Furthermore, even if they harbor rebellious intentions in the future for various reasons, given the extent of their kindness, who would dare to take them in? Thus, this effectively blocks the path of betrayal.
All he had to give up were some artificially matured thousand-year-old ginseng, five million taels of silver, and some second- or third-tier cultivation techniques.
These items are quite valuable to ordinary second-tier cultivators. But for Lin Yang, they were just so-so. Both sides were satisfied, so it could be considered a win-win situation.
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Chapter One: Elite Troops at Hand
Outside Luoyang city, this place is about fifty li away from Luoyang. Although it is still within the Luoyang area, it is actually not much different from the surrounding counties.
This place is called Peach Mountain, named for the peach trees that grow all over it. Due to the weather, as far as the eye can see, there is heavy snow everywhere, and the whole world is a vast expanse of white. Therefore, very few tourists come to visit Peach Mountain.
Beside Peach Mountain stood a military camp. This camp had originally been a garrison of the Northern Army, but had been abandoned. Now, after many years, it had once again found its owners.
Even from a great distance, Lin Yang could hear the sounds of troops drilling. His divine eye probed the area, revealing an incomparably dark military aura rising straight into the sky. Black represented slaughter, destruction, and annihilation.
This military might was truly enough to make even ghosts and gods tremble. It was also the foundation upon which the imperial court suppressed the world and maintained its rule.
Once a martial artist is enveloped by this military aura, they will immediately lose contact with their surroundings, thus forcibly disrupting their unity with nature.
Once one loses the unity of heaven and man, relying solely on the energy within the body, even the most powerful martial artist cannot possibly defeat thousands or tens of thousands of people.
Human strength has its limits. As time passes, faced with an endless army, even a fourth-tier Celestial Being can be easily surrounded and killed with just one qualified general and three thousand elite soldiers.
This is why martial artists who are very skilled in ordinary times are useless on the battlefield, and this is also the source of the imperial court's confidence.
"Good, just looking at their morale, they're already considered elite troops. At least, they're on par with the state troops," Lin Yang said with a smile.
In this world, county soldiers are more powerful than militia. Prefecture soldiers are more powerful than county soldiers, and state soldiers are more powerful than prefecture soldiers. But even more powerful than state soldiers are the Central Army of the Great Han Dynasty—the Southern Army and the Northern Army—whose members are all born with innate abilities.
Therefore, reaching the level of a state soldier is already quite good. At least, it's enough to suppress the Jiangdong region and protect one's own safety. Otherwise, if one were to be killed by some Mao Zedong as soon as they arrived in Jiangdong, wouldn't that be incredibly humiliating?
"Hehe, this is all thanks to your wisdom, sir. As per your requirements, these soldiers are all veterans, retired soldiers from the state. Almost every one of them is skilled in archery and horsemanship."
“After recruiting them and giving them a little training, they’ll be a pretty good elite force. After all, they have a solid foundation. Plus, they have plenty of food and drink, and a lot of spirit rice and spirit dew are provided every day. It’s hard for them not to be strong,” Xi Zhicai chimed in.
Hearing this, Lin Yang nodded. It was just training troops; in this world, there were countless methods for training troops. But at their core, it was nothing more than money.
Basically, if you're willing to invest a lot of money, equip them with all kinds of good weapons, and train them rigorously, there's no reason why you can't train elite troops.
As for later military postures, marching in formation, and walking in step, Lin Yang could only chuckle. Did they really think there was no such training in ancient times? Even the simplest formation changes, under the command of the flags, involved a great deal of drill training.
Therefore, in Lin Yang's view, these ancient people were quite intelligent. Despite being a time traveler, he never dared to underestimate them. They showed absolutely no sense of superiority over their era, truly disgracing the vast majority of time travelers.
Soon, accompanied by numerous guards, Lin Yang entered the military camp after showing his token.
Upon entering, a chilling aura immediately greeted them. Even the air itself was thick with malevolent and murderous intent. A closer sniff revealed a faint whiff of blood.
"That's right, a military camp should look like a military camp. It seems that Ziyi has done a very good job." Lin Yang praised.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure appeared, riding a warhorse and clad in armor, approaching from afar. This was none other than Taishi Ci, who was currently brimming with confidence and appeared quite pleased with himself. Indeed, for these military generals, how could they not be happy to command elite troops, or to acquire and train them?
"My lord has arrived without giving me any advance notice so I could have made some preparations. There's not much good food prepared in the camp for the time being," Taishi Ci said, bowing with his hands clasped.
"There's no need for preparations, nor is it necessary. Today, let's take a good look around the military camp. As for later, we'll just have dinner with the soldiers," Lin Yang said calmly.
Soon, Lin Yang, who had been looking around, arrived at the training ground.
At first glance, everywhere you look are burly men, almost all over seven feet tall. Their strong muscles look incredibly powerful. The sight of thousands of people training together is quite awe-inspiring.
Even though Lin Yang was a layman, he could clearly sense that the overall atmosphere was quite good. It was obvious that the soldiers were very enthusiastic.
"That's right. Although most of them are already in their forties or fifties and will soon be entering old age, with the support of spirit rice and spirit dew, they can still last for another ten years or so without any problem," Lin Yang praised.
Within ten years, this group of veterans alone should be sufficient. Keep in mind that the entire Jiangdong region only comprises six prefectures, and each prefecture has only about three thousand soldiers.
There were already five thousand veterans before them. In addition, they were all state soldiers, which was more than enough to suppress any dissent.
As for ten years from now, the Wu Kingdom will probably have developed significantly. At that time, it's hard to say how large a territory they'll have expanded, but a large county, or even a small prefecture, would be achievable.
By then, we can train our own elite troops—elite troops unique to the Jiangdong region, with distinctive local characteristics.
"Ah, this is all thanks to your wise and strategic policies. Once they reach Jiangdong, they will be citizens of Wu. After development, they will be given twenty mu of land each. After ten years of service, they will be given another twenty mu of land."
"With the hope of these forty acres of land, the soldiers are more willing to obey orders. As a result, their training is much faster," Taishi Ci said admiringly.
To be honest, Taishi Ci was quite satisfied with Lin Yang as his lord. He dared to delegate power, directly entrusting it to him, and there were no underhanded tactics behind his back. Moreover, he provided ample supplies, was very generous, and had a broad mind. Where could one find such a good lord?
As for the fact that a hundred nobles had come to the military camp to serve as junior officers, Taishi Ci didn't take that seriously.
After all, once authority is delegated, even if Lin Yang doesn't send anyone, he will proactively find a few loyal followers to enter the military camp. This isn't suspicion; it's simply a normal way to survive.
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Chapter Two: Do you want to rebel? Or do you want to rebel? Or do you want to rebel?
The so-called "national strategy" is actually about the relationship between the people of the country and the people of the countryside.
During the Zhou Dynasty, "Guoren" generally referred to those living in cities, which in modern terms would be considered the propertied class. "Yeren" referred to those living in the wild or in the mountains and forests, who belonged to the proletariat.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the main force in warfare was the people of the state. Therefore, the power of the people of the state was considerable at that time. They could have an audience with the ruler, impeach an official, and even, when the people of the state joined forces, drive out a nobleman.
This demonstrates the immense power of the Chinese people. Of course, at the same time, their responsibilities were also considerable. They were required to bear substantial taxes, and in times of war, they were expected to actively lead troops to protect their homeland.
In Lin Yang's previous life, the people of the Zhou Dynasty once joined forces to drive out their ruler and establish a republic, known in history as the Zhou-Zhao Republic.
Of course, similar things happen in this world as well. Therefore, even ordinary people know the dignity of their countrymen.
Therefore, Lin Yang's policy of combining state and field training was very popular in Wu. (Since their positions determined their perspectives, these soldiers, as future citizens of the state, naturally welcomed it.) Consequently, their enthusiasm for training increased.