Chapter 2980 2982 [True Martial Army]

  After the capture of Junzhou, Xiang Nan opened warehouses to release grain, reduced taxes, punished corrupt officials, and erected a glorious image of himself as "benevolent and righteous, doing justice on behalf of the heavens, punishing people and punishing crimes, and eliminating violence and peace."

  Xiang Nan is well aware of the truth that "the one who gets the right gets more help, but the one who loses the right gets little help".

  Some people rebel only for their own interests, like a king of the mountain, robbing food, money and women. As soon as you have a little achievement, you start to enjoy and start to degenerate.

  Even if the people support them at first, they will eventually oppose them and spurn them.

   Throughout the dynasties, there are countless similar examples.

   But Xiang Nan has great ambitions and will not stick to the small interests in front of him.

  So although the rebel army is also short of food, money, and people, he still chooses to open warehouses to release relief, reduce taxes, and benefit the public.

   And his deeds also won him the support of the people.

   When the army set out, the original team of only 3,000 people quickly expanded to 10,000.

   Moreover, Xiang Nan's slogan of "walking the way for the sky" has been fully uttered, and the Jingxiang area soon spread to all women and children.

  Even children can sing, "There is a dragon on Wudang Mountain, Emperor Zhenwu passed on his miraculous skills, opened warehouses to release grain and killed corrupt officials, and passed on his reputation for doing justice for the sky."

   After capturing Junzhou, Xiang Nan took advantage of the situation and attacked Xiangyang.

  As a big city, Xiangyang was originally guarded by 20,000 troops.

  Dan Xiangnan single-handedly went directly to the city tower, opened the city gate, and let the rebels enter the city.

  Although there are tens of thousands of defenders in Xiangyang, none of them can defeat Xiangnan.

   After the rebels entered the city, they fought hand-to-hand with the defenders.

  The city was invaded, and the morale of the defenders was already very low. Xiang Nan raised his saber again, and in the first round, he cut the defending general under his horse.

  After losing the commander-in-chief, the morale of the Xiangyang defenders was no longer there, and they surrendered soon.

  Xiang Nan took the opportunity to capture Xiangyang City, and later established himself as General Zhenwu, and his army was officially named Zhenwu Army.

  …

  At this time, Xu Shouhui in Wanzhou, Zhang Shicheng in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Han Shantong in Ganzhou, Fang Guozhen in Taizhou...all established their own regimes one after another, and some of them became kings and hegemons.

  A general in Xiangnan District, in front of these lords, seems to be very unpopular.

  But Xiang Nan knows that being king is not a good thing. The sooner you become king, the easier it is to be targeted. Just like in the Three Kingdoms era, Yuan Shu was the first to proclaim himself emperor, but he was also the first to be besieged to death.

  Xiangyang is a battleground for military strategists. After occupying it, it should be dealt with more carefully. Otherwise, "Careless Lost Jingzhou" will repeat itself.

  After the capture of Xiangyang, Xiang Nan disrupted and reorganized the former Xiangyang defenders, eliminated the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled, and finally formed two armies of 6,000 men each, and then sent a large army northward to attack Zhengyang.

  At the same time, a series of work such as population census, land distribution, relief to victims, and investigation of unjust cases were carried out in Xiangyang.

  He wants to use Xiangyang as his base, so he must manage it well.

   Not like some anti-kings. After robbing the land, instead of talking about protecting the environment and the people, eliminating violence and safety, they want to extort money, food and grass from the people in the city, and even rape, loot, burn, kill, smash, and commit all kinds of evil.

   Such people can only be called "rebels" and are cast aside by all people.

  Xiang Nan is naturally not like this.

  He knows that people are wealth, and only if they are good to them will they really support them.

  That's why he will find ways to help the people do good things and do practical things.

  …

  Under his careful management, the people in Xiangyang City, despite the war, not only did not suffer harm, but also benefited.

   Especially after Xiang Nan confiscated the land of those corrupt officials, dirty officials, local tyrants, and evil gentry, he distributed it to the common people for cultivation. Moreover, after destroying the deeds of sale and high-interest IOUs signed by them, they won the support of the people of the whole city.

   Because of this, Xiang Nan won the support of public opinion.

  When people in many areas found out about this incident, they all wished that Xiang Nan would call him quickly.

  Even children know, "The real military army is for the poor. Kill corrupt officials and bad people. Divide the land, share gold and silver. With the real military army, the people have to turn around."

   With such a well-known reputation, Xiang Nan's momentum naturally increased.

   And various sects and factions and forces from all over the world also came to vote after seeing this.

  In less than a month, Xiang Nan has expanded his army by 50,000, and his power has expanded from the previous two cities to half of Jiangbei Province.

  Compared to Han Shantong, Xu Shouhui, Fang Guozhen, Zhang Shicheng, etc. who achieved success early, they are not at all inferior.

  …

  In the following six months, Xiang Nan fought steadily, conquering Nanyang, Suizhou, Xinyang, Jingzhou and other places one after another, and his power grew stronger and stronger.

   And because he opened warehouses to release relief, divided the land equally, settled unjust cases, tried corrupt officials...everywhere he went, he did a series of things to win the hearts of the people, so the people are also more and more supportive.

  The so-called get more help, but less help.

  Because Xiang Nan's actions are deeply in line with the hearts of the people, when other anti-kings still need to forcibly recruit soldiers and people, Xiang Nan can respond to all calls and recruit millions of troops anytime and anywhere.

  Of course, because there are not so many weapons and food for the time being, the total force Xiang Nan maintains is only 100,000. Unlike other anti-kings, who gather millions of soldiers at every turn.

  However, although Xiang Nan only has 100,000 troops, they are all elite soldiers. And these 100,000 elite soldiers are enough.

  When the Mongolian expedition to the Western Regions reached Eastern Europe, the number of troops used was only 200,000.

  And mobilizing too many soldiers will cause a lot of trouble.

   First of all, the supply of grain and grass. One hundred thousand elite soldiers have to consume two thousand shi of grain a day. However, in ancient times, grain production was very low. An acre of wheat produced less than one shi, and rice yielded only two shi. Therefore, the daily rations of 100,000 people are equivalent to the output of more than 1,000 mu of land.

  If it is a million soldiers, it will have to be multiplied tenfold, which is a huge burden for logistics.

   And only 100,000 elite soldiers were called up, but the remaining 900,000 people can work in agriculture, business, and work, and contribute to the development of the base area.

   On the contrary, if millions of soldiers are gathered, no one will plant the land, no one will produce goods, no one will transport them, and no one will buy and sell them, causing agriculture, industry, and commerce to come to a standstill.

  Secondly, if there are too many soldiers, it will be difficult to manage.

  The so-called tree has dead branches, not to mention the ancient belief that "a good man should not be a soldier", and those who are willing to serve as soldiers are mostly rogues and ruffians.

  Many soldiers took advantage of the war, took advantage of the opportunity to rob, extort, **** and plunder, and committed many evil things. That's why there is a saying that "bandits pass like a comb, soldiers pass like a grate".

  Soldiers do evil, even more hateful than bandits and bandits.

  That's why Xiang Nancai has a better army and simpler administration, and is under strict control. Wherever he goes, there are three chapters of the law, and Qiu will not commit any crimes. If there is any violation, even a decent disciple of a famous family, or a subordinate who has made military exploits, will be severely punished.

   Over time, the reputation of Xiang Nan's Zhenwu Army has risen, and in the eyes of the common people, it is no less than that of the Yue Family Army of Yuewu Muyue. Because of this, more and more talents came to seek refuge. The world gathers to respond, and wins the food and the scene follows.

  (end of this chapter)