Chapter 393: The Great Liangzhou Disarmament

Xie Tianyao and the others were all stunned.

Disarmament?

They were currently discussing how to suppress the invincible and unstoppable Liangzhou Army.

This Prefect Liu actually wanted to take the initiative to disarm?

"What is going on? Tell Me!"

Xie Tianyao's spirits lifted.

He did not believe for a second that this Prefect Liu was trying to save face for him or show weakness. He would rather believe that this cunning young man was playing a game of "to let go in order to obtain" with him!

The Junior Minister then brought out the document regarding the Liangzhou Army's reorganization.

Xie Tianyao and Chen Qian were both shocked at the same time.

Compulsory Military Service System?

Voluntary Military Service System?

Disarmament?

The Liangzhou Army was about to begin a major reform, expected to be completed within one month, cutting 100,000 troops from its current base, and then recruiting 50,000. This was absolutely a massive undertaking!

An undertaking that would shock the world.

After reading it, Chen Qian could not help but gasp: "Emperor, this Prefect Liu..."

Xie Tianyao's brows were also tightly locked.

Then he burst into loud laughter: "What a Prefect Liu, what a Prefect Liu indeed! You young man, what am I to do with you? Hmm, what to do?"

The others were also left between laughter and tears.

This move by Prefect Liu.

Was indeed a bit too ruthless.

Advancing by retreating!

And it was a direct, open conspiracy of advancing by retreating! I am making it clear that I want a nation in arms, yet I have made it so that none of you can refuse, and none of you can criticize me!

How about that?

It is just that strong!

Aren't you afraid that my Liangzhou Army is too strong and threatens the imperial family? Fine, I will disarm for you; how about cutting 100,000 first? Let that put your minds at ease.

But...

If we cut 100,000 troops, we will have no soldiers left, and that won't do. So, I will take a step back and recruit 50,000? In this way, the combat effectiveness of the Liangzhou Army will drop rapidly, right? Not only are the 100,000 veteran soldiers gone, but only 50,000 new recruits have arrived.

The number that can form combat effectiveness will only be 200,000.

No more fighting.

You don't need to worry; I, Liangzhou, don't want to fight anymore; I just want to develop steadily.

At least for the next year, there is no need to worry about Liangzhou's combat effectiveness posing much of a threat to anyone. Next year, we will recruit another 50,000, so the total troop strength will remain 300,000... but 100,000 new recruits won't be much of a threat.

By the year after, it will be: cut 50,000, recruit 50,000.

In this way, it can cycle normally.

Therefore, the first year involves cutting 100,000 troops. And at this time, this approach is truly profound.

You clearly know... that with Prefect Liu's Compulsory Military Service System, as time slowly passes, Liangzhou can become a nation in arms! But you are also dying for him to disarm right now!

Letting this tiger and wolf rest for a while can also put people's minds at ease!

Xie Tianyao and this group of Scholars from the Hanlin Academy were all dumbfounded.

"Emperor, Emperor..."

The Junior Minister was still covered in sweat.

This matter... how should it be handled?

This Prefect Liu had truly presented Xie Tianyao with a major dilemma.

Xie Tianyao was even angry: "Why ask Me? Are you people just here to eat for free?"

"You tell Me, what should be done!"

"How to handle it? Hmm?"

The group of people remained silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to speak.

Liangzhou.

Yintan City.

After seeing Liu Zheng's "Military Reform Regulations," Qingyang Shuo could not help but smile bitterly and shake his head.

He truly did not know where his young master got these strange and peculiar ideas... but this move was truly brilliant!

Compulsory Military Service System.

A nation in arms.

The most critical part was that he cut 100,000 troops first, seemingly showing goodwill to the imperial court. And then he followed up with a "boiling the frog in warm water" tactic.

What is this?

The pinnacle of an open conspiracy?

This young master is growing up way too fast.

Hu Xi'er asked curiously from the side: "Father, can't those people see through the young master's tricks? Why did I hear that there is a group of people in the imperial court cheering for it?"

Qingyang Shuo chuckled and said: "This is the cleverness of the young master. He handled this matter just right... and it hit exactly on the sore spot of the current Emperor..."

"Ah?"

Hu Xi'er could not understand.

Qingyang Shuo laughed and said, "Silly child, think about it, how many more years can the Emperor's body hold out? I heard that Xie Xuan of the Western Regions recently committed suicide by slitting his own throat. The Emperor went on a binge for days, drinking himself into a stupor... A string in his heart just snapped like that. Among those in the imperial court, who doesn't see this?"

"Two years!"

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "This timing is calculated quite precisely!"

"Whether it's the Third Prince or that bunch led by Zhu Zhen, which one of them isn't only concerned with immediate interests? Two years from now, what will happen—do they even care?"

Hu Xi'er realized it, her eyes brightening: "They concluded that the Emperor would pass away within two years, so they all strongly supported the news of the Liangzhou Army downsizing?"

Qingyang Shuo nodded with a smile, unable to help but rub his own beautiful eyebrows, and sighed: "With one policy decree from the Viscount, we are going to be busy until we're exhausted. Although this matter has been handed over to the Cabinet, Yintan City still has to consider founding schools and receiving discharged soldiers; we have plenty to keep us busy ahead."

To implement the Compulsory Military Service System, the first priority is downsizing the military.

Downsizing by one hundred thousand.

The sudden policy decree turned the entire Liangzhou Prefecture upside down.

The Cabinet, upon receiving the pigeon-delivered letter from Liu Zheng, began discussing it on the spot.

Compulsory Military Service System?

At the very beginning, they were equally resistant in their hearts. The reason was simple: the Liangzhou Army, at the height of its power, brought dignity and confidence to the entire province.

At a time like this, to suddenly downsize the military—isn't this like cutting off one's own arm?

However, upon reading to the end, these people fell silent.

The Cabinet Members were all people of great foresight in Liangzhou.

How could they not see that this Compulsory Military Service System was a feat that would benefit generations to come? The growing pains of downsizing one hundred thousand troops this year would, in the future, guarantee the long-term vitality of the Liangzhou Army, preventing a gap in succession.

Vote.

Passed.

Passed.

Passed.

Nine Cabinet Members, passed by a unanimous vote.

One sentence: downsize the military!

The wave of military downsizing began to sweep across Liangzhou.

Everyone in the world was watching, too.

At the same time.

The fifty thousand soldiers under Liu Zheng were naturally the first to receive news of the military system reform.

"Rotation possible in two years?"

"Those stationed at Liangshan get extra subsidies and a plateau allowance?"

"Wait, wait, wait, Old Niu, hurry, come help me calculate—how much exactly are these plateau allowances, border allowances, and hardship allowances?"

The fifty thousand soldiers all began to discuss it.

In one camp, several soldiers were using an abacus to calculate.

Many people were rubbing their hands, their faces full of anticipation.

That Old Niu was a veteran of over forty years; at this moment, he held a tobacco pipe in his hand and grinned: "Stop calculating, it's more than the monthly pay!"

"What?"

This group of people were all stunned.

"Hahahaha, for real?"

"According to my current rank, my monthly pay is already three taels! That means, with all these subsidies added together, I can get six taels?"

They came to be soldiers—who wasn't doing it for money?

Who wouldn't be happy to get more money?

In an instant, the bad mood about being stationed at Liangshan was also largely dispelled.

"Then if I retire next year, how much discharge pay will I get?"

Someone else asked.

"You have already served for thirteen years; you cannot retire yet, you can rotate back to Liangzhou. You can only retire after three more years, and it will be issued according to the fourth tier of discharge pay: one hundred Yinzhou Coin!"

"Ah? This? This, this, this... hurry and help me calculate!"

"Congratulations on becoming a wealthy man!"

"Hahahaha, transformed in a blink, about to become a landlord?"

It was the same story elsewhere.

The soldiers here were discussing it.

The soldiers within the borders of Liangzhou were likewise calculating every day.

Downsizing one hundred thousand...

Since it was a downsizing, there would certainly be subsidies. Liu Zheng stipulated that those who volunteered for downsizing would naturally be taken care of by policy.

There were several tiers for the standard of discharge pay.

For conscripts, there was the conscript discharge pay, which we won't mention for now. As for volunteer soldiers, serving five years was one tier, serving eight years was one tier, serving twelve years was one tier. Serving sixteen years was yet another tier.

For each tier, the discharge pay was different.

The policy Liu Zheng gave was that soldiers over forty years old would be given priority for downsizing and issued discharge pay according to the highest standard. Those who volunteered to be downsized would have their existing years of service increased by one tier!

At the very beginning.

Once the news of the downsizing came out, these soldiers who had been marching and fighting for years were very confused.

Disband the army?

Where would they go? How would they feed their families? What means of livelihood did they have to fall back on?

But with the release of various policies, severance pay, and Placement Cards matched to their skills.

These men discovered that, all things considered, after being discharged, they might actually live better lives? After all, truly, they were over forty, could no longer run, could no longer fight... They often felt lost because of this; were they really destined to be soldiers for their entire lives? And in the end, because their combat effectiveness had declined, die miserably on the battlefield?

Was this their fate?

Today, the Prefect Liu gave them a way out.

Discharge.

Disbandment.

This was like a rebirth; the old had settlement allowances and land distributed to them. The young could learn skills and go to Yintan City to work in management; why wouldn't they be happy to do so?

And so.

The initial resistance quickly vanished.

Disbanding one hundred thousand troops.

Just like that, it began in a grand and mighty fashion.

Looking back at Liu Zheng's side.

In truth, he knew that once this reform of his was released, Liangzhou would be very busy, and the world would be in great chaos.

But...

It didn't matter...

This was a necessary stage for the development of the Liangzhou Army.

With this, the fifty-thousand-strong army no longer had its previous decadence; each and every one of them became spirited, and life seemed to be full of hope once again.

"Prefect Liu, he is truly Prefect Liu..."

Pei Yanran watched all of this unfold.

What kind of person was he, exactly?

He could solve massive problems with ease, and furthermore, he could make the entire Longyan tremble because of it. Even knowing he was laying out a plan, no one could do anything about him.

Seven days passed.

Liu Zheng felt that the fifty-thousand-strong army had played around in these mountains enough, and he finally decided to set off.

Looking at the increasingly beautiful scenery, Liu Zheng couldn't help but laugh: "If we weren't fighting a war on this trip, and were just sightseeing, the soldiers would certainly be very happy."

Pei Yanran, standing to the side, felt her eyelashes tremble slightly as she smiled beautifully: "That is not impossible."

"Oh?"

Liu Zheng and Qin Zhangfeng looked over at the same time.

Pei Yanran gave a soft hum.

She had been here for so long, being crushed by this Prefect Liu in terms of intelligence and Strategy in every way; was this finally her chance to shine? I have been so stifled!