I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 64 Yuan Shu, Still Young

Throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, until Sima Lang suggested to Cao Cao to restore the county and state soldiers, the Eastern Han Dynasty did not have such rigorous and nationwide military grassroots organizations as after Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty.

Before Sima Lang submitted the memorial, the county-state soldiers had been legally abolished. The inland counties and states did not have county-state soldiers. Only county soldiers existed to replace some of the functions of the county-state soldiers.

The reason why it is said to be a partial function is that these soldiers are not legal troops after all. Strictly speaking, they are a group of servants employed by the government to do miscellaneous tasks.

They have very low consumption and little combat effectiveness. Their usual situation is like that of the household slaves of the county government, responsible for serving the important figures in the county government. Their number is generally around one thousand. It is difficult for them to catch thieves and deal with robbers, let alone fight.

Therefore, in the vast inland provinces and counties, the Han Empire's military decline was not a joke, but a serious fact.

Only more than 30 border counties can set up similar county-state soldiers to deal with possible foreign invasions at any time. The number of soldiers ranges from 3,000 to 5,000. These hundreds of thousands of border county-state soldiers are basically the main force of the Han army's standing army.

In addition, the Eastern Han central army also had more than 10,000 standing troops. These people were considered the most elite professional soldiers. When war broke out, they could be directly expanded and everyone could serve as a grassroots officer.

There are also battalions of soldiers stationed at border posts and strategic locations. Each battalion has two to three thousand people and are considered professional soldiers. However, the quality of the personnel is complex, with some being recruited and some being prisoners. Their combat effectiveness is neither high nor low, and it mainly depends on their leader and their level of training.

Then there were the foreign troops from the vassal states who could be quickly mobilized, numbering about 100,000.

Overall, the Eastern Han Empire had a standing army of nearly 300,000 in peacetime.

This number seems to be a lot, but compared to the vast territory, it is actually not much, the distribution is too scattered, and the combat effectiveness is also questionable. There are not many that can be considered strong troops, and they all rely on wartime expansion.

Due to serious financial problems, for a period of time before and after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Han Empire even allowed high-ranking officials to recruit their own troops when they went to war, and they were called "family soldiers."

This resulted in the Eastern Han Empire's military strength being far less powerful than that of the Western Han Empire, and the quality of its soldiers was generally low. Faced with the vast territory and the reality of war everywhere, its military response was truly chaotic.

At the moment, Yuan Shu's situation was as unsafe as he knew.

The entire Sanfu region cannot be considered a border area, so in normal times there are only less than 5,000 menial servants who can barely be considered armed.

Although there were two standing armed forces, namely the Chang'an Camp led by the Chang'an Huya Commander and the Yong Camp led by the Youfufeng Commander, the military forces that could be deployed in time in case of sudden combat were at most 10,000 people, and they were still widely dispersed.

Relying solely on the local armed forces of Sanfu, it is impossible to deal with the invading Qiang, Xiongnu or Xianbei people.

Passively taking the beating and defending the city to the death was all they could do. If they really encountered a large-scale invasion, they could only wait for the elite troops stationed in Liangzhou and the Sanhe and Five Schools troops from Luoyang.

If he is unlucky and is suddenly attacked, by the time the armies from Liangzhou and Luoyang arrive, Yuan Shu’s seventh day of death will have passed, and his cheap dad will have to see him off to death.

Coincidentally, during this crisis, Lu Zhi, Lian Da, Shao Yuan and other tough northern men showed their military talents, so Yuan Shu came up with the idea of setting up a military department in the Yi Xin Society.

After the idea came up, Yuan Shu quickly put it into practice and summoned Lu Zhi, the Thirteen Guardians and other wise men under him to discuss the matter together.

After this crisis, everyone realized that war and death are not far away from them. Some students who have never experienced life and death were deeply shocked and realized the importance of self-protection through force.

As a result, this proposal was unanimously passed and the Yi Xin Hui Security Department was officially established.

After a selection process, a total of 350 Isshinkai members were recruited into the Security Department, becoming the second largest department under the General Affairs Department.

As for the director of the Security Department, Yuan Shu originally thought that Lu Zhi was the most suitable, but Lu Zhi was already the vice president and director of the Audit Department and was not suitable for any other position.

So after everyone's recommendation, Yuan Shu finally appointed the big guy Lian Da as the director of the security department, and another big guy Shao Yuan as the deputy director, leading 350 members to be responsible for the daily security of Yi Xin Hui and any work that requires the use of force.

Lian Da's main advantage is that he once learned some formal military techniques from his family, learned some military tactics from Lu Zhi, and has practical experience. He is the most qualified person under Yuan Shu to be the head of the violent organization.

In addition, Yuan Shu and Lian Da also selected 15 people with higher combat power and certain technical and tactical foundation from the security department members to act as team leaders, dividing the security department members into more than a dozen teams, taking turns to carry out tasks, study, and train.

He decided to adopt the conventional operating methods of the military, carefully training a small group of elite troops as the backbone, cultivating them all to the level of grassroots officers, and discovering some talents with the ability to become generals among them.

In this way, once there is a change, the team can be expanded quickly, a decent army can be formed, and after a simple training, it can be sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder.

Throughout history, all political entities that were financially insufficient or restricted by certain treaty provisions would do this, including Germany before World War II and the current Eastern Han Empire.

All the money was gone in the Han-Qiang War, so there was no choice but to downsize the army and retain the necessary number of elite standing troops.

Once a war breaks out, the good families in Sanhe and Sanfu areas will be immediately conscripted into the army, and the standing army will be turned into officers. The army of 5,000 people can be expanded to 30,000 or 40,000 people very quickly.

Because conscription is often conducted in these places, local soldiers are equivalent to semi-professional reservists and have considerable combat effectiveness.

These people have certain financial resources at home, and they can provide their own weapons, ammunition and even food if a war breaks out. They can gather together to fight at the command of the court, and then send them home after the war. There is no need to spend extra money on maintaining the army.

As a price, the target of the expedition was the "military pay" of these Eastern Han mercenaries.

After winning the battle, you can massacre, kill, and plunder at will. It doesn't matter if you destroy the captured city completely, and it doesn't matter if anyone is left alive, because they are all traitors anyway.

Relying on this method, although the martial ethics of the Eastern Han Empire was constantly declining, that was still relative to the heyday of the Eastern Han Empire.

To some small tribes and countries around it as well as fragile insurgents at home, the declining Eastern Han Empire was still a behemoth.

Yuan Shu planned to adopt this approach, using the limited resources he could provide to cultivate 350 seeds of military talent, granting them favors, and turning them into private soldiers loyal to him.

If there is any problem, Yi Xin Hui can also pull out a decent army to protect Yuan Shu's safety.

However, some simple training can solve the problem, but it is really inconvenient to train some parts that are related to the real deterrent power of the army.

For example, the technical arms of this era - archers and cavalry - are basically impossible to train without special coaches and training conditions. The knowledge barriers in this regard are not much weaker than the knowledge barriers constructed by the modern literary school.

The Yuan family was very powerful in politics with three generations of officials, but in the military field, the Yuan family had no achievements. Several generations of the family had not been in the military, and there were few people in the family who had joined the military. At most, they could be rangers, and no one had ever thought about really joining the army and risking their lives.

Therefore, if we talk about some military connections, it is estimated that they can only be counted among the group of students and old officials. Since three generations of ancestors served as the Three Dukes, they would always recruit some people with military talents, and there should be many who finally made their mark in the army.

For example, the future Dong Zhuo was an old official of his third uncle Yuan Wei. Logically speaking, this was also the Yuan family's network of connections at the military level, and was fully utilized by Yuan Wei, who played its due role and made great contributions to the Yuan family's control of the government.

It’s just that Yuan Wei was too arrogant, and in the end, he allowed Dong Zhuo to sound the death knell for the Yuan family.

Yuan Shu thus deeply realized that something as important as the gun should not be in the hands of outsiders, and he should not trust too much in the relationship between so-called disciples and former officials.

People always change, right, Master Dong?

Yuan Shu thought that he had made some achievements in writing, so the next step was to do some work for the gun.

However, this kind of thing is not something that can be publicized after all. Even one's own family may not support it. If you tell them now that there will be a big chaos in the future and therefore you need to reserve military forces in advance, no one will believe it.

Therefore, Yuan Shu could only rely on what he had in his hands to build up his military strength.

So what military connections do I have that I can utilize?

He paced back and forth, thinking over and over, but couldn't think of a suitable person.

But suddenly, the appearance of Fufeng Commander Dong Xuan and his eyes full of "affection" suddenly appeared in my mind.

that……

It's an emotion full of longing.

What is he longing for?
Craving power?
Whose power do you desire?

Is it mine?
Or...

The Yuan family behind me?

Yuan Shu thought about it and came up with a plan in mind, so he arranged for his close follower Xu Chong to go and quietly invite Dong Xuan to meet him in a thatched cottage outside the city.

The thatched cottage was the residence he built to observe mourning for Ma Rong. Few people came here, and it was very secluded and private, making it a good place to discuss things.

Dong Xuan was naturally excited. He didn't expect that Yuan Shu would actually take the initiative to invite him to meet in private. Doesn't this mean that he has also entered the Yuan family's sight?
Who was standing behind Yuan Shu and inviting him?
Could it be his father, the Jingzhao Yin?

Dong Xuan became very excited when he thought of this.

But he never expected that Yuan Shu would go straight to the point right from the start.

The one who wanted to see him was not Yuan Feng, nor Yuan Wei. The Yuan family didn't even know about this. Yuan Shu did it purely for himself and the Yi Xin Society. He met him as the president of the Yi Xin Society, and there was no official relationship between them.

Dong Xuan was stunned.

You came to me yourself?

Will you and your Yixin look for me?

What are you looking for?

Recommend me to be your disciple?

Come on, isn't this a little too late?
Why should I study when I am over 40? It makes sense to let my grandson study.

Too many doubts and dissatisfaction filled Dong Xuan's head, and Yuan Shu felt all of this.

"This matter has nothing to do with the Yuan family. It is just Shu's personal request. If Captain Dong is not convenient, then just pretend that what happened today never happened. Shu will not say a word to anyone."

Yuan Shu raised the cup with a smile and took a sip of honey water.

Dong Xuan lowered his head and looked at the cup full of honey water in front of him.

He started thinking.

Although this is not the intention of the Yuan family and it is difficult for me to get immediate benefits, but is Yuan Shu not worth investing in?

Obviously not.

As the second son of the current head of the Yuan family, although there is an eldest son, Yuan Ji, above him, but with Yuan Shu's talent and reputation, it is a foregone conclusion that he will lead the Yuan family in the future.

Build a good relationship with him while he is young and make a long-term investment. As long as Yuan Shu doesn't die early, this investment will definitely make a lot of money.

Now it is Yuan Shu who needs help, not himself who needs help from Yuan Shu. The help at this time is more precious than the help Yuan Shu will receive when he becomes rich in the future, and will be more likely to be remembered by Yuan Shu. Even if he cannot enjoy it, it is good to leave a good relationship for future generations.

In an instant, Dong Xuan had an idea in his mind.

So he raised the cup in front of him, drank a glass of honey water, and then put down the empty cup.

"Although Mr. Yuan is young, he is very talented and gifted. Mr. Ma and Mr. Fa admire him very much. I am just a rough man, but I am asked by Mr. Yuan. It shows that Mr. Yuan thinks highly of me. I have not read much, but I am not an ordinary person. Whatever Mr. Yuan needs, I will do it as long as I can."

good very good.

Yuan Shu looked at Dong Xuan in front of him and laughed.

"Captain Dong is a man of few words, so I will not hide anything. This time the Qiang invaded and the three prefectures were shaken, and I was quite worried. The imperial court had few troops stationed in the three prefectures, and it would take time for the troops from Liangzhou and Luoyang to rush to the rescue. The Qiang cavalry's surprise attack was very swift.

For example, this time, Yunyang County fell, but the nearest Chang'an camp didn't even know about it, let alone rescue. From this point of view, if there is a next time, if the Qiang soldiers launch a large-scale invasion and Shu and others are not prepared, when the imperial reinforcements arrive, I am afraid they can only collect Shu's body.

Whenever he thought of this, Shu was filled with emotion. As the ancients said, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Only by being prepared for danger in times of peace can he last long. Shu planned to select three to five hundred warriors from the Yi Xin Society and train them so that they could master the art of battle. They could not be elite, but at least they should be able to defend the city.

In this way, if the Qiang invade again, Shu can organize Yi Xin Hui warriors to defend the city more quickly, just like this time, and do his best to protect Maoling County. In this way, Shu can be safe, and the elders of Maoling can also be safe. Isn't it wonderful to have the best of both worlds? "

Dong Xuan understood part of Yuan Shu's meaning.

This guy was frightened by the invasion of the Qiang people, so he decided to prepare in advance so that Yi Xin, his subordinate, would have some combat effectiveness. If the Qiang people come again next time, he will be able to defend the city faster and ensure his own safety.

Dong Xuan did not despise this, but rather appreciated it very much.

When he led his troops to Maoling for support, he saw the traps and chevaux de frise outside Maoling County, which looked very decent, and he immediately thought that there must be a master in the city.

After entering the city and looking at the neatly-trained men guarding the city as well as the defense equipment and supplies on the city walls, one can immediately understand that Maoling County was truly prepared for the defense of the city.

Not to mention the quality of the soldiers, with this level of preparation, if the Qiang people attacked the city without more than a thousand soldiers, they would probably suffer a great loss.

Later he learned that the expert was Yuan Shu, who organized people in the city who had some knowledge of military affairs to take charge of the city's defense and handled everything in an orderly manner. They were able to fight against powerful enemies and would not be defeated in one fell swoop, ending up like Yunyang County.

Having such a sense of crisis distinguishes him from ordinary playboys.

In addition to what he had heard before about Yuan Shu's hands-on efforts to help farmers, and when he saw that all the old farmers in Maoling County were packed up by Yuan Shu and stuffed into the city for protection, he admired Yuan Shu even more.

The child prodigy is truly a deity with real abilities and a kind heart, which is rare for someone who comes from a wealthy family.

And now, this little prodigy, because of his sense of crisis, decided to strengthen the military force under his command to be prepared for any emergency.

However, this matter can be big or small. It can be left unattended, or it can make big news.

After all, this is the Han Empire, and there is a clear decree prohibiting private individuals from owning armies. If you privately train your subordinates in military skills on the territory of the Han Empire and it is discovered by mistake, you may be accused of treason.

As we all know, if the bureaucrats think you are plotting a rebellion, then you'd better really be plotting a rebellion, otherwise, they will not stop until they have destroyed your family and your loved ones.

But if this situation happens to someone with Yuan Shu's background, it will be a different story.

Given the power of the Yuan family, it is indeed big news that their disciples privately trained the army. But from another perspective, if this matter became big news, wouldn’t it be a satire on the Yuan family’s ability to control public opinion channels?

Since the safety of their own descendants was at stake, the Yuan family would have been considered to have made a serious mistake by allowing the news to leave Hangu Pass.

Even if the news reached Luoyang, the fact that the Yuan family and the eunuchs were cooperating was already an open secret, and the eunuchs were able to control the emperor's information channels to a considerable extent.

Therefore, it is still unclear whether the emperor really knew about this matter and whether he could believe that the twelve-year-old Yuan Shu was training troops to rebel.

It can be said that with Yuan Shu's identity, secretly training a military force in order to protect himself, in fact, the risk factor is not very high, but basically it can be considered non-existent.

After careful consideration, Dong Xuan felt that the risk level of this matter was not very high.

But the possibility of winning Yuan Shu's favor and hugging Yuan Shu's thick little legs is very high.

how should I do it?

What a difficult decision!
Dong Xuan made a decision in the time it took to drink a glass of honey water, and thus became the real Ishu, became a member of the large-scale Ishu Group, and threw himself into the arms of Brother Yuan Shu.

This time, it is obviously different from the previous symbolic statement.

Dong Xuan walked up to Yuan Shu, sat upright and saluted him.

"Xuan is just a rough man who only knows how to fight and kill enemies, and has no knowledge of etiquette. Whenever I think of this, I can't help but sigh and hate. I am honored that Mr. Yuan has not abandoned me. If Mr. Yuan has any request, I will do my best to meet it within my ability!"

Yuan Shu laughed and reached out to help Dong Xuan up.

"Captain Dong is a man of unrivalled ability, how can you belittle yourself? I am young and inexperienced, so I hope Captain Dong can give me some pointers."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Afterwards, Dong Xuan and Yuan Shu agreed to select several capable men from the army to help train the Yi Xin Hui Security Department in the use of ring-handled swords, spears and knowledge of related military formations.

In addition, skilled archers and skilled knights will be arranged to help the Security Department train in archery and horsemanship, so that they can fully master these key military skills in a shorter period of time.

And Dong Xuan received a small reward from Yuan Shu almost immediately.

Knowing that Dong Xuan's grandson Xiao Dong was already five years old, Yuan Shu suggested that Dong Xuan send his grandson to his side to join the Zhiliangzhi School, learn knowledge, become a member of the school, and rise to prominence in the future, helping the Dong family transform from a military family to a scholar family. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Dong Xuan immediately thought of the fact that Yuan Shu had inherited Ma Rong's "academic tradition". He was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying that he would immediately arrange for his grandson to go to Yuan Shu to worship Yuan Shu as his teacher, study hard, and strive to become a serious scholar in the future, instead of going to the battlefield to risk his life for a future.

It seems that even in the ancient Han Dynasty, becoming a general or a prime minister was just a romantic dream of the scholar class. Only they had the leisure time to imagine the glory of being a scholar and becoming a marquis.

For the vast majority of non-scholars, there is actually already a small sign of "all things are inferior, only reading is superior".

After solving this problem, Yuan Shu didn't pay attention to too many other things.

A few days later, he heard from Lian Da that Dong Xuan had arranged twenty instructors to come to Yi Xin Hui to help the Security Department train soldiers. He also provided ten training horses, as well as a series of standard equipment currently used by the Han army, such as ring-handled swords and spears.

All operations were carried out in line with those of the regular army. As long as there was enough time, the 350 members of the Yi Xin Hui Security Department would be trained into qualified elite soldiers.

They will master military formations, horse riding, and archery, and they will learn all the highest-level techniques and tactics mastered by the Han army.

Yuan Shu was very satisfied. After expressing his gratitude to Dong Xuan, he remained silent and no longer interfered in the affairs outside.

He is still in mourning and should not show up in public too often to avoid gossip.

Make the decisions that need to be made and clear the obstacles that need to be cleared. The next thing to do is the business of Lu Zhi and the Thirteen Guardians.

If they can't even execute it properly, Yuan Shu will probably have to reorganize Yi Xin Hui for the second time.

Yi Xin Hui is an organization that emphasizes efficiency and does not tolerate waste or scum.

Yuan Shu continued to stay in the thatched cottage next to Ma Rong's tomb, continuing to read, write, practice martial arts and keep fit, while also cultivating his character and sentiments.

He is still young and there is still a lot of time, and even the Eastern Han Empire still has some time.

A centipede is still alive even after death. The collapse of the Eastern Han Empire is still slowly progressing. The palaces have not collapsed, the fireworks have not bloomed, and the last powerful monarch has not given up struggling. A force that can destroy the world is accumulating.

And Yuan Shu is still young.

(Volume 1, end)
(End of this chapter)