Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Is that really the case?" Sun Quan shook his head slightly. "Zi Huang, Zhong Si, you two are wrong. Very wrong!"

Quan Cong and Zhang Cheng were both wise generals. After hearing what Sun Quan said, they stopped talking and stood there quietly with their hands clasped. Sun Quan obviously wanted to say something after making such a scene.

Sure enough, Sun Quan spoke.

"Zihuang, Zhongsi, you two don't know where the difference between Great Wu and Wei is. I know it clearly! The difference lies in the generals and soldiers! The Wei army is controlled by the court, and the generals are all floating officials, not like the Great Wu who control the troops. Zihuang, Zhongsi, I absolutely believe in your loyalty to me, but there are too many generals and troops in the whole Great Wu. The army is not owned by the country or me, but actually belongs to all the generals! They are afraid to fight when attacking and are vigorous when defending. This bad habit has existed for twenty years. I am now the emperor, and I worry about this kind of thing every day. I really don't know what to do!"

"Zihuang, Zhongsi." Sun Quan's chest rose and fell slightly. "Can you two think of a way for me so that I don't have to worry about this matter anymore? When there is a war between Wu and Wei in the future, I won't have to worry about the combat effectiveness of the troops!"

Now the cards are clear.

It is true that no banquet is good. The emperor came to Wuhu today just for the two of us!

Quan Cong pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to explain it to you. If there is anything wrong with what I said, please correct me at any time."

"Okay, Zihuang, let's speak." Sun Quan nodded and looked forward with burning eyes.

Quan Cong did not dare to neglect it: "Your Majesty, the current army of the Great Wu is about 170,000. This is the number reorganized after the attack on Xiangfan two years ago."

"The generals were divided roughly like this, from the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River: Bu Zhi led 10,000 troops in Xiling, Zhu Ran led 10,000 troops in Jiangling, Sun Huan led 5,000 troops in Jiangxia, Zhuge Jin led 10,000 troops in Wuchang, I led 10,000 troops in Wuhu, Zhang Cheng led 5,000 troops in Ruxu, and the central army in Jianye had 30,000 troops."

"In addition to the 30,000 central troops of Your Majesty in Jianye, the number of subordinates in the armies led by the generals of Jingzhou, Ruxu, and Wuhu ranges from 30% to 80%."

Sun Quan nodded calmly.

Quan Cong continued, "In addition to the 80,000 troops I mentioned above, the remaining 10,000 troops in various places in Jingzhou are all generals' troops. The 20,000 troops belonging to Yangzhou also account for about 40% to 50% of the troops."

"The remaining county and prefecture troops in the counties south of the Yangtze River are about 60,000, and there is no need to worry about the loss of troops."

"Your Majesty," Quan Cong said with a cupped hand, "Now each general has his own army. Yangzhou is still OK, but the generals of Jingzhou have the most troops. If Your Majesty wants to change this, I think you should start with the generals of Yangzhou!"

"Your servant Quan Cong is willing to be the first one to cut off his troops!"

After saying that, Quan Cong bowed deeply. Zhang Cheng pursed his lips beside Quan Cong, not knowing what to say for a moment, and was still in the process of organizing his words.

For the State of Wu, the affairs of the generals and their followers were truly a historical issue.

When Sun Quan led his troops to attack Xiaoyaojin, Ling Tong, who was responsible for the rear guard, was killed by Zhang Liao's troops with more than 300 troops, and was so sad that he vomited blood. After Ling Tong's death, Sun Quan also personally raised Ling Tong's son. Just two years ago, after Ling Tong's son Ling Lie was crowned, Sun Quan handed over the 2,000 troops left by Ling Tong to Ling Lie to lead, making him a general in Ruxu. Before Ling Lie, these troops were temporarily led by Luo Tong, the governor of Ruxu. And these troops usually come from three sources. The complexity of changing this system is no easier than the Wei State across the river changing its military farming.

The first is a historical legacy from the time of Sun Ce and the early years of Sun Quan’s rule. In order to divide the troops and increase the autonomy of the generals, each general was given thousands of soldiers and ordered to attack the counties. For example, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Lu Fan were each given thousands of additional troops by Sun Ce in their early years.

Quan Cong's troops were originally granted by Sun Quan, which is why Quan Cong answered so happily today. Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Gan Ning and other generals of Sun Quan all had their troops granted by Sun Quan himself.

The second type is a product of the Sun Quan era. In order to expand rapidly and recruit Shanyue, Lu Xun, Jiang Qin, He Qi and other generals first took the organization from Sun Quan, gained troops from Shanyue, and then converted them to regular soldiers on the spot and expanded them into their own troops.

The third type is inheritance and distribution. For example, after Zhou Yu died, Zhou Yu's troops were not inherited by his son, but were directly distributed to Lu Su by Sun Quan. After Lu Su died, his more than 6,000 troops and thousands of soldiers were directly handed over to Lu Meng. When Sun Jiao, a member of the royal family, was stationed in Xiakou, he took over Cheng Pu's troops, and later took Huang Gai's troops for himself.

Of course, there are many examples of father-son succession. In addition to Ling Tong, after Xu Sheng's death, his son Xu Kai led his troops, Han Dang's troops were passed to Han Zong, who later took them to Wei, Zhou Tai's troops were passed to his son Zhou Shao, and Jiang Qin's troops were passed to his son Jiang Yi.

Once you have troops, how to maintain them becomes a question that you have to think about.

The tax system of each county in Wu was different from that of Wei. In addition to the fact that many counties had to pay taxes to the court, there was also a special name to summarize it, called "Fengyi".

Take Quan Cong for example. Among the 10,000 troops he led in Wuhu, 4,000 were his own troops, and the other 6,000 were soldiers from the imperial court. In other words, the imperial court only provided food and wages for these 6,000 troops. How Quan Cong's 4,000 troops were fed and paid had to be raised by Quan Cong himself.

Quan Cong obviously could not create money and food out of nothing. In order to support these 4,000 troops, the two counties of Wuhu and Chungu near the Wuhu camp were Quan Cong's "county". All the taxes and output of these two counties were used to support these 4,000 soldiers. Even so, it was not enough, and Sun Quan would occasionally give Quan Cong some money from the treasury to show his favor to Quan Cong.

The number of fiefs of Quancong and the other two counties was not an exaggeration. Previously, generals such as Cheng Pu, Sun Jiao, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng, and Zhu Zhi were all granted four counties.

The total number of Wu's troops is tens of thousands. How can the combined number of these places that serve as fiefdoms be enough to support more than just two or four counties?

The State of Wu now has two major chronic diseases: one is the aristocracy, and the other is the military generals.

It's just that troublesome.

In short, the current military system of Wu is a complex and entangled problem. It is not easy to shake it, and it is almost to the extent of changing the fundamental system of the entire country. If Sun Quan were to choose a place as the first place to be changed, Wuhu and Ruxu would be the most suitable places.

Zhang Cheng was a general at Ruxu, and the army under his command was only one thousand men, which could not cause any trouble. However, Quan Cong's four thousand men were originally taught by Sun Quan himself, and Quan Cong was always loyal and respectful.

It would be most appropriate to start with Quan Cong and Zhang Cheng as the first ones to take action!
Seeing Quan Cong taking the initiative, Zhang Cheng finally realized that Sun Quan was going to change the system and cut off the generals' troops. He was alone in Quan Cong's camp, and Quan Cong had agreed so confidently. What could he do alone? There was no other way!

Zhang Cheng also bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I led a thousand troops in Ruxu, but I also think it is not appropriate for the troops to be led by the generals. I also ask that I should start with reducing the troops and fiefdoms, and let the court command and support them all!" (End of this chapter)