Chapter 211 Talking on Paper
"Improve weapons and equipment? What weapons can be improved?" This topic really aroused Zhu Houzhao's interest.

"Well, new armor, new muskets, better knives, and new cannons," Zhu Houxuan said after thinking for a while.

"So many?" Zhu Houzhao said in surprise.

"You think it's mostly because the development of Ming Dynasty's military equipment has not kept up with the development of technology, and most of it is still at the level of the founding of the country." Zhu Houxuan said lightly.

"Well, you are a master of forging, and what you said is right." Zhu Houzhao retreated, and then he became excited again, "When can these new weapons and equipment be made? Let me open my eyes."

"We are still studying the improvement plan. After the plan comes out, we will conduct trial production and verification. We will also have to make a trade-off between cost and performance, so it will take quite some time." Zhu Houxuan said quickly.

"Is that so?" Zhu Houzhao said somewhat disappointedly.

"This is already fast enough. I estimate that the improved new equipment will greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Ming army. If you want to train a new army, I suggest that you give priority to equipping the new army with the new equipment." Zhu Houxuan said.

"New army," Zhu Houzhao murmured.

Then he suddenly asked: "If, as you said, we build a new army of 10,000 people and equip them with the new equipment you mentioned, how much silver would it cost?"

Zhu Houxuan was stunned by the question. He didn't expect that Zhu Houzhao would start to care about money.

But he quickly came to his senses and did a quick calculation: "If the monthly salary of a new army soldier is set at 18 tael and 1 cents of silver, then that would be 6 taels of silver per year. If the monthly grain consumption is 25 dan, then that would be 20 taels of silver per year. Adding in the miscellaneous expenses such as the daily clothes for the four seasons, a new army soldier would need at least taels of silver per year. As for the equipment, it is still unclear, but if it is averaged out to each soldier, it would not be less than taels."

"The regular expenses for 25 soldiers will be 20 taels per year? And the one-time equipment investment will be at least 20 taels. This is without taking into account the cavalry. If they are equipped with military horses and mule carts for marching, the investment will be more than taels. Add to that the gunpowder consumption during training and the wear and tear of equipment in normal times. The consumption this year is a bit high!" Zhu Houzhao was obviously more familiar with military training than Zhu Houxuan, and he also calculated quickly.

"If I want to build a new army of 100,000, I will have to invest 5 to 6 million taels of silver in the first year, and then 2 to 3 million taels of silver every year to maintain it. This number is a bit too large. Where can we get so much silver?" Zhu Houzhao looked like he had a headache after he finished the calculation.

"The war hasn't even started yet. Once the war starts, we will have to recruit civilians and transport food and grass, which will cost even more. Plus, we will have to replenish equipment and provide pensions to soldiers after the war. The annual military expenditure will start at 10 million taels of silver." Zhu Houzhao was getting more and more headache.
Zhu Houxuan was also shocked by this figure. This war was too expensive. Although his industries were profitable, it was still a long way from earning 10 million taels of silver per year.
"Actually, we don't need 5 new troops. are enough at this stage." Zhu Houxuan suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" "If we were fighting the Mongols within the Great Wall, we would definitely have border troops protecting us on the left and right. 5 new troops would be enough to change the situation of the war," Zhu Houxuan explained.

After listening to this, Zhu Houzhao nodded slowly.

"If we fight the Mongols outside the Great Wall and don't go deep into the grasslands, there will definitely be border troops to protect us. If we want to go on an expedition to the northern desert like Taizong did, the number of people on the expedition should not be too large, because the logistics pressure will be too great. Even if I can build a railway to the grasslands at that time, I certainly can't build it too deep. So the number of people on the expedition should be controlled at around 50,000 or 60,000, otherwise it will be easily dragged down by logistics."

Later generations have been saying that Zhu Di led an army of 500,000 to expedition to Mobei, but the number of people who actually arrived at Mobei for the decisive battle definitely did not exceed 100,000. The other 400,000 were entirely to ensure logistics. The more people sent to Mobei, the greater the pressure on logistics.

Therefore, the number of troops sent to Mobei cannot be too large, and the troops that can be sent to Mobei must be absolutely elite to ensure victory.

At this time, the organizational ability of the Ming Dynasty had greatly deteriorated compared to the early Ming Dynasty. Let alone other things, it was impossible to mobilize 400,000 people from the northern garrisons, not to mention that the logistical security of these mobilized people had to be ensured.

Therefore, considering the current actual situation, Zhu Houxuan believes that sending 50,000 people to Mobei is a more appropriate and affordable number.
Moreover, from the perspective of Ming Dynasty's geography, as long as Ming Dynasty itself does not have internal strife, it will be difficult for large-scale military operations to occur again. Therefore, elite troops are the general trend in the future. Therefore, it is more appropriate to train 5 new troops at this stage, and the pressure on finances can be much less.

Zhu Houzhao was stunned as he listened. How did they get to the topic of expedition to Mobei? You have to know that the Ming Dynasty is still in a passive defensive stage strategically. The scope of this topic is too big!

This is too exciting! But I really like this topic! Zhu Houzhao became excited instantly.

"I think it will take 8 men for the expedition to Mobei," he immediately began to refute from his point of view.

Zhu Houxun, however, did not indulge Zhu Houzhao at all. He pulled out a piece of white paper and began to calculate for Zhu Houzhao bit by bit.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the numbers listed by Zhu Houxun and began to calculate using his formula without hesitation. Zhu Houzhao's mathematical literacy was very good and he could completely keep up with Zhu Houxun's pace.
The two people argued until their faces turned red, neither of them giving in.
Finally, I found a map and started planning the march route.
"You idiot! You haven't even figured this out yet and you're still arguing with me?" This was Zhu Houxuan's voice.

"You are the fool. You are not only a fool but also a blind and stupid pig. I have taken all of this into account. Don't you see it?" This was Zhu Houzhao's voice.

The sound of their quarrel became louder and louder, and even the guards outside the room could hear it clearly. The guards outside the room looked at each other in bewilderment. They wished they had never heard these conversations, and they didn't know whether they should go in or not.
The argument lasted until dark. Zhang Yong and Jiang Bin carefully walked into the house to persuade the two gentlemen to have dinner, but they were kicked out by the two gentlemen.
It was not until late at night that the argument between the two people subsided.
Zhang Yong and Jiang Bin walked into the house carefully and brought in the hot meals.
This time, the two masters did not kick Zhang Yong and Jiang Bin out, but started eating.
(End of this chapter)

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