defense.

A terracotta warrior was pinched in Wanli's hand, and he looked up to the north of the Great Wall outside the Saiwai and asked: "The land here is very cold, and there is not much food to grow, is it useful?" ”

Wanli's question made Chen Mu excited.

At this time, the Tsar should have made an expedition to Siberia to the east.

"Your Majesty knows that this land has nurtured one strong nomadic after another since ancient times, and they are all good warriors; There is a grassland there, and the grassland can raise horses and feed sheep; There are rivers, and rivers can fish and refine rubber; Further north, there are forests, which can be cut down for good timber; Underground there are ores and oil. ”

"Maybe it won't be of much use to us now, but in the future, in a hundred or two hundred years, when transportation is more convenient, we will be able to obtain inexhaustible resources, which will bless future generations."

Chen Mu paused for a moment and said: "As for now, the minister has proved that the Mongolian cavalry and Jurchen warriors can be used by the imperial court, and the king of Guiyi has provided more troops for the imperial court than five thousand, as long as this trust lasts for a long time, the Tumut Ministry can be used by His Majesty." ”

"Yay!"

As soon as Chen Mu's words fell, Xiao Wanli had already put the terracotta warriors in his hand in the position of Tumochuan, and said: "This year, the students of the Xuanfu Martial Arts Hall graduated, and I want to select a few henchmen to invite them to meet in person at home, so that they can lead a hundred households to settle in each department, and give the heirs of the leaders of each department to enter the country's eunuchs, those who can inherit the tribe will go back to inherit the tribe, and those who can't inherit will go home to promote Sinology." ”

"When I am in power, I will promote the hundreds of households to thousands of households, promote the command, replenish the new army, and fight to the west and north with the Mongol soldiers, and lay down a vast territory."

Chen Mu didn't speak, I agreed to pay tribute, in fact, it was only to confirm that the imperial court had reached a reconciliation with the rising Tumut Ministry and had a cooperative relationship, and the alliance may not be counted, and the conquest was even more 108,000 miles away.

The first half of Wanli's plan is very good, but the second half is too difficult.

It is harmless to recruit some prisoners and idle people who affect the stability of the tribe for the use of the imperial court.

But Wanli's idea is obviously to directly contribute to the de facto annexation, and it seems that he has not planned to pass the war, and it is difficult to simply deter.

Wanli is very smart, although he is still young, but under Zhang Juzheng's careful teaching, he has learned to read people's faces, seeing that Chen Mu didn't say a word, he first smiled a little unconfidently: "Jing Haibo don't have to worry too much, I still have a few years before I am in power, and these things can only be decided at that time." ”

Poor bastard.

He was really scared, Zhang Ju didn't like him to be reckless, not to mention Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao, occasionally sent someone to send a letter to Qi Jiguang to ask some questions, and he had to worry about letting Zhang Ge know that he would not be able to end it.

The old men of the Ministry of War will not talk to him about these things, and there is only Chen Mu who is relatively independent in power.

If this is scared away by him again, Xiao Wanli will have to suffocate to death!

"The minister didn't think about anything, in ancient times, we didn't occupy the grasslands much, and in the next hundred years, the emperor may not be able to really occupy the grasslands and even the forests in the north. But if there is a chance, China has a chance to completely occupy the vast lands of the north, it must be during the years of His Majesty's reign. ”

"In terms of weaponry, we are not lagging behind anyone. In the next few decades, silver, gold, steel, war horses, population, and territory will increase day by day, the people's lives will be richer, science and technology in all aspects will be greatly improved, and the most prosperous and probably most powerful country in history will be born under Your Majesty's rule. ”

"If even the Americas and Europe can try to touch it, the minister thinks that the north can also try, and we only lack an emperor."

The smile on Chen Mu's face gradually faded, and he looked at Xiao Wanli in military uniform and said, "It's not a Ming monarch like Emperor Sejong, it's a male lord like Emperor Chengzu." ”